Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why Rush Limbaugh is a leading American intellectual
American Thinker ^ | November 30, 2008 | James Lewis

Posted on 11/30/2008 6:16:16 AM PST by vietvet67

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 341-348 next last
To: humblegunner

“I guess if folks are sufficiently ignorant, they appreciate someone to provide them with opinions.”

Interesting choice of words there pardner, that you see opinions as something “provided”. I see information as something provided, and opinions (based on that information) as being formed. Oh yes, I try to find someone who provides honest and accurate information/discussions, I think Rush provides thank.


61 posted on 11/30/2008 7:04:19 AM PST by Peter Horry (Mount Up Everybody and Ride to the Sound of the Guns .. Pat Buchanan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: ync1994; spatso

He said Peggy Noonan and David Frum are two people whose “ideas” he prefers over those of Rush Limbaugh.


62 posted on 11/30/2008 7:04:21 AM PST by rlmorel ("A barrel of monkeys is not fun. In fact, a barrel of monkeys can be quite terrifying!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel

That’s nice.


63 posted on 11/30/2008 7:04:37 AM PST by humblegunner (Where my PIE at, fool?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: vietvet67

> Why Rush Limbaugh is a leading American intellectual

But he isn’t, surely?

He is definitely opinionated, and he does self-promotion very well, and he tends to polarize his audiences: either you like Rush or you do not.

But a “Leading American Intellectual”? Surely not even in jest! If Rush Limbaugh is truly one of the brightest and best in the Intellect department in America, then you Yanks are in more trouble than you know.


64 posted on 11/30/2008 7:05:27 AM PST by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: spatso
Peggie Noonan???? Conservative commentator??? hahahaha, got it!
65 posted on 11/30/2008 7:06:38 AM PST by NoGrayZone (Conservative Party...here I come!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: vietvet67
I disagree. A true intellectual is a "renaissance person" who is educated across a broad swathe of subjects and is able to see threads and runners from each area, pull them together, weave a whole, and then (most importantly) explain the product to the average Joe without reverting to technical jargon that leaves the listener either confused or in awe of the person speaking, but with little more understanding of the subject.

A true intellectual may be (usually is) very bright, but mere cognitive firepower is not the end of the story. I have had the pleasure of chatting with some real intellectuals, and they are delightful. They have the soul of a teacher, and have patiently guided my stumbling thought processes to the top of the ridge so I could peek over it to see what I missed before.

A real intellectual has the ability to grasp the basic theorems of whatever discipline he/she is reading about, even if that was not a course of study. What is more important, they have the ability to see the IMPLICATIONS for politics, morality, purpose in life, economics etc etc in that particular specialty, and then make you see them.

The concept of the old book of "wisdom" is -I believe- a part of a true intellectual, although that wisdom is ultimately a subset of those who know God...., and some who don't know God have a smattering of wisdom, nonetheless.

I think some examples of true intellectuals today are Robert Bork, Antonin Scalia, Greg Bahnsen (now deceased), John Frame, Michael Crichton (deceased), Tom Wolfe, and of course William Buckley. Rush is a great entertainer and populist, and is fairly well read in the areas on which he bloviates. To tell you the truth, I am kind of embarrassed to have to be arguing in a conservative forum that he is not an intellectual. It is like having to argue that Tim LaHaye is not a great theologian. It says more about the audience than the man.

66 posted on 11/30/2008 7:06:41 AM PST by slnk_rules (http://mises.org)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: spatso

“...I come down on the side of George Will, David Brooks, Peggie Noonan, David Frum...”

Then FreeRepublic is probably not the forum for you; we’re patriotic Americans here.


67 posted on 11/30/2008 7:07:44 AM PST by MayflowerMadam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: spatso

I guess you don’t listen to Limbaugh, or if you do you don’t understand him.


68 posted on 11/30/2008 7:07:55 AM PST by caver (Yes, I did crawl out of a hole in the ground.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: rodguy911
Stories as big as this one often evolve,and stuff that was thought to be true a month or two ago may change as more info comes out.

Even if every thing thought about the BC is true and correct, what people fail to understand is the SCOTUS is not going to agree with a majority opinion to hear the merits of the case.

With the make up of the court today we can at best get maybe three Justices to agree to hear oral arguments.

After the Bush v Gore debacle in 2000 the SCOTUS will be very reluctant to jump into the fray since Obama won a strong majority of the popular vote and the electoral college will certainly gave him a large win.

