Rush Limbaugh, Conservative Hypocrite
Posted by: Clay Waters
5/1/2006 8:55:52 AM
Along with the rest of the liberal press, the Times suggests Rush Limbaugh is a hypocrite in its coverage of a deal with prosecutors over the talk show host’s alleged "doctor shopping" to acquire prescription drugs to feed his painkiller addiction.
Reporter Jeff Leeds sets the scene in Saturday’s "In Legal Deal, Limbaugh Surrenders In Drug Case": "Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk-radio host, was charged yesterday with prescription drug fraud and turned himself in to Florida authorities as part of a deal to resolve a lengthy inquiry into whether he improperly obtained painkillers."
It wouldn’t be a Limbaugh story without an allegation of conservative hypocrisy. "Before his own problems with painkillers surfaced, Mr. Limbaugh had regularly told listeners that drug users should be jailed."
Leeds doesn’t provide any back-up quotes to support that generalization, but the most popular "Gotcha!", one that’s been circulating among left-wing sites, is a quote from Limbaugh’s old TV show -- back in 1995. That date alone suggests that perhaps Limbaugh didn’t "regularly" say much about drug users.
(Here’s the quote: "What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with drug sales. Too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we're not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.")
Notice that Limbaugh is talking not about addiction to legal painkillers, but illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin.
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