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Monday, October 13, 2003
Liberals love Limbaugh's pain
Posted: October 13, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Barbara Simpson
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Liberals lost one and won one last week, leaving them crying and laughing.
They lost California to Arnold Schwarzenegger - a landslide in the recall election. That's the loss and the reason for anger, tears and political concern.
On the other hand, conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh told his listeners, as he signed-off on Friday, that he's addicted to prescription pain drugs.
That's a win for liberals. You can hear the laughing and gloating across the country and it's heard with a vengeance on liberal talk shows. As if professional jealousy isn't enough to engender the mountains of hate, they just love tearing conservatives apart when they find out they're human.
The media are acting like kids on a sugar binge. While liberal (read that Democrat) media hate that Arnold won the recall election, they secretly love it because, in their heart of hearts, they're celebrity whores and love the Hollywood glitterati. Arnold Schwarzenegger is nothing if not that, even though he's now governor.
But the Limbaugh situation is entirely different. This is personal and human, but it's being treated with ruthless cruelty by liberals, who not only hate what Limbaugh stands for but hate his very success. They detest that one individual, simply by doing a good job of articulating the conservative point of view, has been able to touch millions across the country. It galls them even more that he's No. 1 in ratings and got rich in the process. Oooh.
They smelled blood two weeks ago when racial sensitivity hit the fan with his observation on ESPN, a job he had for the main purpose of making observations about sports. He stepped in a politically correct pile by saying something evident. To avoid more controversy, he resigned.
Almost at the moment that story hit the headlines, another broke in Florida: His former housekeeper alleged she had provided Rush with painkillers without prescriptions. Limbaugh said he'd say nothing until he knew more about what was transpiring. Newspapers said an official investigation was ongoing.
Rush was torn apart for saying nothing, yet under the circumstances, it was exactly the correct thing to do. He said nothing until Friday when he took about four minutes of his program to tell listeners that he's addicted to prescription painkillers. He told of unsuccessful back-surgery several years ago, which left him with chronic pain and, now, two herniated discs. This is big-time pain.
Rather than risk further surgery - which can leave the patient worse or even paralyzed - he chose to take medicine prescribed by his physician. Along the way, he became addicted and said that he twice entered medical facilities to break the habit - to no avail.
His decision now is to take a month off to enter a 30-day treatment program to try to break the habit. He asked for listener support and their prayers.
So what does he get from the liberal media? Attacks. There's no sympathy for his medical ordeals. He's equated with street junkies and his addiction compared to guy in the alley mainlining heroin.
Yes, chemically, street drugs and prescription drugs are similar and yes, the effect of opiates on the body may be the same, but liberals just miss the point. Lots of points. Deliberately.
They won't cut him any slack because he's spoken out against use of illegal drugs. Sorry guys, there is no comparison. The people using illegal drugs do it for the high ? becoming a junkie is a built-in risk.
But liberals take it further: They want him thrown in jail. And, ON TOP OF THAT, it serves him right because he was outspoken about illegal drug use!
People in pain use prescriptions drugs to enable them to live as normally as possible. There's no high involved, just relief. They want the pain gone and the doctor can help.
Of course, there's an addiction risk. For heaven's sake, you can become addicted to over-the-counter cough medicine! That isn't the issue. For pain relief, the trick is balancing that with the point of addiction. Sometimes it doesn't work. But to excoriate Rush because he slipped over that line is monumentally cruel.
But liberals choose to be cruel, even if they sacrifice their own humanity. The same people who have compassion for the dregs of humanity on the street and for animals and insects cannot find an ounce of compassion for Rush.
And we know why. He committed the greatest sin: He's a conservative.
Barbara Simpson, "The Babe in the Bunker" as she's known to her KSFO 560 radio talk-show audience in San Francisco, has a 20-year radio, television and newspaper career in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.