Conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh died Wednesday at age 70. It didnโt take long for his critics to weigh in.
Most politicians, radio and TV personalities, and journalists praised Rush. But it didnโt take long for haters to criticize him. Hollywood celebrities lined up to celebrate Rush Limbaughโs death.
HATERS DIDNโT WASTE TIME
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie said Limbaugh โused his talents to make the world a worse place.โ Manny Fidel, a columnist for Business Insider, tweeted, โYeah lol rush limbaugh like top 5 racists in modern history.โ
Even after his lung cancer diagnosis in 2020, most of Limbaughโs critics wished him well. But haters posted inappropriate comments about Rushโs illness. โI wish him the best medical heโs worked on denying to others,โ wrote comedian Nick Jack Pappas (whoever he is).
Bill Palmer of the Palmer Report tweeted, โRush Limbaugh has spent decades pushing a horrid agenda that he knew was ruining numerous lives and getting people killed. But I really donโt give a s**t what happens to him.โ
โRush Limbaugh is, without a doubt, one of the most hateful, awful people of the last century, and one who had one of the most negative impacts possible on this country. It’s only fitting that this cancer upon the world should be stricken by it,โ said sports writer Jon Tayler (never heard of him). He went on to suggest that when Rush dies, people could pay their respects โby kicking his corpse as hard as they can.โ
“If you can’t think of anything good to say about Rush Limbaugh, that’s because there isn’t anything good to say about Rush Limbaugh,” Mitch Benn tweeted. This comedian, author, and singer, who isnโt even American, once complained that only a few people followed him on Twitter.
Comedian, actress, and writer (detect a trend?) Cristela Alonzo tweeted, โHappy Rush Limbaugh Is Dead Day! I didn’t even get the chance to put my tree up!โ
โItโs easy to make fun of Rush Limbaugh right now, but itโs important to remember that he also brought a lot of people a lot of joy by dying,โ tweeted comedian, writer, and producer Mike Drucker.
Joel Kim Booster, another mostly unknown actor, comedian, and writer, took it one step further. He tweeted, โI havenโt been this happy since Nancy Reagan died.โ Booster was born less than one year before Reagan left office.
Self-described actor, filmmaker, and internet person Kit Williamson piled on. โRush Limbaugh’s legacy is one of bigotry, cruelty, racism, homophobia and hate and I refuse to let anyone rewrite history out of respect for the dead. That we’re talking about him at all is, frankly, more respect than he deserves,โ he tweeted.
SHOWING THEIR TRUE COLORS
All these loathsome, hateful comments come from people who allegedly ascribe to unity. At least they are unified in their hatred for Rush. The other thing they have in common is that they are largely unknown, insignificant, and unproductive. Certainly they have shown their true colors.
One of the most hateful comments, however, was film producer Tariq Nasheedโs tweet. He wrote, โRush Limbaugh has spend decades spewing dangerous anti-Black racism. Now he has cancer… I know we shouldn’t celebrate one’s misfortunes… but.โ What makes this particularly hateful is that Nasheed used the term โbed wenchesโ to describe black women who date white men. What a hypocrite!
Criticism of Rush Limbaugh had been going on for years, however. SNL comedian and disgraced former Senator Al Franken (D-MN) penned the 1996 satirical book, โRush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations.โ If you remember, Franken was forced to resign his Senate seat following several allegations of sexual misconduct.
PRAISE FOR RUSH LIMBAUGH
Former President Donald Trump called Rush Limbaugh โirreplaceable, unique,โ praising him as a โlegend.โ Trump awarded Limbaugh a Presidential Medal of Freedom during his 2020 State of the Union address.
Most of the tweets and posts about the death of Limbaugh expressed appreciation for his long career of giving a voice to those whom the left has tried to silence. Former Fox News host Glenn Beck may have summed it up best when he called Rush Limbaugh a hero, an icon, and a revolutionary that saved radio.
Image from: notthebee.com