Rush Limbaugh is a dick of the highest order

The BBQ Pit
21

[QUOTE=Bob55]
Maybe if you actually listened to Rush instead of just recapping what the liberal news media reports you would understand his side of the situation. He spent 4 hours on the topic the past 2 days, and the only thing you read is a 5 second soundbite that is COMPLETELY out of context. What Rush said was that if Fox wasn’t acting, he was off of his drugs for effect. Which, in fact, Fox has admitted to several times before he goes into Congressional Hearings. Yes, it’s a political move on his part, and yes it has an impact, and sure, use it, but don’t hide behind it as an excuse to say anything you want unquestioned and to bash whoever dares challenge what you said in the ad as and call them evil.

What if, in the advertisement, Fox had instead said “shizaru from the SDMB has only 10 posts”. Would you have said “um no this is a lie, I have 250 posts, here’s my post log and the dates and links to each thread”, or would you instead have said “well Michael J. Fox does have Parkinson’s Disease, so I guess I really shouldn’t challenge him on the facts because that would just be improper”. I’m fairly sure you would defend yourself with the facts.

The bill Fox is supporting doesn’t even support stem cell research is the funny thing, and one of the candidates he endorsed actually voted against stem cell research. The bill has something to do with cloning actually, not stem cells.

According to Limbaugh, at the core this argument goes back to abortion for the mere fact that while adult stem cells have proven worthy in 70+ disorders, embryonic stem cells have had 0 impact on anything. He even has a cite to a medical journal on that one.
I quote from Rush’s site, if you care to even hear an explanation:

His point wasn’t to make fun of Mr. Fox, but to say that he was either a) off his drugs or b) acting. Well, as it turns out he was likely doing a little of both.
More quotes from his site:

Sure, endorse who you wish for office, even if you’re a celebrity. But Rush has stated he’s not giving anyone a free pass to say anything they wish because they are disabled. Rush himself is disabled, he’s deaf, but people don’t seem to care about that. His point is a good one - if you enter the political arena, don’t expect a free pass and be prepared to defend your statements.

Here’s some more links to support that MJ Fox was infact either misinformed, or intentionally lying:

Michael J. Fox is wrong: Jim Talent supports stem cell research
Democrats Exploit Michael J. Fox’s Illness
Was Michael J. Fox Duped?
[/QUOTE]

So, what, are you Rush’s brother or something? Rush is deaf…so he can be a dick to other handicapped people? Look, if someones being a jackass, its really that simple. Rush was being a jackass. In my own opinion he’s always been a jackass, but i’m speaking of this incident only.

Now if you think the media is too liberal in the whole thing, more power to ya. I won’t bother to tell you what I think of “dittoheads” because that would be…Rush like.

22

[QUOTE=Loopydude]
Yeah, I don’t get CK’s assessment at all. I can’t even tell if it’s meant to explain, excuse, or what.
[/QUOTE]
Whoosh?

23

Are Fox’s symptoms an “act” or are they not? And are you aware of the side-effects of, say, L-DOPA? So, for Fox, it’s deal with more and more of that as his disease progresses, or the every-worsening symptoms of the disease itself. It’s not like it’s a fucking party to be medicated for Parkinsons. If he is showing himself in his “natural” state in public, it needn’t be for the cynical partisan motives Limbaugh and the ingrates just like him who pull disgusting shit like this. It’s to show what it’s like to suffer from a terrible disease, and plead on behalf of future victims for the means to find a cure.

And your statements about Talent supporting “stem cell” research are disingenuous. No, rather, let’s just come out and say it: You and Rush both are fucking liars . There’s a difference between adult and embryonic stem cell research, which the “anti-cloning” bills, as you call them, are aimed at. Pustule.

24

Bob55 I have noticed that most critics of Rush never listen to him, and those few who do on occation did not listen to Rush’s words on the issue at hand, and just take the word of the conventional media as absolute truth.

