Rush Limbaugh: 'I Haven't Changed'

[aligncare]

I stopped listening to Rush when I realized he was the water boy for the Bush family. He even admitted it on the air. I am happy to learn he not an anti-Trump just for the sake of being anti-Trump. I might tune in again now that he is no longer kissing Bush butt.

He rarely mentions the Bushes anymore. What he does do is keep his listeners informed on up to the minute analysis of media bias. That’s where politics is won or lost. It never hurts to learn the truth.

[musiclady]

@Right_in_Virginia

We turned him off because he changed---how'd you miss that glaringly simple point?

Willful ignorance, or just plain trouble-making......

If he hadn't changed, we'd still be listening.  But he did, so we aren't.

Not exactly rocket science.

Three hours of "Trump is wonderful, conservatism be damned" during the primaries was enough to turn me away forever.

@CatherineofAragon

[jpsb]

His turn away from conservatism was disturbing.

Rush never was nor is he a conservative. He did not even vote for Reagan, he discovered that where was a market for conservative talk radio. So he marketed himself as a conservative. It is all a convincing act.

This occurred because Reagan (Whom Rush could not be bothered voting for) changed the FCC rules and that allowed someone like Rush to do what Rush does.

The right place at the right time with a good idea. Same thing happened to Bill Gates. Reagan changed the rules and adopted the IBM PC as the gov desktop computer. That make Gates an instant zillioniare.

[skeeter]

Rush never was nor is he a conservative. He did not even vote for Reagan, he discovered that where was a market for conservative talk radio. So he marketed himself as a conservative. It is all a convincing act.

This occurred because Reagan (Whom Rush could not be bothered voting for) changed the FCC rules and that allowed someone like Rush to do what Rush does.

The right place at the right time with a good idea. Same thing happened to Bill Gates. Reagan changed the rules and adopted the IBM PC as the gov desktop computer. That make Gates an instant zillioniare.

There are a number of prominent talk show hosts who fit this description. Out of a couple of dozen you could probably count the number of genuine true believers on one hand.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Willful ignorance, or just plain trouble-making......

Yes, you are guilty of both. But whatever floats your boat, dear.


@musiclady

[ABX]

The problem we are seeing with Rush, isn't just Rush himself, but a changing society. I do believe in his core, Rush is a Conservative, but like many, they become either so jaded or so caught up in 'the game' that winning or playing the game has superseded their values.

When I was young (yea, I was a little Alex P Keaton). Conservatives actually read William F Buckley and watched Firing Line. They studied Goldwater and Rothbard. They could actually tell you in detail the difference in the Chicago School, Austrian School, and Keynesan Economics. These days, if you take any self-proclaimed Conservative activist off the street, many would have no clue what they were or how they work. (they probably would think the Chicago School of Economics was some communist plot).

Now, Conservatives, just like the rest of society, are addicted to clickbait and drama. They want flashy headlines and easy answers. They want leaders to appeal to their emotions and get them waiving flags. They don't want to debate and discuss with their opponents, they want to hate them. They want to scream at the TV and internet. They don't want to refine their arguments or study. They have traded Firing Line for Duck Dynasty. They have traded National Review for Free Republic.

The changes with Rush are very much a symptom of this greater change. He is just appealing to what he thinks his audience wants.

He thinks (and probably rightly so) that they don't want "Advanced Conservative Studies" any more. They want a sports announcer pitching WWE catch phrases and calling their opponents names. They want someone who paints the boogey man in a dark light and paints their hero as someone who can do no wrong. They don't want someone who discusses the 'why' or 'how', they want to just hear the 'who' so they know what team to root for and against.

Rush's change is society's change and we can only look in the mirror to see why.

[INVAR]

Above her, frankly. Her insistence on misery for people contrasts with Rush's 25 years of preaching that we should work for raising people out of misery.

That is a VERY ignorant statement to make.  Do you know ANYTHING about Hinduism and the caste system as it exists in India? 

I lived there IN THE SLUMS - and I can tell you - there IS NO LIFTING ANY LOW CASTE PERSON out of misery and poverty in India - because the higher castes see that as angering their 300 million major deities.  Their religion teaches them that they must punish and walk upon those who must suffer for the sins of their past lives.  Widows especially.  Widows are cursed creatures where even their shadow may not touch a man or someone of a higher caste without the risk of being beaten, even to death.

