Limbaugh lurches to the left

St Peterburg's Times ^ | December 29, 2003

[Alissa]

Didn't Rush Limbaugh used to be pro-law and order?

Now that the once conservative commentator finds himself on the wrong side of a police investigation, he and his lawyers are accusing prosecutors and other members of the law enforcement community of concocting a vast, politically motivated conspiracy against him.

Not even the most linguini-spined liberal would have the gall to spew such irresponsible nonsense.

Limbaugh recently completed treatment for an acknowledged addiction to prescription drugs, and Florida prosecutors are investigating evidence that he may have broken the law by going "doctor shopping" to acquire his massive supplies of OxyContin and other painkillers.

A West Palm Beach judge ruled last week that prosecutors had established sufficient cause to examine Limbaugh's medical records, but Limbaugh's lawyers succeeded in getting the records resealed while they appeal the decision.

Either way, the judge and prosecutors have agreed that Limbaugh's medical records will not be made public. By all accounts, police, prosecutors and the courts have have taken great pains to protect Limbaugh's civil rights.

But Limbaugh claims that his problems stem from a massive conspiracy on the part of his political enemies in law enforcement.

"The Democrats still cannot defeat me in the arena of political ideas," Limbaugh said on his Tuesday radio show. "And so now they are trying to do so in the court of public opinion and the legal system."

Limbaugh used to defend the legal system - and he used to ridicule citizens who claimed that their constitutional rights had been violated by police and prosecutors. But now Limbaugh, who is fortunate enough to be able to afford the representation of celebrity attorney Roy Black and a team of defense lawyers, has joined the conspiracy nuts.

The people who have been hunting for someone to host a new left-wing radio talk show may have found their man.

[E.G.C.]

Bump in support of Rush!!!!!!

[PhiKapMom]

Don't forget the Meth houses -- guess we should just let those be in neighborhoods too. Agree with you totally. I would love to wipe drug pushers off the face of the earth.

In my State, I don't remember one raid that got the wrong house this past year -- the cops just don't go storming a house and breaking down doors for the fun of it -- they have probable cause to suspect drug dealing and have a warrant or they don't go in the house. Wonder how many times, people claim it was the wrong house when they were able to get rid of the drugs or were tipped off. Bet the number of actual wrong houses is very small.

Find a neighborhood with drug pushing and you will find crime -- they are like a hand and glove -- they fit together.

[ConservativeMan55]

Bump back at ya in support of Rush!

[Pharmboy]

Great point...I had missed it (the fact that they would NEVER give immunity to the seller to get the user). Thanks.

[ClintonBeGone]

Find a neighborhood with drug pushing and you will find crime -- they are like a hand and glove -- they fit together.

Betcha some of the pro-druggies on this thread live in gated communities. They're more than happy to let the rest of us live with the results of their dangerous desires.

[new cruelty]

Many here can't resist the temptation to attack the messenger.

It could be because they are relatively new to FR and just assumed the messenger was trolling.

[Moby Grape]

So......

[Jim Cane]

In addition to Rush, the statists on this very forum are full of hypocracy.

[A2J]

So if I drive 60 in a 55 at any point in my life, I cannot complain about a person driving 100 in a school zone.

So does a man who say, has one or two flings with women not his wife have more of a moral high ground than someone like Clinton?

Anyone can complain about anyone else. The issue regarding Rush is that he has lost a great deal of the moral high ground that he has spent the last decade or so building.

[daler]

Agreed.

But I was drawing a comparison with others (Clinton specifically) in similar situations.

The Slick One is still denying wrongdoing and is not only given a pass by the press and others, but is invited to make speeches at a couple hundred grand a pop.

Just pointing out the double-standard.

[Moby Grape]

You are silly....Chong broke the law multiple times...and even if I may think the penalty harsh, it has NOTHING to do with Rush's privacy right volations, and that is what we are talking about, not the stupid, inane, silly idea of legalizing drugs...which is where YOU are really playing....(and by the way, most folks at FR as really TIRED of the childish "statist" labels you boys spew).

