Once buys like Rush get past the "I can buy anything I want syndrome" the money is not a motivator at all. What is the motivator is prestige, position, and power.
Very few men that make it big in any field do it for the money. What Rush, Larry King, Rather, Brokaw, Jennings and the rest do it for is the prestige and power. Most of them will let go of the power and prestige when is is pried from their cold dead hands.
People in both politics and the media are like ball players. They will do what ever it takes to get in the game. They will play for any team. The will switch teams. They want to play and will do all it takes to get to play. They are players .... not partisans. The fans are the partisans, not the players. But unlike Sports politicians never get too old to play. Media types do.
Rush is just doing what he thinks will keep him in the game. I am not sure it will, but he thinks it will help
The media guys are like ballplayers in that they want to be in the record books. And the record books for both broadcasting and politics are like sports. What they remember years later is how many home runs you hit or how big the audience was for how long. Not what they paid you to hit the ball or garner the audience. Money is not what gets you in the record books. It is not even how they keep score.
Don't you think Rush has noticed what Bill O'Reilly has done to Larry King. Don't you think Rush knows Bill wants to take Rush down?
If Rush dropped to 16 million audience and Bill picked up just 4 or 6 million every TV News show in the country would carry it. Then the story this station or that one dropped Rush for Bill.
I think it was either Jerry Springer or Dan Rather, I can't remmber which that said Controvery sells tickets.
It does.. indeed.
Rush like Johnny Carson wants to go out as king of the his division of broadcasting. But right now Rush hears heavy breathing behind him. He does not want to get beat.
I have learned one other thing over the years. Guys who are afraid of getting beat... Get beat.
Then GW will surely lose.
If I mistakenly left the impression otherwise, I humbly apologize, my FRiend.
"What Rush, Larry King, Rather, Brokaw, Jennings and the rest do it for is the prestige and power. Most of them will let go of the power and prestige when is is pried from their cold dead hands. People in both politics and the media are like ball players. They will do what ever it takes to get in the game."
Rush is certainly "in the game" and I'm sure Dubyuh would be the first to admit that without Rush's assistance, we'd have a President Algore today. I don't begrudge Limbaugh wanting to impact American policy and culture in a positive way, and I do believe Limbaugh's impact continues to be hugely positive.
"They will play for any team. The will switch teams. They want to play and will do all it takes to get to play. They are players .... not partisans."
Here, my wise ol' FRiend, we couldn't disagree more. I've listened to Rush pretty much 15+ hours a week (I tape and relisten sometimes) since the Gulf War and I can say without a doubt that his conservative principles are almost as pure as mine. You may say he's not partisan, but he's been one of the GOP's greatest supporters and benefactors over the last dozen years, and his reservations about Dubyuh's agenda are intended to assist Dubyuh, a man I believe he respects deeply.
"Rush is just doing what he thinks will keep him in the game. I am not sure it will, but he thinks it will help."
You've made this assertion many times before, C.T., seemingly to discount what Limbaugh says by impeaching his motivations, but I've never agreed because I've seen too many times where Rush has posited unpopular stands on issues only to be eventually proven Right. That's not to say I don't often disagree with Limbaugh and he's certainly been proven wrong before, but I do think he's solidly conservative and wouldn't abandon that ideology without losing his audience. Heck, you can't say that his disagreeing with a popular GOP President is helping his ratings...just look at all the FReepers on this thread who claim they have abandoned his show due to what I see as justified criticism.
"Don't you think Rush has noticed what Bill O'Reilly has done to Larry King. Don't you think Rush knows Bill wants to take Rush down? If Rush dropped to 16 million audience and Bill picked up just 4 or 6 million every TV News show in the country would carry it. Then the story this station or that one dropped Rush for Bill."
I question O-Reilly's conservatism much more than I ever have Rush's...we'll see how the ratings go, but I sure wouldn't count Rush out as a "has-been."
"I think it was either Jerry Springer or Dan Rather, I can't remember which that said Controvery sells tickets. It does...indeed."
So, how come Rush doesn't argue against the War on Terrorism, Dubyuh's strongest issue?! That sure as heck would be controversial and the Medyuh would swarm to Rush's glorification. No, Mr. Tator, Rush only questions Dubyuh when Bush veers sharply to the Left, which he has unfortunately been doing all too often when it comes to domestic policy. As I seem to recall, that's pretty much the treatment received by Dubyuh's daddy, too, another man Rush--and I--deeply respected but who tended to underestimate the passion Conservatives feel for limiting the Federal Guv'ment to its constitutional roots.
"Rush like Johnny Carson wants to go out as king of the his division of broadcasting. But right now Rush hears heavy breathing behind him. He does not want to get beat. I have learned one other thing over the years. Guys who are afraid of getting beat... Get beat."
Perhaps Rush will get beat, but IMHO, it'll be with his conservative principles intact. My fear is that my President--and OUR Party--will get beat by abandoning the conservative principles I believe both you and I (and Rush and Dubyuh) agree on. Attempts by Rush--and others questioning Dubyuh's domestic compromising of Principle--to avert such a political disaster are admirable in my eyes. I guess we'll see over the next 2.5-6.5 years, won't we, my FRiend?!
FReegards...MUD