Media Matters watches some of these ... (provide your own explitive) people so the rest of us don't have to. Frequently they come up with stuff that the rest of us ought to take note of and the fact that some millions of people listen to the Rush crap means it isn't a bad idea to have some grasp of what they're cheering on.
Now you can take offense or you can laugh, but one thing you need to remember is that a bunch of your fellow citizens actually take this guy seriously.
Showing posts with label Rush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rush. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
LTE On Rush
***This is my LTE and I do not suggest it as a model or an outline, I am simply backing up my words. A 350 word limit places some restriction on eloquence in Baker City Herald.
Editor
Up front, I am the County Chair for DPO/Baker County Democrats.
Over the years as a construction worker I have listened to Rush Limbaugh’s show. I was never particularly impressed with either his reasoning or his brand of meanness. He is of course welcome to his opinion; he is not welcome to making facts out of air. The Republican Congress has used the same types of arguments from the time the stimulus bill was first proposed. There may have been problems, it was unnecessary to make things up and ape a radio talk show host.
Some Republican Party leaders have pushed back a bit against Rush’s rhetoric, only to immediately back away from their complaints. Rahm Emanuel Sunday postulated that Rush is the intellectual and philosophical leader of the Republican Party. There may be some Republicans who don’t very much care for that characterization; their problem is that their Congressional Leaders are in lock step with a radio show entertainer.
I do not like the explosion of national debt that started under GW Bush and is being increased now under Obama. I am faced with the utter destruction of our economy. Republican leadership proposes that Rush Limbaugh is correct. Rush clearly stated his wish that Obama fail. Stating Rush doesn’t have to face voters dodges the issue when the Republicans who face voters simply toe his line. House Republicans have repeatedly stated they did not get to read the stimulus bill and yet they appeared on national media with made up ‘facts’ regarding it and misapplied words within to create doubt about electronic medical records, Rush talking points.
If you are a voter who doesn’t care to have Rush Limbaugh direct policy and philosophy in Washington DC and many State Houses you have a clear option, quit sending his team members as your representatives. You can get rid of them in a Primary or choose another Party. Some of you are aware that I do not pretend to be a member of a perfect political organization, but I also am not represented by Rush Limbaugh or anyone like him.
Editor
Up front, I am the County Chair for DPO/Baker County Democrats.
Over the years as a construction worker I have listened to Rush Limbaugh’s show. I was never particularly impressed with either his reasoning or his brand of meanness. He is of course welcome to his opinion; he is not welcome to making facts out of air. The Republican Congress has used the same types of arguments from the time the stimulus bill was first proposed. There may have been problems, it was unnecessary to make things up and ape a radio talk show host.
Some Republican Party leaders have pushed back a bit against Rush’s rhetoric, only to immediately back away from their complaints. Rahm Emanuel Sunday postulated that Rush is the intellectual and philosophical leader of the Republican Party. There may be some Republicans who don’t very much care for that characterization; their problem is that their Congressional Leaders are in lock step with a radio show entertainer.
I do not like the explosion of national debt that started under GW Bush and is being increased now under Obama. I am faced with the utter destruction of our economy. Republican leadership proposes that Rush Limbaugh is correct. Rush clearly stated his wish that Obama fail. Stating Rush doesn’t have to face voters dodges the issue when the Republicans who face voters simply toe his line. House Republicans have repeatedly stated they did not get to read the stimulus bill and yet they appeared on national media with made up ‘facts’ regarding it and misapplied words within to create doubt about electronic medical records, Rush talking points.
If you are a voter who doesn’t care to have Rush Limbaugh direct policy and philosophy in Washington DC and many State Houses you have a clear option, quit sending his team members as your representatives. You can get rid of them in a Primary or choose another Party. Some of you are aware that I do not pretend to be a member of a perfect political organization, but I also am not represented by Rush Limbaugh or anyone like him.
Republicans Handed You Rope And Tied The Knot
Wind the clock back a bit, it's 2008 and the General Election is buzzing right along. The Democratic nominee is attacked as Muslim, terrorist sympathizing, socialistic, appeasing, and quite a few other somewhat mean things with no factual basis, but a lot of heat. The RNC was in the thick and JS McCain participated right up to the Arab part. One other big noise maker was, of course, Rush Limbaugh. Wind ahead a bit after the swearing in and you have a stimulus bill in the House, once again the rhetoric heats up and socialist and other non-factual matters are bandied about, along with a big fat 0 Republican vote. The Senate manages to find 3 Republican Senators frightened enough of their electorate to ignore the rest of the Party and in the face of threats vote Aye. A lot more noise erupts about punishing the turncoats, from RNC to, you guessed it. Rush Limbaugh. Imaginary projects were objected to, false outcomes stated and leading the charge of random lying was...Rush. He went on air and stated that he wanted the President to fail, despite the consequences. A House Republican objected, in terms that suggested Rush not only was wrong in his desire but also that he didn't speak for them. That lasted until the next day when he called into Rush and apologised and named Rush, Hannity, and even Savage as the lions of conservatism. During the broohaha in the negotiations the President suggested they not listen to Rush. In some circles he was roundly criticized for that.
Wind all the way up to the present and you have Rahm Emanuel speaking to Face The Nation about Rush.
There are signs the Republican leadership is getting nervous about that perception but they are being undermined quickly. Rush gave the closing speech at CPAC this weekend and it was pretty much the usual Rush stuff and generated this review in the Washington Times.
****
****
There's a lot more and it is quite a bit more overblown than these excerpts but I thought I'd give your funny bones a rest. This is right on top of the Republican leaders walk back from "hope for failure."
The speech transcript is here and I'm not going to pull it apart and mock it, though it is mockable. Despite the arrant stupidity of receiving the Constitutional Medal or some such and using "pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness" from the Declaration of Independence as the Preamble to the Constitution it isn't something like that. It is the tone and content that deserves being addressed.
Here is the point of this article, Rush Limbaugh set out in quotable words the de facto position of the Republican Party and this is one of those opportunities that seldom comes around, the opportunity to tie them to an unpopular position and personage. This exists, both in the memory of those curious enough to watch it and in the written record, it cannot be called a misquote or a slip of the tongue. The Republicans went out and bought the rope and tied the knot before they handed it to you and hanging them with it is only finishing the job. A blog article, and there are a lot of them, isn't going to do more than preach to the choir and irritate some trolls, this is the stuff of conversations and letters to the editor.
I'm not going to do the work of tearing this thing apart for you or framing it for you beyond this: because it is an opportunity to capitalize on the brutishness of an individual and a party it pays to be polite and courteous. It may be a struggle not to mock, it may be a struggle to not be furious, but the point is that this is a compare and contrast moment. You win this kind of political confrontation by appearing to be the reasonable and caring one in opposition to the other's behavior and emotional content.
The speech was 80+ minutes long but much shorter in reading and because the themes are repetitious culling what you need much quicker. Since most LTEs are limited in word count you needn't quote much. There are moments in political time when circumstances and opportunism meet with large pay offs and this is one. Take advantage of being handed a tied hangman's noose.
Wind all the way up to the present and you have Rahm Emanuel speaking to Face The Nation about Rush.
He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party. He has been up front about what he views and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure.
There are signs the Republican leadership is getting nervous about that perception but they are being undermined quickly. Rush gave the closing speech at CPAC this weekend and it was pretty much the usual Rush stuff and generated this review in the Washington Times.
Conservative pundits, party leaders and movement bigwigs took special care to position themselves close by so they could hang on every word of the only person who actually could accomplish what the three-day conference was all about - jump-starting the flagging conservative cause.
****
It was an address that could have altered the election had it been delivered early last fall by any Republican presidential candidate.
****
But it has not been able to stop that mountain we call Rush. He is much more than an entertainer or a person who can "motivate the base" - as the media repeats like cheap talking points.
He has the uncanny ability to expose the intricate web of bias to those who do not yet know that they should doubt the media's sincerity. Many in the Regency Ballroom on Saturday night were once dupes or elitists like me who were shown the light by a guy who didn't even graduate college.
There's a lot more and it is quite a bit more overblown than these excerpts but I thought I'd give your funny bones a rest. This is right on top of the Republican leaders walk back from "hope for failure."
