Rush Limbaugh vs. The Dixie Chicks

So here's my question: How come way back when, when the Dixie Chicks casually commented that, on the night our former president declared an unprovoked war, that they felt, at that moment "ashamed to be from Texas," they were declared heretic, traitors, their records were burned, and they were practically tarred and feathered right of the airwaves. Yet when Rush Limbaugh says he "hopes Obama fails," he is considered by millions the quintessential patriot?

What sane person roots for the leader of their own country to fail?! You wanna say, "Boy, I don't think this is gonna work," or , "This is the dumbest plan I've ever seen" -- great. God bless. This is America. Grab a mic, and say your piece. But to incite millions to hope for failure? To hope that your country NOT prosper, that millions of American continue to see their lives tank, just so that you can then stand on the rubble and say, "See? I was right"? Can you begin to imagine that level of arrogance? Seriously. Where do they even sell balls that big? It just boggles the mind.

And while he's enjoying his newly-spiked moment in the sun, would someone please explain to him that he's not "The man Obama doesn't want you to listen to." What the president said was that conservatives can't "just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." The word "just" is not insignificant. The message, it seems to me, was "You want to listen to the guy? Great. But that should not be the end of the discussion. Let's go farther. Let's think carefully. And thoroughly. And courageously. The days of mindless bullying are over. We're better than that."

How about we root for success?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go find that Balls Store and see what else they've got.

Comments

[lj9283]

Rush said "I don't need a hundred words, I need four: I hope he fails"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z-OgbrCu_I

His voice, his words, his broadcast.

[Bladernr1001]

http://tech-worlds.blogspot.com/2009/01/transcript-of-rush-limbaugh-i-hope.html

Here is the 4:19 minutes...­the whole thing. He is saying that he does not want socialism to succeed. Obama has tried to advance decidedly liberal if not socialist policy and Rush believes that is the wrong presciption for the country. It is a simple as that. Rush does not want to see the country lurch into socialism.­...a system of social organization that has ultimately failed every time it has been tried.

[nitram0244]

how has the current system worked?? lookin' good??!

[realpolitic]

Actually, I wished very often for President Bush to fail in his policies. But I think Bush's policies of unilateral warfare and torture are very different from those of the Obama administration, whose policies I would like to succeed wildly. I think when we pass universal healthcare, Republicans will be a thing of the past.

[Atomicjim]

And you got your with most of the time.

[Atomicjim]

And you got your wish most of the time. (Sorry, misspelling in the previous post.)

[ConfuciusSay-]

The day news reports came about Dixie Chicks experiencing a boycott, I purchased their CD's for myself and for presents, and encouraged others to do the same. They were quite right about Bush & co. as things turned out.

The reason Mr. Limbaugh hasn't experienced a similar outrage is quite simple. The people with brains have been boycotting him for years.

[Melanie226]

I hated the Bush Administration with all of my soul, but I never rooted for them to fail, because if they failed my country failed. Besides, they were so damned inept, they failed very well on their own, but even at that point, I felt no joy just saddness for my country.

[ConfuciusSay-]

That makes you a patriot.

[ctman47]

One thing that you are sadly mistaken on - your assumption that Rush has a pair.
Like all bullies, that is the one thing he is definitely missing.

[Gbear]

I suggest then that he grow a pair or borrow mine!

[davidly]

In the rush (hehe) to brand reactionaries what they obviously are, those of us who consider ourselves anything near left of center should not forget something vital. Mr. Reiser points out that one should be able to say, for example, "'Boy, I don't think this is gonna work," or , 'This is the dumbest plan I've ever seen.'"

My question is: Have you read the reactions to any progressive or left or whatever you want to call it criticism of policies currently going forward? I think the reaction to this criticism is scarier than the reactionary right's typical obstinance. Why? Because it is obstinance coming from those who are supposed to be cut from the same - dare I say - liberal cloth. In this vein, I am more concerned about the current wave of "I want whatever comes out of this administration to go forward, regardless­..." implications coming from some (not all) the president's supporters.

Sure, in this age of vomiting out vicious comments on blogs, we would benefit from more constructive dialog from people of all political stripes. But I've come to realize that just because there exists a maniacal right wing doesn't mean everything being proposed by the current group in the White House is above reproach.

[lj9283]

It's always interesting when someone who doesn't take part in a discussion criticizes the outcome of the discussion.

The largest policy discussion for since the inauguration has been over the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Significant discussion took place with criticism among many on the left over a period of several weeks on this very site. Those of us who took the time read what may be the most important piece of legislation directly affecting our lives over the next few years discussed it in as much depth as you can get posting. The discussions covered many of the myriad of issues in the bill, while at the same time deflecting the constant barrage of attacks, and misinformation from the right wing posters. At the time when support was needed, most on the left came together to call and email legislators to support passage because of what we felt was important.

If you wish to criticize the discussion that took place you should have been part of it. I looked back over some your posts, and did not see any that were related to many, many discussions on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Did notice that you have a propensity to disparage all things "Obama" though.

[davidly]

The discussion has to do with a particular cantankerous "conservative" wishing failure on the current president, whatever the cost. He happens to be one who contributes absolutely nothing positive to the national dialog, whatever the issue. This we all know.

And for the record, this hex of his predates this largest discussion to which you refer. Its outcome has nothing to do with anything upon which I said directly, although indirectly you remind me of my point quite well: There are those who want to see this passed, if only for the sake of its passage. Not that I'm saying you are one of those, I don't feel much like perusing others' earlier remarks on the subject.

Spend a little more time obsessing your way through my prior comments and you might get a better idea what I think about that particular subject specifically. Nice that you could read enough of what I had to say in order to apply a dismissive label.

[HyperInfluential]

Thank you for pointing this out! Even the big stimulus news and octuplets and whatnot shouldn't drive this story from the news. Rush Limbaugh said he hopes our government fails. When I first heard this, I thought for a second that Rush had simply misspoken. It's very common to say something like, "I hope I'm wrong, but I think this plan can never work, it's not going to fix anything." You're supposed to hope that YOU are wrong and the plan WILL, despite your misgivings, turn out to be the fix we need. That would be logical.

To hope that YOU are right and the plan FAILS, that's just crazy talk. Doesn't he realize that he will have to live in a wrecked country too? Or leave and go buy a private island somewhere? And if that's where he hopes to end up, why doesn't he just go there now and leave the rest of us to fix things as best we can without his advice? The man has taken too many pills, it's clear.

[exhale09]

Here is my answer to everything any Republican has to say....

GW Bush and the Republican Party started an UNESSASARY WAR that resulted in tens of thousand of UNESSASARY deaths and tens of thousands of UNESSASARY mutilations, and which has resulted in a more dangerous situation in the Afghanista­n/Pakistan then ever before,...­.and the whole while they destroyed our economy as a result of cutting taxes for the wealthy only, DURING WAR TIME as they borrowed us into an historic deficit because they didn't have the tax $$ to wage their unnessasary WAR, as they also broke LAWS and weakened our Constitution, with torture, and spying illegally on American citizens, and they Politicized their WAR, Bush's Government appointees, and totally, completely mismanaged it ALL to boot...lea­ving our Country in the worse economic crisis since the depression, and our National Security is teetering in a very dangerous scary position, and the entire WORLD has been seriously negatively affected by their mind boggling INCOMPETENT 8 years of control.

Nothing else needs to be said.

[Leatherhelmet]

First of all, you look stupid if you can't spell.

Second, we are in this situation because the Democrats used Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a way to give out mortgages to people who could not afford them. Then the Republican SEC chairman and the Democratic committee did not put together a transparent trading system of the deriviatives from those mortgages.

The war and Bush tax cuts had NOTHING to do with our current economic woes.

[starlady7]

Wrong!!!!!!! First the Iraq war costs not only more American lives than 9/11, but costs us 10 BILLION/month for the last 7yrs...add it up! Plus the republicans deregulated everything from the financial to the environmental!!! Since Regan, 30yrs, you greedy souls have been tilting the scales in favor of Big Corporations and the Wealthy weakening the middle class so that now the wealth of this nation is in the Top 2 %. Without a STRONG middleclass that can spend this country goes down the tubes!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only that, but the mortgages were bundled and LEVERAGED by Wall Street at 30% of their value!!! People can not even find out who is holding their mortgages. How about those sucker loans that the banks upped the interest payments by 2-3x's the original monthly payment so people could not afford them!

