‘RUSH IS US. AND WE ARE HIM’…. Yesterday, a team of investors bidding to purchase the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise parted ways with radio host Rush Limbaugh. The right-wing personality’s involvement had drawn fire from the NFL players’ union, which objected to Limbaugh’s history of racism. In a statement, the investors’ group said Limbaugh’s’ involvement had become “a complication and a distraction to our intentions.”
This caused quite a bit of frustration in conservative circles where Limbaugh was characterized as a victim. Perhaps the most amusing was this heartfelt RedState item, which argued, in apparent sincerity, “Tonight, Rush is us. And we are him.”
The enemy of this great nation, the enemy of you and me, Rush’s enemy… those on the left, inside and outside of this nation abhor success… and when faced with it will destroy it… by any and all means possible.
We all have our dreams in life… such as they might be. Rush dreamed of being an owner in the NFL.
Tonight the left proved that they will stop at nothing to end our dreams. Our dreams of success and happiness devastate their need to dominate and control you and me… and well everything and everyone. [all ellipses in the original]
The piece went on to say that liberals refuse to “allow anyone to realize their dreams.” In reference to Limbaugh, it added, “Tonight a light went out… a dream died…. Tonight… We Are All Rush Limbaugh.”
I don’t think this was meant to be amusing, but if you find yourself laughing while reading, know that you’re not the only one.
The piece went on to include the famous Pastor Niemoller piece (“First they came for…”), implicitly comparing Limbaugh to victims of the Nazis.
It’s worth emphasizing that Limbaugh drew fire, not because he’s a Republican — there are plenty of GOP owners in professional football — but because of his history of ugly and blatant racism. Adam Serwer noted Limbaugh’s “record of racist commentary, which includes not only a habit of comparing black athletes to gang members but a general hostility toward black people. Limbaugh only recently suggested that having a black president encouraged black children to beat up white children — he’s also compared President Obama’s agenda to ‘slavery reparations,’ used epithets to reference his biracial background, and compared Democrats responding to the concerns of black voters to rape.”
Limbaugh is accustomed to making public remarks like these and facing no consequences. Indeed, no matter how offensive the right-wing host gets, Limbaugh is nevertheless rewarded by the Republican Party.
The NFL, apparently, has slightly higher standards. This isn’t discrimination against Republicans; it’s an athletic league that doesn’t want anything to do with a drug-addled racist clown.
Indeed, it’s worth remembering that the first team owner to speak out against the prospect of Limbaugh becoming a team owner was the Indianapolis Colts’ Jim Irsay — a generous donor to the Republican National Committee and Bush/Cheney. He’s not exactly a liberal activist committed to political correctness and conservative dream killing.
