I’ll be on MSNBC today at 3:35pm EDT to talk about Rush Limbaugh.
[The topic could not be more timely. Firedoglake just partnered with Color of Change; I’m going to create another series of videos similar to the birther series, but with a different thesis.]
Look…
Rush Limbaugh is a force. He’s the titan in his field. I’m an expert on talk radio and I can tell you that no other host can talk for three hours a day, with virtually no guests and very few calls, and hold an audience’s attention the way Rush does. And he’s been doing it for twenty years. Week in, week out, three hours a day… for twenty fucking years. Nobody does it better.
I spoke with a Representative popular with the netroots last week. I told him that I believed nobody in the world has been more influential over the last twenty years than Rush Limbaugh. The Congressman agreed with me, unequivocally. Think about it: Rush Limbaugh led the Republican party to victory in 1994. They held onto the house until 2006. He got George Bush – who had failed at every endeavor he ever endeavored to endeavor at – elected on 2000. After four years of failure, Rush got him elected again!
More importantly, Rush established an environment that purged liberal Republicans from office and from their party.
And perhaps worst of all, Limbaugh’s political trend setting dragged the Democratic Party far, far to the right. Both Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer recruited conservative Democrats to run against Republicans. The signals they sent to donors often stopped progressive recruiting cold. How did they – Democrats from Chicago and New York – decide to prioritize conservadems? Well, all I know for sure is that their political maturation evolved smack dab in the middle of the Rush Limbaugh era.
Things have been bad, but maybe there is a silver lining. Nate Silver can probably speak to this better than I can, and I’m going to forward him this post for comment, but my thinking is that Rush may be trending to the point of becoming the classic too-effective parasite – the kind that kills their host. As the country diversifies and minority voting blocs determine the fate of more races, Rush’s racism and radical conservatism will appeal to an increasingly small portion of the electorate. For Republicans, this presents a one-way death spiral. They won’t be able to get through their primaries without Rush on their side, but to keep Rush on their side, they need to stand by Rush’s side. (See Phil Gingrey). The more they stand by Rush, the more they marginalize themselves at the November ballot box.
So that’s the point of this video. Senator Jim DeMint has emerged as a new voice of the Senate Minority. But he won’t criticize Rush Limbaugh for even the most incendiary racist remarks.
I give you The Republican Party. I give you the Party of Rush Limbaugh and racism.
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All I can say is I hope you are
rightcorrect.3:35 on msnbc. eastern, pacific, central, mountain time?
Rush is an overwieght, inactive, male. His money will not make him immortal. One day he will pass. Probably with a state funeral.
I keep telling my Grandmother to stop listening to this crap. She doesn’t understand that nearly everyone who doesn’t live in the South (or Kansas for her sake) no matter what race, creed, or sexual orientation actually gets along with each other. Living in the Seattle area is a breath of fresh air after living in Kansas and Louisiana as a child. I didn’t realize what I was seeing at that time for what it really was (racism/classism) until I educated myself as an adult. It’s sad, but at some point this stuff will have to die out, so maybe we’re just seeing it’s death throws.
Mike Stark is brilliant. Rush Limbaugh, Jim Demint, and Racists, Inc., not so much.
Glad you are here, mike.
It’s all about the skin color. Rush always was.
Yeah, I hope Rush suffers a lot from his success.
I couldn’t believe my folks started listening to this hateful person when he started and they’ve been loyal listeners ever since. makes me sick.
AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Mike Stark and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
You have articulated what I have been tryin’ ta say for some time now but much clearer. I have been sayin’ that Obama’s unfavorables match the number of folks who don’t believe he is a citizen or “aren’t sure”. This means that this is the top of the fascist base, they can’t go futher, the only way they can succeed is to drive Obama’s favorites into “undecided” and then cut the thugs loose to intimidate them. This will only succeed if Rahm Emmanuel gets Obama and the Democratic leadership to cave in on healthcare. The irony here is, that while Rush Limbaugh has shot his wad and made the lunatic fringe vulnerable to political elimination, the elected Democrats could give it all back to the fascist bastards.
