Who Is Next On The Attack List, Rush? Infants? Cancer Patients?

Is it any wonder that the lives of children are hanging in the balance with people like Rush Limbaugh representing the coldhearted contingent? Not long ago he went after Michael J. Fox for supposedly faking the extent of his Parkinson's disease - without an inkling of knowledge about the illness. Then there was the "phony soldiers" insult to people risking their lives for this country, and now it's a 12-year-old child who he disparagingly mimicked and accused of being incapable of formulating his own view of what George Bush and his ilk are doing to children in need of health insurance.

You know what's particularly interesting - that we're supposed to trust those cozy with GW in the federal government to determine whose telephone wires should be tapped but we're not supposed to trust state governments to determine who deserves a waiver or a green light in order to obtain healthcare coverage for their children. Even Bernadette Healy, former Director of the Red Cross, admitted that many families over the poverty level need SCHIP because of serious healthcare demands. Other families need to be included because they can barely make ends meet. It'd be interesting to watch the heartless, family values Republicans who prevented a veto override on SCHIP make it on the salaries such people bring home working at least two jobs.

Arianna described Limbaugh's controversial attacks as a classic case of projection and kill the messenger. Another reason - wildly insulting comments bring him more attention - and he's desperate for that. It's difficult for this country to have a moratorium on hatred when media creatures like him spew vile attacks and fake indignation to enhance their visibility and wealth.

Since showing the public an actual child leads to an avalanche of rebukes and attacks on his family, we might want to imagine a child whose parents are registered Independents suffering from a headache that won't subside, trouble breathing, infection, cancer or worse. We might call her "Everyone's Child." No matter where children like her live, their nationality or the circumstances that brought them to their pain, they are our collective responsibility. If we can't care for such children in America, we have no right telling other countries how they should govern. When a country abdicates responsibility to its most vulnerable and celebrates the vulgar beings attacking them, that country's credibility is surely and deservedly in peril.

Comments

[CarmanK]

So what is new? The "values voters" lead by Rush and Company, need to demonize the poor, the crippled, the frail elderly, and children in order to promote their self-righteous behavior that permits the squandering of the nation's resources, feeds the greed of the insatiable wealthy and subordinates the US constitution to corporatists who have no national loyalty or conscience.
Enough is enough. Any response to their affronts to common decency and fairness needs to be short, sweet and to the point. Psychopaths get pleasure from hurting and controlling others. They control us by mouthing filth and our reaction. It's time to take the control away from them and let them cry on someone else's shoulders.

[John C. Bonser]

We need to realize that the laizzes faire capitalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries almost ended capitalism. The reforms begun by FDR rescued capitalism in this country. There were no such reforms in Russia.
For almost thirty years we have been eroding those reforms. Why should we expect the wanna be capitalists to oppose those who, if allowed to continue on their destructive rampage, will being us to the destruction that Russia endured under its dictators? After all they have divided the people of this nation into opposing camps which are unwilling or unable to communicate because they consider themselves to be right and the rest to be wrong.

[desertdweller]

What goes around, comes around... When I hear on the news that Rush has been diagnosed with rectal cancer, I will know that there is justice in this world.

[Xysea]

The rabid conservatives resort to name-calling the minute their arguments fold.

It's how you can tell they don't know the fact, and their whole position is conjecture, propaganda, gossip and speculation.

If they had the facts, they would just state them. No name-calling needed.

Alas, they don't. So they try to take down their 'enemy' any way they can. Financial attacks, physical attacks, verbal attacks.

If it wasn't ruining our country, it would be merely sad and pathetic.

But since it *is* ruining our country, it's g.d. unacceptable!

[seawolf77]

Too bad it's not fat, self righteous, drug addicted sacks of puss.

[Zenith1959]

So let me get this straight. The right wing attacked the family of a 12 year old who owned a home, owned a business, and needed a little government help after a serious accident. Family+home owner+business owner+accident victim= no good commie/pinko welfare suck-up. Any rational thinking person can see how sad that line of thought is.

[UltraClassic]

Kathleen, Rush is not as bad as you make him out to be but he is very effective and the last thing you would ever call him is politicaly correct.

He has raised more money for veterens and sick children than most Hollywood types combined.

The fact is, liberals and leftist democrats got burned by moveon and now their attack on Limbaugh has backfired into what is likely the funniest "egg on their face" episode in modern politics that I have ever seen.

Oh yah, and the S CHIPS bill, designed to explode an already bloated program, needed to be killed and reconsidered.

BTW, I vote democrat more times than not but they need to get their act together and get over their hatred of President Bush and address issues of Iran, health care, taxes and spending.

