Of all people dangerous & divisive, I think Limbaugh tops the list

[mtnsnake]

He concerns me more than ANYONE, and that includes Bush, Falwell, Cheney, Delay, O'Reilly, Ann the Man, Robertson, etc, etc. As much as I DESPISE corrupt politicians & crooked clergymen like them, I think Limbaugh's more dangerous than all these people combined because he's the one who convinces the naive and the ignorant that people like Bush & Delay are fine and dandy. He's the one who whitewashes good people's brains with shit and makes it come across as common sense, when it's common propaganda and lying at its worst. He does it very well, and he makes obscene amounts of money doing it. He's as evil as it gets.

I don't know how many times I've run across perfectly fine people who seem to have all their priorities in the right place...only to find that they think Clinton's lies were horrific and Bush doesn't even lie at all. The difference? It's Limbaugh's "reasoning". It's Limbaugh convincing them that what's wrong is right. Some of these people don't even listen to Limbaugh but they're influenced by someone else who does, unfortunately.

IMO, people like Bush and Delay would NEVER stand a chance on their own without Rush Limbaugh justifying each and every one of their moves with his utter bullshit. He's their greatest ally and enabler, and I hate his fricken guts for his role in dividing the country. He smells just like the bullshit he pukes from his ugly face, and he's so dangerous because so many people actually believe EVERY word that comes from his filthy mouth.

Yup, as divisive, dangerous, and corrupt as Bush and his minions are, I think Rush holds more clout than anyone in achieving the goal of dividing the country.

Do you agree or disagree that he's more dangerous and divisive than anyone else? If not, then who and why?

[senseandsensibility]

1. I can't say that he is more divisive than anyone else

but he is very divisive, and far more powerful than most liberals realize. He speaks to the regular people and gets them to swallow the right wing crap and like it. He is the head of corporatist propaganda, and uses working and middle class peoples' fear and ignorance to sell it to them.

[UTUSN]

2. Good Call. He's Hatred Personified.

15 years, 3 hrs, 5 days per week (with time off for rehab, uh, I mean "GOLF"). How he manages to get away with being accepted within and by the average population of decent people is a total mystery.

O'LOOFAH is about 60% as bad. He's got DEEPEST DENIAL going on for himself.

[blm]

27. I think TIM RUSSERT is far more dangerous because most people THINK he's

an unbiased newsman.

That's why he works so effectively for the BFEE. Even when you think he's being tough on BushInc, he will eventually turn it around somehow against the Democrats.

[Cha]

3. NO SHIT.. Being exposed for

Oxycontin blackmarket scrounging hasn't stopped him. He's too valuble to the cheney gang.

JOn Stewart said last night regarding cheney's visit to limpbaugh on the radio..telling toykorose to be patient about miers.."Don't try and sell patience to an oxycontin addict."!

[kentuck]

4. Very dangerous because.....

There is no one to respond to his lies at the time of their spewing...

[Arkansas Granny]

10. So right. Also, he's been spewing this venom for years and has

infected a lot of people. His broadcasts make their dark sides seem more acceptable because he can voice them, and build on them, with no opposition viewpoints. Somehow makes it more legitimate in their minds. Then, when he gets someone like Cheney to come on his show, it just validates his opinions as being in line with the White House. Most of his listeners don't even realize they're being played.

[BlueJazz]

5. I agree wholeheartedly with you...An example of his Lie >>>>

(Rush actually said this..and it's true)

Rush: Well, Let me tell you people, the Canadian health-care system is so bad, the Canadians actually SEND their patients to the USA!!!

So Rush has a valid point UNTIL you read this>>> In some points along the Canadian border, the hospitals are so remote, it's cheaper to send the patient across the border to the USA than transport them to a hospital in Canada.

That's why I hate his Fucking Guts..He lies but it sounds so logical until you know the whole story..

[mtnsnake]

18. Excellent!

It's so easy for bullshit artists to take something that applies only 2% of the time and make it sound as if it's a unanimous truth. That's why they're bullshit artists.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. I'd agree, except Ann Coulter is still alive.

I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to argue anyone is more derisive than the woman who openly calls for the arrest and execution of liberals.

