Posted on 11/25/2015 11:34:24 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
In the summer of 1992, Rush Limbaugh saved me from myself. I was an 18-year-old high school graduate about to begin college, too impatient to wait for adulthood to come to me. So instead, I went in search of it the only way I knew how: by engulfing myself in presidential politics and the fascinating campaigns that summer between Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot.
Like many idealistic teens, I was at first drawn to the youthful Clinton campaign and Fleetwood Mac's cheerful command to "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow." But then I started listening to Limbaugh and it changed everything. I was working as a delivery driver, so I'd plan my trips at six minutes after the hour so as to not miss a minute of his show — a habit I keep even today. The way he described his belief in conservatism reached out and grabbed me and I've been a loyal listener ever since.
So it is not from a place of hatred or misunderstanding that I write this. I'm not a plant from Media Matters. But when it comes to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Limbaugh is a mind-numbing, frustrating hypocrite (with all due respect, of course).
His tacit endorsement of Trump, now occurring daily during his show, is almost impossible to understand. Listening to him gleefully discussing Trump is painful for those of us who have followed his advice for decades. Why? Let's break it down.
Look at the polls
For years, Limbaugh has lambasted the "drive-by media" for their insistence on using polling data to make headlines and drive the story of the day. Trump's appearances and speeches, for the most part, are Trump droning on about how well he's doing in the polls. It's often the only story.
Words mean something
One of Limbaugh's biggest criticisms of President Obama has always been the vagueness in Obama's message; in his way of speaking until he can think of something to say; in the blank canvas that he offers us to project our hopes and dreams upon. And that, when he goes off-message, he often misspeaks. Explaining what Obama meant to say has become a cottage industry for websites like Vox and full-time gigs for a variety of nationally known journalists.
When has Trump ever offered anything of substance? His speeches are meandering streams of consciousness, and although he claims each to be unique, they are often the same litanies of vague promises. Trump will negotiate hard with China and Mexico. Trump will make the military so strong it will make your head spin. You'll get bored with winning so much. Chinese bankers live in his building, which proves he can bring jobs back from China. Trump thinks reporters are sleazy. Trump will hit you so hard. And, oh, by the way, have you seen the polls?
Big government
Limbaugh has been the voice for those who believe in smaller government for as long as he's been on the air. So it would stand to reason that challenging Trump on even his vague promises to vastly enlarge an already bloated government should give Limbaugh pause. Apparently, it doesn't. How many new government agencies will be necessary to round up 11 million illegal immigrants, send them back to Mexico and then let them back in? How many billions of dollars will it cost to make the military so great your head will spin? How many government workers will be required to build the Trump wall, complete with a beautiful Trump door?
The Kardashianification of American politics
Limbaugh has long lamented "low-information voters," who, he claims, are responsible for the rise of Obama. It's not his policies that win the day; it's the fact that he's cool and hip. His celebrity overcomes all other weaknesses.
Trump took the money that his father left him and built a series of failed casinos. What else does he have to offer, other than gaudy celebrity?
The Limbaugh Theorem
Simply put, the Limbaugh Theorem is Limbaugh's explanation as to why Obama remains popular when so many of his policies lack public support. It posits that Obama is always campaigning against the bad guys or bad situations, even when those situations are of his own making. It's a disassociation in the public perception of him between cause and effect.
Just peruse Trump's Twitter feed to see the Limbaugh Theorem on full display. He's always campaigning; always ready to right to wrongs in the world. The problem, though, is that many of those wrongs will be borne from a Trump presidency. He'll be there on Twitter or on another stop in his perpetual campaign, making obscenely vague promises that only he can fix what is wrong.
I'm still listening, Rush. But I hope you are, too. We don't need another blank canvas in the Oval Office, gilded or otherwise.
Hale is a freelance writer who lives in San Antonio with his wife and three children.
Great post! Until I scrolled all the way to the end, I thought it was JimRob posting :-)
Applause
And with Trump's written policy position (not his stump speech) what difference is there between the two?
You know, there actually are conservatives running in the primary.
