Limbaugh's Case Against Obama Doesn't Hold Up
David Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh's brother, has written a book about (not surprisingly) President Obama. After scanning it and listening to his speech at the Values Voter Summit, it seems that the only conclusion to make about the book is that it is largely derivative. I don't believe there is a single unique thought or independent idea within its 500 pages and don't expect to find one.
The title of the book is, “Crimes Against Liberty: An Indictment of President Barack Obama.” With the words “crimes” and “indictment”, one would think that Obama had committed actual illegal activities, and that David Limbaugh, a lawyer by training, was writing a legal case against the president. From looking at Limbaugh’s book and listening to his speech at the Values Voter Summit, it seems that Obama’s main “crime” is that Limbaugh just doesn’t like the guy.
Obama’s main “crime” is his personality. Based on the headings of the chapters in his book, his “narcissism” is a crime, his “hyper-partisanship” is a crime, his “bullying” of opponents is a crime. Limbaugh’s obsession with narcissism was the focus of his speech. Limbaugh gave a disclaimer out that while he is not an expert on narcissism, “experts” agree with his assessment of Obama. He also wanted to make clear that Obama was not a “garden variety narcissist”, but a “determined man” who sees himself as having “messianic qualities.” Limbaugh insisted that these attacks were “not personal.”
The book seems no less vapid in its listing of Obama’s offenses. To give an example of the sort of content that can be found in the book, Obama is described as a supporter of the public option. The public option of course failed to be included in the health reform bill, and liberal activists are convinced that Obama did not push for it to be included. Yet in Limbaugh’s world, Obama has committed the “crime” of lying to the American people about advocating for the public option and single payer.
In addition to indicting Obama for the crime of “class warfare”, he also made a quick denunciation of him for “race warfare” during his speech, a topic that his brother has dabbled in to spread race-baiting rhetoric.
Listening to Limbaugh’s speech, it seems that his book has managed to get to the top of the New York Times bestseller list by repackaging every single grievance or frustration that movement conservatives and conservatives in the media have about Obama. David Limbaugh does not seem to offer his own insights at all, he just regurgitates everyone else’s comments.
And yet, this is useful, because it provides a snapshot of what the conservative movement has focused on in the first years of the Obama presidency. The book reveals an obsession with Obama’s demeanor and background, loaded with the hyperbolic claim that Obama is not simply their opponent, but a criminal. It is appropriate that the book’s author names several members of the Heritage Foundation for thanks, since this is unfortunately what the supposed “intellectual” arm of conservatism wants to focus on and believe.
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