Reblogged: Rush to Judgment

Great column by Zaki Hasan.

I was an early adopter of Rush myself. I started listening to his show in 1988 and listened practically daily for over 10 years.


That was during the time when, if you really listened daily, you knew he didn't take his own schtick seriously. I don't doubt his conservative belief system, but the blustery puffed-up ass he portrayed on the radio was a persona he turned on when the microphone was hot and turned off when the microphone was off.

When Rush started to lose me was when he started the slow process of believing his own schtick and I was evolving into a near absolute individualist (which runs contrary to both the American "Conservative" movement AND the "Liberal" movements).

This pattern of believing their own hype happens too often with populist personalites like this. They go from being brilliant performers (and/or commentators) and slip into full demagoguery before they even realize it. Rush is digging his own grave...and Glenn Beck is surely privately drawing up proposals to offer his show to the stations currently carrying the Limbaugh radio show.



ZAKI'S CORNER with Zaki Hasan | News | Reviews | Pop Culture | Politics: Rush to Judgment: There was a time when I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh. All the time. And not ironically, either. As a junior high student in the thick...