Limbaugh runs away from Limbaugh (Keith Olbermann)

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/

Limbaugh runs away from Limbaugh (Keith Olbermann)



NEW YORK - There is nothing wrong with an unpopular opinion.

Nor is there anything wrong with a subversive one, nor a crazy one. This country was founded on opinions that were deemed by the powers-that-were to be unpopular, subversive, and crazy. Dissent - even when that dissent strays from logic or humanity - is our life’s blood. But if you have one of those opinions, and you express it in public, honesty and self-respect require you to own up to it.

Unless you’re Rush Limbaugh.

On his daily radio soap opera, on August 15, Limbaugh said “Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents, there's nothing about it that's real…” The complete transcript of the 860 words that surround those quotes can be found at the bottom of this entry.

Yet, apparently there was something so unpopular, so subversive, and so crazy about those remarks that he has found it necessary to deny he said them - even when there are recordings and transcripts of them - and to brand those who’ve claimed he said them as crackpots and distorters. More over, that amazing temple to himself, his website, has been scrubbed clean of all evidence of these particular remarks, and to ‘prove’ his claim that he never made the remarks in question on August 15, he has misdirected visitors to that site to transcripts and recordings of remarks he made on August 12.

Limbaugh is terrified. And he has reason to be.

[papau]

1. LOL :-)

:-)

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. GOD this feels good.

My jaded little soul is feeling very cozy right now.

FSC

[Ladyhawk]

23. OT: Damn, where is that bumper sticker for sale? :) n/t

[edbermac]

3. Somewhere in the bowels of hell, Joe Stalin is smiling...

Rush, you're a chip off the old communist bloc...

[stanwyck]

4. Rush and his acolytes are evil

simply evil. They knowingly lie. And millions tune in. My brother used to be a rational person who carefully deliberated before voting. He voted for Reagan. Twice. And Clinton. Twice.
But hateradio has eaten his brain. I visited my family (they're in Illinois, I'm in Georgia) two weeks ago and was disheartened by my brother and my father. Rush has destroyed their brains. These are both very intelligent men who now spout nonsense. Really. My brother spoke of Al Queda training camps operating our of pre-invasion Iraq. I told him the 9-11 Commission had found no such evidence of Iraq-Al Queda connections. Didn't matter. He and my father have been effectively brainwashed. They no longer read newspapers, news magazines, or watch the nightly news. It's just Rush and maybe some Faux.
And I can no longer sit quietly and listen to such destructive lies. Our country is being ruined. And Rush and his ilk are a major cause. Like the Swiftboat Liars, they're being well-paid to spread false information.
They're a plague. America is suffering because of their poison.

[Catchawave]

15. I agree....it's hate speak, pure and simple

We need a bipartisan effort to shut them up too.

[electropop]

17. My brothers used to be the smartest people I know.

Now they have been brainwashed as well. One recently said he thinks Bushitler will be remembered as "one of our greatest presidents." WTF? This from the guy who got perfect scores on the SAT, has a PhD in math and computer science, and raised two genius kids (both liberals)?

Same with my other brother, the transplant Okie. Something about living out there has ruined him. Even his kids (in religious schools) have managed to resist and maintain healthy liberalism in their hearts.

Well, perhaps they'll begin recovering after the impeachments, frog-marches, and de-Bushification.

:P

[stanwyck]

20. Meanwhile, my former freeper in-laws

(in town this weekend at our house for a family reunion) have turned on Bush and the Republicans. Why? The cost of gas. It's all about the money with them. They're outraged that the oil companies are recording record profits while we're depleting our bank accounts to drive our cars. They'd be OK if the oil companies were hurting and the shortage was causing them to also lose money. It's the oil execs. posting records gains while we're suffering that has them seeing red.

[electropop]

28. I do see more righties turning on Bushitler ever day.

Each one has a different reason - there's a universe of great reasons to choose from. It can be gas prices, Iraq, the Christian Taliban, or Bin Laden still on the loose. Whatever, Bush is gradually fulfilling his promise to "be a uniter not a divider". Though he divided us for a while, America is waking up and uniting in opposition to him. Repubs of my acquaintance (including several co-workers) are one by one distancing themselves and expressing their dislike of the regime.