[Heartbreak of Psoriasis]

I have a great deal of sympathy for Rush's little drug problem. I struggled with similar things (how many of us are addicted to cigarettes?), and I wish him God's speed in overcoming his problem.

But didn't Rush also support vociferously the whole "War on Drugs"?

Has Rush changed his mind on that? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but he hasn't yet admitted the error of his ways yet. He seems to want it both ways - it's okay when he breaks the law and takes illegal drugs, and when the cops come after him it's a vast left wing conspiracy, but when they go after the little junkie down the block, well, that's a different thing altogether.

Maybe the whole idea of prosecuting people for their chemical dependencies is wrong from the get-go. Maybe it makes much more sense to stop treating addiction as primarily a moral problem and start treating it as a disease (medical science takes this position). Mabye we could stop treating addicts as criminals, and look at them rather as sick people who need help.

Because that's what they truly are.

Rush is just a sick guy who needs help and deserves our sympathy. That's the same situation every alcoholic or drug addict faces. They're sick, and they need help. And treating them like criminals simply takes no accounting of that truth. I think that Rush ought to continue admitting that he is an addict and in need of lots of help, but also then admit that his support for the War on Drugs - of which he is now a victim - was always wrong.

Hey, Rush, just admit you were wrong about the War on Drugs, which is actually a War on People and the vehicle the state used to repeal the 4th Amendment and continue its relentless march to totalitarian power.

And then join us civil libertarians in resisting the encroachments of Big Brother in all our lives, and not just those who earn gazillions of dollars for a few hours of radio air time.

And get your chubby but to some 12-step meetings.

Heartbreak

[blackie]

Rush Will Persevere ~ Bump!

Be Well ~ Be Armed ~ Be Safe ~ Molon Labe!

[Jim Cane]

You are silly....Rush broke the law multiple times...and even if I may think the penalty harsh, the WOD has everything to do with Rush's privacy right volations, and that is what we are talking about, which includes the stupid, inane, silly idea of confiscating a person's property such as tubes of glass...which is where YOU are really spinning away from....(and by the way, most folks at FR as really TIRED of the childish "legalize drugs" label you boys spew).

[lasereye]

he used to ridicule citizens who claimed that their constitutional rights had been violated by police and prosecutors.

I can't recall specific instances of this. Can you?

[Alissa]

Having a propensity to addictions that runs in my family, I have to agree with you. Addiction, by it's nature, is something you cannot control, otherwise it wouldn't be an addiction. Most people cannot beat their addictions without help - throwing them in jail is useless unless they are violent to others. I think even if you are high as a kite you still know right from wrong.

[Alissa]

Half of what people claim he said, I've never heard him say. Maybe he said some of these things before I started listening to him, which was the early 90's.

[Katya]

This is the problem with the linear scale the media likes to refer to in promoting left vs right ideology. Their methodology is outdated, left vs. right in the last century has become a fight over coercive centralized government and it's hold over the means of production.
The far left calls this communism and the opposite would obviously be anarchy( where anarchy does not mean a dismantling of private endeavours only public government institutions).
The less laws that coerce and restrict individuals is a far right issue....so if anything, Limbaugh is moving further right.

[Dane]

One thing this thread shows to me is how the anti-WOD Libertarians on FR, on how eagar they are to grab onto any editorial that supports a pro-drug agenda, such as the St. Petersburg's Times. Of course lost on the pro-drug Libertarians on FR, is that the St. Petersburg's Times is even more leftist the New York Times.

But what the hey, the Pravda(St.Petersburg Times) of the Tampa Bay, has taken up the Libertarian cause. Oh that's correct I forgot, families usually stick together when on the attack(Soprano's etc.) and that is what you are seeing on this thread, the family of liberal demos and Libertarians sticking together.