Friday, March 6, 2009

Limbaugh Limbo: How Low Can You Go?

Minnesota Democratic Senator-elect Al Franken, the former television comedian from Saturday Night Live, wrote a best-selling book entitled Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. You would think that just about says it all about the radio talk show super mouth of right wing conservatism. Limbaugh was recently the star attraction at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where his declared wish for “Barack Obama to fail” drew enthusiastic cheers from the audience. As a consequence, Democrats gleefully labled Limbaugh the leader of the GOP. In the absence of serious challengers. The Republican National Committee chairman used the words “incendiary” and “ugly” to describe the radio talk show star, who rejoined that the new chairman was “off to a shaky start.” The chairman immediately issued apologies. Just to make it clear who is the boss.

Paul Begala, former strategist for President Bill Clinton, hopes that Rush Limbaugh will be seen and heard as “the bloated face and drug-addled voice of the Republican Party.” Begala’s telephone calls to the White House are answered by his former Clinton buddies. He says, “Along with lots of others, I intend to continue to turn up the heat until every alleged Republican either endorses or renounces Rush’s statement that he hopes our president fails.”

Rush Limbaugh has tried to clarify that he wants President Obama's policies to fail, not the country. “So what is so strange about saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to reconstruct and reform this nation so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?” he asks. Gee, I wish Limbaugh had been protecting capitalism and liberty during the eight years before Obama became President.

Some Republicans are doing some fancy steps dancing around Limbaugh’s comments. “I know what Rush Limbaugh meant,” House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana told CNN. “Look, everybody wants America to succeed, but everyone like me, Rush Limbaugh and others who believe in limited government, who believe in conservative values, wants the policies this administration is bringing forward … to fail.” However, not everyone agrees that it is that simple. David Frum, the “axis of evil” speechwriter, acknowledges that “if you’re a talk radio host and you have 5 million who listen and there are 50 million people who hate you, you can make a nice living. If you’re a Republican Party, you’re marginalized.”

Limbaugh challenged President Obama to come on the radio and debate. It is a call-in show. The President would not even have to leave the Oval Office. Safe to say, chances for such a Limbaugh ratings pot of gold are slim. However, I, Paw Paw Bill, hereby challenge Rush Limbaugh to a duel. In keeping with the dignity of his office. He can choose the weapons: cream pies or seltzer bottles.

Copyright 2009 by William C. Cotter

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that Limbaugh has a following because he's loud and uncomplicated which is about as much as some people can handle.
However, I predict that his recent additional power within the party will lead to his downfall,because he' s thinking he's bulletproof. Remember how much power Joe McCarthy got, how scared people were of him, and how quickly he tumbled.
The stageis set.It's just a matter of how long.

Cotter Pen said...

I agree about why he is popular. I hope you are right about the rest. Anyway, it is thought provoking.

Anonymous said...

I'm not at "wordy" person...so I want to thank you profusely for putting my
thoughts (re Limbaugh) into words!! Why cannot, at least the better of the
Republican party, see through this inane, but evil person.
Sure wish you were up in Washington!!!

Tina said...

I read somewhere that the tabloids at the grocery check-out fill a vacuum for people who want more excitement in their lives. Similarly Rush Limbaugh probably fills a vacuum for people who want some political thoughts in their heads...simplistic, quotable thoughts that repeat well (over and over and over). Call it "pulp radio."

Anonymous said...

We can ALL be thankful outstanding citizens like Al Franken, he has such diplomatic charisma, appropriateness and tact, Nancy Pelosi for encouraging the citizens to live and feed off the government and even extending the US's hospitality to Illegal aliens such generosity is assured to keep her in office.

The US is really on track now...it's so amazing...

We are going to free the terrorists or export them to other places where they can infect and recruit other terrorists. I see why everyone in Washington agrees that terrorists
should bring down the twin towers, killing 3000 people and costing the city of NY a fortune, closing down the airlines, targeting the pentagon and the White House that does fail in comparison cruelty of water torture for sure.

Our Grand children can all be grateful to Pres Osama for handing them our massive debt. They is no better way to create achievers and to saddle them with debt and hardships and let them struggle to rise above.

If I offered 50 unemployed people (before the housing crises crippled the economy due government policies that stated every citizen should be given an opportunity to own a home whether they can pay for it or not) to pay their medical insurance of 10 years or give then a large flat screen TV ( you know to the one's where they don't want to work legally for a living anyway cause the government owes them and the people owe them) all 50 would take the TV. Thank goodness for O'bamas intervention to make health care affordable for them.

It should always be the policy to steal from the hard working Americans and give to the lazy ones. We can all delight at standing in line for a loaf of bread.

See you in line.

Anonymous said...

Rush Limbaugh is not really saying anything different than what more respectable republicans have said for years. I think the essential message that everyone is on his own and we are not a community and we do not have any responsibility for each other is pretty much the core belief. It's just a shame when this is enacted and becomes laissez-faire capitalism those in positions of power cheat and steal and just ruin the country everytime. Deficits with Reagan, Deficits with Bush the Elder, SURPLUS with Clinton, Deficity with W. With deficits like this who needs fiscal conservatism?. I take great joy in the repug party being co-opted by the likes of Limbaugh and Palin. There are lots of badly informed and even bigoted people in America, but there are not THAT many. As long as the party is split between the George Wills/David Brooks crowd and the turkey murderer/oxycontin dropper wing the repugs won't be able to elect the dog catcher. And that works for me.

Anonymous said...

You got that right, Annette. If the national Republican Party doesn't get some grownups up front real fast, they're going to go the way of the Dixiecrats.

Cotter Pen said...

The Republican Party today pretty much is the Dixiecrats.

Anonymous said...

Yep, the Southern Strategy has finally swallowed its own tail.
And, as for the party at large, there's the great line by Yeats , "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
Personally, though, I know a lot of Republicans who aren't ranting reactionaries, because our county largely votes Republican for county positions (city positions are bi-partisan). Our elected officials are on the whole quite sensible people doing the best they can with limited funds, because they're close to the ground and with the people they represent, they don't go around demonizing those who disagree with them. They are really having a struggle right now with budgets due to the recession and a drop in state funding as well as sales tax revenues.
I believe that history will show that we're hearing the death rattle of a particularly hateful type of conservativism(just as there have been hateful types of liberalism) -- and that the Grand Old Party will, in fact, have some grown up leaders emerging in due time.
Or, I certainly hope so, because while I wake up every morning glad that Barack Obama won, I don't want to see us with a one-party system. My feeling is that intelligent debate results in better government. Maybe we will have some on the health care issue.

Tina said...

I hear people saying things about the poor and unemployed without having actually known any of these folks or talked to them about their dilemma. Stuff like ..."if you offered 40 people a job, they would be too lazy etc...." Until the 40 people have been offered the 40 jobs, no point in jumping to this conclusion. A women recently vented on me about the same subject. She said that some people were made by God to have to clean toilets and the reason that they could not get a job was because they weren't willing to do those things for which they were qualified ! A "blame the victim" point of view sure goes a long way toward making people feel cozy in their own coocoons. A lot of people with hateful attitudes toward the down & out consider themselves to be upright and virtuous. They never read the part about "unto the least of these" I guess/

 

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