[holliwoodinc]

"...he is very effective and the last thing you would ever call him is politicaly correct."
He's actually just a serial liar who propagates a culture war by playing to the prejudices and ignorance of small-minded people who like their truth thought out for them ahead of time, but, hey, whatever you want to believe, I guess.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1895

[Dap]

Shame on You UltraClassic and realitytrumpsbell also. Shame on both of You!

[realitytrumpsbull]

I'd love to agree, Kathleen, but I can't give the SCHIP business a free pass. It needs to be
challenged. Your 12-year-old wouldn't be the
first youngster exploited for financial gain,
and probably won't be the last. Be sure to
try and view any sales pitch, especially
involving hapless kids propped up for political
purpose with a healthy dose of cynicism. Why?
Because, by looking at the issue from as many
angles as possible, completely awake, you'll
actually maybe end up helping that kid.

What's the angle? The number I heard mentioned
was 35 billion. 35 billion dollars will buy
a lot of stock shares, a nice third or fourth
'summer home', and a fleet of exotic european
sports cars, and that's just the first billion.

Any taxpayer-funded ANYthing needs to be looked
over like you were about to buy something
off the lemon lot, and it had to get you
all the way from Des Moines to Sacramento and
not break down. Don't just accept things on
face value or automatically villainize the
critics. There's plenty of other things to
villainize Rush for, the SCHIP thing is
just low-hanging fruit...and he may have a point.

[holliwoodinc]

NOTE: If you're an "all government is bad" person, and you want to start pruning some low-hanging fruit from the federal tree, why not start off by going after truly bloated budget allocations before moving on to criticize the more measly programs like SCHIP. Before questioning whether the politicians are bureaucratizing a program whose chief goal is children's health, why not, for instance, put your time to better use by questioning whether politicians are bureaucratizing defense (war) programs whose chief goals are destruction in the name of hegemonic power. If you can't do that, then you have to ask yourself whether you're really an "all government is bad" person, or just an "all government that serves any common good is bad" person (ie. a garden-variety Republican).

[HighPlainsAg]

Is it possible, for example, that "the government" has given more money to Halliburton and Blackwater than the entire SCHIP's budget...?

[americanwhocares]

realitytrumpsbull:

I do not understand you point Sir: We have been lied to by the Bush Administration for over 7 years now and forced into an illegal war because of the lies. Is your point that we should not trust any politican, (I agree), but in a case of which is worse, never vote for a republican, they are slimeballs, one and all.

[weslenforever]

You're absolutely right about the republicans, but the biggest slimeballs of all are the "Blue Dog Republicans" who get themselves elected as Democrats and then show their true colors after.
And also the ones who get themselves elected as Democrats and then change parties after they're in office. Both of these are, to my mind, committing a fraud on the voters and should instantly be recalled and a new election held.

[Boris]

I couldn't for the life of me understand how people I know would listen to this guy. At first I thought these listeners were just stupid even though many of them hold High School diplomas.

Then it struck me...Rush fans are people who are unable to cope with a changing world, people who see the once lily white world of America being changed by immigration. These people also can't stand Hilary or Martha Stewart or any woman who is successful or a feminist in any aspect. It all goes against their 1950's view of America.

Rush's listeners, young and old, are the dinosaurs headed for extinction because they cannot and will not adapt themselves to changing times. Their anger is the childish outburst of a five year old, unable to express what it is that bothers them.

Rush is a release for all the borderline hate filled racists and misogynists who simply are trying to hold back time.

[Bern]

Conservatives are cowards who are scared of change.

[PadrePio]

As shocked as I am by the hatred expressed by the likes of Limbaugh and the right wing attack machine I am struck by how out of step they have become in regard to the "average American". Perhaps what we are witnessing is the death throes of these people. If you look at the direction the "average American" is moving in politically and socially it must scare poor Rush and the wing nuts. They can only see that the dream of having total control is now slipping away and America is waking up to the damage their insanity has caused.

[bknott]

I absolutely agree with you. And whenever a conservative states that the country is generally "moderate to conservative" I have to wonder what if he's only polling in South Dakota. The country is more accepting of gays, non-whites, and women. Unfortunately, the only downside to this is that it gives bigots like Rush more fuel to run on.

[flanardiente]

The first time I saw Rush was back when he had his short-lived TV show, when Clinton was pushing Bush the Elder unwillingly into the history books. This guy has a sense of humor, someone told me. He had a picture of 12-year old Chelsea Clinton, in profile, next to a picture of a cocker spaniel. Yes, I said to myself, he has the sense of humor of a 12-year old sandbox bully. I can understand his high-on-the-hog jetsetter life style--he sure as hell doesn't want to accidentally run into anyone who works for a living and has any kind of sense of old-fashioned American fair play. They'd be likely to step on him and scrape the residue off on a gutter.

