COMMENTARY: Limbaugh Out on a Limb One Time Too Many
By Joseph J. Honick
Bainbridge Island, WA (HNN) -- That chubby old self-proclaimed divinely inspired speaker of the truth, Rush Limbaugh, has climbed out on a scraggly limb one more time and looks foolish for the journey.
This time he went after hugely popular actor Michael J. Fox who just happens also to suffer from Parkinson’s Disease and has the courage to go public with in efforts to gain support for stem cell research and any other efforts that would help victims of Parkinson’s and other illnesses. It happens as well that Fox has used his situation to help pump for some Democratic candidates who share his fervor and politics.
According to Limbaugh, however, Fox is simply flaunting his problems just for politics. Of course we cannot recall any time that Limbaugh has put himself out either for his country or for those less fortunate in any area at all. You may recall that it was Rush who pronounced in emphatic terms that “words mean things.” That may have had to do with when he got found out as a drug abuser after condemning all others for the same problem. You may also recall it was the “I Told You So” kid who laughed away the Abu Ghraib prison atrocities as compared to college fraternity high jinks.
Yep, that’s the same fellow who says his wisdom is divinely transmitted for him to inform his “ Dittoheads” which we translate to mean those who cannot think for themselves and require what amount to carbon copies transmitted to their brains to know what is important and truthful.
Maybe he also secretly thought the late Christopher Reeve and his late wife were similarly just out for the publicity ride despite the fact both of them were among the most courageous public figures on the planet and used their medical misfortunes to promote efforts that would help others. Given the fact that Limbaugh, as with some other famous right wingers, managed to avoid military service because his draft board said he had a bad limb (no pun intended) and failed even to attempt to enlist where they get a little more lenient, we can only believe that this fellow whose courage hides behind a microphone might be a little phony himself.
I also recall that the Georgia Republicans, with lots of dough from the outside, declared that former US Senator Max Cleland, who lost three limbs jumping on a grenade in Vietnam was out only to be a hero.
After all, Rush, old man, words do mean things. You said so yourself more than once!
Limbaugh is the same guy who demanded his medical records not be probed as a matter of personal privacy-- despite the fact he fishes out every kind of dirt possible about other public figures.
Michael J Fox, on the other hand, has been cursed with an illness that has assaulted thousands of others who cannot make the public as aware as he about potential research and cures. An ordinary person might have thought Limbaugh would have some soft place in any divinely inspired heart to cast his blessing on Fox’s courageous and energetic work, even if he is supporting candidates Limbaugh figures should burn in hell.
Hypocrisy has been cited as one of the worst sins. Who better to perform as a fine upstanding and divinely inspired representative for it than a man who has grown wealthy with words he says mean something. We know what his seem to mean.
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Honick is president of GMA International Ltd., the consulting firm he established in 1975. Its principal areas involved working to broaden business opportunities abroad for American companies and assisting them in preparing for such effort. He is also a regular contributor to Huntington News Network.