The speech transcript is here and I'm not going to pull it apart and mock it, though it is mockable. Despite the arrant stupidity of receiving the Constitutional Medal or some such and using "pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness" from the Declaration of Independence as the Preamble to the Constitution it isn't something like that. It is the tone and content that deserves being addressed.
Here is the point of this article, Rush Limbaugh set out in quotable words the de facto position of the Republican Party and this is one of those opportunities that seldom comes around, the opportunity to tie them to an unpopular position and personage. This exists, both in the memory of those curious enough to watch it and in the written record, it cannot be called a misquote or a slip of the tongue. The Republicans went out and bought the rope and tied the knot before they handed it to you and hanging them with it is only finishing the job. A blog article, and there are a lot of them, isn't going to do more than preach to the choir and irritate some trolls, this is the stuff of conversations and letters to the editor.
I'm not going to do the work of tearing this thing apart for you or framing it for you beyond this: because it is an opportunity to capitalize on the brutishness of an individual and a party it pays to be polite and courteous. It may be a struggle not to mock, it may be a struggle to not be furious, but the point is that this is a compare and contrast moment. You win this kind of political confrontation by appearing to be the reasonable and caring one in opposition to the other's behavior and emotional content.
The speech was 80+ minutes long but much shorter in reading and because the themes are repetitious culling what you need much quicker. Since most LTEs are limited in word count you needn't quote much. There are moments in political time when circumstances and opportunism meet with large pay offs and this is one. Take advantage of being handed a tied hangman's noose.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Limbaugh - Pig Wrestling?
Pres. Obama mentioned Rush in one sentence in a closed meeting with Republicans as a poor model for getting things done. The result was a media eruption with Rush tossing firebombs, Republican Congressmen suggesting a walk back and then having to apologize to ... Rush. Some pundits are making a case that this was a tactical mistake on the part of the President.
There seem to be a couple intertwined arguments: this elevates Rush, this devalues the Presidency, this will lose votes for the stimulus. While Rush has a very large audience for a radio show, the numbers electorally don't amount to more than two things - people who would never support Obama and who cannot win an election outside a narrow area. Considering that there is no more famous program and none more aggressively self-promoted the chance that this will drive previously uninterested radio listeners to Rush is pretty small and those did would quickly learn why they were uninterested. I have a problem understanding how a sentence is a descent into a foodfight with a blowhard.
There is political value in tying Republicans to Rush provided it is taken by the surrogates rather than the White House now that the door has been cracked open. While the House Republicans may feel Rush is real important thanks to the more narrow interests of CD voters, his type of rhetoric won't win General Elections state or nation wide. Democrats and the left really ought to be familiar with the sort of problem Rush poses for Republicans in that sense, remember the themes of godlessness and gun grabbers? This is a label the Republicans really don't want to wear nationwide. Oregonians may remember the gyrations Gordon Smith went through trying to satisfy the Rush crowd and not lose those who bought his faux moderate stance. It didn't work, for an incumbent.
If Rush becomes the face of Republicanism, its label, his rhetoric becomes the perception of Republicans in general, even to Republicans. I know a lot of Republican voters and that is not the face they want to wear and it is not where they want to go. No Democrat will have a real problem outside a narrow area running against Rush Limbaugh. I cannot think of a bigger gift than a US House Representative calling into that show to apologize for stating that the Republican leadership is better than Rush indicated. I want that as a political theme, I want to beat it like a cheap drum. I can fight with RNC Chair Steele, but Rush is an easier target with considerably more rich ground to mine for stupidity.
It is a simple political fact that the House Republicans more reflect Rush than Steele and using that to its absolute limit is gold. When the DNC, Moveon, America United and others throw up ads using Rush as the face of Republicanism it cannot lose. If you don't think so, watch how the Republicans react to it - its a disgrace, its not truthful, we lead not a radio entertainer. But the kicker is that much such reaction leads to the Gingery problem - how to not look like a Rush shill while being one. Running clips of a Republican House Representative calling Rush and Hannity lions cannot lose with the voters who aren't ideological tools of Rush. If a Republican friend says, "I'm not a Rush clone," the answer is simple, "you're in the wrong Party." You have to remember that as a shooter I get a lot of, "how can you be a member of the gun-grabbers?" as though that label covers much real ground, but it does keep people who ought to vote Democratic in that other tent.
