# What has been Rush Limbaugh's take on plea bargaining? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 29, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735 "2006-04-29T13:38:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/41 "2006-04-30T15:51:40Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Sunshine on my shoulder makes **me** happy! 😉 Don’t give me that crap, John Denver was a big time pot smoker. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/42 "2006-04-30T16:02:54Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I listen to Rush Limbaugh occasionally. I don’t recall ever hearing him espouse a position on plea-bargaining, which doesn’t mean he hasn’t done so. As a conservative and a long-time reader of The National Review, I can tell you that plea-bargaining is generally understood by conservatives as being a normal and necessary part of the administration of justice. I may have read expressions of outrage at a particular instance of it over the years, where it seemed to the writer that justice had not been done, but I can’t recall specifics. Completely what Crotalus said. Aside from his admittedly somtimes questionable taste in humor, El Rushbo is a main stream conservative. No whacko at all. Well, unless you call mainstream conservatives whacko. Even “Frontline” quoted someone in the piece they did saying “When Rush goes on the air every day, he is one of the most informed people on the planet”. For real whackos we have the two Pats. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/43 "2006-04-30T16:59:56Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > What I took exception to was your seeming assertion that since Limbaugh’s use was affordable to him, and didn’t deleteriously affect society, that he shouldn’t be punished for it, at least by the authorities. > > But if that’s not what you meant, never mind. OK, No, it is not my assertion. It was to answer the OP "Does anyone know of his position on this issue? ", which I feel I do. (what you do to yourself is your business, as long as it doesn’t spill over to society), which also counters the hypocracy argument. > [@EJsGirl](#): > > Rush is not just a minor hypocrite, nor is he just a minor drug addict. He is a hateful, racist bigot. It is painfully obvious from your statement that you haven’t listened to him (enough), or are so set in your mindset as to what a racist is as you can’t see there may be another way. Rush is among the most colorblind - he doesn’t care what your color, it’s not going to help or hurt you. He doesn’t fall for affirmative action, or reparations, he sees them for what they are - racist policies. He is the true epitome of MLK’s I have a dream speech. > [@Brain Wreck](#): > > This positive-spin context still doesn’t change what Rush suggests as the remedy… No it doesn’t change it, but drug use was not the thrust of this, it was not even how the media was saying how law enforcement was unfair to blacks, it was to make fun of the media in a somewhat humorious way, by pointing out the high percentage was in jail, rush’s solution (note this\*\* EJsGirl\*\*), was to treat everyone the same - black or white. While aruging that, if anything it was unfair to whites - not blacks. But yes he did say the above, it is consistant with his race equality standpoint, racist media standpoint, and using the media’s one material against them, not really consistant with his other statements on drug use. Look you can find cites taken out of context and come up with anything you want, that’s fine, But from someone who does listen to him and have heard his stance on drugs, I can assure you that his main issue is the burden on society, increase on welfare rolls, public assistance and treetment, emergency rooms and the like. His main statement is that you don’t live life in a vaccum. So, as far as the drug use, he is totally consistant. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/44 "2006-04-30T17:57:14Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > But since dittoheads are, by definition, free thinkers, That is funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/45 "2006-04-30T19:06:37Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > First is it hard to find a cite for only five, it is on you to find a 6th to disprove it. What? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/46 "2006-04-30T19:10:42Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Rush is among the most colorblind - he doesn’t care what your color, it’s not going to help or hurt you. [Hmmm.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh#Controversial_remarks) > [@Rush Limbaugh](#): > > We’ve had these problems ever since the Emancipation Proclamation. Once the whites leave town, all you’ve got is overwhelming lawlessness. That’s not racism, Mr. Snerdley; it’s a proven, demonstrable fact. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/47 "2006-04-30T19:34:20Z")
This “But he was only joking! You just don’t understand his sense of humor” line sounds way too convenient to me. If he’s sometimes joking when it sounds like he’s deadly serious, how does one know when he _is_ serious? Can he be held accountable for anything he says, or is anything “bad” he says to be automatically assumed to be one of the jokes? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/48 "2006-04-30T21:10:24Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > OK, No, it is not my assertion. It was to answer the OP "Does anyone know of his position on this issue? ", which I feel I do. (what you do to yourself is your business, as long as it doesn’t spill over to society), which also counters the hypocracy argument. As the OP I feel I have the right to restate, if necessary, what I was trying to find out in order to clarify what I wanted to know. Has Rush Limbaugh expressed an opinion on plea bargaining for drug offenses? Has he expressed a point of view on what should be done when someone is charged with illegally obtaining prescription drugs? Does he believe that there should be an opportunity for the “criminal” to bargain one’s way out of a potential indictment? Does he think that drug offenders should be remanded to prison without such options? What does he have to say about plea bargaining in general? I would like to know what the record states. I am not interested in his view of drug use, in general, although I can see how the two may be intertwined, particularly in the way his statements tend to ramble on sometimes. I understand this is GQ and I am looking for something resembling documentation or information, rather than opinion. Thanks. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/49 "2006-05-01T00:09:28Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Has Rush Limbaugh expressed an opinion on plea bargaining for drug offenses? Not that I know of. > [@](#): > > Has he expressed a point of view on what should be done when someone is charged with illegally obtaining prescription drugs? Again not that I know of, I don’t even recall him suggesting anythign for himself. Drugs were never a major, or even a minor topic with Rush. > [@](#): > > Does he believe that there should be an opportunity for the “criminal” to bargain one’s way out of a potential indictment? Not sure > [@](#): > > Does he think that drug offenders should be remanded to prison without such options? Again not a big topic for him, it comes up very rarely, the cite about sending drug users up the river would hint of that, but that statement was not made against drug users, it was about biased media. > [@](#): > > What does he have to say about plea bargaining in general? He has made comments like when a child murders his parents the child should not get leanency bacause he is a orphan, not exactly a plea bargan, but it’s the closest I can come up with. Well another one is that he is against hate crimes, to him it doesn’t matter if 2 white people beat up a black person, or 2 blacks beat up a black person - crime is the same. > [@RaftPeople](#): > > That is funny. I thought someone would like that 😃 > [@](#): > > We’ve had these problems ever since the Emancipation Proclamation. Once the whites leave town, all you’ve got is overwhelming lawlessness. That’s not racism, Mr. Snerdley; it’s a proven, demonstrable fact. **Kimstu** , though I don’t recall this, one can only honestly talk about issues of slavery in the US by referencing black and white. Skin color used to be a big issue, it should not be taboo to talk about it in a historical context, actually if you intentionally omit it you are doomed to repeat it, or so the saying goes. And just on a common sense level, you are in a town, all the slaves are freed, all the masters leave town, what do you think you are going to have??? > [@](#): > > What? You were asking **Happy Wanderer** to prove that rush has made more then 5 statements on drug use - which means that you are asking Happy Wanderer to prove a negative - since it is his contention that there are only 5, and asking him to prove your point - this is your job - not his, the responsibility is your. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/50 "2006-05-01T00:15:38Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > We’ve had these problems ever since the Emancipation Proclamation. Once the whites leave town, all you’ve got is overwhelming lawlessness. That’s not racism, Mr. Snerdley; it’s a proven, demonstrable fact. **Kimstu** , please tell me in what world that this is racist? Someone beleives this is a fact and he is stating it. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/51 "2006-05-01T00:21:20Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I have heard what he has said about recreational use of drugs, but even the most hardent anti-dittohead liberal must admit that there is a difference between self medicating for pain and recreational use. I doubt that he would need several prescriptions at a time to self medicate pain. My mother has a history of Doctor shopping for prescription pain medication. She claims that she started taking them for chronic back pain, but there is no doubt that she now takes them because she simply cannot stop. She is an addict, and I suspect anyone who needs several prescriptions at once is also an addict. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/52 "2006-05-01T00:49:06Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > I suspect anyone who needs several prescriptions at once is also an addict. I agree, I have no argument with what you stated. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/53 "2006-05-01T00:53:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This “But he was only joking! You just don’t understand his sense of humor” line sounds way too convenient to me. If he’s sometimes joking when it sounds like he’s deadly serious, how does one know when he is serious? Can he be held accountable for anything he says, or is anything “bad” he says to be automatically assumed to be one of the jokes? I understand what you are saying, and totally accept your point of view on it, I would most likely do the same given your position. but if you couldn’t guess I listen to Rush often, and have so for years. I see the ‘liberal’ commentary on Rush, and know just out of context Rush’s quotes are taken to prove their point. This one is a prime example - Rush was not talking about drug use, but media racism. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/54 "2006-05-01T01:05:04Z")
Moved to Great Debates. Given the topic, and a flawed OP, this one just isn’t a General Question. **samclem** ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/55 "2006-05-01T12:08:15Z")
The cost to society of illegal drug use is primarily due to the fact that, being illegal, these commodities are priced \*way \* over their actual value. Does anyone really care very much if some unknown individual chooses to spend his/her life stoned? Does anyone know a determined user who is deterred by a drug’s illegality? But society cares a whole hell of a lot that there are robberies and murders connected with drug use. And the reason there are is because there is so much money to be made. If we were to legalize illegal drugs, a lot of the “drug problem” would simply go away, IMHO. Yes, there would be some addicts. That’s never going to go away. But at least, if the profits to be made were minimal, you wouldn’t have “pushers.” ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/56 "2006-05-01T13:58:41Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Kimstu, though I don’t recall this, one can only honestly talk about issues of slavery in the US by referencing black and white. Skin color used to be a big issue, it should not be taboo to talk about it in a historical context, actually if you intentionally omit it you are doomed to repeat it, or so the saying goes. > > And just on a common sense level, you are in a town, all the slaves are freed, all the masters leave town, what do you think you are going to have??? I don’t know. But as you saw when you looked at my link, Limbaugh was making this statement in the context of rioting in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He was not limiting his remarks to events in the slavery era. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Kimstu, please tell me in what world that this is racist? Someone beleives this is a fact and he is stating it. A statement doesn’t cease to be racist just because somebody sincerely believes it. Limbaugh explicitly said, and I quote again, “Once the whites leave town, all you’ve got is overwhelming lawlessness.” In what world is such a statement **not** racist? ---
**Author:** ![Hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@Hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hombre)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/57 "2006-05-01T18:25:26Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > **Kimstu** , please tell me in what world that this is racist? Someone beleives this is a fact and he is stating it. Belief in a fact is called an opinion. As a former addict I can offer that hypocrisy becomes second nature. It is clear to me that Rush is indeed being so himself. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/58 "2006-05-01T19:13:11Z")
This just in: Dittoheads say it’s OK to be a drug addict if you’re rich. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/59 "2006-05-01T19:15:07Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > To the OP maybe this will help: Do you have a better cite than Wiki? No offense, but I seem to remember some falsified quotes that sounded rather similar to this floating around when it first became public knowledge that Rush was an addict. Regards, Shodan ---
**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:** [May 1, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735/60 "2006-05-01T19:21:56Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > **Kimstu** , please tell me in what world that this is racist? Someone beleives this is a fact and he is stating it. You’re kidding, right? The idea that once whites leave a place, all the “brown people” are a bunch of criminals who destroy the place isn’t racist? :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-been-rush-limbaughs-take-on-plea-bargaining/354735.md?page=4)