[Tarc]

9. swine

Coulter is the lowest of the low, no argument there. I can't help but shudder whenever some rightwinger actually calls her "attractive". She looks like Skeletor.

[Coexist]

12. She is far more loose-lipped, full of venom

and enjoys advocating violence - although she is quick to say "I was just kidding" - you lay it out there - it becomes a viable thought to some people.

[mtnsnake]

19. I don't know the stats, but I'll bet you anything that way more poeple

are swayed by Chickenhawk Limbaugh than by Ann the man Coulter. I'll bet at least a hundred times as many people are confused by Rush than by her.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

23. You're right on that one.

I still think the sheer content of Coulter is more damaging. It's like the old "marijuana is a gateway drug" argument. It's not. And I don't think Limbaugh is either. But I've been wrong before and I definitely respect your argument.

[julialnyc]

7. I think Fox News is worse

I think that many like to think that "fair and balanced" tag line is as much a joke to everyone else as it is to us, but I've been quite shocked to see that many people just don't know. It seems unheard of here, but many people who are not political and simply tune in when something "happens" watch that garbage. I'm pleased to see people like Wes Clark show up there.....it is needed.I see that channel on all the time whether I'm at the gym, at the deli, or at the doctor.... and I live in a blue state.

[mtnsnake]

24. I'm just as concerned about Fox as you are.

The influence they have on the uninformed is alarming, to say the least. It's just as troublesome that there is nothing out there, in the form of another "news" network, that balances them out yet.

[bryant69]

8. I think as far as hateful rhetoric goes

I'd put several ahead of him - Michael Savage, Ann Coulter, and so on spring to mind. The problem with Rush is the breadth of his audience and the fact that he got their first. He pioneered a type of discourse that is corrosive to our national discourse, and did so well at it, that he's got dozens of followers.

So I don't think he's the most divisive but I do think he's the most dangerous.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[lectrobyte]

11. I don't know. If it wasn't him, it would be Hannioty or whoever blasting

out of some idjits radio all day. I personally tend to think he overestimates his influence, and perhaps so do we, but he does seem to build on the frustration of the average middle aged guy who thought he was gonna be rich or something.

[gratefull4u]

13. I agree!!!

I have a large very close family. We were always able to talk about everything. Three members of this close knit family are no longer on speaking terms with the rest of us because of Limbaugh. They live in a small town in northern PA, were never involved in politics, never voted, and somehow found the drug addicted nut and he became a god to them. They have quit talking to most of the family, become almost violent if anything bad is said about Republicans or faux news. The odd thing is they still have the same ideals as the rest of the family but have lost the ability to think. To them everything is black & white, everything bad is Dem, good & pure is Republican. They have no idea what each party stands for, they are very confused and if anyone tries to point it out that person becomes evil. This part of the family moved to this small town when these three were young and the parents were going through a divorce. I think they latched on to this nut during this time of turmoil. The rest of the family is heart sick, it is the same as having someone in a cult.

[Sugarcoated]

That's why AAR, et al is SO important

Alot of this hate-propognda they preach goes uncountered, especially in rural areas in red states. They need to hear a counter to it, the BS answered. Some will never think for themselves, but, some will if given the correct info., or at least an alternative explaination.

[mtnsnake]

30. "The odd thing is they still have the same ideals as the rest of the

family"

This is why I find Rush so dangerous, moreso than the others. You can run across people with basicly the same ideals, the same priorities, the same concerns as the rest of us, but Rush is the difference maker. He's the one who takes perfectly fine people and fills them with the hatred that's necessary to divide. He's the one who convinces people that Clinton's lies about getting head were more damaging than Bush's lies about going to war. There are plenty of good people I run across all the time who are Bush apologists. When I get wondering why such good people could possibly hate and fear all Democratic politicians as they do, I always find that the common denominator with these people is Limbaugh.

[CrispyQ]

14. He certainly had a huge influence on my mother.

I think the thing about him is he has been around for so long. She started listening to him back in the early 90's. She had just gone through a major health issue & a bad divorce & he gave her someone to blame besides her own bad luck & bad decisions -- LIBERALS! She was vulnerable & fell for it. In a period of about 2-3 years she became a different woman. She use to be a generous, kind-hearted, open-minded person. After years of Rush & now, her new master, O'Reilly, she is mean-spirited, hateful, fearful & so full of racisim I barely recognize the woman that raised me.

