Rush Limbaugh on TV in 1990
August 17, 2010 9:43 PM Subscribe
also, i'd like to direct your attention to the crazy ladies clapping at around 1:10. I was impressed by their fervor.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:53 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:53 PM on August 17, 2010
I heard that guy was a big fat idiot.
posted by Schmucko at 10:03 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Schmucko at 10:03 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
ha ha ha look at that asshole.
posted by carsonb at 10:05 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 10:05 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's hard to believe somebody could do worse than Pat Sajak.
posted by EmGeeJay at 10:05 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by EmGeeJay at 10:05 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Rush Limbaugh is what would happen if Eric Cartman grew up and lost his sense of humor.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:07 PM on August 17, 2010 [32 favorites]
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:07 PM on August 17, 2010 [32 favorites]
While I agree with the audience members, and the first woman to speak, I do wish that they had spoken calmly and in a more respectful manner- talking to Rush rather than yelling at him and interrupting him while he was speaking. I think they would have come off a lot better and I think that when people act like that they give a bad name to whatever they're representing.
I also suspect that their actions pleased Rush as it made him look like he was just a poor guy whose opinions were being ignored and disrespected, and thus made him sympathetic to some of the viewers.
posted by lauratheexplorer at 10:07 PM on August 17, 2010
I also suspect that their actions pleased Rush as it made him look like he was just a poor guy whose opinions were being ignored and disrespected, and thus made him sympathetic to some of the viewers.
posted by lauratheexplorer at 10:07 PM on August 17, 2010
“He came out full of bluster and left a very shaken man,” a CBS executive later said. “I had never seen a man sweat as much in my life.”
A Bully Gets Bullied: Why Rush Limbaugh Never Became the Next Oprah
posted by PHINC at 10:10 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
A Bully Gets Bullied: Why Rush Limbaugh Never Became the Next Oprah
posted by PHINC at 10:10 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Jerry. Jerry. Jerry.
I like Michael Smerconish's recent characterisation of Limbo: he's Captain Lou Albano and he treats every issue as it it were the Iron Sheik.
Albano described the strategy behind his overblown, ranting interview style: "I just remember the point I wanna bring across, and then I just babble before, during, and after. Somehow, in the middle, I said the two or three sentences that sold tickets. Mostly, I just tried to make people want to see me get my ass kicked, and along the way, hopefully the guy I was managing would catch a beating too!"
Albano was entertaining. Limbo much, much less so, but he's an entertainer none the less. That's the only thing he is: an entertainer. He provides 3 hours of validation everyday for his bigoted, ignorant, racist, audience - and it sells tickets.
Now put him into the squared-circle with the Sheik. I'd buy a ticket to see that.
posted by three blind mice at 10:13 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
I like Michael Smerconish's recent characterisation of Limbo: he's Captain Lou Albano and he treats every issue as it it were the Iron Sheik.
Albano described the strategy behind his overblown, ranting interview style: "I just remember the point I wanna bring across, and then I just babble before, during, and after. Somehow, in the middle, I said the two or three sentences that sold tickets. Mostly, I just tried to make people want to see me get my ass kicked, and along the way, hopefully the guy I was managing would catch a beating too!"
Albano was entertaining. Limbo much, much less so, but he's an entertainer none the less. That's the only thing he is: an entertainer. He provides 3 hours of validation everyday for his bigoted, ignorant, racist, audience - and it sells tickets.
Now put him into the squared-circle with the Sheik. I'd buy a ticket to see that.
posted by three blind mice at 10:13 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
LOLIMBAUGH?
Well, that was a disaster he most certainly could never recover from, except he did.
In terms of total income from putting on a show over the last 20 years (since that disaster), Rush is second only to Oprah.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:15 PM on August 17, 2010
Well, that was a disaster he most certainly could never recover from, except he did.
In terms of total income from putting on a show over the last 20 years (since that disaster), Rush is second only to Oprah.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:15 PM on August 17, 2010
I remember working the night shift 15 years ago, I knew embarrassingly little about politics, but I used to put the Rush Limbaugh show on since there was nothing else on TV. I was paired up with a different coworker from night to night, and invariably they would watch a little bit of it and conclude he was an idiot. I guess that brings me to where my workplace was. I was in the military and this was in a flight ops center. Ironic that at that point my political compass started to be set right.
