Do you believe Rush Limbaugh created the divisiveness?

[Nickyjo]

It is good to see the self styled proponents of free speech expose themselves as open fascists.

The Left’s War on Free Speech

"I like to introduce the topic of free speech with an anecdote about my children. I have three kids, ages twelve, nine, and five. They are your average, normal kids—which means they live to annoy the heck out of each other.

...Then it was the five-year-old’s turn. You could tell she’d been thinking hard about her answer. She fixed both her brother and sister with a ferocious stare and said: “Free speech is that you can say what you want—as long as I like it.”

It was at this moment that I had one of those sudden insights as a parent. I realized that my oldest was a constitutional conservative, my middle child a libertarian, and my youngest a socialist with totalitarian tendencies.

With that introduction, my main point today is that we’ve experienced over the past eight years a profound shift in our political culture, a shift that has resulted in a significant portion of our body politic holding a five-year-old’s view of free speech. What makes this shift notable is that unlike most changes in politics, you can trace it back to one day: January 21, 2010, the day the Supreme Court issued its Citizens United ruling and restored free speech rights to millions of Americans."

“Millions of Americans” is more properly phrased “American billionaires.” Money trumps speech, thanks to the Supremes.

 

[Nickyjo]

Do you have any citations for any of your statements or is it all made up?

The most important citation I can think of is Rush’s bumper music. I believe it’s called “My City is Gone.” It’s title and Rush give voice to people whose comfortable white and male dominated positions in society were challenged by the civil rights and women’s movement. He does it with great style and delivery. The title of the music is similar to “Make America Great Again,” a return to some unidentified past. It’s a theme that we saw in the 1930s in Europe, with Mussolini seeming to harken back to Italy’s former greatness. There is a famous painting of Hitler dressed as a Teutonic knight. I acknowledge that it’s always bad to “go Hitler” in a discussion, so maybe it’s better to mention Franco. I visited Spain when he was still alive, and coins with his image had the inscription “Fco Franco, caudillo de Espana por la G de Dios,” ie., “strongman“ of Spain by/for the glory of God.

Most telling about Rush’s role was the Sandra Fluke incident. She testifies about the need of birth control to be included in medical insurance for women who have a messed up menstrual cycle. (My ex wife took the pill long before she became sexually active for that reason.) Rush then calls Sandra F a slut. When Rush comes out to debate someone, I’ll take him seriously.

 

[PirateMk1]

The most important citation I can think of is Rush’s bumper music. I believe it’s called “My City is Gone.” It’s title and Rush give voice to people whose comfortable white and male dominated positions in society were challenged by the civil rights and women’s movement. He doesn’t with great delivery. The music is similar to “Make America Great Again,” a return to some unidentified past. It’s a theme that we saw in the 1930s in Europe, with Mussolini seeming to harken back to Italy’s former greatness. There is a famous painting of Hitler dressed as a Teutonic knight. I acknowledge that it’s always bad to “go Hitler” in a discussion, so maybe it’s better to mention Franco. I visited Spain when he was still alive, and coins with his image had the inscription “Fco Franco, caudillo de Espana por la G de Dios,” ie., “strongman“ of Spain by/for the glory of God.

Most telling about Rush’s role was the Sandra Fluke incident. She testifies about the need of birth control to be included in medical insurance for women who have a messed up menstrual cycle. My ex wife took the pill long before she became sexually active for that reason. Rush calls Sandra F a slut.

Do you know who wrote and performs that song? The Pretenders. A female led band, with a female lead singer and song writer. They also happen be of the left politically.

Rush mocked Fluke, like he mocks most everyone else.

 

[narrowroad]

ItJanuary 21, 2010, the day the Supreme Court issued its Citizens United ruling and restored free speech rights to millions of Americans."

lovely post

but could u enlighten those of us not familiar w/ the Citizens United ruling?



pweez?

 

[narrowroad]

Hmm, strange concept. Someone who voices opinions different than yours is divisive, someone who voices your opinions is inclusive. I am always amused at the attempt by the left to demonize anyone who does not walk their line. Myself and I am sure many others never listened to Rush until we heard all the negatives spewed by the left. My opinion is that anyone who rates this much hate from a radical group must have something worth listening to. If they fear him that much he must be telling the truth.

I am also amused when politicians who have sworn to uphold our constitution forget about the firs amendment and try to get Rush banned.

I had a good laugh at this... I guess bc of your way of getting right to the point. .. I esp liked this:

anyone who rates this much hate from a radical group must have something worth listening to. If they fear him that much he must be telling the truth.

there's that old saying Truth hurts... guess so!

