Are Republicans Starting To Hit Back At Limbaugh For Throwing ‘Bricks’ From ‘The Extreme Right’?
Are Republicans Starting To Hit Back At Limbaugh For Throwing ‘Bricks’ From ‘The Extreme Right’?
In a meeting with congressional leaders from both parties last week, President Obama told the GOP members that “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.” As expected, Limbaugh responded to the presidential mention of his name with his usual bluster, stating, “I think Obama wants me to fail.”
During his rant on Monday, Limbaugh also turned his fire on Republican leaders in Congress, claiming that Obama was “more frightened” of him than them:
LIMBAUGH: He’s obviously more frightened of me than he is Mitch McConnell. He is more frightened of me than he is of, say, John Boehner, which doesn’t say much about our party. I mean, to tell you the truth, folks, if the president is a little more worried about somebody on the radio than he is about somebody on Capitol Hill … I think Obama wants me to fail, there’s no question.
Despite conservatives’ tendency to follow and defend Limbaugh, some prominent Republicans are backing away from the divisive hate radio host.
On Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Monday, Boehner denied that his ideas came from Limbaugh, saying, “I like Rush, but, he’s a talk show host, and I’m in the policy-making business.” In an interview with Politico yesterday, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said Limbaugh was just throwing “bricks” while “living well” in his radio studio:
“I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party.You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell.”
Some Republicans are even saying that Limbaugh is a negative influence on the party. Speaking to the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, former McCain adviser John Weaver called Limbaugh one of “the most controversial voices on the extreme right,” adding that it is dangerous if he is perceived to “speak for all members of the center/right movement.”
Despite their newfound rhetorical distancing from him, congressional conservatives still appear to be taking orders from Limbaugh when it comes to action in Congress.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Limbaugh…America’s #1 domestic terrorist.
Hannity & Hannity…America’s #2 domestic terrorist.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:54 amNah. You don’t throw bricks at your deity.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:57 amYou know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell.”
If the Reps KNOW this, why are they not disavowing Squush and his ilk more vehemently?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:00 pmI kinda agree with Bill Bennett: Fats isn’t a pundit or serious. He’s an entertainer.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pmActually he’s a con artist, fleecing wingnut boobs to buy drugs and hookers. I think the best policy is to treat him that way.
Limbaugh is a domestic terrorist, no question. He huffs and puffs simply to sow discord and disunity amoung the population – just like a terrorist does. Limbaugh threatens those who don’t agree with him – just like a terrorist does. Limbaugh used his perch to advance ideas which are undermining the founding fathers vision of this country – just like a terrorist does. Limbaugh has no care about the condition of the US or the planet. His only focus is to stay in the spotlight and throw as much dirt in the air as possible. He offers nothing to the discourse, except cheap and inaccurate readings of the days events.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pmIf Republican leaders don’t want Rush speaking for them then they should stop telling the same lies he does.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:03 pmSquush says, I think Obama wants me to fail, there’s no question. Squush, did you REALLY think that quoting your own virulence [wanting President Obama to fail] would convince ANY person with functional gray matter that YOU were someone worthy of listening to?
I don’t want you to “fail,” per se: I want your followers to unlock their brains. If they do that, “failure” will be among the least of your worries. Too bad felony stupidity, flaming ignorance, and vitriolic sputterings are not crimes.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:03 pmRush doesn’t look well. He has health problems, apart from being a royal Cheney.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:03 pmLimbaugh/Palin 2012?!?!?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:04 pmStratRat–BEAUTIFUL!
January 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pmIt’s about time to wean the Dittoheads off of the secretions of this pus gut’s cyst.
There has never been a better litmus test of the value of a person. Do they listen to Rush? If yes, they have absolutely no value to me.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pmPlease, for the love of God, stop the limburger stories! He is a talk show host. One who is generally wrong. Wrong about shutting down McCain, Wrong about Operation Chaos, Wrong about President Obama. Why in hell does anyone even consider him interesting?
