reviewsnthoughts

“I hope he fails.” – Rush Limbaugh, January 16, 2009

One of the most important lessons that I learned as a journalism student back in the 1980s is one that I have always tried to live by, “Never say or write anything incendiary just to get the audience’s attention.”

It might seem somewhat naïve or old-fashioned, but when I read in a Leonard Pitts column that Rush Limbaugh, a well-known conservative radio talk show host with a huge radio and television audience, had said that he hoped that incoming President Barack Obama would fail at his duties, I was stunned.

Considering that Limbaugh is famous –or infamous – for being a very aggressive expounder of the conservative right’s more extreme views, perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised.  After all, Limbaugh is the same man who claimed that comedian Al Franken had “stolen” the election for Minnesota’s Senate seat from his Republican opponent, Norm Coleman.  Additionally, Limbaugh also stated that former President Bush didn’t start thinking about firing “liberal-minded” U.S. Attorneys until “well into his second term.”

Because I find most of the so-called conservative TV and radio commentators unpleasant to watch or listen to, I missed the actual radio program in which Limbaugh expressed his wish that the new President would not succeed during his first term in office.  But since almost everything a public figure says or writes anywhere in the traditional media gets recorded on the Internet, I was able to dig up Limbaugh’s comments.

So I’m thinking of replying to the guy, “Okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.” (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here’s the point. Everybody thinks it’s outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, “Oh, you can’t do that.” Why not? Why is it any different, what’s new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what’s gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don’t care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: “Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.” Somebody’s gotta say it.

  Having grown up in the 1970s and 1980s, I have a strong dislike for political extremes in both the conservative and liberal camps.  I’m old enough to remember the excesses of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War and the resulting cuts in defense spending by a Democratic-controlled Congress.  I thought that the ultra-liberals back then were wrong in their message that America was on its way to becoming a fascist nation and that capitalism was evil, and I still think they were misguided.

On the other hand, I’m appalled when a guy like Rush Limbaugh, who once said he was merely an entertainer but is now one of the loudest purveyors of the extreme conservative message, blames all, and I mean all, of our country’s problems on liberalism.

Does Limbaugh really think that the best solution for America’s problems is for Barack Obama to screw up?  Does he want the American economy to tank even worse than it has over the past few years when there was a Republican President in charge so that Sarah Palin or another like-minded candidate can be elected in 2012?  Does he want American soldiers – our men and women in uniform – to die because Obama “goofed” so he and his equally strident buds can say “Hey, America, we told you so…”?

I can understand if serious-minded Republicans, independents and even Democrats disagree with the new President’s policies.  Dissent and civil discourse are part of what makes a democracy healthy and prosperous.  I’m sure that I won’t agree with some of the President’s ideas – his proposal to postpone the February 17, 2009 switch from analog TV signals to digital till June is one – but as an American citizen, I don’t want Obama to fail.

Apparently, no one taught Limbaugh the notion that once an election is over, the President of the United States represents all of us, whether we voted for him or not.  When he travels abroad to meet with other heads of state, he is us.  When he gains popularity in other countries, we all are perceived in a better light, not just him.  When he succeeds, we all succeed.  When he fails, we all suffer the consequences.

If Limbaugh said “I hope he fails” just to be inflammatory, it certainly doesn’t reflect well on his character.  It proves that his viewpoints are morally and intellectually bankrupt since he offers no plausible or positive alternatives.  It’s also somewhat immature – it’s the opinion-making equivalent of a bully pulling someone’s pants down then sniggering “Ha ha!” like Nelson from The Simpsons.

On the other hand, if Limbaugh really loves his country as much as he claims he does, he should bear in mind these words, written by President John Adams in 1800:

“I pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof!” - Letter to Abigail Adams, referring to the White House, November 2, 1800