 

[narrowroad]

This country has been devisive since the beginning. There's always been a group to hate/fear - the natives, the English, the French, the Spanish, let's not forget the Irish immigrants, the Chinese railroad workers, the Japaneese, the Jews, protestants, catholics, mexicans, blacks, muslins, gays, republicans, democrats, etc. One group after another...whether we care to admit this about ourselves or not we have been a country of people in both past and present that targets groups in some shape or form just to hate on them.

not true, or at least not true for ALL of us

I have to admit I sometimes "hate" Democrats. But it is not really THEM I hate, just their un American, un Christian "values"

They insist on getting rid of people they find inconvenient. That is a very dangerous and un American "value"--even if we are only speaking of the unfortunate unborn

some day it will be others, not just them. Oh, wait, that day has already come. Now we are encouraging people to kill themselves ..

Do the world a favor, society seems to scream at some people... Kill yourself. We are over-populated (BIG lie there) and also, humans cause all kinds of climate havok (also not true) so just kill yourself. Me, I have value.. so I am not going to kill myself, but YOU... omg!!!!!! you must go

 

[Casper]

Do you believe Rush Limbaugh created the divisiveness?


Back in the 80's, Rush was an unemployed talk show host. His ratings were bad and he got fired. Things were so bad he couldn't even make his mortgage payment. Having a lot of time on his hands, he watched a lot of World Wide Wrestling which was having a huge increase in popularity at the time.

He puzzled out why wrestling was so popular. You had good guys and villains, you had background stories and drama.

He came to an epiphany. He would combine a talk radio political show with World Wide Wrestling. He'd make some politicians heroes and others villains. The political struggle would make excellent drama.

And the Rush Limbaugh Show was born.

Rush spewed hatred about the democrats. He openly mocked them on the radio. Meanwhile, he elevated republicans, many of them flawed.

His show became about the struggle. A struggle which didn't exist until that time.

The Tea Party came out of this and Rush was their biggest proponent.

He savagely attacked democratic presidents like Clinton and Obama. Obama was especially hated by the Rush fans because of racism.

Do you think Limbaugh contributed the the hatred and divisiveness that fills American politics today?

Contributed to it, yes, created it, nope.

 

[straykatz]

not true, or at least not true for ALL of us

I have to admit I sometimes "hate" Democrats. But it is not really THEM I hate, just their un American, un Christian "values"

They insist on getting rid of people they find inconvenient. That is a very dangerous and un American "value"--even if we are only speaking of the unfortunate unborn

some day it will be others, not just them. Oh, wait, that day has already come. Now we are encouraging people to kill themselves ..

Do the world a favor, society seems to scream at some people... Kill yourself. We are over-populated (BIG lie there) and also, humans cause all kinds of climate havok (also not true) so just kill yourself. Me, I have value.. so I am not going to kill myself, but YOU... omg!!!!!! you must go

It is divisive when you call others un-American or in-Christian just because you don't share the same opinion/ideas as them. Being a conservative doesn't make one American or even Christian. First and foremost we are American's and everything else is just fluff that we can choose to agree or disagree over....but none of that fluff makes you or me or anyone else more American or less American.

 

[Tanngrisnir]

not true, or at least not true for ALL of us

I have to admit I sometimes "hate" Democrats. But it is not really THEM I hate, just their un American, un Christian "values"

They insist on getting rid of people they find inconvenient. That is a very dangerous and un American "value"--even if we are only speaking of the unfortunate unborn

some day it will be others, not just them. Oh, wait, that day has already come. Now we are encouraging people to kill themselves ..

Do the world a favor, society seems to scream at some people... Kill yourself. We are over-populated (BIG lie there) and also, humans cause all kinds of climate havok (also not true) so just kill yourself. Me, I have value.. so I am not going to kill myself, but YOU... omg!!!!!! you must go

Why does the right hate Christianity and Christian values?

 

[narrowroad]

It is divisive when you call others un-American or in-Christian just because you don't share the same opinion/ideas as them. Being a conservative doesn't make one American or even Christian. First and foremost we are American's and everything else is just fluff that we can choose to agree or disagree over....but none of that fluff makes you or me or anyone else more American or less American.

I don't consider legalized baby killing and Americans' opinions on that topic

"fluff"

guess I am just funny that way............

 

[narrowroad]

so..

85% of people polled here do not solely blame Rush

whew!

I was beginning to.. wonder

 

[Nickyjo]

Do you know who wrote and performs that song? The Pretenders. A female led band, with a female lead singer and song writer. They also happen be of the left politically.

Rush mocked Fluke, like he mocks most everyone else.

