Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Important But Lesser-Known American Anniversaries: Updated


I'll just bet you didn't know that this month of August marks the 30th anniversary of Rush Limbaugh being syndicated nationwide and beginning his ascent to the position of semi-official Spokesman and Kingmaker of the Republican Party.

That's right.  Three continuous decades of this carbuncle on the ass of American democracy --


-- sharting his racist drivel into the skulls of millions of Crazy Uncle Liberties one day, and hearing it pour out of their mouths as the gospel truth the next.

But take heart, fellow patriots, because 29 years later some of the Beltway's most elite observers are beginning to sit up and take notice!


Next month will also mark the 28th anniversary of this unheeded and long-forgotten warning from The New York Times
The Politics of Slash and Burn
...
The group is Gopac, the G.O.P. Political Action Committee. Its general chairman is Representative Newt Gingrich. With the pamphlet, ''Language: A Key Mechanism of Control,'' comes a letter from Mr. Gingrich himself. Its message to candidates: Step up invective. Use words like these to describe opponents. These words work.

Mr. Gingrich's injunction represents the worst of American political discourse...

The Gopac glossary may herald a descent into even lower levels of discourse. It comes blessed by a politician of some influence - the Republican whip in the House - and it is intended for candidates on the state level, many of them presumably running for the first time. Even though Mr. Gingrich himself may not have seen the list before it was mailed, this is a disturbing document.

The nakedness of the Gopac offering also makes it useful. There must be limits to the negative politics that voters will bear...
We know this warning went unheeded because this November will mark the 24th anniversary of the Republican party officially crediting Rush Limbaugh with their 1994 takeover of the House.



Leaping ahead a couple of decades because it's my blog and I can do that, October 22nd will mark the 3rd anniversary of this 100th public demonstration of the inerrant political wisdom of Bill Kristol:


And for those of you keeping score at home, this May was the 2rd anniversary of all of those Republican thought leaders, columnists, elected officials and pundits who literally owe their careers to the poison crop Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich planted all those decades ago finally noticing that -- holy shit! -- their Republican party is full of Rush Limbaugh Republicans!




UPDATE:

30 years ago, the GOP finally decided to drop any pretense of still being the Party of Lincoln and instead focus on building an electoral battering ram out of Limbaugh-lobotomized racists and imbeciles.

RUSH: So I have this note on the call screener computer: “On the hotline…” We don’t have a hotline. “On the hotline, you’re receiving a phone call in recognition of your anniversary broadcast. You’ll want to take this immediately.” Okay. So we’re going to the phones and we have a special guest. Who is it?

THE PRESIDENT: So, Rush, I just wanted to congratulate you on 30 years.

RUSH: (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: This is your favorite president, and I think you are fantastic.

RUSH: (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: I heard about it, and today’s the big day, 30 years. I wanted to call personally and congratulate you.

RUSH: I am floored. I… (laughing) I thought there was nothing anybody could do to surprise me today. I’ve been preparing for anything. Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT: You’re a very special man, Rush, and you have people that love you. I’m one of them. But you’re a very, very special guy. What you do for this country, people have no idea how important your voice is. So I just wanted to personally make this one and I said, “I’ll even dial the number myself if I have to.”

RUSH: (laughing)

THE PRESIDENT: But I just want to congratulate you. Thirty years in that tough business is incredible — and you’re stronger now than ever before.

RUSH: Well, I — I thank you so much. It’s such a thrill to hear from you.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s a thrill to be on...




Behold, a Tip Jar!

2 comments:

joejimtree said...

I am one of what I imagine are a legion of children, of parents who were once reasonably gentle and intelligent, but whom, as they lost their teeth and entered into the vagaries of senility, met death with minds filled with racism and hate to meet up with their insecurity about growing old, losing their memories, and their ending lives. Rush was hollering into their ear, as much as if he were sitting on a twin barcalounger next to them.

People joke about old men fapping away on Fox News. But being old, lonely and frightened isn't funny any more than the commercially sponsored poison, which as poison does, finds the most porous targets, those most susceptible to it.

The victims of this slobbering ghoul, like my father, found their insecurity turn into paranoia and a nightmare, as much as if they'd been strapped up, and forced to watch the most demonic horror films, hour after hour, as their mind's grew foggy.

I've met other contemporaries who have had the same heartbreaking experience. It's not hyperbole to call this man evil. His poison rebounds about the whole universe, in seen and unseen ways.

joel hanes said...


And where is Spiny Norman when you need him ?