It is worth noting that Rush Limbaugh's rise has pretty much tracked the economic policies that have driven this country into a wall. It is worth bringing to the fore the fact that even with all the help BushCo gave the crash, they were not sufficient to cause the wreck - that is the result of 30 years of Republicanism...or Limbaughism...
There seem to be a couple intertwined arguments: this elevates Rush, this devalues the Presidency, this will lose votes for the stimulus. While Rush has a very large audience for a radio show, the numbers electorally don't amount to more than two things - people who would never support Obama and who cannot win an election outside a narrow area. Considering that there is no more famous program and none more aggressively self-promoted the chance that this will drive previously uninterested radio listeners to Rush is pretty small and those did would quickly learn why they were uninterested. I have a problem understanding how a sentence is a descent into a foodfight with a blowhard.
There is political value in tying Republicans to Rush provided it is taken by the surrogates rather than the White House now that the door has been cracked open. While the House Republicans may feel Rush is real important thanks to the more narrow interests of CD voters, his type of rhetoric won't win General Elections state or nation wide. Democrats and the left really ought to be familiar with the sort of problem Rush poses for Republicans in that sense, remember the themes of godlessness and gun grabbers? This is a label the Republicans really don't want to wear nationwide. Oregonians may remember the gyrations Gordon Smith went through trying to satisfy the Rush crowd and not lose those who bought his faux moderate stance. It didn't work, for an incumbent.
If Rush becomes the face of Republicanism, its label, his rhetoric becomes the perception of Republicans in general, even to Republicans. I know a lot of Republican voters and that is not the face they want to wear and it is not where they want to go. No Democrat will have a real problem outside a narrow area running against Rush Limbaugh. I cannot think of a bigger gift than a US House Representative calling into that show to apologize for stating that the Republican leadership is better than Rush indicated. I want that as a political theme, I want to beat it like a cheap drum. I can fight with RNC Chair Steele, but Rush is an easier target with considerably more rich ground to mine for stupidity.
It is a simple political fact that the House Republicans more reflect Rush than Steele and using that to its absolute limit is gold. When the DNC, Moveon, America United and others throw up ads using Rush as the face of Republicanism it cannot lose. If you don't think so, watch how the Republicans react to it - its a disgrace, its not truthful, we lead not a radio entertainer. But the kicker is that much such reaction leads to the Gingery problem - how to not look like a Rush shill while being one. Running clips of a Republican House Representative calling Rush and Hannity lions cannot lose with the voters who aren't ideological tools of Rush. If a Republican friend says, "I'm not a Rush clone," the answer is simple, "you're in the wrong Party." You have to remember that as a shooter I get a lot of, "how can you be a member of the gun-grabbers?" as though that label covers much real ground, but it does keep people who ought to vote Democratic in that other tent.
It is worth noting that Rush Limbaugh's rise has pretty much tracked the economic policies that have driven this country into a wall. It is worth bringing to the fore the fact that even with all the help BushCo gave the crash, they were not sufficient to cause the wreck - that is the result of 30 years of Republicanism...or Limbaughism...
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Dick Cheney, Rush, Truth, Are You Kidding?
Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble wrote a report for the Defense Department about the handling of some intelligence about pre-war Iraq and it featured Douglas Feith's assertions that Saddam and Al Qaeda had a mature and symbiotic relationship. Turns out nobody in the actual intelligence business believed it and for the perfectly good reason that it was hogwash. Dick believed it, Feith was their guy doing what he was told to do and they got what they wanted and it was...garbage. It was then, it was when the report was issued, and it was yesterday when Dick told Rush ,
"[A]fter we went into Afghanistan and shut him down there, he went to Baghdad, took up residence there before we ever launched into Iraq; organized the al-Qaeda operations inside Iraq before we even arrived on the scene, and then, of course, led the charge for Iraq until we killed him last June. He's the guy who arranged the bombing of the Samarra Mosque that precipitated the sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni. This is al-Qaeda operating in Iraq," Cheney said. "And as I say, they were present before we invaded Iraq."