Get back when he calls Trump a slut, a prostitute, says he’s having so much sex it’s amazing he can walk. That’s what he said about Fluke. That’s not mockery, it’s cruelty, it’s misinformation. It’s fake news, if you will. Real Medal of Freedom stuff.

 

[akyron]

“Millions of Americans” is more properly phrased “American billionaires.” Money trumps speech, thanks to the Supremes.

96% of contributions were public domain and disclosed already.

The 4 percent were the local business and small town group that were unfairly targeted by government.


The result was this:

Justice Department admits IRS wrongdoing, agrees to $3.5 million settlement with tea party groups

 

[akyron]

lovely post

but could u enlighten those of us not familiar w/ the Citizens United ruling? pweez?

"August 9, as President Obama appeared at a Democratic National Committee campaign event in Austin, Texas. Obama spent twenty minutes slamming Republicans—on taxes, education, energy—and then launched into what would become a standard warning in pretty much every speech he’d give up through November. “Right now all around this country there are groups with harmless-sounding names like Americans for Prosperity, who are running millions of dollars of ads against Democratic candidates all across the country. And they don’t have to say who exactly the Americans for Prosperity are. You don’t know if it’s a foreign-controlled corporation. You don’t know if it’s a big oil company, or a big bank. You don’t know if it’s an insurance company that wants to see some of the provisions in health reform repealed because it’s good for their bottom line, even if it’s not good for the American people.

“A Supreme Court decision allowed this to happen. And we tried to fix it, just by saying disclose what’s going on, and making sure that foreign companies can’t influence our elections. Seemed pretty straightforward. The other side said no.

“They don’t want you to know who the Americans for Prosperity are, because they’re thinking about the next election. But we’ve got to think about future generations. We’ve got to make sure that we’re fighting for reform. We’ve got to make sure that we don’t have a corporate takeover of our democracy.”

This Obama monologue was both absurd and pointed. Absurd, because it monumentally overstated the situation. Democrats have made an obsession of talking about “dark money,” even as they know that it is a bare blip on the election radar. The Federal Election Commission keeps tallies of all spending—every disbursement, by every political actor. Pretty much any organization in this country that spends money expressly calling for the election or a defeat of a candidate must quickly report that spending to the FEC. That rule is the same for everyone—super PACs, 501(c) groups, 527s, political parties. And most of those groups also must disclose their donors. One exception is 501(c) organizations, which are generally allowed to keep their donors anonymous. The left now calls this “dark” money.

In the 2012 election year, U.S. political actors spent about $7 billion attempting to get their favored candidates elected. It sounds like a lot, but then again, Americans spend roughly $7 billion every year on Halloween. National elections happen only every two years, which means that the U.S population spends twice as much every cycle buying Supergirl costumes and Milk Duds than they do electing the people who will govern their country.

Of that $7 billion spent in 2012 to form a government, about $320 million of it was “dark money.” Do the math, and 96 percent of the money spent in elections is disclosed. Only 3 to 4 percent (it varies by cycle) is done anonymously, and even then, most of it is hardly anonymous. The media is obsessed with 501(c)(4) groups, and have done a very good job of “outing” a lot of their donors. It isn’t very difficult to guess what types of groups or people are funding the Sierra Club, or the League of Women Voters, or the Chamber of Commerce, or the NRA.

Democrats were long happy for these organizations to get their dollars from liberal benefactors and not to have to disclose them. That’s why these liberal groups, in part, obtained their 501(c)(4) designations in the first place. Obama’s own community-organizing group, Organizing for America, filed as a 501(c)(4).

Obama’s comments were absurd, too, because they were misleading. Foreign nationals, foreign governments, foreign political parties, foreign corporations or associations—all are completely banned from giving money in U.S. elections. The Chinese, as Obama and Chris Van Hollen well know, aren’t allowed to directly contribute to Americans for Prosperity. That’s why Obama deliberately and carefully continued to use the phrase “foreign-controlled” entities. It sounds menacing—it was designed to sound menacing. "
."--The Intimidation Game

 

[akyron]

This of course leads to the old nazi list of people to attack.

'This is a target list': Joaquin Castro facing backlash for tweeting the names of Texas donors--Some of which...his own..

Joaquin Castro outed his own donors in bid to shame Trump/American supporters

 

[chuckiechan]

Do you believe Rush Limbaugh created the divisiveness?


Back in the 80's, Rush was an unemployed talk show host. His ratings were bad and he got fired. Things were so bad he couldn't even make his mortgage payment. Having a lot of time on his hands, he watched a lot of World Wide Wrestling which was having a huge increase in popularity at the time.

