Rush Limbaugh, Wanda Sykes
A brief mention of this politically-charged subject, because I've watched a good bit of video and read a number of responses (and responses to responses) on the subject, and isn't talking about your web browsing activities supposed to be the purpose of a web log, anyway?
I think Rush Limbaugh is a disgusting human being. No surprise, there; I'm the target of his hatred and opprobrium. He crossed a line for me back in 1992, when he started making of Chelsea Clinton for being ugly. I don't particularly like it when people make fun of other human being's physical shortcomings; it's kind of a taboo subject for me, since our physical shortcomings are often fairly hard for us to change. As such, making fun of a politician for being ugly has always seemed crass and stupid to me. Making fun of a young teenage girl for being ugly, however, just because her father happens to be running for president, is just plain mean and low.
Limbaugh lies. He cooks the numbers when he talks about liberal politics; I've witnessed him doing this real-time (as I recall, he was damning the expenditures of a newly-elected liberal official, and totaling up the money she'd wasted in the two months since she was elected--and not only was he just making up his numbers, he was using the figures for the entire projected year while simultaneously stressing "in just TWO MONTHS" over and over). I've also seen credible sources list lie after lie he's made. He's a joke, as far as I'm concerned, and not a very funny one. Angry conservatives who call liberals stupid traitors tend not to be very high on my list for entertainment.
I thought Wanda Sykes' remarks were funny when I heard them. However, I went back and listened to Rush's remarks on "I hope he fails," his four word summation of his hopes for the Obama administration. I agree with conservative pundits who are pointing out that his remarks were not "I hope the country fails." Believe it or not, I found his remarks totally reasonable. He says he's a small-government conservative, and no small-government conservative should want Obama's policies to succeed--they're in direct opposition with their beliefs, for one, and for two, their success would give the lie to their dearly-held beliefs. The only issue I have with his remarks are that I recall hearing a great deal from conservative pundits during Bush's first term about how not supporting our president in a time of war wasn't patriotic--the famous with-us-or-with-the-terrorists fallacy. I can't find any direct evidence online that Limbaugh ever equated not supporting Bush with treason, though. Since I won't listen to his show, I don't know what he said about the loyal opposition during Bush's presidency; I can *assume* that it wasn't complimentary, but I don't *know*.
Overall, I thought the routine was funny; then again, I have a rather more extreme sense of humor than most people. The idea that Rush Limbaugh would get his feelings hurt over someone else's rhetoric about him is pretty funny to me, too. I guess my ultimate take on the issue is essentially, "Get over it." I find right-wing shock jocks offensive, too, and Ann Coulter calls me a traitor all the time. 9/11 jokes are sometimes funny; it was a bad time, and we should be careful to respect the feelings of the victims' families, but uncomfortable subjects can be legitimate sources of humor. It kind of comes down to free speech. Sometimes people make jokes I don't like. I choose not to listen to their humor; I don't advocate censoring them. If people want to organize boycotts of business or networks associated with Wanda Sykes, more power to them--let them vote with their wallets.
One more thing--how does a thrice-divorced self-admitted drug addict and drug trafficker keep a conservative audience? How is he so powerful that the head of the RNC has to apologize to him for saying that he (Steele), not Limbaugh, is the de facto head of the Republican party? I mean, I will admit, Limbaugh is a witty guy with a good banter and an impressive ability to make fun of liberals--but seriously, isn't he kind of a joke and a hypocrite when it comes to the War on Drugs and "family values?""Too many whites are getting away with drug use...Too many whites are getting away with drug sales...The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them, and send them up the river, too." --in 1995
"I am addicted to prescription pain medication." --in 2003