One of NewsBusters’ most prominent readers, Rush Limbaugh, gave us a shout-out Monday during his radio program as he reflected on his success and longevity (next Monday, The Rush Limbaugh Show marks its 28th anniversary in national syndication). Limbaugh discussed a Sunday NB post which centered on a Washington Monthly blogger’s allegations that he has left a “sick stain” and a “loathsome legacy,” and that he has “removed all traces of logic, reason, decency, civility and compassion from the party of Abraham Lincoln.”
In citing our post, Rush called NewsBusters “one of our favorite websites…part of the show prep”
before commenting on the origins of his show as well as on blogger D. R. Tucker’s invective. Highlights (bolding added):
[Tucker claimed that] "Limbaugh and his backers had a clear goal of driving the GOP, and America’s overall political/media culture, as far to the right as possible -- and sadly, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams."
The left continues, the Democrats, whoever they are, continue to fail to understand how this program began. I did not have backers. I had a broadcast executive partner who invested, took a risk in some satellite time that he had been given in his retirement package when he left ABC. It was Ed McLaughlin. And he was not a Republican. I don't even know if he was a Democrat. He was a broadcaster. There weren't any backers…You think they really don't understand it and just persisted? You know, they may not. I think they may have, two things: such a hatred for capitalism and therefore a lack of understanding about it. And, secondly, a belief in how they function in the real world…
…To this day, after 28 years, they fail to understand what drove this program. It was a desire to be a successful media guy. It was simply that. It was nothing more. I wanted to be the most popular radio show in the country. That's all it was. And I had the opportunity to be honest, which meant I could make jokes about liberals, which just wasn't done. I could be honest about my conservatism, but there wasn't any political agenda here. This program took everybody by surprise, including us, at how quickly it was growing and why. They want to make it out to be this brilliantly strategized, flawlessly executed secret plan to take over America's politics in the GOP…
In [Tucker’s] view…"Thanks to [Limbaugh’s] poisoning of the Republican Party, America was unable to lead" -- get this now, because of me -- "America was unable to lead in a bipartisan fashion on such issues as health care reform, gun control and climate change."
Well, thank God, if I had something to do with stopping all that from happening, then I'll take it…
…This clown is saying that because I prevented the Republican Party from acting in a bipartisan way to implement the Democrat agenda on climate change, that people have died…
If I hadn't had this show, and if it hadn't gone national, we'd probably have everybody in America agreeing with man-made climate change, and everybody would have agreed long ago we need government running health care and we probably would not have the Second Amendment, we would have gun control, and we'd be just on our way to utopia, except for Limbaugh…
…They wrote this same kind of stuff about Reagan that they're writing about me now. Man, look at all I have done. Look at all the damage. Just a guy on the radio. And here's this little guy at his blog probably wondering what it's like to have that kind of power.