Because of that, I hate Rush most of all. Although I think there are many who are as vile or worse these days, he started the trend & set the standard that it is ok to hate & to spew filth without facts. Personally, I could light the whole fucking bunch on fire, walk away & not feel a trace of remorse. They are human garbage & I hate them for what they do.


on edit: On a more positive note, I told her about Thom Hartmann & she caught him on some show (not his own) & told me he sounded very reasonable & that she liked him. Perhaps there is hope.

[SmokingJacket]

29. He's nearly destroyed my family too.

Both my former-liberal parents started listening in the 90's, and turned into different people-- exactly as you describe. It's horrible. I only maintain a relationship with them by *never* talking about politics.

I don't know how he does it -- maybe like a cult leader, he pinpoints people's insecurities and gives them ways to feel better about themselves.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Fla Dem]

17. Limpbag is the worse. He gets his talking points straight from the WH.

When he says he is show prep for everyone else, he's not kidding. They all listen to him and parrot what he has to say. All the top repugs kiss his ass. Look how quick Cheney got on the phone with him to set him straight on the Meir's nom. Cheney knew that if they don't have Limpbag in their corner, they've lost the base.

He focuses the repug message and repeats it continually like a mantra, until all the faithful have been inoculated and repeat it verbatim as fact.

He is a masterful spinner and showman. The era of personal destruction politics can be traced to when his show first became syndicated.

Hannity is next in line, and may be the heir apparent when Limpbag retires or dies. But he doesn't carry as much weight as Limpbag now.

[Toots]

20. He has a captured military audience

Why do we allow the politicalization of our military? I want Rush off Armed Forces Radio....PERIOD

[distantearlywarning]

21. I'm not sure about "most divisive"

But he is definitely very dangerous. He is quite possibly the most manipulative media personality out there, and he uses all his manipulative powers in the service of this administration. Someone else gave an example earlier of how he distorts information to make people believe things that aren't true. That pretty much happens every day on Limbaugh, and he reaches a very wide audience. The amount of influence he has over the American people combined with the distortion and half-truths he presents as fact really, really scares me. IMO, he's more dangerous to the future of this country than Ann Coulter or Michael Savage or people like that, because everything he says sounds so reasonable and convincing. He's a much better liar/manipulator than either of them, and much less aversive and offensive to the average listener. He'd make a very good cult leader.

[mtnsnake]

32. I agree with every word you say

It's too bad that he already does have a cult, only his cult consists of millions of dedicated followers who need him as a crutch in making up their own minds.

[lpbk2713]

22. I detest that Pimple-Butt liar and Pied Piper of the RW sheepies.

Coulter and Gingrich are right up there too.

[SillyGoose]

25. I agree and have been complaining about him for years. He is dangerous

because there's a lot of people who rely on him for 'news', not having a clue that he editorializes the news with spin, distortion and lies to further an agenda for which he is very well paid. When he gets caught in a lie, he says he is providing entertainment. Limbaugh is a pioneer in the disinformation market. Now we have a crop of these disinformation artists taking root like Hannity and OReilly because they've seen how effective Limbaugh has been.

Think about this....a sheeple gets up in the morning and watches Faux News over breakfast, goes to work and listens to Limbaugh, Hannity and OReilly on talk radio during the day, then comes home and watches more Faux News for the evening news. The lies, spin, and distortion are cemented in their brains all day long by being bombarded by opinion masquerading as news.

[newportdadde]

26. Rush plays a big role, but its the whole noise machine.

The papers, TV, the media etc. Corporations control all of your info and it forms an echo chamber and it just bounces back and worth until even completely untrue items turn into "Some people say... ". Check out Dean's 'scream' or Kerry and the swiftboats for examples.

From the top down to producers etc the information is spun. Imagine if NBC nightly news lead with "Did Bush lie to us?" "Why attack Iraq it was not involved in 911" Just think of how if a news originization leaned as strong to the left, you would see real change.

Instead we have a spider web of millionare sponsored think tanks everywhere pushing RW agendas. Hell I bet these same think tanks write up those stupid RW emails full of lies that get debunked on Snopes etc. Its massive.

Clinton should have vetoed axing the fairness doctorine in 96.

[European Socialist]

28. Half-truths are his specialty...

but he hasn't captured anyone with a good mind. But he gives the dim wits the confidence to argue and vote.

[Neecy]

31. of course he's dangerous

He began the right-wing propaganda tactic that personalized hatred of liberals and the Democratic party. I can remember a time before this slob when our politics weren't so personalized, when you could have honest disagreements about public policy.

Rush began the concept that there were no honest disagreements, that if you were on the other side of his politics then you were not only wrong but somehow *evil* and bent on destroying the nation, employing outright lies and gross distortions to whip up the herd. He introduced the politics of hatred, and as a result we're not only politically divided as a nation but we're divided as a people.

By far, he is not only the most dangerous character in the country today but the one most personally responsible for the massive fracture in our society that may well end in the second Civil War. The ones who have followed him have only added to the noise that he created and have had to be even more vitriolic and violent in their language to be noticed, which has caused us to teeter ever closer to the brink. This man Rush has, for partisan gain, become the greatest traitor in our country since Benedict Arnold. He may have gained a temporary advantage for his conservative viewpoint, but the chickens are coming home to roost and he'll end up reviled in history.

[mtnsnake]

33. "... a time before this slob when our politics weren't so personalized"

Oh wouldn't it be nice to go back to those days, as far as politics is concerned, when one another didn't HATE each other for being from different political parties.

I honestly believe that when it comes right down to it most of us aren't quite as much different from each other as what Rush likes everyone to believe. He has the ability, though, to take a moral issue, or ANY issue for that matter, and use it as fodder to breed hatred among us all.

Yes, like you say, he's the greatest traitor to the USA since Benedict Arnold, and he's certainly as dangerous. It's just not fair that because of traitors like him, people in this country hate and fear each other. It shouldn't be like that.

Well said, Neecy.

[Cats Against Frist]

34. The Right-Wing Intellectuals, as a whole

Everyone from the deepest bowels of the think tanks, on down. The Straussians, the Luntzes, and their mouthpieces: Rush, Hannity, Ann the Man, etc., etc.

Dangerous because they have the wingnuts convinced that this whole system doesn't exist -- that it's the lefties that are getting "indoctrinated" from their universities, completely oblivious to the fact that the people running AEI, Heritage, etc., have a chain of letters behind their names that would rival any left-wing prof -- and that they've created, as I saw someone here call a "closed circle," of information that comes directly out of what the right-wing elitists craft in their own high-end digs, certainly free of Budweiser, puffy couches and Thomas Kinkade paintings.

They're scarier than Rush, because they're the ideologues -- Rush is a water carrier and a propagandist, but he's not the one who hands down the "talking point." I think it's quite possible that even Rush has to go in for his own brainwashing, from time to time. Rush, as evil as he is, is not totally stupid, and full well knows what he's doing. I suspect that when a glimmer of clarity shines in his drug-riddled brain, there are doubts. And who knows -- maybe, then, someone upstairs sends Daryn Kagan (sp?) to suck his cock. What else can explain it?

The most ironic part is that the right-wing intellectuals have far more contempt for the freepers and the wingnuts and the NASCAR dads and the fundies than the left does, on its most elitist day. They full well know the authoritarian, totalitarian mindset of their flock, how to exploit it, and believe that that is the only way to let the poor, burping freepers run around without a physical leash. Of course, they hold them tight with their own powerlessness, fears and low-self esteem.

They're quite brilliant - and that's scary.

[mtnsnake]

35. Wow! The more I read DU, the more I realize

just how much more there is out there to learn.

Enjoyed your point of view, and I never thought about right wing think tanks and the people behind the people like Rush. That is some scary shit when you think about it. I'm sure that these people have much broader plans and in theory are 10 steps ahead of what's going on with Rush and even with Bush. I don't have any doubts that in their minds, the Iraq War is just a first step in accomplishing their much broader goals for mutating the Middle East into their version of what it should become.

Thanks for opening my mind up to this, BTW. In recent times, I've rarely thought about such a thing existing as "right wing intellectuals"!