NYT Magazine Puff Piece on Rush Limbaugh?
By Vladimir Posted in Culture — Comments (22) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Considering the source, today's New York Times Sunday Magazine cover article on Rush Limbaugh is almost a puff piece. You wouldn't guess it from the cover:
Sure, certain passages have a "Conservative in the Mist" overtones, but Limbaugh granted unprecedented access for this interview, and actually gave voice to opinions and points of philosophy that went unchallenged by the Times.
Read on . . .
Of interest to this audience:
Limbaugh told me he is no longer concerned about the opinions of his colleagues and rivals, and he makes no effort to disguise his contempt for most of them. Michael Savage, ranked No. 3 among talk-radio hosts by Talkers magazine? “He’s not even in my rearview mirror.” Garrison Keillor? “I don’t even know where to find NPR on the dial.”At dinner the night before, Bill O’Reilly’s name came up, and Limbaugh expressed his opinion of the Fox cable king. He hadn’t been sure at the time that he wanted it on the record. But on second thought, “somebody’s got to say it,” he told me. “The man is Ted Baxter.” [emphasis added, because I like it! -- ed.]
Limbaugh does have his favorites. He admires Ann Coulter’s ability to outrage liberals. He is a fan of the columnists Camille Paglia and Thomas Sowell, both of whom he considers honest thinkers. And he is especially impressed by the essays of Christopher Hitchens. “He’s misguided sometimes, but when you read him, you finish the whole article.”
Limbaugh has a deeply conflicted attitude toward Sean Hannity, his one-time stand in and now perpetual No. 2 on the Talkers list. He speaks of the younger man with the same condescending affection that Muhammad Ali once showed Jimmy Ellis, a former sparring partner turned challenger. But he wanted me to remember who is the Greatest. “I have no competitors,” he said. “Hannity isn’t even close to me.”
It's worth the read.
I liked Rush before I knew he was filthy rich. Now that I know, the appeal only increases. I hope he is around for a while. He isn't afraid of the PC police.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
Limbaugh is the only voice in America that's truly conservative, truly funny, and truly independent.
I hated his guts for more than 10 years. I couldn't stand to hear him speak: the sound of his voice made me want to switch off the radio in whomever's car I was riding in.
It was all liberal propaganda brainwash that I was listening to then. Now he's the guy I listen to every day over the Internet and in my car.
It's difficult to explain the difference between the way I thought then and the way I do now except to say that I was incredibly misguided then, and encouraged by people who were also incredibly misguided. Today Limbaugh is one of the four or five people America whose opinions I really trust, and that's because he's usually right.
And he does it with a lot of style and a lot of dignity.
was the one showing an older black lady in a rocking chair on her front porch, saying, "first he made me mad. Then he made me laugh, and then he made sense!" as a who-woulda-thought look came upon her face.
I'm guessing the total figure we heard is for the whole EIB production but it definitely proves the potential of the radio marketplace.
power as we have, but to make the center-right nation be truly reflected in congress, we have to meet libs in the VISUAL medium they prefer. Libs are driven by emotion, which is best encapsulated in pictures..
they are shallow, in other words
So we need to have the gop moneymen BUY tv stations and occupy academia and press and hollywood positions
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
guest driven
not being inside the beltway and getting hobnobby with one's subjects
Rush speaks of this. And this great essay by Chavets (and this guy is a great writer, truly comprehensive, a real pro that I have read often for years) shows even more, the details of how Rush remained so, due to how he was rejected by those he wanted to be loved by.
But the msm didn't make Rush, and so, they can't destroy him.
Even Hannity pulls punches, as does Pat Buchanan, due to the sell out that is required on guest driven TV shows. One can't be bluntly honest when one wants to get guests to come back or when one wants to hob non in Georgetown with Colleagues.
this problem shows itself HERE at Redstate as well....
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
here in Charlotte, but they are not public figures, and I am FREELANCE and not an employee of the dead tree msm...
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
It's not easy to speak your mind in any large forum, particularly when you have things to say that go against the grain. It's easy to say things that everyone always agrees with; it's easy to say things that wind up in the squishy nevernerverland of the vast middle. It's very difficult to say things that, even if they're not 100% correct, are independent and honest because they are the words that came to your mind when you actually thought about the subject, not the end result of a meticulous process of working them into a more palatable form.
