I am watching the Democrats v. Limbaugh feud with great mirth!
Rush Limbaugh has been a thorn in the side of liberals for a long time now, as we all know. Rush is, well, anything but a shrinking violet. Seriously, it is his JOB to be outspoken and even abrasive. But Rush is sly like a fox and anyone that underestimates him is a fool.
Obama gave Rush great power this week when he told the Republicans Friday, "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." Rush's response to that comment can be found here. Not much gets under his skin. But Obama should just ignore people like Rush Limbaugh; by even bringing him to the forefront like that shows a naivete and gives Limbaugh relevance that he might not have otherwise had.
The whole thing stems from a Limbaugh comment when he said "I hope he fails!" speaking about Obama. Then you get all this distortion of the comment and wails and cries that Rush is un-American. "How DARE he want our president to fail! He hates America!" But in context, what Rush was saying was that he hopes SOCIALISM fails. In the entire context of his comment he said that he believed Obama's policies to be socialist and he hopes they fail. What he said was:
My hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his policies are. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed.
If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private secor by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, 'Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four. 'I hope he fails.'"
So now The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched a petition where you can tell Rush just how you feel about his nasty comments. And Rush, on his website tonight, has asked that you send love and support to him through this petition (and you will quickly note that it is the SAME petition - clever fellow!)
As Rush points out, Republicans are a dying breed in Congress and it has become more clear than ever that Republicans and conservatives no longer seem to be the same thing.
At any rate, I'm sure Rush is getting a nice ratings boost over this kerfuffle and having a good laugh and a cigar over it all.
9 comments:
No - see - he did NOT "just say" he wanted socialism to fail - he did that on his blog - he purposely said (with malice" I hope Obama fails to he could get just what he got
tons of publicity.
He is a shock jock and nothing more. He, like Jerry Springer (who by the way, is also insanely popular), operates so that he can get more publicity and make more money.
He is not anti liberal alone - he is anti anything that is not his party. That's fine - but in times like today - it was a selfish, malicious and disgusting comment.
Go him - he gets tons of publicity, lots of folks too afraid to be the asshole he is can live vicariously through him and he can write another book.
But make no mistake - it was not taken out of context - he intended it to be taken exactly as it was - b/c in the end - he does not "love his country" - he just loves his party.
Ironic that everyone cared about Obama's associations yet when the Republicans hang out with the likes of Rush and Palin and everyones goes "wow, that says a lot negative about you" everyone goes "oh you just don't understand them".
It's all how one CHOOSES to view things based on their OWN agenda.
True - But i'll have to disagree slightly with NeNe. I think his motivation sits outside of his party. His motiviation is self promotion. He says whatever will get the biggest rise out of the public, stir more listeners, and put more money in his pocket. That's simple business, so there's nothing wrong with a self-promoting entertainer, but he does it at the expense of the public and the progress of this country. The reality is, he contributes nothing in terms of real discourse, he's simply a divisive influence. His views are regurgitated by his listeners and it simply perpetuates divides amongst the public, and anger in his listeners.
Its no surprise that the Republican party is in disrepair when its supporters look to the likes of shock-jocks like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter for their ideas and viewpoints.
I like that Obama mentioned him to GOP leaders. Contrary to making Limbaugh more relevant, i think Obama's words quite literally framed Limbaugh as someone to be disregarded and whose opinion was not worthy of consideration.
Just to be clear - the quote is posted here in context, as he said it, as he was referring to Obama's policies which Rush believes to be socialist policies.
He does not have a blog.
whatever -his blog -his site. you know what i meant. and i raed that whole thing b/f you ever even posted this. my point is - despite what he says there - the quote he gave for others to use when asked - was absolutely and on purpose - four words meant to shock and it did. neat.
I'm sorry, but at the end of the day, Rush Limbaugh is a freaking DJ and not some political statesman. Bottom line. And he's an idiot (anyone remember his accusation that Michael J. Fox was exaggerating his Parkinson's disease?). I think Howard Stern makes a lot of interesting and insightful political comments on his radio show (and he was NOT an Obama fan, I should point out). Does that make him a political expert, too? And I won't even get into all the things wrong with Rush's statement you posted, because I've already wasted enough time talking about that worthless political wannabe.