He puzzled out why wrestling was so popular. You had good guys and villains, you had background stories and drama.

He came to an epiphany. He would combine a talk radio political show with World Wide Wrestling. He'd make some politicians heroes and others villains. The political struggle would make excellent drama.

And the Rush Limbaugh Show was born.

Rush spewed hatred about the democrats. He openly mocked them on the radio. Meanwhile, he elevated republicans, many of them flawed.

His show became about the struggle. A struggle which didn't exist until that time.

The Tea Party came out of this and Rush was their biggest proponent.

He savagely attacked democratic presidents like Clinton and Obama. Obama was especially hated by the Rush fans because of racism.

Do you think Limbaugh contributed the the hatred and divisiveness that fills American politics today?

no. He was one voice in a sea of liberals, and showed conservative - or shall I say, traditional Americans that they do have a voice.

To me listening to Rush makes me feel good. You can’t package that. Rush spoke to the America that did the work. Almost like he was the Mike Row “Dirty Jobs” of America.

 

[Nickyjo]

96% of contributions were public domain and disclosed already.

The 4 percent were the local business and small town group that were unfairly targeted by government.


The result was this:

Justice Department admits IRS wrongdoing, agrees to $3.5 million settlement with tea party groups

My quarrel is not with disclosure. I know that my political voice matter less than that of someone with a billion. My quarrel is with the Supreme Court endorsing that notion under the cover of free speech. It corrupts the process almost as much as stuffing the ballot box does. There should be elections, not auctions.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Do you believe Rush Limbaugh created the divisiveness?

Justice Lewis Powell "created" the divisiveness, but Rush Limbaugh made it accessible and understandable to the mouth-breathing yokel masses. Powell's memo was a vitriolic and yet scholarly work, while Limbaugh's show is "Powell" if you fed it to a pig, extracted the fecal matter and then reconstituted it into Powell flavored pablum.

It was the Powell Memo that gave birth and rise to the plethora of "think tanks", designed to churn out alternate realities and favorable cherry picked "data" to support the media packaged anger.

The Powell Memo is the "mein kampf" of the angry Right. Limbaugh's show is just a moveable Nuremberg Rally on the radio.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

My quarrel is not with disclosure. I know that my political voice matter less than that of someone with a billion. My quarrel is with the Supreme Court endorsing that notion under the cover of free speech. It corrupts the process almost as much as stuffing the ballot box does. There should be elections, not auctions.

For the most part, Citizens United effectively says "a corporation is A PERSON". (singular)
Now, some howled in righteous indignation when Romney said, "corporations are people too, my friend."
But "are people" and "is A PERSON" are two entirely different things.
If CU said what Mitt said, well then...more power to them, because in point of fact, Mitt's right: They are PEOPLE.
But they are not "a person" because if they are a person, then they are a brand new species, made of concrete, steel, glass, marble, lawyers and potentially infinite amounts of money, and they are potentially IMMORTAL.

And a six hundred foot tall steel and glass immortal "person" with unlimited wealth is surely going to crush all those little flesh and blood mortal persons if it wants to, and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it.

 

[Vadinho]

Do you believe Rush Limbaugh created the divisiveness?


Back in the 80's, Rush was an unemployed talk show host. His ratings were bad and he got fired. Things were so bad he couldn't even make his mortgage payment. Having a lot of time on his hands, he watched a lot of World Wide Wrestling which was having a huge increase in popularity at the time.

He puzzled out why wrestling was so popular. You had good guys and villains, you had background stories and drama.

He came to an epiphany. He would combine a talk radio political show with World Wide Wrestling. He'd make some politicians heroes and others villains. The political struggle would make excellent drama.

And the Rush Limbaugh Show was born.

Rush spewed hatred about the democrats. He openly mocked them on the radio. Meanwhile, he elevated republicans, many of them flawed.

His show became about the struggle. A struggle which didn't exist until that time.

The Tea Party came out of this and Rush was their biggest proponent.

He savagely attacked democratic presidents like Clinton and Obama. Obama was especially hated by the Rush fans because of racism.

Do you think Limbaugh contributed the the hatred and divisiveness that fills American politics today?

He simply took what was there and made it into an industry which then became a groundswell. He taught millions to hate other Americans. He showed wannabes like Hannity how to exploit politics to make fortunes. He made being a boor and a bully into something to be proud of and sold the idea that if only the other guys were not around or in power, your life would be wonderful. Yes, I do think he had an enormous affect on America and none of it was positive.

 

[Nickyjo]

For the most part, Citizens United effectively says "a corporation is A PERSON". (singular)
Now, some howled in righteous indignation when Romney said, "corporations are people too, my friend."
But "are people" and "is A PERSON" are two entirely different things.
If CU said what Mitt said, well then...more power to them, because in point of fact, Mitt's right: They are PEOPLE.
But they are not "a person" because if they are a person, then they are a brand new species, made of concrete, steel, glass, marble, lawyers and potentially infinite amounts of money, and they are potentially IMMORTAL.

And a six hundred foot tall steel and glass immortal "person" with unlimited wealth is surely going to crush all those little flesh and blood mortal persons if it wants to, and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it.

I assume that corporate “ personhood” came about to shield their officers, boards, etc., from certain forms of liability. That may indeed be a social good given our litigious society. But I think it is more likely that people were talking past one another.

 

[Nickyjo]

The left: Rush Limbaugh invented divisiveness!

Andrew Jackson: shoots a reporter for calling his wife a negress....

Which one came first?

What leftist said that Rush invented divisiveness? We had Paul Harvey and Fr. Coughlin years before him. Many decades before them it was the Know-Nothings. In a more malignant form we had the KKK. Rush sometimes has a twinkle in the eye of his rhetoric, but his preachings resemble what someone labeled “the paranoid style in American politics.” Not all of it is on the right, but since we are a center-right country, the right often takes the spotlight. In my view, he is still reacting to the civil rights and women’s movement, and environmentalism: Obama was “Halfrican American,” or “Barak the Magic Negro.” Female activists were “femi-Nazis.” The scientists who speculated that water on Mars might have come from its melting polar icecaps were pushing climate change theories on earth. (Sort of like the Chinese hoax Trump mentioned.) Things have changed since the comfortable 1950-early 60s, and Rush speaks to the national apprehension about change. That he often does it with cruelty and falsehoods doesn’t diminish the emotion he represents. Trump is his political offspring, as he recognized a few days ago.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

What leftist said that Rush invented divisiveness? We had Paul Harvey and Fr. Coughlin years before him. Many decades before them it was the Know-Nothings. In a more malignant form we had the KKK. Rush sometimes has a twinkle in the eye of his rhetoric, but his preachings resemble what someone labeled “the paranoid style in American politics.” Not all of it is on the right, but since we are a center-right country, the right often takes the spotlight. In my view, he is still reacting to the civil rights and women’s movement, and environmentalism: Obama was “Halfrican American,” or “Barak the Magic Negro.” Female activists were “femi-Nazis.” The scientists who speculated that water on Mars might have come from its melting polar icecaps were pushing climate change theories on earth. (Sort of like the Chinese hoax Trump mentioned.) Things have changed since the comfortable 1950-early 60s, and Rush speaks to the national apprehension about change. That he often does it with cruelty and falsehoods doesn’t diminish the emotion he represents. Trump is his political offspring, as he recognized a few days ago.

lol you couldn’t be more wrong if you tried!

First off, Rush didn’t call Obama a “magic negro” that song was mocking an LA times Column which could him that, and Al Sharpton who opposed Obama, and Biden (articulate and clean) you apparently just buy whatever you’re sold without listening to the source material and looking it up.

Feminazi applied exclusively to pro-abortion extremists, you clearly never listened to the show

 

[EMNofSeattle]

What leftist said that Rush invented divisiveness? We had Paul Harvey and Fr. Coughlin years before him. Many decades before them it was the Know-Nothings. In a more malignant form we had the KKK. Rush sometimes has a twinkle in the eye of his rhetoric, but his preachings resemble what someone labeled “the paranoid style in American politics.” Not all of it is on the right, but since we are a center-right country, the right often takes the spotlight. In my view, he is still reacting to the civil rights and women’s movement, and environmentalism: Obama was “Halfrican American,” or “Barak the Magic Negro.” Female activists were “femi-Nazis.” The scientists who speculated that water on Mars might have come from its melting polar icecaps were pushing climate change theories on earth. (Sort of like the Chinese hoax Trump mentioned.) Things have changed since the comfortable 1950-early 60s, and Rush speaks to the national apprehension about change. That he often does it with cruelty and falsehoods doesn’t diminish the emotion he represents. Trump is his political offspring, as he recognized a few days ago.

Here’s the brilliant Satire piece “Barack the Magic Negro” listen to the lyrics and tell me what’s objectionable



Original column

Obama the '''Magic Negro''' - Los Angeles Times

 

[ecofarm]

Here’s the brilliant Satire piece “Barack the Magic Negro” listen to the lyrics and tell me what’s objectionable

What are his magic powers?