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Repeat after me,
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
Rush – Stinky Cheese – Blowhard
January 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pmThis is a fantastic strategy by Obama. By equating all things Republican with the far right fanatics like Limbaugh, he is forcing the Republican party as whole to either publicly repudiate the positions of Limbaugh and their ilk and thus lessening their power, or if the Republican party continues to allow itself to be identified with Limbaugh, then his caustic style will alienate the moderate Republicans and create a schism in the Republican Party. A schism that Obama can then use to his advantage.
Brilliant!
January 28th, 2009 at 12:06 pmSean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrichare, Coulter, O’Lielly, Delay, Rove, Bush, Cheney, all the neo-con garbage, are bigoted, big mouthed, hate filled, fear mongering, morally stupid, and are a poor excuse for a human being. Did I say they are wingnut extremists who honor the name ‘lunitac fringe’ proudly.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:06 pmWhy are they extremists? Because they want to take away our freedom of choice and make all of us live ‘lock step’ with their evil agenda of life.
These people are sick…
Rush doesn’t throw bricks, they come out his other end.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:07 pmAre Republicans Starting To Hit Back At Limbaugh For Throwing ‘Bricks’ From ‘The Extreme Right’?
Sub-question: Do we have enough popcorn, folks?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pmObama is not frightened of Limbaugh, he’s using him to make him the face of the republican party. That’s the face that has been rejected in the last two elections. Obama is clever to call Limbaugh out and the Fat Druggie is falling right into the trap.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pmRush is an entertainer……noting more.
not my idea of entertainment, however that is beside the point.
Furthermore, those of you who would refer to him as a “terrorist” play right into his hands.
Rush is a “useless blowhard”….plain and simple.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:11 pmWhy in hell does anyone even consider him interesting?
The problem would be the sheep who look to Limbaugh as a guiding source of information. Limbaugh feeds their small and compact view of the world (good vs. evil), then provides easy to digest talking points which then get amplified amoung a population if like minded people. Limbaugh helps them understand a very complicated world in very simplistic ideas. Gullible people will always need a pied piper to show them the way.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:12 pmRush is and will continue to be the face of the GOP until and unless the GOP itself does something about it, such as distancing themselves from his hateful rhetoric and lies.
Ditto for Palin. Both of these people are right-wing extremists whose purpose is to drive the GOP as far to the right as possible. It isn’t because their ideas and policies actually work or have any truth in them, but rather it is their fearful reaction to the progressivism and liberalism that is dominant in our country.
The media may make the US out to be a conservative country, but we really aren’t. When progressive policies are actually discussed, without lies and distortion, most Americans support them. It is only when the racism, homophobia, anti-semitism and misogyny that is inherent to conservatives and conservatism is unleashed that people rally to the right.
The truth is the thing that Rush fears most. He wants Obama to fail because he can’t stand to see progressive policies that work. The success of Obama would put yet another nail into the coffin of the conservative revolution, and would expose the incompetence of conservatives. A successful Obama presidency could mean permanent minority status of the GOP for years to come.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:16 pmLimbaugh’s greatest weapon? FEAR.
Obama’s greatest weapon? HOPE.
Do the math.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:17 pmhe is perceived to “speak for all members of the center/right movement.”
Well, he is does exactly that, he speaks their mind set, proving that mentally they are perverse and hate the American people who are not lock step with them.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pmRush Limbaugh, Russia and Usama bin laden both want the US economy to fail..
January 28th, 2009 at 12:19 pmCrap, where is my head- Well, he is doing…
Little typo, brain fart there.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:19 pmdemoshe2002 Says:
Rush Limbaugh, Russia and Usama bin laden both want the US economy to fail..