You know what is MORE Stupid than spelling errors...P­eople who don't know what they are talking about!!!

[starlady7]

I meant that the bundled mortgages were leveraged at 30 x's their value! Sorry!

[LeftRight]

Really? The Democrats used Freddie and Fannie?? Cause the record seems to show (read:DOES show!) that until the REPUBLICANS forced Freddie and Fannie to start taking subprimes, the very definition of a prime loan was one that Freddie or Fannie was willing to back!

[Eclectic Radical]

"The war and Bush tax cuts had NOTHING to do with our current economic woes."

Someone else already said this, but it bears repeating: the above statement looks far more stupid than typing errors or misspelled words. Sorry.

During WWII, the German government continued to cut taxes and failed to impose war time economic controls at the cost of the war effort. The idea was that citizens wouldn't support the war if it cost them anything, but as long as they were fed and happy they would support it. I am NOT comparing Bush to Hitler, but the policy comparison here is sound: political concerns were put above strategic concerns and it damaged the economy and the military effort.

Blaming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is also foolish. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government subsidized lending agencies whose job was to help those who couldn't otherwise afford to buy a home, subject to specific qualifications. They are not responsible for the slough of independent lending institutions that chose to offer questionable loans to questionable debtors and sell shares in those loans as security to inflate their share price.

The reason for our current economic woes is that free market capitalism has been replaced by a system of corporate commercialism hostile to both consumers and entrepreneurs, that runs on capital expansion rather than productivity. Any economist committed to any sort of scientific principles, opposed to faith based monetarist theories, will tell you that.

[ConfuciusSay-]

The massive war spending has depleted your treasury and put your country into deep debt. That makes recovery harder. It isn't hard to understand.

[gloom]

There is a stark calculus in the land which confounds Republicans: If Barack Obama wins, they win. If Obama and the Democrats succeed with what they are proposing, Republicans will be better off than they are right now. How repellant, then, that Rush Limbaugh is rooting for Obama to fail. Again, the equation is simple: If Obama fails, America fails. Limbaugh’s listeners are Americans. Therefore, Rush Limbaugh is rooting for his listeners to fail. Why? Because he needs to keep making money, and that is threatened by a country that prospers from Democratic ideas. To protect their brand, all Conservative broadcasters need Obama – and America – to stumble, and they will attack to see that happen.
So if you continue to suffer, all you Dittoheads out there in TV and radio land, Rush and Hannity and all your local radio pundits get to keep raking in more money than you might see in a lifetime. You’re really okay with this? What do you get out of this bargain?

[CaptainVideo]

Limbaugh just blurted out precisely what the leadership of the Republican party is not only hoping for, but actively seeking to achieve. They want him to fail so that they can return to power in the next election. And they are working as hard as they can to bring about his failure by obstructing and sabotaging his policies to restore the economy to full employment.

[nicole473]

You said it exactly right. Would that it were otherwise.

[nicole473]

The Dixie Chicks said that they were ashamed to have Bush as their president.­(they voiced their FEELINGS)

On the other hand, Rush said that he hopes Obama fails. In saying this, he is saying that he hopes this country FAILS.

What part of that do you not understand, people?

As liberal as I am, as much as I despise Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, and all that they stood for, I would never say that I hope they fail in an attempt to do something good for this country. Not that they tried to do anything good.

[lj9283]

Everyone seems to forget (at least those on the right) that four days after the statement was made on stage Natalie Maines issued an apology;

"As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect...­......"

[nicole473]

Yes, however, she had every right to say that she is ashamed of Bush. She did not say that she hoped Bush failed in an effort to put this country back on track. Not that he was ever trying to do that.

[nationalist757]

and people showed what they thought about the dixie chicks what's the problem?

[WeHopeRushFails]

Credibility-wise and courage-wise, Rush Limbaugh cannot hold a candle to the Dixie Chicks.

That's how much of a waste of airtime Rush is.

Day in, day out.

Anyway, given a choice between Obama and Rush, who in their right would hope that Obama failed instead of Rush?

Safeguarding free speech is important. But money buys airtime. Hence Rush Limbaugh's ability to brainwash people against their own interests.

