Rush's 15th Anniversary
 

So Friday was Limbaugh's (sp?) 15th anniversary of his synidcated radio program. Although I am a conservative I find him to be a bit pompous and annoying. It sometimes bothers me that he doesn't seem to ever consider views other than his own very seriously. Any thoughts on his impact on American political thought?

Re: Rush's 15th Anniversary
 

He's still on the air?

Seriously, what Lush Rimshot has brought to the political table is that appealing to other base motives besides personal greed has traction in the rural areas. You don't have to have facts or even be coherent as long as you control the mic and can shout down anyone who disagrees with you. Of course he also brought to the modern political debate the gem of sugar coated hate.

2Wolves

Rush has had an impact on American politics, of that there can be no doubt. The problem is that his impact has been almost entirely negative.

He has used his status as the 800-pound gorilla of talk radio to keep competing voices off the air, such as Randi Rhodes, whose syndicator has refused to play her show nationally because Limbaugh threatened to jump ship if it were. He has pioneered the use of strawman arguments, nonfacts, argumenta ad hominem, and the mute button as debate tools, proving again and again his willingness to lie, misdirect, change the subject, insult, and even forcibly silence a caller if it will allow him to win an argument or squelch a dissenting viewpoint. He has raised hypocrisy to an art form. For example, he spent years pillorying Bill Clinton repeatedly over Clinton's activities during Vietnam, but was himself granted a medical dispensation because he had... (wait for it)... a cyst on his ass. He has spawned hordes of mindless fanatics called "dittoheads" whose sole aim in life is apparently to call into the show, get on the air, and tell Rush that he's right. He has created imitators by the score, including Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, who taken as a whole are nothing more than a pack of screeching weasels flooding the talk-radio space with the Republican spin-point du jour. He's singlehandedly managed to lower the tenor and tone of the national dialogue to something more resembling what you'd likely overhear in the alley behind a dive bar in the slums.

Personally, I hold Rush Limbaugh personally accountable for a large percentage of the ugliness, intolerance, bigotry, homophobia, smugness, and outright hate that's swept America in recent years. Al Franken was right about one thing, at least: Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot.

You want my opinion? Rush is a festering cyst on the ass of America, and needs to be surgically removed, posthaste.

never listened to the man. i heard he was worse than o'reilly.

he is...although slightly less irritating and pompous and without the blind allegiance to republicans as that puppet hannity.

Congrats Rush. What I always admired about Limbaugh was how much he loved what he did. He was/is an agente provacatuer...loves doing it, and does a great job at it. He has pissed me off, and made me smile.

You just have to appreciate talent. He's got it in droves.

im conservative myself, im a big fan of sean hannity, but i find rush to be way over the top way too often. but i take it with a grain of salt and just consider it entertainment. rush pioneered the political talk radio circuit and made it what it is today. anyone that takes him seriously and gets offended by what he says either has to loosen up or just not listen to him. he enjoys what he does and i get a kick out of it, even if i dont agree with him. congrats rush, and i cant wait to see you do football analysis on ESPN

I sense a deep envy from those of you that are obviously liberal, or at least a Democrat. Know why there's no liberal answer to Rush? They haven't found one with the talent to match, nor the knowledge of politics. Is he pompous? Sure, and perhaps after 15 years without any serious challenge, we might be too. Is he conservative? Obviously. But mostly he's right and thoughtful. For those that want to slam him, you are doing so without any direct knowledge. How often do you listen? Have you ever listened? Admittedly, Rush is an acquired taste, over time. I have to admit I enjoy him tremendously, especially when he trashes the parrot message(s) of the Democrats. Do they ever have a pure thought on their own?

He's certainly right but rarely correct. Why do you believe he doesn't do transcrpts? Too easy to show how very factually impaired his ravings are.

I used to listen as I had no choice (boss was a huge ditto ape) and could refute off the top of my head over 60% of his bushwa, with ease. Critical thought is not his forte.

2Wolves

I think that what is more entertaining than Rush, is that so many liberals think that he is serious 100% of the time. He's as much an entertainer as he is an informer, if not moreso. Get a grip.

This is a demonstrably untrue statement. There are quite a few liberal radio hosts with a political acumen that dwarfs Rush's. You just have to know where to find them. That's the real crux of the problem: the axis of money and corporate self-interest keeps liberals off the air. In other words, you've got no basis to make that statement because there are virtually no nationally syndicated liberal radio broadcasts. I can think of exactly one off the top of my head. But don't even try to claim that liberal radio hosts don't have political acumen. Ever hear of Jim Hightower?

