# Rush, Rush, Rush... liberals are equivalent to murderers and rapists? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 20, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680 "2009-02-20T05:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/101 "2009-02-21T00:59:08Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Personally, I think the idiots are those people who have never listened and judged the show for themselves, but rather form their opinions from carefully picked over and misquoted sound bites selected by his adversaries. Just so you know, editing isn’t the same as misquoting. For example, I deleted most of your post, because these parts jumped out at me. I didn’t misquote you, because the parts I am quoting represent your post well. > [@Scylla](#): > > We get something like this once a month or so. To me, it demonstrates a great respect for the man, that the left feels they need to keep him under constant attack. That’'s really not it at all. He says ridiculous things constantly, and things that are absurd should not be allowed to pass uncontested. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/102 "2009-02-21T01:02:00Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Just so you know, editing isn’t the same as misquoting. For example, I deleted most of your post, because these parts jumped out at me. I didn’t misquote you, because the parts I am quoting represent your post well. The OP also says it was edited right in the second paragraph. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10851457&postcount=1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10851457&postcount=1) ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/103 "2009-02-21T01:05:34Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > So . . . where does Rush say that “liberals are equivalent to murderers and rapists”? > > All Rush said was that he doesn’t care why Liberals see the country the way they do, just like he doesn’t care why a murderer kills someone. He is saying that in each case, the person that wants to take some action should be stopped, and it doesn’t matter why they want to take that action because the action is inherently bad. > > Stoid, I knew you had a bad thread recently, so I guess this is your way of throwing meat to the dogs so they’ll think of you more kindly. You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess. Nothing about how he said the NOW gang is defending the guy who chopped his wife’s head off. Typical. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/104 "2009-02-21T01:11:31Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > Can you describe the criminal conspiracy that is taking plan, which makes that “grouping” effective as a rhetorical device? Not sure if you’re talking to me or **Scylla** , since I’m the one who used the term “grouping”. Still, there is no criminal conspiracy. The thing that makes the grouping effective is that from Limbaugh’s perspective, it doesn’t matter why they happen or what the reasoning is behind them, they are all wrong and should be fought. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > So the threat of liberalism is as serious as the threat of rape and murder? > > You know, I may not like conservatism, but I wouldn’t compare it to rape and/or murder. Still having your usual problems with reading comprehension, I see. How has it escaped your attention that I specifically said, in so many words, that he was not “comparing” liberalism to rape and murder? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/105 "2009-02-21T01:12:36Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Just so you know, editing is\*\\* the same as misquoting. That’s good to know. > [@](#): > > I didn’t misquote you, because the parts I am quoting represent your post well. That’s true, but I misquoted you by editing selectively. I think it’s a misquote when you change the tone or meaning of somebody’s quote. Stoid selected a very long piece, yet chose to selectively delete a particular section which softens the impact of what Rush was saying by describing the limits of what he would suggest. It is a faithless edit and therefore a misquote, IMO. > [@](#): > > That’'s really not it at all. He says ridiculous things constantly, and things that are absurd should not be allowed to pass uncontested. That’s true, but he also catches hell for things he doesn’t do, like the whole McNabb thing several years ago. I also think it’s disgraceful the way his drug abuse is used against him. Better men than him have fallen victim to that and pulled themselves out. It’s weak to attack his arguments on those grounds. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/106 "2009-02-21T01:17:49Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] So the threat of liberalism is as serious as the threat of rape and murder? [/QUOTE] You know, I rather like the ‘liberal threat’ thing. It hearkens back to sweaty, overwrought classics like The Yellow Peril. It makes you feel the _pain_, the lonely _sacrifice_ of those who stand, stalwart and unbowed, against those who seek to destroy Our Sacred Way of Life. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/107 "2009-02-21T01:19:52Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > If I say I don’t care why murder, rape and drug abuse happens, I just want them fought at every turn, am I therefore calling all drug users rapists and murderers? > > That is essentially **Stoid’s** position in the OP. Nope. Rush didn’t say, and I didn’t accuse him of saying that “drug users **are** rapists and murderers” or “liberals **are** rapists and murderers.” As someone else pointed out, he grouped them, thereby suggesting very clearly that he considers them similar in their overall level of heinousness. Which is not the same thing as saying that a liberal is a rapist is a murderer. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/108 "2009-02-21T01:25:42Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > The OP also says it was edited right in the second paragraph. > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10851457&postcount=1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10851457&postcount=1) Yes, thank you. And I left nothing out which modified or softened his implied belief that liberals and criminals are equally icky. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/109 "2009-02-21T01:27:03Z")
It did. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/110 "2009-02-21T01:31:28Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > …It’s weak to attack his arguments on those grounds. And I do not, sir! Nosiree, Bob! His arguments attack themselves, they are such worm-brained parodies of argument that writhe and die when exposed to sunlight. I note that he is a sweaty drug addled balloon of sewer gas only in passing, to inform the reader who may not have been afflicted. And if he should ever actually present an argument, I will treat the occasion with somber gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/111 "2009-02-21T01:43:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So the threat of liberalism is as serious as the threat of rape and murder? > > You know, I may not like conservatism, but I wouldn’t compare it to rape and/or murder. You’re fucking sick. Christ, Guin. Does it hurt to be that stupid? I hope to god that you and gonzomax and kanicbird don’t somehow make the world’s first three-parented child because that sumbitch would be some kinda stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/112 "2009-02-21T01:45:29Z")