25

[QUOTE=kanicbird]
Bob55 I have noticed that most critics of Rush never listen to him
[/quote]

Listening to Rush Limbaugh is like gazing upon Great C’thulhu – you lose IQ and sanity points the more you do so. :wink: It’d certainly explain Rush’s audience, anyway.

Besides, Rush’s assertion that Fox’s loss of control was due to not taking medication is actually reversed – the Parkinson Foundation confirms that Fox’s movements are signs that he is taking his medication, as failing to do so would cause rigidity.

That said, while I found the OP to be along the lines of “Is a bear Catholic?”, I think it’ll be amusing to watch the Rush fans at the SDMB try to defend this one. :slight_smile:

(And what is it with right-wingers attacking handicapped folks this week? Here we’ve got Barbara Cubin threatening to slap a wheelchair-bound competitor in the face after a televised debate…)

26

They’re just assholes?

27

I’m surprised by all the people in this thread who aren’t surprised by Limbaugh’s comments. I thought he couldn’t do anything so repugnant as to surprise me anymore, and yet, I’m surprised by how repugnant this is.

Then again, this is the same guy who made fun of a 13 year old Chelsea Clinton, calling her the “White House dog”. I guess a guy who picks on little girls isn’t above insulting the handicapped.

And for the record, Bob55, I have read several of his books, and listened to his show on occasion. For the year I shared a cube with a right wing zealot, I even got to listen to his show every day. This puts me in the position of knowing a lot about Limbaugh without the so called press distortion, so I say from a position of authority: He’s a nitwit. The media’s presentation of him is inacurrate only to the extent that it portrays him as being moderately sane.

28

[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven]
No, he’s not a dick… he’s just acting like one. And exploiting his dickness for political purposes.
[/QUOTE]

OK, please tell me I’m being whooshed before blood starts shooting out of my nose[sup]*[/sup] as I mull over the above-quoted statement. This is impossible. Dickhood is a pattern of behaviors; ergo, if you’re acting like a dick, you are one…right?

:confused:

  • Thank you, Lewis Black.
29

Nothing about him would surprise me anymore. Well, a glimmer of common decency, but why look for the impossible? I mean, just take his stance on drugs and addiction. His ability to rationalize that double standard alone is evidence enough of the depths of his pathology. So I don’t really bother with him anymore. It’s his listeners I can’t understand. I mean, I shouldn’t expect millions of people to be just as bereft, should I? These qualities are supposed to be fairly rare in the general population, right?

30

[QUOTE=OneCentStamp]
OK, please tell me I’m being whooshed before blood starts shooting out of my nose[sup]*[/sup] as I mull over the above-quoted statement. This is impossible. Dickhood is a pattern of behaviors; ergo, if you’re acting like a dick, you are one…right?
[/QUOTE]

He’s not a chef, he just cooks. She’s not a dental hygienist, she just cleans teeth.
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.

31

[QUOTE=Mince]
He’s not a chef, he just cooks. She’s not a dental hygienist, she just cleans teeth.
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.
[/QUOTE]

That probably was one of the calmer moments.

32

Limbaugh is a dick who will win this one. It’s not like Michael J Fox outranks Rush in the state in question. Rush is way more popular.

Also dicks: most of National Review Online. I just love the argument that such ads are dishonest because, you know, technically there are stem cells that Republicans support, and stuff.

33

[QUOTE=rjung]
Besides, Rush’s assertion that Fox’s loss of control was due to not taking medication is actually reversed – the Parkinson Foundation confirms that Fox’s movements are signs that he is taking his medication, as failing to do so would cause rigidity.
[/QUOTE]

This depends, not all Parkinson’s sufferers progress in the same way, in fact it’s a fairly non-uniform disease in that regard. Some sufferers experience increased rigidity with progression of the disease, while others do not.

In any case, I’d probably say Fox was doing something justified in this case–appearing on television without his medication. Because that shows the world clearly the effects of his disease. I’m fairly confident that he was off his medication because of his difficulty speaking. He has said in interviews that both on and off his medication he has significant involuntary movements, but the involuntary movements he has from Sinemet (L-DOPA) allow him to speak clearly and have a greater degree of control and comfort than the Parkinson symptoms he suffers while off his medications.

Typically for interviews he takes medication so he can speak clearly and be more at ease, he does have noticeable side effects from the medication, and has even said compared to your normal PD patient he takes far too much medication, but feels he has to do so in order to make the public appearances he does on shows like Larry King Live and etc, where he isn’t comfortable appearing with his symptoms (which is understandable.)

34

[QUOTE=kanicbird]
Bob55 I have noticed that most critics of Rush never listen to him, and those few who do on occation [<== sic: proof of the IQ suckage occationed by listening to Limbaugh?] did not listen to Rush’s words on the issue at hand, and just take the word of the conventional media as absolute truth.
[/QUOTE]

Dude, you are aware, are you not, of the objective breakdown of Limbaugh’s factual statements as being, in the majority, false?

35

[QUOTE=Loopydude]
…It’s his listeners I can’t understand. I mean, I shouldn’t expect millions of people to be just as bereft, should I? These qualities are supposed to be fairly rare in the general population, right?
[/QUOTE]

Have a little sympathy. It’s not easy coming to terms with the fact that the man you’ve been subcontracting your thinking out to for years is a drug-addled lunatic whose deepest convictions extend only so far as the next check. I mean, it used to be good, man, it used to be pure! It used to be about the hate and contempt and fear! All the mean, petty, resentful thoughts they used to be sort of ashamed about suddenly became not merely acceptable but noble and true, just because they heard them on the radio. I mean, what a relief! Who wouldn’t be grateful to the man who told you that all your worst character flaws were actually virtues? Who offers not mere absolution, but vindication for the muck in your soul? That gratitude is the hold he has on his listeners, the same as any other demagogue. Their trick is to slavishly follow the mob but use their platform to appear to lead it. One day, they all miscalculate and go the wrong way, and the gentlest outcome is that they are left behind to contemplate their obsolescence alone.

36

[QUOTE=OneCentStamp]
OK, please tell me I’m being whooshed before blood starts shooting out of my nose[sup]*[/sup] as I mull over the above-quoted statement. This is impossible. Dickhood is a pattern of behaviors; ergo, if you’re acting like a dick, you are one…right?

:confused:
[/QUOTE]

Dex is playing on Limbaugh’s accusations toward MJ Fox, and turning it back on Limbaugh.

Kinda subtle, but, you know, at one time Dex secretly wanted to be a writer. :wink:

37

[QUOTE=The King of Soup]
Have a little sympathy.
[/QUOTE]

Well, do they?

Nice writing, also.

38

Wasn’t Limbaugh’s deafness a temporary effect of his massive intake of oxycontin? I thought his hearing came back after he stopped feeding his addiction.

Has Limbaugh made clear his own position on stem cell research? I’m sure as hell not going to listen to him in the hopes of hearing it; just hoping somebody here knew. Obviously, he’ll automatically oppose anything that benefits a Democrat, but has he presented a logical argument against using embryonic stem cells? (Maybe I should shorten that to, “Has he presented a logical argument . . . ever?”)

39

[QUOTE=elelle]
Dex is playing on Limbaugh’s accusations toward MJ Fox, and turning it back on Limbaugh.

Kinda subtle, but, you know, at one time Dex secretly wanted to be a writer. :wink:
[/QUOTE]

Ahhhhh. I’m a little thick today. As opposed to most days. Depending on how you define “most”.

40

[QUOTE=Baldwin]
Has Limbaugh made clear his own position on stem cell research?
[/QUOTE]

It’s pointless to ponder. It really doesn’t matter what he believes. He’d say anything anyway to keep his “business” going. He’s the epitome of a psychotic troll, so focus your attention on those who defend him.