There are a lot of people in my part of the country who listen to Rush Limbaugh every day. While even they might agree that he’s not exactly a pillar of conservative thought, at least in theory, they see him as someone who really speaks the way they feel. That time has hopefully come and gone for many, but I’m afraid for the listeners who still actually believe the nonsense he continues to spout.
Braves’ GM John Schuerholz admits he’s a friend of Limbaugh’s from their days in Kansas City, which probably frightens me more than it should. Then again, if he believes that liberals are the root of all evil, maybe I should be worried. Here’s something Limbaugh said yesterday that may even mark a new low for him in his baseless attacks on the left:
LIMBAUGH: If this Virginia Tech shooter had an ideology, what do you think it was? This guy had to be a liberal. You start railing against the rich and all this other — this guy’s a liberal. He was turned into a liberal somewhere along the line. So it’s a liberal that committed this act. Now, the drive-bys will read on a website that I’m attacking liberalism by comparing this guy to them. That’s exactly what they do every day, ladies and gentlemen. I’m just pointing out a fact. I am making no extrapolation; I’m just pointing it out. They try — whenever — I can tell you from the history of this program, starting way back in the early ’90s, when there was any kind of an incident, crime or what-have-you that attracted national attention, in the early days of this program, the drive-by media went out and they tried to connect the perpetrator to this program. They did everything they could. In fact, it went so far as Bill Clinton blaming me for influencing Timothy McVeigh to blow up the bureau building [sic: Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City]. These are the people sponsoring lies and distortion for the purposes of dividing this country and creating hatred. These are the people that invented this kind of tactic, if you will.
None of Limbaugh’s arguments here make sense, and in fact, he probably succeeds in arguing against himself here. “This kind of tactic,” which is presumably “baselessly blaming things on people or an idea with which you disagree without actually presenting any sort of evidence,” is exactly what Limbaugh has done here with the continuation of his worn-out attacks on liberals.
Perhaps Cho was a liberal, but I’m not sure anyone really knows. Most sociopaths probably would not fit in on either side of the political spectrum, and it really doesn’t matter, because everyone knows he was seriously ill.
Also, “hating the rich” is a rather puerile way of describing the liberal point of view on the economy and taxes, but it’s true that liberals are more comfortable with the graduated income tax system and other economic policies that take away some of the take-home money of the wealthy.
The Bible teaches a number of things about money and possessions, probably because God knows it’s a struggle for everyone. It’s pretty clear from even a cursory study that we’re not to fall in love with our possessions, which makes it very difficult for the rich to achieve salvation. Then again, there are stories of rich people in the Bible who were a blessing to others because of their wealth. I struggle with this as a middle-class American, which makes me very wealthy from a global perspective.
None of this should serve to justify Cho’s actions, nor should it prompt Limbaugh’s tired go-to argument that it’s all the liberals’ fault. I know Limbaugh said that “drive-bys” like myself would make this argument, and he’s right about that. That still doesn’t mean his comment wasn’t a baseless attack on liberalism. There are far better ways to do that with actual arguments and evidence, rather than linking them to a mass murderer who committed his heinous crime just days earlier. I’ll still never understand why people give credence to anything Limbaugh says.
I know this rant probably certifies me as a left-wing lunatic in the minds of some, but I promise I’ve given this some thought, and I’m not just spouting off because Limbaugh’s a conservative. The World’s Smallest Political Quiz (which, fair warning, tends to show a slight libertarian bias) tells me that I don’t really belong in any one political camp. Technically I lean just slightly toward the liberal side and more so to the libertarian side (vs. statist/big government). I’m in the “moderate” range, according to them, and that’s probably accurate. I’m not sure that should mean anything to you…I’m just throwing it out there.
We now return to your previously scheduled analysis of baseball or basketball, or whatever it is I do around here.
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