It's a shame. I have nothing good to say...
- Thread starter Trigeek
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I was a conservative republican when I really had no clue what i was talking about. I grew up in florida, surrounded by racism, homophobia and really stupid people. I actually listened in the early 90s but at some point I realized this was just entertainment and not truth. I guess I could say perhaps that led me to open my eyes and develop my on viewpoints vs listening to a radio show and being told what to think.
I was listening to him a few weeks ago and he sounded like absolute shit. I’m surprised he made it this long
Yeah he was on 2 days about a week ago, and you could tell he was struggling with air and voice.
I used to listen to Rush off and on and definitely agreed with him on a bunch of stuff like 15 years ago.
I saw a quote recently on the difference between evolving and "flip flopping." Flip-flopping is what a politician does when the political winds change and they realize it's in their best interest to re-align. Evolving is when you're actually open to new ideas, new information, and are willing to let your opinion change based on that information.
I agreed with Rush when I only had absorbed a fraction of the information I've absorbed today. Rush's views reflect mine if I had become set in my ways at age 25. That was the time I subscribed to the idea that "if you're 20 and not a liberal you no heart. If you're 40 and not a conservative you have no head." I just thought that was evidence I was wise beyond my years.
I'm still a fan of a guys I view as principled conservatives. Rush was not one of those guys. His business model was driving emotion in his audience. Not educating his audience. Not exposing them to different viewpoints - but to create an emotional, tribal response to current events.
Politics in America is worse off because of Rush. Not because he promoted conservative ideas, but because he promoted them in incredibly divisive ways. If Jeff Flake had a radio show it would be boring and draw a fraction of the listeners that Rush had. It's the same thing we complain about with the MSM - Trumpian drama moved the ratings needle for the last 4 years so the business incentive was to create Trumpian drama.
Rush mastered the art of creating drama out of EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. If you dislike how the MSM dealt with Trump for the last 4 years, that's how Rush has dealt with every single topic for the last 30 years. If you think some of have TDS because of media influence, imagine what we think about people who have listened to Rush for 30 years.
Rush was controversial in life and now in death. While I think it's horrible that people are going to celebrate his death, I don't think Rush would mind at all. If it was someone else like him had passed, he'd be on the radio today using liberal responses to said death as evidence of their inherent evil nature. My guess is he would be happy to know that his death will be used as a wedge by his peers to keep hammering home his core arguments.
RIP Rush.
I saw a quote recently on the difference between evolving and "flip flopping." Flip-flopping is what a politician does when the political winds change and they realize it's in their best interest to re-align. Evolving is when you're actually open to new ideas, new information, and are willing to let your opinion change based on that information.
I agreed with Rush when I only had absorbed a fraction of the information I've absorbed today. Rush's views reflect mine if I had become set in my ways at age 25. That was the time I subscribed to the idea that "if you're 20 and not a liberal you no heart. If you're 40 and not a conservative you have no head." I just thought that was evidence I was wise beyond my years.
I'm still a fan of a guys I view as principled conservatives. Rush was not one of those guys. His business model was driving emotion in his audience. Not educating his audience. Not exposing them to different viewpoints - but to create an emotional, tribal response to current events.
Politics in America is worse off because of Rush. Not because he promoted conservative ideas, but because he promoted them in incredibly divisive ways. If Jeff Flake had a radio show it would be boring and draw a fraction of the listeners that Rush had. It's the same thing we complain about with the MSM - Trumpian drama moved the ratings needle for the last 4 years so the business incentive was to create Trumpian drama.
Rush mastered the art of creating drama out of EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. If you dislike how the MSM dealt with Trump for the last 4 years, that's how Rush has dealt with every single topic for the last 30 years. If you think some of have TDS because of media influence, imagine what we think about people who have listened to Rush for 30 years.
Rush was controversial in life and now in death. While I think it's horrible that people are going to celebrate his death, I don't think Rush would mind at all. If it was someone else like him had passed, he'd be on the radio today using liberal responses to said death as evidence of their inherent evil nature. My guess is he would be happy to know that his death will be used as a wedge by his peers to keep hammering home his core arguments.
RIP Rush.
Fair enough. I grew up on the south side of Chicago and was surrounded by racism from every ethnic group, homophobia, really stupid people, and really evil people hell bent on doing really evil things. Hell, my parents met at a Rising Up Angry rally and were part of the protests at the Indiana Dunes where they stole a "Bazooka" and fired it into the dunes, so you get the idea of the people that I was exposed to early on. There were good people that did good things too. Most everyone was some shade of progressive and nearly everyone was a Democrat by necessity if for no other reason. I saw a great number of people who lived their lives by a value system that we would consider as conservative and would agree with the vast majority of that platform but voted Democrat because of union support or some one-issue reason that a lot of times didn't actually affect them but they felt like it was their way of saving the world. In doing so, many of them voted against the very values that they lived and almost all of them complained incessantly about the crappy government they kept voting in.
I moved to Florida and encountered racism, homophobia, really stupid people, and really good people. I was not religious but joined a church in college chasing a girl and was baptized. I spent a lot of time around a huge amount of really good people who weren't college educated like me and were probably people you would consider in your stupid group. A lot of them were successful and some were struggling. But almost all of them would go more than the extra mile for anyone in need, even if they fundamentally disagreed with them. It opened my eyes and I realized that it's too easy just to look at the things that you don't like or that make you uncomfortable and miss the ocean of good things for the driftwood of bad. Being blunt, most conservatives and libertarians are not racist or homophobic or any other ism that is constantly being hurled at them as a slur.
I'm sorry that you view people that hold conservative values in such a poor life and paint us with such a broad brush. I'm sk8knight because my primary sport was figure skating (which sponsorships made possible), I lived in very poor sections of cities in 2 states and attended primarily black schools in Chicago and Florida, and I have a very diverse group of activities now that includes playing in a gay softball league on Sundays. I've found that most of the people that I encounter are good people and most of them live their lives in the exact way that conservatives live and believe a lot of the same things. But then you read their facebook feeds or hear them rant about evil conservatives because they disagree on one single topic or maybe a couple. It goes the other way too. Now that media, politicians, historians like the one you favor, and corporations are treating these small differences like they are existential crises, it's hard to see how we will ever heal from this. Which is a shame. Where do we go from here?
Appreciate the thoughts. My one comment is that conservatives have felt like the media has been tribalized since at least the Bush '43 administration and many view Rush as a counter to that firehose of anti-conservative, anti-Christian programming. Similar to how Fox News was created as a counterpoint to the media of the time. To some degree, they are creations of the environment that existed/exists.
When I first started listening to Rush in the late 80s, he was not only entertaining but incredibly unique because he spoke with a voice you didn't hear anywhere else.
Being a young Midwesterner living in Virginia and eager to 'make my way in the world,' he hit a lot of my buttons. I wasn't sexist and certainly not racist, but in those days, Rush's attacks (like his fem-a-nazi schtick) seemed more funny than vicious.
Rush really had a knack for attracting an audience. But as I grew older -- and wiser -- I began to see through his schtick. I find it ironic that all the people who followed Rush as a 'counterpoint' to the 'brainwashing' from the MSM have been drinking from their own firehose of disinformation that's significantly worse than was the case before the coming of Rushbo.
So your last sentence is true except that it being worse is in the eye of the beholder.
Rush was one of those people who had no conviction but would say anything for ratings. His comments about needing to lock up more drug users, while he himself was a drug addict, is an example of that. Not to mention his conspiracies about things like Michael J Fox exaggerating his Parkinson's to promote stem cell research etc. I wont celebrate his death, but I do believe the Republican party and America in general is worse off because of Rush
The world is undoubtedly a better place without him spewing divisive, racist, homophobic bullshit.
Remember when he would dedicate a section of his broadcast to listing names of people who died from AIDS while playing upbeat music?
Remember when he would dedicate a section of his broadcast to listing names of people who died from AIDS while playing upbeat music?
The world will also be a better place when your parents and children are dead. *liberal compassion*
I do have a question: if rush hated genderless bathrooms so much why is his grave going to be one?
“Rush said awful things about people he disagreed with, and that’s why I hope he was in pain and is rotting in hell now.”
- people who are saying awful things about someone they disagreed with
- people who are saying awful things about someone they disagreed with
Once upon a time, CNN had a ground-breaking show called Crossfire that allowed for 'no holds barred' discussions/arguments between a Conservative and a Progressive. The divisive nature of the broadcasts brought ratings because everybody loves to see a good fight.
Then the Fairness Doctrine was removed in 1987 which directly led to Rush Limbaugh and the rise of one-sided, 'no holds barred' rhetoric -- this time, without the need for any counterpoints. At the beginning, Rush actually allowed Progressive callers who challenged him on some of the things he said. But he discontinued that practice pretty early on and everybody who called in was one of his Dittoheads.
The genie was let out of the bottle back in 1987 and it can't be put back in. The rhetoric has gotten nastier and nastier -- and less and less grounded in reality. It explains why so many people believed (with some STILL believing) in The Big Lie: that Trump's landslide victory last November was somehow stolen from him despite losing by six states in the Electoral College and over seven million votes. How crazy is that?
Then the Fairness Doctrine was removed in 1987 which directly led to Rush Limbaugh and the rise of one-sided, 'no holds barred' rhetoric -- this time, without the need for any counterpoints. At the beginning, Rush actually allowed Progressive callers who challenged him on some of the things he said. But he discontinued that practice pretty early on and everybody who called in was one of his Dittoheads.
The genie was let out of the bottle back in 1987 and it can't be put back in. The rhetoric has gotten nastier and nastier -- and less and less grounded in reality. It explains why so many people believed (with some STILL believing) in The Big Lie: that Trump's landslide victory last November was somehow stolen from him despite losing by six states in the Electoral College and over seven million votes. How crazy is that?
