Really impressed, and somewhat intimidated, by the quality of this conversation. Having lived in Rush Limbaugh’s hometown for some time before I retired, I continue to be curious about his part in this “transformation” of the Republican Party. When we look to social media as a contributing cause, we should also recall that the ‘ditto hea…
Really impressed, and somewhat intimidated, by the quality of this conversation. Having lived in Rush Limbaugh’s hometown for some time before I retired, I continue to be curious about his part in this “transformation” of the Republican Party. When we look to social media as a contributing cause, we should also recall that the ‘ditto heads’, who were abundant in Cape Girardeau early in his rise followed him on AM radio. One of Rush’s first pejoratives was “feminazis” and they loved it. In any case, I would recommend reading the text of his 2019 address to CPAC shortly following the election of Obama for further insight into the id of the Republican Party. Most of the current tropes of the Republican Party can be found there, including the profoundly ignorant but often repeated claim by the likes of MTG that the Preamble to the U.S Constitution states that all men are endowed with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He was still angry about the War on Poverty because it sought to distribute the wealth of hard working Americans to the undeserving poor. He also sees the future of success or conservatism in better appealing to Walmart Republicans. The speech seethes with resentment/animosity towards liberal intellectuals and what he calls “drive by media.” And he repeatedly attacks any concession to bi-partisanship as a form of weakness. If you’re in the mood to torture yourself, I recommend you read it. Here’s the link: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rushlimbaughcpac2009.htm
I think the link between Trumpism and Rush Limbaugh can simply not be understated. He turned name calling into an a weird artform. He repackaged cruelty as comedy. He invented the concept of in-group lingo that you see rampart in conservative media spaces. I mean, he invented the phrase RINO and we are all still using it! He took a base of voters, and I won't say he radicalized them but he gave them a directives: Vote out the RINO's. Blame the elites and don't trust them. Don't apologize for giving offense.
Now the Republican party is a RINOless cult with an aversion to intellectualism and science, who refuses to walk back any wrong doing (from tasteless jokes to insurrection to sexual assault).
Really impressed, and somewhat intimidated, by the quality of this conversation. Having lived in Rush Limbaugh’s hometown for some time before I retired, I continue to be curious about his part in this “transformation” of the Republican Party. When we look to social media as a contributing cause, we should also recall that the ‘ditto heads’, who were abundant in Cape Girardeau early in his rise followed him on AM radio. One of Rush’s first pejoratives was “feminazis” and they loved it. In any case, I would recommend reading the text of his 2019 address to CPAC shortly following the election of Obama for further insight into the id of the Republican Party. Most of the current tropes of the Republican Party can be found there, including the profoundly ignorant but often repeated claim by the likes of MTG that the Preamble to the U.S Constitution states that all men are endowed with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He was still angry about the War on Poverty because it sought to distribute the wealth of hard working Americans to the undeserving poor. He also sees the future of success or conservatism in better appealing to Walmart Republicans. The speech seethes with resentment/animosity towards liberal intellectuals and what he calls “drive by media.” And he repeatedly attacks any concession to bi-partisanship as a form of weakness. If you’re in the mood to torture yourself, I recommend you read it. Here’s the link: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rushlimbaughcpac2009.htm
I'm awfully impressed, too. So proud of you guys.
I think the link between Trumpism and Rush Limbaugh can simply not be understated. He turned name calling into an a weird artform. He repackaged cruelty as comedy. He invented the concept of in-group lingo that you see rampart in conservative media spaces. I mean, he invented the phrase RINO and we are all still using it! He took a base of voters, and I won't say he radicalized them but he gave them a directives: Vote out the RINO's. Blame the elites and don't trust them. Don't apologize for giving offense.
Now the Republican party is a RINOless cult with an aversion to intellectualism and science, who refuses to walk back any wrong doing (from tasteless jokes to insurrection to sexual assault).
I really tried, but a couple of paragraphs was all I could stand. Humiliating that there's a bust of this man in the state Capitol.