Rush does this a lot, and better than I do. I do it occasionally because I don't have as much courage as he does, frankly. But when I make statements that sound like they're contrary, it's because there's usually a grain of truth in there. I've made a couple of statements like that in the past few days here at Redstate and TMR and I'm not apolgizing for them because I know from personal experience that they're representative of the things I see and hear. People might not like to hear them, but tough noogies.
"Most of all, to thine own self be true."
You do that, Rush does that, and I try my best to do that.
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Obama in face to face meetings with black and young friends. There are exceptions with my black repub friends, only one out of 4 are for Obama.
Rush points out the luxury of not living in the beltway or even NY, in freeing him up. I think one of the reasons for his restraint re Dubya is the friendship with the Bushes, but even there, Rush gets his serious disagreements across.
cool man
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
True, Kowalski. I still wish Rush hadn't made the comment about O'Reilly. Not because it wasn't both hilarious and accurate (it was), but because O'Reilly was one of the people who defended Rush during his drug rehab time. The defense was sincere and it deserved a pass for O'Reilly. Better for Rush to ignore them all than to select one for comment.
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!
tially negative issues.
Chavets does not. Chavets is a great journalist, as judged by my experience with him. This article is simply a treasure.
and no one loves Rush more than me at RS. I have loved him for 18 years, 10 of which were as a democrat.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
What struck me is that it was a piece by a reporter who was simply reporting and not slanting the article with editorial comment throughout. I wish more reporters could write front page newspaper articles like this one by Zef Chavets.
Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business … frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise.Ronald Reagan
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
I cracked up at this:
When I was buzzed into the control room, I was met by Bo Snerdly — a very large man in a Huey Newton beret — who glared at me. “Are you the guy who’s here to do the hit job on us?” he demanded in a deep voice.
“Absolutely,” I said.
Snerdly, whose real name is James Golden, held my eyes for a long moment before bursting into emphatic laughter.
That's when I figured that I was going to enjoy reading this. :)
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
I have to say the entire 18 pages of this thing was great. It was highly interesting.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
earn in order for the NYT to finally admit you're not a fad, you're not going away, and oh, maybe it isn't a lie that your audience is still growing.
Too bad they won't make the connection to what they need to do to reverse their shrinking readership.
Thanks Rush. I don't get to listen to you the way I use to. I'm on the inside of the big nondescript concrete and steel building, so the AM doesn't receive, and our internet bandwidth is so overworked I can't stream your show when I'm here. But when I do manage to catch you on the occasional day off, WOW! Somehow or another I always seem to step in when you are saying something that's going to light up the MSM the very next day. It's been a great 20+ years, here's to 20+ more!
A number of years ago, Rush was having some article done, and they wanted a picture of him. Not wanting to be photographed as evil, which he predicted they would do, he brought his own crew and upped the lighting and had a picture of him with a BIG smile on his face, eyes bright and cheery.
Apparently, this time around, he didn't mind being photographed in a sinister look.
Frankly, I liked both of them. One showed the warm side of Conservativism, this picture shows the steadfastness and confidence in Rush's ability to outlast the liberal onslaught of stupidity.
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Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
Actually paid $$ for the Sunday NYT, then took the magazine out and quickly threw the rest away. Yes, I did. ;-)
It was not a puff piece; there was too much real and honest Rush in it in his own words. The writer was extremely fair and showed a good sense of humor.
Did anyone else start googling Maybachs? :-) Also of interest was the bit on Sean Hannity, which answered some questions of my own. Hannity was really hammering Obama and hurting him in ways Rush was not while Operation Chaos was in full swing. Some days they were almost diametrically opposed, until you remembered both were working to damage Obama. Rush has a much bigger audience but that was a less serious strategy and I think Hannity did a lot more damage. He owns the Wright and Ayers controversies.
There was enough stuff in the piece to make some honest libs wonder why they detest him so much, and hate themselves for wondering. Ha!
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.
was to bloody Obama because McCain would not. But I really, really don't want to think about McCain. My BP spikes the moment I hear or read his name.
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.
Thanks for writing about this; I'd have overlooked it otherwise. I thought the article was very well done, and not just because it was fair to a conservative icon. But the writer seemed to me to be able to get in his interviewee's head. I'm astounded the NYT ran this. Really astounded. I like the photo--there's a lot of power implied and I really like the lighting. Flattering to him. best, Kay
he is one the best
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
and I thought that it was overall a very fair piece. There might have been a hint of bias when they were describing his childhood, but overall, there was very little bias IMO.
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