# Rush Limbaugh is a dick of the highest order **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 25, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858 "2006-10-25T17:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/61 "2006-10-26T20:37:01Z")
[QUOTE=Lightnin’] I thought the point of him appearing in that commecial was to BE influential. That’s the life he has to go through, even if it isn’t like that all the time- why shouldn’t he show the worst of what he has to endure? [/QUOTE] I’ll reformat my quotation with changes empasized. Orignial: > [@](#): > > Was the Fox advertisement filmed live? Does Parkinson’s always inflict Fox the way it did in the advertisement? If “no” to both questions, then I probably would have waiting for calmer moments to film the advertisement, lest it appear **I’m trying to be too influential**. Reformatted: > [@](#): > > Was the Fox advertisement filmed live? Does Parkinson’s always inflict Fox the way it did in the advertisement? If “no” to both questions, then I probably would have waiting for calmer moments to film the advertisement, lest it appear **I’m trying to exploit Fox’s illness to get elected.** Sure, people should _know_ about Fox’s illness. They shouldn’t _find out_ by watching Fox in the throes of Parkinson’s while trying to, essentially, sell a product. The adverstisement wasn’t an exploration into the depths of Parkinson’s; or an illustrative example of the horrors of neurologic diseases. It was a political advertisement designed to get somebody elected. Unless it is absolutley unavoidable. Which I don’t believe it was. I watched Fox’s recently taped reaction to Limbaugh’s commentary. The constrast, relating to Fox’s neurologic behavior, between the advertisement and Fox’s reaction to Limbaugh is stark. After watching Fox’s reaction video, without foreknowledge, I’d have no clue Fox had any neurologic impaiment. So, apparently, there _are_ calmer moments. Waiting for fox to have a spasmodic event to film an appeal for election is dubious on its face (“Look at me. I’m handicapped. Buy my product.”), akin to staged news (think [Broadcast News](http://imdb.com/title/tt0092699/)). ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/62 "2006-10-26T20:47:52Z")
[QUOTE=Mince] Sure, people should _know_ about Fox’s illness. They shouldn’t _find out_ by watching Fox in the throes of Parkinson’s while trying to, essentially, sell a product. The adverstisement wasn’t an exploration into the depths of Parkinson’s; or an illustrative example of the horrors of neurologic diseases. It was a political advertisement designed to get somebody elected. [/QUOTE] I would suggest to you that if you believe that folks should **know** about Fox’s illness, then they should indeed see the actual effects. Yes, he can (apparently) with hard work and judicious timing control his spasms for short periods of time. But not always. and not for very long. and not w/out real struggle. When the average person sees him sitting there rigidly looking into the camera, do you really believe that they “get” what Parkinson’s is all about? ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/63 "2006-10-26T21:29:22Z")
[QUOTE=wring] I would suggest to you that if you believe that folks should **know** about Fox’s illness, then they should indeed see the actual effects. Yes, he can (apparently) with hard work and judicious timing control his spasms for short periods of time. But not always. and not for very long. and not w/out real struggle. When the average person sees him sitting there rigidly looking into the camera, do you really believe that they “get” what Parkinson’s is all about? [/QUOTE] I hear you. I really do. But I’m talking about venue. One shouldn’t introduce people to Parkinson’s in a campaign commercial in an attempt to curry votes, even if the candidate’s main focus is stem cells. It’s very unseemly. However, I realize that Fox’s episodes may be frequent, and that almost any on-camera interview he does has the potential for a spasmodic event. The camera crew shows up at Fox’s house. He’s having a bad day. The shoot is costing them money. They can’t wait to shoot Fox’s spot or come back another day. I get that. I’m actually not saying that they waited for Fox to have an episode to film the advertisement; I’m saying _if_ they did, I find it pretty nefarious. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/64 "2006-10-26T21:41:35Z")
_waits patiently for Bob55’s response to **Aholibah’s** post…_ ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/65 "2006-10-26T22:00:44Z")
[QUOTE=Mince] One shouldn’t introduce people to Parkinson’s in a campaign commercial in an attempt to curry votes… [/QUOTE] Ohh, the _proprieties_! I’m certain that Rush would have been a proud co-sponsor _if only_ Mr. Fox had invited him to help organize a proper Ice cream Social and Spazzer’s Ball. As it is, it’s like Fox took a dump on America’s dining room table during Sunday dinner. :eek: Just think of it as a Frat boy prank. That makes anything go down smoother. Seriously **Mince** , where do you keep this mystery list of proprieties? I suspect it’s up your ass, but if there’s some actual written guide to not causing offense amongst the right, you’d be doing everyone a favor by pointing it out. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/66 "2006-10-26T22:28:57Z")
I am so very confused. I watched more of the Keith Olberman clip that \*\*Hentor \*\* provided, only to learn that Michael J. Fox did almost the exact same ad two years ago in support of Senator Arlen Specter (granted, Fox was having a better day when he filmed the prior ad, but I’m not convinced that’s the point). How exactly is he being duped by the Democrats right now? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/67 "2006-10-26T22:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Mince] I hear you. I really do. But I’m talking about venue. One shouldn’t introduce people to Parkinson’s in a campaign commercial in an attempt to curry votes, even if the candidate’s main focus is stem cells. It’s very unseemly. [/QUOTE] How so? Fox is supporting that candidate, because that candidate supports what may be Fox’s best chance to be cured of his disease. As such, the effects of Parkinson’s are entirely valid information in deciding how to vote for that candidate. It’s an unpleasant truth, but opposition to stem cell research has politicized Fox’s disease. In effect, wether or not he should be cured is currently up for a vote. Shouldn’t the public get a good look at exactly what they’re voting on before they go to the polls? If, rather than a commercial for a candidate, it was a commercial for a bill that would increase funding for research into Parkinson’s, would you consider displaying the symptoms of Parkinson’s as “unseemly?” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/68 "2006-10-26T22:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Asimovian] How exactly is he being duped by the Democrats right now? [/QUOTE] Maybe Rush, like many of us, still confuses Michael J. Fox with Alex Keaton. How could he switch sides like that?! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/69 "2006-10-26T23:08:54Z")
[QUOTE=Mince] I hear you. I really do. But I’m talking about venue. One shouldn’t introduce people to Parkinson’s in a campaign commercial in an attempt to curry votes, even if the candidate’s main focus is stem cells. It’s very unseemly. [/QUOTE] I somehow doubt the [millions of people](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease) who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, or whose loved ones are deterioriating before their eyes, give two shits about what you find unseemly. Sure, they’re currying votes for a political campaign: the campaign of the candidate who’s more interested in helping find a cure for their disease than in stemming (sorry) the advance of medical knowledge with antiquated, ignorant biases. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/70 "2006-10-26T23:29:32Z")
[QUOTE=Asimovian] I am so very confused. I watched more of the Keith Olberman clip that \*\*Hentor \*\* provided, only to learn that Michael J. Fox did almost the exact same ad two years ago in support of Senator Arlen Specter (granted, Fox was having a better day when he filmed the prior ad, but I’m not convinced that’s the point). How exactly is he being duped by the Democrats right now? [/QUOTE] His heartfelt support for Arlen Specter is just one of the points made in today’s [interview by Katie Couric of Fox.](http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/10/26/couricandco/entry2127508.shtml) I caught the highlights of the half-hour interview (available in full on the website) on the 6 o’clock news program. Rush Limbaugh’s slimy not-really apology looks even more heinous after seeing Fox and hearing his side. I strongly recommend checking it out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/71 "2006-10-26T23:57:03Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] His heartfelt support for Arlen Specter is just one of the points made in today’s [interview by Katie Couric of Fox.](http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/10/26/couricandco/entry2127508.shtml) [/QUOTE] Fox ? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/72 "2006-10-27T00:20:36Z")
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman] Fox ? [/QUOTE] Interview of Fox. I thought he made his point very well. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/73 "2006-10-27T00:26:16Z")
I think I made the same mistake as **TFD** - I read it as “the interview by Katie Couric, of the Fox network” as opposed to “the interview by Katie Couric of Fox, the actor”. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/74 "2006-10-27T00:27:56Z")
And now, sports fans, here’s the up-to-the-minute neo-con scorecard for this year: Ann Coulter insulting the 9-11 widows Tom DeLay Mark Foley George Allen’s racial slur And now…RUSH! Now, if we can just catch Karl Rove [fucking a dead dog](http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-8/116170304311310.xml&coll=4), maybe we can be rid of these toolbags once and for all and start repairing the damage their polarizing tactics have done to this nation and its citizens! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/75 "2006-10-27T01:02:10Z")
[QUOTE=want2know] Now, if we can just catch Karl Rove [fucking a dead dog](http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-8/116170304311310.xml&coll=4), maybe we can be rid of these toolbags once and for all and start repairing the damage their polarizing tactics have done to this nation and its citizens! [/QUOTE] Why would anyone be surprised by Karl Rove fucking a dead dog? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/76 "2006-10-27T01:10:20Z")
I just saw a clip of Fox again talking about how he doesn’t care about Rush. (I believe it was on the Today show). And it actually brought tears to my eyes. When I was oh, maybe eight or nine yeras old, I loved Michael J. Fox-I used to pester my mother to rent _Back to the Future_ every weekend. He was my first big celebrity crush. Add to that that he seems like such a nice and decent human being, and it’s just heartbreaking to see him like this. How anyone can defend Rush Limbaugh on this is beyond me. Unless you’re the type who thinks pointing at the disabled kids on the playground is the height of comedy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/77 "2006-10-27T01:12:12Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Why would anyone be surprised by Karl Rove fucking a dead dog? [/QUOTE] One would think the dog could do better. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/78 "2006-10-27T01:17:28Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Why would anyone be surprised by Karl Rove fucking a dead dog? [/QUOTE] One would think the dog could do better. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/79 "2006-10-27T01:44:02Z")
What is so predictably sad is that even **after** the initial offense, and even **after** it was pointed out all over the place that the uncontrollable muscular movements are a side-effect of **TAKING THE DRUG NOT NOT TAKING THE DRUG** , Rush does not care. He does not admit he showed himself as quite he uneducated fool, the helpless puppet of the radical right. He does not understand that Parkinson’s immobilizes, and the appearance of Mr. Fox as seen in that ad is because he TOOK his meds, not because he skipped them to “ham it up” ( _sic_). It is one thing to lie. It is quite another to lie, lie, lie and then insist that the simple medical truth is a vast left-wing media created conspiracy designed to smear the good name of God and America and the President. He would be laughably pathetic if not for the disturbing fact that he helped in no small way to deliver the 2000, 2002 and 2004 elections very neatly to the radical Right. Very disturbing. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858/80 "2006-10-27T02:15:13Z")
Even if the timing of the ad’s taping is suspicious (and I agree that it could be, it being impossible to prove otherwise), so what? If Mr. Fox deliberately chose an intense “episode” to make his point, why is that wrong? (Unless, of course, he deliberately exaggerated the physical effects of his illness, which I am not prepared to enterain without something more substantial than innuendo.) He wants us to see how debilitating his condition can be. Why should he choose to minimize that debilitation and its consequent loss of dignity and control? Should he have deliberately chosen a _less_ intense point in time? To what end? That is no more honest that deliberately choosing otherwise, and would certainly weaken his point. So even if he did choose to film his ad under a particularly intense situation, so what? So long as its true, what difference does it make? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-is-a-dick-of-the-highest-order/377858.md?page=5)