March 12, 2012

"The dust up over Sleep Train, along with the blowback suffered by Carbonite over that company’s public denunciation of Limbaugh..."

"... demonstrates that the iconic radio talk show host is dealing from a position of strength in the campaign to deprive him of advertisers. One tends to prosper when one advertises on Limbaugh’s show. But cross him, and one will suffer."

Writes the lefty Drudge Retort, noting that Limbaugh hasn't lost listeners (and has probably gained listeners, people who are "curious about what the fuss is all about").

Quoted by Professor Jacobson, who says: "[T]his never has been about those two words or even the three days.  It’s an attempt to intimidate and silence conservative talk radio, so better safe than sorry."

Limbaugh is likely to make this controversy work for him. For years, he's been tweaking the media and using its pushback to generate interesting/funny/pithy material. This pushback may be a lot more than he wanted from that particular tweak, but if he's the master of radio that he purports to be, he'll get it working for him.

How many times have I heard Rush quote Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." (That's Rule 13, in case you're counting. Page 130 in the Vintage, Kindle Edition.)
One of the criteria in picking your target is the target’s vulnerability—where do you have the power to start? Furthermore, any target can always say, “Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?” When you “freeze the target,” you disregard these arguments and, for the moment, all the others to blame. Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all of the “others” come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target. The other important point in the choosing of a target is that it must be a personification, not something general and abstract...

Let nothing get you off your target. With this focus comes a polarization. As we have indicated before, all issues must be polarized if action is to follow. The classic statement on polarization comes from Christ: “He that is not with me is against me” (Luke 11:23). He allowed no middle ground to the money-changers in the Temple. One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other....
Rush knows he's the target they've picked and the game they are playing. Can he outplay them? With half his brain tied behind his back, just to make it fair?

226 comments:

1 – 200 of 226   Newer›   Newest»
cubanbob said...

Since he han't had to run PSA to cover dead airtime, Rush hasn't suffered. When the left has to contort itself over the justice for woman issue of getting subsidized sex who has been played for a chump?

~Nina said...

Oh, big surprise, Rush Limbaugh is all about making things work to the benefit of Rush Limbaugh.

Yes. He will line his pocket regardless of what happens in November. Good for him.

Unfortunately, the rest of us are stuck with this bogus "war on women" BS that he helped create.

So fuck him. AFAIC, if he dropped dead of a major coronary event, the world would instantly be a better place.

Good for him and his money. I'm sure God is real impressed...

Ipso Fatso said...

I generally like Rush but he was off base on this one. It wouldn't surprise me if he came out ok at the end of this. IMO he should have welcomed SleepTrain and Carbonite back as sponsors and said something along the lines of "If I can forgive them, I wonder if Sandra Fluke can forgive me" and put the pressure on Fluke who would no doubt take the bait and do the exact opposite of what Rush suggested and look bad in the process.

Dose of Sanity said...

No such thing as bad publicity?

Ann Althouse said...

"I generally like Rush but he was off base on this one."

What is "this one"? He's admitted he shouldn't have called Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute.

"This one" now is the large scale boycott and effort to run Rush off the air and to make everyone view him as toxic.

That's what's going on now.

Sleep Train and Carbonite joined a boycott that was about all that. He's making his move in response.

Will he win?

garage mahal said...

Writes the lefty Drudge Retort, noting that Limbaugh hasn't lost listeners

Drudge Retort said there is no evidence of lost listeners. There is no real evidence that Limbaugh has as many listeners as he claims either. If he really did have 20 million listeners I doubt all these advertisers would have pulled out that quickly.

Beta Rube said...

Does anyone remember if Conservative groups wanted to boycott/silence Air American due to some of the hateful stuff they said?

I think their audeience was too small to matter.

Unknown said...

"Can he outplay them?"

He already has. Sponsors don't attract listeners, etc. Even bad PR attracts listeners. Rush had them at "slut."

deborah said...

"The other important point in the choosing of a target is that it must be a personification, not something general and abstract..."

What is the precise issue the left is attempting to personify in Rush?

Ipso Fatso said...

Ann:

'What is "this one"?'

I meant in both cases- calling Fluke the names he did (an unforced error if there ever was one) and not welcoming back Sleeptrain, etc. Rush can be brilliant, but he can also be a major league a**hole which is what he was with whole Fluke thing.

Sorry for the change in name, I didn't expect any response as I usually don't get any, but I was in the process of updating my profile so it would be more consistant across the interwebs.

Chef Mojo said...

@Garage:

If he really did have 20 million listeners I doubt all these advertisers would have pulled out that quickly.

People do stupid shit all the time in order to make political points. The Wisconsin Recall is a rather lively illustration of this. Carbonite's CEO is an Obama bundler, so why is it surprising that he would act against his and his company's self interest.

As far as your doubt that Rush has that many listeners? Put up or shut up.

edutcher said...

This isn't supposed to play out this way. Uncle Saul is supposed to work only for Lefties. However, in an age of decentralized media, it cuts the other way even more effectively.

Especially when more and more people distrust the centralized Lefty media.

And I love the line, "cross him, and one will suffer". Gee, makes him sound like a Mafia don.

Or the last Democrat POTUS and the current one.

PS garage, it's the number of radio stations that carry him, which is in the hundreds. They wouldn't carry him if their time could usefully be sold elsewhere.

deborah said...

Yes, he will win. For some reason, intellectual I think, many conservatives love to listen to syndicated talk radio. Not my cup of tea, but I love a good podcast.

cubanbob said...

garage mahal said...
Writes the lefty Drudge Retort, noting that Limbaugh hasn't lost listeners

Drudge Retort said there is no evidence of lost listeners. There is no real evidence that Limbaugh has as many listeners as he claims either. If he really did have 20 million listeners I doubt all these advertisers would have pulled out that quickly.

3/12/12 12:26 PM

Get a clue: he hasn't lost paid for airtime. Certain advertisers quit only to be replaced by others. If his audience numbers are phony then so are every other broadcasters numbers. Wake up and see the world as it is and not as you wish it to be.

Rush isn't the head of the RNC anymore than Maher is head of the DNC. Try living in the real world and not in some wannabe fantasy utopia.

I ♥ Willard said...

For years, he's been tweaking the media and using its pushback to generate interesting/funny/pithy material.

Interesting/funny/pithy material generated by Rush? In a parallel universe perhaps, but not in this world or in my lifetime.

Face it: Rush is an obese drug addict, blowhard and pervert. His political rants are boring and his attempts at comedy are painful. His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight.

MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...

I heard two different Democrats on Fox this weekend make the ridiculous assertion that Rush is the de facto head of the Republican Party. They've got their stupid little talking points down to try to tie Rush's remarks to Republicans.

Meanwhile, Rush is so concerned about it all that he decided to let Mark Steyn host today so he could golf.

Dose of Sanity said...

I personally despise the language, and the logic, Rush originally used. Althouse herself shredded his logic (taxpayers paying for it, cost of sex, etc).

On the other hand, I don't think this was a mistake on his part, at all. Look at his name, it's everywhere. The mistake comes from political figures trying to defend the language.

More interestingly, I think Rush objects to his tactics being used against him. Advertisers who pulled out generated the same "controversy" publicity Rush generates, and did it at Rush's expense. I think Rush may even be doing them a favor to "make them beg". Each time he mentions them on the show, they are getting free adverstising.

Games within games?

Writ Small said...

Rush Limbaugh = Planned Parenthood.

Retract support and you will pay.

Patrick said...

"His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight."

Still working on that beam in your eye?

BarrySanders20 said...

Mahal's langauge reflects the underlying "penetrating" controversy:

"I doubt all these advertisers would have pulled out that quickly."

Fluke doubts the people she deals with will pull out that quickly, thus the need for her free contraceptives.

deborah said...

cubanbob from the second page of the 'Disenchantment' thread:

"If Rush wanted to start another shit storm he ought to come out and say as long as woman have a right to subsidized sex and have the sole decision whether or not to stay pregnant then child support is purely optional for men. Watching the feminist arguing heads I win tales you lose would be great entertainment."

It would be hilarious for Rush to pound this idea for weeks on end. Freezing on the notion that if a woman has the sole right to 'choose,' she has no expectation of child support. But who would be the ideal personification?

roesch/voltaire said...

It must comfort some to think that this three days of "slut fest' and distortions of the Fluke testimony was just Rush "tweaking the media,: and has nothing to do with misogynist views? I am not for running Rush off the air, as I think he has helped to reveal an ugly side to the Republican party-- and that is good.

Paco Wové said...

What is the precise issue the left is attempting to personify in Rush?

Rush Limbaugh = all republicans (and especially Mitt Romney!)

Several examples right here on this comment thread.

I ♥ Willard said...

His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight.