//Trump is a liberal. Period.//
Yeah because liberals do things like call for closed borders and turning away jihadists. /sarc
//Trump will depress the conservative vote in 2016 (hurt the ticket down the line) and aid in the election of Democrats (independent voters).//
Quite the opposite is true. Me and many others I know who left the GOP over Romney (either for Constitution party or Independents) are considering re-registering Pub in order to vote for Trump in the primaries. He has gotten the conservatives excited again. It is the milquetoast candidates the establishment likes that aids the election of Dems and gets the Conservatives to not vote (like Romney in 2012).
//Why don’t you make a stab at denying the points in the article?//
No need. Rush already did in the link I posted above. Your TDS is showing
Since when do you care about the border invasion ? You were pimping La Raza Rick for President for 2012, the big open borders phony from Texas. I guess you think he was a “Conservative”, too.
Exactly. Why does JR put up with her (Cincinatus’ Wife) and these mindless attacks day in and day out?
Rush is a big boy but he avoided answering the piece - took the vague, lawyerly way out (as are many commenting on this thread).
I expect more from Rush (and am very disappointed) but that's what happens when you put too much trust in someone (no one is perfect and he's insulting his audience by denying his full court press for Trump).
>> Rush’s obvious Trump advocacy is pretty much non-stop
I respect your objections to Trump. But it’s not a love affair with Trump — it’s a gamble with his rhetoric. It’s either the greatest con game or the greatest chance we (seem to) have.
The stakes are too high for liars. I trust Trump is sincere.
You want to argue the past to avoid the present.
I get 3 podcasts a day...each one is around 30 minutes long. Adds up to 1 and a half hours of Rush talking. One half hour of that is Apple kiddie tech and Liberty the horse. He is "on the field" for about and hour a day. But only people who really listen would know that.
I have no idea. CW is one odious troll. Godebert is another trolling nutcase who continuously reposts the debunked myth that Sen. Cruz is “Constitutionally unqualified” for VP or President. What do they call that, a “Birther troll” ?
What do you fear from me and my questions?
Hale repeats the tired lie that Trump isn’t specific, despite his having released specific plans on immigration, taxes, etc. before the other candidates did. He says because Trump doesn’t turn his speeches into a symposium on tax brackets he isn’t specific enough. That’s not what a campaign rally is about. It’s about firing people up and making them feel like part of a winning team*. What Trump does is lay out markers, goals. No president gets exactly what he wants out of Congress, but smart negotiators know how to start the negotiations beyond what they expect to get and force the other side to twist their arm to what they wanted. Unlike our stupid politicians who start out compromising halfway, then compromise more, whether it’s Obama and Kerry negotiating with Iran, or Boehner and McConnell negotiating with Obama.
*If your candidate had been able to do that Gov. Walker might still be in the race.
La Raza Rick sealing the border ? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
Madam, that is the most delusional thing I’ve read this month. Step away from the computer before you hurt yourself.
“Rush can deny-deny-deny all he wants, but no one can honestly say that he isn’t campaigning for Trump.”
Wow. You are off in La-La land. Rush is closer to endorsing Cruz than he is Trump.
What he is doing with Trump is pointing out the obvious.
After years of Freeping, I've come to the conclusion that JimRob allows certain bedeviling posters to remain on the board in order to keep the rest of us on our toes.
Concern trolls and political operatives can really get the conversations stimulated with their blatant bs. Some of 'em are smart, too. Smart enough (or devious enough) to make us really work at taking them down.
I can see a certain 'method' to Jim's 'madness' ;-)
Your cognitive dissonance is showing again.
Very accurate breakdown, if you ask me.
Oh puhleeeze. LaRaza Rick was never going to do anything but protect the precious undocumented Democrat voters for the Cheap Labor Express. The man was a liberal RINO through and through.
He only acted like a tough Texas hombre, but he's nothing of the sort. He even fooled a lot of folks who don't reside in Texas - like you - who didn't listen to us Texans when we TOLD you he was a fraud.
What's worse, is you still believe in him!
Rush usually either does not endorse or goes along with GOPe. He is a good friend of the Bushes and it shows. He spent the night at the White House when H.W. was president and he hasn’t been the same ever since.
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