Sunday, October 18, 2009, 2:25 PM
Sports, Celebrities, In the News, Stop the Presses
By Kevin Moreau
Rush to judgment
Rush Limbaugh is many things: a one-man media empire, a recovering drug addict—even a racist, depending on whom you ask. But one thing he’s never been is a victim.
After a group interested in buying the St. Louis Rams parted ways with Limbaugh because his involvement drew criticism from fans and NFL owners, he took to his syndicated talk-radio show last week and framed the issue in typical liberal-versus-conservative terms.
“This is not about the NFL, it’s not about the St. Louis Rams, it’s not about me,” Limbaugh said, according to the Associated Press. “This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative.”
The thing is, this was about him. Limbaugh has enough of a history as a divider to make the image-conscious NFL nervous. That doesn’t make him a victim of anything but his own reputation.
Besides, if there is a movement out there to “prevent the mainstreaming” of conservatives, its leaders should be executed for incompetence. If Rush Limbaugh isn’t “mainstream,” the term has no meaning. His name is on more lips than Burt’s Bees.
In the last week and a half, Limbaugh has been named as a judge for the 2010 Miss America pageant. He’s been the subject of a two-part interview on the “Today” show. And the Rams controversy has kept his name in the headlines.
At this rate, he’s expected to outdo Taylor Swift at next month’s Country Music Awards, and give Matt Damon a run for his money as People magazine’s next “Sexiest Man Alive.”
OK, maybe not. But the fact remains: Compared to his bête noire, President Obama, Limbaugh is having what VH1 would call his best week ever. Meanwhile, his colleague Glenn Beck is more famous than Megan Fox. Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz, et al., dominate talk radio. And the White House’s strategy of ignoring Fox News hasn’t hurt that network’s ratings any. Even if you agree with the assertion that the “mainstream media” are overwhelmingly favorable to liberal views, it strains credibility to argue that there’s a vast left-wing conspiracy keeping conservative voices out of the mainstream.
If anything, Limbaugh should be thankful for how this whole NFL thing turned out. Not only is he back in the spotlight, but seeing as the Rams are competing with Tampa Bay to go 0-16 this season, I’d say the masochists looking to buy them did him a huge favor.