Oh, it looks like Patrick is a fan of Limbaugh. Maybe he's an exception that proves the rule. ;)

garage mahal said...

Wake up and see the world as it is and not as you wish it to be.

Show me proof of his 20 million listeners. I wouldn't surprised if it's less than half that.

Carnifex said...

@Iheartwillard

Really? That's the best you can do? "I hate Rush, so anybody that listens to him is a big doodie head too"?

That's the kind of argument a lefty progressive makes. Hmmmm?
Or maybe you're not real good at freezing your opponent like a good Alinsky.(soon to be a new adjective in the English language) ie. I couldn't win the debate with facts, but I sure alinskied his ass.

Also joining the lexicon, to Obama. As in "Boy, I sure Obama'd my paycheck last week, now I can't afford gas for my car!"

And Holder. Did you see that cop Holder that poor mexican on the TV last night?

And Moochie. That was the Moochiest spring break ever! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Michael K said...

"His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight."

You certainly seem to fit the profile. Are you a closet listener ?

edutcher said...

garage mahal said...

Wake up and see the world as it is and not as you wish it to be.

Show me proof of his 20 million listeners. I wouldn't surprised if it's less than half that.


He's on about 560 radio stations (you can go to his website and do your own count). About 35,000 per station would be required for 20 mil.

I bet he hit it last Monday.

PS Found this definition of 'obama'. Don't think it was what Carnifex meant.

Not sure about holder and moochie.

WV "luthern" What Phialdelphians call a follower of Fr Martin.

BarrySanders20 said...

Hooray! R/V is for freedom of speech. Truly a model citizen on the left.

Paco, if Rush = all R's (especially Mitt!), then it must be equally true that

Maher = all D's (especially Obama!, and especially since the Big O took all that c@#% money)

Playing Alinsky is fun!

Of course, it takes a particularly severe lack of self-awareness to accuse R's of unusual misogyny when the left owns the field through its Palin abuse.

So what is the equivalent " = " for those of us who detest both political parties?

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

The Breitbart campaign was to force liberals to denounce their own methods. For example, Rush calls someone a slut, liberals condemn him, then everyone notices that liberals have been calling women names for years.

Result: liberals have to stop calling women names.

Progress! But who won?

pauldar said...

Ann, I was in the process of RE-FI on my home with Quicken, and I called them today and canceled them and told them why. The lady was upset at me, but told her she should let the higher-ups know what they did. The rates was actually pretty decent, 3.375, but the buy down was over $3000. It would have taken mortgage from 25 years to 15 years and only increased payment by $83 per bi-weekly payment. I mention all of the above to let you know that my stopping Quicken was not made up. I found out my current lender will compete

SteveR said...

The mistake many make is to link Rush with the Republican party political machine. When people try to scar one with the other, tells me they don't listen to him.

So they are arguing in an echo chamber, those to the right of the far left, are the same block of radical idiots. That's why MSNBC gets dismal ratings, Air America failed, etc.

Rusty said...

I ♥ Willard said...
For years, he's been tweaking the media and using its pushback to generate interesting/funny/pithy material.

Interesting/funny/pithy material generated by Rush? In a parallel universe perhaps, but not in this world or in my lifetime.

Face it: Rush is an obese drug addict, blowhard and pervert. His political rants are boring and his attempts at comedy are painful. His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight



It's always nice to know that you will live up to type.
Consistency, Willard. We've come to count on it.

Nathan Alexander said...

I am not for running Rush off the air, as I think he has helped to reveal an ugly side to the Republican party-- and that is good. .

I'd say he revealed a tendency to seek/reward responsibility within the Republican Party...the fact you think that urging someone to take responsibility for their own lives is ugly is because of an even more hideous side to the Democratic Party that has been revealed: permanent adolescent dependence on Big Govt-- and that is even better.

Fen said...

N said: if Rush dropped dead of a major coronary event, the world would instantly be a better place.

Fen's Law.

Really, its people like you that keep me supporting Rush. I hope he gores all your sacred cows.

And I love that you had to create a sockpuppet to spew your vile. Likely because your standard handle here is always lecturing the rest of us about "civility".

Here's your civility: go fuck yourself, Libtard.

Nathan Alexander said...

Show me proof of his 20 million listeners. I wouldn't surprised if it's less than half that.

There's more proof of Rush listeners than there is Democratic votes, i.e., advertisers are paying to access that many listeners.

But it is racist to demand proof of existence, remember?

Nice to see you finally become a birther, hypocrite.

I ♥ Willard said...

That's the best you can do? "I hate Rush, so anybody that listens to him is a big doodie head too"?

I don't hate Rush. My opinion is that he has essentially no talent for comedy or political analysis.

As for your "doodie head" characterization... o_O

That's the kind of argument a lefty progressive makes. Hmmmm?

If you say so. I don't waste my time fabricating characteristics to assign to people according to their political beliefs.

Or maybe you're not real good at freezing your opponent like a good Alinsky.(soon to be a new adjective in the English language) ie. I couldn't win the debate with facts, but I sure alinskied his ass.

Ooh, that sounds like Rush "humor!"

"Boy, I sure Obama'd my paycheck last week, now I can't afford gas for my car!"

And who says Rush and his audience aren't comic geniuses? You've sure proven me wrong!

Please take a break now so that Limbaugh fans can catch their breath.

Rusty said...

Show me proof of his 20 million listeners. I wouldn't surprised if it's less than half that.


Jeeze. Garage. You're lazier than me. Google "Limbaugh market share" and it's consistently 20 million or so a week.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Rush has put lefty's in the unenviable position of politically impersonating Tipper Gore.

In 1985, she co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) with Susan Baker, wife of then United States Secretary of the Treasury James Baker, because Tipper heard her then 11-year-old daughter playing "Darling Nikki" by Prince. According to an article by NPR, Gore went "before Congress to urge warning labels for records marketed to children."[14] A number of individuals including Dee Snider of Twisted Sister,[15] Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, John Denver,[16] Joey Ramone and Frank Zappa[14] criticized the group, arguing that it was a form of censorship. In response, NPR further stated that according to Gore, she "wasn't out to censor the objectionable material" and quoted her as stating that she is "a strong believer in the First Amendment" who is calling for greater "consumer information in the marketplace."

Whether or not it was presciently intentional on Rush's part to create the controversy, the result is that Rush got the people with the bigger megaphone (the left) talking about him.

I ♥ Willard said...

It's always nice to know that you will live up to type.
Consistency, Willard. We've come to count on it.


Ditto Rusty! :)

I ♥ Willard said...

Here's your civility: go fuck yourself, Libtard.

I'm guessing that Fen doesn't like Mondays. :(

Carnifex said...

@IheartWilly

Yes very clever you. Still didn't deny that you brush anyone who listens to Rush as, what was the phrase...."His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight"

You might try looking in a mirror there Butch, there's a little Obama dribbling outta your mouth.

Brian Brown said...

garage mahal said...
Show me proof of his 20 million listeners. I wouldn't surprised if it's less than half that.


Which would still be five times the size of the largest Air America audience ever recorded.

shiloh said...

"Will he win?"

Not relevant, his dittoheads being devoted listeners regardless and Limbo already having more $$$ than he could spend in several lifetimes.

The relevant question:

How much damage has he done to the Rep party ie every time he steps in it, it helps Dems w/independent voters and it helps w/fund raising.

And of course, it rallies the troops, much like Scott Walker/kasich have already done.

Again, the yin and yang of political overreach/miscalculation.

>

But as always, not to worry as Limbaugh will still carry water for mittens come Sept.

Death, taxes, Limbo carrying water for RINO's! :)

chickelit said...

Willard wrote:
Face it: Rush is an obese drug addict, blowhard and pervert. His political rants are boring and his attempts at comedy are painful. His audience consists of people so filled with hate for their political opponents, they've lost perspective about what constitutes humor and insight.

Put down the mirror, Willard.

Carnifex said...

@willard

Right there...in the corner... for Gods sake, can't you see it?

Someone get this man a napkin... or better yet, a tampon(yes I went there)

I ♥ Willard said...

Oh Carnifex, you needn't work so hard to prove my point! Thank you, but really, it's not necessary.

Have a super week!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I don't hate Rush. My opinion is that he has essentially no talent for comedy or political analysis.

Its a good thing you dont hate Rush.. because while he is flying around in his private jet you are commenting on a blog that you dont even write.. (not that there is anything wrong with that)

But who knows, maybe you are the lefty's Rush and you just have not been discovered yet. Lord knows they been looking, hoping and praying for you for decades.

ricpic said...