Which is why we urge everyone to join and promote our grassroots campaign to mock Limbaugh's idiotic blustering by posting the I-Hope-Rush-Fails banner on their websites, blogs, Facebook pages, etc..

http://www.IHopeRushFails.com/#banner

[nationalist757]

Does it take more than one person to type your comments or is that another personality in "WE hope rush fails" Credible and courageous? Not the words I use to describe the Dixie Chix

[UltraClassic]

I don't think you can compare the attempt by liberals and leftists to sabotage the war effort to what is going on now with this huge transfer of wealth. I, like Rush, see this for what it is--a huge grab bag of goodies that liberals and leftists have been waiting for for years.

And good on the liberals and leftists, they have the GOP pinned on the ground. To the victor go the spoils. But some folks like Rush are not going to take this sitting down.

Rush obviously has the liberals and leftists concerned which is why congress is starting one again to rumble with the fairness doctrine.

[Sepiastar]

You view this as a bag of goodies but where was the opposition when Republicans foolishly lavished President Bush with open checks for billions to corporations, banks, and then the auto industry. Yet, when there's a mere suggestion of aiding the citizens, the Republicans ignorantly rant about fairness, socialism, and the massive amount of debt (which can be attributed to their inept ability to use sound judgment). The Republicans must realize that every decision they make can not be based solely on politics.

Where was the Republican outrage concerning massive debt when Congress provided over 700 billion dollars to the financial services industry (Wall Street)?

The Republican Party cannot devise a strategy that has worked in 40 years. Their strategy is simply give corporations tax breaks and incentives and they will provide more jobs to citizens. The irony is, THAT STRATEGY HAS NEVER WORKED!! Can you think of a new strategy instead of bickering like children incessantl­y..

[CaptainVideo]

The fairness doctrine is a favorite element of right-wing paronia.

We don't need a fairness doctrine. What we need is an agressive anti-trust policy to end the control of the media by a small number of corporate conglomorates and bring greater diversity of ownership to the media.

[lj9283]

And the right is trying to define the local ownership discussion as "The Fairness Doctrine". Don't get suckered in.

[CaptainVideo]

Rush is a toothless tiger. He opposed McCain getting the Republican nomination, but McCain got it anyway. He opposed Obama in the election, but Obama won by a landslide. Rush opposed the stimulus package, but it is going to pass anyway.

Liberals have no reson to be afraid of him. He is someone to be laughed at. Watching him foaming at the mouth and going into convultions every time Obama wins another battle is going to be jolly good fun.

[copernikus]

This is great. You guys screw things up big time and the best you have to offer is either more of the same failed policies or outright hope that the Democrats fail. Aren't you at least a little ashamed of yourself?

[RayArmyVetRetiredAF]

Liberals sabotage the war effort? I think most of us wanted and expected bin Ladin captured. But no, you had to have your attack on Iraq first. Then when we didn't support that, you got apopeletic! You war wasn't patriotic. It was stupid. If you had made a true effort to capture bin Ladin and succeded, that would have been impressive. Instead, I think what you've really done is shown the world that Vietnam was not a fluke in that a war started in folly can be undermined. Our troops are great at defeating governments, but insurgencies are not so easy. Our military guys and gals did what you asked, but I'll bet most of them would have far preferred to have taken down bin Ladin, made a statement, and returned home!!! But hey, our politically connected contractors sure seem happy with your little arrangement within this war of yours. You (meaning you guys were in power then) should have captured bin Ladin, instead he's laughing at YOU!

[BrighterStar]

You misunderstand Limbaugh’s position. When Rush says that he hopes Obama fails he is not saying that he hopes the country does poorly under Obama. He is saying that he hopes Obama fails in so fare as he is unable to pass his agenda. Rush believes that if Obama’s agenda passes it will hurt the country. Therefore, for the benefit of the nation, he wants Obama to fail. While you may disagree with the basic point, Limbaugh’s position is not as cynical as you portray.

[Leatherhelmet]

That's why you are a "brighter" star than the clowns on this board. You are exactly right.

[RayArmyVetRetiredAF]

He wants to prevent what he sees as an erosion of the agenda that Republicans have put in place during the Reagan through Bush years. Yeah, we get that. But we see Rush pushing a far right agenda that seems bound and determined to benefit a minority with power and wealth, and in that, I hope Rush fails! :o)