___________
Uh, demoshe? Rush, Russia, and Usama? That would be “all three”…
January 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pmStratrat has the right idea. This is like the saying about guns and outlaws. As long as idiots have the free press, the free press will have idiots. Simplicity (not truth) is the drug of choice for many.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pmAh, the King of Extreme Reich Radio. Bloviating from atop the GOP’s sacred mount (codename for Philipino boys). Limpbags self-inflated ego is stroked by the likes of Boehner, King and McConnel. This past election cycle, though it has significantly thinned the Repug herd, has left America with the most extreme GOOPers from the most extreme corners of Red States tripping over eachothers d1cks, struggling to prove their relevance in a sea of like-hive-minded cancervatives. They’ve deluded themselves into believing that if they could just be a bit more extreme, then everything will be allright for their Party. They are petrified that Obama will succeed as this will further alienate them and the extreme right wing of this Country. They just don’t get it and probably never will. Reagan’s economic plan was a disaster for America. Less regulation is bad for America’s economy. Lowering taxes during wartime is ALWAYS bad for America. Republicans DO NOT make us safer. And if Jabba the Hutt thinks that by further isolating the Right Wing from the American People is in his best interest and the Republican Party I say “Have at it, Oxycontin Breath!” As a matter of fact I say to Glenn Blech, Insannity and Bill-o “Keep it up losers! You show another slice of the public every day just why the Republican Party, the Right Wing and the neocons deserve the ass whooping they got and there is more to come in 2010!”
January 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pmIt appears to me that there are cracks appearing in the relationship between Lintball and the GOP. Let’s do our best to pry open that crack into a chasm.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:22 pmLook. I don’t get all that many weather related days off. Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. There’s got to be clowns.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:24 pmThank you for youe understanding of this matter….
Rush may be an “entertainer” by some estimations, but he is very influential. His show is used to “catapault the propaganda” and he has a very large audience.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:26 pmWhen the GOP sees that he may be doing more harm than good, they will dump him for the next guy with a bullhorn.
Dear Rush– Bend over, grab your ankles, and you will get what’s coming to you.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:27 pmShayne Says:
If Republican leaders don’t want Rush speaking for them then they should stop telling the same lies he does.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
If Republican leaders don’t want Rush speaking for them then they should stop sending him their talking points. That’s where he gets his cues to attack Democrats. That’s also why they all seem to be saying the same things every day.
If Republicans do not want to be equated with Right Wing Hate Radio, then they should stop sending the Hate Radio jocks their talking points.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:29 pmCrap. Why don’t these stupid GOoPers just make Rush the head of the Republican Party and get it over with?? That way they could all worship him properly (by bending over and grabbing their ankles).
January 28th, 2009 at 12:35 pmThe only thing these conservatives are concerned about is Limpballs appearing to throw bricks at the Republicans.
They could care less if he throws bricks at Democrats. And why should they. They have been throwing bricks of their own.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:36 pmAnd inviting them to White House luncheons (when they have power, that is).
January 28th, 2009 at 12:37 pmI feel your pain, dbadass.
There should be clowns. Maybe they also got a weather-related day off?
Can’t you picture the trolls, with their lunches packed in brown paper bags, all bundled up, sitting by their radios waiting for the announcer to call “Troll Central is closed today”?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:37 pmI have nothing of value to add. I just think he looks like a tomato.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:38 pmIgnore the drug addle, gas bag. That would kill him.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:40 pmaddled. That is!
January 28th, 2009 at 12:40 pmWhile I completely disagree with Rush Limbaugh, and find his opinions and positions untenable (read: idiotic) given the current state of our country, I think it is important to consider the context of his statements. If you have only listened to the sound byte, then I encourage you to listen to the complete version before getting up-in-arms …
http://www.disinfo.com/content/story.php?title=Rush-Limbaugh-I-Hope-Obama-Fails-1
(This link also includes Senator Cornyn’s comments about Senator Clinton and her confirmation for Secretary of State.)