The quintessential thug Obama accuses Rush of not belonging in the company of decent folk, folk like...like Obama. And Obama's million dollar contributor, Bill Maher. He of the C word. It gets more and more obscene as the thug Left defines itself as decent and defines those in opposition to its criminal enterprise as beyond the pale. But not to loyal foot soldiers AlphaLiberal, Shiloh, hatboy, garbage and the darling Roeschi. Nothing obscene with any means used to advance the cause.

I ♥ Willard said...

Mr. Little,

Perhaps you can be more specific. Which of the following do not apply to Rush, in your opinion?

Obese
Drug Addict
Blowhard
Pervert

BTW, Mr. Little, try not to help prove my point by personalizing your rebuttal. :)

edutcher said...

Those noting that the trolls have been reduced to name-calling (and it looks like they feel required to empty the bench) can also take comfort in the latest ABC/WaPo poll (if you can believe it), which shows GodZero's disapproval among those valued Independents at 57 and whites without degrees at 66.

Salt provided for this wound courtesy of the fact that it was conducted last weekend, at the height of L'Affaire Fluck.

Henry said...

I'm reading the lede and I'm thinking the dustup over Sleep Train along with the blowback suffered by Carbonite sounds like a Quentin Tarantino blaxploitation mashup concept.

I ♥ Willard said...

But who knows, maybe you are the lefty's Rush and you just have not been discovered yet. Lord knows they been looking, hoping and praying for you for decades.

Liberals praying? o_O

Carnifex said...

@willy boy

Still not seeing... well no hope for ya'. Have fun spoutin' the commie, I mean party...uh, I mean democrat line. We'll see who's laffing on Nov.3 after Obozo gets his ashes hauled. Because $5 gas and rising unemployment will always win you an election. Oh?! By the way! Willy, did you get your government approved $50 light bulb yet? The one O and the boys gave $10,000,000 to Philips for developing?

Did you get those great pictures of O and the missus on their last vacay? I know, it's hard to believe they actually went to the same place...just wish they could go on the same airplane. But no matter, he's got $1 billion in a war chest for re-election.

I assume the IheartWilly family also has one of those new Fisker cars. Do they call 'em "Fis'cars" Willy? I hope yours does better than the one that burned up this weekend. You would think a car that the, and here's an important point Willy, don't miss it like you seem to everything else, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT subsidized, would be "MADE IN AMERICA". No doubt if it had been, it wouldn't have burned up like those nasty Chevy Vol.t..s...never mind.

Valentine Smith said...

Limbaugh had become a target of opportunity in the battle for defense of the realm, ie, the White House. With the Left, anything becomes an opportunity for all-out war. Small victories are seen as lost opportunities unless the nukes are brought out. A mere elephant gun, so to speak, won't do. And when the nukes fail to bring down the elephant the arsenal is shown as all weapon no ammo.

In Limbaugh's case, the marketplace leveled the battlefield, terrain that the Left picked. That's the definition of poor leadership and stupidity, and we all know where the General Staff is located.

The Alliance of the Interminably Aggrieved does not know how to do democratic power. They know how to subvert power, not wield it. Unless, of course, it's totalitarian power. That's what Alinsky is all about and that's what the hollow man in the White House is all about.

edutcher said...

Lem, most Conservatives thought Rush went over the line, but that doesn't alter the fact Conservatives have used this to remind people of the Lefties' War On Women and Rush has used that to turn the tables on his detractors.

As a great tactician once observed, "I love it when the Lefties come totally unhinged".

Nathan Alexander said...

Did Rush hurt the GOP's chances?

"ABC/WashPost Poll: Unstoppable Incumbent Now Trails Romney Again"
(And Santorum, too):
http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/293163/abcwashpost-poll-unstoppable-incumbent-now-trails-romney-again

garage mahal said...

People do stupid shit all the time in order to make political points. The Wisconsin Recall is a rather lively illustration of this.

Agreed, now 4 Republican senators, one Republican Governor, and one Republican Lt Gov will face the voters in a recall election on June 5th. A judge today also put a permanent injunction on the new voter ID bill. Wheels are coming off the bus.

John Stodder said...

Well, bully for Rush. He wins another round.

But meanwhile, he's opened up a huge line of attack for Obama against the likely GOP nominee. What Sleep Train and Carbonite do or don't won't alter the nation's trajectory, which Rush casually has toyed with in order to "entertain" his fans and live up to his noble mission to "illustrate absurdity with absurdity."

Rush increasingly reminds me of Bill Cllinton. No matter what happens in the world, wherever a sparrow falls, it's all about him. That's one of the things I noticed getting re-acquainted with his show last year. The first bank of soundbites he wants to comment on? Always the soundbites where he himself is mentioned. The state of the world seems to center around whether some cable dickhead mentions his name kindly or not.

write_effort said...

If Limbaugh stays or goes is irrelevant. If he has advertisers or not is irrelevant. The percentage of women voters who don't trust the GOP is relevant. And time will tell.

bagoh20 said...

No matter where you stand on the spectrum you have to admire his abilities. He's the Babe Ruth of Broadcasting, and for the left he's the Michael Myers of media.

John Stodder said...

A judge today also put a permanent injunction on the new voter ID bill.

No.

It wasn't a judge. It was the Eric Holder DOJ.

And it wasn't an injunction. It was a fiat by the DOJ under the Voting Rights Act.

I know what you said sounds better, Garage; a judge is kind of like umpire and all that. But no, this is one side of the political battle using its power to get its way.

shiloh said...

March polls being totally irrelevant notwithstanding ...

"(And Santorum, too):"

Nathan A. has a reading comprehension problem, but a remedial reading course could help.

Again, after the 1988 Dem convention Dukakis was leading Bush41 by (17) pts. He lost by (8) after, wait for it ... the actual (((presidential campaign))) starting after Labor Day and ending on election day.

>

But it's ok for edutcher to hyperventilate over early polls as long as he monitors his blood pressure daily! :)

Althouse conservatives please pace yourself ...

~Nina said...

Fen said...

N said: if Rush dropped dead of a major coronary event, the world would instantly be a better place.

Fen's Law.

Really, its people like you that keep me supporting Rush. I hope he gores all your sacred cows.

And I love that you had to create a sockpuppet to spew your vile. Likely because your standard handle here is always lecturing the rest of us about "civility".

Here's your civility: go fuck yourself, Libtard.


Awwww...another closted fag who masturbates to Rush Limbaugh and who gets his pink panties in a twist because others don't worship at the shrine of his big gay idol.

Silly boy. No one cares about you. That's why you have to listen to Rush Limbaugh to feel important and relevant.

garage mahal said...

t wasn't a judge. It was the Eric Holder DOJ.

I should have stated in Wisconsin. See here.

chickelit said...

~N left the following skidmark:

Awwww...another closted fag who masturbates to Rush Limbaugh and who gets his pink panties in a twist because others don't worship at the shrine of his big gay idol.

Lemme guess--you hate Palin too.

Carnifex said...

Yes garage was right. It was a leftist statist judge, using his imperial fiat, empowered by D's, and their faulty ideas, in Wisconsin.

It was AG Holder over the rest of the country.

Apparently, carefree sex is a right to some people. I wonder when it is just going to be the sex part itself. Should a woman have a right not to just
'carefree" sex, but to just sex itself? What's the difference? I forsee lots of oysters for those girly looking actors from those idiot vampire movies.

leslyn said...

Althouse said,

How many times have I heard Rush quote Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."

Well isn't that a kick in the pants! I thought she was acknowledging Limbaugh's expert manipulation, and then I find out she's used it to turn him into a victim.

A victim? I just don't see it.

I ♥ Willard said...

Oh dear, Carnifex is having a meltdown. :(

Please take care of yourself, Carnifex.

Alex said...

Go Rush!

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
t wasn't a judge. It was the Eric Holder DOJ.

I should have stated in Wisconsin. See here.:

You also forgot to add that it was a Dane County judge. And like Sumi, this will be overturned.

Alex said...

What Rush doesn't understand is that Obama and the Democrats have become masters of marketing and packaging. He fell into their trap and he can't figure a way out due to his own self-imposed ideological box.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

..the dustup.. that caused a blowback.. was aimed to hoist conservatism on the petard of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s words.

or something.

garage mahal said...

Yes garage was right. It was a leftist statist judge, using his imperial fiat, empowered by D's, and their faulty ideas, in Wisconsin.

RAWR. Wisconsin Constitution does not equal faulty ideas. Since you have no idea what it says, I won't ask you to explain.

AlphaLiberal said...

Limbaugh's offense went far beyond what he actually apologized for. He said a lot more that was offensive (like asking for her sex tapes or lying about what she wanted or otherwise calling her a wanton woman on the airwaves). Alot of stuff he said would get one's comments deleted here at Althouse's blog site (try it!).

His very qualified and very narrow apology was not sincere as he continued to hurl his insults even as he made his "apology". He used his power as one of country's top Republicans and his broadcast to insult and harass one citizen in his attempts to berate her and silence her.