(After a couple of weeks of that I brought in my converter box and started putting on HBO to get through midnight shifts... until one night a lieutenant colonel came in to get a briefing. At some point we looked up and there on the TV a nude scene was going full steam. I apologized and shut it down, and nothing more came of it, but from then on I brought books to work.)
posted by crapmatic at 10:18 PM on August 17, 2010
(After a couple of weeks of that I brought in my converter box and started putting on HBO to get through midnight shifts... until one night a lieutenant colonel came in to get a briefing. At some point we looked up and there on the TV a nude scene was going full steam. I apologized and shut it down, and nothing more came of it, but from then on I brought books to work.)
posted by crapmatic at 10:18 PM on August 17, 2010
The woman at the beginning is fantastic. She screams and cheers and gets his attention and then makes her point clearly and directly in a way which leaves Rush, yes, clearly shaken. The other guy, much as I respect his intentions, sounded like a guy trying to start a riot in the wrong crowd. The woman had the better approach.
I was also chilled by Rush's talent for regaining composure to spin things in his direction, and the man actually does have a very good voice for this sort of thing. But I loved his inability to control an audience, and the ineffective way in which he tried to claim that those protesting were trying to silence him, making the audience to be the oppressors of Rush Limbaugh, that poor little man with the national tv show.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:19 PM on August 17, 2010
I was also chilled by Rush's talent for regaining composure to spin things in his direction, and the man actually does have a very good voice for this sort of thing. But I loved his inability to control an audience, and the ineffective way in which he tried to claim that those protesting were trying to silence him, making the audience to be the oppressors of Rush Limbaugh, that poor little man with the national tv show.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:19 PM on August 17, 2010
While I agree with the audience members, and the first woman to speak, I do wish that they had spoken calmly and in a more respectful manner- talking to Rush rather than yelling at him and interrupting him while he was speaking. I think they would have come off a lot better and I think that when people act like that they give a bad name to whatever they're representing.
I absolutely and completely agree with the principles behind this argument.
That said, I find the approach to be ineffective in light of the "high road" efforts that have been made by Democrats in recent elections. Hyperbole, gross exaggeration, and criminal reinterpretation of facts have enabled the Right to perpetuate the illusion that there exists a conspiracy to deprive white, middle-class men of their right to call all the shots; though I believe that rational discourse can solve rational problems, isn't there room for agitation and rampant, volatile disagreement in issues where the interests of the few are given greater consideration than the interests of society as a whole? In other words, don't these women have every right to be outraged?
posted by Graygorey at 10:29 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
I absolutely and completely agree with the principles behind this argument.
That said, I find the approach to be ineffective in light of the "high road" efforts that have been made by Democrats in recent elections. Hyperbole, gross exaggeration, and criminal reinterpretation of facts have enabled the Right to perpetuate the illusion that there exists a conspiracy to deprive white, middle-class men of their right to call all the shots; though I believe that rational discourse can solve rational problems, isn't there room for agitation and rampant, volatile disagreement in issues where the interests of the few are given greater consideration than the interests of society as a whole? In other words, don't these women have every right to be outraged?
posted by Graygorey at 10:29 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Hyperbole, gross exaggeration, and criminal reinterpretation of facts have enabled the Right to perpetuate the illusion that there exists a conspiracy to deprive white, middle-class men of their right to call all the shots;
But there do seem to be a great deal of people who will call someone out for doing that- for example with the case of Glenn Beck, who seems to fit your bill pretty well. From what I have seen he is universally hated by the internet (with the exception of the members of his website.)
though I believe that rational discourse can solve rational problems, isn't there room for agitation and rampant, volatile disagreement in issues where the interests of the few are given greater consideration than the interests of society as a whole? In other words, don't these women have every right to be outraged?
Of course they have the right to be outraged when their lives are at stake- and I forgive them for getting heated in their talking to Rush, but I think that their message would have come across better had they acted calmer and this would have benefitted them more.
posted by lauratheexplorer at 10:35 PM on August 17, 2010
But there do seem to be a great deal of people who will call someone out for doing that- for example with the case of Glenn Beck, who seems to fit your bill pretty well. From what I have seen he is universally hated by the internet (with the exception of the members of his website.)
though I believe that rational discourse can solve rational problems, isn't there room for agitation and rampant, volatile disagreement in issues where the interests of the few are given greater consideration than the interests of society as a whole? In other words, don't these women have every right to be outraged?
Of course they have the right to be outraged when their lives are at stake- and I forgive them for getting heated in their talking to Rush, but I think that their message would have come across better had they acted calmer and this would have benefitted them more.
posted by lauratheexplorer at 10:35 PM on August 17, 2010
Putting aside what you think of Rush Limbaugh, it's weird that this was the Pat Sajak Show. Imagine thinking that you're going to a standard late-night chat show and going to this.
posted by roll truck roll at 10:47 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by roll truck roll at 10:47 PM on August 17, 2010
Rush Limbaugh is a smart mother fucker.
He is the godfather of free speech zones.
He is slick and media savvy. The video linked happened 20 years ago. Since then he has been smart enough to avoid an audience that isn't pre-screened. AND he has only become more influential. The deadlock in congress, the one perpetrated by Republicans, is his doing. It's no accident that his declaration that Obama needs to fail was followed by total resistance from Senate Repiblicans.
This video does nothing to diminish his influence.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:48 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
He is the godfather of free speech zones.
He is slick and media savvy. The video linked happened 20 years ago. Since then he has been smart enough to avoid an audience that isn't pre-screened. AND he has only become more influential. The deadlock in congress, the one perpetrated by Republicans, is his doing. It's no accident that his declaration that Obama needs to fail was followed by total resistance from Senate Repiblicans.
This video does nothing to diminish his influence.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:48 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Rush is neither slick nor media savvy. He's an instrument. He probably thinks that he is where he is because he's some kind of Goebbelsian wizard, but people far more powerful than he have placed him there precisely because he appeals to an audience that brings exactly zero intellectual rigour to the table. It doesn't take a genius to whip up a populist shitstorm of fear and hatred.
Can you point to one thing that Rush has said or written that made you think, "damn, that guy is a genius!"
posted by klanawa at 11:58 PM on August 17, 2010 [3 favorites]
Can you point to one thing that Rush has said or written that made you think, "damn, that guy is a genius!"
posted by klanawa at 11:58 PM on August 17, 2010 [3 favorites]
I remember seeing Rush on the tube in the early 90's, before I knew anything about him. He was screaming something about how the Clinton's were hippies in love beads and sandals, which immediately removed any credibility from his rhetoric whatsoever from my point of view. Also, the audience applause looked faked. I moved on and never listened to him again. This was before dittoheads and him being thought some kind of genius or equally unlikely personage. He probably could have scored me a cigar box full of vikes at that point.
Like the man said, no one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
posted by telstar at 12:13 AM on August 18, 2010
Like the man said, no one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
posted by telstar at 12:13 AM on August 18, 2010
When Obama refused to play ball with these scumbags by not going on Fox, seemed to me the only way to deal with them. Rise above, but don't give them anything. His caving on that -- because he's a decent human being, who doesn't want to play the games these garbage cans play -- I think that his caving on that was a big mistake. Keep the pressure on THEM, keep it pointed out that they are just windbags, and yeah, their insane audiences would be jumping up and down, but they're jumping up and down anyway, what's it matter?
David Foster Wallace called Limbaugh a once in a generation talent and he called it right. Limbaugh is great at what he does, a superstar, he's just an odie-dumbfuck with a big mouth but he's got presidents at his call, he can make things happen and he does make things happen, he's talked millions of people into the political stance of resentment, and once he's got them onto that plane he can take them anywhere he wants, they're hooked. Get a master hypnotist, he gets people resentful, get them thinking -- nope, get them *knowing* -- get them knowing that they're getting screwed, then the hypnotist comes across with an answer for them "It's those people that've screwed you, and our country!"
Like religion, it's manipulative, and Rush is the best on the planet at that game. Maybe it is a religion -- is it a religion? I don't see that they wear special hats or robes, they're not (I hope) molesting kids out back, they've got no hymnals, they don't have candles or censors with smoke wafting. Though there is smoke, and plenty of it, being blown up everyones butt. Is that their religious practice, is this smoke-up-their-butt their equivalent of a baptist getting dunked or a catholic getting sprinkled or sprayed or whatever it is that catholics do, maybe Limbaugh has a special smoke blowing machine (made by Haliburton, charged off to Iraq, 43 million bucks) which he uses ceremoniously to bring his people into the fold, heck, maybe he's even got him a really cool wacky robe like the Catholics do, he'd have his made by a tentmaker I guess
posted by dancestoblue at 12:13 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
David Foster Wallace called Limbaugh a once in a generation talent and he called it right. Limbaugh is great at what he does, a superstar, he's just an odie-dumbfuck with a big mouth but he's got presidents at his call, he can make things happen and he does make things happen, he's talked millions of people into the political stance of resentment, and once he's got them onto that plane he can take them anywhere he wants, they're hooked. Get a master hypnotist, he gets people resentful, get them thinking -- nope, get them *knowing* -- get them knowing that they're getting screwed, then the hypnotist comes across with an answer for them "It's those people that've screwed you, and our country!"
Like religion, it's manipulative, and Rush is the best on the planet at that game. Maybe it is a religion -- is it a religion? I don't see that they wear special hats or robes, they're not (I hope) molesting kids out back, they've got no hymnals, they don't have candles or censors with smoke wafting. Though there is smoke, and plenty of it, being blown up everyones butt. Is that their religious practice, is this smoke-up-their-butt their equivalent of a baptist getting dunked or a catholic getting sprinkled or sprayed or whatever it is that catholics do, maybe Limbaugh has a special smoke blowing machine (made by Haliburton, charged off to Iraq, 43 million bucks) which he uses ceremoniously to bring his people into the fold, heck, maybe he's even got him a really cool wacky robe like the Catholics do, he'd have his made by a tentmaker I guess
posted by dancestoblue at 12:13 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Rush is neither slick nor media savvy. He's an instrument.
