Ignoring Limbaugh Won't Make Him Go Away

Posted on March 8, 2012 at 9:27 am by Bob Cesca

Sullivan, Bill Maher and others are defending Limbaugh’s freedom of speech and condemning the boycotts and lobbying against his advertisers. Sullivan’s latest:

No one is involuntarily exposed to his poison; and he earned the big bucks by peddling this crap. That’s the American way. Yes, I’m relieved that the government is not intervening, but the First Amendment ensures that. The right way to counter his speech, in my view, is with speech, not threats to his livelihood.

Again, Limbaugh is arguably the greatest media influence to the Republican Party. His free speech, like Breitbart, is part of the apparatus that guides Republican legislation. Were it not for the misogyny coming from right-wing media players like Limbaugh, there wouldn’t be as much support for laws like the one that was signed in Virginia yesterday. Limbaugh’s opinion matters.

He’s welcome to say whatever twisted horseshit crosses his melting brain — just as we’re entitled to hold him accountable when he crosses the line. In this case, his rants about Sandra Fluke was not only vile, but it was slanderous — and it’s part of a 20 year Limbaugh addiction to using language that arguably influences the oppression of women in America.

We’re not talking about a one-time joke or an slip of the tongue. He has a political agenda to legislate against womens’ rights and womens’ equality.

And so we’re using our free speech to say “enough!” Enough profiting on the oppression and objectification of women. Simply correcting him on Twitter or on a blog hasn’t worked — ever. Ever, ever, ever. So this time, we’re exercising our right to speak out and we’re hitting him where it will actually make a difference.

Sullivan thinks that merely holding our hands over our ears and making “la-la-la!” noises is the solution — “no one involuntarily exposed to his poison,” he wrote. But millions of people every week, including members of Congress and state governments, do in fact listen to him and take him seriously, and that means we, as activists or writers or commentators, are obligated to counter-balance the impact. Ignoring him won’t make him go away.

And finally, Sullivan has dedicated a significant portion of his career to accusing Sarah Palin of lying. Likewise, he’s not forced to involuntarily listen to her poison, but he does, and he’s spent a lot of time on her lies. And he’s lying to himself if believes this doesn’t have an impact on her “livelihood”.

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  • JackDaniel07

    Bravo Bob.
    Pardon my french, but fuck these milquetoast old boy pussies.

    • http://www.politicalruminations.com/ nicole

      What Jack said.

  • http://twitter.com/SugaRazor Razor

    I do think there’s a discussion to be had about controversial opinions being protected from the wrath of corporate sponsors. “The views expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect this station or its advertisers” is important and that door swings both ways.

    Not that I’m defending Limbaugh, he crossed a line by outright slandering a private citizen under the guise of news. This is not the same as the right-wing noise machine attacking Obama, it’s not even the same as Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin a cunt in his stand-up act.

    It’s not a black and white issue to me and I think Maher and Sullivan do have something resembling a point, it’s just not a valid defense for Limbaugh.

  • driveswift

    Let’s also not forget that the man isn’t exactly struggling to get by. He could retire now and live comfortably with his Maybach for the rest of his miserable life.

  • Madam1

    Rush is entitled to say whatever he wants and so am I to all of his advertisers. I won’t use any products that promote Rush and in turn his despicable, hateful show. They are free to make their own decisions in our free market and it appears they don’t want to be associated with a man who has demanded that a smart, young woman, who spoke before congress on why birth control should be covered by insurance, post her sex life on-line.
    Flush Rush!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Walter-Hall/1079238948 Walter Hall

    When Andrew Sullivan writes about Limbaugh’s “livelihood”, it’s apparently without any irony that this multi-millionaire gasbag uses a turbo-charged right to free speech to attack at least half of America. Most of us are not so blessed, and our opinions will fall on infertile soil. Not Rush, however. He gets to vituperate and debase our discourse to his heart’s content. Because to Andrew Sullivan, that’s what freedom is really about: the right of rich assholes to bamboozle their lessers. And if we fight back, we’re threatening his “livelihood”.

    Conservatives have declared war on America. You don’t defend it with comments on a blog. You defend it by fighting back as hard as you can.

  • margietalks

    Freedom of speech protects Limbaugh’s right to say whatever he wants to say. I have no problem with that. I can turn off the radio. I also see nothing wrong with boycotting and encouraging a boycott of his speaking. Boycott is another form of freedom of speech. We are under no obligation to listen to Rush and thank goodness. I don’t owe Rush Limbaugh a living. I think these guys who are coming out to speak up for Rush’s right to speak, see the writing on the wall… they’re next. So a person who is on the radio saying any absurd thing that comes into their head, might have to stop and think about what they’re saying. They might actually have to come up with something that adds to the conversation instead of attacking anyone they disagree with.

  • http://twitter.com/gbeaudette Grant Beaudette

    Money is speech. The Supreme Court said so.

    “Ignore him and he’ll go away” is for the ranting lunatic on the street corner, not the guy with millions of radio listeners actively committing libel for political purposes.

  • agrazingmoose

    Even the ladies on The View have been coming up with this drivel. They are all scared to death that the same thing will happen to them.

    As they should be.

    BTW, that Muslim reality show was dropped due to the same sort of pressure from the right.

