Is Rush Limbaugh a Clown?
Recently, the New York Times (among a host of other media outlets) has begun painting Rush Limbaugh as a clown, in order to discredit him, as well as give President Obama a figurehead Republican to rail against. Unfortunately, as happens all too frequently lately at the New York Times, they write on a subject that they haven’t done their research on – clowns.
First of all, like Rush Limbaugh, the great clowns of the 20th Century — Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, to name a few — don’t wear outrageous makeup. What makes them clowns is not their costumes, nor their makeup, but their view of the world. In a very real sense, a true clown holds up a funhouse mirror to the audience, allowing them to see themselves in a new light, and to recognize their own foolish leanings.
Unlike most political commentators in the country today, Rush Limbaugh has the courage of a clown to call something what it plainly is, and boldly declare that the Emperor has no clothes. Self-proclaimed journalists ignore the fact that President Obama’s hand-picked nominee to enforce the tax code is, himself a man with over ten thousand dollars in past due taxes. Rush Limbaugh points out the absurdity of the situation – “demonstrating absurdity by being absurd,” which is indeed what a true clown should do.
Likewise, people who would denigrate and marginalize Rush Limbaugh act shocked that a conservative would oppose President Obama’s massive increase in government spending and taxes. Why? Isn’t that what you would expect a political conservative to do? Is it because his audience continues to grow, while theirs dwindle, or is it more than a case of sour grapes?
In actuality, it frankly doesn’t matter. Rush Limbaugh continues to be himself, mocking those on the left who turn a blind eye to broken promises on earmarks, tax increases on the poor or making the White House a haven for lobbyists. Rush Limbaugh is a clown in the classic sense. Like Will Rogers, a living political cartoon who makes his political opponents look like fools. Perhaps that’s why his opponents are desperate to label him as a clown, trying to return the favor.