You are wrong and you are fucked untilyou realize that.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:31 AM on August 18, 2010
You are wrong and you are fucked untilyou realize that.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:31 AM on August 18, 2010
It makes me feel like the world is a better place if Rush Limbaugh is smart. Otherwise, it turns out that just being belligerent and loud can make you a populist billionaire.
posted by mccarty.tim at 12:32 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by mccarty.tim at 12:32 AM on August 18, 2010
The usual schtick. Push your shitty offensive agenda, get someone pissed off, encourage them to flip their lid, and then wrap yourself up in decorum and make it all about the other side being bad people—gosh we can't even talk with those people.
posted by fleacircus at 12:33 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by fleacircus at 12:33 AM on August 18, 2010
klanawa: He's an instrument. He probably thinks that he is where he is because he's some kind of Goebbelsian wizard, but people far more powerful than he have placed him there precisely because he appeals to an audience that brings exactly zero intellectual rigour to the table. It doesn't take a genius to whip up a populist shitstorm of fear and hatred."
You so do not get this Limbo Guy. He's not leading anyone. His "genius" is being able to follow his audience whilst appearing to lead. That's why he was having so much trouble in this clip. The audience wasn't with him. He was forced to fight southpaw and that knocked him off his usual stance.
It is said that Herr Hitler (as you have already thrown down the gauntlet of Goodwin) would prepare for his speeches by identifying two or three talking points that would get a rise out of the audience. Whichever of these points got the biggest rise, would become the focus of the rest of the speech. It's a simple and obvious and very effective technique for giving political speeches, but it requires some skill to understand what it is your audience wants to hear and then to articulate this into something that sounds reasonable to their ears.
It's about validation. You're a white Republican x-tian cowering in your basement afraid of Muslims, taxes, unions, regulation, and Obama and you believe yourself to be a good person and a patriotic American? Limbaugh gives you validation for these views. When people say "Rush, I believe in everything you say" they are really just saying "You say everything I believe - but have never been able to put into words." That's why I hear these people echoing Limbo. He doesn't put those thoughts in their head, he just puts words to them.
He's a successful entertainer. I imagine he is more craven than he appears, that he doesn't believe one word of what he says, that this Rush Limbaugh person is a character he created, and that this tremendous character actor chuckles at his redneck audience whilst placing rubber bands around thick stacks of their money.
posted by three blind mice at 12:44 AM on August 18, 2010 [21 favorites]
You so do not get this Limbo Guy. He's not leading anyone. His "genius" is being able to follow his audience whilst appearing to lead. That's why he was having so much trouble in this clip. The audience wasn't with him. He was forced to fight southpaw and that knocked him off his usual stance.
It is said that Herr Hitler (as you have already thrown down the gauntlet of Goodwin) would prepare for his speeches by identifying two or three talking points that would get a rise out of the audience. Whichever of these points got the biggest rise, would become the focus of the rest of the speech. It's a simple and obvious and very effective technique for giving political speeches, but it requires some skill to understand what it is your audience wants to hear and then to articulate this into something that sounds reasonable to their ears.
It's about validation. You're a white Republican x-tian cowering in your basement afraid of Muslims, taxes, unions, regulation, and Obama and you believe yourself to be a good person and a patriotic American? Limbaugh gives you validation for these views. When people say "Rush, I believe in everything you say" they are really just saying "You say everything I believe - but have never been able to put into words." That's why I hear these people echoing Limbo. He doesn't put those thoughts in their head, he just puts words to them.
He's a successful entertainer. I imagine he is more craven than he appears, that he doesn't believe one word of what he says, that this Rush Limbaugh person is a character he created, and that this tremendous character actor chuckles at his redneck audience whilst placing rubber bands around thick stacks of their money.
posted by three blind mice at 12:44 AM on August 18, 2010 [21 favorites]
You know what? Everyone on MetaFilter knows how to rile up shitkickers in Indiana. It's not rocket science. I grew up in a redneck town. I know how they value their ignorance. If the premise is that you have to be a genius to crack suck a rotten nut, I'm just not buying it. He's good at what he does, but I still say he's a tool. If he was really as brilliant as you guys seem to think, he could have won over Oprah's audience. When you take him out of his little cage, he's hopeless.
Also:
MetaFilter: You are wrong and you are fucked untilyou realize that.
What are you, twelve?
posted by klanawa at 1:02 AM on August 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Also:
MetaFilter: You are wrong and you are fucked untilyou realize that.
What are you, twelve?
posted by klanawa at 1:02 AM on August 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh cool....Rush fueled drama on MF.
posted by rmmcclay at 2:06 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by rmmcclay at 2:06 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Seriously? Two people who despise Rush Limbaugh are getting pissed at each other because they ... despise him differently?
