Running water on Mars?

[Umbran]

I think you mean hilarious!

It would be funny if he were a human expression of Poe's Law, but I fear he actually believes his own material. That ceases to be funny, at least to me, and leans to sadness.

On topic, I was just listening to Rush and a caller had just started talking about the all the liberal plot water on Mars when the radio cut out for over a minute. Coincidence or vast left wing conspiracy? What don't they want me to know!?!

What they don't want you to know is that the audio engineer was a nincompoop? Or that Rush is back on pills, and dozed off?

 

[Tonguez]

you Americans is such funny people

 

[Ovinomancer]

It would be funny if he were a human expression of Poe's Law, but I fear he actually believes his own material. That ceases to be funny, at least to me, and leans to sadness.



What they don't want you to know is that the audio engineer was a nincompoop? Or that Rush is back on pills, and dozed off?

Nah, Rush's an entertainer. If he was genuinely that wrapped up he would have flamed out by now. You can't maintain that level of outrage for thirty plus years without going of the deep end*. I don't doubt there a kennel of his beliefs in there, because that lends authenticity, but most of it is pandering.

*although, to be fair, maybe that's was the prescription drugs were all about.

 

[Kramodlog]

Well Rush would know. He's been on Mars for years now. He should do simulcasts with Art Bell.

More liberal lies! Obama is the one who went to Mars! http://www.wired.com/2012/01/obama-mars/

 

[Ovinomancer]

More liberal lies! Obama is the one who went to Mars! http://www.wired.com/2012/01/obama-mars/

Well, they would deny it. Least transparent administration ever.

 

[Kramodlog]

Nah, Rush's an entertainer.

What is entertaining about this fascist crap?

“From this day forward, somebody propose it, liberals should not be allowed to buy guns. It’s just that simple. Liberals should have their speech controlled and not be allowed to buy guns. I mean if we want to get serious about this, if we want to face this head on, we’re gonna have to openly admit, liberals should not be allowed to buy guns, nor should they be allowed to use computer keyboards or typewriters, word processors or e-mails, and they should have their speech controlled. If we did those three or four things, I can’t tell you what a sane, calm, civil, fun-loving society we would have. Take guns out of the possession, out of the hands of liberals, take their typewriters and their keyboards away from ‘em, don’t let ‘em anywhere near a gun, and control their speech. You would wipe out 90% of the crime, 85 to 95% of the hate, and a hundred percent of the lies from society.”

 

[Ovinomancer]

What is entertaining about this fascist crap?

That you don't see it as hilarious hyperbole? I'm entertained by that.

ETA: What entertains me about Rush is that he makes the same kind of statements about "liberals" that are often made about conservatives -- that they are horrible, evil, and stupid. It's momentarily amusing to me to hear the rage this inspires when heard, but said hearer blithely makes similar sweeping statements about conservatives.

That I hear Rush as very cutting satire. Maybe that's unintentional, but that's what I hear -- he mocks everyone.

 

[Kramodlog]

That you don't see it as hilarious hyperbole?

Him saying that he wants to "get serious" would indicate he wants to be... serious and "openly admit" his fascist views.

But you know, maybe it is more socially acceptable to just say it is humor. You'd still laugh if say he would make such an hyperbole about Jews, right? Cause hyperboles are funny.

 

[Umbran]

That you don't see it as hilarious hyperbole? I'm entertained by that.

That the world does not seem him as hilarious hyperbole is, however, saddening. My evidence includes (courtesy of Wikipedia):

In 1992, Ronald Reagan sent Limbaugh a letter in which he thanked him "for all you're doing to promote Republican and conservative principles ... [and] you have become the Number One voice for conservatism in our Country."

When the Republican Party won control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections, the freshman Republican class awarded Limbaugh an honorary membership in their caucus.

On March 29, 2007, Limbaugh was awarded the inaugural William F. Buckley, Jr. Award for Media Excellence, by the Media Research Center, a conservative media analysis group.

On January 5, 2008, the conservative magazine Human Events announced Limbaugh as their 2007 Man of the Year.

On February 28, 2009, following his self-described "first address to the nation" lasting 90 minutes, carried live on CNN and Fox News and recorded for C-SPAN, Limbaugh received CPAC's "Defender of the Constitution Award", a document originally signed by Benjamin Franklin, given to someone "who has stood up for the First Amendment ... Rush Limbaugh is for America, exactly what Benjamin Franklin did for the Founding Fathers ... the only way we will be successful is if we listen to Rush Limbaugh."

Zev Chafets, whose book Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One was published May 25, 2010, wrote after the first primaries of the 2010 U.S. election season that Limbaugh was "the brains and the spirit behind" the Republican Party's "resurgence" in the wake of the 2008 election of President Barack Obama. In his May 20, 2010, New York Times op-ed column, Chafets pointed among others to Sen. Arlen Specter's defeat, after being labeled by Limbaugh "Republican in Name Only," and to Sarah Palin, whose "biggest current applause line—Republicans are not just the party of no, but the party of hell no—came courtesy of Mr. Limbaugh."


These are not awards and accolades given to a man who is entertaining for hyperbole. These are things you give to someone who you think actually represents your position, and advocated for them effectively. I'm sorry, but your characterization of him as merely a satirist does not match the evidence of his past.

The only good thing about it all is that it is largely in the past. Rush's acceptance and influence is rapidly fading. His ratings and ad revenue falling, and stations in major markets are, one by one, dropping his broadcasts.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Yes, I listen about four times a week for periods of anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes.

You should stop doing that. It rots your brain.

No, I still disagree that Rush's listeners are anywhere near that monolithic in belief of him. There a core that are, but I'd put that at less than half of his listeners. That, in turn, is a small fraction of the crackpots on the world, and to be perfectly frank, Rush's brand of crazy isn't actually all that crazy, competitively, and I rather like knowing exactly where those people are.

Well, his brand of craziness may not reach Alex Jones levels, but that doesn't make it any better. What he says has an effect. He riles up the republican base, which in turn push their reps into trying to pass laws that are detrimental to large segments of society. Limbaugh has a large audience. He is pretty much the republican king maker. I prefer a nut case like Alex Jones because at least some of his ideas are entertaining.

I come by my assertions via anecdote, in that I know a bunch of people that have/do listen to Rush, but only a few that are diehards. In fact, the largest sample is people that used to listen to Rush and no longer do. Granted, it's anecdotal, but at least it's something other than bald assertion.

I know a few people who listen to Limbaugh. Most of them are die hards that take everything he says as unquestionable truth. The minority of them believe that he is right, but they don't see his word as unquestionable. So it seems we both have anecdotal evidence. There is also this.