Jerk Of The Day 6/25/08 Rush Limbaugh

[ChenZhen]

I was cruising along on my way to work today and heard something that made my jaw drop a little. Here's the transcript:

Here is McCain lauding his intent to have a green government, and then they point out, he's a hypocrite. I wish somebody would do a study on my cars. I mean, this is nothing. I got in my car the other day and I drove -- there goes Dawn covering her -- I'm not going to tell you which one. It doesn't matter. I got in the car, I had to drive down to Miami for the weekend. I wanted to go to the Kobe Club in Miami. I had been in the one in New York. So I drove down there, checked in the hotel, stayed overnight and got all those doodads on the dashboard that tell me -- your car does, too -- the range you've got based on the gas in the tank and what miles per gallon you're getting and so forth. Twelve on the highway, 12, I think it was 12.8 on the highway. I said, yes!

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: All right, all right. Many of you might think I'm obnoxious, those of you just tuning in who don't know me as the audience knows and loves me, you might think why am I going, "Yes! Yes!" when I see that my hog car is only getting 12 miles per gallon on the highway. Because I just love sticking it to the environmentalists. I am not an conformist. I just love sticking it to these people who want to interrupt my choices and my freedom. If I'm willing to pay for whatever happens and I'm not violating any law, it's none of their business to tell me what I can and can't drive and what I should and shouldn't drive, and I'm not going to allow these kind of left-wing wacko kooks make me feel guilty about enjoying life. So there.

I mean, here's a guy who insists that the high gasoline prices we now face are due to strict economics. Supply and demand. So what does he do? He blathers on about how he's doing his part to mess up the curve, thinking he's "sticking it to the environmentalists" and trying to influence his audience of however many millions of listeners to do their part as well (he does like to talk about how influential he is, in case you don't tune in regularly).

No Rush, you're not sticking it to the environmentalists. According to your supply and demand argument, you're sticking it to all of us. Sure I can't tell you what you can drive and what you can't, but I can tell you that you're a moron.

[brian.ingram]

Since he talked about the trip on his show, he was probably able to write off the whole thing as a business expense on his taxes. So keep working. Millions of corporations on welfare are depending on you.

[lamebums]

I'm not surprised he did that. I used to be that way for a while, thinking I'm sticking it to the radical green lefties out there, rubbing it in their face. I still get into arguments against people who subscribe to the Al Gore cult about twice a day, but burning extra gas isn't...a financially possible way to stick it to them.

[Bike123]

Control your radio station like you control your fuel use! The only excuses for ever hearing Rush are 1.) situation such as being the passenger while carpooling (ie, forced against your will) or 2.) searching for radio stations while on a trip (this excuse is good for about 10 seconds).

[ChenZhen]

Originally Posted by Bike123

Control your radio station like you control your fuel use! The only excuses for ever hearing Rush are 1.) situation such as being the passenger while carpooling (ie, forced against your will) or 2.) searching for radio stations while on a trip (this excuse is good for about 10 seconds).

I'm sorry to say, I listen to guys like Rush and Hannity every day. For the most part, I do it for the LOL's, but today I must admit that I've ever come to actually calling in and telling him he's a jackass. But instead, I figure I can vent it here.

On a side note, my addiction to talk radio was behind my rationale for removing my ~100lb subwoofer box for weight reduction purposes. I don't really miss it.

BTW- Can anyone guess what he could have been driving that only gets 12.8 on the highway? A friggin dump truck? Good grief.

[bomber991]

Well come on guys. This is a free country. I got money in my bank and I can spend it on whatever I want. Some people spend it on strippers, some spend it on drugs, and others spend it on gas.

[GreenVTEC]

Not that I support Rush in any way or form but it's his right to drive whatever he wants.

Hopefully at least smart consumer choices lead automakers to find nothing but losses selling guzzlers. Market forces taking guzzlers away from you rather than the government! Take that Rush! He might need to change his affiliations at that point once the forces he touts work against him!

[Aether glider]

Originally Posted by GreenVTEC

Not that I support Rush in any way or form but it's his right to drive whatever he wants.

