The Limbaugh Challange

The Los Angeles Times, showing good sense, recently published an editorial by Andrew Klavan which insulted their readers.

If you are reading this newspaper, the likelihood is that you agree with the Obama administration's recent attacks on conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh. That's the likelihood; here's the certainty: You've never listened to Rush Limbaugh.

Oh no, you haven't. Whenever I interrupt a liberal's anti-Limbaugh rant to point out that the ranter has never actually listened to the man, he always says the same thing: "I've heard him!"

On further questioning, it always turns out that by "heard him," he means he's heard the selected excerpts spoon-fed him by the distortion-mongers of the mainstream media. These excerpts are specifically designed to accomplish one thing: to make sure you never actually listen to Limbaugh's show, never actually give him a fair chance to speak his piece to you directly.

I'm going to pause here to note that I have actually listened to Rush Limbaugh. He's had plenty of opportunity to speak his piece to me; and I still regularly tune in. Let's skip down a bit in this well thought out editorial directed at those people who choose to read the Los Angeles Times.

You're a lowdown, yellow-bellied, lily-livered intellectual coward. You're terrified of finding out he makes more sense than you do.

I listen to Limbaugh every chance I get, and I have never heard the man utter a single racist, hateful or stupid word.

Never? I mean I'll be generous and give your racist. There are some well publicized contradictions to that point, but in honesty, he doesn't say as many racist things as he does stupid and hateful things.

I think it's gratifying in a way that we can drop the pretense that Rush Limbaugh is just an entertainer and isn't that important.

Red Meat

Rush Limbaugh spent some time yesterday on this article by Andrew Klavan at Big Hollywood. Klavan's argument is that Conservatism isn't dead and is in fact coming back more powerful than ever.

But we’re not unarmed and we’re in no way defeated. We have great politicians like Sarah Palin–who could well be president in not eight years but four–honest newsmen like Bret Baer and genius commentators like Rush–and Ann Coulter, who’s only about ten times smarter, funnier and more talented as a satirist than Jon Stewart or Bill Maher will ever be. The left can’t out-argue these mind-warriors so they try to ridicule, disdain and isolate them, to make us feel ashamed that we admire and respect them. And they tell us they’re finished, washed-up. Why, just look, it must be true: it’s right there in the newspapers and on TV.

They’re lying. The left has to lie for the simple reason that they’re wrong and we’re right, their policies don’t work and ours do.

It's probably very heartening to read that if you are a conservatoid. Too bad it's not so much true; Ann Coulter is a nasty minded simpleton, who's passionate enough, but lacks both honesty and truthfulness. Sarah Palin is a train wreck waiting to happen (again). Limbaugh's genius consists of convincing people who already agree with him to agree with him even more.

I'm not saying there's no hope for Republicans; I rather believe they will be back and successful in the future. Politics is cyclical. But they aren't back yet; and I think getting back will mean abandoning or back-burnering Limbaugh/Coulter triumphalism.