Also demonstrably untrue. Far from thoughtful, he's vitriolic, snide, and toweringly arrogant. He's profoundly intolerant of any viewpoint anywhere to the left of his own small-minded opinions. For more, I recommend David Niewert's excellent publication, Rush, Newspeak, and Fascism (PDF file)

Really? I listen a couple of times a week. He's never yet said anything to indicate to me that he's anything short of ambulatory slime.

You're kidding, right? Are you even remotely aware of how hypocritical that statement is?

"A modern-day warrior
Mean mean stride,
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean mean pride."

Oh wait...nevermind.

What is the difference between Rush and the Hindenburg?

One is a huge flaming gas bag, the other is a dirigible.:D

Actually, the key player behind of lot of these conservative commentators on TV is a guy named Roger Ailes, a sort of conservative/Republican media hitman who's been working the media since Nixon. He's the one who got Rush Limbaugh on TV, and he's the one who basically put together the commentator team on Fox New for Rupert Murdoch, and now essentially runs the place. Here's the URL to a bio of the guy (somewhat slanted, but a good chronology), and you can see how much one guy with no scruples and a lot of money behind him can do in America.

http://home.earthlink.net/~zkkatz/page86.html

We have some clowns on the airwaves here in Oz, but they seem pretty tame compared to what I've heard of Rush.

The Ailes connection is interesting. I'd love to overhear a meeting between him and Murdoch, see who has what kind of control over the Fox flagship.

It's pretty typical for radio talkshow personalities that host the call-in debate style political forums to behave like Rush, although typically less over-the-top. Rush is an entertainer and syndicated, which gives him more notoriety.

Instead of pulling my hair out about the sad state of American media, I try to listen to more thoughtful programs such as those found on NPR and local public access radio, and encourage others to do the same when I have the opportunity.

After listening to well-balanced forums where dissenters aren't hung up on or shouted down, the other radio talkshow hosts are exposed for the blowhards they are.

Are you suggesting that NPR and public radio/television is politically balanced? If so, <insert laughter>.

Although NPR/ATC is by no means "balanced' (find me a show that is these days), they tend to represent a far greater diversity of view than most news shows. They also present the material in a far more thought provoking way than the mindless drek found on most news radio (or TV for that matter).

I should clarify that the forums I find on local public access radio are more balanced, because they present a panel with (sometimes) widely differing beliefs; as well as accept calls from people that may be diametrically opposed to the views of the panel, and allow them to have their say, as long as it is done in a thoughtful and coherent fashion.

People like Rush Limbaugh just sit at the mic and spout their view of things. Sometimes those things sound *right* because of the conviction of the speaker and because you don't hear anyone else's point of view or perspective.

This isn't isolated to the Conservative wing. Being from San Francisco, I can attest that there are just as many crackpot blowhards leaning to the left. But the thread is about Rush.

As for NPR in particular, obviously it has a left-leaning bias in reporting. I think it does a better job of being balanced than shows (yes, I think of them as entertainment) such as Fox News and CNN.

I've got an idea for a "fair and balanced" news show. It's gonna be called <i>Family Reunion</i> an basically all the pundits are going to sit around for a socially awkward 2 hour slot and talk about the weather and chicken salad while trying to avoid any mention of politics, sex or religion.

What’s really funny is for 15 years Rush has been full of shit and stayed on the air. I’m a hardcore liberal, and for some reason I torture myself on a daily basis by listening to him. Thank you Rush, you are the reason I am a liberal. I love the fact that he screens his calls. Notice that you never get an intelligent sounding liberal or Democratic voice on the show? This is not because they don’t exist; the reason he never has an intelligent person with views other than his own is because Rush could never hold his own in a real debate with rules of engagement. He would rather get a young college girl or 90-year-old man he can speak down to and mute out while he jabbers on about how liberals are the problem of the world. He spits pompous opinions and leaves mute the facts that are at the heart of many issues he talks about. It would be a gift from god if I could get thru on that show and debate him over the war in Iraq w/o him using the mute button or blithering so damn loud nothing can be heard. As far as no one else having the skills he has; HAHAHAHA you call that skill? Man no wonder most conservatives listen to crappy music. One more comment, how can you be conservative and weigh 300lbs?

