Limbaugh’s Comeuppance; How the Tower Crumbles

            What goes around comes around, or so the old saying goes…

After years of spewing hatred and hostility, there are few who could honestly say that Rush Limbaugh does not deserve such a requital for his years of work.  Whether this upheaval is no more than a temporary speed bump, or whether it is a lasting condition, I, for one, will be enjoying every minute of it.  There are few so worthy of a good slap in the face as Mr. Limbaugh, and I do not say that lightly.

            Now, it is very true that there are others who have spouted similarly offensive characterizations.  Those who criticize the heavily Conservative Rush Limbaugh can hardly claim that Liberals such as Bill Maher are immaculate in comparison- let’s face it, Maher can be just as bad.

            However, what puts Limbaugh past simple forgiveness has to do with both the manner of  his recent insults, and the hate-filled context of his career.  While I do not agree with the machismo culture of American politics, and the American media, there is a difference between saying something nasty about a politician who knows the game, and a woman like Sandra Fluke.

Fluke is a soft-spoken, 30 year-old law student at Georgetown University who was insulted for testifying before Congress on the NON-contraceptive benefits of hormonal birth control pills.  This is who Limbaugh repeatedly insulted.  Any other person who used such a nasty slur against a woman (an athlete, a news reporter, etc) would have been immediately fired, or at least put on probation.

            Now, concerning Limbaugh’s apology, many, including even Bill Maher, have said that we should accept it.  “He said sorry, that’s enough” they say.  However, in my opinion, just as Limbaugh has made a name for himself by exuding an exceptional level of hate and anger, only an exceptional “I’m sorry” can really suffice.  After years of Limbaugh’s ill-tempered ravings, many people want more than a begrudgingly given, two-bit apology.

The man spent days mocking the general public and the media over their attempts to get him to apologize.  If you notice, he only came out and formally said that he was sorry once important Conservatives started criticizing him and the advertisers began to bail.  Also, where was his sympathy when others committed similar offenses?  He is hardly rosy and accepting of other’s “mistakes”.  Moreover, this is far from the first time that he has made a nasty or incendiary statement.  If Limbaugh were asking forgiveness for one lone remark, that might be one thing.  However, people are tired of his nastiness and this was simply the spark that set the crumbling tower ablaze.  It should take more than one reluctant bucket of water to put such a fire out.

Me personally, I am sick of so many people being hateful and insulting of one another.  As such, I have found the response to the Limbaugh controversy to be highly gratifying.  It seems that every day more and more advertisers drop him, and the more he tries at damage control, the worse it gets.  Early in, he had on-air silence because there were not enough advertisements, or free public service announcements, to fill in the gaps.  However, Limbaugh still can’t seem to pick up many new ones.  Some 58 of them have even specifically asked not to be included on his show.  Additionally, the trend has also spread to other extremist personalities, as advertisers drop shows by people like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.  So far, 98 of them have asked not to be hosted on any radio-shows with “controversial” or “derogatory” content.

Now, unfortunately, Limbaugh will most likely recover.  It is even quite likely that he could benefit from this.  There is a possibility that he might be able to use the controversy as a rallying point for his supporters.  However, even as Right-wing radio tries to recoup, all of those who, for years, have pledged allegiance to Limbaugh will likely take a tumble.  Many in the Republican Party have been influenced by, or have given praise to, Rush Limbaugh.  Even as these people try and distance themselves from him, they may find it very hard to do so.

Either way, it should be interesting to see what happens.  Media Maters has just reportedly launched a $100,000 advertising campaign against Limbaugh, using his very own words.  Who knows, maybe he will continue to have trouble attracting new advertisers, and maybe he won’t recover as gracefully as he would like to.  Also, if Limbaugh falls, perhaps he will take some of this country’s more hateful personalities down with him.

People like me can only hope.