It's hard to believe that at one time, Chris Matthews was a guest host for Rush.
I was literally SHOCKED to hear this. Before getting into the talk show business, Matthews used to be Chief of Staff for Democrat Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neil for crying out loud!!
I believed you but I had to look it up to find out more. I suspected he did it back in the late 80s or early 90s -- but was even more shocked to discover it was in 2001 after 9/11 when he was already working for MSNBC!!!
I will give you this. You didn't say anything mean,hateful and truly ugly either. Good on you for at least listening to your mom. if you don't have anything nice to say then say nothing at all.
Rush was a champion of the individual, of liberty for everyone and he was a pioneer in radio industry. Love him or hate him he was a true force in America. I kind of viewed him as a modern day Patrick Henry or Paul Revere. He took on the tyranny of the collective thought and central authoritarian Government.
Rush was a champion of the individual, of liberty for everyone and he was a pioneer in radio industry. Love him or hate him he was a true force in America. I kind of viewed him as a modern day Patrick Henry or Paul Revere. He took on the tyranny of the collective thought and central authoritarian Government.
It's the definition of "Great" man.... Was Jesus a great man? Was Hitler a great man....
Took it on? Maybe at the beginning, but he wholeheartedly supported Trump's authoritarian actions at the end.
In the next-to-last broadcast I heard of his, Rush opined on his Friday, January 8th show that the January 6th insurgents had to be those leftist Antifa people in disguise because Republicans would never attack our Capitol.
I never heard how Rushbo pivoted once the identities of the insurgents were identified. But I'm sure he gave his minions a revised talking point to keep them satisfied that they were still in the right. 🙄
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Here is the deal. Please stop comparing conservatives to NAZIS and Hitler. One of my wholesale accounts is a B&B and her folks survived Aushwitz. She is a Polish Jew who fled in the 1960s to Israel. She has told me stories of her folks treatment under NaZIS and then her treatment by the Soviets. No American conservative would ever advocate for anything remotely close to those bastards. Everytime you refer to a conservative as a NAZI you denegrate the true evil of that regime. it's foolish .
Then I challenge you to do your history homework. True Conservatives love liberty. They love the Constitution and Bill of Rights. They were the abolitionists and they lead women's suffrage for the vote. They all voted for the civil rights legislation in the 1960s.
If you read the Constitution and Bill of Rights, then read what NAZIS stood for, read Karl Marx Communist Manifesto . Use the Venn diagram to see what philosophies have an union . You will find NAZI ( National socialist) and Communists ideals have things in common. You know you what you won't find ? You wont find the US Constitution and Bill of Rights intersecting with either of those. You won't find the writings of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison or Patrick Henry remotely coming close to what Hitler and Stalin espoused .
So, please stop using those terms especially liking American Conservativism to being a NAZI.. It's ignorant and frankly it's offensive. My wife's uncle died in aB-17 over the North Sea defending liberty and killing damn NAZIS. I was sincerely applauding you for not saying anythin
Hey Shuckster, I have not listened to Rush since 2005. In part where I live in the Smoky Mountains we don't have good radio stations and none of them carried his program. So, I plead ignorance of anything he has said in 16 years. If you don't like or respect the guy that's cool. it's America. You have the right to have your opinion of him. I have some strong opinions of the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Shumer and Anderson Cooper, Joy Bahar and others, but when they pass and if I am still around I won't celebrate their death. I also won't be mourning them either.
What authoritarian actions?
I won't hold my breath for examples because there are none.
I understand what you're staying but Trump's populist movement is anything but American Conservativism.
Unless you believe the January 6th attack on the Capitol reflected - in some bizarre way - support for our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, he hijacked the GOP away from true conservatives.
Unless you've come up with a new definition, Trump's actions while in office following his loss in November were classic authoritarian.
Completely false. He spoke out against gays cheering when they died of AIDS, against addicts (while himself being one) wanting harsher sentences, slut shaming, etc. You can absolutely not say someone was a champion for individuals when he would constantly criticize peoples individual choices if he didnt like those choices.
You believe the January 6th attack on the Capitol reflected support for our Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
Once upon a time, fiscal conservatism was 'a thing.' But for most of my adult life, Republicans have spent more money than Democrats when in control of the government - the only difference has been their priorities.
Since 1970, there have only been 4 balanced federal budgets: 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 - all under a Democrat President.
Give an example of something Trump did that is authoritarian. Should be pretty easy, right?
But also add all of the social conservative stuff, which really isnt conservative at all. At some point the idea of being a conservative shifted from small government, fiscal responsibility, to legislating morals.
The January 6th shit was most certainly an attempt at authoritarianism. Same as trying to get the GA SOS to over turn the election to his favor. Just because he didnt succeed doesnt mean the attempts werent there.
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