Rush Limbaugh is dead. Donald Trump's rise to the presidency would not have happened without Limbaugh. Robert McFadden and Michael Gyrnbaum write in The New York Times:
Since his emergence in the 1980s as one of the first broadcasters to take charge of a national political call-in show, Mr. Limbaugh transformed the once-sleepy sphere of talk radio into a relentless right-wing attack machine, his voice a regular feature of daily life — from homes to workplaces and the commute in between — for millions of devoted listeners.
He became a singular figure in the American media, fomenting mistrust, grievances and even hatred on the right for Americans who did not share their views, and he pushed baseless claims and toxic rumors long before Twitter and Reddit became havens for such disinformation. In politics, he was not only an ally of Mr. Trump but also a precursor, combining media fame, right-wing scare tactics and over-the-top showmanship to build an enormous fan base and mount attacks on truth and facts.
The AP catalogs some of his bons mots:
Long before Trump’s rise in politics, Limbaugh was pinning insulting names on his enemies and raging against the mainstream media, accusing it of feeding the public lies. He called Democrats and others on the left communists, wackos, feminazis, liberal extremists, faggots and radicals.
When actor Michael J. Fox, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, appeared in a Democratic campaign commercial, Limbaugh mocked his tremors. When a Washington advocate for the homeless killed himself, he cracked jokes. As the AIDS epidemic raged in the 1980s, he made the dying a punchline. He called 12-year-old Chelsea Clinton a dog.
He suggested that the Democrats’ stand on reproductive rights would have led to the abortion of Jesus Christ. When a woman accused Duke University lacrosse players of rape, he derided her as a “ho,” and when a Georgetown University law student supported expanded contraceptive coverage, he dismissed her as a “slut.” When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, Limbaugh said flatly: “I hope he fails.”
I have no idea what the conversation at The Pearly Gates will be like. But, if I were Rush, I'd be worried. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave him the bum's rush.
Image: National Newswatch
16 comments:
A truly despised figure and a noteworthy friend of Donald J. Trump. I read an interesting piece awhile back after the death of Sheldon Adelson. I believe the quote was attributed to the death Of Louie B. Mayor. While at the funeral of the deceased the attendees were asked to come "forward and say something good about the deceased", after a long pause one of the people present said "he's dead".
Mrs. Betty Bowers, who I follow on Twitter, had this to say yesterday that encapsulates how I feel, Owen:
I like to only speak good of the dead.
Rush Limbaugh is dead.
Good.
The left had a good, confrontational talk-radio host, Alan Berg. He didn't get as far as Rush Limbaugh because he was assassinated by a nazi.
For all Limbaugh's hypocritical bellowing about the "angry left" we never got around to even giving that self-pitying, 3rd-world sex-tourist, cowardly junkie even a sound thrashing.
All these right-wing "shock jocks" get to spew their garbage on capitalist-owned radio stations for decades without a care in the world. And look at the inevitable garbage world they've constructed.
And that truly is the best that can be said of Limbaugh, zoombats.
I suspect that you, Lorne, and zoombats have got it right. It's best to bury Limbaugh, not to praise him.
They've built their own alternative universe, thwap. Unfortunately, lots of people think it's real.
What makes you think Rush will be given an appointment to plead his case at the Pearly Gates? I think he was fast tracked in the other direction a long time ago.
Limbaugh is gone but he leaves deep and dangerous scars that may not heal.
I suspect his accommodations in the nether regions were prepared some time ago, Mound. His legacy has earned him a place there.
One afternoon while I was busy at some repetitive work, and wanting some diversion, I turned on my AM radio and heard Limbaugh for the first time. His verbal abuse and thinly disguised hatred of people and things sickened me. So did the questions and complimentary remarks offered by his fawning radio audience. Obviously he was an icon of negativity, a media star. A majority of American men listened to him, often basing their opinions on what he said, and how he said it. He was a culture-shaper. Now that he is dead he needs to be forgotten and his negativity buried with him.
CD
.. limbaugh.. huh.. Not Worth Spit
Limbaugh was a university dropout, CD -- a man who wore his ignorance like a badge.
Short, concise, and true, sal.
Rush has no need to worry at the Pearly Gates. I have many fond memories of them and Max Webster headlining shows at the Gardens. They're a shoe-in for sure.
Wait, what? Limbaugh? Satan's thrown another log on the fire for his favourite son.
Cap
Wasn't it Brutus who said "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him"?
I'm sure Rush always believed he deserved a warm reception, Cap -- wherever he went.
Close, John. It was Mark Antony.
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