He is a sensationalist … it is his nature and, in fact, his job to make waves, and he has certainly done a good job of that this time. I believe however, that saying “Limbaugh says ‘I hope [Obama] fails.’” does not show the whole picture and smacks of sensationalism too. An eye for a eye is the “Right” thing to do, and those of us who are left of center should be above that.
I hope you don’t think I am defending Limbaugh, because I am not. I think his ranting goes too far and is damaging to our country and its spirit during these difficult times. I hope that someday he goes so far to the right that he alienates enough people to the point where his ratings drop and he is taken off the air. Until then, the country will have to continue being exposed to the garbage that he spews.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
January 28th, 2009 at 12:43 pmThe nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them. -George Orwell, writer (1903-1950)
Oink, oink.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:45 pmwhen will folks LEARN?? the more you criticize and antagonize Limbaugh the MORE HE ENJOYS IT… he’s a delusional egomaniac, and he THRIVES on controversy and conflict… he should be ignored into relevancy, and left to his stupid ditto-heads who are just as delusional as he is….
January 28th, 2009 at 12:47 pmPhil Gingrey (or as I like to call him Gil Fingery was just on Limbaugh’s show, well, how do I say this nicely….kissing up to and fingering Rush.
¶ AIO
January 28th, 2009 at 12:47 pmjeezuz… why does this have to be accompanied by a photo…?
i was just going to have lunch…
that ad with the stogy is bad enough…
not ENOUGH repugs are “starting to hit back”, obviously…
the repugs need their daddies… their authoritarian whips…
…
heard a poignant point from randi yesterday…
this slug has a 100k contract – a CONTRACT – something his ilk would prevent unions members from having – and Clear Channel laid off 100s of people…
priorities.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pmraynman Says:
This is a fantastic strategy by Obama. By equating all things Republican with the far right fanatics like Limbaugh…
Obama totally killed McCain with that Spanish-language ad featuring Rush’s words. It was a cheap shot, but it worked. The fact that it was effective demonstrates how much wingnut radio and Republican politicians get mixed together in people’s heads.
And it’s not entirely unfair, considering that Boehner felt he had to precede his comments above with “I like Rush…” The R’s go on these peoples’ shows and treat them as legitimate and then act all shocked and a-flutter when they’re accused of holding similar opinions.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:52 pmWhadda you care if Obama wants you to fail Cystboy . .
You still got your STASH of Oxicondin. Come on Pillboy, we know you didn’t flush ALL your stash . .
January 28th, 2009 at 12:54 pm“it is dangerous if he is perceived to ’speak for all members of the center/right movement’.”
Yes, that is how most people perceive him. You own him, Republicans. He and Ann Coulter are the voice of the right and their hate speech reflects YOU.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pmNote that Rush honest-to-God thinks he knows what Obama is thinking. This may not be drug-related.
The belief that they can literally read the minds of liberals and Democrats is a ubiquitous right-wing delusion. Conservative chatter overflows with speculations on what liberals are really thinking and feeling–this from people too messed up to understand a single word a liberal says.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pmFollowing a “high volume of phone calls and correspondence,” Gingrey is now backing off his criticism of Limbaugh, releasing a statement calling him one of “the voices of the conservative movement’s conscience.”
Why, I thought he was just a “harmless little fuzzball” … or, in those cases when he gets caught in some egregious stoopidity or lies, a “harmless little fuzzball entertainer“.
FWIW, I saw Jon Stewart’s hilarious smack-down of Limbaugh a couple of days ago on TDS, and I can assure you that Limbaugh could take a few lessons on “entertaining” from Stewart…..
Cheers,
January 28th, 2009 at 1:03 pmThis obnoxious purveyor of hate speech and authoritarianism is their conscience?
Yeesh.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:05 pmRush Limbaugh is the de facto head of the Republican Party. His daily rants represent the most cogent explanation of the party’s platform. Truly a sad, sad end to a political party.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:07 pmI wish that fat bastard would have a heart attack and die.
