Blogging buddy Erudite Redneck blithely mentioned Limbaugh and the recent contretemps in passing, and received this and this in response:
You should get your facts about Rush from someone other than your Democratic handlers
# posted by ELAshley : 4:30 PM
You and Brian McGough, and everyone else listening to Media Matters, USA Today, and every other Democrat shill news-source, are being lied to.
You're smarter than this, ER. Get the facts before you accuse someone of being a "fool" over a specific issue... especially THIS one. You've been lied to.
# posted by ELAshley : 4:36 PM
Now, when someone writes something like that, I am forced to wonder, without rancor or any hard feeling at all - Are they really so stupid as that?
Seriously. It isn't as if there weren't resources out the there to investigate this kind of thing, for people to find out for themselves what might or might not have been said, its intent, its context, and all the rest. It isn't as if we were dealing with an unknown quantity in Rush Limbaugh, either. He has only a passing acquaintance with the truth even at the best of times; like Ann Coulter (my fingers hurt whenever I type that name), Rush really believes in nothing at all other than publicity and ratings and attracting as much attention as possible. Both are nihilists, although Coulter is a bit less of a coward, quite willing to confront those who "disagree" with here, but only because she has absolutely no moral sense whatsoever, saying whatever foulness pops in to her empty skull. Limbaugh, on the other hand, refuses to leave the cocoon of right-wing radio, refuses to confront those whose opinions are different from him, refuses to engage in serious discussion with others because, in his heart of hearts, he knows he will be left looking like a wet rag used to wipe down a dirty dog when all is said and done.
Having said all that - there is abundant evidence available showing Limbaugh said exactly what he said, intending it the way it has been interpreted by critics; in Limbaugh we have an individual with a history of outrageous provocations, and a further history of hiding behind lies and the help of others to protect him - I just have to know if those who defend Rush and his comments really, truly believe what they are saying. I do not for an instant believe that those members of Congress who are trying to push a resolution commending Limbaugh believe it; they are far too savvy and aware to be fooled by his antics. They are trying to keep the subject off Iraq, unwittingly keeping a focus on it by trying to elevate Limbaugh (thus showing that, while savvy, they aren't quite as adept as one might think). But, the loyal Limbaugh listener, who listens to the words that pour forth as if God were speaking, has to know exactly what Limbaugh was saying, and understood it correctly. Again, there is abundant evidence, considering the slandering of pretty much every veteran not a Republican war-booster, that this is part and parcel of a strategy that has been going on for decades.
So, either ELAshley is stupid. Or thinks we are stupid. Or deluded. I just can't figure out which.
