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As a former talk radio personality, I‘m passionate about talk radio…especially the unfortunately all too rare and endangered LOCAL talk radio shows, that give everyday folks a local broadcast platform to publicly exercise their 1st Amendment right to free speech in their communities. I’m not passionate however, about what has become of talk radio with the huge corporate conglomerates being allowed to monopolize the majority of stations and limit programming to self-serving neo-conservative content, just like the un-American, unregulated monopoly practice that big box chains like Walmart have been allowed to engage in, effectively destroying the common man’s ability to pursue free enterprise and the “American Dream”. That being said, I have forced myself to occasionally listen to Rush Limbaugh.

It isn’t at all an acquired taste…What he says always ‘tastes’ spoiled and expired. It is however, my effort to apply the wise Mafia proverb, “Keep your friends close, and your fat enemies even closer.” Well, OK, I may have added one word. Speaking of which, the amazingly hateful and angry rhetoric I hear when I tune in to Rush’s paradoxically named “Excellence In Broadcasting” talk radio neoconservative rant is, in one word: UNAMERICAN.

A lady called up on one broadcast, immediately paying homage to Rush as “Maha-RUSH-di”. She proceeded to whine just like him…not about how we can come together and meet in the middle as Americans to heal our land, but about how important it is right now for all the Sarah Palin and Arizona Gov. Brewer-lovers to break from the Republican Party and start over brand new.

Of course, Limbaugh agreed with her wholeheartedly! This is the unequivocal epitome of selfishness…no respect, understanding or tolerance at all for the moderate direction of a large and growing majority of members in their party. But you know what? I actually think I agree with her too, and I’ll explain why.

Immediately after President OBama was elected to his first term, Rush verbally castrated his Republican opponent Senator John McCain on the air for McCain’s beautiful, healing concession speech in which he vowed to work with President Elect OBama to solve very important problems that we as a supposedly “united” nation are all facing. McCain stressed how important t is that we as a nation, in a bi-partisan way, compromise and work together.

Instead of reflecting on this wisdom and showing even a hint of understanding that there was valuable truth in such a concession speech, Rush in keeping with his more accurately described “INCONTINENCE in BROADCASTING”, chose to hit McCain with a tire iron below the belt, figuratively speaking. He claimed McCain’s concession speech ‘characterized’ his entire campaign. He specifically said McCain’s entire campaign was a “concession speech”, and proceeded to proclaim his absolute unwillingness to work together with Democrats in any way. He did so in a very disturbing and angry ‘call to arms’ fashion. This again is the pinnacle of childish selfishness.

One more important issue I want to address regarding Limbaugh relates to his rhetorical, excessively sarcastic questioning of what Barack OBama meant in his victory speech, when he told America: “We will get there…I promise you, we WILL get there!” Rush allowed no one to answer him in his repetitive rambling of: “What does he mean?”…”Just where are we going Barack?”…”Get Where, OBama?”…”You never told us where we are going!”, etc.

Silly me…I actually wanted to call in and set him straight. But so often as is the case with Rush, the phone numbers are not available. Even if they were, his producer would screen you out…no one makes the neo-conservative self-proclaimed prophet look like the sad, racist, angry hypocrite that he is.

But the better late than never GOOD NEWS is, Rush is angry because he is slowly but surely on his way out…That is because the Republican Party is finally changing. And the reason the Republican party is changing (by the way, Rush and his greedy chronie listeners say it is not just changing, but it is ‘IMPLODING’)…the reason it is changing is because there is a minority, angry faction within that party that doesn’t get what America and Democracy is all about – and the majority of the party is now waking up and realizing they don’t want to go home with who they brought to the dance, so to speak.

Let me be clear what this Limbaugh minority faction of Republicans DOES “get”…They get what unbridled greed is all about…They get what imposing their religious morals on others is all about…But they don’t get what ‘accepting diversity’, ‘social equality’, ‘separation of church and state, and ‘worker value’ is all about (Red, White and Blue constitutional intentions of our founding fathers).

If some of the brighter of them do get it, they appear to hate the thought of getting to the time where OPPORTUNITY of the AMERICAN DREAM is finally actually achievable for the common man. And THAT, Mr. Limbaugh, is exactly what OBama meant when he said “We will get there”.

But let’s at least for once be honest Rush… You knew that is what he meant. It just doesn’t PAY for you to admit that. It pays for you to serve your selfish advertisers and listeners with your anti-democratic, pro neo-capitalist, greed-driven talking points at the EXPENSE of not only the huge majority of hardworking Americans, but also of your own party that is in growing vast disagreement with your ignorant, selfish narrative.

Here, let me fill in the blanks on the destinations OBama was referring to that you whined on and on about, claiming not to understand. When he said “I promise you America, we will get there”, he meant:

A return to a government that is actually “OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people” and not “OF Wall Street, BY Wall Street and FOR Wall Street”. In other words, getting to a time where the common American man and woman are most important, where government represents them instead of corporations, realizing you can’t have a thriving Wall Street at the expense of a thriving Main Street.

He meant rebuilding a reputation with the international community of peaceful diplomacy and benevolent cooperation, rather than a reputation of unilateral bullying, invading and imperialistic exploitation of countries when we know we can get away with it, as has been the case too often in our troubled history.