    • http://twitter.com/SugaRazor Razor

      Which says a lot about the right… Muslims being portrayed as normal, everyday people in a country that guarantees their religious freedom is more offensive than Rush Limbaugh viciously attacking and slandering a private citizen, whose only crime was speaking up for a friend that needed affordable health care.

      • agrazingmoose

        Yup. It is nauseating.

  • deazl666

    The strategy of ignoring him didn’t work. Rush can say whatever he wants, and so can we. I’m not sure how the First Amendment limits our right to persuade sponsors to pull their ads. I’m no expert on the Constitution, but I think the First Amendment prohibits the state, but not his employer, from limiting his speech, which is why folks are talking to those who advertise on his show. Besides, I doubt he violated any FCC standards with what he said, so there’s nothing the government can do anyway. If Rush wants total freedom to say whatever he wants, I’m sure Sirius/XM would love to have him.

  • EsiS

    There’s freedom of speech, not freedom to have your own radio show. But silly me, Sullivan is right. If only those black people in the 60s had just contained themselves to giving speeches. How dare they threaten the livelihood of those lunch counters? Asshat.

    • http://twitter.com/KQuark KQµårk™

      Great points.

  • EsiS

    Commenting again to say that this from Sullivan: “It simply remains a guiding principle of mine that you argue your case, you counter and expose arguments that don’t work, or lies that can be debunked, or smears that are disgusting.” comes from such a place of privilege it cannot be born. Of course as a well-off, white, male he thinks the power of his voice can combat anything. And therefore cannot comprehend how any of us might feel differently.

  • http://www.politicalruminations.com/ nicole

    “And he’s lying to himself if believes this doesn’t have an impact on her “livelihood”.”

    Oh hell. Sullivan specifically intended a removal of Palin from the GOP power structure. He’s being a complete and utter hypocrite here. No surprise there.

    Fuck Sullivan.

    • http://twitter.com/KQuark KQµårk™

      Yes Sullivan is being especially hypocritical on this one indeed.

  • http://twitter.com/KQuark KQµårk™

    Sullivan and Maher make flawed arguments by implying people are squashing free speech. It’s quite the opposite. People are practicing THEIR free speech rights when they call out Limbaugh’s vial discourse. Free speech is not about being able to say whatever you want without consequences, especially other’s practicing their first amendment rights.

  • Brutlyhonest

    Sullivan and Maher are part of that pundit social club that is utterly and totally disconnected from the real world. It’s the same kind of crap we get from people who purport to be journalists hanging out with the “powerful” people they are covering; if they dare to be critical/honest, they lose their access.

    • JackDaniel07

      I have a rightwing FEMALE friend defending Limbaugh and chastising Maher for calling Palin a “cunt”. Her point being, they are one and the same – but Maher faces no backlash. She even had the ignorance to wonder aloud why Maher’s sponsors dont back out…he made the remarks during his stand-up routine and his ‘day job’ is at HBO….and she wants his “sponsors” to speak up….*sigh*

      As I told her:

      The difference in the court of public opinion, as I see it, is this:
      If Rush showed up at the local comedy club, took the stage, and delivered his stand-up routine calling women sluts…well, nobody would laugh, but there would be little or no backlash, and no lost sponsors — since nobody sponsors comedy shows. Conversely, if Maher had a multi-hour daily nationally syndicated AM radio show, and used that platform to call Mrs. Palin a cunt, he would surely lose sponsors, and probably his job. When you work for a company that RELIES on advertising dollars to survive (and pay your salary), you have to realize that YOU represent those sponsors to your listeners.
      HBO and comedy clubs have no such restriction.

      Maher and Limbaugh are both raging a-holes. Thats where the comparison ends though in my opinion.

  • http://www.angryblacklady.com/ ABL

    Amen, Bob. It’s nice to see men standing up for women. I award you an honorary vagina. Use it well.

    • http://www.politicalruminations.com/ nicole

      bwahahahahah!! :)

  • http://heavenpurgatoryearth.blogspot.com Mariqat

    Freedom of speech is still currently constitutionally protected from governmental intervention but there are provisions. Not going into them (read!) but at this point Limbaugh and his fellow cads are just masturbating to virtual snuff porn from their own mouths. Them and FOX News can all go to Hell and get reamed by Jerry Falwell’s sharpened .

  • delosgatos

    Sullivan: “no one is involuntarily exposed to his poison”

    Incorrect. While relatively few are involuntarily exposed to his words, the words are merely the vehicle by which his poison is injected into society. As that poison spreads and influences political and societal ideas and attitudes of certain factions, those factions’ resulting acts undoubtedly have involuntarily exposed many to the effects of that poison.

  • Lexamich

    The answer is simple.

    Speak freely as you cut loose any individual defending the spoiled brat Limbaugh.

    Burn all bridges and do not make excuses for them.

    This campaign against Sandra Fluke is absolutely amazing in its obviousness. The specious to outright asinine defenses of the windbag reveal duplicitous weaklings that have no business being listened to. Maher, Sully, and all the rest need to apologize to their respective regular audiences for attempting to insult their intelligence. Until this happens, I, for one, will encourage folks to simply stop listening to, watching, or reading the fools.

    It’s as simple as that.

    Free speech isn’t cheap like the opinions of pundits.