Saying Goodbye to Rush
Jan 26th, 2009 | 9 responses
This is one of those stories which I initially hoped would just go away, but for some reason it keeps hanging around like that old set of luggage you just can’t take down to the good will store. Our new president made an off hand comment the other day, invoking the name of Right wing blowhard Rush Limbaugh.
“You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done,” he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.
One White House official confirmed the comment but said he was simply trying to make a larger point about bipartisan efforts.
This had a number of GOP supporters up in arms for some reason, and their number included our old friend Ed Morrissey of Hot Air.
Barack Obama ran on a platform of post-partisanship, of healing and uniting a divided nation. Yet it didn’t even take him a week to enter into the partisan fray, taking on the Right’s biggest megaphone — and making it even bigger. Instead of marginalizing Rush Limbaugh, Obama managed to make him the most credible voice of opposition
I’m not sure what’s more disturbing here: accusing Obama of entering into the partisan fray, or referring to Limbaugh as a “credible voice of opposition.” I’m all in favor of Obama’s efforts to move beyond traditional partisan bickering as much as may be possible, but there are limits to how far that can be taken. As in all things, it’s takes two to tango and you aren’t going to have a constructive conversation if one party is packing nothing but flamethrowers. Let’s keep in mind that Limbaugh was the bright bulb who jumped into the fray before Barack had even had time to find the Oval Office bathroom and flatly stated he wants the new administration to fail. Is this somebody who is likely to come to the table for bipartisan discussions? Is this a voice which the loyal opposition should be modeling themselves after?
As to giving Rush a “bigger microphone” that’s a bit tough to swallow. The number of people who have even the slightest passing interest in politics (along with a pulse) who haven’t heard of Limbaugh could likely be measured on one hand. Even if you admire Rush’s many principled stands, such as his encouragement of law enforcement to root out drug addicts wherever they may lurk, I don’t think he needs anyone coming to his defense at this point in time. Nor does Obama need to be criticized for invoking his name as an example of how not to move forward during this transitional period. Limbaugh, in my opinion, has shown himself to be a dishonest actor in these debates many times over and proved himself a suitable target for ridicule. He is far more interested in bolstering the fortunes of the GOP and his own ratings than actually improving things in America. Obama should bing him up every time he wants to point out the shortcomings of what passes for political debate in our country today.
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9 Responses to “Saying Goodbye to Rush”
“Let’s keep in mind that Limbaugh was the bright bulb who jumped into the fray before Barack had even had time to find the Oval Office bathroom and flatly stated he wants the new administration to fail.”
Don't forget about that lovable number that Limbaugh played, oh what was it called, “Barack the Magic…” something or other.
Last sentence: “bing” instead of “bring”?
People shouldn't overreact to Limbaugh, even when he commits the occasional big blunder like the want-Obama-to-fail gaffe. Limbaugh has never been that bad. On the other hand, many others who were, ahem, inspired by him (or by public reaction to a liberal media, and the missing market for a center-right US public that was waiting to be filled), are routinely louder and harsher — in fact, they constitute one of a number of reasons why I often listen to what's still largely an underground cult phenomenon, left-wing (far left) talk radio.
Had the author of the post had similar reaction to Keith Olbermann telling the 43rd President to “Shut the hell up”…..I would be more moved by his unbiased critique of political discourse.
That's the same Olbermann who actually read the text of Obama's nomination acceptance speech aloud before Obama gave the speech itself. (Obama's team occasionally makes blunders — Limbaugh is hardly the only one, much less the worst offender, nowhere close — and releasing the text before the speech was made rather than after it was made was one of those rare blunders. Yes, some idiot or stupid Obama-worshipper would start reading the text aloud and ruin it for those of us waiting to hear Obama speak. Though Olbermann is one of the worst idiots, unlike Limbaugh a true standout.)
DLS-
I know you are a conservative- but I can't believe you are defending Rush. Time after time he has misled his audience and antagonized all but the far right- no he is not center right in any sense of the word.
And when the heat gets a little hot- he falls back on that lame line that he is an 'entertainer”- as if bashing liberals 24/7 is an entertaining enterprise. Limbaugh is never held accountable for misinforming the public. He's also a hack for the RNC.
BTW- I do remember that Rush wasn't exactly heartbroken at the thought of a Democratic victory in '08. Why? Because he knew there would be hard if not disastrous times ahead that he could blame on the Dems for the next 4 years—in the hopes of reviving the longterm prospects of the GOP.
In a nutshell, he does better on offense than defense- and was tired of carrying water for a failed administration.
Limbaugh is a perfectly appropriate target for what's wrong with America. I encourage Obama to invoke him all the time. Limbaugh may have spawned an even more unsavory gang of thugs, but he is the Queen Bee of the far right hate brigade.
I say “Bring it on”, Elrod.
As Rick Moran postulates……Obama broke the first rule of political gunslinging: never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel—or in the case of Rush Limbaugh, someone with 23 million daily listeners and 3 hours every day with which to make you look like an idiot.
Limbaugh correctly diagnosed Obama’s attack:
There are two things going on here. One prong of the Great Unifier’s plan is to isolate elected Republicans from their voters and supporters by making the argument about me and not about his plan. He is hoping that these Republicans will also publicly denounce me and thus marginalize me. And who knows? Are ideological and philosophical ties enough to keep the GOP loyal to their voters? Meanwhile, the effort to foist all blame for this mess on the private sector continues unabated when most of the blame for this current debacle can be laid at the feet of the Congress and a couple of former presidents. And there is a strategic reason for this.
It won’t be much of a war. Obama can’t respond to Limbaugh every day while Rush will pummel him mercilessly. He was going to do so anyway but now Obama has made it personal. Aside from being a stupid move, it is simply bad politics.
I disagree. Obama can't fight Limbaugh and his followers by ignoring the reality of their existence.
He needs to bring Limbaugh's hate-filled tactics to light in order to clear the air. Limbaugh will go after any politician with a (D) after their name in order to protect his corporate sponsors and satisfy his conservative audience. Nothing Bill Clinton or Barack Obama have done or could ever do would satisfy this group- who exist primarily to oppose liberalism and centrism— regardless of whether the basis of that opposition is rational or not.