Rush Limbaugh Has Completely Lost His Way

http://www.redstate.com/ ^ | April 16th, 2016 | leon_h_wolf

[ObamahatesPACoal]

Probably no one has earned more leeway from conservative voters and pundits than Rush Limbaugh. Rush has been a tireless force for the conservative movement for decades, and he probably is responsible for a whole lot of conservative Republicans who are currently in office. But thankfulness for past service only goes so far, and Rush’s program yesterday officially crossed the line.

When I think about Rush’s last year or so on air, I’m reminded of Marshall Phillipe Petain, one of the most intriguing figures of the twentieth century. Without Petain, the French might not have prevailed over the Germans at Verdun, and thus might have lost World War I. But for as much thanks as France owed Petain for his service in World War I, the full historical reckoning for Petain must acknowledge that Petain was a Nazi collaborator, the leader of Vichy France, and a totalitarian dictator. Petain’s history is complicated, and to tell the whole tale honestly requires acknowledging both the good and the bad.

So it is with Rush. For all he has done, and for all we should be thankful for, it is hard to deny that Donald Trump has brought conservatism to a critical moment. From this moment forward, it will either resemble the vision Rush has preached for thirty years, or it will not. It will either move forward as a recognizable force, or it will be destroyed with Trump in a historic landslide election.

[BlackElk]

PRS: There you go again!

[Pelham]

Good grief, aren’t you at least bright enough to come up with your own line?

I can rattle off a hundred putdowns but you find it necessary to imitate me. Figures.

[nickcarraway]

This is not about putdowns. You Trump supporters act like this is a Reality TV show. It’s not. It’s the future of our country you are trying to flush down the toilet. How old are you 18? You act like a spoiled milennial who think Kardashian show is real life. It’s not. It’s time to grow up and start acting like and adult.

[Pelham]

You’re a real drama queen, nicky. The future of the country is always at stake. The first election I took an interest in was 1960. How about you? This your first rodeo?

[BlackElk]

Thanks for the explanations. Too many abbreviations in circulation today. I do it too by calling Mittens M3R for Moral Monster Mitt Romney. Thanks again.

[nickcarraway]

I think you are the drama queen. You want to put a metrosexual wimp in office? Fighting ISIS is not tweeting against Rosie O'Donnell. Having someone like that is a threat to our safety.

Okay, you wanted McCain, Romney, and Trump. After Trump fails will you be ready to back a conservative in 2020, or will you still be for another step on the Romney/Trump trajectory?

[Yaelle]

I don’t know how long Rush has been a sell out. I completely bought into Rush being “one of us” for more than a decade. Fifteen years, at least. But that NYT article coming out last month, telling of how Schumer and Ailes wined and dined him on illegal immigration, getting him to talk about it less and call it amnesty less, and how satisfied they were with his dropping the subject after their tete a tete... I was shocked, hurt, disgusted. But I gave him til his next show that Monday to defend himself. A lot of us were tuning in with sharp ears.

I expected he would either rail against it as being a lie or possibly apologize to us, his loyal book buying, mattress using customers, and admit he got swayed by all the puff and attention from the cool kids in DC. Boy, was I wrong. He was hopping mad and defensive like a 5 year old with his hand in the cookie jar. He had no truthful defense but he kept doubling down. It was not even close to being believable. And after a station break, he came on and called us who questioned him “haters.” I was done trusting or even liking Rush that day. It was like a serious breakup. I’d loved him for years. If you’d asked me, which living person would you most like to dine with, I would have told you Rush Limbaugh.

Sad but I fear he has been lying all along to us and doing the bidding of the exact people he pretended to disparage. He never even MENTIONED that Obama doesn’t pass eVerify. Our President has serious citizenship issues, and it was never worthy of mention from Rush. And he does the bidding of Schumer privately, over champagne and steaks, but calls him Chuck U Schumer to us on the show, chuckling at his own cleverness.

What did you sell us out for, Rush? Just money? Hope it was worth it.

[Yaelle]

You nailed it. Sad but true. Good post.

[Yaelle]

I too would not care which guy he supported or even if he supported a guy in the primary. I hate his phony pretending he isn’t in the tank for one of them.

