We have already been admonished by our good reactionary friends that we must not take any joy in the passing of Rush Limbaugh. I agree.
After all, politicians of the reactionary right are lauding him for how important he was to conservatism. I live in Missouri, so I will cite what statements I have read from Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley.
Roy Blunt: "He reshaped talk radio and became one of the most powerful conservative voices in our country, but always stayed grounded in his Missouri roots and Midwest values. I, along with millions of others, will miss hearing his unique perspective."
Josh Hawley: "A proud son of Missouri, Rush Limbaugh was a voice for the voiceless. He changed talk radio, but more importantly, Rush changed the conversation to speak up for the forgotten, and challenge the establishment. He lived the First Amendment and told hard truths that made the elite uncomfortable, but made sure working men and women had a seat at the table."
It is unfortunate that neither Blunt nor Hawley in the statements I found cites any specifics of the “unique perspective” and “hard truths” Limbaugh gave us.
On this sad day for our reactionary friends on the passing of one of their most revered icons, we should provide those specifics. I will not cite all the examples, but here are couple from this CBS article when Limbaugh got his Presidential Medal of Freedom.
On Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb: "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."
"If any race of people should not have guilt about slavery, it's Caucasians. The white race has probably had fewer slaves and for a briefer period of time than any other in the history of the world ... And yet white guilt is still one of the dominating factors in American politics. It's exploited, it's played upon, it is promoted, used, and it's unnecessary."
And, let’s not forget.
On the dangers of secondhand smoking, and smoking in general: "That is a myth. That has been disproven at the World Health Organization and the report was suppressed. There is no fatality whatsoever. There's no even major sickness component associated with secondhand smoke. It may irritate you, and you may not like it, but it will not make you sick, and it will not kill you...Firsthand smoke takes 50 years to kill people, if it does. Not everybody that smokes gets cancer. Now, it's true that everybody who smokes dies, but so does everyone who eats carrots ... I would like a medal for smoking cigars, is what I'm saying."
What Limbaugh “unique perspective” or “hard truth” do you think we should be remember on this day?