Rush Limbaugh: World's Greatest Satirist

By now, we're all familiar with the quote from the August 15 Rush Limbaugh Show in which he accused Cindy Sheehan of faking documents in order to make it appear as if her son had been killed.

When I first read the remark I flew into a rage, using my arms to melodramatically sweep decorative items off various tables whilst exclaiming shallow insults directed at his bulbous forehead. I finally came to my senses as I attempted to pull the sink out of the floor so as to smash it through the hospital wall and escape to watch the ballgame.

This is all a joke, I thought.

Eureka! We're all the victims of an elaborate Dittopunking: a meta-joke orchestrated by Rush Limbaugh, who we can now comfortably refer to as "Rush Limbaugh: World's Greatest Satirist". All these years, Rush Limbaugh has been satirizing modern Republicanism.

Dittobusted!

We do it all the time. We imitate and exaggerate those worthy of ridicule in order to prove a point or get a laugh or both. Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Al Franken, and The Simpsons all employ satire as a means of serving up a point of view. But it never occurred to me that Rush is playing a character as a means to prove a point about the worst aspects of Republicanism.

Do the math. It's common knowledge that he's used pseudonyms in the past (Rusty Sharpe and Jeff Christy, for example). That bulbous forehead could be a sophisticated silicon appliance. Throw in multiple divorces and drug addiction while preaching moral values and the satire rises to surface. You know what? Andy Kaufman or Don Novello could be under there for all we know.

The dots were further connected as I researched yesterday's Rush Limbaugh Program. Within the transcript, I discovered this:

These are basically a bunch of miserable, angry people exploiting death.

Rush was referring to Cindy Sheehan and those who support her. But not really. Check it out. This is so damn smart. While his "Rush" character appeared to be accusing us of exploiting death, he was actually taking a deliciously subversive stab at the Bush administration who, while "angry and miserable", used 9/11 for its own political gain.

Perhaps he was slyly commenting on the "America Supports You Freedom March" orchestrated by the Pentagon and featuring Clint Black. You know, the march that blurs the line between the Iraq War and 9/11 and turns it all into a big PR stunt. Megadittos, El Rushbo (wink, wink)!

Either way, that single statement perfectly spoofed the right's hypocrisy.

More from yesterday:

I'm weary, ladies and gentlemen, of even having to express sympathy. "Oh, she lost her son!" Yes, yes, yes, but (sigh) we all lose things.

Now that's cutting edge satire worthy of the greatest minds of our time. Not only did he rip Bush's unsympathetic "I have to move on with my life" comment, but he also sliced into the the right-wing's uncanny ability to trivialize the war dead. "We all lose things." I love it! If he had followed it up with a "Flip Flop" chant, it would've been spot on.

I can imagine George Carlin saying something like that while mocking the right-wing. On second thought, Carlin would be much funnier and probably nowhere near that insensitive, but we're only grading the satire here. Besides, who am I to judge Rush Limbaugh: World's Greatest Satirist?

The evidence is incontrovertible. The gig is up. I can't wait to see the look on the faces of all those poor, naive Dittoheads when they learn that the console-tapping, nuhnuh-nuhnuh-chanting voice from which they derive all their political thought... is actually punking them. Satire on loan from God is what I say.

Time to come clean now, "Rush", or whoever you are (Bob Zmuda?).