But mostly I hate his lying to us who supported him, made him, prayed for him, believed in him. That’s what lost me.

[Yaelle]

Cruzlim turned Trumpecostal!! W-daddy, I can’t laugh this loud this late at night!!

[harpu]

Hmmmm...'very interesting'

Sometimes, however, and too often as of late, Rush seems to be just 'whistling as he walks [with Cruz] past the graveyard'

[Pravious]

“Did you mean DTS or TDS? The former seems to be Deranged Trump Syndrome which does not equate to what i think you meant, namely, Trump Derangement Syndrome. p>

On a separate note, Trump is simply no conservative. That’s why the conservative talk show hosts are not happy with him. Likewise a BIG chunk of the base.”

I meant TDS, of course.

I disagree that “Trump is simply no conservative.” That’s the kind of blanket statement Cruz people put down expecting it to be taken as settled fact (kind of like the left does with global warming). He wants to close our border, is pro-gun, anti-abortion and wants to bring jobs back to the U.S.. When you show me these things on the Democratic platform, I guess I’ll believe that “Trump is no conservative” stuff.

As for the talk show hosts - again, I disagree. I suspect they don’t really give a damn about conservatism at all - at least compared to caring about feathering their own nests. If people have someone who’s telling it like it is in office (and, no, I don’t mean Cruz), why would they bother to listen to these guys? Consequently, ratings will fall and so will profits - enough reason (in their minds) for them not to support Trump.

[Dr. Sivana]

Trump's very first point was that no one should be mandated to buy health insurance. What am I missing?

You didn't miss anything, Elk.

Perfect_Rovian_Storm, I apologize for missing the very first point, which was clear and had no weasel words. It was in there, and I just missed it.

My own bias comes from not trusting Mr. Trump personally, so I tend to believe his first shot off the cuff responses rather than his position papers. I avoid dwelling on that in discussions with other Freepers because whether you believe someone is a personal matter, and necessarily affects how you perceive what that person is saying. I know that many Trump supporters and some others don't think Cruz is an honest player, that's a personal judgment, and not one that can really be argued with for the most part.

But, as the position is very clear and laid out first I retract what I said, and will no longer state that Trump supports a health insurance mandate. He has walked back what he said earlier.

I request that you reserve calling a fellow long term Freeper a liar for VERY rare occasions. They ought to be no bones about it Mitch McConnell-sized lies.

Elk is a Cruz supporter, and his clarifying things helped me see your point better than you calling me a liar could.

I want the nominee at the convention to beat Hillary Rodham Clinton. If I were such an anti-Trump liar I wouldn't constantly correct those who say he can't win that he very well could, and might well do so convincingly. I also wouldn't bother defending Lewandoski. BlackElk also has a long list of reasons to be against Trump, but is perfectly willing to point out Trump's strongest positions other than the immigration question, and those would be trade and nationalism in general.

[Radix]

Ha, and Jay Gatsby never really threw a great party.

[JerseyDvl]

Same here, he definitely does not support Trump and acts as if he’s being blackmailed by the establishment to oppose Trump with his bandwagon jumping from Rubio to Cruz.

[GreyFriar]

everyone hates Rush!

[Pelham]

The last Republican candidate I wanted was Reagan, likely at a time well before you were born.

Your know it all writing strikes me as the wisdom of a teenager. How old are you?

[dforest]

Funnier than hell that they think that.

Cruzbots are never happy. There just isn’t enough you can do to love on Ted.

[dforest]

Neither is Rush. He is a Bush Republican.

[Pelham]

Rush’s driving ambition has always been success and to be able to move in circles far above that of Cape Girardeau. His head still gets turned when the rich or powerful dote on him, whether it’s the Bushes or Alan Greenspan or Schumer and Ailes. Clinton, for being as politically smart as he is, only used Rush’s vanity to his advantage during NAFTA. I suspect he could have exploited it many times more

A guy who never bothered to vote until he was 37, who entirely missed voting for Ronald Reagan, isn’t really like the rest of us. His interests are success and he is using conservatism as a business. I don’t doubt that he believes the positions he espouses but he never sacrificed his time or money to show it when there was nothing in it for him.