“Morally, Ethically, Spiritually, Physically, Positively, Absolutely, Undeniably and Reliably Dead”
This thread made me seek out David Foster Wallace’s take on Limbaugh:
Limbaugh is the third great progenitor of today’s political talk radio partly because he’s a host of extraordinary, once-in-a-generation talent and charisma—bright, loquacious, witty, complexly authoritative—whose show’s blend of news, entertainment, and partisan analysis became the model for legions of imitators. But he was also the first great promulgator of the Mainstream Media’s Liberal Bias idea. This turned out to be a brilliantly effective rhetorical move, since the MMLB concept functioned simultaneously as a standard around which Rush’s audience could rally, as an articulation of the need for right-wing (i.e., unbiased) media, and as a mechanism by which any criticism or refutation of conservative ideas could be dismissed (either as biased or as the product of indoctrination by biased media). Boiled way down, the MMLB thesis is able both to exploit and to perpetuate many conservatives’ dissatisfaction with extant media sources—and it’s this dissatisfaction that cements political talk radio’s large and loyal audience.
Nailed it, AFAIC.
I don’t think Limbaugh was all that talented when it came to talk radio. His real talent was stirring shit and pissing people off; talk radio is just the obvious medium for that. Look what happened to him when he got a job doing NFL commentary and he thought he’d stir some shit - “Randall Cunningham is only a QB because people were desirous of a black quarterback.” Fired inside of a week or so.
He was a buffoon and AM radio is a haven for buffoons.
That reminds me a bit of myself. I remember my Dad listening to Rush when I was a kid; he even had a couple of his books. Then…Dad stopped listening. He never said why, but it was around the late '90s or so that I noticed the radios weren’t tuned to the talk station anymore. Dad remained a registered Republican up until the time of his death, but he was growing increasingly frustrated – and, at times, disgusted – with how much the party was becoming wrapped up in religious trappings and social issues. (My mom was never really interested in politics until 2016, when she suddenly became a very vocal Democrat.)
So yeah, good riddance to Rush, but too late for most. He and his media successors played a large part in making a political identity out of being ignorant and offensive.
It was Donovan McNabb.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Shoulda looked it up. By the way, I have no idea how long it took them to fire him either.
He bragged often about allowing opposing views, but that claim was specious as hell. A dissenting caller was allowed to make a statement, and RL would knock it down with a blatant strawman argument, and said caller never gets the opportunity to counter-reply, let alone call him out on distorting what the caller originally said. He did at least admit that the purpose of taking caller’s calls was to make him look good. I remember reading something where somebody who used to be one of his call screener ( under the pseudonym ‘Snerdly’ ) pickets said he was told, after interviewing prospective callers who wished to voice opposition to RL, to allow only the most vague and/or inarticulately stated opinions.
Great observation, especially the first two sentences. There were times here and there he’d begin to pontificate, and in doing so would say something that reminded himself of something else, go off on to that tangent, and never get to the meat of what the hell he was originally trying to say. He was full of object lessons of sorts, telling some BS sermon that for most of the time was to exhort the sheep to take up with the wolves in support of trickle-down ( supply-side ) economics, the “free market”, and the “right to work” ( for less ).
The ads and ad breaks were numerous, and tedious as hell. Worse were the constant song parodies he no doubt used for airtime filler. Most of them were lame and predictable: the “verses” being a string of right-wing talking points word salad set to made-up, spectacularly melody-free “music”. A 2 minute long “nya nya NYA NYA nya” to tweak the liberals while he took a dump.
Let’s give him credit for being a good sport for Seth McFarlane:
He made the comments on Sunday. The uproar was so great that he quit on Wednesday evening…before they could fire him.
How deep into the gig was he when he made the comment?
It happened on 9/28/2003. I think he had been on the show since the start of the season, so 4 to 6 weeks, perhaps?
Were I to believe in an after life, I would think that things are rather warm for Limbaugh at this point.
His biography should be entitled, “Telling Lies and Spreading Hate for Profit”.
But, but…I feel happy, I feel happy, I- UGH
And then, to seal’er:
Couple days after the McNabb thing he had these bon mots:
Oh that outraged sportswriter community!
Poor, poor Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree! 
I feel so, so, aggrieved!
I doubt they realize it breaks the links, as it wouldn’t on vBulletin. That genuinely sounds like a bug, specifically for the reason you stated. A moved post should redirect, or at least leave a placeholder to link to a new location.
If I were you, I’d mention it in Site Issues.
I for one was not aware of the issue.
Rush Limbaugh died. I was once a big fan! His passing inspired me to bang out 1,300 words.
https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-has-died/933140/93?u=johnt
Broken.
Done.
FUCK YOU, Rush Limbaugh. The day you died was one of the happiest days of my life. I did a little happy dance upon hearing the news. It is sadly regretful that Hell does not really exist, because there would be a prime spot in it reserved for you. I can only be comforted with the hope that you suffered mightily and lengthily before you did mankind the favor of exiting.
Florida flags to be at half-staff for Limbaugh funeral. Gag a fucking goat.
Makes me wish I lived in Florida. So I could set up a flag pole adjacent to the cemetery.
Does the WBC still show up to funerals? This’d be a good one for them to target…