I think that what is more disturbing than Rush, is that so many conservatives think that he is serious 100% of the time. He's as much an informer as he is an entertainer, if not moreso.

It's not so much that he screens his calls, or that they don't exist, it's just that conservatives are right about everything always, and that's an undeniable fact, so either way it doesn't really matter. :cool:

:crazy: :lol:

[QUOTE]How can you be conservative and still weigh 300 pounds?

This definitely shows that your comments are based on hearsay. Rush weighs no where close to 300 pounds. He's probably lost 100 pounds over the last year.
Try to keep your comments at least half way intelligent.

Oh yeah. . . .get a grip!!!!

I love listening to rush limbaugh.... doesnt mean always i agree with him, but whenever i listen he has something funny to say.

You Liberals just don't like people like Rush/O' Reilly/ and Hannity cause they stomp on your non-sensical viewpoints with the truth and common sense.

What viewpoints? They don't allow anyone who disagrees to even state their views.

It's easy to win an argument when you hold down mute while the other person speaks.

I find it amusing as well that you consider anyone who doesn't like Rush to be a Liberal. There are plenty of Republicans that think he's a jackass, as well. As far as I can tell, the argument isn't even about Liberal vs. Conservative. It's about them being obnoxious windbags that do a disservice to this country by disseminating intolerance and bigotry; their success is abundantly evident in your attitude.

Rush, I'll agree is a fat piece of trash. O' Reilly is a little rough around the edges, but he will let other people speak. Hannity is extremely civil (he looks like a saint when put in the same paragraph as these two.

hell yeah, but can only stand him once in awhile

This isn't entirely a true statement. Usually, he'll let you talk - but he'll talk over you and shout you down. On occasion, though, when he's losing an argument, he's been known to tell interviewees to "shut up, just shut up" - and then tell his staff to "cut his [the caller's] mic." This was on the FOX TV O'Reilly Factor a few months ago - really amusing to see him lose his cool in this fashion. He even delivered some very, very nasty insults off-camera. Trust me, O'Reilly isn't all sweetness and light. Not by a long shot.

Appearances can be deceiving. Hannity is every bit as nasty as Rush, but he makes it sound more reasonable via extensive use of strawmen and bogus facts. He's also not averse to muting callers. I'm pretty sure I can provide documentation of all of this, if you wish.

I see evidence of niether intolerance or bigotry...nor that it is abundantly evident in ~your oppositions~ attitude?

Care to clarify?

-b-

After reading ctembreull's posts, I just want to say "Megadittos." You da man.

prb:

If I didn't think you were agreeing with me, I'd thrash you soundly for megadittoing me. :D

I wonder if this is a good time to post one of my favorite MP3s... yeah, it is. Without further ado, hear Rush Limbaugh, in his own words: "I'm a Nazi!"

heh 100 down a couple more to go :rolleyes:

that was a joke brotha man. The rest of my post still stands true. Rush wont tell you all the facts if they present a conservative view in a negative light, and he is still a pompus jackass no matter how much the he weighs. Any one who uses the statement "Talent on loan from God" to describe themselves, needs to have a "foot on loan from xxMSAxx" put up thier ass.

I use to listen to Rush all the time, he is very "convincing" in his point of view. Back when Clinton was the man, lots of amusing things were happening and it was funny to hear his spin, even if I didn't agree.

However, the Rush I hear occassionaly these days is painfully arrogant, belligerent and self-righteous. His contempt for the unemployed, uneducated and less fortunate than himself is withering. His delivery doesn't convince me he is just being entertaining anymore. His approach is much more a hard sell of his opinion, doused with hate.

He has become a complete corporate whore for the Bush administration. He will justify any actions they take, no matter how defying of logic that action is. It makes me feel like giving him a dose of "attitude adjustment" with an aluminum softball bat . . .

I like it when people talk about how hateful and intolerant Rush is and then they talk about how much they hate him and want him to be silenced. It keeps the comedy in politics. Thanks guys! :D I wonder if the ACLU would defend him if they tried to ban him from the radio. Tolerance is a two-way street. Hate is a one-way ticket to destroying yourself.

Rush is entertainment. I disagree with the majority of what he throws out there, but I admire his passion for his craft. I can't believe people take him all that seriously, for both those that agree with him and disagree with him.