Rush Limbaugh Talk

Today I realized that the key to Rush Limbaugh's Crazytown is Ayn Rand.  Particularly Atlas Shrugged, which he references frequently.

Rand's philosophy can be summed up with a single word: selfishness.  Or, in more Rand-ian terms, "enlightened self-interest."  

Atlas Shrugged depicts a world where government interference has run amok in the business world.  To quote Limbaugh (an outspoken fan), "It is basically about the achievers of life quitting, because they're tired of being 1% of the population pulling the other 99% in the cart."  
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As soon as I heard that Osama Bin Laden had emerged from his hidey hole to condemn America for causing climate change, I knew that Rush Limbaugh would be all over that action.  And I was not disappointed.  

Now there are two ways you can go with this.  The first is the random ad hominem attack.  The thing about a crazy man is that he is liable to say anything, because he is crazy.  Rush can gleefully point out that Bin Laden agrees with Al Gore, and that should weaken Al Gore's position.  But for one thing, it was just a coin flip - next thing you know, Bin Laden could come out against America's school lunch program, or in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.  You never know, right?
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Those with a memory longer than that of a goldfish (i.e. those who are not Rush's core audience) will remember a little while back when Rush Limbaugh pitched a temper tantrum over the government recommending that citizens be vaccinated for influenza and for the H1N1 swine flu.  A government recommendation, and the man flipped out, drumming his heels on the ground and pounding his fists and insisting that he wouldn't, you can't make me, you mean lady!

"This is what the world will be like under the Democrats," Rush basically said.  You will be lined up outside the flu clinic and held in place by armed soldiers and given a mandatory vaccine.  Or something.  I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but Rush made it clear that it would be Orwellian and Very Bad.
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"You want me to do WHAT with my money?"You know, it's times like these that make it clear that Rush Limbaugh is his own worst enemy.  If Rush didn't want people to hate him, then the way forward is obvious.  Instead, Rush has chosen to attack the credibility of everyone who has ragged on him for saying what he did about Haiti last week, and to try and misdirect our attention away from what he did say.

Rush constantly falls back on the "I'm being quoted out of context" excuse, combined with "That isn't what I meant."  So let's look at what he said last week.  On the topic of Haiti, Rush Limbaugh said "We've already donated to Haiti.  It's called the U.S. income tax."
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Haiti National PalaceIn the wake of what will certainly go down in history as one of the biggest disasters in modern history, Rush Limbaugh has nothing to say about the suffering of the Haitian people.  Unlike many (all?) other media figures, he does not call upon his listeners to donate to a worthy non-political charity which is working to help the Haitian people.  Doctors Without Borders, for example, is completely apolitical; surely even Rush Limbaugh would support them?
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Rush has been off the air for the last few weeks, and apparently his replacement is even worse, so I have been trying to ignore him.  In the mean time, Rush was admitted to a hospital recently with chest pains.  Rush was on vacation in Hawaii with his 33 year old girlfriend Kathryn Rogers.

Rush panicked, thinking that he was having a heart attack, and called his girlfriend.  Rogers in turn called 911 on his behalf.  I guess it's a good thing that Rush wasn't actually having a heart attack, because seconds count.  Protip: if you think you're having a heart attack, phone 911 directly.  Don't call your girlfriend.
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I have been waiting with bated breath for Rush to weigh in on the so-called "War on Christmas," but he said nary a peep until the 22nd, and I nearly missed it.

First of all, let's address the term "War on Christmas."  I understand that when a privileged class is asked to accommodate other groups, the first reaction of privilege is to feel defensive and push back.  It has ever been so, and Rush Limbaugh himself is so larded with entitlement that it seems redundant to point it out.
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Rush Limbaugh today took aim at Obama's "Cash for Caulkers" plan, which gives homeowners rebates and other incentives to weatherize their houses.  If you ask Rush, this is apparently the worst thing ever.

Rush, unsurprisingly, gets the science completely wrong.  And his callers only add to the confusion in a hilarious fashion.  I was reminded of something I read about recently, which is the South Korean phenomenon of "fan death."  In South Korea, there is a persistent superstition that people die if they fall asleep in a room where a fan is running.  Theories on why people die vary, from "the fan sucks all the oxygen away from your face and you suffocate," to "the fan's motor burns up all the air in the room and you suffocate."
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Today Rush Limbaugh's Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page leads off with an article that is titled "Nanny State," about one of the biggest product recalls in consumer history.  Approximately 50 million window blinds are being recalled, because the strings pose a strangulation hazard.

Rush's reaction?  He sneers.

24 children have been strangled to death by window cords, a number which Rush pooh-poohs as being minimal.  Like a rounding error.  "So 24 kids have died," he says, "a whole industry needs to have a product recall?"
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Rush Limbaugh likes to defend himself against charges of homophobia. In fact he frequently trots out homophobia (along with racism and sexism) as examples of things that liberals incorrectly believe about conservatives.  Liberals think all conservatives are homophobic, racist, and sexist, and isn't that terrible of them?  Not to mention hypocritical.

It is clearly true that Rush Limbaugh is not a homophobe.  He does not fear gay people.  He just hates them, is all.  You can hate something without fearing it.  I for example hate rhubarb, but I can assure you that it does not frighten me.
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