A Repulsive Rush to Judgment
Is anyone surprised or shocked by the repulsively insensitive and highly-inappropriate remarks made by conservative political ass-hat Rush Limbaugh on the tragic death of Robin Williams?
The pill-popping protagonist of reckless right-wing radio slammed Williams on the airwaves Tuesday, barely 24 hours following the widely-reported suicide, essentially ascribing the actor-comedian’s lifelong troubles and battles with addiction — now get this — to liberalism. So, as is typical in Rush’s twisted fantasyland, liberals are to blame for addictions and suicides, too.
Just, seriously. Fuck him.
That’s a mighty peculiar allegation coming from someone who as recently as a few years ago was an admitted dope fiend, who couldn’t finish his vile afternoon radio show without guzzling down a handful of pills illegally supplied by his favorite street corner candy man. Limbaugh’s long love affair with oxycontin and subsequent public arrest made the super-secretive addict into a sort Republican version of Keith Richards, albeit with about one-tenth the talent.
That little personal embarrassment and trip down memory lane aside, Limbaugh told his brainwashed band of ditto-head lapdogs that in his mind leftist philosophy is “one of pessimism and darkness, sadness — they’re never happy, are they?” he stated, referring to Williams and others who have worked tirelessly for progressive causes. By the way, compare Williams’s track record of giving and charity work with Limbaugh sometimes.
“They’re always angry about something. No matter what they get, they’re always angry,” Limbaugh said on his radio show.
“He had it all, but he had nothing. Made everybody else laugh but was miserable inside — I mean, it fits a certain picture or a certain image that the left has. Talk about low expectations and general unhappiness and so forth.”
Limbaugh added his own view of things — seemingly plucked out an overactive imagination — that Williams felt guilt over surviving the deaths of other actors, including friends John Belushi, Christopher Reeve, and Andy Kaufman. “He could never get over the guilt that they died and he didn’t,” Limbaugh said. “Well, that is a constant measurement that is made by political leftists when judging the country.”
Huh?
Oddly enough, as was cited earlier today by The Huffington Post, statistics disprove every one of Limbaugh’s outlandish theories.
“Research published last year found that suicide rates tend to be higher in states that vote Republican and have a higher rate of gun ownership.”
Moreover, consider this: “A book by James Gilligan, Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others, says that suicide and violence rates rise during Republican presidencies and fall during Democratic administrations.”
Then, there’s this: “Another study found higher suicide rates in Australia and the United Kingdom when conservative governments are in power.”
It’s sad that such a despicable man, someone who would try and squeeze out political brownie points from the death of such a beloved comedic treasure, still has any loyal listeners at all beyond those who are simply deranged or morbidly curious. Given that he does somehow retain a following and even enjoys reverence in conservative circles, that seems to say a lot more about the jello-brained buffoons on the receiving side of the microphone, rather than the pathetic individual blabbering in front of it.
However, that wasn’t the end of it. On Wednesday, Limbaugh took to the airwaves again, tempting many with a simple question, “would he apologize?”
Well, not exactly.
Instead, the perplexed pompous-ass launched another diatribe, this time against everyone who was appalled by his ill-timed grasp at political opportunism. Insisting he was “misquoted, purportedly by the Left,” the defiant windbag then stated the following:
“[The liberal media] are the ones trying to explain it. They’re the ones trying to justify it. They’re the ones trying to glorify it.”
Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Rush. Keep talking. Certainly, another tragedy will happen eventually, beckoning your exploitation.
If Robin Williams has a spirit, it’s probably laughing out loud right now.
READ: Karma Indeed
This was obviously an emotionally-driven post for you, but you could have made your point without a few major missteps. I will choose to dispute one of your assertions, that Limbaugh doesn’t give to charity. He runs an annual telethon on his radio show that has raised TENS of MILLIONS for lymphoma research & he personally starts the telethon by donating himself, currently to the tune of $500k. That’s not insignificant. Secondly, using Hoffpo to counter anything Limbaugh says is fighting fire with fire, both are blatantly agenda-driven & neither is a trustworthy source when making a point. I will say this about the Huffpo stats, they do not say who is committing suicide or violent acts. The fact that they are higher while conservatives are in power does nothing to refute Limbaugh, for it’s plausible the stats are a result of “liberal” discontent & despair with their “conservative” leadership, meaning “liberals” commit suicide & violence more when faced with “conservative” governance. I believe Limbaugh was way out of line here, but it also appears you let your emotions get the best of you. Not your best work, which I thoroughly enjoy reading on a regular basis.
Seconded, Nolan ! Check out my “hates” in FACING THE FIRING SQUAD…
You, of course, listened to the show, right? I just listened to Limbaugh’s comments…Surprise! He did not say what is apparently the subject of your column, completely wrong. this column really is a low point for you. The premise is false & the tone of the entire tone of it is angry & vengeful…at something that was never said. You could take off on Limbaugh for many things, but the comments you mistakenly ascribe to him really wreck your credibility. Maybe you’re not better than this. You, of course, will not allow this reply to remain on your post, and I’ve lost a lot of respect for you.
To clarify Limbaughs context, and to Mr.Richards comment… (Yes, I read the actual transcript)…
What Limbaugh did is he approached each possible ‘reason’ for RW’s inability to choose life, and ascribed it to leftism.
“… it fits a certain picture, a certain image that the left has”.
He took every possible sad or negative that could have led to RWs choice, and presented it as common amongst liberal thinking.
Is construing the meaning of this to be that Rush feels Liberalism led to RWs death a reach? Only bc he never directly said it. If he paints RW as the massive liberal that we all agree he was, and ascribes the top reasons he was purported to have ended his life for as functions of Liberal thinking, welcome to the logic train. He said everything BUT say it directly.
Any high-horse of “he was misquoted!” is asinine. If someone is defined as an ‘X’ type, and the causes for that persons death are attributed to broad, ‘X’ type thinking, how is that NOT saying that being an ‘X’ type contributed to that death?
Switch shoes. Imagine if Rush OD’d on pills. Imagine a liberal pundit ascribing the likely reasons behind it as ‘typical conservative thinking’.
The liberal bosses of that liberal
pundit would fire that pundit.
He uses this sad, tragic passing and the possible reasons behind it as a soapbox for extended liberal bashing. That alone is deplorable.
1,000,000 times more deplorable than someone over-reaching by applying the Conditional Law of Logic.
Mind who you’re angry at, Mr. Richards. The offense taken by the offended is far more justified than the intent of the offender, who sloppily stated his massively offensive case.
I’ll give the people who’s “way of thinking” was labeled as akin to justification/reason behind a man’s suicide a little wiggle-room. It doesn’t get much more offensive as it’s simultaneously disrespectful to the deceased and his personal struggles.
Thanks for bringing a lil light on this, Nolan. The amount of disrespect uttered by RL as tough to gather, and the discourse it creates matters. Any ‘errors’ on your part (the error of applying basic logic) do not trump the vile behavior of this man with a microphone. The more a conservative uproar over the “over-reaching” offense the offended takes acts as a distraction from the original offense, the more they show what they’re made of.
Thanks for the minute of your day , whoever reads this.