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:39 AM on August 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:39 AM on August 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
I hate Rush better than all you morans!
posted by Meatbomb at 4:56 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Meatbomb at 4:56 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
this thread needs more lurking.
posted by the bricabrac man at 5:01 AM on August 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by the bricabrac man at 5:01 AM on August 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
Rush handled that mob pretty well.
posted by republican at 5:09 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by republican at 5:09 AM on August 18, 2010
Interesting that Limbaugh gets folks so worked up they have to be abusive to each other here on MeFi. Is it a case of hatred begetting hatred?
And I'm not sure how I feel about being called a Moran.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:30 AM on August 18, 2010
And I'm not sure how I feel about being called a Moran.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:30 AM on August 18, 2010
This thread can crack suck a rotten nut.
posted by applemeat at 6:06 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by applemeat at 6:06 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Seriously? Two people who despise Rush Limbaugh are getting pissed at each other because they ... despise him differently?
You understand that this is pretty much how the right has so often defeated the left in American politics, don't you?
posted by aught at 6:26 AM on August 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
You understand that this is pretty much how the right has so often defeated the left in American politics, don't you?
posted by aught at 6:26 AM on August 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Mod note: A few comments removed. Cut the aggro please.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:30 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:30 AM on August 18, 2010
three blind mice:
He's a successful entertainer. I imagine he is more craven than he appears, that he doesn't believe one word of what he says, that this Rush Limbaugh person is a character he created, and that this tremendous character actor chuckles at his redneck audience whilst placing rubber bands around thick stacks of their money.
This, 1000 times yes.
posted by lordrunningclam at 7:24 AM on August 18, 2010
He's a successful entertainer. I imagine he is more craven than he appears, that he doesn't believe one word of what he says, that this Rush Limbaugh person is a character he created, and that this tremendous character actor chuckles at his redneck audience whilst placing rubber bands around thick stacks of their money.
This, 1000 times yes.
posted by lordrunningclam at 7:24 AM on August 18, 2010
Rush Limbaugh with an audience. [SLYT]
Limbaugh actually used to have a TV show, with a pre-selected audience. So it isn't like he can't handle an 'audience', it's just that he can't handle one not filled with adoring fans.
posted by delmoi at 7:36 AM on August 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Limbaugh actually used to have a TV show, with a pre-selected audience. So it isn't like he can't handle an 'audience', it's just that he can't handle one not filled with adoring fans.
posted by delmoi at 7:36 AM on August 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Ugh. I just can't listen to the Rushbo for more than 30 seconds.
Back a few years ago I set up a "rush transcript" site for transcribing his radio show. Broke it up into segments of five minutes (as I recall) so nobody had to listen to him longer than that. It failed, in the end, when I moved out of Indiana to Puerto Rico, where Rush is blessedly not on the airwaves. Couldn't get anybody else to record the show for me.
I don't know how he manages to smirk through his vocal cords, but his voice sends shivers down my spine. This is how the Weimar Republic fell. (I like Godwin threads.)
posted by Michael Roberts at 7:39 AM on August 18, 2010
Back a few years ago I set up a "rush transcript" site for transcribing his radio show. Broke it up into segments of five minutes (as I recall) so nobody had to listen to him longer than that. It failed, in the end, when I moved out of Indiana to Puerto Rico, where Rush is blessedly not on the airwaves. Couldn't get anybody else to record the show for me.
I don't know how he manages to smirk through his vocal cords, but his voice sends shivers down my spine. This is how the Weimar Republic fell. (I like Godwin threads.)
posted by Michael Roberts at 7:39 AM on August 18, 2010
Rush is neither slick nor media savvy. He's an instrument.
You are wrong and you are fucked untilyou realize that.
eyeballkid, can you explain how?
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:57 AM on August 18, 2010
You are wrong and you are fucked untilyou realize that.
eyeballkid, can you explain how?
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:57 AM on August 18, 2010
When I was in High School, I used to watch this with my Dad. He watched it because it pissed him off (the same sort of Howard Stern effect). His show was on in the early AM (like 5:30 AM) and it was generally him with an agreeable audience. Yes, you've found one instance of a confrontational audience cherrypicked from a long enough standing television show - but this was *not* the norm on the show.
I fail to see the relevance as this is 20 years ago. Seriously, no right wing media outlet would let Rush be this unprotected ever again unless he did something truly stupid - which considering perscription drug addictions and adultery alegations haven't been deemed detramental to him so far... I'll let you draw the conclusion how likely he'd be cut loose from the right wing media machine.