[stanwyck]

33. They never want to be on a side that

could lose. Forget what's right. They just want to win. We saw this attitude in the "whup ass" invasion warmongering talk. The so-called "patriotic" songs that are so nationalistic reek of this sports culture of win at all costs.
Now that their team is foundering, they're quick to abandon ship. Only the diehards will remain, calcified in their bitterness and hate.
We'll stand by our ideals, even when we lose. Even when we know we'll lose. But we're steadfast in what we believe.
Many on the right just want to win. They glommed onto Bush, Faux, and Rush while their team was scoring points.
Now that the Bushies are faltering, their adherents don't want the stench of failure clinging to them.
They're rats off the ship.
O'Reilly is crabwalking to the middle, desperate not to lose more viewers. Limbaugh occasionally makes "middling" statements, just to show how "balanced" he is. Faux will spotlight a few non-threatening liberals. And celebrities who endorsed Bush and now find themselves the target of ridicule are modifying their former allegiance.
There's a palpable shift.
Unfortunately, it may have less to do with what people believe, and more to do with not wanting to be on the side that's going down.
Their greed is not going to go away. It's what gets them up in the morning.

[electropop]

37. Maybe that's what's wrong with me.

I was never able to buy into the sports culture. Can't stand the sound of a football game. I love competition for the sake of making something better: a better mousetrap, a better democracy, or a better country. I don't get the point of competition for its own sake. I tell people that "politics is my football," because I get worked up about it the way most guys get worked up over "the big game." The difference is, I picked my side not based on geographic proximity or the probablility of my side winning, but because my side is the one that wants _me_ and my country to win.

:kick:

[dxstone]

73. WELL-SAID, pop!

And in doing so, you put your passion and your energies into something worthwhile, something that can improve our lives and those of everyone around us... I do that too... I try, anyway...
Why are people like us compelled to put our efforts into meaningful stuff that makes a positive difference? Why do some never seem to feel that way?...

I never cared for ball games all that much. I can understand a certain degree of interest... but 'sports fever' is so regularly pumped up by our culture into a frenzied, ALL-important SPORTS MANIA; it's an absolutely de rigeur interest for ANY American male worth is salt, don' ya know?; men measure each other's units, and the precise degree of their commitment to the grand virtues of heterosexuality, and they smoothly and seamlessly avoid any real communication with one another about any actually real and important issue, they do all of this with sports trivia, constantly and continuously...

Will I be flamed eternal for saying that it seems to me to be a national sickness of epidemic proportions?

I'm NOT saying all interest in sports is an essentially masturbatory behavior that shows EXTREMELY addictive features (haha)... NO, I'm talking SPECIFICALLY about the sports 'nut' (of which there are still many many out there who may be offended as they read this)... and all I'm suggesting, if I am indeed criticizing your favorite pasttime, gentle readers all, is that there's nothing wrong with watching lots and lots of sports--when your city isn't on fire and your roof isn't caving in on your head.
I don't mean to be bossy, but it just seems to me that we need more and more people to turn AWAY from those enthralling attractions that the media dangle in front of all of us all day, every day, and turn for a time to educating themselves and seeking ways to power, unity and voice in our common struggle.

Again, I'm not talking about a normal enthusiastic interest in sports (not that I've ever actually SEEN one of these, of course); I'm talking about a CULTIVATED MANIA for DISTRACTION that is, to be fair to sports junkies everywhere, also present in all other categories of interest in our culture--but that entertains and distracts and ultimately dissipates the creative energies of the common man or woman...

In sports it's never-ending, there's never a break from it, the seasons all overlap so you'll NEVER be without your daily fix; but this is also true of soaps and situation comedies and films and porn and video games and all sorts of hobbies...

It's just a question of too much of a good thing, like ANY good thing.