Feith's nonsense (and he's admitted it was just that) was leaked to the right-rag Weekly Standard before the war and were praised by Cheney at the time as the "best source of information on the topic." It was certainly as good as the "yellow cake" uranium letter.
And so regardless of the facts and regardless of the ISG's report, the Dick is still playing the same tune. Now is Al Qaeda in Iraq today? Surely it is, after all we took out their secular enemy and made mincemeat of the apparatus that opposed them, not to mention gave them a "cause." The picture of Dick Cheney standing in the bushes watching George II give his press conference regarding the Iraq war funding bill and Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria must give you pause. I'll leave it to your imagination what was running through his addled pate.
Cheney feels as though they're the only people allowed to talk to foreign leaders, so that if there's a chance things will get screwed up, they're the ones doing it. After Pelosi noted that she hoped peace talks could get under way Cheney's reaction to Rush was,"It was a non-statement, non-sensical statement and didn't make any sense at all that she would suggest that those talks could go forward as long as the Syrians conducted themselves as a prime state sponsor of terror." There are people the US just cannot talk to, Syria being one of them. North Korea used to be one of them, but since they have no oil and do have nukes and a loony in charge they apparently can now be talked to. Of course Bill Clinton was a traitor and Democrat when he talked to them. Boy is the White House pissed, they're so pissed it escaped their notice that Republicans just got back from Syria.
These people are so partisan and so locked into their little ideology or somethingology that they can't keep the lies straight, the players straight, connect dots that are right next to each other, or even tell convincing lies. You'd expect more from a five year old.
"[A]fter we went into Afghanistan and shut him down there, he went to Baghdad, took up residence there before we ever launched into Iraq; organized the al-Qaeda operations inside Iraq before we even arrived on the scene, and then, of course, led the charge for Iraq until we killed him last June. He's the guy who arranged the bombing of the Samarra Mosque that precipitated the sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni. This is al-Qaeda operating in Iraq," Cheney said. "And as I say, they were present before we invaded Iraq."
Feith's nonsense (and he's admitted it was just that) was leaked to the right-rag Weekly Standard before the war and were praised by Cheney at the time as the "best source of information on the topic." It was certainly as good as the "yellow cake" uranium letter.
And so regardless of the facts and regardless of the ISG's report, the Dick is still playing the same tune. Now is Al Qaeda in Iraq today? Surely it is, after all we took out their secular enemy and made mincemeat of the apparatus that opposed them, not to mention gave them a "cause." The picture of Dick Cheney standing in the bushes watching George II give his press conference regarding the Iraq war funding bill and Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria must give you pause. I'll leave it to your imagination what was running through his addled pate.
Cheney feels as though they're the only people allowed to talk to foreign leaders, so that if there's a chance things will get screwed up, they're the ones doing it. After Pelosi noted that she hoped peace talks could get under way Cheney's reaction to Rush was,"It was a non-statement, non-sensical statement and didn't make any sense at all that she would suggest that those talks could go forward as long as the Syrians conducted themselves as a prime state sponsor of terror." There are people the US just cannot talk to, Syria being one of them. North Korea used to be one of them, but since they have no oil and do have nukes and a loony in charge they apparently can now be talked to. Of course Bill Clinton was a traitor and Democrat when he talked to them. Boy is the White House pissed, they're so pissed it escaped their notice that Republicans just got back from Syria.
These people are so partisan and so locked into their little ideology or somethingology that they can't keep the lies straight, the players straight, connect dots that are right next to each other, or even tell convincing lies. You'd expect more from a five year old.
Friday, November 10, 2006
The Rush To Blame
Obvious in the title, Rush Limbaugh says he lied because The Ends Justified The Means. Ok, whatever. He applauded people he now claims to find despicable - that would be: out of office and no longer influential. You know, like those despicable drug addicts.
Segway to the C-I-C, Donny you're fired. I'm the boss on a construction site and my guys don't get to just make it up as they go, it's done my way. I'm a little less important than the President, but we're supposed to feel like Donny made it up and now things are gonna change. Keeeripes, so Bob Gates is going to fix things inspite of the President.