And no, I’m not at all sorry for wishing that.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:07 pmLimbaugh is, for once, doing a real service: he’s a voice for the authentic, unreasoning rage that drives so many on the right. It’s ugly to be sure, but Limgbaugh is to me commended in IMO for giving such a transparent look at the reality that usually lies hidden behind a mask of religious cant and phony patriotism.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:09 pmLeftside Annie Says:
I wish that fat bastard would have a heart attack and die.
And no, I’m not at all sorry for wishing that.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Normally I don’t wish death upon anyone, but if Rush were to suffer a debilitating but non-lethal stroke that left him unable to speak, I would not shed a tear.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:12 pmI think Obama wants me to fail, there’s no question.
Ahhhh poor Rush, the new President doesn’t like him like the previous President did. Booo Hooo
January 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pmFlex @ 12:06
January 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pmYou forgot to mention that aging blowhard in Atlanta, Kneel Boortz ( Last name is pronounced exactly like a air trumpet, passing out gas through one’s butt cheeks!)
I believe the Update says it all.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm#56 Leftside Annie
There is usually a basis for some of the old adages.
The good die young applies to Lintball. People like him and Cheneycome immediately to mind as I observe that evil people seem to live the longest lives.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:24 pmYou must fear them…….fear, fear, fear.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:25 pm…former McCain adviser John Weaver called Limbaugh one of “the most controversial voices on the extreme right,” adding that it is dangerous if he is perceived to “speak for all members of the center/right movement.”
Center/right movement? Since when does the center/right have anything other than a bowel movement?
Right-wing extremists own the Republican Party. The center/right keep their mouths shut and go along for the ride. I guess that could be considered “movement”.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:27 pmDick Cheney has been alive for centuries. That sort of evil does not develop overnight. When he “dies”, he will just assume another form and continue his plans for destruction of the human race.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:31 pmKaty,
Not $100K…it’s $100M.
I’m not sure what the length of the contract is, but whatever the time frame, it’s an obscene amount of money.
For an obscene, bloated drug addict, of course.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:33 pm‘We have chosen HOPE over Fear.’ -President Obama / 1-21-09
January 28th, 2009 at 1:35 pmGo on, Republicans. Continue to shamelessly take your marching orders from the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:44 pmGingrey called into Rush’s radio show today apologizing for his comments. Apparently Rush IS the voice of the Republican party.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:50 pmProject much, Rush?
January 28th, 2009 at 2:00 pmOK, Let me get this straight: Rush is paid handsomely by big business to spew his hate and to convince people to vote against their own best interests in the guise of “entertainment”. Heh.
And then when Senators, who should know better, criticize Rush and tell him to back off, Rush’s minions, deluge the Senators with phone calls eliciting an apology from the Senators to Rush.
What a world.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:04 pmand the obstruction continues, unabated and un-debated.
House Republicans on Wednesday defeated a bill to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting
January 28th, 2009 at 2:08 pmWow. I came (Maxwell Smart voice) “this close” to actually respecting Phil Gingrey for some sort of mathematically incalculably short instant of time. Then he backed away after the ditto-monkeys got after his switchboard.
The fact is, Phlush Phlegmball needs to run for office. He needs to trundle his pustulent, pussle-gutted, oxycontin munchin’ lardass out onto the hustings and LEVERAGE all those dittoheads.
C’mon, Phlush! It’ll be easy, buddy! Run for Senate in Florida. Hell, there’s an open seat comin’ up. You can bloviate and filibuster for days on end in the U.S. Senate and Harry Reid won’t even TRY to stop you!
Oops. Did I say “oxycontin?” Aw, damn! Too bad, Phlush! If you weren’t a rotten-assed junkie, you’d ‘a made a heckuva senator, Phlushie!
January 28th, 2009 at 2:09 pmFred Says:
and the obstruction continues, unabated and un-debated.
