Frank Luntz: Rush, Levin ‘Problematic’ in Immigration Debate

Frank Luntz, a top Republican pollster and message man, said conservative talk radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin were “problematic” during a talk at the University of Pennsylvania on April 22 to a group of College Republicans. 

Luntz apparently thought he was not being recorded. He was expressing his frustration with conservatives for not supporting amnesty and the “pathway to citizenship” that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), along with other members of the Gang of Eight, is pushing for in the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform proposals.

Luntz said conservatives like Levin and Limbaugh are “problematic” because “they get great ratings” and “drive the message.”

“If you take–Marco Rubio’s getting his ass kicked. Who’s my Rubio fan here?” Luntz said. “We talked about it. He’s getting destroyed! By Mark Levin, by Rush Limbaugh, and a few others. He’s trying to find a legitimate, long-term effective solution to immigration that isn’t the traditional Republican approach, and talk radio is killing him.”

Left-wing magazine Mother Jones obtained the tape from a University of Pennsylvania student who told the magazine he secretly recorded Luntz on his iPhone after Luntz asked another student to turn off his recording device during the talk.

The Huffington Post points out this is not the first time Luntz has criticized conservatives. When the National Rifle Association proposed having armed guards in every school after the Newtown massacre, Luntz said he did not think the “NRA is listening” to the American public did not “understand.” Luntz claimed most Americans believed that “not every human being should own a gun, not every gun should be available at anytime, anywhere, for anyone.”