RIP Rush Limbaugh

Aside from the oldies station (back when it played '50s music), my childhood radio memories are being stuck my grandparent's during the summer and having to sit through Paul Harvey and Limbaugh; specifically, the latter playing some impeachment-themed parody of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" sung by a Clinton impersonator. I can't say I understood most of what Limbaugh was talking about, but something about his smarmy tone grated enough to inoculate me against conservative punditry in general -- which came in handy, as my father turned into a Fox News addict after 9/11, and was enough of a Bush supporter to get the annual Christmas card/calendar "signed" by Bush.

having to sit through Paul Harvey and Limbaugh

yes. these two, back-to-back. so many days, so many rides to school. paul harvey's quiet, pernicious spin on hatred and white supremacy, followed by rush's full-throated animal embodiment of it

I went through a brief period in 7th/8th grade influenced by a favorite teacher in which I listened to A LOT of Rush and even read his first two books. I was a weird kid. I think this was also precipitated by the fact that I was a huge Clinton fan when he ran for president when I was in 6th grade and even went to one of his rallies and wore a way-oversized Clinton shirt and buttons to school on election day, only to have said buttons stolen from me and broken. Again, a weird kid.

I'm amazed he's never been outed as the self-loathing closeted queer per rumors of 30 years ago that i believe implicitly

He probably has a catch and kill system like trump did

paul harvey's quiet, pernicious spin on hatred and white supremacy,

I didn't like Harvey's personal politics either but this is going a bit far

paul harvey's quiet, pernicious spin on hatred and white supremacy

it flew right over my head when i was a kid but hey i guess there was a reason my dad was such a fan

yeah it def flew over my head as a kid. I didn't register his loathsome personal associations with McCarthy and Hoover until way later.

eh idk he was big time on that welfare queen train

I guess what made it pernicious was that it was so coded and obscured by his folksy demeanor

eh idk he was big time on that welfare queen train

yep, was about to mention that. i do connect that with hatred and white supremacy, even if those who espouse it often don't make the connection explicit

what makes me wish rush's lungs would explode at this very second is that he and harvey's bullshit WORKED on me. i accepted all of the things they said, as a child, and it took a long time to overturn all these ideas that seemed so logical at the time. i'm STILL working on cleaning up the mess they implanted in my head.

it was so coded and obscured by his folksy demeanor

yeah. see also that Mike Rowe motherfucker--not necessarily on the white supremacy tip (per se); but rightwing horseshit covered in honey for the "Home Depot libs"

yep :-/ hugs to u Karl.

I first learned of Limbaugh as the hero of a guy I went to high school with, who used to rage about things like Ellen being allowed on TV and Canada not being a Christian country (by whichever metrics he used to determine this). He once gave me shit for reading an issue of Rolling Stone that included Jann Wenner's endorsement of Clinton in '96. I tend to think of this guy turning into the saddest adult imaginable, but maybe he's finally in his element in the current political climate.

I listened to him during the Bush II years to understand his appeal, and I get it. He's quite good at what he does: the mimicry, filth-covered improvisations, etc. If your ears can handle it, listen to Michael Savage and Dennis Prager to see how amateurs fail.

Xpost Maybe he's dead

I was very different politically when Limbaugh first emerged, so I was rather ambivalent. 9/11 was a catalyst for me shifting more liberal so I grew to hate him early on, I remember being incensed when he was NFL commentating, not just because he was an offensive blowhard, but he was just so bad at it.

then again, Dennis Miller was just as bad

or shit maybe he's antifa now
xpost

true - I was both pro-life AND wrote a (terrible) paper defending the death penalty in high school.

lol i cast my very first vote for....

BOB DOLE

guys this is maybe 77 stuff

I'm making your cards

true - I was both pro-life AND wrote a (terrible) paper defending the death penalty in high school.

50% metal af.

TBH I used to occasionally listen to Rush Limbaugh as a kid, when he first became a name, but iirc this was at the same time I was also watching Morton Downey, Jr. and pro wrestling. I assume I was just mesmerized by the sight of a geek biting the head off of a live chicken.

guys this is maybe 77 stuff

― Suggest Banshee (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, February 5, 2020 12:28 PM bookmarkflaglink

lol

my fourth grade teacher used to share stories from harvey's "the rest of the story" books with us. always had fond memories of that and had no idea about harvey's politics until much later.

I just found out about it now! Would read those yellowed paperbacks at my grandma's (both my grandparents were pretty damn liberal)

In AP US History we had to read a bunch of Gore Vidal novels, and there was one kid who insisted Limbaugh would beat Vidal in a debate.

Perhaps he would "physically"

The first time I saw the Morton Downey Jr. show I was convinced it was a parody — I remember telling a friend that it must be a spinoff from Saturday Night Live, or something.

Non-New York area folks may not remember Bob Grant, but he was another real piece of shit going back to the 60s (when he was based in L.A.). He was on the air in New York until 2006, died in 2013. Totally forgotten now, I think.

I worked in a chain bookstore when Limbaugh's first book came out, and we had a HUGE display of it at the front of the store. I hated having to constantly see that bloated face-too-small-for-his-pumpkin-head fuckface at work. HATED it.

I read Frankens book instead

Bob Grant's "Get off my phone!" catchphrase was swiped by Tom Scharpling

It's hard to talk about without divulging personal details on the internet, but suffice to say I came from a republican home and my father was a big influence on me in many ways, so after getting out on my own I decided to read his first book when it came out. I decided all on my own that he was a total asshole. It broke "the spell". It really was a catalyst which drove me away from right wing politics in general. So, I guess I can thank him in a weird way.

It would make for an interesting thread premise, actually: 'Ex-right-wing ILXors, what broke the spell for you?' The compulsory parody thread would be even sweeter.

one kid who insisted Limbaugh would beat Vidal in a debate.

In rhetoric there's a recognized category of argument called "appeal to prejudice". For some audiences this argument beats all others.

always had fond memories of that and had no idea about harvey's politics until much later.

and now you know...the rest of the story

GOOD DAY

https://frinkiac.com/video/S05E01/tqqrLcuOMraRJDNzs4ArtnfFlZs=.gif

My dad was a republican and I felt from a pretty early age that the way he treated people was pretty much the polar opposite of the way I would ever want to treat people. Add water and stir.

Unfortunately I still have to struggle daily with the legacy of being half-asshole on my dad's side.

Cynthia Plaster Caster made a cast of Bob Grant!!!

who mocked the disabled better?

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DopeyPresentHydatidtapeworm-small.gif or https://media1.giphy.com/media/oNVVwmmA1uVck/source.gif

rush looks like he's dancing at the club, trump looks like he's caught in a hail of tommy gun fire

we can only dream

I remember from when I was pretty young my mom used to play him in the car often so that we could laugh at him & dunk on him. I have fond memories of being able to crack her up as a little kid with my impression of him, loudly announcing that this dinner or w/e was entering HOUR 2 OF BROADCASSST EXCELLENCCCCCCE.

God, if Trump gets decisively beaten in November, preferably by Bernie or Warren, I may have to take off work for an entire week on account of being drunk 24/7/7.

unfortunately there's something already hypothetically scheduled for the hypothetical week after trump loses in an election: the accusations that the election was rigged, the launch of investigations in the senate, and a bunch of rural white people walking around with guns in cities