I fail to see this as a good post - sorry... its just weak. He's got 30 some odd years as a blowhard, he's been covered multiple times in the blue before, and you've cherrypicked one example of him getting schooled. If this is the only instance of him on the wrong end of the arguement that's out there - grats to him - he has effectively a pristine record - he'd be batting .998 instead of 1.000 if he was a baseball player.
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:04 AM on August 18, 2010
I fail to see the relevance as this is 20 years ago. Seriously, no right wing media outlet would let Rush be this unprotected ever again unless he did something truly stupid - which considering perscription drug addictions and adultery alegations haven't been deemed detramental to him so far... I'll let you draw the conclusion how likely he'd be cut loose from the right wing media machine.
I fail to see this as a good post - sorry... its just weak. He's got 30 some odd years as a blowhard, he's been covered multiple times in the blue before, and you've cherrypicked one example of him getting schooled. If this is the only instance of him on the wrong end of the arguement that's out there - grats to him - he has effectively a pristine record - he'd be batting .998 instead of 1.000 if he was a baseball player.
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:04 AM on August 18, 2010
Building on dancestoblue's comment(especially the DFW observation), I have two things:
1. Rush Limbaugh owes me a Dad. When Rush came out in the late 80s-early 90's my Dad was a kind but conservative Republican. We had all grown up with the better myths of the party: that there is room for everyone at the table, that America is a bastion of freedom with the strength to defend it and the intelligence to know what should be defended, that everyone regardless of their race, color, or creed has both rights and obligations to make the system work. I call it Lincoln republicanism. It wasn't huggy, but it was functional, fair, and smart. It valued thought and education and essentially said that while you don't have to help your neighbor/friends/family, you should because it is the right thing to do in a cohesive society.
This all went out the window when Rush and his ilk came along. Suddenly Politics is all Dad wants to talk about, but not the way he had before. What the neocons and Rush did was take thoughts that these people may have been thinking and refine them through a sieve of hate and fear that didn't exist before in the same way. At all. So you get my kind and conservative father, a man who would not have uttered a word race-wise and always made sure that our house was a race-neutral zone (no creepy allusions, no hate, no back-handed or even sympathetic racism, no weird metaphors, a really pleasant place to grow up in) suddenly throwing words like "spear-chucker", "femi-nazi", and "towel-head" around. It was a shocking turnaround that seemed to happen over the course of two years or so.
2. Rush was over for me the first time I heard him (maybe '92 or '93?). I remember it clearly:
He had a caller who was a woman who asked him about introspection - she said that she had always considered herself a Republican, but listening to him made her uncomfortable. She asked him where his introspection and research were. "I never hear you quote Plato, or talk about the Federalist papers... where is your introspection and research?" To which he replied that he didn't need introspection and research because he had the Truth at hand and was happy to give it out to everyone. This was 1993 or so.
You know that anti-littering campaign in the '70s that had the crying Indian? Well, when I heard that exchange I had a similar image, but of Abe Lincoln and thought "This is gonna be bad. Real bad."
posted by Tchad at 8:05 AM on August 18, 2010 [14 favorites]
1. Rush Limbaugh owes me a Dad. When Rush came out in the late 80s-early 90's my Dad was a kind but conservative Republican. We had all grown up with the better myths of the party: that there is room for everyone at the table, that America is a bastion of freedom with the strength to defend it and the intelligence to know what should be defended, that everyone regardless of their race, color, or creed has both rights and obligations to make the system work. I call it Lincoln republicanism. It wasn't huggy, but it was functional, fair, and smart. It valued thought and education and essentially said that while you don't have to help your neighbor/friends/family, you should because it is the right thing to do in a cohesive society.
This all went out the window when Rush and his ilk came along. Suddenly Politics is all Dad wants to talk about, but not the way he had before. What the neocons and Rush did was take thoughts that these people may have been thinking and refine them through a sieve of hate and fear that didn't exist before in the same way. At all. So you get my kind and conservative father, a man who would not have uttered a word race-wise and always made sure that our house was a race-neutral zone (no creepy allusions, no hate, no back-handed or even sympathetic racism, no weird metaphors, a really pleasant place to grow up in) suddenly throwing words like "spear-chucker", "femi-nazi", and "towel-head" around. It was a shocking turnaround that seemed to happen over the course of two years or so.
2. Rush was over for me the first time I heard him (maybe '92 or '93?). I remember it clearly:
He had a caller who was a woman who asked him about introspection - she said that she had always considered herself a Republican, but listening to him made her uncomfortable. She asked him where his introspection and research were. "I never hear you quote Plato, or talk about the Federalist papers... where is your introspection and research?" To which he replied that he didn't need introspection and research because he had the Truth at hand and was happy to give it out to everyone. This was 1993 or so.
