Rush Limbaugh Is A Left-Wing Advocacy Group
Hans Bader points out at LibertyUnyielding:
Rush Limbaugh can take a winning issue for conservatives and turn it into a loser just by shooting his mouth off. He gives advocates of extreme left-wing policies ammunition for their views by making stupid arguments when smarter arguments exist, and by lacing his arguments with sexism or scurrilous remarks. He did it recently in response to my commentary about Ohio State University's ridiculously overbroad and intrusive "sexual assault" definition -- which seemingly requires students to agree on "why" they are having sex or making out, which is none of the university's business. And he did it in 2012, when his scurrilous remarks about contraceptive advocate Sandra Fluke being a "slut" and a "prostitute" drove even moderate liberals to support a contraceptive mandate on religious employers that they had earlier opposed (and which the Supreme Court later ruled 5-to-4 violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.)When the Obama administration required even religious employers to include contraceptives in their health plans in 2012, this initially antagonized some moderate Democrats. That includes the Washington Post editorial board, which has not endorsed a Republican for President since 1952, but which has endorsed moderate Republicans over liberal Democrats for local offices (like endorsing Bob Ehrlich for Maryland Governor in 2006). Even legal scholars who approve of contraception (including me) explained how the requirement violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act...
...Overnight, Limbaugh's remarks made opposition to the contraceptive mandate radioactive, and the Washington Post editorial board and other entities that had criticized the administration later switched position to backed the administration after it made cosmetic tweaks to the mandate. It became an integral part of the Democratic Party's highly-effective "War on Women" meme in the 2012 election. Even social conservatives now admit that this harmed the GOP in 2012.
Of course, this is all over Facebook, where the majority of content is about Rush, not about the college or the issue at hand.
Given the freedom of speech, many of the loudest complain about each other.
Radwaste at September 17, 2014 10:38 PM
There is a problem with the citation. If the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" is Public Law 103-141, it was stricken as un-Constitutional due to being an unfunded mandate. There are several such titles in the Library of Congress; it would be useful to say which one is the subject.
Radwaste at September 17, 2014 10:52 PM
I think it's just barely possible that Rush intends his comments to have that effect. When I first heard him in 1985, I thought he was spoofing right-wing blowhards like Joe Pyne and Wally George, the way Stephen Colbert does now. Perhaps he realized early on that the audience was taking him seriously and decided to go with that, but still takes the occasional opportunity to make the Right look bad.
Rex Little at September 17, 2014 11:15 PM
Rush is no different than Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpten. Just substitute politics for racism.
Goo at September 18, 2014 3:46 AM
People still listen to him? I never could get past his unbelievably pompous tone of voice.
Patrick at September 18, 2014 4:44 AM
If you don't take him too seriously, he's funny. I only tune in occasionally, and most of the time just for entertainment's sake. At this point, most of the stories he's covering have already been brought up and analyzed to death by conservative blogs.
spqr2008 at September 18, 2014 6:08 AM
I just noticed this week how when Rush is holding a cigar he looks a lot like Archie Bunker. His commentary sounds like him too.
Rush is a radio actor and Archie was on TV; it seems there's a media niche for that social phenotype - the conservative clown. We just keep tuning in to watch the train wreck.
Canvasback at September 18, 2014 7:19 AM
Rush is no different than Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpten. Just substitute politics for racism.
Posted by: Goo at September 18, 2014 3:46 AM
Rush is a radio personality. He is an entertainer. He gets his audience, and paycheck by saying outrageous things.
By all accounts, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are professional extortionists. The media covers for them, so you don't hear most of the really inflammatory and anti Semitic shit these gentlemen spout off.
Isab at September 18, 2014 7:24 AM
Oh. So what Mr. Bader is saying is that Rush is to the right what Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton are to the left.
Jim Simon at September 18, 2014 8:58 AM
I think Bader has a point that Rush might be responsible for getting Fluke elected to office in California.
Patrick, his voice is a problem.
His voice is a problem.
Rush's voice is a problem.
One problem with Rush is his voice.
But it's also how he repeats everything four times.
Repeating what he says four times.
Four times is the average of how much he repeats his statements.
He repeats everything four times.
Before going on to the next sentence.
Before going on to the next sentence.
Before going on to the next sentence.
Before going on to the next sentence.
I don't need that shit.
jerry at September 18, 2014 11:08 AM
And he did it in 2012, when his scurrilous remarks about contraceptive advocate Sandra Fluke being a "slut" and a "prostitute" drove even moderate liberals to support a contraceptive mandate on religious employers that they had earlier opposed (and which the Supreme Court later ruled 5-to-4 violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.)
So these people supported a harmful, immoral law to get back at a radio personality whose inflammatory marks shouldn't bother them one bit, were they actually secure about themselves and their beliefs.
"So who cares what Rush Limbore called her. She's a big girl; she can handle it; and we can still oppose the mandate, even if *HE* does, too."
mpetrie98 at September 18, 2014 11:14 AM
Thank you all, including Amy, for illustrating what I maintained in the first place: people who fancy themselves intelligent and educated obsess on the messenger and ignore the issue.
Radwaste at September 18, 2014 4:59 PM
There was a time when Rush had the opposite effect. He would address issues like taxes and regulation in ways that made them understandable to moderate voters. But over the last 15 years, he has slowly drifted into self-parody. It's sad.
Mike at September 18, 2014 6:18 PM
…slowly drifted into self-parody. It's sad.
Yeah. And George Benson was like a total sellout for making record that people wanted to buy.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at September 19, 2014 1:11 AM
Man... The synth line on Em, especially the blue stuff at 1:30, makes me want to go back to the bicentennial and fuck a woman with a full, lustrous bush.
Pretend you don't know what I mean.
Pretend.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at September 19, 2014 1:13 AM
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