Talk Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70

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Talk Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70

Postby jbobsully11 » Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:39 am

According to his wife, he died of lung cancer earlier today. I... will refrain from commenting, in favor of people who are more mature and less spiteful than I am.
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Re: Talk Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70

Postby Absentia » Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:36 pm

I reckon this is as good a place as any to say what I have to say about the guy.

First of all, having watched my father die of cancer in real time, I will say that I absolutely would not wish it on anyone. And whatever you may think of someone, remember that they have a family that has to suffer right alongside them before you start high-fiving over their agonizing death.

That said, I listened to Rush quite a bit in the early aughts during my conservative teenager phase and later came to despise him. The thing that a lot of liberals seem not to understand about Rush is that he was a professional troll, and most of the truly shocking things he said were tongue in cheek. The goal was to get outraged liberals to call into his show so he could make sport of them. As a commentator he wasn't particularly insightful and I often disagreed with him even then, but that wasn't really the point of the show. I thought he was a funny troll.

The problem, it seems, is that a lot of people weren't in on the joke and learned all the wrong lessons about how to engage in politics. I blame Rush and his army of imitators for spawning the modern shithole GOP by creating a generation of conservatives who think that insult comedy and making liberals mad are the ultimate goals, not just a diversion for weekday afternoon radio. That's how we got Trump, who almost perfectly represents the Limbaugh school of politics: mean-spirited, insincere, all about personal feuds and petty insults. And sure, maybe Rush never intended to be the leader of a movement, but by all indications he had no problem with the monster he created.

So while I'm sorry about the way he had to suffer, I can't say he deserves to be remembered with anything but scorn.
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Re: Talk Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70

Postby JamishT » Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:58 am

I too listened to him as a teenager, and found him funny and captivating. I think Abs nailed it, and would like to add another thing people miss or can't admit about him. He was very talented, the ability to keep a multi-hour live show on track daily is one thing, but he also was able to talk directly to you and make you feel like you're smart/getting smarter. Yes, a large part of his draw was saying terrible things and whatnot, but he was also quite talented.
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Re: Talk Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70

Postby NathanLoiselle » Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:19 pm

He used his powers for evil and not for good. And for that we will miss him.
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