Mother Theresa could only provide temporary comfort within the system that rules India.  She had no ability whatsoever to break it. 

To do that, one would have to eradicate Hinduism completely as the major religion in India.

Not.  Gonna.  Happen.

Indians are enslaved mind, body and soul to Hinduism.  It governs everything that happens in that country.

[INVAR]

The problem we are seeing with Rush, isn't just Rush himself, but a changing society. I do believe in his core, Rush is a Conservative, but like many, they become either so jaded or so caught up in 'the game' that winning or playing the game has superseded their values.

When I was young (yea, I was a little Alex P Keaton). Conservatives actually read William F Buckley and watched Firing Line. They studied Goldwater and Rothbard. They could actually tell you in detail the difference in the Chicago School, Austrian School, and Keynesan Economics. These days, if you take any self-proclaimed Conservative activist off the street, many would have no clue what they were or how they work. (they probably would think the Chicago School of Economics was some communist plot).

Now, Conservatives, just like the rest of society, are addicted to clickbait and drama. They want flashy headlines and easy answers. They want leaders to appeal to their emotions and get them waiving flags. They don't want to debate and discuss with their opponents, they want to hate them. They want to scream at the TV and internet. They don't want to refine their arguments or study. They have traded Firing Line for Duck Dynasty. They have traded National Review for Free Republic.

The changes with Rush are very much a symptom of this greater change. He is just appealing to what he thinks his audience wants.

He thinks (and probably rightly so) that they don't want "Advanced Conservative Studies" any more. They want a sports announcer pitching WWE catch phrases and calling their opponents names. They want someone who paints the boogey man in a dark light and paints their hero as someone who can do no wrong. They don't want someone who discusses the 'why' or 'how', they want to just hear the 'who' so they know what team to root for and against.

Rush's change is society's change and we can only look in the mirror to see why.

THAT was astoundingly PROFOUND.

[musiclady]

THAT was astoundingly PROFOUND.

And eloquently stated.  BRAVO, @AbaraXas !

[DCPatriot]

More pompous BS from the usual suspects.....   

Why would anybody who hosts the #1 talk radio show on the planet want to 'endorse' a candidate...when there are a total of SEVENTEEN people vying for the position?

Regardless of whether he personally favored Cruz over "X".....he played the campaign season properly.

Rush Limbaugh has been the target of past Presidents and politicians who want to shut him up.

And the guy comes out STRONGER!   Now going on 30 years.   

[Emjay]

The problem we are seeing with Rush, isn't just Rush himself, but a changing society. I do believe in his core, Rush is a Conservative, but like many, they become either so jaded or so caught up in 'the game' that winning or playing the game has superseded their values.

When I was young (yea, I was a little Alex P Keaton). Conservatives actually read William F Buckley and watched Firing Line. They studied Goldwater and Rothbard. They could actually tell you in detail the difference in the Chicago School, Austrian School, and Keynesan Economics. These days, if you take any self-proclaimed Conservative activist off the street, many would have no clue what they were or how they work. (they probably would think the Chicago School of Economics was some communist plot).

Now, Conservatives, just like the rest of society, are addicted to clickbait and drama. They want flashy headlines and easy answers. They want leaders to appeal to their emotions and get them waiving flags. They don't want to debate and discuss with their opponents, they want to hate them. They want to scream at the TV and internet. They don't want to refine their arguments or study. They have traded Firing Line for Duck Dynasty. They have traded National Review for Free Republic.

The changes with Rush are very much a symptom of this greater change. He is just appealing to what he thinks his audience wants.

He thinks (and probably rightly so) that they don't want "Advanced Conservative Studies" any more. They want a sports announcer pitching WWE catch phrases and calling their opponents names. They want someone who paints the boogey man in a dark light and paints their hero as someone who can do no wrong. They don't want someone who discusses the 'why' or 'how', they want to just hear the 'who' so they know what team to root for and against.

Rush's change is society's change and we can only look in the mirror to see why.

Excellent societal analysis.

But as for Rush having changed, no one here admits to listening to him so I don't know why they presume to comment on his so-called change.

