Could be. I certainly am not privy to Rush’s thinking.
But to ascribe such attitudes as fear, wanting to be liked, afraid of the Fairness Doctrine, etc, ad nauseum to his motives is to mischaracterize and fail to understand him entirely.
I’m not privy to Rush’s thinking either, but I’ve observed him and I know his influences. William F. Buckley is Rush’s #1 hero. Buckley revived conservatism and made it viable in modern politics by rejecting the kook fringe. He stiff armed the Birchers and the isolationists and the racists and the anti-flouridation types, which made it impossible to write off conservatives as a bunch of cranks and paranoiacs. By steering clear of the BC issue, Rush is following Buckley’s pattern. It’s not fear or wanting to be liked or whatever. Instead it’s tactical/strategic, I think.