By the time you wake up and read this, the major newspapers on both coasts will contain two stories about Rush Limbaugh: that he has resigned from his NFL commentary job on ESPN and that he may have a problem with painkiller addiction. The first is true; the second one has been rumored, but unsubstantiated, for some time. If you are suprised by any of this, you haven't been paying attention.
Let me state up front that I agree with Limbaugh about 90% of the time. I began listening to him in early 1992 while I was stationed in Charleston, SC. He was a witty, fun-loving guy who was unabashedly conservative and loved to poke fun at pesky Dems and liberals. I had never heard anything like him on radio before and I was instantly hooked. It didn't take long for me to find out that he was becoming popular everywhere his show aired.
But about five years ago, Rush began to change. I don't know if it was his marriage, his skyrocketing popularity or his enormous salary, but Rush seemed to remake himself into what every liberal loves to hate: the fat, rich, pro-business Republican who looks down his nose at the rest of the population. He still espoused the same political and moral beliefs, but there was an edge there that hadn't existed before. At first, I thought that it was me; after all, I was getting a little older and a lot more Libertarian in my views. But as I talked to more and more people, I began to see that I was not alone.
There is the old saying that "pride goeth before the fall". If you have been paying attention to Rush for the last decade as I have, you know that something like this was bound to happen. A man in his position makes enemies even if he is perceived as a "nice" guy; an arrogant, pompous man in his position creates armies of foes. It was just a matter of time until he shot himself in the foot.
Posted by Matthew at October 2, 2003 02:27 AMI first listened to Rush during the Waco Siege. That was in '92 as well.
Posted by: Erik at October 2, 2003 07:52 PM