Posted on 10/10/2003 4:42:38 PM PDT by B-Chan
Popular radio show host Rush Limbaugh revealed today that he is addicted to illegally-obtained prescription painkillers and is entering a rehabilitation program for substance abusers.
His supporters have “rushed” to defend their idol, running around clucking about how this is really all no big deal. Well, I’m sorry to say, it is a big deal, and the legions of Rush Limbaugh devotees are just going to have to deal with the pain. It’s always devastating to find out your idol has feet of clay. “Say it ain’t so, Joe!”
I, however, am not among the breast-beaters and sackcloth-wearers who are crying in the streets over their toppled god. Frankly, I never understood what was so great about the Rush Limbaugh program. The man was a self-admitted entertainer, not a real political thinker; his brand of rubber-chicken, Chamber-Of-Commerce conservatism has as much to do with historic and traditional conservative thought as Coors Light has to do with real beer - they contain the same basic ingedients, true, but one is watered down for easy-drinkin’ smoothness, with no bitter intellectual aftertaste.
(Speaking of Coors Light, why was it that so many of the good ol’ boys that called in to Mr. Limbaugh’s show with their “cawmints” seemed to be drywall contractors cellphoning from their pickup trucks while driving home to Lewisville? Limbaugh’s listeners were good people, mind you, but not the deepest thinkers in the world.
Not that there‘s anything wrong with that. My point is that Mr. Limbaugh’s show was meant as mass entertainment, not serious politics.)
I guess one reason I never got hooked on Rush (to make a bad pun) was that his fan base kind of freaked me out. Cults-of-personality just make me feel weird. The frenzied worship many of Limbaugh’s fans showed towards him in public was positively embarrassing at times: behavior on the level of the kids who wear Star Trek uniforms to school or spend hours writing elegies in Elvish for fallen Glorfindel of Rivendell. In sci-fi terms, Rush Limbaugh was the Gene Roddenberry of American conservatism, with his own brand of Trekkies; it must be a bummer to realize that the Great Bird of the Galaxy is just another Hollywood sleazebag like everyone else in showbiz
The problem is that people have a natural tendency to make their heroes into larger-than-life supermen, and in so doing they set themselves up for inevitable disappointment. Limbaugh is not the political genius his followers see him to be — he is a showman. I agreed with a good bit of what Mr. Limbaugh had to say on the few occasions when I tuned in to his show over the years, but it was obvious to me from the beginning that most of it was pure schtick, complete with sound effects, zingers, and catchphrases. (The latter were the most cringeworthy; I always found talk of “el Rushbo”, the ”Maharushi”, and the “Golden Microphone” to be intensely stupid, and his constant talk of “excellence” conjured up images of the kind of profound Mission Statements one sees plastered on the walls of companies run by sleazy go-getters. “SlimeCorp — Maximizing Excellence!” Give me a break!)
Anyone who took Limbaugh seriously has got to be hurting right now; finding out that anti-drug Rush is a closet pill-popper has gotta be like finding out that Art Bell doesn’t really believe in the Chupacabra. I feel for his fans — but I hope they’ve learned the lesson in all this: all men are flawed; never get too excited about any one man.
My prayers go out to Mr. Limbaugh’s loved ones. May God grant him a speedy recovery, and may those who looked upon him as more than human finally get the message.
Now, b-chan, this is fairly bold talk from a fellow who is known to have drawn "Lost in Space" and "Babylon 5" fan comics from time to time...
Not that there's anything wrong with that! ;)
Since when is elitism a bad thing? Elitism is a thoroughly conservative philosophy. Egalitarianism (the belief in human equality, as in “liberty, equality, fraternity”) is the ideal of the revolutionary liberal Left, not the traditionalist conservative Right.
Who's George Sowell?
He wasn't proscribed the drug back then. His surgery was @5 years ago. After he was hooked on what the doctor was giving him, the FDA made the drug an emergency drug only. The doctor had to stop giving it to him. The stuff is 5x worse than heroin.
He didn't chose this like a liberal. The circumstances chose him, then it was too late.
He's been working on fixing it since then. He's been in rehab twice so far - on his own!
He's not a hypocrit. He's doing the best he can, and working to be the man he should be.
I admire his drive to be pure. God bless his heart. It must be so hard for him.
Boy, that's a stretch. Comparing the real life radio personality Rush Limbaugh to the FICTIONAL characters of "Lord of the Rings", or "Star Trek." That's like comparing apples and oranges! It's also a pretty good indication of how you spend your time (escapism)!
Excuse the hell out of me for getting "hooked on Rush" back in the days when he was the ONLY reliable news source that we conservatives could count on! I'm sure all of you pious, so-called "conservatives" that jumped on this story (before all of the facts were even in) are just beside yourselves with glee!
Too bad you're not smart enough to realize that this is a black eye for Conservatism, because of Rush Limbaugh's status as a Conservative figurehead.
Hell No! I'm here to defend conservatives, if you want fairness and a level idiologic playing field, you're on the wrong forum :-)
Why would he have to tell anyone?
He's an American citizen, not an elected official doing the taxpayers business.
Do you tell the world everything you've ever done? Why not?
Of course, if you go in to have your Wisdom teeth extracted or any other dental surgery -
- you're doing it *dry*, right?
The next motorcycle accident/car accident you *might* have - you're going to 'tough out' the pain of your injuries right?
Riiiiiiiiiiight ...
I don‘t recall ever drawing a comic based upon Lost In Space, although now that you mention it I think I might give it a whack. As for Babylon 5, the only thing related to that show that I ever created was a rather unfunny internet April Fools' joke website several years ago. The only TV/movie-related comics I have ever done were ones for which I was well paid by the owners of the shows!
I don‘t do fan stuff as a rule (not that there's anything wrong with that!). Still, I draw the line at grownups sporting rubber ears and penning fan poetry.
Looks like the anti Rush folks are lining up to slam Rush, the most important conservative of our time.
LIER
he didnt say they were ilegally gotten he said they wre prescription painkillers period!
We're deep in thought, the liberals are deep in something else.
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