WINDBAG-LIMBAUGH

"You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." President Shepherd from the movie, ''The American President''. In a society driven by the the first amendments freedom of speech such is the reality of today's world or more appropriately the American society. Recently and not for the first time one windbag in particular has had absolutely no trouble exercising that right regardless of the lack of value of anything he has to say. He hides behind the ''Freedom of Speech'' uses it as his weapon. His name is Rush Limbaugh.


For a long time i wrote off Rush Limbaugh as nothing more then a balding, girth enlarging, red neck, sexually frustrated, well-to-do republican mouth piece. I have listen on numerous occasion as he has attacked everything that comes from the Liberal side of politics. I have watched him make a fool of himself and shook my head as he brushed off this responsibility to act as a responsible journalist. I was surprised in a small way when we all found out that the windbag had been breaking the law and was found in possession of illegally acquired pain medication. I was not surprised however at how he brushed it off and held himself to a completely different standard then that which he would have held a high profile Liberal caught in the same situation. That is how Windbags like Limbaugh operate. They have one standard for themselves and another for whoever they happen to be targeting. I guess it is fitting when you realize you must have to take allot of medication to try and free yourself from a never ending echoing storm of nonsense and bullshit that swirls around in that balding head. For the longest time i wondered why he was so frustrated ( i figured it was from lack of sex). Why he spent so much time screaming at the moon. It then dawned on me. It wasn't because he needed to scream at it, it was because he knew someone had to be listening. He was in some demented form brilliant, for he knew that eventually the screaming would attract the curious and if you can scream enough of your wind you can actually find an audience. You see intelligence isn't what is in large commodity in America at least not with those who listen to screamers at the moon. Rush knew this, he also knew that to maintain and grow the audience he had to shock.  You see logic, common sense, ideas and answers do not appeal to the scream listeners. Oh no! They want shock and awe. Not the facts, not the truth, just dramatics. So Windbag gave it to them.


There was a part of me that wanted to write off Rush Limbaugh and most importantly his audience. I lulled myself into believing that only bigots, and racists, and fear mongers were the ones listening to his screams. As time progressed however i started to realize that writing off all his listeners as just a bunch of redneck, intelligence challenged, gun toting Republicans was a cop out on my part. You see my friends i am neither a liberal nor a conservative. I am neither Red, Blue or Green. My beliefs and political views tend to cover a broad spectrum. While i have more predominantly Liberal leanings i am by far not a liberalist. Let me explain; I believe in the Death Penalty. I believe in a Woman's right to choose, I believe in the right to own firearms. I believe in immigration, yet i don't subscribe to reasonable accommodation. I believe in same sex marriage. I believe in legalizing marijuana. In considering my own political beliefs i recognized that not all of Limbaugh's listeners could be simply written off to some specific groups or more importantly to one specific political party (Republican). There had to be more to it all.

Then out of nowhere it hit me one evening while quietly enjoying a movie. The movie was ''The American President''. Near the end of the film the President takes the podium to discuss his republican rival (named Bob Rumson) who has been spewing garbage, lies and his own version of things to the American public. The President has watched as his approval ratings have plunged due to his refusal to enter into a useless war of words with the Windbag President wanna be. When he finally has enough he sets forth in a speech with some incredible words which i think perfectly helps explain Rush Limbaugh...(so read this and replace Rumson with Limbaugh) ''I've known Bob Rumson (Rush Limbaugh) for years. And I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob (Rush) devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain (moon) was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's (Rush's) problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's (Rush's) problem is that he can't sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you Bob Rumson (Rush Limbaugh) is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle age, middle class, middle income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family (Earthquakes and security and economic stimulus), and American values and character, and you wave a flag (talk about Haiti, and accountability and liberal conspiracies) an old photo of the President's girlfriend and you scream about patriotism (and taxes and unfair politics). You tell them she's (Obama's and democrats) are to blame for their lot in life. And you go on television and you call her (him a capitalist and an opportunist) a whore''. Wow! Noting in my mind could more accurately describe Rush Limbaugh and the game to which he subscribes.

What you always notice about a person who screams at the moon is their total lack of ideas. They simply have none.You won't see their name on a Ballot, you won't see them contribute to society or their community in any concrete manner. All you will see or more likely hear them do is capitalize on disasters, immigration, poor economies, wars or any other subject proposed by the mass media. They use these events to tone up the rhetoric to keep themselves current, to show they are of value, to falsify their knowledge and to render those not smart enough to think for themselves content. When Limbaugh went after the President and the current disaster in Haiti he did the only thing he could. You see Limbaugh is impotent to actually contribute anything of value to assist in this tragic event. He took the low road and played the lowest common denominator. Such is the fascinating thing about these talking head windbags. Their only solution to any problem it to change whoever is in charge if the person in charge does not subscribe to their narrow minded lack of idea position. But wait it gets better. The Windbag does not really even have a position. They know nothing of how to criticize constructively, to offer up positive ideas. NO! Making outlandish, foolish and inflammatory comments which only serve to wind up the listeners is their only possible contribution. The funny and simultaneously sad thing about the windbag is that they know exactly what they are doing whenever they open their mouths. Don't think for one second that you can write them or their words off to simple wind and nonsense. You cannot. Rush Limbaugh knows exactly what his words will incite and he gets pleasure out of it. It is his ''Raison D'etre''.

On the Haiti topic Limbaugh did the unthinkable, he did exactly what he accused Obama of doing. He politicized a human tragedy to increase his own ratings. He used human suffering and despair to increase his own net worth. He used the desire of not only a President but of a World to step up and act with their hearts and their wallets. He used the right intentions of a caring society to push his own narrow minded anti-social agenda. He does so all the while cloaking himself in the First Amendment right to, ''Free Speech''. If there is anyone that has been able to look at the images of dead children lying on the side of the road, or a mother hysterical over the loss of her child, or seniors starving under a 92 degree sun and then turn that tragedy into a personal opportunity needs no recognition. The reality is they need nothing from us other then our sympathy or more appropriately our disgust.

In Limbaugh's case he needs the following; that screaming, those words, that wind is measured in dollars earned. If you look at the radio in your car, home or at work you will notice a button marked ''On-Off'' the only way to stop a windbag like Limbaugh is to simply switch it to ''OFF'' That my friends stops the screaming and in the end is the ultimate use of your ''free speech''.

Robbie Hellstrom