Bricker, I agree in large part with your post above. But I disagree that I’m being an idiot for not mentioning the implications Rush may have meant by picking rapists and murderers. I was responding to the issue of whether Rush said that liberals are equivalent to murderers and rapists, and I argued that he did not say that. I could have said lots of other things but chose not to because I just wanted to respond to that issue. So, I might have been being something, but an idiot sure wasn’ it. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/113 "2009-02-21T01:47:10Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Nothing about how he said the NOW gang is defending the guy who chopped his wife’s head off. Typical. Typical of what? A guy who wants to respond to one issue and doesn’t feel the need to discuss every issue? For the record, that whole NOW part of the Rush quote is an odd tangent. I haven’t previously heard anything about NOW’s stance or non-stance on the beheading guy, so I’m not going to comment on that. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/114 "2009-02-21T01:50:42Z")
The triumph of parsing over reason. Someone accuses Rush of peeing in his Cheerios, you obtain clear evidence that they were Wheaties, and declare victory. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/115 "2009-02-21T01:54:33Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > The triumph of parsing over reason. Someone accuses Rush of peeing in his Cheerios, you obtain clear evidence that they were Wheaties, and declare victory. Yes. So? Substitute “Obama” for “Rush” and I’d do the same thing (but I get few opportunities to do so on the SDMB). Also, “reason” isn’t the word you were looking for. You meant “always deciding the sub-issue based on your feelings about the larger context like a moron who only thinks ‘RUSH BAD!’ or ‘RUSH GOOD!’.” ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/116 "2009-02-21T02:25:42Z")
Why would anyone give a shit what **Bricker** , \*\*Scylla \*\*or \*\*Rand Rover \*\*thinks? You don’t care what child molesters think, do you? You don’t care what kiddie rapists think? Why should you care what they think? (Not that I’m comparing any of them to such evildoers, just sayin’…) ---
**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:** [February 21, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/117 "2009-02-21T02:29:05Z")
Here’s the thing, though-if he didn’t intend to compare the two: then why the HELL did he even bring them both up? > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Christ, Guin. Does it hurt to be that stupid? Why thank you. Coming from you, I consider that a compliment. Well of course, **TVeblen**. I believe (and if I’m wrong I appologize) that it’s **Starving Artist** who always talks about how things are going down hill, and how much better things were back in the fifties, and much liberalism has degraded our society. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/118 "2009-02-21T02:31:20Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Not sure if you’re talking to me or **Scylla** , since I’m the one who used the term “grouping”. > > Still, there is no criminal conspiracy. . . . > > **Still having your usual problems with reading comprehension, I see.** > > How has it escaped your attention that I specifically said, in so many words, that he was not “comparing” liberalism to rape and murder? Nope, no problem with reading comprehension at all; although you specifically used the term “grouping” (and I mixed it in there), the general idea of putting those three things together is what is mainly being discussed. Why, in his tirade, did Rush choose to, ahhm, juxtapose, if you will, the effects of liberalism, murder and rape? See how that works? Things that are juxtaposed appear in “groups.” So it seems you’re the one with reading comprehension problem (and you had me thinking your 50s education was superior). What was that statement you like to make over and over again about how you, as a conservative bulwark, don’t attack unless someone attacks you? (See bolded portion above.) All I did was ask a question which used a word contained on one of your posts. How in the English language did that happen? > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Still, there is no criminal conspiracy. The thing that makes the grouping effective is that from Limbaugh’s perspective, it doesn’t matter why they happen or what the reasoning is behind them, they are all wrong and should be fought. Nope, not effective, just inflammatory and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/119 "2009-02-21T02:38:56Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > Nope, not effective, just inflammatory and stupid. For Limbaugh, that is effective. His goal is not to convince: his audience already agrees with him completely. He wants to get them riled up so they’ll call their congresscritters and demand that they do everything in their power to oppose the Godless Liberal Marxist Socialist Heathens[sup]TM[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680/120 "2009-02-21T02:43:20Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > For Limbaugh, that is effective. His goal is not to convince: his audience already agrees with him completely. He wants to get them riled up so they’ll call their congresscritters and demand that they do everything in their power to oppose the Godless Liberal Marxist Socialist Heathens[sup]TM[/sup]. And here I was, a liberal, thinking even a conservative talk show host would adhere to the grand and storied tradition of honest, civil and non-partisan discourse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-rush-rush-liberals-are-equivalent-to-murderers-and-rapists/486680.md?page=7)