Myths About Rush

Yes, I have to first admit that I sometimes listen to Limbaugh, but I don't want to lose those of you who wouldn't ever deign to do so yourself.  Stay with me at least long enough to get the flavor of this week's topic.  I promise not to bore you.

One of my good friends recently emailed me and, in the body of the message, admitted that he had listened to Rush Limbaugh that day "...for as long as it took to change the station."  A lot of people are just like that, they change the station because they listen to the myths surrounding Limbaugh instead of listening for even ten minutes to what Rush actually says and does.

Rush Limbaugh has been on syndicated talk radio for just a little over 25 years, and though there are many who wish for his show's demise, if not his own, and many more who continually predict the end of Limbaugh, he just keeps on broadcasting and gaining audience.

A while back, Limbaugh was 'outed' by his competition in the main-stream-media for his use of painkillers, specifically, Oxycontin or Oxycodone.  He lost some listeners for a few months, but was at a higher rating than ever a year after the scandal.

More recently, Rush got involved in the Sandra Fluke controversy over birth control, and he lost several sponsors.  However, not only did he gain new ones to replace the quitters, but some of the quitters came back begging to be reinstated.  In addition, the Fluke blip opened some ad spots and helped to launch Limbaugh's newest business, Two if by Tea, which has done fabulously well for him.

Now, for those of you who have never heard Rush Limbaugh for whatever reason you choose, here are some 'myth versus facts' points that might convince you otherwise.

Myth: Rush would be off the air if Romney had won the election.

Fact: Rush has been on the air nationally since 1988, and every time a Republican wins the White House, he is supposed to lose his audience. Yet, he has had an unbroken string of increases in audience every year.  His present day increase is mostly due to new converts, many of whom voted for Obama.  Time and again, callers relate that they discovered Rush by accident, or radio roulette (dial twisting) and have never quit listening since.

Recently, the main-stream-media has been salivating over their own predictions that a major player in radio station ownership has failed to renew his contracts with Limbaugh at hundreds of radio stations across the country.  This rumored decapitation of listening audience from the EIB Network is supposed to sink Rush and end his broadcast career. Fortunately, the rumor is false, and the new contracts were never in doubt.  Limbaugh will continue to frustrate and infuriate the likes of Chris Matthews, Wolf Blitzer and, yes, even President Obama, who publicly designated Rush Limbaugh his worst obstruction.

Myth: Rush is just a know-nothing clown who mocks Democrats and liberals without any factual evidence to support his wild claims.

Fact: Limbaugh is usually dead serious, and sometimes displays his anger, but he tries to illustrate the absurdity of politics through being absurd himself.  Yes, we laugh at the cute parodies and songs of Paul Shanklin that Rush plays, but we also gain a lot of truth that is never available on NPR or CNN or and of the Big Three networks. He always has good documentation to back up what he says, and cites his sources so that you can also research them.

Limbaugh is also an "equal opportunity jester."  He mocks not only Democrats and liberals, but also Republicans and conservatives. His continued use of words such as strategery and nucular and resignate are gentle jibes at "W" still in use almost five years after President Bush left office. 

Myth: The names Rush makes up for his hated politicos are disgusting and disrespectful. For that alone, he should be banned from broadcasting as a right-wing racist.

Fact: Most of the names and sobriquets that Rush uses have been gleaned from liberal news outlets, both networks and newspapers.  For instance, his reference to President Obama as "Barack the Magic Negro" was first applied to presidential candidate Obama by movie and culture critic David Ehrenstein in a Los Angeles Times op ed column of March 19, 2007.  Paul Shanklin was able to produce a funny song from the term to the tune of Puff, the Magic Dragon.  (Ehrenstein is a professed liberal and Democrat) 

Regarding name-calling, Limbaugh is often accused of calling people names when he disagrees with their opinions and politics; to wit: Dingy Harry for Senator Harry Reid.  Rush also makes up names for Republicans, by the way, (Lindsay Grahamnesty, for instance) so he is apolitical in his use of sarcasm and name-calling.  However, most of the name-calling on the show is done by callers whom have lost their debate points and need to leave with some dignity.  They usually revert to calling Rush and his faithful listeners names to end the call.

Myth: Limbaugh doesn't have anything new, he just parrots the same old stuff with his biased political twist.

Fact: Limbaugh has, in fact, broken many of the scandals in Washington and elsewhere.  He was one of the first to report on Monica Lewinsky, Dan Rostenkowski's mail fraud, and, more recently, the Benghazi Massacre cover-up.  Others have also opened the door on the Washington scandals, but Limbaugh has a way of putting them in perspective that shines the spotlight on them.

Now, I don't expect all of you to tune in to the EIB Network on Monday and join the millions of fans, but I do wish you would give the show that "ten minutes" I referenced in the opening paragraphs.  You just might be surprised at what you learn.