John North Editor & Publisher

ìI donít need equal time, I am equal time!î
ó Rush Limbaugh
ï
The more I listen to, read about and research Rush Limbaugh, both the man and his cause, the more intrigued I am with the irony of the stunning contradictions between his controversial beliefs and his actions.

He is considered in at least some circles as the standard-bearer for the Republican Party and conservative values in the United States. Limbaugh is widely thought to have been sort of a ìnational precinct captainî whose talk-show cheerleading led to a number of GOP congressional victories in 1994.

Limbaugh, 56, began his radio career as a teenager in 1967, using the pseudonym Rusty Sharpe, in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Later, after earning poor grades, including a reported ìDî (some say it was an ìFî) in speech class, Limbaugh dropped out of Southeast Missouri State University. ìHe flunked everything,î according to his mother, even a modern ballroom dancing class.

From this humble start, he became such a force ó a self-styled ìarmy of oneî ó that he often is credited with singlehandedly reviving AM radio, which lost massive listenership in the 1970s as FM stations capitalized on their superior clarity for broadcasting recorded music.

As AM radio floundered, it was forced to experiment and found that its sound was better suited for ìtalk,î leading to formats that stressed news, sports ó and even politics. AMís talk audience is largely white, male, young and conservative.

And there never was a talk-show host who captured that audienceís attention like Limbaugh, whose popularity opened the door to a plethora of other talk shows, almost all of which ó as one might expect ó are conservative. (Liberals tend to not listen to AM radio, preferring NPR on FM bands, or the Internet.)
Limbaugh achieved his popularity by being almost cartoonishly controversial (punctuating discussions of efforts to protect endangered species with sound effects of automatic-weapons fire and screaming animals), taking extreme positions on issues (referring to certain women as ìfeminazisî) and portraying himself as the quintessential patriotic, law-abiding American.

Limbaugh calls his legions of listeners dittoheads (since they often say ìdittoî in blanket support of his positions) and makes frequent references to the ìdrive-by media,î his term for mainstream media outlets that he characterizes as recklessly and dangerously liberal and inaccurate. He sees the media as gang members who ambush their enemies by spraying a bunch of bullets and driving off.

As of 2005, Arbitron ratings indicated that the ìRush Limbaugh Showî has a minimum weekly audience of 13.5 million listeners.

Interestingly, a three-question survey from the Pew Research Center found that 48 percent of regular listeners had a high knowledge of current events, compared with 39 percent for NPR listeners and 38 percent for the Daily Show. The survey showed he had the highest percentage ó 56 percent ó of hard-news consumers.
Iíd like to think that the political discourse that occurs on Americaís talk radio stations strengthens our democracy and results in reasoned, fair debate of issues.

However, the reality is that Limbaugh and most others just use their shows as a bully pulpit, featuring calls from listeners who often profess their agreement with the host, who tends to be elevated to divine status.
To me, the most discouraging aspect is that those who question or challenge Limbaugh either are eliminated by his call screeners, or are insulted and then cut off before they can express themselves.

I found it disturbing that, at a recent John Locke Foundation speech I was covering, a young man sitting next to me noted that he is a ìRush Baby,î meaning that his parents exposed him to Limbaughís radio program from infancy ó and he has been an avid listener ever since. Upon questioning, he said he never has disagreed with any of Limbaughís positions.

As is obvious, many of Limbaughís devotees are willfully oblivious to his numerous hypocrisies, including:
ï His pro-war stance, when he himself managed to evade service in Vietnam because of a minor medical issue. He currently is under fire for calling military personnel in Iraq who oppose the war ìphony soldiers.î

ï His advocacy of harsh penalties for drug abusers, while complaining about being singled out when he was caught illegally obtaining the prescription drug Oxycontin to feed his addiction to it. He also had a recent run-in with the law involving illegal possession of Viagra.

ï His statement that real democracy is built on debate, while he has constructed a media empire forged largely on unchallenged monologues.

I remain torn on whether talk radio provides a needed medium ó and necessary release ó for conservatives, or simply inflames them and polarizes society at large. Nevertheless, I support Limbaughís right to free speech.
Still, I wish talk radio hosts like Limbaugh would encourage free and open discourse, which to me exemplifies the truest American values ó not the dogmatism, name-calling and extremism they practice in this nation that calls itself ìthe land of the brave and the home of the free.î

ï
John North, publisher and editor of the Daily Planet, may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .