What Do Rush Limbaugh And Liberace Have In Common?
I still remember an interview with Liberace from what must be close to 30 years ago in which he explained how he had become so flamboyant. It all started when he appeared on stage for a piano concert in a white dinner jacket instead of a black tuxedo. From that moment on, he said, he felt the need to continue to outdo himself with his attire. Eventually, both because he wanted to and because his audience expected it, Liberace ended up coming on stage wearing something like this:
So what does this have to do with Rush Limbaugh?
Limbaugh has become the modern day equivalent of Liberace. Every time he goes on the radio he clearly feels the need to continue to outdo himself with remarks that are every bit as outrageous as anything Liberace wore three decades or so ago.
Limbaugh's latest was the verbal equivalent of the outfit above, only with more sequins. As many others in the blogosphere pointed out late last week, Limbaugh blamed South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's affair on Barack Obama. He said:
"'My first thought was (Sanford) said: 'To hell with this. The Democrats are destroying the country. We can't do anything to stop it. I gave everything I had to stop it here in South Carolina. My wife's left me, the hell with it. I'm going to enjoy life what little time I've got left.' Folks, there are a lot of people that are looking at life, they're saying screw it. They're saying screw it. Before Obama takes away all their money, before Obama takes away their house or the economy takes away their house, there are people who are simply saying the hell with this. They've tuned out. The hell with it. I'm just going to try to enjoy it as much as I can."
(You can listen to the actual clip here).
This follows, of course, the hope Limbaugh expressed on his program several months ago that Obama's policies fail. At the time I thought that was ridiculous. But that first Limbaugh remark looks like a plain old white dinner jacket compared to what he said last week.
I wonder whether Limbaugh plays the piano.
Well said, Stan. But if I may
Well said, Stan.
But if I may take advantage of the presence of the general topic to make my own gratuitous, wise-ass observation, Sanford did show us one thing: Some types of stimulus are easier to resist than others.
Not Capital Gains and Games Worthy
With all due respect, Stan, this is not at all a well thought out post. You try blogging 15 hours a week, and see if you don't slip up a bit once in a while.
Limbaugh has more than twenty years of history by which to be judged, and while he's weak on economics--and considering some of his personal friends being highly competent economists, it's somewhat inexcusable--he's a pretty astute analyst of politics. 'The Little First Lady with Megalomania', 'Kennedeo', and 'I'm the Philander' being classic satirical pieces that the legions of Tonight Show or Letterman writers ought to envy.
He also has a very intelligent audience, to which I can testify because I used to advertise my small business on one of his local affiliates to very good effect. A niche market that surprised the time saleswoman to whom I proposed my ads.
You're making mistake in underestimating your ideological adversaries; ask Tom Foley and Jim Wright.
Every comic outlives his welcome
Rush is nothing but a desperate comedian trying to do whatever it takes to keep an audience. It's physically painful to hear at this point. I recall watching old stand-up comics, like Milton Berle, doing their "I hate my wife" routines on TV when I was growing up...my father was laughing; I, and anyone under 50, thought it was embarrassingly stupid. These guys hang on, playing to smaller and smaller audiences, because they can't give it up. Pathetic is not a strong enough word. That's the current state of the Limbaugh show.
When Rush was successful his memes resonated with a far larger audience than actually listened. Even people who voted for Clinton agreed in some measure that he insulted the office, and it's hard to remember how much over-reaching there was in democratic political circles. These were easy targets for a talented comedian like Rush.
But 15 years makes a big difference. At this point his ideas actively repulse non-listeners. The current audience consists of paranoid delusionists and angry shut-ins. The only time you hear about him is when he says something completely anti-American. It's. Over.