When I think of Rush Limbaugh, I instantly envision a caricature of him. Rush Limbaugh, with his slicked-back hair and cigar in mouth, his puffy little face and rolly-polly body looking a lot like every cartoonist's idea of a banker or CEO. Rush is like that; a character so animated that it's surreal. With his over arrogance (he claims to be 'right' over 90% of the time) and his cigar-puffing, feminist-hating, flag waving rants. It's easy to dismiss Rush Limbaugh as just a egotistical, right-wing conservative that can only influence a small percentage of the public. But that's exactly what Rush wants you to believe. There is an advantage there for Rush. If the other side thinks that he's inert, then they will never see his assaults coming. Underestimating your opponent, no matter the reason, is always a bad idea.And Rush Limbaugh is no one you should just underestimate.
With his estimated audience of 14 million (who call themselves, "ditto heads"), the #1 Radio Talk Show in America, and a (believe it or not) good grasp of the overall political landscape, Rush is a force to be contended with. And he loves to flex his muscle when he can. The most recent example is; his meddling in the Texas Democratic Primary. With Senator Barack Obama looking to shut the door on rival Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, Rush saw an opportunity to cause some mischief. Because of it's open primary, Texas was a perfect target. By telling his followers to vote for Hillary, up to 9% of registered Texan Republicans crossed the line and thereby assured the Democrat race would continue well into the summer. You have to admit...that's a little power.
Rush is now enjoying the fruits of his efforts. With race-baiting going on by the Clinton's, and Barack pointing out all of Hillary's inconsistent statements, the Democratic party looks staged to implode. Mr. Limbaugh could not be happier. Who would have thought the all this could be accomplished by a guy who looks like he should be trying to sell you a car? Once again, it looks like we all dismissed Rush a little too much.
The Left owns most of our media sources, that's just a fact. Newspapers nearly all lean left and some of the big ones have fallen head over heels to the left. Add to that; Hollywood, all the T.V. news organizations except FOX, almost every musician, nearly every movie star, and the vast majority the entire Internet and it's easy to see the Lefts media dominance. The only place where the Right reigns supreme is in Radio. Lately there has been a lot of talk of reintroducing the "Fairness Doctrine". This, I think, would be blatantly unfair as it focuses only one one source-radio. While Rush has certainly shown himself to be powerful, we should be careful not to be zealous in our efforts to be "fair". The day-drive radio market has always been the baskin of older folks who lean right. As much as I hate to admit it, that's what the public wants. My final warning to everyone; When you hate some one's politics, be careful not to dismiss them as an "idiot" just because they don't share your view. You may not like Rush, but in the end you have to admit one thing about him..he's not stupid and he does have power. H.C.
10 comments:
the guy is arrogant beyond belief. sometimes i wonder if he is poking more at the left or is he poking at the lemmings who spout some of his more outrageous catchphrases (feminazis comes to mind) with utmost sincerity. right or left, i will distance myself from a person who is intentionally inflammatory. sway me with calm reason. no doubt they guy is smart, i just don't like his style, any more than i like some of those on the left who have a similar style.
Hey Lime,
It's hard to argue any of your points. I used to listen to Rush quite regularly..just to get the opinion of the far-right. After a while though, I could guess where he was going to stand before his show even came on. His aggressive, arrogant style is directed towards people who hate the left. For some unknown reason they (the far right) enjoy the put-downs and mockery in much the same way lefties enjoy Bill Maher or John Stewart. What I don't understand is that these are people who usually pride themselves on their civility and manners. Name calling, (like "feminazis") should be beneath people who pride themselves on morality and decency. Thanks for your comments.
Yo Hippie,
I still think you're giving Rush too much credit. His "power" is limited to the sheeple who cling on to his every word. In that sense of the word, he's pretty empowered. But he doesn't wield enough influence or media posturing to convince entire masses to subscribe to his lunacy. Getting .05% of the country to listen to you is pretty impressive. But how translates into 'power' is up for debate.
But I'm sure Rush is the life of the party in rehab. OK, OK. That was mean, even against somebody like Limbaugh.
Hey Dre,
There you are! I was starting to wonder, you've been a bit MIA. I think that Rush being able to prolong an election and maybe even single-handedly changing the outcome is a LOT of power. I can't even think of one single person that could have had that much effect outside of Al Gore. Like I said, I think it's dangerous to underestimate someone like Rush. It's not so much the amount of people he can influence as the loyalty that his looney "dittoheads" exhibit. I've met a few of them and they have posters of him in their living room and proudly showcase his books. As for your statement; "But I'm sure Rush is the life of the party in rehab. OK, OK. That was mean, even against somebody like Limbaugh." No it wasn't. When he rails on about other people's addiction and then tries to separate his as if it's different because he got his from doctors.....I have no sympathy. Besides, I thought it was funny.
Man, I had an entire faux pro-rush response all planned out for April fools day, but I must've been too busy doctor-shopping for pain meds.
Anyhow, I get the gist. It's true, as Andre stated, Rush's "power" is pretty much limited to his fan-base. Unfortunately his fan base is rather large, & many of them are all the more willing to get on their knees & allow themselves to be pimped if the Rush-God says so. But fortunately for those of us w/ brains, his "power" stops there.
Ya know, similarly there is a forum-based group on this interwebz thingy that is so vast that they go about from one online game to another w/ the sole intention of ruining the various games by exploiting the rules & generally overwhelming those that were there previously. There's nothing that can be done, of course, & the same is true about Rush. It's wrong for him, or anybody for that matter, to wield that much influence over a democratic election, but taking any legislative step to prohibit such things would be akin to fascism. I'd like to say that the only realistic approach to these followers would be civilized discussion, but you know as I do, when it comes to politics, people usually have their head so far up their asses that they're completely oblivious to anything else than what they already think.
-n
Hey Nic,
I like your analogy between Rush and what's happening in the Internet gaming realm. It's absolutely true that people like Rush cross-over from both sides to do mischief. The alternative is to have a "closed primary" where people have to state their party. I don't care much for that because it solidifies the two party system. I've seen some states that allow you to chose "unaffiliated" (where you could vote either side) in a closed primary. That seems to me the best solution as it encourages people to be political whores. (And as you know, I advocate that) Good thoughts!!
Hey Tabor,
What else can I add? You are right on point. I hope you know I'm counting on you spewing out some of your rants on my show. Peace my brother.
Dag Tabor. How do you really feel dawg?
@Dre,
You have to get used to Tabor, He's a great guy but he has no mouth filter.
I see where you think its OK to judge somebody (or put them down) based on their looks...as long as they are a white guy
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