No, I'm not much of a sports fan... but it's nothin' against the game, guys, really... I've just known so many people who can tell you EVERYTHING about baseball from 1952 to today, but who have NO IDEA that Iraq didn't attack the US on 9/11.
d

[electropop]

76. Also well said, d

One problem as I see it is the seamless merging of commercial sports interests into our educational system, kind of a "Junior Fascism." Even in the 70's when I was in school, the school hyped up each football game with mandatory "pep rallies" (which I almost always ducked out of to do homework or darkroom work or computer programming). They showed NFL promo reels. They had cheerleaders walking around in short skirts. Well, OK, I didn't complain about that one. :evilgrin:

Academics on the other hand, was for nerds, who ran their own little clubs. Awards ceremonies were strictly for jocks. And this was one of the best school districts in America, in the Northeast. One can only imagine what it's like for brainy kids in the Football/Bible belt.

[PinkyisBlue]

48. Money

It seems that money is THE issue for a lot of these people. Which party will give them the best deal?
A lot of people vote Republican because their taxes will be lower (or so they think). It's the selfish response of "It's my money, I earned it", even though a lot of these earnings are due to the hard work and sacrifices of others. (I'm thinking about employee layoffs, stagnating wages, fewer benefits, increased productivity, all to benefit the corporate bottom line).

[stanwyck]

56. The phony tax

credit reeled in quite a few people. The Bushies have the simplistic appeals down. A new version of "a chicken in every pot". No one wants to get their head around the deficit and what that will mean. Or ignoring environmental concerns. Or healthcare concerns. But we ignore at huge consequences. Expensive consequences.
The Bushies have very tangible short-term carrots they hold out to people. And, for the past few years, this has worked.
But, now, reality is settling in. Current polls show that despite an uptick in people's views on the economy, more believe Bush is failing the country in leadership.
Slowly, factual information is filtering through the barrage of hate-radio dumbspeak.
The reality of gas prices has stopped generally oblivious people. They're giving Bush scrutiny now he didn't get before.

[Ladyhawk]

26. Rush Limbaugh poisoned my family, too,

but they let the crap in, so they must take some of the blame. They wanted someone to tell them it was okay to be greedy assholes.

[Flubadubya]

34. LOL... that one really grabbed me!

:rofl: You're absolutely right!

[MetaTrope]

29. Brains don't necessarily equal social conscience and imagination

:patriot:

[electropop]

31. That's the funny thing...

I remember them (they are older) lecturing me when I was a boy, on the "rich, the super-rich, and the ultra-rich", on the evils of Viet Nam (the war, not the people) and the draft, and similar social justice issues. Where did that go?

The Okie says he gradually decided that Democratic policies actually hurt poor people. The other one calls himself a "Libertarian," which seems to be popular among some stealth members of the far right.

[tblue37]

41. A Libertarian is a Republican who smokes pot. (eom)

[RagAss]

68. True..especially when Fear rules the soul...

it's a small investment. They listen passively to hate radio for a few hours a week and it keeps the fear away. The fear that came on 9/11 and would eat them alive if they didn't have someone to hate every day....it's sad shit this defense mechanism stuff...

[spuddonna]

42. I agree...

My wonderful mother-in-law listens to Rush and I could never understand how a sweet person like her could listen to someone who makes it his job to smear and lie about people... :(

[Imagevision]

5. I nominate for greatest

[Wetzelbill]

6. I love Keith, way back from the Sportscenter days

KO is awesome. :)

[bribri16]

7. His talk show should be bombarded with questions about his statements.

He too takes his lead from the Commander-in-Thief. Lying is good if you are RW-conservative-Republican.

[txindy]

8. Keith's blog is great

The show can get off-track at times (Hey, we all have our bad days!), but his posts are directed laser-like at his targets. That's something I can truly appreciate.

[Frustratedlady]

9. One Pill Too Many?

How long has he been contaminating our little corner of the world with his garbage...15 years? He surely can't be so stupid as to think he can just erase his words from his site and that takes care of it? Or can he? Looks like another casualty of Cindy's stand! LOL

Rush and *ush should go flop down in that ditch in Texas and massage each other's ego while they try to figure out what hopp'nd. Can't you just hear THAT conversation?

Go, Cindy!

[Surya Gayatri]

24. Remember 'Animal Farm'?

Where the ruling pigs simply alter the propaganda notice-board over night? Next morning, all the subserviant animals just shake their heads in confusion and say they must have imagined there was ever anything different there. They prefer to disbielieve their own eyes and memories rather than question their leader. Classic...

[Maru Kitteh]

77. I must read that book again

It's been a while since 1982.

[myrna minx]

10. "that amazing temple to himself, his website, "

THAT made me spray coffee all over my desk. Thanks Keith. :hi:

[Burried News]

11. The guy who helped start the Reichstag fire got rid of the matches

at his house. Limbaugh=Lord Haw haw



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Haw-Haw
"Lord Haw-Haw was the nickname of an announcer on the English language propaganda radio programme 'Germany Calling', broadcast by Nazi German radio to audiences in Great Britain on the mediumwave station Radio Hamburg and by shortwave to the United States. Lord Haw-Haw was so named for the the upper class drawl he affected for his “Jairminny Calling” broadcasts. The nickname suited him because he was an eccentric with a dark sense of humour. The programme started on 18 September 1939 and continued until April 30, 1945, when Hamburg was overrun by the British Army. However, the history of the name is somewhat confused; it was actually applied to a number of different announcers. Three announcers could have been Lord Haw-Haw:"

[Burried News]

13. Bush is right - this is getting more like WW2 every day.

[YOY]

19. Would that he ends up like Lord Haw-Haw

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/entertainers/radio/lord-haw-haw/

[Burried News]

25. Can't help but hope Vioxx was on his list of meds.

And that Merck goes bankrupt before any settlement comes Rush's way.

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. GO KEITH GO!!!! The most consistent truth-teller in network TV news

Good ol' Rush surely underestimated the support for Cindy Sheehan that would sweep across the US! Keith Olbermann, on the other hand, televised an interview with her in which he allowed her to rebut right-wing slurs against her:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/08/11.html#a4418
(contains a link to a video clip!)

[Catchawave]

14. Thanks Keith and Sabra for posting this :)

I love this man

[DanCa]

16. A golden nugget directly from the gods

Sabra thank you so much. Generally I hit the hide button when I see limbaugh name mention but you made my week. Thank you so much.

[sabra]

18. my pleasure :-)

The real props should go to KO. When he blogs, it is usually right on.

peace.

[gasperc]

21. "Limbaugh is terrified. And he has reason to be."

what a dig, I think I heard him squeal

[MidnightWind]

22. Can I just say. . .

that I love this man? :bounce:

[Catherine Vincent]

27. If Limb was called out on all the comments he made, he would be

denying he said any of it. That's just how much crap he spews. I shall call him Scrub Limbaugh from now on.

[jhain]

30. Rush still has a hidden stash...

If he actually beleives this one:

"They're just reliving the old halcyon days of the anti-war movement in the sixties.""

Disgusting traitor... he ought to be terrified.

[oasis]

32. It's the hillbilly heroin that's doin' it to him.

[Shredr]

35. Poor Jeff Christie...

He was the fat little gay boy that everybody picked on.

So many of us can relate.

Then he created this Rush Limbaugh persona, thinking he was bigger than life.

But, don't look behind the curtain (or, in the closet?)

Because there's no wizard.

Just scared little pill-popping, self-loathing fat gay boy Jeff Christie.

Come out, come out, wherever you are...

[txaslftist]

62. That's a bit too kind.

Wasn't the male prostitute he solicited underage? I seem to recall having read something to that effect.

"Poor little gay boy" might be more applicable to Mr. Christie's victim, not the pedophile himself.

Assuming, that is, that Christie is the same individual as Limbaugh, a fact of which I've never seen positive proof.

[Ron Mexico]

36. Why is this news?

If this were Limbaugh's first laughable / hypocritical backtrack, I could see it - but it isn't. He goes back on his word and contradicts himself all the time.

My favorite example is how when something that rubs against his gills is reported, it's because of widespread liberal bias - but when he has something to report that supports his point, it's because the left doesn't have "all the control" of the media anymore, thanks to the Internet and talk show hosts like him.