I've listened do him for years and his appeal was always to a mass audience who wanted to hear a light, funny take on the news from a conservative point of view.

He admired Buckley greatly, but he never attempted to be Buckley.

I see his posts often on my Facebook page and when I read them, they sound like the Rush I knew and loved.

One comment I would make about the current society is that it is mean.  Disagreements immediately become personal.  There's not much respect for difference of opinion. 

TOS is an example.  People I'd known there for years suddenly hated me because of a difference in my opinion on the primary candidates.

So, yeah, thanks for a thoughtful post.  But I still like Rush.

[Emjay]

   Ah, @Emjay I love ya like a Sister but that sword cuts both ways, because I have a tendency to 'diss' Trump more often than not, based on his actions and my peculiar predilections, I am less than trusted in some Briefers eyes also. 
   (OK, it could be my calloused sense of humor that also grates some people the wrong way.)
   You like Trump, I get it. You are holding out hope that things will turn around, I respect that too, as I do all Trumpers here on TBR and I value their contribution to this great Forum.

Well, you don't get it at all, Brother.

I do not particularly like Trump.  It's like apples and oranges.  I like him better than some of the fruits and nuts who try to run our country.

I feel that Trump is unfairly attacked every day, both here and out in the real world.  It gets really old.

People who claim they expected bad thing from Trump are furious when he does what they think are bad things.

Dammit, I'm not a Trumper.  Trying to be fair to Trump does not make a person a Trumper. 

[INVAR]

But as for Rush having changed, no one here admits to listening to him so I don't know why they presume to comment on his so-called change.

Wrong.  We 'presume to comment' because we WERE listeners.  Faithful at that.  Since 1988 in my case and were subscribers to his Limbaugh Letter, his 24/7 service and bought his books, ties and teas over those years.

That ended last year before the Convention for me, and it was precisely because HE DID CHANGE.  His insistence that "Conservatism works every single time it is tried" changed into pimping a lifelong NY liberal Democrat and massaging his massive character flaws as the Conservative standard-bearer.

So he has become apostate to what he preached for years - and we presume to comment on that change each and every single time we are motivated to do so.

Precisely because Limbaugh is no longer what he claimed to be all those years.

Now he is just a populist mouthpiece for Trump and as such - I no longer regard anything he has to say about anything.

[Emjay]

Wrong.  We 'presume to comment' because we WERE listeners.  Faithful at that.  Since 1988 in my case and were subscribers to his Limbaugh Letter, his 24/7 service and bought his books, ties and teas over those years.

That ended last year before the Convention for me, and it was precisely because HE DID CHANGE.  His insistence that "Conservatism works every single time it is tried" changed into pimping a lifelong NY liberal Democrat and massaging his massive character flaws as the Conservative standard-bearer.

So he has become apostate to what he preached for years - and we presume to comment on that change each and every single time we are motivated to do so.

Precisely because Limbaugh is no longer what he claimed to be all those years.

Now he is just a populist mouthpiece for Trump and as such - I no longer regard anything he has to say about anything.

I'm sorry that you chose to judge a former hero unfairly.

Why do you think he was horribly abused on TOS every single day during the primary.  It was because he did not go all out for Trump like people over there insisted you do.

Rush never took sides during primaries and he didn't this time.  He said favorable things about Ted Cruz which is still a sore point with Trump lovers, even here.

He's a mouthpiece for Trump only in the same way that I'm a mouthpiece for Trump.

Rush knows there are far worse people for America than Trump and so do I.

This kind of attitude; i.e. turning on people once liked because of political differences is one of the things that's changed society for the worse.

Have strong opinions and defend them ... Yes, by all means.

But the hate needs to stop.

[DCPatriot]

I'm sorry that you chose to judge a former hero unfairly.

Why do you think he was horribly abused on TOS every single day during the primary.  It was because he did not go all out for Trump like people over there insisted you do.

Rush never took sides during primaries and he didn't this time.  He said favorable things about Ted Cruz which is still a sore point with Trump lovers, even here.

He's a mouthpiece for Trump only in the same way that I'm a mouthpiece for Trump.

Rush knows there are far worse people for America than Trump and so do I.

