Rachel Maddow Takes On Rush Limbaugh Over Batman Conspiracy Theory (VIDEO)

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Rachel Maddow tore into Rush Limbaugh on her MSNBC show Monday after the conservative talk show host suggested that the upcoming Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" took a shot at presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.

Limbaugh asked his listeners if they found it "accidental" that the name of the "vicious, fire-breathing, four-eyed, whatever-it-is villain" in "The Dark Knight Rises" is named Bane. Limbaugh pointed out that Romney used to work at firm called Bain Capital, and suggested that the movie's release and what he called the "make believe controversy" surrounding Romney and the company were possibly coordinated.

Maddow pointed out the absurdity in Limbaugh's latest conspiracy theory, highlighting that the villains in Batman were named decades ago. Bane appeared in comic book form as early as 1993, and was included in the 1997 film "Batman and Robin."

"Conspiracy is deep and has a lot of foresight—decades of foresight," Maddow said.

Maddow continued to mock Limbaugh and said that "Gone With The Wind" was "an early salvo of the clean energy movement." She added, "the character Apollo Creed from the Rocky movies is proof that the moon landing was a fake."

Maddow said that the modern American right has a tendency to fashion conspiracy theories. "The modern American right is hermetically sealed in a media universe that lets in no natural light and no air," Maddow said. "They breathe in only their own exhalations. And in that sealed, self-referential, oxygen-deprived environment, the modern American right has become addicted to conspiracy theories, which mostly is hilarious, but occassionally it has real world consequences."

UPDATE: After Limbaugh defended himself on Tuesday and said that critics mischaracterized his comments, Maddow wrote the conservative talk show radio a letter ripping him further. Speaking of her show's take on Limbaugh's comments, Maddow wrote:

I think we were factually accurate when we made fun of you for trafficking in one of the stupidest right-wing conspiracy theories of all time. You are contesting our characterization of your remarks, but we didn't mischaracterize what you said. And now I think you're just lying about what you said in order to avoid the embarrassment of having been so wrong.

Click over to Maddow's blog to read her letter to Limbaugh.