KEEP THE FASITH AND PASS THE FUCKIN’ AMMUNITION, THIS IS ONLY GUNNA GET WORSE!!!
Mike, is anyone tracking townhall statistics?
Like how many are going without disruption, how many proceed despite protests, how many are disrupted and/or cancelled?
I think there’s too much emphasis on the protests as though that’s all that’s going on. Of course, it’s the most visual thing for TV. Any other visuals to offer in favor of reform? One mom and daughter team in Denver were made up as a puppet and puppetmaster. Health insurance vampires perhaps? Regular people attending with highly visible medical apparatus with real problems?
Just wondering and thank you again for your wonderful work.
Greg Levine morphed into Mike Stark. Kewl! Limbaugh’s father was some sort of circuit court judge. Somehow, I don’t think he’s like father.
Absolutely no shame. None whatsoever.
I wrote this on Huffpost, but in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (SPOILER ALERT!!!)…
-
-
-
-
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Vincent Crabbe is incinerated by a spell he casts which subsequently goes out of control. Sound familiar?
Good work, Mike. And I’m so glad you didn’t mention Mike and Cindy.
This is creepy and I think things are really coming to a head. The Fasc-racists are following the brownshirt/blackshirt playbook to the letter and I’m afraid we’re living in a do-or-die time for democracy. Are we up to the challenge? We’d better be or start scouting out a safe place to move (if there is such a place — when the US turns fascists where do you go to escape?)
I’ve made the very same observation on one of my diaries, claiming that “rush is a secret democrat”
he has driven all voters in the middle to democratic tickets and while rush is responsible for the fall of gore, the re-election and myth of reagan, he is also responsible for the fall of their permanent majority and the demise of the republican party
each time he opens his mouth another moderate leaves the party, granted he energizes the base but the base is already his
Out of curiousity, how old is Rush? When he croaks, it will be a good thing for democracy.
It looks like they’re heading that way, and none too soon.
The same thing just happened in the financial markets — the brokerage companies provided the leverage to the hedge fundies @ 30-40 to 1, and the hedge funds took that money and shorted the brokerage fund stocks out of existence (Merrill Lynch, Lehman Bros, etc.)– and here’s the rich part — on the grounds that they were way too leveraged and therefore doomed to fail!
Even though Limpy has gone far (armed only with a quick tongue, viagra, and a vacuum pump), he’s still too mean-spirited to be admired.
He’s old enough to have been a vietnam era draft dodger. Of course, now he’s totally pro-military.
With you on your analysis. As Norske’s been repeating all day today, the fascist base is topping out at 38%. Regardless of the health care bill outcome, it’s going no higher than that.
Citizen perris:
There are a couple of ironies here but the biggest is that it is Obama and the Democratic leadership that can give these crypto-Nazis victory from defeat. Our efforts must be focused on grabbin’ the elected Democrats by the throat and marchin’ ‘em onto the floor of Congress in September.
Another irony is that it is Rahm Emmanuel, Tel Aviv’s man in the White House, who is tryin ta give these fascist bastards the field.
I think that irony along with the whole concept of “family” is one of God’s big jokes on us.
Let’s not forget that one of DeMint’s top staffers (he was in the House at the time)
led the charge (unindicted co-conspirator #9) at the Brooks Brothers Riot.
Norske, may I say that over the past week, you have become a HERO to me?
I know lots of friends and family that listen to him and it makes me sick too. They are smart people who should see through him, but they don’t. I just don’t understand his power on the otherwise intelligent.
Oh yes indeed. Sow the crazy racist wind, reap the really stupid, evil and crazy whirlwind.
Mike’s on
Mike Stark on MSNBC right now!
Back in February, when NRCC Chair Pete Sessions (R-Christianist Republic of Texas)
said that the Republicans would carry out an insurgency, he meant it.
Give the man credit. He has more backbone than the Democratic leadership combined.
Except when it comes to beating up on progressives.