BTW, I seriously doubt that blowhard is "terrified" of this or anything like it. When has he been afraid of being a hypocrite or being called on it?

This is not bad news, don't get me wrong - but it's nothing new or interesting, at least not to me.

[Berry Cool]

67. The point is not whether or not it's news.

The point is that each and every time a nasty liar like Limbaugh backtracks and lies about what he said after he realizes how unpopular it was, he needs to be called on it.

People like this should not be permitted to revise history. They should have to live with what they do and say--not be permitted to escape it.

There's nothing Keith likes better than holding people's feet to the fire when they will not either stand by, or apologize, for stupid, inaccurate things they say. If HE says something stupid or inaccurate (and everyone sometimes does), he apologizes. Rush? He just thinks he can erase all traces of it and move on. He shouldn't be allowed to. And THAT is the point.

[imperialismispasse]

38. How do you know Rush is lying?

His lips are moving.

[spuddonna]

39. Thank you, again, Keith! :)

Time to write another thank you letter to Countdown!

[Cyrano]

40. Now we know why he never served in Vietnam.

Even if he'd tried to sign up, a cyst on his ass had nothing to do with it. The army does not accept certifiable insane people.

[librechik]

43. another great snip

And it’s Rush Limbaugh, who so believes in his case against her that he’s too afraid to admit he said this (and who, by the way, has since said of her that, "I'm weary of even having to express sympathy... we all lose things” - as if her son had been a misplaced, er, prescription).

Thanks Keith1 Perfect!

[One_of_8]

44. I love Keith's writing style

and he gives a proper smack down to Rush!

[PinkyisBlue]

45. Limbaugh

It must have been his evil twin, loaded up on oxycontin, who said them.

Could the evil twin of Rush be Bush?

[Roland99]

46. Rush hates our freedom (of speech)

[rateyes]

47. Well, we all know the name of his "school"....

[psychopomp]

49. "Rush" is horrible...I can't believe he said THIS:

"What's she got? A hundred stragglers have showed up down there, a hundred peaceniks, a hundred long-haired, maggot-infested, dope-smoking FM types, essentially, are down there joining her."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240

"maggot-infested"??? Sounds like an image inspired by a bad drug trip.

[Gogi]

50. Rush's brain is maggot infested..

just like his soul.


KO:loveya:

[Midnight Rambler]

81. "Dope-smoking FM types"

That's a laugh coming from the OxyMoran. As for his deleting transcripts, "George Orwell's head would explode" doesn't quite seem sufficient.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

51. Limbaugh and "Staff Puke"

I think Limbaugh really stepped in it when he described Hackett as a "Staff Puke." While it's true in some services (like my own US Navy, thank you very much) that officers are either line (i.e., combat) or staff (like my own JAG Corps, thank you very much), the Marines are a whole different animal. Every Marine is trained for combat, and if my info is correct, Marines who have training for administrative roles alternate between combat and staff billets.

By trying to insult Hackett, Limbaugh inadvertently insulted the entire Corps. Perhaps if his anus had permitted him to got to Vietnam he might have met a few Marines and known this earlier.

[MidnightWind]

52. Why is it that the rest of the media never calls Drudge & Rush

and the rest of the Right-wing noise machine on this kind of bullshit? Thank you Keith for having the guts to stand up to these assholes and call them as they really are! :yourock:

[Mr_Spock]

53. The Drug Head stepped in it this time eh?

Geez, and things haven't even begun to get bad yet. Let's pile on!!

[msmanners]

54. great post

LOL...

[Eloriel]

55. Oh, I LOVE This line

And when you’re just free associating to kill time and keep the ditto-heads happy, you sometimes drive right off the end of the pier.

[Joe Chi Minh]

57. It's the pain killers.

[Joe Chi Minh]

64. On the subject of these sixties hippy types

and their proclivity for substance abuse.... to achieve office in the highest echelons of most professional Establishments, you might imagine that something like a first-class honours degree, at least, would be "de rigueur".

