Rush Limbaugh Does It Again
How many times can I write about Rush Limbaugh hitting a new low? So I’ll let direct you to Megan McArdle, Andrew Sullivan, Dallas Morning News columnist Rod Dreher, and Conor Friedersdorf, let them do it. And you can find some others on this page. I’ll just say: “Ditto.”
His fans will always insist, “You don’t get Rush.” Or “Rush was only joking.” Or they will go on the attack and try to discredit anyone who they doesn’t “get it” (oh, I think Rush’s critics do get it..) But it’s clear where he is going on this one.
Talk radio has some truly positive attributes (getting people more involved in politics, a rallying point for political parties to make their case, an outlet for free expression) but Limbaugh has come to reflect some of its most toxic aspects — and he is continuing his steady descent as his political influence solidifies and increases in the GOP’s rank and file. Limbaugh is to thoughtful, constructive dialogue and accuracy what diving into a septic tank is to healthy swimming.
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46 Responses to “Rush Limbaugh Does It Again”
[...] about Andrew Sullivan as of September 17, 2009 Rush Limbaugh Does It Again – themoderatevoice.com 09/17/2009 How many times can I write about Rush Limbaugh hitting a [...]
“How many times can I write about Rush Limbaugh hitting a new low?”
How many times can you cry “wolf” when there is no wolf, just to encourage the children to bash Limbaugh? What did he say? (Nobody cares about what various clucking hens had to say about it.)
Surprising that a post the reaction of Rush Limbaugh about the racial bus attack in Belleville, ILL when no one at themdoeratevoice actually made a post about the actual attack or the local cover up.
Look at how the left controls the agenda. After the viewing of the video, the local police said that is was a hate crime. The next day the police backed down mainly because blacks cannot be accused of hate crimes in the U.S. Then the St Louis Post-Dispatch runs an interview with a black alibi witness who claims that the white kid deserved to get his ass kicked because he touched something belong to the violent criminal. Of course, the claims of the students on the bus are not supported by the video but the local school and law enforcement do not care. They now have an excuse to sweep it under the run.
My guess is that the attackers will be back in school in a few days and that it will be open season on white students in Belleville because law enforcement, school officials, local government, and state government are working overtime to find an excuse for the violent behavior.
OF course, even President Obama is smart enough not to let his daughters attend a school that is more than a few percent black. President Obama knows what happens when black culture becomes the dominate culture in a school and he knows to avoid it.
And the usual suspects chime in to implicitly, and not so implicitly, give Limbaugh a pass.
Apparently, the right is completely immune to even the very thought of racism, while the left is a festering pool of racist inhumanity.
I guess it's never about for race for you fellas (and its always fellas, isn't it)…until it's about race you can use to justify garbage.
Limbaugh is a blowhard and is best left ignored. Love him or hate him its pretty apparent that he is just a Conservative Nancy Pelosi spewing off ridiculous partisan spin.
Quick! Run! It's NANCY PELOSI. She strikes fear (and loathing) into the heart of 50 to 80 year old white, Fox watching males everywhere. Legislator, wife, mother and grandmother, whatever will we do if she actually speaks in public? Why–muzzle and demonize that female–who dares to try and influence legislation put forth by good old boys, who know how the game is played.
It's tiresome, to say the least. And doesn't work for anyone who's not in the tank already. The echo chamber is booming, boys.
How come, if this is the 'Moderate Voice, you only seem to call out people on the right for their idiotic statements? I'd say there is an equal amount of idiocy from both sides so that there would be a balance between right and left idiocy on any given day.
Joe,
I just wanted to take a minute and express my appreciation for your daily recitation of the Rush Limbaugh program. I barely have the inclination, much less the available time, to ever listen to it.
However, thanks to your dedication, I am able to stay current with the story line simply by a quick daily check at TMV.
Sincerely,
CasualObserver
p.s. let me also take this opportunity to say I have long been an avid reader of your daily recaps of The Young and The Restless in Soap Opera Digest as well.
Leonidas, “Limbaugh is a blowhard and is best left ignored…”
Agreed, but even if TMV ignored him he's got a huge following and until THEY stop listening it'll just keep going.
Aha! It's that ubiquitous “THEY” group again! Now, we're finally getting to a tangible solution. Thanks for sharing.
Yup, and nothing said here will change that. Limbaugh thrives economically and ratings wise on the outrage of the left (and usually center/center-right as well, myself included) almost as much as on the support of the far-right. He laughs all the way to the bank.
Like they say, don't feed the trolls.
I thought you were smart enough to know that in this context “they” refers to his fans/listeners.
I'll admit I should have been more clear the first time. Thanks for catching me on that CO.
I hear ya, but the blog does say “..with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, and right”.
There are just a lot more left and left-leaning people who can start threads here than right or right-leaning, and currently they are much more prolific in posting their preferred talking points. Not exactly false advertising on The Moderate Voice, just a bias tilt in content, at least at present. I know somedays it looks more like Daily KOS or the Democratic Underground, but thats life. Thats why I post counter examples, because I can't post a thread and someone needs to counter balance, if the thread posting folks aren't able to.
Leonidas and CO -
Sorry, but I just have to ask. If you find TMV so distasteful, why are you here every day? Not that I want you to leave. Your comments are often insightful and thoughtful, but why the constant trashing of the site? You must find something useful or interesting to keep bringing you back.
To completely foil the liberal's governance agenda by the mere utterance of harsh-sounding rhetoric….after all, I'm a conservative…..what else could I possibly be up to?
(Sticks and stones would obviously be too severe a strategy for the sensitive liberal……after all, I do have some modicum of fairness in me.)
I find it interesting how many people express their dislike, disapproval of Limbaugh, yet, every time something is posted in the slightest way critical of him, immediately comment either in his defense or to deflect/soften the criticism.
Just an observation. Nothing to write home about.,
And this is different with other political celebrities on both sides of the political spectrum? Lets be intellectually honest, it isn't just Limbaugh.
Just speaking for myself, and for example, I dislike Dick Cheney and do not jump to his defense every time some critical remarks against him are made. (Sorry, I did do that, just once)
Again, nothing to write home about, or to discuss ad infinitum
And why, Leonidas, do you constantly feel the need to try and equate one political side with the other? You are incessantly trying to make the same point, which is that there is moral equivalency in the *quality* of opposition, right to left.
While, YES, there are kooks on either side of the political spectrum, only one side is being run by the inmates at the asylum. There is not ONE nationally prominent Republican who has the guts to step forward and stare the obvious: that Limbaugh/Beck/Hannity are spreading hate speech, and inflaming latent fears and hatreds. They are doing the political equivalent of shouting “FIRE” in a crowded theater.
These men have MILLIONS of followers, who hang on their every word. There is simply not anything even close to this on the left. NO ONE showed up at Bush events toting unconcealed, loaded weapons. Threats against the president's life have quadrupled (8 a day for Bush, 30 a day for Obama). Does the right hold no responsibility for the actions of the mob it incites?
Young people, people of color, educated people and women are being driven away from the Republican party in droves. Republicans are marginalizing themselves, by tacitly allowing useful idiots to control the tone and color of the debate.
The overall picture is that of a bunch of white, ill bred, uneducated, easily manipulated fools making spectacles of themselves. T'would be funny if they weren't so dangerous.
Thanks for explaining that, Rambie. No, I wasn't smart enough to realize that before.
Now, I better understand how you will simply wish away 15, 20, 25 million people who are obviously lunatics devoid of any rational thought or redeeming human value.
Can you imagine 25 million Sils on the other side of things? Whoa!
@@Young people, people of color, educated people and women are being driven away from the Republican party in droves. Republicans are marginalizing themselves@@
Actually, tidbits, this is a good example of why I come to TMV………only here can you learn things that are true despite of all the logical evidence to the contrary. Only here can liberals state things off the top of their heads and simultaneously make them into facts. It is truly an amazing website, is it not?
PRINCETON, NJ — If the elections for Congress were held today, 50% of U.S. registered voters say they would vote for the Democratic candidate in their district and 44% for the Republican candidate.
However, past data does suggest that Democrats typically need a large lead on the generic ballot among all registered voters in midterm elections to maintain a lead once turnout is taken into account.
In 2001-2002, the average Democratic lead among registered voters in the generic ballot was three points in an election the Republicans eventually won by four points. And in 1998, Democrats enjoyed an average six-point registered voter lead while the eventual House vote was about evenly split between Republican and Democratic candidates.
The six-point Democratic advantage among all registered voters in the current poll suggests the 2010 election could be quite close if it were held today given low turnout in midterm elections and the usual Republican advantages in turnout.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/121946/Early-Read-20…
Actually, CO, you can find unsubstantiated opinion stated as fact, coming from both sides by the way, on almost any site you choose to visit. When you say “Only here” can liberals “state things off the top of their heads and simultaneously make them into facts”, you fall prey to the same conduct you condemn…saying something off the top of your head (opinion – “Only here” does that happen) and make it into a supposed fact.
Sorry, couldn't help pointing out the irony of your critique, followed by employing the same device yourself.
Nobody is giving Limbaugh a pass. What's also not being given a pass is obscession with Limbaugh, Beck, etc., among those well to the left to far left on this “moderate” [sic] Web site and elsewhere.
And where in your post are my statements refuted?
Votes for Obama: Blacks 95%-4%, Hispanics voted 66%-31% for Obama, 56% of the female vote went to Obama, 54% of Catholics voted for Obama, 71% of First time voters voted for Obama, 63% of Asians voted for Obama, 78% of Jewish people voted for Obama, 53% of people making more than $200,000 a year voted for…you guessed it…Obama.
Anyone who thinks there are going to be fewer black, Asian, young, female, educated, Hispanic or Jewish people as a percentage of our population in the future, raise your hand.
Anyone who thinks white people, men in particular, are losing power and influence, and throwing a thinly veiled hissy fit over it, raise your hand.
er…that should be: Anyone who thinks there are going to be fewer black, Asian, young, female, Hispanic, educated or Jewish people as a percentage of our population in the future, raise your hand.
Since bigwigs in the Republican party like kowtow to Rush, he can't be dismissed as just a pompous blowhard. He is that, but unfortunately, has also become a voice for millions of Americans. Whether he deserves it or not, he wields a disturbing amount of power in the GOP.
When he first came on the scene he was more of a bad joke than anything else. Now he is representative of too many on the right, who are taking their cue from him.
“Can you imagine 25 million Sils on the other side of things? Whoa!”
(shudders) Don't speak of such things!
I'm not going to wash away anyone, as Leonidas said, “Limbaugh thrives economically and ratings wise on the outrage ..” I agree, he does thrive on the outrage from both his fan base (far right) and the outrage from others.
“There is not ONE nationally prominent Republican who has the guts to step forward and stare the obvious: that Limbaugh/Beck/Hannity are spreading hate speech, and inflaming latent fears and hatreds. They are doing the political equivalent of shouting “FIRE” in a crowded theater.”
The minute a republican does that, he or she will be basically driven out of the party. Rush has been very successful at creating contempt for conservative people that disagree with him (a.k.a. conservatives that choose to think rather than go along with the crowd). According to Rush, these people are really not conservatives. They are what he calls elitist “blue-blood” republicans. Today on his show, he warned everyone against such people, claiming that if conservatives start listening to them, it will spark a third-party movement that will cause this country to elect democrats for the rest of its existence.
I think it's laughable to hear prominent Republicans trying to minimize the influence that Rush and other commentators have on the Republican party. True, not everyone agrees with him, but try and come out against him, and he'll force you out. There is no room for dissenting views as far as he's concerned. And he compares Obama to a fascist dictator. . .
Ah, but when I do it, tidbits, it is measured editorial hyperbole for effect. When liberals do it, it is baldface lieing. You can appreciate that vital distinction, n'est pas?
CO – do you also give yourself three foot putts?
Years ago, in college, I was working for a radio station. The old-line conservative newscaster who, due to professionalism, tried his very best to be balanced in his work was often criticized by listeners for his too liberal slant.
Over the years I have watched as the news as leaned further & further to the right & still people rant about it being too liberal. Fox is only the logical outcome of this devolution. The Left does NOT lead the discussion, the Right does. If you doubt that, fine, prove me wrong.
Why don't you just shut up about that old canard, please. That noise about the Liberal Media has poisoned broadcasting in this country. The only reason we aren't hearing as many complaints about Conservative Media is because the left is only now just waking up to what squeaky wheels like you have done to degrade the fine, well-balanced & educative service we once had here. I hope it's not too late to repair the system, or it may need to be scrapped.
I'm not going to dignify your complaint about the bus attack (even though I specifically remember reading about it here, with links & everything) but I will say that if you think Rush is a wise man then, sir, you are truly a fool.
And your final paragraph also shows that you are something of a racist. Yeesh!
Get over it! We Lost! They won! It's called Democracy!
Is Nancy on the Radio now? When did that happen?
Idiocy, like hypocrisy, knows no boundaries. Just the Right seem to be abusing their position more lately.
There's also David Adesnik.And Patrick Edaburn. On some issues, Pete Abel. Plus a lot of folks who don't consistently lean either left or right.
In fact, I would say the number of people who post regularly are pretty equally balanced between strong left, strong right, and somewhere in the middle, and that the constant complaints from right-wing readers that this is a flaming left-wing blog are absolute and utter hogwash. The only difference here between left and right is that those of us who are on the left don't whine, complain, and moan and groan about right-wing posts every time one is published (i.e., we object to specific positions on issues, but we don't complain that there are too many of such posts and that The Moderate Voice might as well be called RedState or National Review Online).
My personal take on this, not just from the comments here, but from years of blogging and reading blogs, is that conservatives have a much lower tolerance for differing viewpoints than do liberals. You know, like one black family on the block means the neighborhood is “mixed”? One or two liberal posters on a blog mean the blog is filled with socialists.
A very trenchant observation, though.
Nobody is giving Limbaugh a pass.
Actually, that's exactly what you're doing. At the same time that you come down hard on anyone who criticizes Limbaugh.
Since we're on the topic of “How Liberal/Conservative is this Blog?”, I would also add that it's often very easy to mistake an opinion that criticizes one side for being of the other side, when in fact it is not. For example, in my opinion, criticizing Rush Limbaugh is not inherently a Liberal thing to do, but to a strong Conservative it appears to be so. On the other hand, criticizing the Obama health care plan is not inherently Conservative, but many Liberals seem to think it is. Lately there has been a lot of criticism of the right, but it's coming from both the left and the more objective members of the right, so it appears that things are slanted to the left.
That's just my two cents.
Frith_Ra
The City of Louisville designed a race based busing program to try to keep any school from being predominately black. And why do you think they were trying to do that? President Obama sent his daughters to the Chicago Lab School that was over 80% white and Asian and then sent his daughters to Sidwell Friends that has even fewer blacks. Why do you think that the DC Public Schools are so bad and Sidwell Friends (or ST Albans, Georgetown Prep, the Landon School are so good.
I see you are one of the type who believes that anyone who points out statistical differences between whites and Asians versus blacks or Hispanic is automatically a racist?
Hey Vera, chill out!
I'm a democrat. Have been for most of my adult life But I'm also conservative. Go figure. That's just the political reality in my state (for now).
Nancy Pelosi should strike fear into any American when her leftist spewing is left unchecked – she holds a position of real power in Congress – not a position of opinion-molding like Limbaugh.
I agree with Leonidas (as usual). He's a spin doctor. However, since I refuse to get my information only from liberal outlets like the rest of the sheep, I tune in from time to time to catch a fact or even a spun-fact. I even listen to liberal Ed Shultz from time to time. Of course I think he's 90% crap, but occasionally he comes up with an acorn (pun intended).
My point: It's good to get your information from ALL sources.
Only then can you ensure that you're not drinking Kool Aid.
Leonidas….
You hit on something obvious there. It's just another piece of proof that most media outlets are liberal or left-leaning at best. Blogs get their tidbits from these outlets, and there ya go.
Unlike many others, I don't blanket Fox with a “Right wing” label. The individual shows are definitely conservative – it gets ratings (like Limbaugh).
However, their NEWS is actually right down the center. Chris Wallace and Brit Hume report the facts as they should – and truly let the listener decide.
What say you?
“These men have MILLIONS of followers, who hang on their every word. There is simply not anything even close to this on the left. NO ONE showed up at Bush events toting unconcealed, loaded weapons…”
Are you stoned, Vera? Do yo actually believe what you write?
“not anything close to this on the left” – What do you call tens of millions of Obama-manics calling a conservative a racist for disagreeing with their messiah's message of socialism?
Isn't that yelling “fire” in a crowded theatre as well?
And you mentioned “toting unconcealed weapons”…… That's legal. And it is not a threat, it's a form of message to liberals like you, Obama, and Pelosi that says “You will not take away my Constitutional right to bear arms”. It's blatant passive resistance. It's not as heroic as a black man sitting at an white-only counter in Alabama, but it is nonetheless passive resistance.
For the supposed death threat data that you failed to back up with a source…. You should expect a few more death threats when you threaten the very way of life of millions of your constituents. Socialism scares the crap out of most Americans.
And as for the original story…. Let me get this straight, cause I heard this on Ed Shultz two days ago:
A group of white guys terrorizing a bus of blacks is a “hate crime”.
A group of black guys terrorizing a bus of whites is class warfare.
Yeah. That sounds fair.
If nobody is giving Limbaugh a pass, then where is the outrage and rejection of his viewpoints from those on the right? I'm not specifically talking about those on the blog, but in the positions of power in the Republican party- i.e. the higher ups in the RNC. I don't think many in the GOP have the fortitude to take him on, and those that have usually end up apologizing to him.
The Republicans need to reject his vindictive POV, if they ever want to become a Big Tent party again. As it stands, the party is shrinking. Those who remain either agree with him or lack the temerity to offer an alternative to voters.
How many Limbaugh listeners would consider voting for a minority presidential candidate? And pls, Michael Steele is powerless tokenism at its worst.
My personal take is that from years of reading blogs, is conservatives have a much lower tolerance for Liberal viewpoints than Liberals have of Liberal viewpoints. I also add that Liberals have a much lower tolerance for Conservative viewpoints than Conservatives have of Conservative viewpoints. Finally I will add that Very Liberal and very Conservative folk have a lower tolerance of moderate viewpoints than do the rest of the sane in the universe.
Oddly many moderates love to debate for hours since they like changing their views and learning new things unlike either extreme.
Other than that everything you said was perfect I just wanted to attach this PS since honestly I really think it is true as well.
The thing that sets Limbaugh apart from the liberal , and sometimes equally obnoxious blowhards, is the size of his audience. Between 10-30 million people listen to him every day— so he can no longer be dismissed as a fringe nutjob.
Time magazine named him in their 100 most influential people—- That SHOULD scare the pants off more rational folk.