Liberal comedian Al Franken wrote a book titled Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot.
Conservative David Frum wrote this week’s cover story for Newsweek Magazine under the title “Why Rush Is Wrong.”
I have avoided the comic opera now playing between Limbaugh and the White House which has borrowed Clintonian tactics of setting up Rush as a straw man.
Despite how much Rush huffs and puffs, he represents to me a loud out-of-touch voice of the conservative movement and thereby a blotch on the Republican Party if it ever expects to win back Congress and the White House.
Rush’s critics are violating all the rules of communication:
Never battle a radio talk show host who is on the air three hours a day, five days a week. Same goes for picking a fight with a newspaper which buys its ink by the barrel.
Limbaugh is the best at what he does. He makes millions at it. Good for him. His legions of fans consider him the oracle of the conservative movement if not common sense.
But keep this in mind. Limbaugh is elected to nothing. He is not shackled by Republican politicians whom he favors and who must make decisions to help their constituents and seek re-election.
In truth, he is an entertainer as rightfully defined by Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele. He is also a comedian sarcastically dubbed by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann who now calls him “Boss Limbaugh” since the Republican Party at this time is leaderless as well as rudderless.
Limbaugh possesses an ego so inflated it makes Bill O’Reilly appear a humble man. His challenge to fly President Obama to his station in Palm Beach for a debate was show business taken to the nth degree.
Okay, I admit Obama made a rookie mistake by naming Limbaugh in a well-publicized remark.
Rush is a bigot and oftentimes mean-spirited. His brief fling as a sports commentator ended abruptly when he claimed Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because he was black. Last week talking about President Obama’s health care plan, he suggested it should be called “The Kennedy Memorial Health Plan,” a direct slap at Sen. Ted Kennedy who is suffering from brain cancer and a lifelong proponent of universal health coverage.
These are not isolated potshots at Limbaugh. They are consistent blemishes throughout his 15 years on national radio.
It matters little that I am one of those 64% or whatever the number who look unfavorably on Rush Limbaugh. The fact is, people the likes of Limbaugh spewing their rigid ideology drove me away from the Republican Party years ago.
That is why it was refreshing to read Frum’s article where he proposed a fresh approach of conservative principles tailored to today’s culture and economy.
It is the absence of good reasoning and intellectual thought why I chose to skip the circus surrounding the current Limbaugh shenanigans. It sounds good, is a lot of fun, but signifies nothing. Far as I’m concerned, it’s just another pissing contest.
Cross posted on The Remmers Report
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Jerry Remmers worked 26 years in the newspaper business. His last 23 years was with the Evening Tribune in San Diego where assignments included reporter, assistant city editor, county and politics editor.