Obama says GOP too 'concerned' with Rush Limbaugh

Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in New York Monday evening, President Obama said his intention is to "govern" for the rest of his final term in office. That is, if Republicans will "cooperate."

"My thinking was after we beat them in 2012, well, that might break the fever and it’s not quite broken yet," he said. "But I am persistent. And I am staying at it. And I genuinely believe that there are actually Republicans out there who would like to work with us but they’re fearful of their base and they’re concerned about what Rush Limbaugh might say about them, and as a consequence, we get the kind of gridlock that makes people cynical about government and inhibits our progress."

Obama has regularly invoked Limbaugh's name as the reason Republicans oppose many of his policy positions. In an interview with The New Republic published in January, Obama said,"If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interes then you'll see more of them doing it."

In 2009, Obama also reportedly told congressional Republicans, "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done."

@eScarry