If he's not important, why is Obama even talking about him during cabinet meetings? Why does CNN hang on every word he says if he is not important?
Did anyone here actually listen to the show in question to know what Rush said or didn't say that day or did the take what they heard on the "news." You can't look at "whatever his blog his site" and know what was said on his entire show. I did listen to it as I try to most days and Pat is right. It was taken out of context - he didn't try to back himself up, he repeated what he said and I heard it with my very own ears.
Pat's been asked to give Obama a chance but based on their comments, I don't think many of her commenters ever give any conservatives a chance whether they be politicians, radio personalities, or everyday citizens, so why should she?
Not that any of you will care, but here is an idea of the stuff you don't hear (and I copied this down word for word from radio to my ear so I could use it on my blog before this whole mess started):
"Barack Obama is my president of the United States. I couldn't care less where he was born, what his name is, how old he is, or the color of his skin. He's not black. He's not white. He's not Asian-American or Mexican. He's not Chavez's brother or Islamic. I don't see Americans as members of groups. I see individual human beings. It is his ideas I am terrifically, tremendously worried about." - Rush Limbaugh
he absolutely said he intended to answer the question he was asked with four words and that he only needed four words - which is all anyone said.
pat has yet to give Obama a chance - she doesn't like him - she doesn't believe in what he stands for - and that is her right.
i try hard to give the Republicans a chance - and am right now. But RUSH - yeah - no way. He's a joke.
oh - and I agree it was a shame Obama gave him pleasure of mentioning his name - but he also likes to call things out and deal in reality - and like it or not - Rush is a reality to be dealt with - just like Springer. ;)
HUGE difference between giving the new President a chance and giving Rush Limbaugh a chance. I think when you have a political blog you have a responsibility to be open-minded. Just because commenters are rude or closed-minded doesn't mean my mom should be, too (not saying you are closed-minded, Mom; I just wish you weren't ALWAYS so negative about Obama). I don't think it's fair to suggest that my mom doesn't have to give our president a chance because some commenters don't seem to give conservatives a chance. That would just be immature and selfish, and I know my mom has her reasons for her attitude towards Obama but it's not based on what her commenters are saying. We Democrats can turn that attitude right back around and say "Conservatives won't give Obama a chance, so why should we listen to anything they have to say?" It works both ways, but if we all start operating with that attitude, we're in big trouble.
Rush Limbaugh is an extreme personality and says things to intentionally fire up his listeners (and non-listeners). I read the transcript of Rush's statement on his site to see what all this stupid hoopla is about, and I actually am not taking issue with it. I disagree with him, but I am not freaking out over like so many are. Lots of people disagree with Obama's policies. That's fine. I don't care about that. We don't all have to like him, but since he is our President I think more people should be a little more open-minded to him and give him a chance to actually do a few things before branding him as a bad leader. I'm waiting on him to do things so I can brand him a good leader; I have faith and hope in him that he will be a good president, and I like what I've seen to this point, but I know labeling him as a good or bad president right now would just be premature.
My frustration with Rush's statement that my mom posted was that Republicans don't have to give Obama a chance because Democrats didn't give Bush a chance. Like I said before, it's that "you didn't do it so we don't have to, either" attitude that is not going to help this country get back on its feet or make any progress in the future. Since when did two wrongs start making a right? I'm SO sick of these party lines. It's OLD, and I'm not perfect about "reaching across the aisle" but I'm definitely trying.
I do think Rush knew exactly what he was doing when he said "I hope he fails," because he knows the value of a good sound byte, even if he didn't mean it exactly in that context. So yeah, I agree with Anonymous and the idea that Rush Limbaugh's number one goal is publicity, which is why I cannot take him seriously. Just like I wouldn't expect any Conservatives to take Jon Stewart seriously. They may both say interesting/entertaining things that are relevant to their parties, but at the end of the day, they are entertainers. And like Anonymous said, I don't think Obama's mentioning him should be considered a validation of his credibility. I see it as the exact opposite, but that's just my opinion. And if CNN wants to comment on the Rush Limbaugh show, well, shame on them for not reporting on actual news. I'd much rather hear about the stimulus plan or something relevant than whatever Rush Limbaugh's opinion was on his show this morning.
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