RADIO TITAN'S DEVOTED 'DITTOHEADS' WILL STAY TUNED

New York Post ^ | 10/11/03 | DAM BUCKMAN

[kattracks]

October 11, 2003 -- RUSH Limbaugh's loyal listeners are unlikely to desert him now that he's admitted to an addiction to painkillers. That's the word from talk-radio experts, who say Limbaugh made the right move when he 'fessed up on his radio show yesterday.

[HitmanLV]

Funny, I have been an on-again, off again listener since the late 1980s in nyc. My schedule never permitted me to listen daily, but I caught the show whenever I could.

It never occured to me that there would be a day when Rush wasn't on the air. The radio dial would seem so empty. Strange!

And you know what? After this spell is over, he will be on the air for another 15+ years at least! Get well, Rush!

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[weegee]

"They are his most loyal supporters," Harrison said of the "dittoheads" who listen to Limbaugh religiously every day.

I believe that I am a "dittohead", having listened to Rush for over 10 years and being largely in agreement with him on the issues (but not always, just like here on FR with many different opinions).

That said, I would not say that I am "religiously" devoted to his show (although he is better than just about any other noon time talk radio discussion). I have not tuned out because of his "scandals" but I was not listening today (I put on a music station instead during his program).

When I hear this kind of stereotyping of the avid listeners of Rush, it just predisposes me to disbelieve other "facts" and "observations" in an article. I have to determine at what point will I not be learning anything by reading any further.

[Brian Allen]

<< When I hear this kind of stereotyping of the avid listeners of Rush, it just predisposes me to disbelieve other "facts" and "observations" in an article. I have to determine at what point will I not be learning anything by reading any further. >>

Good points.

I reached the same conclusions around the [By then cigar]chain-smoking, three hundred and fifty pound, Mr Limbaugh, at around the time he spent hours and days and weeks referring to the still warm Kurt Cobain as "Just another dead doper."

And wrote him off, when, after the months of correspondence that followed, during which I continued to warn him of his very very visable feet of clay and where they would take him, Mr Limbaugh's reactions to life continued to provide the definitive example of ego-driven unmanagability and of self-will run riot.

Vale, Mr Limbaugh.

[L.N. Smithee]

I can't imagine radio without Rush, but I stood ready to swear off the show if he lied and it could be proven. I have listened to Michael Savage only a couple of times since he lied to all of us about what happened on his aborted MSNBC show.

I could live with the Dr. Laura pics, since they were reflective of someone she isn't anymore. But if it is revealed that she has committed adultery since I figuratively fell in love with her radio persona, that's it for me. It wouldn't negate the wisdom of her words, but I wouldn't think of her as a wise person any longer.

[Trickyguy]

For the rest of his life, you will never hear Rush make
another comment about supporting the drug war. I now wonder what he thinks about all those non-violent drug users in prison? Or does he believe all pigs are equal, only some pigs are more equal than others?

[L.N. Smithee]

Harrison added that he hopes liberals don't use Limbaugh's personal problems as a weapon with which to attack him.

"I hope liberals show him compassion so he can get a good understanding of the compassionate nature of liberalism and why there's room for it in the world," Harrison said.

It's not going that way so far. It's to be expected that this situation would be the subject of late-night humor, but a bit on Late Show with David Letterman was especially harsh.

Letterman's jibe during his monologue was piercing, but not vicious -- noting that the kitchen in his Connecticut home was invaded by a bear a few weeks back, he said that Limbaugh broke in a ransacked his medicine cabinet -- a "CBS Mailbag" bit was more nasty. Staff writer Gerard Mulligan, who played Arnold Schwarzegger in a skit, said that he would ask Rush to be his Lt. Governor (obviously, Mulligan was unaware that Lt. Gov is an elected position in California).

Mulligan as Arnold is standing and pulling on some exercise device in a rec room as a fat, balding, wife-beater wearing actor playing Rush is watching TV. "Rush" says, "That Sammy Sosa is so overrated!" Mulligan, as "Arnold," says, "Hey, Rush, wanna be my lieutenant governor?" "Rush" replies, "Shut up, whitey!" "Arnold" then produces a vial, and starts shaking it, saying, "Ohhh, Ruuuush!" "Rush" jumps up like a retriever toward the vial, and says, "PILLS! GIMME!"

I expect this will get worse as questions are raised as to whether abuse of the pills caused his hearing loss.

[f.Christian]

Rush always said with half his brain tied behind his back ... he wasn't kidding !

He'll come back ... stronger and better than before !

[Recovering_Democrat]

during which I continued to warn him of his very very visable feet of clay and where they would take him, Mr Limbaugh's reactions to life continued to provide the definitive example of ego-driven unmanagability and of self-will run riot.

Rush ain't dead yet. And he has attempted to beat the addiction before. There's a cavernous difference between Kurt Cobain and Rush Limbaugh.