He meant getting to the time when Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream is truly realized, that being a country where all races have equality…and of course it won’t necessarily be equality of outcome, but it will be equality of opportunity, being judged “by the content of their character and not the color of their skin”.

He meant getting to the day when we can once again feel proud about making and buying AMERICAN MANUFACTURED goods, and not have big box monopoly giants like Walmart, Home Depot and Costco putting most of our small business ‘Mom and Pops’ out of business with their price undercutting, cheap foreign made products, due to Wall Street’s greed-driven outsourcing.

He meant getting to a time when we use our country’s wealth and resources more responsibly and sustainably, to make life better by “PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE” (As our preamble to the Constitution actually mandates) for ALL Americans, not just the elite 5% and grossly overpaid CEO’s.

He meant getting to a time when the worker who carries the biggest burden on his/her back every day is seen as MUCH more valuable and responsible for the success of a company – and for the success of CAPITALISM on the whole by the way – than the top, all too often unethical and corrupt executives.

What President OBama’s statement “We are going to get there” DID NOT MEAN, Rush, is SOCIALISM, no matter how many times you ignorantly try to spin it that way with your false narrative. However, it meant getting to a time when there was more of a proper balance between corporate welfare (currently to the tune of hundreds of BILLIONS per year) and social welfare programs that have paled in comparison.

Rush wants to have his oxycontin and eat it to, apparently. That’s exactly what it sounds like when he ignores the ‘socialism’ that is deeply in place for corporations and his advertisers, and castigates any similar use of tax dollars when it comes to social programs helping the working class.

What amazes me about the huge degree of selfishness from those like Rush and his devoted sick followers is that they don’t understand the correlation between a nourished, happy, well-rewarded and healthy workforce and their holy grail of PROFIT. Hence OBama’s powerful comment, “You can’t have a thriving Wall Street at the expense of an impoverished Main Street” (paraphrasing).

I’ve got an idea for Rush and all his hatemongering “Maha -RUSH-di” followers. Let’s give them their own real estate. How about an island off the coast of Alaska… One where Palin can see Russia even without her glasses. I agree it is time they separated from their party. In fact, it seems to me it would be even better if they didn’t stop there. It’s time they separated from this country entirely. An island close to Russia would be fitting, as unAmerican as their “United States of Corporations” views are!

Let me speak directly to “Maha – RUSH -di” and all his neo capitalist followers: Your excessive corporate greed at the expense of the working class is truly UNAMERICAN. It is an unpatriotic philosophy, exceedingly harmful to “We the People” in America, and not welcome here anymore by the overwhelming majority – many of whom are members of the Republican party.

That point was made clear from President OBama’s election in 2008. Then if that wasn’t enough, it was reinforced strongly again with his re-election in 2012. And it will be no surprise when we see it reinforced AGAIN in 2016, despite all the hate-speak on the “far right” toward President Obama and the Affordable Care Act.(Of course they swear up and down their vitriolic hate toward OBama has nothing to do with his race.) Still, Limbaugh ignorantly vows repeatedly and obstinately NOT to cooperate with the new populist destination America is headed. And his minority faction in the Republican Party blindly follow their bloated shepherd like loyal sheep.

It’s clear that America and healthy “worker valued” Capitalism as our founding fathers obviously intended, will be much better off if we just go ahead and offer you “reparations”, and help you leave not just the Republican Party, but the whole country. Think about how happy you’d all be…you’d finally be able to stop all your hate-speak. You wouldn’t have to be forced to cope with a black President anymore, and Limbaugh could be your “George Washington” (my apologies to our founding President for the sarcastic comparison).

Seriously though, think about the joy you’d all feel! At last, you’d be able to order and govern everything in favor of the 1% with your beloved “Trickle Down Reaganomics”(odd that it never trickled down though), built on the sacred principle of “LEAVE NO BILLIONAIRE BEHIND”. You can take your corrupt, perverted “CORPORATISM” empire somewhere new, where you can overpay chronie CEO’s, make religious laws based on your Bibles, and outsource jobs at your workers’ expense to other countries, all to your heart’s content!

All those things couldn’t be more un-American. Yet they are all things that Limbaugh and his angry “sheep” hold sacred. Fortunately the majority of Republicans are finally beginning to wake up to that reality. One last question, as many of these sad people call themselves “Christians”: Would Jesus have been a Rush Limbaugh fan?

Take a moment and go re-familiarize yourself with what Jesus says to the “rich young ruler” who comes to him with the question “What must I do to be saved?” SPOILER ALERT: Jesus was clearly not a Republican.

He tells the rich young ruler that to be born again, he must ‘give all his money to the poor and follow him’. Just how do you suppose Rush and his “conservative fans” would react to that message from a prominent leader today?

Setting aside the current day obsession liberals have with abortion on demand and legalizing “recreational” drug use, all the teachings associated with Jesus in the New Testament were even MORE progressive and “liberal” than by today’s standard. Yet, just like the Scribes and Pharisees denounced by Jesus in the Bible, many welfare-despising, liberal-hating conservatives love to claim they are devout Christians.

That is hypocrisy on steroids, but this is a topic that is rarely discussed for some strange reason. There is no doubt that Jesus would be in favor of national health care, not trying to demonize it because it would “raise taxes for the rich”. Just like Jesus is famous for driving the corrupt money changers out of the temple, if he were here today he’d probably lead the effort to drive Limbaugh out as well.

Connie Bryan