The SCOTUS will have to have serious evidence presented that Obama is illegible via the Constitution that is strong enough to turn the country political system upside down.

That evidence isn't there.

69 posted on 11/30/2008 7:08:21 AM PST by Popman (Dont worry Barney Frank has your ass-ets covered!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: dirtbiker

Thanks, dirtbiker. You rebutted that well.


70 posted on 11/30/2008 7:09:45 AM PST by ync1994
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: humblegunner

I don’t know anything about you other than your posts I have read, and I would hesitate to attack you personally without due cause, but with your comments, you painted a wide swath of insult across a broad spectrum of people.

Perhaps you didn’t realize it came across that way?


71 posted on 11/30/2008 7:10:33 AM PST by rlmorel ("A barrel of monkeys is not fun. In fact, a barrel of monkeys can be quite terrifying!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: humblegunner
I find Limbaugh to be entertaining, but certainly nothing more.

He does a radio show, he isn't a prophet or an ultimate source of wisdom.


Yeah. I too was a jealous loser who once envied all that money Rush has at his disposal. Then I started actually working harder and stopped b!tch!ng. :) lol Unfortunately, I still demand others hear music and an angel's choir when I speak. :)

/s
72 posted on 11/30/2008 7:12:09 AM PST by pyx (Rule#1.The LEFT lies.Rule#2.See Rule#1. IF THE LEFT CONTROLS THE LANGUAGE, IT CONTROLS THE ARGUMENT.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel
Great post,I agree with almost everything you stated.
For those of us in radio he is even more of an icon. He is a standard that has been set by the very finest of broadcasters.
73 posted on 11/30/2008 7:12:10 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE--GO SARAHCUDA !!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: MadelineZapeezda

“Rush needs to buy CBS and make it the Conservative Broadcasting System!”

woo hoo! You are on to something there. We can dream, can’t we?


74 posted on 11/30/2008 7:12:15 AM PST by ync1994
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: spatso
Kind of a ghastly group of supposed conservatives to use as examples. With conservatives such as those we would go down to defeat every time everywhere.
75 posted on 11/30/2008 7:14:08 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE--GO SARAHCUDA !!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: humblegunner
try doing what Rush does and you might get it.

Oxycontin?

Cheap shot. I'm sure you are capable of deeper thought than this. Live with someone in chronic and constant pain and you may have a different perspective.

I find Limbaugh to be entertaining, but certainly nothing more.

He is that, true, but he provokes thought as well. That's what a good teacher does.

He does a radio show, he isn't a prophet or an ultimate source of wisdom.

"Prophet" and "ultimate source of wisdom" are terms reserved for the president-elect.

76 posted on 11/30/2008 7:14:37 AM PST by dirtbiker (Joe Biden has an IQ of 146 and no idea how to use it....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

“He has also failed to educate his listeners about Obama’s birth certificate issues. This utterly mystifies me.”

He’s a good friend of Justice Thomas; maybe he thinks that getting in the middle of the issue would compromise a decision — or at least give the appearance of that. He may not want provide any excuse for Hussein to appeal.

Or, he may know that the BC thing has legs, and wants to keep it under the radar from MSM. Once they know Rush, et al., are covering it, they’ll have to come out in full attack mode, dredge up Donofrio’s past, create stories to show he’s a whack job, etc. It would be relentless and would muddy up the waters.

Just thoughts, FWIW...


77 posted on 11/30/2008 7:15:34 AM PST by MayflowerMadam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel
Perhaps you didn’t realize it came across that way?

I'm pretty sure he not only realized it, but did it on purpose. His hate shines through nice and clear.

78 posted on 11/30/2008 7:16:07 AM PST by NoGrayZone (Conservative Party...here I come!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: carrier-aviator

I’d guess either “Bowl Championship” (Series) or “Birth Certificate.” Take your pick. Is there a BCS controversy this year? Seems like there’s one every year.


79 posted on 11/30/2008 7:17:01 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: dirtbiker

Try your hand at three hours a day. You will find it’s almost impossible not to screw up some of the time.
Michael J.Fox was s screw up but if you tally his screw ups vs. his successes such as making Dingy Harry look like the fool that he is and so many others you can’t count them all, Rush remains our # 1 radio icon, IMHO.


80 posted on 11/30/2008 7:17:06 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE--GO SARAHCUDA !!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 341-348 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson