Is Rush Limbaugh Down For The Count?

by Christopher G. Adamo

The vultures of the American left are congregating in hordes this week to feed on their latest quarry, conservative giant Rush Limbaugh. And seldom has their mood been more celebratory, or more crass. But their jubilation, heartfelt as it is, may be entirely premature.

Admittedly, by being forced to publicly declare his long-time addiction to prescription painkillers, the incomparable Limbaugh has taken a hit. Furthermore, with the great communicator likely to be out of circulation for at least a month, liberals in the political realm and in the press expect to enjoy a prolonged respite from his piercing analysis and wit. But despite their hopes and dreams, he will return, and will bring back with him the insight and eloquence that, more than any other of his attributes, make him a mortal threat to the liberal agenda.

Unlike the logically vacuous demagogues on the left, Limbaugh's base of support is built not from his personality, but on the pertinence of that which he espouses. His vast audience, though overwhelmingly enthusiastic and supportive, has never hesitated to strongly react on those occasions that he appears to be straying from conservative principle. Thus it is the truths he voices, and not merely the manner in which he presents them, that make him a “powerful and influential member of the media.”

Upon his homecoming to the golden EIB microphone, those truths will radiate forth just as they had prior to his tragic revelation. If anything, a return to broadcasting with a truly clear mind holds the potential for him to be even more prescient than he has been in recent years. Perhaps America will henceforth benefit from the full force of his wisdom, without the constraint of having “half his brain tied behind his back.”

As the yet uncontested leader of Conservative America's revolt against the liberal “mainstream media,” Limbaugh has many times been the object of left-wing attacks in the past, even from such notable personalities as former President Bill Clinton, to whom Limbaugh's voice of logic and reason constituted an obvious menace. In an embarrassing interview on KMOX radio in St. Louis, Clinton once whimpered that no “truth detector” existed to refute Limbaugh's criticism of him. Without missing a beat, however, the irrepressible talk show host declared himself as the nation's “truth detector,” maintaining that title ever since.

Even now, his critics aren't dealing with him on the basis of public policy or issues. Instead, they attempt to magnify his problems as indicators of some “dark side” that, we are expected to believe, is at the root of his sinister (read: conservative) perspective. In one particularly outlandish example, Newsweek magazine sought to characterize a childhood episode of throwing water balloons on Halloween night, an amusing story that Rush has often retold, as an example of anti-social behavior.

Being human, it will no doubt occasionally be somewhat difficult to deal with the derision of his detractors, now that they have landed upon a legitimate flaw in his personal life, which they fully intend to exploit. (And since when have liberals ever been concerned with the effects of one's “personal life” on his/her public occupation?). However, in the long term such efforts simply will not succeed.

Despite Rush's mistakes, the principles he espouses still hold true. His profound sense of reality will continue to cut through the tangled web of liberal euphemisms like a hot knife through butter. The lowering of tax rates still benefits the nation's economy. And government can still serve the people best by getting out of their way and allowing them to provide for themselves and invest in their own hopes and dreams.

When Rush finally does overcome this ordeal, as he no doubt will, he will press on, continuing to devastate his opposition with the one component of the Rush Limbaugh formula against which they have no defense: the truth. Admittedly though, certain aspects of his mystique will have changed forever. No doubt he will confront the situation with his usual candor and wit. Perhaps at some point in the future, having passed through the fire, he will re-characterize himself as “an excellent role model for the celebrities of America.”

In the meantime, he will need to sidestep the morass of liberal venom being generated in profusion in order to discredit him. Beyond it still exists an America where many people continue to cherish truth, justice, morality, and freedom. And that America is pulling for him.

Growing up during the turbulent decades of the ‘60's and ‘70's, Christopher  Adamo saw, to his dismay, the nation's moral foundations being destroyed  before his very eyes. But even then he was a staunch Conservative at heart,  and rejected outright the tenets of America's counterculture revolution.

 After a hitch in the Air Force, where he specialized in airborne  electro- optical systems, he pursued a career in the field of aerospace,  working for major defense contractors in California, Florida, and Colorado. But his career plans abruptly changed during the industry-wide downsizing that followed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Presently he is working in the field of industrial instrumentation in the state of Wyoming. Concurrently, he has become involved in that state's political process, attending state GOP conventions as a delegate, and serving as a member of the Wyoming Republican Central Committee. He has also aided in the candidacies of local legislators and state senators, as well as a U.S. Senator and Congresswoman.

From 1993 to 1996, he edited and wrote for “The Wyoming Christian”, the state newsletter for Christian Coalition of Wyoming. During that period, he developed an acute awareness of the harm being done to Conservatism by liberal activists within the Republican Party as well as the Democrats. This remains a favorite theme of his articles, which now appear as a regular feature on GOPUSA.