Most of my Missouri relatives are registered Republicans, but I have a Show Me niece who is more Republican than most: she’s an up-and-comer in the party who was selected to spend a summer working as an intern at the Ronald Reagan Library. Smart as hell, too, this niece. I adore and admire her, so you may understand why I was shocked when she wrote on Facebook that she was “even more in love with Rush Limbaugh today than ever before, and . . . so grateful for his fearless spirit.”
There’s something ungrounded in the way Limbaugh’s legions rush (ha ha, get it?) to his defense, regardless of what he’s done. Busted for using fake prescriptions to buy Oxycontin? Oh poor Rush! Playing “Barack the Magic Negro” during the campaign to belittle a black candidate? Oh he’s just an entertainer and besides can’t you take a harmless joke? Busted once again at an airport with a bag full of Oxycontin after allegedly finishing rehab? Michael Moore is fat! Saying he hopes Obama fails? Oh he’s just an entertainer and besides you’re taking it out of context, what he actually said was that he hopes Obama fails, which is different! You see the same thing with Mac users and Scientologists. They all have the same glassy eyes.
Ah, but Rush expounds political and social opinions I agree with! Well, sure, but so does every redneck cracker at every truck stop and quickie oil change place in the country. Why put Rush on a pedestal and not Jimmy Bob? You want to talk about fearless spirit, Jimmy Bob ain’t afraid to use the words Rush brushes up against but then shys away from: nigger, kike, spic, cunt. Jimmy Bob’s got balls, and Truck Nutz™ too!
Is Rush fearless because he says what he thinks to a large radio audience? Like Don Imus? I guess if you only half-listen to Rush’s show you might think he’s confrontational and strong, but listen a little harder . . . he doesn’t actually confront anyone face to face. You might think you once heard him arguing with Hillary Clinton on his show, putting her down every time she opened her yap. No, what you actually heard was Rush playing tape-recorded scraps of things Hillary had said, hitting pause, then ranting into his microphone. Yes, he takes listeners’ calls on Fridays, but if he disagrees with them he just shouts louder and reaches for the disconnect button. I think he’s afraid of confrontation, frankly. When have you ever heard of him speaking before a hostile crowd? No, he picks his venues the same way George W. Bush did, carefully screening potential audiences to make sure they’re packed with friends and admirers.
Dear niece, I’m proud of you for having convictions and taking an active role in party politics, whether I agree with your politics or not. But this Rush Limbaugh . . . a gross man, self-indulgent, full of himself and intolerant of others, a schoolyard bully and a gasbag, the kind of guy soldiers rough up when no one’s looking . . . is he worthy of you? I’m not trying to change your politics, just your choice of heros. Surely there are conservative leaders out there who are worthy of your love and admiration.
Just because I can’t think of any doesn’t mean they don’t exist!
So often I refrained from responding and now I’m glad I did as you’ve spelled out all my thoughts for me. For this, you are one of my political heroes. Well done. Truck Nutz. Also. 😉
One factor you may not have considered is that the Limbaughs are Cape Girardeau royalty, beginning a couple of generations back, and therefore can do no wrong.
Approximately twenty-five years ago, the elder Rush ran a stop sign and hit my car broadside as I was traveling about 15 mph past an area high school during regular school hours. There were no injuries, thank God, although my vehicle was badly damaged. Because of his elite status in the community, as explained to me by the responding officer, Mr. Limbaugh was not ticketed. It seems the officer’s job may have been on the line had he even written a report!
Mr. Limbaugh did pay for the repairs to my vehicle, but not before warning me not to try to profit from the situation!
I was thankful that my infant daughter was not in the vehicle with me at the time, and have often wondered what the consequences would have been had he run down a pedestrian student .
On a side note, Truck Nutz are quite the popular accessory in this part of the country.
Charlie, I don’t doubt that he’d have gotten away scot free even if he had killed you both. The older I get, the more aware of I am of corruption at all levels of society, from the most fundamental kind of corruption you describe — different rules for the rich & famous — to outright bribery like we have here in SW AZ, where all branches of law enforcement — local, state, federal — take kickbacks from Mexican drug cartels and look the other way.
Anyway, TRUCK NUTZ!
Today we are all Truck Nutz.
I THINK YOU ALL NEED TO GROW UP.
So funny how you liberals try to put Rush Limbaugh down, you fail every tiime!!!!