"If you don't know what to think, listen to me: I'll tell you." That's how Rush Limbaugh used
to open his daily hate-fest. When I first heard him say that all those years ago when he first began polluting the airwaves, I thought "This guy won't last very long! No one likes having their intelligence insulted by an arrogant know-it-all!". I realize now that I grossly overestimated about a third of the country.
Limbaugh made millions by catering to his listeners' prejudices and their laziness. For many, it was an irresistible "two-fer": a loudmouth with a radio show would not only tell them that their anger and hatred and bigotry were justified, he'd also give them short simplistic talking points to throw at those damn "libruls" when they started throwing facts at them. Who had the time to read and listen and---THINK about all this complicated political back and forth. No need to as soon as they found Rush. They could just chuckle "mega-dittoes" and repeat the unadulterated insanity word for word to anyone who would listen.
After a couple of decades of this sheepification, the Rush/Hannity/Fox listeners' were more than ready to absorb such utter nonsense as "Donald Trump is God's chosen instrument to save America and make it great again!
These people have become intellectual invalids who are convinced that they just aren't capable of thinking for themselves. They are not just willing to delegate their political judgment to others, they are GRATEFUL to the charlatans who manipulate them.
And, that, boys and girls, is how El Rushbo not only made Trump possible, but made him or someone like him inevitable.
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