It is not my habit to listen to Wingnut blowhards. I don’t think I’ve listen to Rush Limbaugh for years, but on Friday afternoon I was driving around and noticed that it was about ten to three. So, I thought I would catch the last segment of his show. What I noticed was commercials–a lot of them. And that reminded me how the Limbaugh show was mostly a grift about getting rubes to open their wallets for this, that or the other pitch. Some were legitimate businesses–your mattress companies, your computer software or gadget and the like. Others were multi-level marketing deals with referral kick-backs for anybody who mentions the show when placing an order. And others–most of them it seems–were straight up grifts to fluff up Rushbo’s wallet and fund this or that aspect of the wingnut money machine. The legitimate advertisers are the cover for the grifters. They are the honey pot to attract the rubes to scams to fund the cons funding the CONsevative movement–and Rush is the sideshow barker saying anything to pull the rubes in the door so that their wallets can be relieved of their Dead Presidents.
By Friday afternoon, Rush had already double down on his slander of Sandra Fluke and he was feeling the pressure of the blowback. Sponsors/advertisers–the real businesses and not the wingnut grifters–were pulling their ads. Republicans everywhere were under pressure to condemn Rush’s slander and their fear of Rush was beginning to be offset by fears of an angry electorate in November. Within 24 hours, Rush would be forced to issue a non-apology apology and look weak. It would not stop the storm of outrage, but even that lame-ass word string was a signal of weakness from the Leader of the Republican Party and the CONservative movement. When the commercials finally ended and the Master blowhard took to the mic, you could hear his fear.
It was in every phrase. Every word. He was pleading. Whinny. And full of self-pity. He verbally thrashed and sought a scapegoat. Naturally he decided that all of his actions were President Obama’s fault. Fear was in his voice as he tried to craft an alternate reality where President Obama’s support for women to be in control of their health care choices forced poor old Rushbo to call Sandra Fluke a slut and a whore.
Doug is spot on. Limbaugh’s apology is a clear sign that we are winning and that it is time to kick them while they are down and hand them anchors, anvils and millstones.
The effort to get advertisers to pull their ads from Limbaugh’s show is working. If you haven’t joined the fun, I urge your to get involved. Here is a link to one Boycott Rush effort, and another, and another. I’m certain that there are more and that more will surface.
Getting the advertiser to separate from Rush is important. It hits him in the wallet, but more than that it removes the cover for all the other grifts he runs on his minions day after day. And it exposes every local radio station that caries the rat bastard to financial pressure and can send a warning flag to any advertiser supporting these stations. And Soonergrunt is correct to point out the effort to get Armed Forces Radio to stop carrying somebody who is so actively anti-American (you can help that effort here).
Every bully goes too far one day. For Joe McCarthy it was the Army-McCarthy Hearings. For Bobby Knight it was choking a player.. Perhaps–if our Nation is lucky–this is the end of the line for Rush Limbaugh. He knows he stepped in it. You can hear the fear in his voice. There is no justification for his bullshit any longer and anybody who defends him is a coward, a fool or both.
I could hear the fear in his voice and I think we should all do what we can do to make that fear grow in the coming weeks.
He is down from a self-inflicted wound and it is time to kick him.
Cheers