Hopefully at least smart consumer choices lead automakers to find nothing but losses selling guzzlers. Market forces taking guzzlers away from you rather than the government! Take that Rush! He might need to change his affiliations at that point once the forces he touts work against him!

You must not listen to Rush alot because he would agree with the market deciding what cars should be sold based on sales to consumers.

As you may have guessed i'm a Rush 24/7 member

Although I usually dont agree with him on this subject about sticking it to the enviros.

I get tired of Hannity always bringing up he has a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid...they must be a sponsor he mentions it every show.

Not sure which one Rush drives here is the transcript ( actually I bet the Hummer)

This is in terms of its effect on the environment and global warming. (story) "At the top of the meanest list for 2006 is the Dodge Ram SRT-10." Well, let's just go through the list. The Dodge RAM SRT-10 is the meanest. The Lamborghini Murciélago is the next meanest. The Bentley Arnage, the Dodge Durango, the Dodge Ram 1500 and the Maybach 57-S are all tied in the next position here as the third meanest. The Hummer H2O and the Ferrari F-99 GTB Fiorano and the Ford F-250 Super Duty 5.4 V8 four-wheel drive. The GMC Yukon, the Volkswagen Touareg and the Chevy Suburban all come in tied at the next stop. Now the vehicle I drive, I'm not going to identify it, but is somewhere on that list. (laughing) I love being honored this way: having one of the meanest cars in terms of its environmental impact, knowing full well how that irritates the socialist environmentalist wackos. I just love it


EDIT: Had to do a little digging but finally found it he rides in the Maybach 57-S and he has a driver.
has a V-12 costs around $380k gets a combined EPA of 12

[ChenZhen]

Of course he can drive whatever he wants. The stupid reasoning and the possibility that a few million mindless dittoheads will adopt it is what I'm attacking. In other words, he's not a jerk for driving a gas guzzler, he's a jerk for broadcasting the fact with apparent pride.

Imagine if everyone was like him and drove a vehicle that gets 12.8 hwy. Ask Rush, does he think everyone should do so, and if they did would that increase or decrease the price of fuel?

Sheesh. At least Hannity brags that he drives a hybrid (no doubt paid for by my pals at GM, but still).

[MaxxMPG]

I don't usually listen to Rush, although I listen to Hannity on TV while I'm falling asleep at night (it's great for that). My take on Rush is that he deliberately says these things to be "in your face" because he sees his left wing adversaries as having that same persona. The personality is similar to the little kid on the playground with the big mouth who brags that all his toys are the coolest, and then he gets his butt kicked. His style is deliberately inflammatory, and whether you love him or hate him depends on whether or not you agree with what he's saying. He is certainly one of the most polarizing personalites on radio.

Sure, Rush's econo-minder probably said 12.8 in traffic and then went back up to the teens somewhere when back up at speed. And his point is valid - it is not up to the government to dictate what we can and can't drive. But capitalism in action is unfolding before our eyes, as higher gas cost has people making real changes in their transportation. Whether using mass transit, car pooling, driving less or at lower speeds, or parking the FSP and buying an old Corolla for errands, people are doing it on their own, without any prodding by policy.

I highly doubt anyone in radio-land will run out and buy an Escalade so they can get the same 12.8mpg Rush gets. And I doubt they will deliberately change their driving habits to further degrade their FE. Any attempt to use that much fuel will quickly get "old" each time they fill up. So in effect, what Rush says is irrelevant, as none of the listeners can afford to "do as he does". Rush also flaunts his cigar smoking in order to outrage the anti-smoking crowd, but I don't think that too many of the listeners have taken up smoking as a result of his on-air skits.

At the very core, it's just more sensationalized chatter, like the few hypermile-bashing articles we've seen in the media lately. While it's formatted and carefully packaged to perk your ears up, and really nothing more than 2% pie and 98% Cool Whip - Very appetizing in appearance but doesn't fill you up too well.

So while I myself wouldn't nominate Rush as Jerk of the Day, I would nominate that segment as Farce of the Day and nominate Rush as Manufactured Polarizing Personality of the Day.