It’s because he’s super-slick. There’s a reason he’s paid so much to do what he does.
Strange and sour as they play on the xenophobia on every one of their tools. We that have the sense to watch see them play white against black, and black against white at the same time. They have created a subsection of the public that agonizes over a controversy that never really exists. The white firefighter that got his job via the court, goes back and does it again. The black or hispanic american does not see any sense of justice, or that the law has been followed. Perfect fodder for a new reason to enrage someone for their own use.
But it is always fiction. It may be argued that the counter approach is always to intellectual and the rubes aren’t going to be able to understand it. So fix that. Use simple terms and sentences that apply to everyone and the average American and their 10th grade education can understand. “I want Medicare” “You don’t want socialized medicine, then are you ready to give up your Medicare now?” “You can sign away your right to Medicare today! Just sign here” “Medicare is for Everyone”
But we have whips like John Kerry and Diane Feinstein trying to cloud the issue talking about some other crap as they privately attempt to derail Medicare for all of us. Two people that can’t speak plain English if their life depended on it. John Kerry looked like an idiot next to GW Bush. Think about it for 10 seconds and you start to burn. The message has to be simple and true and the dumbest asses of all time have to be able to see it for what it is.
Me, too; me, too. Just today in our area Sean, it seems has been moved to noon hour drive time. Don’t know if it’s permanent,but there he was. yikes…And Laura and her evil snark on for BillbOOO tonight.
There’s Mike!
MSNBC
Citizen Gitcheegumee:
I’m flattered Citizen, but there are no heroes in this fight, just citizens who accept their responsibilities. Some of us can only use our voices, some of us like Mike Stark have talents for political art, some have talents like Citizens Hamsher and Hardin Smith and some have been elected to do the biddin’ of the people…we all do our part.
Limbaugh is 58. Relatively young (from my 66 year old perspective).
is there a link to see him live via the toobz?
Nice work, Mike!
ditto. except the timing. norske’s been my hero since i first stepped into the lake.
Possibly RL gives comfort to those who felt completely in control and now feel utterly helpless but to scream no at everything – even things that will help them personally. What to do? I can imagine at some stage the republicans will run off most of their sane supporters, who will become moderate dems. At that point the left-wing of the dems will be the main minority party, with moderate dems representing the majority and republicans as a fringy green-style movement rather than organized national party. I can dream, can’t I?
Just caught the tail end of the Shuster interview with Stark and some GOP loud mouth m@##@^er bloviator…
PLEASE, for the love of all that’s decent,is there ANY Dem or Progressive with razor sharp elbows to go into these talk shows and give it back HARD AND OFTEN,to these loud mouth obnoxious blowhards?
WE CANNOT SUBSTITUTE A WISHBONE FOR A BACKBONE.
Limpy’s act has been the same since he got into talk radio, and that was many years ago. He attacks Democrats and praises Republics, day after day, show after show. He does it no matter which party is in control.
Recently at a foster parents’ training, they hired a wingnut minister give an all day workshop ~ most likely several thousand dollars from our tax payer’s money. There was a woman of the Muslim faith in the room as he told us how to care for children and love “Jayzuz” all at the same time. She cringed and I could not help but notice. As she was leaving during the first break, I let her know I was appalled at this disrespect as she was and I was a Chrsitian who had a high regard for her faith with whom I had worked with as an activist for social justice. I wrote to the DSHS office and expressed my displeasure but of course I never heard back from them.
My point here is that, this disrespect permeates society and has no respect for our fellow Americans unless they are white upper class people. The racism and classism is often subtle and hard to fight in many ways so when it comes to speaking up ,it is important for those of us who are alert to social justice to call it out whether or not it affects us directly.
As for these “Rethuglican lites” who Schumer and Emmanuel are promoting are also part contributing to our own death spiral only it is because of the “centrist” Democrats who we progressives all know are far from centrist and as much right wingnuts as the people they ran against.
Mr Stark I have followed your work and I am glad you are on our side. For many of us who have watched this corruption for years, it just makes you wonder where these idiots come from ~ until you realize their pockets are being lined as are their Rethug counterparts. Then you realize they have abandoned our stances as Democrats who know what the party used to be. Many like me are not trying to re-live the “good old days” we have been first hand witnesses to the prosperity that spread to many more when the laws and policies was directed at everyone, not just the privileged class of people …in the end it is all about the money …
Cat in Seattle
There’s no one. That’s why the Democrats have the ever bland Harry Reid as leader.
Norske, to paraphrase a quote I once read,
“These days, just trying to be a decent human being is an act of heroism.”
It’s oddly funny to me that republicans are so in thrall of a drug addict.
If Harry Reid were a color, he would be beige. Rush Limbaugh would be white, of course. Straightjacket-white.
Being a drug addict and taking sex vacations are only bad when the person is not a conservative.
@42
Why would you consider that odd?
Mr. Oxyincontinent has singlehandedly driven up the stock price of MANY Big Pharma firms for years now ,hasn’t he? *g*
I take issue with your assertion that Rahm recruited conservadems because of Limbaugh. In Cook County, politicians who would otherwise be Republican have to run as Democrats to get elected,(and the converse is true in neighboring DuPage County). Rahm is a millionaire investment banker whose greatest political feat in the Clinton administration was pushing through NAFTA. Rahm’s a DINO, and always has been.
And even if you are correct and Rush is killing the Republican party, what does it matter if the Democrats have successfully been pulled so far to the right that they are now the neo-Republican party?
Wow. stunningly fantastic job, Mike. Well done! I enjoyed watching you smack that smarmy Eric-Cantor wannabe around.
Citizen ProgThis:
Right on Citizen, and I wouldn’t even call Rahm a DINO, I would call ‘im a Likudnik or simply an Israeli fascist.
I beg to differ. The Rahms and other neoliberals (GOPers in all but name) are effectively driving voters away with their constant giving in to the GOP wingers.
Why the hell vote for the Ds when all they do is what the Gs LET them do? Nothing changes! NOTHING CHANGES!
So why vote?
Now I know where the flame thrower part comes from….
The Israeli DINO in the living room
Can I get an “Amen!”
This is the frustrating thing, yeah? Normally republicans would not take advice from a weirdo-druggie, yet they do it relentlessly – b/c he pumps up their opinions of themselves, and expresses their inner hatred and insecurity at the changing US. I hope the country can continue to progress without a lot of violence, but I’m not sure that’s the case. We best steel ourselves for some serious social unrest.
Well a lot of ppl in chgo were unhappy to see Rahm back in the WH, he is not liberal enough – but Obama trusts him to take care of business. Obama is a serial compromiser but general builds on initiatives so in the end the program will accomplish the goals he set out at the beginning. I’ve seem him spend 5 years, 7 years driving a project along. Don’t lose heart.
FRUSTRATING?
More like CASTRATING the potency and the gravitas of the party?
WHERE are the grownups?
Jessie’s Cafe’ Americain,had an exceptional article today .
Although it is primarily financial,the topics are timely and varied.He suggests that Obama is repeating much of Jack Kennedy’s mistakes in his first term…and that the health reform is a must-but so is the need for higher wages,and a fairer distribution of wealth.
May I recommend both the article and the site ?
Jesse’s Café AméricainAug 4, 2009 … Jesse’s Café Américain. “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my …
jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/ – Cached – Similar
Brother, I am here to testify and say a big AMEN!
Say it plain,Sufilizard,say it plain!
Can you do a link to Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”?
Seal does an extraordinary reprise of that song,btw.
I keep remembering how angry we all were at GWB for just pushing legislation thru his “rubber stamp” Republican congress and Senate, or just doing things with “signing statements” and “Presidential Orders”.
I for one am glad that President Obama is doing things the right way – pushing or waiting for legislation and giving the opposition every opportunity to engage themselves in the process. The fact that they choose not to participate shows them for what they are – bullies who want to push “their way or the highway”.
It takes longer this way – but in the end, I believe the results are much more substantial.
racism and fascism sells in a declining economy just like it did in germany in the 20’s and 30’s.
russ is more like hitler then he could ever realize.
the facism right wing is alive and well.
it will get worst much worst before it gets better.
if it gets better.
america is on a down ward spiral.
imperialism has a price
economic decline
it is all around us but we americans live in complete denial and only blame others for our decline.
have a nice day :-)
now lets invade iran and have three wars for profits
blackwater needs the money for lawyer fees.
What does Israel have to do with this?
Is there any sense of irony that as Mike Stark points out how Republicans and Conservatives are so quick to play the race card (not to mention all the Nazi allusions that are now happening) that people here are doing the same?
Nazis? Brownshirts? Fascists? Tell me, have any of these people set up concentration camps where they’re planning on murdering millions? Practically no one involved in these efforts are Nazis or brownshirts. I know a guy who survived the Warsaw Ghetto, and until we start walking by countless people lying in the streets, murdered by true Nazis, we have no business just throwing that term around. We decry them for bandying about those expressions when talking about us, but some on our side seem to have no problem hurling it back at them. Irony? Anyone?
And why don’t you just say you dislike Rahm Emanuel? What does Israel have anything to do with this discussion? Is it that Rahm happens to be Jewish?
The anti-Israeli sentiments that tend to creep into these discussion is the same as the stuff we’re supposed to be fighting. It’s fraught with racial subtexts that many victims of fascism and the Nazis know all too well. Just because we’re angry doesn’t mean we have to be stupid. The other side does that quite well.
Rush did not get anybody elected to anything. He has a base of listeners which has been the same for 20 years euphemistically referred to by Tenessee Williams as trailer trash, uneducated gun grasping folks who would choose to ignore their and Rush’s drug habits. He is a more successful version of Alan Burke, playing to the same audience using licensed spectrum and its power to corner a certain market. Put Rush on internet radio and see where he goes in the next five years. The guy only exists because he is able to use licensed spectrum. Kerry and Gore lost to Bush because they are silly people and ran incomptent campaigns like the Clintons did in the last presidential primary. Nothing to do with Rush.
I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve noticed a decided shift in wingnut tactics lately. If they are challenged directly on facts, they tend to say that either they’re not responsible for such comments (because they didn’t actually hear them), or that the facts in evidence may or may not be true…you know, like gravity, for example. The jury’s still out on that one, right?
Where’s my dinosaur? I need to saddle up for an afternoon ride…
DeMint (sounds French), my Senator to my great shame, is a stooge, a stand-in to sound out the Base’s* arguments. They’re generally racist, backwards, and death-defyingly stupid.
He couldn’t articulate a real policy matter, a concern of the American people (especially his SC constituents), a positive move forward, any sort of progessive program if you held a gun to his head. He’s a regressive, nasty politician. He epitomises the “party of no.”
*Remember what in Arabic Al Qaida means? It means “the Base.”
Let’s see:
Is Gore Vidal still alive?
Frank Zappa could take on anyone but he is no longer with us
Quoting G.B. Shaw, H. L. Menkin and Oscar Wilde always helps.
Throwing in A. Hitler for quotes that they agree with also helps
Only one I can think of is……….
Kinky Friedman that’s the ticket, just make sure that he can smoke his cigars.
And for G-ds sake don’t get offended by his non-political correctness.
After all Fascism from the left is as bad as fascism from the right.
Friedman is a hum dinger for sure!
One of my favorites,but I don’t hear folks on this site talk about him much.
Jim Hightower is pretty good,but is having a hard time getting airtime or radio play,according to his office.
And Vidal has a humdinger of a piece called “America the Great….Police State” over at Alternet. Although new,it’s Vintage Vidal.
He was on Bill Maher at the close of the show’s last season. Just Bill and Vidal -the entire hour. You can probably go to the Showtime website to download it.
Ah,Mencken..now that’s music to my ears,especially:
“It’s hard to get a man to understand something when his paycheck depends upon not understanding it.”