This kind of attitude; i.e. turning on people once liked because of political differences is one of the things that's changed society for the worse.

Have strong opinions and defend them ... Yes, by all means.

But the hate needs to stop.

Amen!   

[INVAR]

I'm sorry that you chose to judge a former hero unfairly.

Why do you think he was horribly abused on TOS every single day during the primary.  It was because he did not go all out for Trump like people over there insisted you do.

Rush never took sides during primaries and he didn't this time.  He said favorable things about Ted Cruz which is still a sore point with Trump lovers, even here.

He's a mouthpiece for Trump only in the same way that I'm a mouthpiece for Trump.

Rush knows there are far worse people for America than Trump and so do I.

This kind of attitude; i.e. turning on people once liked because of political differences is one of the things that's changed society for the worse.

Have strong opinions and defend them ... Yes, by all means.

But the hate needs to stop.

You are welcome to attend services of the Joel Osteen of talk radio to your heart's content.

I explained why I do not give ear to apostates of the principles they have clearly illustrated they have abandoned for 'pragmatism' and 'populism' while helping Trump and the GOP redefine what Conservatism actually is.  When Rush told a woman who called into his show that she was essentially voting for Hillary when she said she could not vote for Trump if he became the nominee, I was done. 

It's not really any different than dumping a church congregation whose pastor has decided to accept Homosexual Marriage as a sacrament they will honor or that Islam is another path to salvation while preaching at interfaith services that Muslims are brothers in the faith worshipping the same god.

I view Limbaugh in the same light.  He has embraced that which is anathema to what was supposedly Conservative foundations - so I no longer listen or regard what he has to say.

What changes society for the worse - is when people sit and accept apostasy and evil as good and normal or necessary. 

If you want to classify that as 'hate'.  Go for it.

I don't care.  I expect what I say to be hated, and I expect to be hated, so I embrace the accusation.

[edpc]

Rush Limbaugh: I Haven't Changed

Well, perhaps he ought to. With all the golfing he does, he's bound to be getting pretty ripe.

[Suppressed]

The problem we are seeing with Rush, isn't just Rush himself, but a changing society. I do believe in his core, Rush is a Conservative, but like many, they become either so jaded or so caught up in 'the game' that winning or playing the game has superseded their values.

When I was young (yea, I was a little Alex P Keaton). Conservatives actually read William F Buckley and watched Firing Line. They studied Goldwater and Rothbard. They could actually tell you in detail the difference in the Chicago School, Austrian School, and Keynesan Economics. These days, if you take any self-proclaimed Conservative activist off the street, many would have no clue what they were or how they work. (they probably would think the Chicago School of Economics was some communist plot).

Now, Conservatives, just like the rest of society, are addicted to clickbait and drama. They want flashy headlines and easy answers. They want leaders to appeal to their emotions and get them waiving flags. They don't want to debate and discuss with their opponents, they want to hate them. They want to scream at the TV and internet. They don't want to refine their arguments or study. They have traded Firing Line for Duck Dynasty. They have traded National Review for Free Republic.

The changes with Rush are very much a symptom of this greater change. He is just appealing to what he thinks his audience wants.

He thinks (and probably rightly so) that they don't want "Advanced Conservative Studies" any more. They want a sports announcer pitching WWE catch phrases and calling their opponents names. They want someone who paints the boogey man in a dark light and paints their hero as someone who can do no wrong. They don't want someone who discusses the 'why' or 'how', they want to just hear the 'who' so they know what team to root for and against.

Rush's change is society's change and we can only look in the mirror to see why.

@AbaraXas

One for the "Best of ..." files.

I saw this battle being over by the early 90s. Sure, there were pockets of intellectual resistance being mopped up after that, but conservatism had been flooded with anti-intellectualism by then.

This isn't all bad. It opened the tent to those not of an intellectual bent. But unfortunately,  things have swung so far that a lot of good has been tossed out (cf. TOS).

[Emjay]

You are welcome to attend services of the Joel Osteen of talk radio to your heart's content.

I explained why I do not give ear to apostates of the principles they have clearly illustrated they have abandoned for 'pragmatism' and 'populism' while helping Trump and the GOP redefine what Conservatism actually is.  When Rush told a woman who called into his show that she was essentially voting for Hillary when she said she could not vote for Trump if he became the nominee, I was done. 

It's not really any different than dumping a church congregation whose pastor has decided to accept Homosexual Marriage as a sacrament they will honor or that Islam is another path to salvation while preaching at interfaith services that Muslims are brothers in the faith worshipping the same god.

I view Limbaugh in the same light.  He has embraced that which is anathema to what was supposedly Conservative foundations - so I no longer listen or regard what he has to say.

What changes society for the worse - is when people sit and accept apostasy and evil as good and normal or necessary. 

If you want to classify that as 'hate'.  Go for it.

I don't care.  I expect what I say to be hated, and I expect to be hated, so I embrace the accusation.

NO, I classify it as ignorance and following the herd.  Rush is the same.  It's you who has changed.  You haven't been listening but you are somehow sure that Rush has become a tool of something:  Trump, the Bushes, the Establishment.

Why would you say you expect to be hated?  I don't think anyone hates you but your posts have become really negative, for example your remark that I can attend the services of the Joel Osteen of talk radio is over the top.

It's like you want to be hated or at least a disrupter.  If that's your gig now, then I hope you enjoy it, but you would be better off to take a few steps back and realize that we have a country full of good people and, if some of them turned to Trump out of disgust with the status quo, it doesn't make them evil.

In other words, get a life.

[Right_in_Virginia]

NO, I classify it as ignorance and following the herd.  Rush is the same.  It's you who has changed.  You haven't been listening but you are somehow sure that Rush has become a tool of something:  Trump, the Bushes, the Establishment.

Why would you say you expect to be hated?  I don't think anyone hates you but your posts have become really negative, for example your remark that I can attend the services of the Joel Osteen of talk radio is over the top.

It's like you want to be hated or at least a disrupter.  If that's your gig now, then I hope you enjoy it, but you would be better off to take a few steps back and realize that we have a country full of good people and, if some of them turned to Trump out of disgust with the status quo, it doesn't make them evil.

In other words, get a life. 

 :thumbsup3:

[INVAR]

NO, I classify it as ignorance and following the herd. 

And what 'herd' would that be????  The millions who attend the church of Limbaugh or the few of us who turned him off because he is an apostate to what he paid lip service to all these decades?

Rush is the same.  It's you who has changed. 

You keep telling yourself that.   You remind me of the deacon who tried that same tactic to assert I no longer had the love of Jesus in me because I would not embrace homosexual marriage.  Somehow I changed from the faith once delivered when the church went apostate.

Okay.  You go believe that then.  I have no part with you.

You haven't been listening but you are somehow sure that Rush has become a tool of something:  Trump, the Bushes, the Establishment.

I've never said a thing about Rush and the Bushes or the Establishment, or whatever 'tool' of something you assert I have said he is outside of the fact he always talks a good game but always votes party over principles.

Why would you say you expect to be hated? 

No one wants to hear the truth about anything anymore.  That's fact.

It's like you want to be hated or at least a disrupter. 

I said plainly I expect it.  I did not say a thing about liking it.

In other words, get a life.

I laugh at what you have no comprehension of in making such a declaration.

[truth_seeker]

It's like you want to be hated or at least a disrupter.  If that's your gig now,

A special wrap, on this "virtue signaling" package for you today, sir? And how about the "common sense" tags, on the store?

No, I'll take the same verbose, long-winded one as usual.

[corbe]

   Some of us here find @INVAR post quite intellectually refreshing for their candor and insight.  I certainly understand why some Trumpers paint him as hateful and am encouraged that your rage against him is like water on a ducks back, irrelevant in the whole scheme of things.   Carry On.

[Bigun]

A special wrap, on this "virtue signaling" package for you today, sir? And how about the "common sense" tags, on the store?

No, I'll take the same verbose, long-winded one as usual.

If virtue signaling is the new PC term for standing up for your values then you can color me guilty as charged!

[DCPatriot]

   Some of us here find @INVAR post quite intellectually refreshing for their candor and insight.  I certainly understand why some Trumpers paint him as hateful and am encouraged that your rage against him is like water on a ducks back, irrelevant in the whole scheme of things.   Carry On.

:nometalk: