Escaping the Asylum One author’s journey from dittohead to Democrat

Weekly Alibi ^ | August 31 - September 6, 2006 | Jason Zasky

[Swiss]

He's gay, I would bet money on it.

As for Rush Limbaugh listeners getting only one side of the story. Well I don't know how many times Rush would be pointing out the tactics of the drive by media and ABC News would come on the radio at the top of the hour and they would parrott the liberal line that Rush had been talking about just before the break.

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

Homosexuals are so desperate for attention.

[GOP_1900AD]

He was undermined by the Big Tenters when he needed their support. And as a result? L-B-freakin'-J! The same bunch tried to sink Reagan but eventually the Gipper kicked their butts. Are you one of them? If so, shame on you.

[FlingWingFlyer]

It is natural for someone to go from liberal to conservative. That's just the way of nature. People just mature as they get older. Anyone who goes from a conservative to liberal is not right in the head.

[longtermmemmory]

Proof that democrats have to use being a conservative to buy legitimacy. He has "credibility" not because he has democrat ideas and objectives, he has credibility because he is anti-rush fan.

[Swiss]

Yes notice his language

**I have been out since Feb. 25, 2004**

If any of our average hetrosexual Freepers ever went over to the dark side called the Democrat Party I don't think they would use the term "I have been out" instead they would say "Since I became a Democrat" or "When I switch parties".

[mugs99]

This story serves as a reminder of why, quite frankly, the big tent totally blows, and why Country Club "republicanism" is lame. Although it might not win a popularity contest, Goldwaterism is guaranteed to weed out the limp wristed early on and often. I'd rather weed 'em out before they get in, than put up with Jeffordsismic barf outs.

“Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have”...Barry Goldwater

A far cry from the big government RP of today!
.

[Tamar1973]

What has happened is that since the Republicans have taken power he has become an apologist for a party that is no longer conservative at all.

This is the only thing he said that I agree with. Much of the Republican party isn't truly conservative anymore.

[cgbg]

I don't think I've EVER seen a genuine conservative go liberal. That's a flow that just doesn't really work because of the nature of the two belief systems. Might there be Republican voters who go Democrat? Sure, there are some of those, but I think that for the person with genuine conservative convictions, the leap to liberalism is a virtual impossibility.

I agree with your post, which is why I think Linc Chaffee is faking it.

[Tamar1973]

Oh, it's like herding cats over here. It's so difficult to get everyone marching in lock step [laughs].

I found two things I agree with. I can't believe it. This will destroy the Democrats from within.

[JaguarXKE]

I don't believe him either.

who uncritically accepted the ideas Rush advocated...

That right there says he wasn't a true dittohead. The term "ditto" is not based on one blindly accepting everything Rush says, but rather that you enjoy his show. Most true dittoheads I know often disagree with Rush.

[Jaxmum]

"The word dates back to the early days of the show when callers would begin by saying, "I'm so glad to hear someone on the radio who is articulating the conservative position and believes the same thing I do." At one point, someone let loose with this huge, flowery praise and then the next caller got on the air and said, "What that last caller said. Ditto." That's how the term dittohead was born."

Ditto means you enjoy the show- this guy never listened to Rush. It specifically doesn't mean "I agree with every thing you said."

[dufekin]

This guy clearly lost his sanity. He's totally disconnected from reality. The Republicans can't even get their message straight on immigration, and I haven't heard anything as ridiculous as blaming high gasoline prices on Mexican immigrants. And I realize that the deeply recessed economy continues to implode, especially in certain automobile manufactures, major airlines, and newspaper publishers. But I cannot find any Mexicans to blame there either. The Republicans appear to run on the same issue that propelled them to very narrow victories in 2002 and 2004: national security, not gay marriage.

[aruanan]

Derych's insights into the dittohead mindset fascinated readers, and before long a publisher invited him to produce a full-length book— Confessions of a Former Dittohead (Ig Publishing).

So that would be 'ig' for ignorant or ignoramus?

[DennisR]

"My ultimate goal is to have Rush sue me, and I really wish that would happen. But he's too smart for that. He wouldn't give me that kind of publicity."

Note to Jason: Are you sure your name is not Al "I-never-was-funny" Franken or Keith "I-have-no-idea-why-I-am-still-on-TV" Olbermann? They, too, try to get rich using others' names.

[lonestar67]

What is really amazing is that we have not even had a federal income tax until 1916 but he feels comfortable saying "first time in the nation's history"

further indication he was never a conservative since most conservatives know we have not always had an income tax

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Yea,right.I dont ,for a minute,believe the crap coming out of this guy.Try something new buddy,this aint gonna fly.A conservative turned liberal?LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[Brandie]

That guy is full of it. The liberals can have this nit wit.

Rush is awesome and there isn't anyone like him and I doubt there ever will be again. I love a lot of the other talk show hosts too,but Rush is above all of them.

[hinckley buzzard]

This guy used to be a conservative? Yeah, right.

Sure he was. Just like Hillary was named after an obscure unknown foreigner who later would gain fame as the conqueror of Mt. Everest. I wonder exactly when it was that the Left decided that lying was justified by the importance of their "message." It clearly is a deliberate tool in their bag of tricks, much like the Islamofascists.

[aruanan]

What has happened is that since the Republicans have taken power he has become an apologist for a party that is no longer conservative at all.

This is simply not true. If anything happened to this guy, he's been developing some kind of cerebral lesion. On the other hand, if he had been uncritically listening to someone from childhood (given the length of time he listened to Rush and how young he is), he's bound to enter into some period of disavowing these beliefs as a way of separating himself from his parents and demonstrating (to himself) how grown up he is now, something similar to politicians who "grow" in public office. This usually happens a little bit earlier in life, so perhaps he's just a little retarded in his development. His uncritical adoption of Democrat "thought" seems to indicate this.