Rush To Judgment

I admit it: There's a small part of me that's felt the need to defend Rush Limbaugh from continued attacks on him.

Now before anybody loses his or her shit, let me explain. I've spent a lot of time and copy space on this site defending people's right -- particularly the right of entertainers -- to say incendiary, offensive things without fear of having their livelihoods taken away. I can't stand Limbaugh and think the national discourse would be vastly improved by removing him from the airwaves and, in a perfect world, dumping his fat ass in a volcano somewhere; I also think that what he said about Sandra Fluke, not once but over and over again, crossed a line from which there's no going back. But there's simply no denying that whether you believe he's being sincere or not, he did apologize publicly for his actions. I realize that there have been those who came before him who screwed the pooch this thoroughly and were forced to pay for it with their jobs in the entertainment industry, but again, I've generally defended those people -- whichever side of the political aisle they happened to be on and almost irrespective of what they'd said to bring the wrath of God down on them.

So, yes, I felt like it would be intellectually dishonest and somewhat hypocritical to root for the utter destruction of Limbaugh's career -- a career that admittedly has seen him spew the most reprehensible rhetoric into the ether for years now -- based on his taking a shot that was absolutely beyond the pale but for which he's obviously feeling some heat now (certainly enough to make him take the uncharacteristic step of saying he's sorry).

As it turns out, though, along came David Frum to make me reconsider -- to spell out carefully why Limbaugh's case is indeed different from so many others and why it's fair to demand that he pay what in his field would be the ultimate price for his transgression.

Take a look and see if you agree.

CNN: Are We Being Fair To Rush Limbaugh?/3.5.12

Adding: Beginning today, Cesca will be contributing to the Daily Banter -- the mothership site for our little network of blogging doofuses -- and his first piece rightly examines how Limbaugh's "slut" comment wasn't even the worst thing he said about Sandra Fluke. It was one shot in a relentless fusillade of slander and vitriol. Take a look. I'll also be contributing to the Banter, as well as answering reader mail, and that'll hopefully begin next week.

Quote of the Day

"What was really personal for me was that he said to tell my parents that they should be proud. And that meant a lot because Rush Limbaugh questioned whether or not my family would be proud of me. So I just appreciated that very much."

-- Georgetown student Sandra Fluke on the call she received from President Obama after Rush Limbaugh called her a slut on his radio show and said that women like her should post videos of themselves having sex on the internet for all men to see

We had a pretty good debate about this on the podcast and radio show this week, the main question being, "What can you possibly do about someone like Limbaugh?" Someone with no sense of shame whatsoever, who can't be bargained with or reasoned with and who responds to criticism from his enemies with a sneer and an immediate juvenile upping of the ante. The fact that Limbaugh is so seemingly bulletproof is why I rarely mention him around here. It just doesn't feel like it's worth it.

But that said, there's no denying that he really crossed a line this time -- and for the first time I get the feeling that it's something he's going to actually regret. He called a regular American citizen a slut. He impugned her character just for having the nerve to speak up and say something Limbaugh and his wretched ilk don't like. And I've said it before but it bears repeating: He and the Republicans who are so utterly beholden to his authority -- who have no choice but to kiss his ring and his fat ass every time he bends over and presents for them -- aren't simply taking on some powerless minority in this inexplicable ongoing crusade against women. They're taking on half the fucking population. They're re-fighting a battle they already lost decades ago. It's political suicide. But for Limbaugh it barely matters because in his Oxy-addled mind it's little more than an ego trip -- a chance for the bully to once again see how much he can get away with.

And in that regard, I think he's in for a big surprise. Even if he personally doesn't suffer, the damage done to his precious GOP -- which he's been the unofficial spokesman for and supreme leader of for years now -- will likely be incalculable.

Yesterday on the show, I said that under no circumstances should a member of the United States Congress ever mention Limbaugh by name, much less indignantly, ineffectually press him for an apology. Obviously, that goes double for the President of the United States. It's good that Barack Obama didn't turn this farce into an even bigger and more tawdry public spectacle by addressing Limbaugh personally -- not only would it not do any good and would in fact play right into Limbaugh's hand, but the leader of the free world is far above personally engaging some pompous shock-jock cunt.

What Obama did was even better. He made one phone call which highlighted in no uncertain terms who the victim is in all of this. He reached out to the person who deserved to be reached out to -- and in doing so quietly but firmly kicked Limbaugh in the nuts.