[Citizenofreality]

Rush's swinish, inhuman behavior will continue as long as he is rewarded for it. My 76 year old mother-in-law listens to him each and every day and I finally discovered what they have in common,venomous personalities and total disdain for fellow human beings. His listeners don't tune in because they share his political leanings, they tune in because they feed off of his hatred.

[DemandTruth]

What more proof does this country need that Republicans don't care about middle class working people!?!

Why weren't/aren't the Democrats slamming this point home over and over again?

Instead we get Republican LIES about SCHIP, saying that the program's whole intent is to help "poor" children, and they blocked it because the children Democrats want to help aren't "poor" enough!

Medicaid (Medicare? one of those - I don't know, I don't qualify for it) is insurance for "poor" kids. SCHIP is specifically designed to help those who make just enough to be not qualified as "poor". The MIDDLE CLASS WORKERS!
Those hard working families who still need help because under this Administration, the price of EVERYTHING has gone up and their wages stay stagnant! SCHIP was specifically designed to help children who are middle class but in danger of slipping into poverty.

But to Republicans, I guess we don't deserve help. We work hard. Really hard. We don't get any welfare, we don't get any breaks or any help. But to Republicans, we don't count. We're just lazy or selfish because we might actually want to ENJOY our working environment (no early retirement for us). This is PROOF POSITIVE that Republicans don't care that the middle class is slipping away. They don't see or acknowledge our hard work and our contribution to this country. They don't think we deserve any help at all.

After this, anyone who is middle-class or poor and votes for a Republican deserves what they get, because they've been shown that Republicans don't and won't ever care about them.

[RobertPaul]

You know, I watched O'Reilly and read Malkin just long enough to realize that there was more valuable information (AND more truthful) coming from Krugman, Olbermann, Brancasio and Moyers.

The only time I hear about these (and Rush and Hannity and Beck and Savage, et al) is when I see the reactions on line here, at Crooks and Liars and the Olbermann show.

I suppose we need to hear about the Coulter's and such to gain context in some current events...like the sliming of the Foster kid...but, really the only reason these a**holes have for existence is self promotion and vitriol.

No RATIONAL human being could make comments like some of these fools do and expect to be taken seriously.

There's Free speech. Then there's Freedom of speech.

Until there is some form of penalty on these types of people they will continue to spew their venom as far and wide as possible.

No, I'm not talking about passing laws against them or what they say.

Somehow there has to be a form of debt to be paid for these actions. I don't know what it is, but I know that the companies that sponsor or promote them don't get any "hits" from MY viewership.

It's a sad world when the congress takes time to pass a resolution to Censure MoveOn.org for legitimate (OK, somewhat childish in execution) questioning of a BushCo General mouthpiece yet gives a pass to someone who, as a Senator, contributes to the sliming of a 12 year old kid.

Where is the America I once knew?

[LindaJay]

I agree. The airwaves have become much meaner and more hateful in the past 20 years. At the same time, the MSM has practically stopped asking the hard questions and reporting real news. It's all about the trivial and the fake outrage, but nothing substantive, and definitely nothing that would make the status quo uncomfortable. In these times, a Richard Nixon could not be held accountable. Where, oh where, are the investigative reporters of yesteryear? Where are the muckrakers? Thank God for the internet or we'd all be sunk!

[INQUIRER]

Dead. It was killed by the NeoCons and the Evangelical voter.

[radiclib]

I wonder if Rush had insurance coverage for his drug re-hab.

I wonder if Tony Snow has insurance (perhaps paid for by the government, still) for his cancer care.

In that neither man puts nearly as much into his insurance as he takes out, should we assume they are both parasites?

Come to think of it, they probably ``just go to the emergency room,'' as Our Leader has told us, whenever they need expensive medical help.

Yes, that's it. Tony Snow goes to the emergency room, takes a number and gets his chemo.

And if the left wing were as hard-hearted as the right wing, we would be making fun of Snow, mocking him, questioning his right to get health care for his cancer.

But we don't play like that. Oh, no. The right wing fights with knives and we fight with our hands, bunched up into little fists when we get really, really mad at those big bullies.

[PhillyQuaker]

just go to the emergency room
The Daughter of a business acquaintance had no medical insurance and was in extreme pain; she went to the local emergency room. was kept overnight and treated for a really bad urinary tract infection. Now she owes $14,000 in hospital bills!