LINK Rush Limbaugh dead at 70: A media blowhard for American capitalism - World Socialist Web Site
In a group about media manipulation, this obituary is a good commentary.
The obituaries that have appeared in the mainstream corporate media have catalogued many of Limbaugh’s verbal outrages ... Lacking in such assessments, however, is an analysis of what Limbaugh’s career reveals about the nature of American capitalism and the trajectory of its political system. He was a thoroughly disgusting human being, a mouthpiece and apologist for reaction and defender of everything backward and benighted in American society. But his rise to wealth, fame and political influence came under definite historical conditions, and these deserve consideration.
Particularly noteworthy:
In 1987, towards the end of the Reagan administration, as part of a bipartisan campaign of deregulation, Congress repealed the “fairness doctrine,” which required broadcasters to provide equal time to those attacked by radio or television commentators. Limbaugh celebrated what he called “liberation” by moving to New York City and launching a right-wing talk radio program on WABC, flagship of the ABC radio network, which was soon syndicated nationally.
... The timing of Limbaugh’s rise is significant. It coincided with the collapse of the Soviet bloc, from 1989 to 1991, which touched off a wave of euphoria in the American ruling elite, whose main political precept had been virulent anti-communism ... also important for the American political stage was the utter collapse of the US labor movement, with the trade union bureaucracy’s betrayal and defeat of strike after strike, beginning with Reagan’s smashing of the 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike ... The resulting political disorientation and confusion within the working class, compounded by the suppression of the class struggle, facilitated the rise of a form of right-wing populism, of which Limbaugh was one of the foremost practitioners.
The whole article goes through his entire career—it's worth reading overall.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.In a few years, both sides lemmings will soften what he was and give him a fucking medal like they did to Bush II. Maybe the Obamas will even praise him in a speech where they disingenuously denounce all the things he stood for.
Piece2YourPuzzle
Level 8
Feb 22, 2021
0
@altschmerz Lol
Reagan and Rush deserve a lot of the blame for the rise in right wing populism, but so does the Dem Party for always effectively killing any left wing populism that ever rose as a response to Reagan and Rush, even as early as the 1980s. I remember how they crushed Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kuccinich, Jerry Brown, and others on the left as well as Nader, trying to promote left wing populism, long before Bernie became a national figure. They have been at this a long time and had plenty of practice before screwing Bernie in 2016.
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
Feb 21, 2021
3
@altschmerz I totally agree with the quotes in your comment. Today's Dem Party is only and all about privileges for women and minorities, mainly those of members of the upper-middle class members of those groups. They screw the working class every chance they get. I fucking hate ID politics and anytime I run into a white liberal who is middle or upper middle class and they start telling me how much better the Dems are than the Repubs based on some sort of ID politics policy, it tells me everything I need to know about how selfish and classist that person is....
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