House Republicans on Wednesday defeated a bill to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting
Love their heartfelt concern for the consumer who might get confused by all of this. When did the GOP ever care about the consumer?
January 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pmLeonard Pitts wrote an excellent column about Limbaugh recently. He correctly identifies Limbaugh and his ilk (don’t you love that word?) as clowns. The whole column is well worth reading.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Rush Limbaugh simply says out loud what most conservatives, Republicans whisper amongst themselves.
He definitely is the voice of the conservative movement’s conscience, no doubt about it.
On the upside, the more conservatives spew their hate, and their sheer hypocrisy, racism, and fearmongering become evident, the more they will become irrelevant.
These bigoted hatemongers don’t realize the US is no longer a country where a light skin is, per se, a sign of privilege -racism being a the heart of their opposition to Pres Obama.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:18 pmAnd I think you are jealous of anyone with intelligence.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:26 pmMaybe we’ve got our first volunteer for a “Rush For U.S. Senate” sticker on his car.
Don’t wait! Supplies are limited!
January 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pmClearly you can see the decline in drug infected Rush as the days go by. At what part of his decline are ALL his listeners going to wake up, as it appears many have.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:35 pmWhen will this porcine bastard’s blood vessels give out? Yesterday isn’t soon enough.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:39 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
Wow, 2+ hrs and 73 posts later and not a single troll!??! What is this world coming to?!
January 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
And, right on cue:
LTdan Says:
I think most of you are jealous of Rush’s success.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
January 28th, 2009 at 2:41 pm“LTdan Says:
I think most of you are jealous of Rush’s success.”
I provide a service to the city I live in and make an honest living. I dont come into 15 million people’s living rooms claiming to know better than they do. He can keep his $40 mill a year based on inflamatory deciet. I’ll stick to my 32k a year on hard work.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:46 pmThe two things about Rush that are unprecedented are that 1) He’s on thrree hours a day, nearly every day. Previous right-wing ranters (Father Coughlin, for example) had about 20 minutes a day–and that was because radio was our main mass medium. And 2) He just simply makes things up, and there’s nobody to call him on them.
Instead of just a dose of right wing juice, the dittoheads can listen to Rush all afternon–and of course there’s Hannity after him, or another voice. They bathe in this stuff all day. And while Father Coughlin had to paint paranoid word pictures and limit himself to exhortations, Rush can just make up stuff that confirms the listeners’ beliefs.
Rush has a pleasant radio voice, which puts him miles ahead of Hannity and the others, who sound angry all the time. If you don’t pay attention to the content of his spiel, he sounds amiable and friendly–even folksy. People don’t get tired listening to Rush, so he can pour his falsehoods into their ready ears.
And the oldergeneration, who gew up when radio was the Big Time and the Fairness Doctrine was in effect, still have that residual belief that ‘they couldn’t sy it on the radio if it weren’t true’, making them all the more receptive to Rush’s flat-out lies.
When he first came on the scene in the 80’s, that was the bewildering part: I was used to right-wing ranters–but he was just saying things which were demonstrably, scientifically false. What the hell was going on.
The more important question is how did Radio get hijacked? If you compare Rush in the 90’s on, say, WABC-AM in the 90’s with rock’n'roll radio in the 60’s, Rush’s numbers are pathetic. But the whle medium had been shoved off in a corner since those days. Talk radio is the cheapest stuff to produce that you can put on–way cheaper than music–so it matters less that they no longer have a broad-spectrum appeal.
So it was that the rich and powerful were able to hijack a faded medium, wrench it away from the idea of serving all the people, and turn it inyo a Niagara of right-wing spew, that the loyal immerse themselves in, never coming up for air. They not only absorb his opinions–he’’s replaced the news for them–which should horrify even conservatives.