Rush Limbaugh is a reprehensible man who has behaved abysmally. The American community is reacting to his hateful and bullying speech by asking advertisers to live up to standards of plain and simple decency Rush cannot ever hope to reach.

Advertisers cannot afford to be tied to such terrible and hateful rhetoric. Rush is bad for business!

Alex said...

OTOH, what's wrong with Fluke's position. We already have the government mandating a million different things to private entities, what's wrong with one more? Either we say we live in a libertarian society with 100% freedom of association or we don't.

Alex said...

AL - as usual you miss the point. It's irrelevant whether or not Rush Limbaugh is a fat, piggish boor. The real issue is freedom of association. Of course you would rather talk about Rush Limbaugh instead of that. But that's what political hacks do.

edutcher said...

Bathtub swabbie tries damage control.

While, yes, we're 8 months out, the fact the polls look so bad for the Messiah aren't a good sign since few believe anything, gas prices in particular, will improve through the year.

In fact, many, from Dr Evil, to Peter Schiff and Peter Morici, all the way to David Stockman, think things will get appreciably worse.

That Milton, and even Santorum, are polling so well against Little Zero, despite a contentious primary season, bodes even more poorly for the Demos, who are now very scared since Zero apparently is willing to take his party down with him rather than admit he was wrong.

And only bathtub swabbie is hyperventilating.

My tone was quite jovial.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

For a big fat drug addict loser, people sure talk about Rush a lot.

~Nina said...

The "word police"...?

Jaysus, but you're dumber than a box of rocks, aren't ya?

What the hell are you talking about, you stupid fucking cunt? <<<< (see, anyone can do that...) /rolleyes.

AlphaLiberal said...

Rush did not apologize for the following comments:

"Can you imagine if you're her parents how proud of Sandra Fluke you would be? Your daughter goes up to a congressional hearing conducted by the Botox-filled Nancy Pelosi and testifies she's having so much sex she can't afford her own birth control pills and she agrees that Obama should provide them, or the Pope."

or this, which she did not say, BTW...
"What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke [sic], who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex?"

Or these....

'On March 1, 2012, Limbaugh offered what he said was a “compromise” to contraception coverage: purchasing "all the women at Georgetown University as much aspirin to put between their knees as possible". He continued that he "[ran] some numbers" on contraception costs and arguing that contraception coverage was "flat-out thievery" that would force taxpayers to pay to "satisfy the sexual habits of female law students at Georgetown".'

Nor did Ann's idol apologize for these comments about Fluke:

"I'm going broke having sex. I need government to provide me condoms and contraception. It's not fair." He asked, "Ms. Fluke, have you ever heard of not having sex? Have you ever heard of not having sex so often?"

Nor did he apologize for this:
"So, Ms. Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I'll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."

He did not apologize for this description of Fluke as
"a woman who is happily presenting herself as an immoral, baseless, no-purpose-to-her life woman. She wants all the sex in the world whenever she wants it, all the time, no consequences. No responsibility for her behavior."

or...

Limbaugh said that requiring insurance companies to cover contraception is "no different than if somebody knocked on my door that I don't know and said, 'You know what? I'm out of money. I can't afford birth-control pills, and I'm supposed to have sex with three guys tonight.' "

Limbaugh apologized for specifically for saying "slut" and "prostitute:"
"I descended to [the left's] level when I used those two words to describe Sandra Fluke,"

His other "apology" was a broadside against Fluke and other women who think their medicine should be covered under insurance plans. Indeed, most of that "apology" was barely distinguishable from the 3 days of sexist and hateful rants against this one person he sought to silence.

~Nina said...

I can't stand gay men. I probably wouldn't like gay women much, either, but they can't afford to live near me so I don't have to be annoyed by them all day long.

Mike said...

Get a life folks! El Rushbo is a blowhard (as most talk radio people are, left, right and center). He's an entertaining blowhard though--most of the time.

Ms. Fluke's testimony before Nancy Pelosi's faux Congressional Committee scratched Rush--and he proceeded to rant for three days about it. Frankly, that wasn't entertaining. It was worth a comment--but not three days. And if he'd stopped at "she wants to be paid money for having sex" (which can be translated out of his babble as "she wants to have $3,000 worth of contraceptives so she can have sex--all the sex she wants") he'd be okay.

But he didn't. He used the words "slut" and "prostitute". That's two words too far. And he deserved to be called on it.

That said the tremendous outburst of faux outrage over this is equally shameful. A stock tirade from the Left is that the Right is "hypocritical". Hypocrisy being the biggest sin on the liberal "morality chart" and all. Nobody on the left objected much to Letterman's, Maher's, or Louis C.K.s vicious assault on conservative women, but they all had cardiac arrest over two words.

Well I call bull puckey on that.

AlphaLiberal said...

This is what Ann Althouse and the Republican Party stand for these days: defending their own special privilege to be slanderous, hateful, mean and lie about people in the media.

It's good to see so many companies actually not wanting to be associated with the hate speech of this leading light of the Republican Party.

I hope Fluke sues Limbaugh for all he is worth for his slander.

Unknown said...

Alpha wants Fluke to sue
Rush. Me, too. Discovery would be hilarious.

Salamandyr said...

I just wish that, in this kerfluffle over the impolitic words of one radio host, we hadn't lost sight of the simple fact, that Sandra Fluke is a terrible person who wants to destroy religious liberty in this country, by eliminating freedom of conscience.

And the religious fanatics in the Administration are helping her do it.

AlphaLiberal said...

Alex:

"The real issue is freedom of association."

Really? Who is being prevented from associating with someone else? No one. Advertisers have no requirement to associate with Limbaugh.

The issue is community standards and the community is standing up to the bully and setting standards. Waaah...

Ann Althouse and other right wingers clearly oppose such standards.

Look, Ann, and all the rest:
Rush Limbaugh is not entitled to these advertising dollars. No-one owes him anything, especially the "right" to spread hatred on their dime.

They have the right to refuse to be associated with this hatred. And we can speak back! It's fine if we do so!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

No she didn't..

chickelit said...

Even the word fluke is bit of a Rorschach test, having meaning for everyone: anchor, lucky break, or parasitic worm.

~Nina said...

LOL!

Well, that didn't take long...

;~)

cubanbob said...

I ♥ Willard said...
Mr. Little,

Perhaps you can be more specific. Which of the following do not apply to Rush, in your opinion?

Obese
Drug Addict
Blowhard
Pervert

BTW, Mr. Little, try not to help prove my point by personalizing your rebuttal. :)

3/12/12 1:41 PM

Rush has just been elevated to the esteemed heights of The Kennedy's!

Limbaugh is laughing himeself all the way to the bank. I'm sure he just loves you for it.

AlphaLiberal said...

Regarding comparisons to other entertainers who have insulted conservative women:

* They are not leading any national political parties. No national politicos have criticized them and then retracted those criticisms out of fear within hours or days. That’s the Limbaugh record. He is a or THE leader of the national Republican Party.

* Those statements that were sexist and over the top were not part of an obsessive, 3-day long tirade. They were distasteful jokes, distasteful things said in anger and were followed by actual apologies, not more of the same with parsed and few words of regret added.

* In a lot of cases I read, they actually were criticized. They actually did apologize. End of story.

* In some of the cases I’ve seen cited, the comments in question are run-of-the mill criticism of pols or pundits.

Alex said...

AL - are you that dumb? I was talking about the freedom of Catholic institutions to decide how their money will be spent. Now I'm an agnostic so I have no dog in this hunt, but I know that you do NOT cross the church/state boundary.

Alex said...

AL - keep making this about Rush instead of about the real issues.

cubanbob said...

deborah said...
cubanbob from the second page of the 'Disenchantment' thread:

"If Rush wanted to start another shit storm he ought to come out and say as long as woman have a right to subsidized sex and have the sole decision whether or not to stay pregnant then child support is purely optional for men. Watching the feminist arguing heads I win tales you lose would be great entertainment."

It would be hilarious for Rush to pound this idea for weeks on end. Freezing on the notion that if a woman has the sole right to 'choose,' she has no expectation of child support. But who would be the ideal personification?

3/12/12 12:48 PM

How about the millions of men who have gotten hit with child support payments for kids they were conceived when the woman 'conveniently forgot' her pills. Or the 10% of men who are required to pay child support when the kid isn't biologically his.

It would great entertaiment indeed to see the shit-storm, especially from commenter like you.

Alex said...

I guarantee as many Americans were offended by Obama's attempt to violate the 1st Amendment as were by Rush's slur.

chickelit said...

This thread is less of a vortex than a toilet bowl swirl.

FTR, I think "~N" pinched the first loaf back at 12:17:

So fuck him. AFAIC, if he dropped dead of a major coronary event, the world would instantly be a better place.

