# To the GOP: why are some still licking the boots of Rush Limbaugh? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 30, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688 "2009-01-30T05:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/21 "2009-01-30T14:31:28Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah…kind of like Al Franken. I swear, I was so close to considering thinking about maybe someday voting Democratic until YOU GUYS decided to not only listen to such an angry, partisan comedian but actually try to put him in a position of power… See, its stuff like this which is why you guys never win any elections. The Pubbie herd has been thinned, Darwinized. The guys that are left are mostly from rock-solid Red districts, tighty-righties so tight their sphincters slam shut when they crap, their turds are clipped rather than tapered. What surprises me is how the right-wing ecosystem can support so many punditti. Insanity Hannity, Anne of Green Goebbels, the Savage Weiner, Hewitt, Malkin, Medfly, Rush, the Orca of the Airwaves, and many more. Somebody writes these people checks. Sooner or later, these will compete for dwindling resources of stupid, they will turn on one another, and rend asunder. Popcorn, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/22 "2009-01-30T16:30:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > See, its stuff like this which is why you guys never win any elections. > > The Pubbie herd has been thinned, Darwinized. The guys that are left are mostly from rock-solid Red districts, tighty-righties so tight their sphincters slam shut when they crap, their turds are clipped rather than tapered. Too bad they don’t believe in Darwin. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/23 "2009-01-30T16:40:57Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > As a Democrat, I find this very encouraging. Instead of trying to figure out what went wrong, the Republicans are going to keep trying the same thing that didn’t work before. Hee hee hee hee. 😃 > [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah…kind of like Al Franken. I swear, I was so close to considering thinking about maybe someday voting Democratic until YOU GUYS decided to not only listen to such an angry, partisan comedian but actually try to put him in a position of power. Al Franken is a Harvard graduate with a **degree in Political Science**. [Cite.](http://www.answers.com/topic/al-franken) [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_College) Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, “. . . graduated from Cape Central High School, in 1969. His father and mother wanted him to attend college, so he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University. **He dropped out** after two semesters and one summer; according to his mother, “ **he flunked everything** ”, even a modern ballroom dancing class. As she told a reporter in 1992, “He just didn’t seem interested in anything except radio.”” [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_limbaugh#Education) Just because Al Franken happens to be funny, doesn’t mean he isn’t extremely knowledgeable in the field of Politics, and absolutely qualified to run for public office. He is not, and never was, _just_ an entertainer. And this is the problem that I have with so many people on the Limbaugh side of the aisle – they don’t do their homework and know little to nothing of what they rant about, just like the blowhards they listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/24 "2009-01-30T16:46:12Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, “. . . graduated from Cape Central High School, in 1969. His father and mother wanted him to attend college, so he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University. **He dropped out** after two semesters and one summer; according to his mother, “ **he flunked everything** ”, even a modern ballroom dancing class. As she told a reporter in 1992, “He just didn’t seem interested in anything except radio.”” [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_limbaugh#Education). Heaven knows [anybody who flunks out of higher education](http://www.larryelder.com/Gore/goredubiousrecord.htm) doesn’t belong in the Senate. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/25 "2009-01-30T16:51:51Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Al Franken is a Harvard graduate with a **degree in Political Science**. [Cite.](http://www.answers.com/topic/al-franken) [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_College) There’s the problem right there. The hardcore right has made it clear that we don’t want none of them stinking educated people running things. Where’s Joe the Plumber when you really need him? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/26 "2009-01-30T16:53:04Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > As a Democrat, I find this very encouraging. Instead of trying to figure out what went wrong, the Republicans are going to keep trying the same thing that didn’t work before. I’m sorry, but why is that encouraging? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/27 "2009-01-30T17:01:14Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Biggirl is spot on. They’re kicking everybody off the bus that’s to the left of Sarah Palin, which seems to me to be a huge mistake. Now they can sing the praises of Rush to their hearts’ content, but now the only ones left in their church is the choir. And the problem with this is an effective government must have a diversity of opinions. The Gingrich Republicans ultimately failed because they stamped out any opinion which differed from The Official Opinion. The implosion of the Republican party frightens me because I don’t want the Democrats falling into the same trap. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/28 "2009-01-30T17:06:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Heaven knows [anybody who flunks out of higher education](http://www.larryelder.com/Gore/goredubiousrecord.htm) doesn’t belong in the Senate. This thread is about Rush Limbaugh, the things he says, and the things said about him by Republicans and/or conservatives. Do you have anything to contribute that’s even remotely related to that subject? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/29 "2009-01-30T17:10:21Z")
I think the reason they suck up to Rush is that his fan base is very vocal, and they flood phone lines and mail boxes of Congresscriters on the right that dare cross him. It creates an illusionary effect that a whole constituency is rising up. This scares the shit out of them, and they crawl back and spoon with Rush. Not realizing that this vocal group is a minority and doesn’t carry nearly the number of votes that they are led to believe. Keep on spoonin’ boys. Keep on spoonin’. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/30 "2009-01-30T17:19:14Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Heaven knows [anybody who flunks out of higher education](http://www.larryelder.com/Gore/goredubiousrecord.htm) doesn’t belong in the Senate. > > Regards, > Shodan Every post you make just proves more and more what a fucking stupid idiot you are, who cannot read for comprehension. This thread isn’t about whether or not flunking out of school makes one qualified or not to run for the senate. It’s about why the fuck you braindead fartsticks continue to pay the least bit of attention to **AN ENTERTAINER WITH ABSOLUTELY NO EDUCATION OR BACKGROUND IN POLITICS**. One of your fellow Limbaugh-lickers tried the old “change the subject” trick by tossing out Al Franken as comparable to Limbaugh for just being a comedian. They were dead wrong and I corrected them with cites. Now, if you’d care to actually dispute the cited references, that would be one thing. But no, you just fling in here with more of your “change the subject” diversion tactics. It’s fucking pathetic. And while I’m here, I may as well add the following additional information and cite re Al Franken’s education. > [@](#): > > . . . he holds a degree from Harvard in political science and served as a 2003 fellow with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. . . > > [http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20060228b1.asp](http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20060228b1.asp) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/31 "2009-01-30T17:34:52Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > Quite. Take a look at the diagram from [this post at 538](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/republican-death-spiral-in-graphic-form.html). The Republicans are in very tricky territory. You think that’s bad? [Check this out](http://www.gallup.com/poll/114016/State-States-Political-Party-Affiliation.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/32 "2009-01-30T17:53:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Heaven knows [anybody who flunks out of higher education](http://www.larryelder.com/Gore/goredubiousrecord.htm) doesn’t belong in the Senate. > > Regards, > Shodan I gotta say the last line in that cite is fucking hilarious. “This election is not an I.Q. test; it is about which candidate has better judgment. And that is why, despite the media’s love affair with the celluloid image of Al Gore the policy-wonk, it is the affable, authentic, and sensible Bush who would make the better leader.” ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/33 "2009-01-30T18:01:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > See, its stuff like this which is why you guys never win any elections. > > The Pubbie herd has been thinned, Darwinized. The guys that are left are mostly from rock-solid Red districts, tighty-righties so tight their sphincters slam shut when they crap, their turds are clipped rather than tapered. Meanwhile, despite all the right-wing rhetoric about him being a socialist or worse, Barack Obama continues his steady course of aiming for somewhere near the middle. It’s disappointing to those on the left of politics, but it means that he’ll consolidate the Dem gains of 2008 during his 8 years in office, and leave rock-solid Dem majority for his successor in 2016. It’s just inevitable as long as the Pubs keep on pandering to a narrower and narrower base, without ever trying to reach out to the middle. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/34 "2009-01-30T18:06:34Z")
[Relevant Daily Kos article](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/29/213127/808/834/690720). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/35 "2009-01-30T18:15:31Z")
The Kossacks annoy me, often. When they seem determined to add to the hysterical lefty image. Mind, its tone, not substance, they are talking the real shit, I don’t fault them on truth and facts, just voltage. Still, when they hit the mark, they \*hit \*the mark! ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/36 "2009-01-30T18:22:21Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I’m sorry, but why is that encouraging? Seriously. Competition is good, people. Any sensible person should realize that while your side is right most of the time, it won’t be right _all_ of the time, and needs to be kept in check. As awesome as Obama may end up being, I wouldn’t want to give free reign to him, nor anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/37 "2009-01-30T18:41:04Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > Seriously. Competition is good, people. Any sensible person should realize that while your side is right most of the time, it won’t be right _all_ of the time, and needs to be kept in check. As awesome as Obama may end up being, I wouldn’t want to give free reign to him, nor anyone else. True, but when your two sides are “reasonable but fallible human beings” and “crazy fuckers”… I’d really like to see the crazy fuckers marginalized and the reasonable people divide into new factions. The current Republican party is a sham, blind to reality, tripping on ideology, opposing Obama simply because he’s a Democrat and their guy got opposed first (never mind _why_). It’s hateful, disgusting, and completely counter to a functioning government. I want to see the sensible people, the Republicans who don’t think like Rush and Ann, who truly want what’s best for the country instead of merely scoring points off the opposition, form a new party. I could vote for that party. As it is, while the Democrats may not be right all the time, I’ve seen enough to be pretty damn sure that the current crop of staunch anti-Democrat pro-war pro-Rush Republicans are _never_ right. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/38 "2009-01-30T18:50:12Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > Seriously. Competition is good, people. …and cooperation is even better. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/39 "2009-01-30T18:55:49Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > One of your fellow Limbaugh-lickers tried the old “change the subject” trick by tossing out Al Franken as comparable to Limbaugh for just being a comedian. They were dead wrong and I corrected them with cites. Are you seriously stating that a _degree in Political Science_ is a relevant qualification for the Senate? Seriously? No wait, Seriously?.. Ok, Ok, Ok. But what? Your joking. I see that now. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/40 "2009-01-30T18:59:41Z")
The Republicans cater to Rush because he has a very popular radio show that is heard nationwide by thousands. This makes him influential, and as important as any given marketing campaign. Catering to Rush appears to them to be cheaper than buying advertisements. He helps rally the faithful, which is critical to winning elections. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688.md?page=3)