QUOTE OF THE DAY…. Rush Limbaugh actually said this on the air today. He wasn’t kidding.

“What Mr. Loughner knows is that he has the full support of a major political party in this country. He’s sitting there in jail; he knows what’s going on. He knows that a Democrat [sic] Party — the Democrat [sic] Party — is attempting to find anybody but him to blame.

“He knows if he plays his cards right that he’s just a ‘victim.’ He’s the latest in a never ending parade of victims brought about by the ‘unfairness of America.’ The ‘bigotry, racism, homophobia’ of America. The ‘mean-spiritedness of America.’ […]

“That smiling mugshot — this guy clearly understands he’s getting all the attention, and he understands he’s got a political party doing everything it can, plus a local sheriff doing everything they can to make sure he’s not convicted of murder.”

No one could possibly believe this garbage. It’s idiotic gibberish, disconnected from reality on multiple levels.

But here’s the follow up for any Republican willing to answer: do you agree with Rush Limbaugh’s assessment? Do you believe Democrats have offered their “full support” to a gunman who killed six innocent people and tried to assassinate a Democratic congresswoman? Is the GOP also convinced that Democrats want to ensure the killer’s acquittal?

Or, for once in their lives, will Republicans have the guts and decency to say, “No, I think Rush Limbaugh is wrong”?

Steve Benen

Follow Steve on Twitter @stevebenen. Steve Benen is a producer at MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show. He was the principal contributor to the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog from August 2008 until January 2012.