You know that anti-littering campaign in the '70s that had the crying Indian? Well, when I heard that exchange I had a similar image, but of Abe Lincoln and thought "This is gonna be bad. Real bad."
posted by Tchad at 8:05 AM on August 18, 2010 [14 favorites]
Tchad, I went through the same thing with an uncle-- my mom's big brother whom she has worshiped ever since her dad died, a guy I worshiped as a little kid. Now he sends these vile email screeds to her weekly usually with some scare tactic (Death panels! Raised taxes! Illegals hurting the economy!) and she forwards them to me. I do a lot of: "Mom, how can you believe that nonsense! Here is the evidence that this not true..." but it doesn't stop her from getting scared about something else the next week. I once called uncle a dittohead and she got mad at me for calling him a bad name.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:19 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:19 AM on August 18, 2010
Rush Limbaugh owes me a Dad.
Tchad, I went through the same thing with an uncle-
I went through the same thing with a few uncles, aunts, siblings and both my parents. It almost needs a support group: Rush-Anon, offering strength and hope for family and friends of those who've been lost to hateful wing-nut conservatism.
posted by cottonswab at 9:20 AM on August 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
Tchad, I went through the same thing with an uncle-
I went through the same thing with a few uncles, aunts, siblings and both my parents. It almost needs a support group: Rush-Anon, offering strength and hope for family and friends of those who've been lost to hateful wing-nut conservatism.
posted by cottonswab at 9:20 AM on August 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
I appreciated the first woman who spoke to Limbaugh on this clip. She actually became stronger and clearer as she spoke to him, and she made a very good point, which Limbaugh never answered.
I personally have less trouble with Limbaugh being a bully than I do with his constant deception. He has taken his abilities as an entertainer and his quick wit, and he has both of those in abundance, and used them to sucker a lot of people into believing a huge pack of lies.
I'm also very tired of relentless partisanship and name calling, and Limbaugh is the king of those behaviors.
posted by bearwife at 9:29 AM on August 18, 2010
I personally have less trouble with Limbaugh being a bully than I do with his constant deception. He has taken his abilities as an entertainer and his quick wit, and he has both of those in abundance, and used them to sucker a lot of people into believing a huge pack of lies.
I'm also very tired of relentless partisanship and name calling, and Limbaugh is the king of those behaviors.
posted by bearwife at 9:29 AM on August 18, 2010
I miss Al Franken.
He had the guts to call Limbaugh what he is; a big, fat, lying idiot. Now as a senator he can't be there to call these assholes out and no one can do it with the pure entertainment value that Al has.
I wish he'd give up being a senator. I would really like to hear him take Sarah Palin apart.
posted by readery at 9:37 AM on August 18, 2010
He had the guts to call Limbaugh what he is; a big, fat, lying idiot. Now as a senator he can't be there to call these assholes out and no one can do it with the pure entertainment value that Al has.
I wish he'd give up being a senator. I would really like to hear him take Sarah Palin apart.
posted by readery at 9:37 AM on August 18, 2010
It's remarkable how one man can divide a nation as much as Rush has. It makes you wonder how different this country would be if he became a salesman instead.
posted by SouthCNorthNY at 9:54 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by SouthCNorthNY at 9:54 AM on August 18, 2010
He's a successful entertainer. I imagine he is more craven than he appears, that he doesn't believe one word of what he says, that this Rush Limbaugh person is a character he created,
It's funny, there is a pretty clear line in my mind about the people who I think are doing this for the Cause and those that are doing it for the Money, (which is to say, those that believe the shit they are spouting versus those that know it's crap, but want to keep getting paid absurd sums of money for being belligerent assholes.) Coulter and Limbaugh are all about the cash, whereas I feel that Beck and Malkin fall more into the It's-all-the-Truth! category.
It doesn't matter too much, because I think they are all, in the end, basically wrong and often evil. But I find it interesting that the divide between honestly stupid evil and cynical evil to be so apparent.
posted by quin at 10:17 AM on August 18, 2010
It's funny, there is a pretty clear line in my mind about the people who I think are doing this for the Cause and those that are doing it for the Money, (which is to say, those that believe the shit they are spouting versus those that know it's crap, but want to keep getting paid absurd sums of money for being belligerent assholes.) Coulter and Limbaugh are all about the cash, whereas I feel that Beck and Malkin fall more into the It's-all-the-Truth! category.
It doesn't matter too much, because I think they are all, in the end, basically wrong and often evil. But I find it interesting that the divide between honestly stupid evil and cynical evil to be so apparent.
posted by quin at 10:17 AM on August 18, 2010
The resemblance between Rush's fat mug and the Mrs. Potatohead toy was uncanny. It's like a little Limbaugh in drag.
God how I despise the fat bastard, and how I pity the people dumb or gullible enough to listen to his vile, hate-filled hypocritical ranting and think it's "the truth". He might not be the brains behind the Republican neocon hate machine, but he certainly is the embodiment of it all.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:03 AM on August 18, 2010
God how I despise the fat bastard, and how I pity the people dumb or gullible enough to listen to his vile, hate-filled hypocritical ranting and think it's "the truth". He might not be the brains behind the Republican neocon hate machine, but he certainly is the embodiment of it all.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:03 AM on August 18, 2010
Limbaugh: "If Obama's Not The First Anti-American President, Who Is?"
posted by homunculus at 11:13 AM on August 18, 2010
posted by homunculus at 11:13 AM on August 18, 2010
Can you point to one thing that Rush has said or written that made you think, "damn, that guy is a genius!"
No, I can only point to his accomplishments: Becoming a millionaire many, many times over while installing himself as slavemaster to +/- 50% of Congress (depending on when you look). All that without having any qualifications (or even ability) as an economic, social, or political thinker. Dr. Evil never aspired that high.
If nothing else, the man is a media genius.
posted by coolguymichael at 11:30 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
No, I can only point to his accomplishments: Becoming a millionaire many, many times over while installing himself as slavemaster to +/- 50% of Congress (depending on when you look). All that without having any qualifications (or even ability) as an economic, social, or political thinker. Dr. Evil never aspired that high.
If nothing else, the man is a media genius.
posted by coolguymichael at 11:30 AM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's too easy to blame Rush for the crap that people already had inside of them. If it wasn't him it would be someone else.
I'm not so sure about that. Many people on this thread seem to believe that he is a once in a life time kind of talent. All of the other people that we can see replacing him (Bill O, Hannity, Beck, etc.) are there because of him. Maybe someone would have, but they probably wouldn't have accomplished all that he has.
posted by SouthCNorthNY at 11:48 AM on August 18, 2010
I'm not so sure about that. Many people on this thread seem to believe that he is a once in a life time kind of talent. All of the other people that we can see replacing him (Bill O, Hannity, Beck, etc.) are there because of him. Maybe someone would have, but they probably wouldn't have accomplished all that he has.
posted by SouthCNorthNY at 11:48 AM on August 18, 2010
I get the feeling Rush was kind of like Amazon, in that he filled a need extremely well before everyone else, and then became the dominant choice thereafter simply because of all the capital being first affords you.
Of course, he doesn't have complete control of the GOP. He was against Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project, and made fun of it on the radio, but then it went ahead and worked despite his influence.
posted by mccarty.tim at 12:28 PM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Of course, he doesn't have complete control of the GOP. He was against Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project, and made fun of it on the radio, but then it went ahead and worked despite his influence.
posted by mccarty.tim at 12:28 PM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I like to get my Rush Limbaugh filtered through the Media Matters website. They listen to his entire show (poor bastards) and just pull the most "interesting" clips.
That's where I heard the call from Pamela in Baltimore. She takes Rush to task while remaining cool and collected. He is literally rendered speechless for a moment. Then mysteriously her call is ended, and Rush goes back to his usual schtick.
It is a thing of beauty. You can listen to it here.
posted by ErikaB at 12:55 PM on August 18, 2010
That's where I heard the call from Pamela in Baltimore. She takes Rush to task while remaining cool and collected. He is literally rendered speechless for a moment. Then mysteriously her call is ended, and Rush goes back to his usual schtick.
It is a thing of beauty. You can listen to it here.
posted by ErikaB at 12:55 PM on August 18, 2010
Coulter and Limbaugh are all about the cash, whereas I feel that Beck and Malkin fall more into the It's-all-the-Truth! category.
No way, Beck's life goal is to get richer than Rush and Malkin I originally got a vibe of "I'm saying this because my husband wants me to and I want to keep this cool caucasian surname" and it has never gone away. But then, I honestly don't think it's possible for a pundit (neither right-wing or left-wing and CERTAINLY not moderate) to make it big anymore purely by saying what they believe.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:48 PM on August 18, 2010
No way, Beck's life goal is to get richer than Rush and Malkin I originally got a vibe of "I'm saying this because my husband wants me to and I want to keep this cool caucasian surname" and it has never gone away. But then, I honestly don't think it's possible for a pundit (neither right-wing or left-wing and CERTAINLY not moderate) to make it big anymore purely by saying what they believe.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:48 PM on August 18, 2010
I will admit my ignorance about right-wing punditry, but this is the only malkin I knew about two hours ago: Malkin.
posted by Tchad at 2:08 PM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Tchad at 2:08 PM on August 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
You people are nuts, I love Rush! Especially that 2112 album....
posted by Redhush at 6:57 PM on August 18, 2010
posted by Redhush at 6:57 PM on August 18, 2010
That was great ... couldn't possibly have happened to a nicer guy.
posted by Twang at 7:36 PM on August 18, 2010
posted by Twang at 7:36 PM on August 18, 2010
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posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:51 PM on August 17, 2010