[jazzlite]

I would like to point out that a world of difference exists between people who deliberately choose to use drugs in pursuit of thrills and people who become dependent on drugs through a medical crisis. While we have the greatest medical system in the world, we do not have good answers for people who are in constant pain. And, those of us who have pain-free bodies cannot imagine what it is like to be in constant distress. The opiate-like drugs provide relief to lives which become not worth living without that relief. In spite of this addiction, Rush has functioned so well and has missed very few broadcasts. I am sure this would not have been the case, had he not had relief from that pain. I can think of several cases of cancer where the pain was so intense at the end that the family prayed for the loved one to die so that relief could come. On the other hand, I know that these pain killers can be fatal. So, I am thankful this happened to Rush to that every effort can be made to help him lick this thing. It could be that his very life has been saved. In the meantime, if we pray hard for him, he could experience a miraculous recovery..Miracles are rare but they do happen...

[FITZ]

For the rest of his life, you will never hear Rush make another comment about supporting the drug war.

I wouldn't be so sure. You'd have to be assuming that anyone against drugs could have never once used any drugs of any kind or was ever addicted to anything. Sometimes those who actually know first hand the problem of drugs might be more opposed to drugs than someone who never got near anything.

[Humal]

"Sometimes those who actually know first hand the problem of drugs might be more opposed to drugs than someone who never got near anything."

This is very true. Think about ex-smokers (tobacco, that is). I'm an ex-smoker, and as much as I loved them then, I despise them now.

[MonroeDNA]

Rush rules!

[JohnEBoy]

My disappointment in Rush at this time is over just one thing. I wish it had not taken a cover article in the National Enquirer to bring him to this moment. I wish he could have come to the conclusion this was going to come out sooner or later and he needed to bite the bullet. His other two attempts at de-tox were only 24 hour sessions and he did those in secret.

I am willing to bet he has really felt bad about being disingenuous with his audience for five years and will be very glad to have this monkey off his back (probably a bad metaphor). I also think the comment about whether the compassionate liberal left will show their love and compassion at this time is a real trap for them. They have already showed their dark side and will be repudiated for it.

But I believe now he will recover, he has way too much support ... both close and national. He is a very disciplined person in many ways and this will help him. I think also, he needs spiritual guidance at this time and I hope he seeks it as well.

[OpusatFR]

I know a few people suffering from chronic pain who are dependent on painkillers. One has diabetic neuropathy, and another suffers from a neurological disorder that she attempted to treat with all sorts holistic medicine, but needs the pain killers. Doctors are so afraid that they will be charged with some crime for overprescribing, they stop prescriptions and people get the meds the best way they can.

I have nothing but sympathy for Rush and these people.

[Caipirabob]

In the early 90's when "rap" became predominant on the radio, I tuned out. My circle of family and friends was (is) mostly Latino with the exception of my buddies on the "American-Irish Olympic Drinking Team" (we're competing at Oktoberfest this weekend [and as I always say "I'm not Irish, but the people who carry me home are!"]), and in SoFlo, with so many Latin Music Radio stations, I had my alternative.

I shut it off, and shut "them" out.

Sometime about 6 years later, I tuned in on AM and ran across Rush. I had heard about him before, and the mewlings of the left generally lead me to believe he was one of the "good guys".

This was during the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. In PBC county, "Chad Central", there were days when a conservative felt "mighty lonely".

Rush made me feel like I was one voice among millions.

It sounds silly, but it empowered me. I knew it wasn't "just me".

Then I found Free Republic and found my place in the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy". I was home. *big grin*

At any rate, thanks for everything Rush. We'll be there when you get back. God Bless!

[alloysteel]

The battle lines in the culture war against Rush had been drawn long ago. This recent admission of dependence on pain killer medication caused (and will continue to cause) the termites to come swarming, in the mistaken belief that Rush is now vulnerable and may be forced from the airways forever.

But the only route to Rush is through the intellectual equivalent of a "Roach Motel", where the pretensions and assumptions must either be stripped away (and therefore the assailant ceases to be a roach), or the predator dies in the assault.

Rush is still the same warm lovable little fuzz-ball he always was, a distinction that escapes most of his detractors.

[Middle Aged White Male]

Actually, Cobain went to rehab as well. He just wasn't able to succeed at it. He had actually run away from the hospital on the day that he shot himself.

[Brian Allen]

<< Rush ain't dead yet.

And he has attempted to beat the addiction before.

There's a cavernous difference between Kurt Cobain and Rush Limbaugh. >>

Mr Limbaugh is professionally dead.

What the systemically-corrupt and totally-fraudulent "treatment" center industry calls "addiction" [An invented word of the refusual and/or other failure to take responsibility for the consequences of ones own actions, variety] cannot be "beaten" -- and there is, save absolute abstention from "the drug of ones choice" -- no "treatment."

And the only differences [And not to forget that all comparisons are both pointless and odious] between Mr Limbaugh and Kurt Cobain [Whose "addictions" also began with prescribed medication for chronic pain] -- are that Mr Cobain was not a bloody hypocrite, would never have referred to Mr Limbaugh as "just another dead doper" -- and is also physically dead.

Although still alive professionally.