The aim here is insult in order to provoke insult:

"Polarize, attack, depolarize"--is that an Alinsky rule too?

AlphaLiberal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alex said...

Obese
Drug Addict
Blowhard
Pervert


Michael Moore registers on at least 2 of those.

AlphaLiberal said...

Replying to:
"Perhaps you can be more specific. Which of the following do not apply to Rush, in your opinion?

Obese
Drug Addict
Blowhard
Pervert"

Well, I understand he dropped some pounds so obese may not "fit" any more. It's not an insult at any rate.

He is very definitely a drug (oxy contin and other painkillers that he illegally obtained) addict. This is well-established int he public record.

Blowhard? absolutely. See the definition:
"1. A very boastful and talkative person; a braggart"

Pervert? Well, I don't know why he had someone else's Viagra prescription that he was busted for in his return from the sex tourism destination he went to with a bunch of men. So I can't say. Not a fan of that term anyway. It's an odd position to be throwing stones from over sex.
____________
At the heart of conservative outrage over this episode is that any of their number, especially their top leader, should be criticized for shameful conduct.

Alex said...

Look Rush will pay the consequences of his lifestyle like we all will, that's his business. But honestly nobody cares that he's an obese cigar smoker.

Chip Ahoy said...

Nathan Alexander @ 1:22, that is most impressive.

I read a thing once in a book that didn't pop up that started out wondering why dogs bark so much. Undomesticated canids also bark but only when they are puppies. Regular dogs that are not around people, wolves and such, bark as pups when they are alarmed and confused then they grow out of that. The conclusion the author drew is that domestication of dogs was basically a process whereby development is arrested at adolescence. I think I understood my dogs a little better when I viewed them stuck at feral dog adolescence. Maybe they do finish late in doggie life but according to the book the arc is stretched out nearly flat at adolescence which is a word I just now spelled three times without red lines under it.

Alex said...

Hey AL - when Dick Durbin called our troops Nazis on par with Pol Pot were you offended?

Synova said...

So... Alpha...

What Rush is supposed to apologize for is Fluke?

"I'm very sorry that I pointed out that Fluke is an idiot with an entitlement complex. Women can be as brainless as they like and still deserve to be taken seriously, because they have vaginas. I forgot this, and I'm sorry."

AlphaLiberal said...

The Catholic church has nothing to do with this. They have zero authority under our existing system of government to force their religion on other people. They are no above the law (their apparent ability to help child predators escape the law and obstruct justice notwithstanding).

If the Cardinals don't like contraception, they shouldn't take it. But they have no right to run our lives and should stop acting like they're being martyred.

The post of this thread is about Limbaugh. his namke is right there in the title. If your deceitful "framing" was ruined, complain to Limbaugh. He is the one who ruined it.

Alex said...

AL - thanks for proving your an anti-Catholic bigot. I mean hell, I'm agnostic I have no dog in this hunt and I can see it easily!

edutcher said...

AlphaLiberal said...

Regarding comparisons to other entertainers who have insulted conservative women:

* They are not leading any national political parties.


Tsk, tsk...

Alpha has yet to come up with any justification of this claim besides its being just another KozKid talking point.

As I say, the news has been really bad for the Lefties, so they're emptying the benches trying to make something stick.

No luck. apparently, and they're down to Alpha...

"The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day"

Synova said...

"Look, Ann, and all the rest:
Rush Limbaugh is not entitled to these advertising dollars. No-one owes him anything, especially the "right" to spread hatred on their dime.

They have the right to refuse to be associated with this hatred. And we can speak back! It's fine if we do so!
"

But it's not your money, Alpha.

What the left is doing here, is punishing other people in order to force them to make different choices with their money.

Otherwise his advertisers would simply make their own choices. Since they have to be helped along in that, it's pretty obviously not their *own* choices that are important.

And the reason that it seems not to be working is that the *reward* for bowing to this punishment seems to be financial ruin. Because while Rush's listeners vote with their money, the coercive left does not.

Where is the reward for the companies who dropped Rush? Where is the reward for virtue and loyalty?

The whole thing is just about as irrational as the notion that a Sex-Strike is a fabulous idea.

I ♥ Willard said...

Pervert?

"So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch."

Pervert? Absolutely!

Alex said...

Synova - the left is well within their rights to urge boycott campaigns against whomever they wish, and the companies are free to stay or leave. That's freedom, it's messy but it's better then the alternative!

Alex said...

Ben Franklin said, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Alex said...

The full context:

When asked what type of government the American people were going to participate in, by a well-meaning woman, a stern Benjamin Franklin warned that our new government was going to be "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."

Ben Franlin - always the First Citizen of the United States. Forever and always.

Alex said...

You see I don't get liberals. They bash the electoral college because of 2000, but when Obama wins a landslide in 2008 everything is fine. Am I supposed to conclude from all this that liberals only desire power for it's own sake and do not actually care about our republic?

AlphaLiberal said...

Alex, Durbin never "called our troops Nazis." False. He said they were using tactics that must have been used by Nazi's. that was factually accurate but impolitic. Things like chaining prisoners to cold concrete floors, hanging them from walls, etc.

Synova, no. You're sounding desperate.

And, that's the other thing. You guys are such autocrats you cannot bear to criticize your leader when he behaves badly. So now you're all attacking Fluke, attacking women in general, and rushing to defend this man's vile remarks. Like a bunch of lemmings.

Alex said...

AL - lol yeah right he said out troops used Nazi tactics but that isn't calling our troops Nazis. Who the fuck do you think you're fooling you fucking moron.

Synova said...

And really... Rush as THE powerful Republican leader is just so... projection. Projection from people comfortable with cults of personality.

It's a group-mindset, not an individualist one. People who never listen to him are dropping Carbonite, because they disapprove of playing the game that way, not because they're particularly fond of Rush.

This actually makes Rush stronger you know. If he was a cult leader and did something incredibly stupid, like he did, "followers" would face feelings of betrayal an disillusionment. Since he doesn't have "followers" no one has their identities wrapped up with him.

I sometimes wonder what it means that Rush's opponents assume that his shortcomings are important to anyone. Is he on a pedestal? He's not. The people who constantly insist on putting him on a pedestal are on the left, as bizarre as that is.

Alex said...

Synova - the trouble with liberals is they know so much that isn't correct.

AlphaLiberal said...

Synova, what we are doing is exercising our freedom of speech to criticize a politically powerful speaker. We are telling these corp's that they are funding terrible rotten hate speech.

It's called "free speech." You whine and whine that it's unfair. It's not! People have the right to speak!

You can mount your own campaign to these adveritsers, and ask them to underwrite a sexist bigoted blowhard who attacks and tries to silence a citizen who spoke before Congress.

Somewhere Joe McCarthy is smiling at you.

Alex said...

AL - guess what conservatives have mounted boycott campaigns against liberals and it's worked. Keep up the good fight!

Alex said...

my point is "give no quarter, ask for no quarter". Right AL?

Synova said...

"Synova - the left is well within their rights to urge boycott campaigns against whomever they wish, and the companies are free to stay or leave. That's freedom, it's messy but it's better then the alternative!"

Oh, I agree. Sometimes I think it's sort of silly, like people who have said they won't go to Avengers because of who is playing Bruce Banner, but it's not a bad tactic.

But Alpha said that companies that chose not to associate themselves with Rush had the right to make choices with their own money. He should be honest. They're being forced (most gleefully) into those choices by others.

All those weak links, all those lists of sponsors and advertisers on the internet, so that the left knows who to attack in their zeal to get Rush...

... well, our household is currently on an Applebee's boycott (I think) so it's not that I'm saying people shouldn't do that. (Though I absolutely abhor the practice of targeting individuals in their workplaces, which the left seems fond of.)

In the end, though, valid tactic or not, if the left does not BUY from these companies, then the tactic fails. They lose Rush's audience and gain no one new. So it's destruction of who are essentially innocent bystanders, and if it's temporarily effective, it's only going to become less-so over time.

And it's simply wrong to the point of lying to claim that this is about anyone's choice to freely associate.

James said...

More interestingly, I think Rush objects to his tactics being used against him. Advertisers who pulled out generated the same "controversy" publicity Rush generates, and did it at Rush's expense. I think Rush may even be doing them a favor to "make them beg". Each time he mentions them on the show, they are getting free adverstising.

You really do need a dose of sanity. Why would Rush mention any of the advertisers that left him? He hasn't; its organizations like Media Matters and Washington Post that are announcing a tally of advertisers but Rush himself hasn't mentioned any of them on his program. Of course long time listeners miss hearing about Sleep Number beds but that's about it.

Love said...

So today the local Althouse sycophants are all banding together to defend the fat man?

What a sorry crew.

Alex said...

Synova - maybe the best advice for corporations is don't ever advertise on extremist talk radio. Never ends well. After all, Carbonite is in the business of selling subscriptions, not making political statements.

Alex said...

Love - you have serious reading comprehension problems. I suggest a remedial course.

Alex said...

Synova - would you be defending Carbonite if they bailed on Ed Schultz after he called Laura Ingraham a slut? You would be praising them to the high heavens.

Love said...

It's not just "liberals" who are boycotting or fed up with the fat man:

According to Inddustry website Radio-Info.com, at least 98 advertisers -- including big names like Ford, GM and McDonald's -- have indicated they want to avoid "environments likely to stir negative sentiments."
An excerpt of their memo, as published on Radio-Info.com:

"To all Traffic Managers: The information below applies to your Premiere Radio Networks commercial inventory. More than 350 different advertisers sponsor the programs and services provided to your station on a barter basis. Like advertisers that purchase commercials on your radio station from your sales staff, our sponsors communicate specific rotations, daypart preferences and advertising environments they prefer…

They’ve specifically asked that you schedule their commercials in dayparts or programs free of content that you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity). Those are defined as environments likely to stir negative sentiment from a very small percentage of the listening public."

bagoh20 said...

Alpha, Are you over 18 years old? I'm getting suspicious. You sound like a child to me. If you are, you should get you're parents permission to be reading and commenting on this adult site.

Synova said...

"You can mount your own campaign to these adveritsers, and ask them to underwrite a sexist bigoted blowhard who attacks and tries to silence a citizen who spoke before Congress.

Somewhere Joe McCarthy is smiling at you.
"

You're a riot, Alpha.

How is anyone trying to "silence" Fluke? By pointing out what an idiot she is? Is that the definition of "silence" now?

OTOH, how is trying to force Rush off the air *not* trying to silence him? How is it that the people trying to do that, trying to stop the "bad" speech, don't get the "McCarthy" endorsement?

And people are supporting Rush's advertisers, even if they don't support Rush. That's why Rush is going to be fine and the targeted advertisers are going to rue the day they let the left push them around.

That's what's going to make the difference in the end. Who spends their money and where do they spend it? Who signs up with Carbonite to make up for everyone who dropped it? Who is going to Avengers in order to endorse Ruffalo? Will gun control advocates really rush to Applebee's?

Tearing stuff down doesn't win in the end.

Synova said...

"Synova - would you be defending Carbonite if they bailed on Ed Schultz after he called Laura Ingraham a slut? You would be praising them to the high heavens."

They can do what they like. Ed Schultz (and a host of others) are moral worms, but I've never felt an enormous need to protect my fellow citizens from them.

I will say that he's a *useful* moral worm when one has occasion to point out the hypocrisy involved.

Republican said...

Rush won. Two big former advertisers asked to become his clients again, and the left's attempts to compel advertisers to bail out, had little effect.

Rush: 1
Left: 0

Love said...

Synova - "The people who constantly insist on putting him on a pedestal are on the left, as bizarre as that is."

So you think a vast majority of his regular 15 million listeners and followers are "liberal??"

Yeah, sure.

All of my liberal friends constantly spend remark on what an outstanding individual he is, planting him firmly on a pedestal of respect and admiration.

David Baker said...

Obama can simply respond in kind by declaring Carbonite green and performing a Solyndra.

Love said...

Republicann - "According to Inddustry website Radio-Info.com, at least 98 advertisers -- including big names like Ford, GM and McDonald's -- have indicated they want to avoid "environments likely to stir negative sentiments."

Fat Man 0
Liberals 98

rosebud said...

Chickenlittle, you forgot one definition. It also means a piece of tail.

I'm sorry I said that. Please don't contact my advertisers.

Love said...

Synova - "But it's not your money, Alpha."

Where the hell do you tink the advertisers get their advertising money?

Good grief...

AlphaLiberal said...

I will try to make it simple for you before returning to my life:

Rush Limbaugh has been able to broadcast these sorts of sexist and/or offensive comments for decades now because these advertisers support him. The advertisers are part of the Limbaugh machine.

We uppity Americans disagree with the Limbaugh machine and want it to stop lying about, and attacking, people. We also give business to these companies. Therefore, we are using our role in the marketplace to ask them not to be part of the machine. We can do that.

They will make their own decisions on whether to associate their well-cultivated brands with this blowhard. This is the marketplace in action!
------
Concept for the advanced thinkers among you:

There exists a decades old campaign called "Defund the left." This campaign has led to things like the fight to defund Planned Parenthood (another existing conservative campaign), the fight to eliminate ACORN (put out of business by a slanderous and false propaganda campaign), and now the fight to kill off public employee unions (not working).

So, one one hand you guys are running around literally destroying groups you disagree with, or trying to. You don't explain how that squares with various freedoms.

But then when we ask the corporations to stop underwriting Limbaugh's broadcasts (on the public airwaves), you suddenly discover outrage.

You, as a rule, do not apply your rules to yourselves. Therefore, you have no actual principles. (Allowing that not all con's think this way but the remainder are mostly silent cowards, afraid to criticize their tribe).

Alex said...

Love - it's funny that no left-wing radio hosts are even mentioned. I guess they have no listeners!

shiloh said...

"you have serious reading comprehension problems. I suggest a remedial course."

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! :)

And as Love suggests, Althouse et al ad nauseam Limbaugh media minutiae is redundantly pathetic. As they apologize for Limbo 24/7.

ok, ok, Limbaugh is Althouse's hero, but still. :D

James said...

LOL... Rush dropped GM ever since the bailout. He used to do ads for their Escalade and stopped when the bailout was announced. GM wanted him to come back and he told them no.

Seeing Red said...

Love said...
Synova - "But it's not your money, Alpha."

Where the hell do you tink the advertisers get their advertising money?

Good grief...


I thought there was something in the tax code, or did they get rid of that? It might have been only for overseas advertising.

OR

They don't get it from me if I don't use their service or product.

Good grief.

Hoosier Daddy said...

If the Cardinals don't like contraception, they shouldn't take it. But they have no right to run our lives and should stop acting like they're being martyred.

I don't think the Cardinals are trying to run your life but I do think they are tired of the goverment telling them how to run thier lives.

Then again if someone doesn't like the guidelines and rules established by the Catholic Church you probably shouldn't work for them. Just sayin.

Fen said...

N said: Awwww...another closted fag who masturbates to Rush Limbaugh -

Weak troll. Posting from his mamma's basement.

/ignore N

Alex said...

shiloh should join Love in that remedial reading course.

Synova said...

"But then when we ask the corporations to stop underwriting Limbaugh's broadcasts (on the public airwaves), you suddenly discover outrage."

Outrage? More projection?

Not that it isn't rather fun to watch you describe conservative boycotts with hostile language and the extortion aimed toward Rush's advertisers as asking so nicely.

But boycotts? Go for it.

Still, if you don't follow up and buy from the businesses that bow to your pressure, it's not going to work.

But maybe ruining businesses is a liberal virtue.

Fen said...

Alpha: Synova, what we are doing is exercising our freedom of speech to criticize a politically powerful speaker. We are telling these corp's that they are funding terrible rotten hate speech.

It's called "free speech." You whine and whine that it's unfair. It's not! People have the right to speak!


Unless they say "slut" ??

Again, Fen's Law. Its rampant in this thread.

Emil Blatz said...

Get off the Sleep Train.

I am going to not purchase from Pro Flowers in May, for the first time in 12 years, when Mom's birthday rolls around and I get her flowers some other way.

Ditto Citrix/GotoMeeting. I had just completed a free trial offer period of their web conferencing facility, and was inclined to buy into it when the boycott happened. They can pound sand now.

Synova said...

"They don't get it from me if I don't use their service or product."

You'd think it was a difficult concept.

Your money, my money, their money... same difference, eh?

Meanwhile, the obedient Carbonite circles the drain.

edutcher said...

Hate to interrupt the Lefty circle jerk, but whatever the truth about radio-info.com, Rush has a weekly audience of 15 - 20 million listeners. The 20 mil figure are estimates by Fox, ABC, and the WaPo.

No advertiser is going to turn its back on an audience that big for very long.

Remember, there's no such thing as a poor, white Liberal.

Just poor white Radicals that hang out as trolls.

Anonymous said...

It would be incredibly disappointing if Althouse backed down from her righteous anger over Limbaugh's behavior toward Ms.Fluke and women in general.

Her name is probably mud with Limbaugh now, so there's no turning back.

Seeing Red said...

I'd also love to be a stockholder of Mickey D's and at the annual meeting ask why they want to exclude 50 million potential customers?

Government Motors is a no-brainer.

Love said...

edutcher - You come to a site where the host and her sidekick fawn over the fat man on a regular basis...and call it a lefty circle jerk?

And, as for the 15 million wingnuts who follow the fat man's every word...there are alos millions who follow the Kardashian's every word and move.

What does that tell you?

Love said...

Fen - There are certain limits on free speech.

Why would you not know that?

Seeing Red said...

I'm a woman, I wasn't angry. Righteous anger. RME.

Seeing Red said...

You follow Ann's word, what does that tell you?

Love said...

Ms. Oopenheimer - Contraception cost about $500 a year.

An unwanted pregnancy brought to term will run right at $7,000...if everything goes right.

I suggest that if the contraception is not paid for, we also require the father to be there for the mandatory ultrasound or vaginal probe, all pre-birth medical visits/sessions, the birth itself and of course responsible for financial support for the first 18 years after the child is born.

And if the mother or father doesn't want the baby, the people who are so outraged about these pills being paid for...should be required to adopt at least one child a year.

That way it will be fair for all, and the employer or insurance companies don't have to pay for those damn pills.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Can Limbaugh outsmart the left's inner Castro-Stalin-Chavez-Mao?

Seeing Red said...

MO broke the cardinal rule, those aren't babies, those are sacks of cells.

That would be an interesting study, which would cost more over the long run, children or STDs? If 20% of the country has herpes and they live til they're about 90 and I'll be generous and say they got it in their 30s, I wonder how much that is?

Or the point may somewhat be moot because gonnorhea is becoming antibiotic resistent.

I wonder what the final cost of that will be?

I adopted my daughter, I know the cost.

I still can't get over the fact that those pills pacify women. It's like they're uncontrollable or rapacious and love-starved unless they're on the pill. Or it gives them self-control, I can't figure that out yet. What's really in those things?

Chuck66 said...

I haven't listened to Rush in 15 years. I like more of a give and take discussin than just someone going off on something.

But I started listening again this week.

edutcher said...

Someone tell Love contraception costs $9 month at WallyWorld.

As for the circle jerk, that he/she/it tries to deny it, makes my point.

Seeing Red said...

Vibrators don't get people pregnant and in the long run, they're even cheaper.

Seeing Red said...

If you want to stay out of poverty, you do 3 things:

Get a HS diploma

Don't get married until after the age of 20

Don't have kids until after you're married.


Millions of people manage to do this, They have for a very long time.

Women have no problem spending time choosing lipstick, makeup, hair care products, etc. Spend a little more time on choosing a man, you just might not get PG until you want to.

Do we really need to get into all those hormones affecting our fishing stock? Where's the EPA hazardous study on that?

Carnifex said...

@willyboy

Son, I got good news for you... I been called a lot worse by better people than you'll ever be. You are at best a distraction for me. An amusing creature to play with. I know it sounds bad, but I'm not a nice man. I do try to be polite though. And I do try to give everyone a fair shake. But coming apart or breaking down? Not even close. Hell, I lay on a hospital bed paralyzed, only thing I could move were my eye's. Not even my lungs worked. I know what's important in life, and you ain't it.

But in the end, like all leftist you have an over inflated ego, and self worth. You matter like.. well there you go, you don't matter. If you were to drop of the face of the world tomorrow, would I care? No, so how in any shape or form do you think you bother me? I am amazed and put off by your group mind think. I wonder how an American, who is supposed to be about self reliance, and generosity of spirit, and fair play, can turn into a little ant, marching off to do the Ones bidding.

But no, the big O sez conservatives are hate filled, and racist. And the big O would never lie to you, would he? None of your politicians, except the ones with R's after their names lie, do they Willy boy?

All the liitle commies gonna' get "free health care", and Obammie's gonna pay your mortgage, an' he's gonna cause the seas to quell, the sun to shine, and spring to come to the Earth HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH

Go away retard, Put me on ignore or what ever. Don't ever respond to one of my posts, just having this conversation with you drove my IQ down to almost your level, and I really don't want to live out my old age as a plant.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nathan Alexander said...

@alex,
Am I supposed to conclude from all this that liberals only desire power for it's own sake and do not actually care about our republic?
Sometimes the question is the answer.

Synova said...

The saving money through abortions (or through birth control) because babies are expensive argument is, well, retarded.

Firstly, contraception and condoms are ubiquitous. They are not hard to come by and no one is trying to ban them.

There is no rational reason to think that any change in how these things are funded will prevent even a single one of the "oopsies" that result in an "unwanted" pregnancy. Particularly as increased availability of contraception has correlated rather directly with the increase in abortions.

It's just not very *smart* to try to argue that there will be fewer abortions if something that is freely available remains freely available only with different funding options.

Anonymous said...

Love, the problem is that these conservatives seem to expect people to be responsible, yes some people ARE responsible for themselves. BUT how many young women are not responsible enough to wait until engaging in sexual behavior, how many are not responsible enough to use a condom, how many are not responsible enough carry a pregnancy through to term and give up the baby for adoption? Too many, enough that it costs taxpayers quite a bit of money to assist these unwed mothers.

We can demand responsible behavior all we want, doesn't mean it will happen. It's called REALITY.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Ms. Oopenheimer - Contraception cost about $500 a year.

Hardly a financial burden for someone who wants to engage in recreational sex.

Synova said...

And it's not at all obvious that women who have abortions will have fewer live births than if they'd had their inconvenient children at the inconvenient time.

Nathan Alexander said...

pervert?

"So I want to be able to have sex without having to worry about pregnancy. But I don't want to pay for it. And since the govt is spending trillions more than it is taking in taxes (that are already too high), I can't ask the govt to pay for it for me. And since the Democratic President is facing losing an election with how badly he has mishandled the economy, Law, his Presidency, etc, I want to lie, obfuscate, and give tearjerking anecdotes in a staged press conference in support of the liberal President trying to eradicate the separation of Church and State by forcing the Catholic Church to pay for my contraception."

There's your pervert: Ms Fluke and her enablers/handlers. Not to mention President Obama and his handlers who dreamt up this despicable strategy.

JohnJ said...

“It's called ‘free speech.’ You whine and whine that it's unfair. It's not! People have the right to speak!”

As I’ve said before, we have Obama to thank for this particular style of rhetorical nonsense:

“Some people say (insert ridiculous characterization of opponent’s position); I’m here to say they’re wrong.”

Gosh, I hope we’re starting to recognize how clownish that sounds.

Nathan Alexander said...

@synova,
I sometimes wonder what it means that Rush's opponents assume that his shortcomings are important to anyone. Is he on a pedestal? He's not. The people who constantly insist on putting him on a pedestal are on the left, as bizarre as that is.

Liberals hate conservatives because we conservatives don't use typical human failures as an excuse to lower or standards, nor do we stop striving for those high standards even when we fall short.

Synova said...

"the problem is that these conservatives seem to expect people to be responsible,"

The problem is that the people who are not responsible are *still* going to be not responsible, no matter what you do.

Short of tying teenaged girls down and giving them norplant implants what can be done about irresponsibility?

Think how many abortions could be prevented and unwanted pregnancies prevented if, when you went for your abortion you got a tubal, gratis? If you wanted it or not?

But people can not be forced to be responsible and being responsible *for* them in any effective way requires a profound violation of liberty.

It's not at all hard to get contraceptives. Those who will be irresponsible aren't going to be any better at using condoms properly or taking their pills when they must or even bothering to go get a morning-after hormone flush, than they are *now*, just because we tweak how it is all paid for.

So we give up our liberty to a government that has to intrude in every area of our lives, and we give up our freedom because $20 is enough to trash the 1st Amendment, and what do we gain?

shiloh said...

"Don't have kids until after you're married."

Bristol Palin?

ok, ok, if your family's rich/famous er infamous If you want to stay out of poverty, you do 3 things: does not apply lol.

And oh the irony mama grizzly didn't start makin' a lot of $$$ until after she quite her strenuous job of governing 700k. Hey, the woman knows how to work it! :-P

And getting back on topic, would Limbo consider Bristol a slut/whore? Rhetorical. :D And would Bristol please forward her and Levi's sex tape to Rush post-haste.

Indeed, Limbaugh called palin's daughter a slut/whore!

You bet'cha!

Nathan Alexander said...

The govt can/should mandate that women not have to pay for contraception out of their own personal expenses if and only if it also mandates that men should not have any financial responsibility if the woman chooses to have a baby without his agreement, permission, or knowledge.

I look forward to the unhinged and illogical responses to that from the completely dishonest, brainwashed, hypocritical tools of the Left.

Patrick said...

So, Shiloh, Bristol is "fair game."

Anyone else?

chickelit said...

I think there's a big, obvious reason why Alinsky failed to change the world while he was alive. The same reason will most likely undo the current reincarnation.

If you think hard enough it will come to you too.

Seeing Red said...