Nancy Pelosi says the Democrats are going to reach across the aisle, they'd better count their fingers if they get the hand back.
I don't mind their "agenda" but here's some suggestions, Minimum Wage to match Oregon's, no opt outs, indexed. (NO tips DON'T count); lobbiest restrictions - limit to no-value promotional items, ie: ballcaps, key chains, etc, matching FEC restrictions on campaign items (buttons etc); real employee verification ability for employers matched by Davis-Bacon wage rate matching fines and jail time for illegal hiring, all officers from human resources up; Illegal Aliens invited to return home within 6 months, those remaining subject to fines, property confiscation, forcible deportation ; 2nd time same plus jail. Those leaving and registering get 1st up in their labor catagory (recognition that they have contributed); immediate roll back of Patriot Act, Terrorism Act, Detainees Bill - the Constitution and BOR will be respected, Voter Act tossed - no onerous voter reqirements, paper trails, research of institution of OR type Vote by Mail. Take up Wyden's Flatter Tax proposal, in the short term - exit all Bush Tax breaks except child deductions, add college/trade tax credit up to State College Tuition, move Alternative Minimum Tax to where it would be with indexing since institutuion and index. Get OUT of Iraq, period-I know, he's the Pres, well there are ball bats available. Real oversight, you're not going to impeach the guy so tie his hands.
Ok, realistically, minimum wage & lobby reform & ethics teeth & and tie his hands.
Hey Democrats, the voters fired that other bunch, that doesn't mean they like you, show them why they should've liked you. You've inherited a real mess, you've got a 5 year old for President that nobody's been watching, cronies have stolen the public blind, our kids are in debt forever, the public thinks you're all crooks and half of them don't vote and the Republicans are looking for a way to nail you to their cross. The Independents/NA that pushed you over the top are looking for an excuse to leave you and they won't help you. Now you get the blame.
It gets worse, your base is looking at you and expecting something, and that base is left and apparently nobody else is. Welcome to 2007.
Segway to the C-I-C, Donny you're fired. I'm the boss on a construction site and my guys don't get to just make it up as they go, it's done my way. I'm a little less important than the President, but we're supposed to feel like Donny made it up and now things are gonna change. Keeeripes, so Bob Gates is going to fix things inspite of the President.
Nancy Pelosi says the Democrats are going to reach across the aisle, they'd better count their fingers if they get the hand back.
I don't mind their "agenda" but here's some suggestions, Minimum Wage to match Oregon's, no opt outs, indexed. (NO tips DON'T count); lobbiest restrictions - limit to no-value promotional items, ie: ballcaps, key chains, etc, matching FEC restrictions on campaign items (buttons etc); real employee verification ability for employers matched by Davis-Bacon wage rate matching fines and jail time for illegal hiring, all officers from human resources up; Illegal Aliens invited to return home within 6 months, those remaining subject to fines, property confiscation, forcible deportation ; 2nd time same plus jail. Those leaving and registering get 1st up in their labor catagory (recognition that they have contributed); immediate roll back of Patriot Act, Terrorism Act, Detainees Bill - the Constitution and BOR will be respected, Voter Act tossed - no onerous voter reqirements, paper trails, research of institution of OR type Vote by Mail. Take up Wyden's Flatter Tax proposal, in the short term - exit all Bush Tax breaks except child deductions, add college/trade tax credit up to State College Tuition, move Alternative Minimum Tax to where it would be with indexing since institutuion and index. Get OUT of Iraq, period-I know, he's the Pres, well there are ball bats available. Real oversight, you're not going to impeach the guy so tie his hands.
Ok, realistically, minimum wage & lobby reform & ethics teeth & and tie his hands.
Hey Democrats, the voters fired that other bunch, that doesn't mean they like you, show them why they should've liked you. You've inherited a real mess, you've got a 5 year old for President that nobody's been watching, cronies have stolen the public blind, our kids are in debt forever, the public thinks you're all crooks and half of them don't vote and the Republicans are looking for a way to nail you to their cross. The Independents/NA that pushed you over the top are looking for an excuse to leave you and they won't help you. Now you get the blame.
It gets worse, your base is looking at you and expecting something, and that base is left and apparently nobody else is. Welcome to 2007.
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