212. Rush Limbaugh

Today's NYT.

The last sentence tells you everything you need to know. "He (Obama) doesn't know what's in my heart, but you do," Mr. Limbaugh told his (radio) audience. "And that is the key."

Translation: Obama is too polite to say it, but YOU faithful listeners know me by now! Of course, I'm a misognystic racist and I meant every word of it!

**

I was there at the beginning.

In 1988 -- the year Rush started his radio show -- I had become a father for the second time, and five years after that, I was a full-time househusband, schlepping three young girls around Tucson -- back and forth to and from three different schools in three different sections of town, music lessons, Hebrew school, doctor appointments ...

... and since I do not listen to music in the car if someone is going to talk (thus making it background music), I always had the radio tuned to 790-AM, the all-talk station.

Thus Rush.

I remember thinking that this guy really really really loved Ronald Reagan! He was God Almighty and of course -- as I soon learned from Rushbo -- The Great White Commie Hater come to save America.

An historic nanosecond later and there was no more Soviet Union -- all thanks to Ronnie and Rush.

Clinton -- the most conservative Democrat I ever voted for -- was soon the great big Evil Liberal (huh?)

Well, at least I got a daily chuckle from the show.

Talent on loan from God. Yeah, right.

**

Rush used the 1956 song by Clarence Henry called "Ain't Got No Home," as a theme song and background for his rants where he would "illustrate" his take on the homeless and the liberal politics flowing therefrom. It become increasingly clearer to me over the years that this guy had a really nasty streak -- a toxic combination of his own particular brand of elitism (and he dares to constantly criticize the elite himself [translate: Jews]), racism and of course a particularly nasty bit of misogyny...

And yeah -- antisemitism, too.

I'll never forget it.

It was in the early 90's and Rush took a phone call from Mary who had a thick English accent.

Mary began her rant somewhat calmly but worked herself up into quite a lather. That perfectly proper accent made her xenophobic spewings all the more spine-chilling.

She blamed the Jews for everything. They had infiltrated this and that and of course completely "controlled" the liberal media, the liberal movement in general and -- oh, yes of course, how could we forget? -- the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the secret councils, Rockefeller and Rothschild ... on and on and on ... she even managed to throw in a reference to the old medieval canard about ritual child murders.

During her rant, Rush interrupted her only once saying something like this:

"Mary, how do you think the things you are saying will resonate with my [conservative] radio audience?"

She said she thought that the majority agreed with her, even if they wouldn't say so publicly.

He gave a little "hmmm."

Then -- when she brought up the Protocols I thought to myself, here Rush can at least pull himself up out of this mud pit ... explain to her and his audience that this was one of the most vicious frauds ever perpetrated against the Jewish people --

but he just let it slide by...

**

Maybe someone important -- perhaps even Jewish? -- and close to Rush also heard that phone call that day -- because as the years went by, I noticed that any such references to Jews became subtly coded with terms like "The Elite" or references to Rockefeller or at its most obvious, attempts at trying to be subtle; descriptions of shadowy rooms filled with bearded men in yamulkes, hacking off massive chunks of world real estate from some imagined New World Order where Jews run and control anything and everything.

Rush let it all sweep through his EIB air, and as Alan Colmes reminds us daily, when R$ush speaks, the words and smooshed-up ideas reverberate in the Right-Wing echo chamber and are then regurgitated at every level of the media, new and old ...

Colmes, by the way, always includes the fact that he is not advocating muzzling Rush in any way shape or form; he does not call for any sponsor boycott ...

... but let's call a spade a spade.

What is in rush limbaugh's heart is a whole lotta HATE.

I knew it back in '92 and it's still pretty obvious.

I hate to love the hate, but I love this country as much as any drooling Spartanburg, South Carolina sheriff (who called Obama a "buffoon")

So keep bringing it on, Rush. I remember when mainstream just ignored you. This is much better.