MO, are you sure it's teenagers having the most abortions? I haven't checked the stats lately, have you?

Call me crazy, at 30 I do expect you to be somewhat responsible. It used to be called being an adult.

Seeing Red said...

If Bristol is fair game, isn't Whoopie's daughter as well? I think it's her.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Short of tying teenaged girls down and giving them norplant implants what can be done about irresponsibility?

Well there was a time when irresponsible acts were supposed to be learning experiences and that choices have consequences.

Then liberals decided that irresponsiblity isn't anyone's fault and that society should be responsible for paying for someone else's responsibility.

Quaestor said...

garage mahal wrote:
If he really did have 20 million listeners I doubt all these advertisers would have pulled out that quickly.

20 million is merely Rush's boastful claim, it's Arbitron's claim. And therefore Rush boasts about his success. Good on him.

Air America would never reveal their numbers on air.

Alex said...

Liberals decided that there is no such thing anymore as irresponsibility, just "do it if feels good" and the taxpayer will foot the bill.

Alex said...

In fact some estimates that Limbaugh's show spikes to 25 million at certain times of the week.

Hoosier Daddy said...

ok, ok, if your family's rich/famous er infamous If you want to stay out of poverty, you do 3 things: does not apply lol.

Correct. Some people have advantages over others. To quote Chris Matthews, life isn't fair.

Then again, it would be better of the rich and famous were the ones who bear illegitimate kids since they don't need to be supported by the taxpayer.

Henry said...

@Alpha -- I don't think anyone is saying you can't have your boycott. People are just saying you're going to lose. Carry on.

I wonder if you even realize the intellectual quicksand you step into when you compare commercial advertising to government funding. Government funding goes to various interests above and beyond whatever money they raise on their own. Nothing prevents ACORN or Planned Parenthood or NPR from functioning as self-supporting non-profits. Even now they have their underwriters and anyone who wants is free to boycott them.

But you can't boycott the IRS. You're forced to pay.

The fight to define how the government collects and spends money is the very definition of politics. Your interest group is not mine.

Defunding is democracy.

Revenant said...

If he really did have 20 million listeners I doubt all these advertisers would have pulled out that quickly.

He really does, and you aren't thinking it through. The positive impressions on those 20 million need to balance out the negative impression of association with a controversial figure, and do so by a large enough margin that the same ad buy wouldn't give a better return in a different slot.

This is why controversial shows have trouble finding advertisers, even if they draw in large audiences.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Funny that you claim Lush Rimjob as a victim of Alinksyite tactics. Lord knows he never "picks a vulnerable target," "freezes it", associate it with others, ad infinitum ad nauseam.

Fen said...

Love said: Fen - There are certain limits on free speech.

Why would you not know that?


Free Speech: Leftwing comedian calling Sarah Palin a "cunt"

Free Speech: Playboy Magazine listing "the top 10 conservative women we'd love to hate-fuck"


Hate Speech: Rightwing talkshow host calling Fluke a "slut"

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I think there's a big, obvious reason why Alinsky failed to change the world while he was alive. The same reason will most likely undo the current reincarnation.

i.e. Lush Rimjob.

Just admit that the Alinskyite yakking right-wing windbag majorly fucked up. No concerted or overdone effort was necessary. Some people just happen to be assholes ready to be shunned by polite society, and Lush Rimjob has been standing at the front of that line for decades. Your complacency with him doesn't mean he was right.

marylynn said...

Oppenheimers remarks are simply ridiculous. The Catholic employers havent said no employees can have sex or use birth control. They simply say if you want that, pay for it yourself.
If a person doesnt like the health care plan offered by their employer, work for someone else.

Unknown said...

An attempt at pre-election battle-space preparation. Get Rush, like Obama tried early on.

Olbermann is making flanking movements and apologizing from his subterranean radio-wave proof studio. Bill Maher is vomiting real misogyny.

The media is not controlled anymore.

Revenant said...

There are certain limits on free speech.

True. Similarly, there are certain limits on reproductive freedom, certain limits on women's rights, certain limits on sexual behavior...

Of course, saying those things isn't very useful unless you say (a) what the limits are and (b) what bearing they have on the current conversation. Neither Limbaugh nor Maher nor any of the other targets of criticism have gone anywhere near the established limits of free speech.

I ♥ Willard said...

If you were to drop of the face of the world tomorrow, would I care? No, so how in any shape or form do you think you bother me?

Mr. Carnifex,

Even if I had an inkling that I matter to you in the slightest way, that notion was dispelled by the rambling essay you addressed to me, which clearly demonstrates the indisputable fact that you don't waste a moment of time on me.

Now I'm anxiously awaiting the sequel in which you will provide a thorough analysis of practically everything you've deduced from my Althouse posts. Don't worry if it exceeds 10,000 words--when you truly don't care about something, it's important that you dedicate time and effort to the project!

I know it sounds bad, but I'm not a nice man.

I'm okay with that as long as no puppies or kittens get hurt.

I do try to be polite though.

But of course you do! Effort is important; don't let your constant failures define you.

Hell, I lay on a hospital bed paralyzed, only thing I could move were my eye's. Not even my lungs worked.

Hey, I saw this movie! My favorite part is when you go totally nuts and start barking like a seal and shrieking about commies.

All the liitle commies gonna' get "free health care", and Obammie's gonna pay your mortgage, an' he's gonna cause the seas to quell, the sun to shine, and spring to come to the Earth HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH

Yeah, that's the scene! Then you try to jump off the top of the building into a urine specimen cup. :(

Go away retard, Put me on ignore or what ever. Don't ever respond to one of my posts

Aye aye, Cap'n. Message received and decoded. Operation Carnifex now in progress.

Unknown said...

===They are not leading any national political parties. No national politicos have criticized them and then retracted those criticisms out of fear within hours or days.===


boom boom boom boom ...beat that Rush = leader drum! Its comedy gold!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

====Wisconsin Constitution does not equal faulty ideas. Since you have no idea what it says, I won't ask you to explain.====

Well Mr Constitutional Law perfesser, why don't you show us your mastery of the WI constitution (like that whacky job Flanagan who cited the wrong Article of the Constitution and referred to Antonin Scalia as William Scalia (comedy gold!!!)) by telling us specifically where that document says that voters have a constitutional right not need to identify themselves!! Is there a subsection about voting twice? How about coming up from Chicago and voting???

I ♥ Willard said...

nor do we stop striving for those high standards even when we fall short.

You're the guy who didn't pay attention in school, right?

Unknown said...

===I hope Fluke sues Limbaugh for all he is worth for his slander.===

If she does, in discovery we will all learn that she was directly a tool of the Obama White House for the initiation of its "war on women" meme. And that she hates the Catholic Church and went to Georgetown to assault its religious liberty.

Unknown said...

====guess what conservatives have mounted boycott campaigns against liberals and it's worked. Keep up the good fight!===

How much is the NYT worth now a days? How about one buck newsweek?

garage mahal said...

He really does, and you aren't thinking it through

He may well have. I don't give a shit either way, but something tells me that 20 million is number is bogus. Limbaugh would be showing the proof.

Unknown said...

=====eliminate ACORN (put out of business by a slanderous and false propaganda campaign),=====

I hate how you guys try to rewrite history. Its so Stalinesque.

+++++
For the first time ever ACORN has been convicted in a conspiracy to commit massive voter fraud.

Voter fraud, sometimes called electoral fraud, is a blanket term encompassing a host of election-related improprieties. In this case the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now pleaded guilty this week in Las Vegas to felony compensation for registration of voters. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 10.

https://www.capitalresearch.org/2011/04/acorn-convicted-of-voter-fraud-in-nevada/


Clifton Mitchell helped register nearly 2,000 voters for the community group ACORN. But not one of them actually existed. (convicted)

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-10-22/politics/voter.fraud_1_voter-registration-acorn-workers-number-of-swing-states?_s=PM:POLITICS

Yet another former ACORN employee was convicted of voter fraud last week. This brings the total number of convictions for former workers from the embattled group to at least 15 so far this year.

Kevin L. Clancy of Milwaukee pleaded guilty last week to participating “in a scheme to submit fraudulent voter registration applications,” according to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. Clancy admitted to filing multiple voter registration applications for the same individuals and registering himself and other voter registration canvassers to vote multiple times while working on an ACORN voter drive

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/23/the-voter-fraud-hall-of-shame-milwaukee-voter-fraud-conviction-makes-acorn%e2%80%99s-2010-total-at-least-15/#ixzz1oxTpah7K

Don't forget that a prominent politician, who now resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in DC was very active with ACORN.

Brietbart killed ACORN righteously. They are somewhere in the sewers doing more evil #*#&

shiloh said...

BREAKING: Rush Limbaugh Syndicator Suspends National Ads For Two Weeks

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