Not so with our friends, it seems. On the contrary, some form of brain damage seems to be almost a prerequisite. No offence to Ossie Osborne, who, in spite of all, is a wise and wonderful person; but you can't help feeling Republican headquarters needs him at the helm, right now. Particularly now Rove is "in limbo" and Limbaugh has taken to chasing his tail. I'm not saying anything about a vocation as presidential point-man. (Move over James Baker III... the used-car market could surely do with his input more than ever now...).

I still find it hard to imagine Cheney, knocking back a few six-packs, then hot-rodding down the pike, beads flying in the wind, Roman sandals pressing the loud pedal to the floor. "Why, I'm proud to be an Okie from Muscogee...". Though I'm not sure he was done for speeding. Maybe not.

[txaslftist]

58. Shit... I HEARD him!

There was nothing distorting about it.

I have a long commute I have to make from time to time for work into remote parts of Texas where FM stations don't go. I listen to Windbaug, Hannity, even Reagan's poor, retarded adopted son.

I heard Windbaug say that there was nothing more to Sheehan's story than forged documents or whatever...

I remember thinking to myself as I toodled on down the roadway, "Is he saying that her son didn't really die over there? I mean WTF is he really saying?"

Then I remembered who I was listening to, and as usual the answer was "nothing".

[mom cat]

59. My sympathies to your eardrums.... must be hard.

[txaslftist]

61. no... I'm secretly masochistic.

...and besides, I need to know what the enemy is up to.

[Hubert Flottz]

60. Poor Baby...

This is Rush's a$$ on drugs (.)
This is Rush's a$$ In Jail(0)

A mind is a terrible thing to toast...

[Rex]

63. We don't call him the Pigman for nuthin!

Rush should be removed from office, er, have his show shitcanned! Then again, the guy that ran over the crosses at Camp Casey probably LOVES Rush and his 3 hour hatefest.

[Daphne08]

65. Rush Limbaugh is a has-been.

Nothing further needs to be written.

[Miss Chybil]

66. Wow. Sounds like Limbaugh's still on drugs.

If he wasn't so fat, I'd say he's moved on to crack. What does he mean, she'll be the next Natalee Halloway? That people will be sick of hearing about her, or she'll go missing?

I read an article the other day, his ratings are falling like crazy. I hope they get all this hate talk off the air. It is so detrimental to us as a people. Our country should be better than the likes of Limbaugh. He's not only sold his own soul, but half the country's, as well.

[womanofthehills]

69. Al Franken did a segment on this on AAR

Al just loves to catch people in lies. He played all the tapes & it was great. All Limbaugh's drug abuse is catching up with him - same as Bush. You know they both are going to keep getting freekier.

[PinkyisBlue]

74. Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot

This book, by Al Franken, is one of the funniest books I've ever read. Even though it came out eight or ten years ago, it still applies. Four stars, ****, highly recommended.

[growlypants]

70. Limbaugh spent $3 MILLION DOLLARS on Oxycontin....in ONE year.

Thats all you need to know about him. Thats all that needs to be said. He's a drug addict, nothing more.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

71. Crazier than a shit house rat.

wow. just wow.

[donheld]

72. Someday Limbaugh will fall on his face, totally

at least one can hope. Where's this idiot's karma?

[fearnobush]

75. Keith Olbermann is the only person I will watch on so called TV news.

kick

[pointblank]

78. Holy Crap!!

I never knew this...I guess you DO learn something new everyday:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/limbaugh.asp

[dxstone]

79. If he's lying, I'm SURE he'll get to the bottom of this!

Fearless crusading 'jurrnalist' that he is...
If he can't do it, NO ONE can!



Thanx, sabra, for a great thread! I've never seen Olbermann (no cable), but he certainly appears to ROCK from where I'm sitting!
d

[ComerPerro]

80. There's a reason that its so hard to find Limbaugh transcripts

same reason OReally and Hannity don't make their very availible (and when they can be found, they are usually edited several times over). Its because they don't want to be held accountable for what they say.

I wish I could listen in on Limbaugh today and hear him spin this!