AIP News reports:

The last word from el rushbo today was a recommendation that if Blagojevich wants to stick it to his pals he should nominate Alan Keyes for the vacant US Senate seat… Interesting. Maybe we are having an effect. — Bob Bailey

“El Rushbo” is a nickname for broadcaster Rush Limbaugh.

Karole Noymann explains at Daily Kos,

For those who may not be aware Keyes was the GOP nominee for Obama’s Senate seat in the 2004 election. Keyes abandoned the GOP this year after complaining they ignored his presidential candidacy and influenced the media not to cover his campaign because they were afraid of him. He then declared himself a candidate for the Constitution Party presidential nomination but they didn’t want him either. Finally he did receive the nomination of America’s Independent Party which gained him a ballot spot in California.

Currently Keyes is busying himself with a court challenge to Obama’s status as a natural born citizen.

According to wikipedia, Keyes “is a conservative American political activist, author, and former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. He ran for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, and 2008, and was a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1988, 1992, and 2004. Keyes served in the U.S. Foreign Service, was appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987.”

Following government service, Ambassador Keyes was President of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) from 1989 to 1991, and founded CAGW’s National Taxpayers’ Action Day. In 1991, he served as Interim President of Alabama A&M University, in Huntsville, Alabama.

In addition to his race against Obama in Illinois, Keyes ran for the US Senate from Maryland in 1988 and 1992. During the 1992 election, Keyes attracted controversy when he took a $8,463/month salary from his campaign fund.

During the 1996 Republican presidential primaries, Keyes was briefly detained by Atlanta police when he tried to force his way into a debate to which he had been invited, and then disinvited. During the 2000 primaries, he was noted for jumping into a mosh pit during the Iowa caucus as part of a segment on Michael Moore’s TV series The Awful Truth.

Keyes was picked to run against Obama when the original Republican nominee, Jack Ryan, withdrew due to a sex scandal, and a variety of prominent Republicans passed up on the race. In a September 7, 2004 news conference, Keyes said that Jesus Christ would not vote for Obama. During the campaign, Keyes outlined an alternative to reparations for slavery. His specific suggestion was that, for a period of one or two generations, African-Americans who were descended from slaves would be exempt from the federal income tax (though not from the FICA tax that supports Social Security). In additions to his runs as a Republican, Keyes also unsuccessfully sought the 1998 Libertarian Party nomination for US Senate from the state of New York.

Illinois Governor Milorad “Rod” R. Blagojevich was arrested by FBI agents on December 9, 2008 and charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as solicitation of bribery. The Justice Department complaint alleges that the governor conspired to commit several “pay to play” schemes, including attempting to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacated United States Senate seat to the highest bidder. As a result of the arrest, Blagojevich has faced calls for his resignation or impeachment and removal from office. He has been the target of multiple federal investigations and has historically low approval ratings within Illinois; Rasmussen called him “America’s Least Popular Governor” (wikipedia).

Rush Limbaugh has been credited with reviving AM radio in the United States, and is also considered to have been a “national precinct captain” for the Republican Party’s Congressional victories in 1994. The National Review magazine, in a 1993 cover story, called him “The Leader of Conservative Principles” during the Clinton administration (wikipedia). Among many pop culture parodies, Limbaugh is likely to have served as an inspiration for the portrayal of the character of Lewis Prothero in the film version of V for Vendetta.