One of the blowbacks of this hijacking is that it gave a near-atal blow to the music industry. Radio was the way to sell new music to the audience–but the rich on the right didn’t care. And most people, rather than fighting back, just abandoned radio altogether–or just used it for traffic weather,headlines and sports scores. The a political just abandoned the medium. (Would satellite radio, that you pay for, have any chance whatsoever if broadcast radio were not such a cesspool? I don’t think so.
So Rush is popular–but there’s a vast swath of the populace who has never heard him, and f they’re not political, don’t even know who he is–because they’ve just dropped radio as part of their lives.
I can testify personally that I know people who identify Rush Limbaugh as “Isn’t he the radio person who made fun of Michael J. Fox?” and make a tsking sound. That’s all that a lot of women who watch Oprah know. Which will continue to damage him as nothing else in the general public.
It’s kind of amazing, but Rush never was a public figure–just a soldier in the right-wing movement. Were he to die tomorrow, We political junkies might breathe a sigh of relief, the Right would mourn, but for an awful lot of people, he wouldn’t even register.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pmHoodathunk Says:
Keltoi Says:
Again, to compare what we have done to the actual Crusades cheapens the evil of the real Crusades.
Now there is a real loaded comment…cheapen the evil. Multiple crusades called for by both political and religious leaders to ‘free the Holy Land’. Outside of the fact that the end result was no change in the Holy Land (with the exception of lots of dead people…war as population control is over rated), just what is the difference today other than substituting oil for Holy?
That comment pulled me up short, too. From the perspective of the locals, both the Crusades and the Iraq War were invasions of their land by Europeans. It’s true that American soldiers haven’t murdered everyone in one particular city, but from the Arab perspective the distinctions are nit-picking.
It certainly was no help to have Bush call it a Crusade. In a long list of stupid remarks, that was one of the least helpful.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:59 pmHi LTdan:
January 28th, 2009 at 3:30 pmI am not nor would I ever be as I have a value system rooted in those things which are indeed “right” but I would be interested in knowing why you might think I envious of a person like Rush Limbaugh.
Thanks
McCarthyism=Limbaugh. Does anyone read the history of this country and remember what happened to McCarthy? He ended up in disgrace and detested even by his own Republican party.
People like Limbaugh are not new. Their hate is as old as the human race itself. He will damage America and eventually himself in the process and his star will fade. Just not soon enough.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pmLeftside Annie: Blush Limpdick can bend over???
LTDan; You must really like the view from there. I mean the one you see from having your nose so far up Limpdick’s ass, you MUST be Pinochio.
Spell check not working. My apologies for any mispellings.
January 28th, 2009 at 5:03 pmglezzery; Isn’t there a freeway nearby that you can play in?
January 28th, 2009 at 8:40 pmHow come glezzery, LTdan, and barack obomber never coexist in time and space?
January 28th, 2009 at 10:21 pmRUSH represents “the voices of the conservative movement’s conscience.”
OH MY GOODNESS! This is too funny.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:35 amCan we say even BIGGER majorities for the Democrats in 2 years.
Living it and LOVING it!
kali90 Says:
when will folks LEARN?? the more you criticize and antagonize Limbaugh the MORE HE ENJOYS IT… he’s a delusional egomaniac, and he THRIVES on controversy and conflict… he should be ignored into relevancy, and left to his stupid ditto-heads who are just as delusional as he is….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
NO the left did that the first decade or so he was on the air and that didnt work out so well for us. He must be challenged and his lies, arrogance and stupidity aired for all to see until he is marginalized. Ignoring him will NOT make him go away that is the equvilent of the ostrich seeing a lion coming and putting his head under the level of the ground in his nest so he cant see the lion thinking that means the lion doesnt exist anymore. What happens next is the lion EAST the Ostrich
January 29th, 2009 at 11:34 amLTdan Says:
I think most of you are jealous of Rush’s success.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I think YOU are stupider than most things I scrape off my shoe
January 29th, 2009 at 11:35 am