Armed robbers are not the sharpest knives in the gene-pool drawer. However, most of them have figured out the basics: don’t try to rob gun stores or karate studios. Stick to convenience stores, gas stations, and other targets unlikely to shoot you or punch your lights out.

For eight years the Dems and their media toadies relentlessly engaged in 24×7 attacks on President Bush – accusing him of every form of dishonesty, corruption, malfeasance, and stupidity. Their attack extended to all Republicans and the soldiers as well. Mostly Bush just hunkered down and took it (thanks again, genius Karl Rove, for that one), even though he could have responded, using the bully pulpit, in deadly effective counterattacks, by speaking directly to Americans without the media filter. Bush never would fight back, and his silence was exceedingly costly to himself, his agenda, conservatives, the Republicans, the soldiers, and the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now, the Politico reports that Democrat strategists as early as October 2008 identified Rush Limbaugh as their next target of abuse, in terms of beating all conservatives and Republicans into submission. Recent events have shown a coordinated strategy by administration officials (Emanuel, AxelRod, Gibbs, Plouffe, Pfeiffer, and Obama himself), media pundits (Begala, Carville), leftist groups (Center for American Progress, Americans United for Change, Americans United for Choice) the DNC (Woodhouse, Kaine), and Democrat congressmen (Van Hollen). The Politico article names each of these players by name, as operators in a coordinated plan to attack Rush.

Bush did not fight back. Rush is already fighting back — gleefully, articulately, with his trademark rapier-like wit, mockery, and humor. The Democrats have woefully, desperately miscalculated. Rush’s 20 million person listening audience is the most politically educated and astute bunch in America.

He lost no audience and no influence when he dealt with the prescription drug addiction in 2003. Imagine the odds of him losing any influence because a bunch of low-down, mean, and not-particularly-clever Democrats, leftist groups, and media punks run around telling us what a bad man Rush is. His audience is already well-trained in their knavery.

Democrats, you picked the wrong store to rob. You’ve put America’s #1 conservative (not Republican) in the spotlight for all Americans to examine. That can’t possibly end well for you.