Posted on 12/29/2003 7:53:16 AM PST by mhking
'The bigger they are, the harder they fall" is an accurate adage, especially as it applies to Rush Limbaugh.
Limbaugh, of course, once claimed to be the brightest and the most well-informed where the American body politic is concerned, a conservative political pundit whose views on right, wrong and morality once served as a watermark for the values that helped make this nation great. Now, he has been reduced to asserting before a court of law that he is a victim of blackmail.
I find it downright insulting that his attorney, Roy Black, has claimed before the 15th Circuit Court in Palm Beach County that Limbaugh was blackmailed. And not even by covert operatives of the Democrat Party, but by his former housekeeper, Wilma Cline, and her husband, David.
This latest maneuver by America's No. 1 conservative opinion-maker smells like it was contrived in a smoke-filled room either to help Limbaugh salvage the remains of his image or, worse yet, to hide even more damning facts about how he was seduced by the wealth and power that apparently devoured him.
Don't get me wrong. I never disliked Limbaugh for his high- handed attitude that drove liberals around the bend. It never bothered me that he sought to lay claim to the notion that he was the brightest and the best and the only pundit whose talent was "on loan from God."
It didn't even get my goat when Limbaugh asserted that he alone was all that was needed for his apostles to fathom the political complexities of the world.
Maybe those things didn't bother me because, in spite of all his self-aggrandizing, Limbaugh seemed sincere in his views and honest about his beliefs in truth, justice and the American way.
However, this latest legal ploy by Limbaugh, claiming to have been a victim of a $4 million blackmail conspiracy - by his housekeeper, no less - is too loopy for me to swallow. After all, by his own boasting, he is supposedly one of the brightest men in America.
Nonetheless, Limbaugh's lawyers tried to make it fly in a court where they hoped to block authorities from allowing his medical records as evidence in a drug-related investigation - a maneuver that failed when the court initially ruled against them.
When questioned before the bench about their client's tale of blackmail and other plots, counsel Ed Shohat back-pedaled and said: "I'm not aware of any fact that would support such a claim. It's not surprising under the circumstances.
Sounds to me as though Shohat doesn't intend to let himself get caught between a rock and a hard place in the shell game to help Limbaugh beat any future rap of conspiring to acquire massive quantities of OxyContin and other federally controlled pain pills.
Like drowning men thrashing about in water over their heads, Limbaugh's lawyers also are confronted with the felony incrimination that Rush shopped for doctors who would furnish him with multiple supplies of pill prescriptions. In response, they are accusing anyone they can of manipulating the law and public opinion to harm their client because of his conservative views.
According to them, the state attorney's office in Palm Beach County has orchestrated reprehensible negative leaks to the media about Rush. For instance, they assert that Michael Edmondson, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, even campaigned for a number of Democratic political hopefuls.
When all is said and done, I still have trouble seeing a lick of difference between America's favorite conservative and a minor-league lawbreaker conjuring up the race or poverty card in hopes that the court will be lenient. And that's a far cry from the image Limbaugh crafted for himself and persuaded followers to believe.
If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
1. He came back way too soon..after getting out of rehab, he should have taken the rest of the year off....
2. since he did come back, he should have refused to discuss ANY aspect of the case...not one single comment...it'd have been better..
3. Re the matter of the medical records..if he's innocent, then HE should have suggested that the records be viewed by a "special master"..instead of trying to seal them...had this suggestion come from him, it'd have looked much better..
Don't get me wrong. I never disliked Limbaugh for his high- handed attitude that drove liberals around the bend. It never bothered me that he sought to lay claim to the notion that he was the brightest and the best and the only pundit whose talent was "on loan from God."Anyone who listens to Rush know what he means when he asserts "talent on loan from God", and the "all you need to understand the issues of the day," statement.It didn't even get my goat when Limbaugh asserted that he alone was all that was needed for his apostles to fathom the political complexities of the world.
Clearly Hamblin does not listen.
He must be "projecting" or hoping as I don't think his image suffered terribly.
All I know is he is no longer on our talk radio lineup.
I enjoy Rush's show for its conservative content. His discussions on aspects of his legal problems takes away from the conservative content and gives his show more of an OJ or victim quality to it.
Hey Rush, do you remember "no OJ none of the time?"
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