Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Regarding Pierre Noth's comments on Rush Limbaugh.

In a recent editorial, Pierre Noth, the Editorial Page Editor of the local Rome News Tribune, took a swipe at radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh. Sadly, I cannot link to an online copy of this editorial (the newspaper is far too low tech for that).
Below is my letter to Mr. Noth in response to his editorial.


In his recent editorial criticizing radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Editorial Page Editor Pierre Noth betrays himself to be less familiar with Mr. Limbaugh's program than he would have us believe.

A perfect example of this is Noth's accusation that "Limbaugh repeatedly says that his abilities and self proclaimed wisdom 'come directly from God '". As even the most casual listener to the radio show knows, the actually catch phrase is "Talent, on loan from God". Rather than see this as an example of an inflated ego, I have always taken that phrase to be Rush's clever play on the clichéd term "God given talent". Perhaps, this is just a wee bit too clever for some to appreciate.

Like most of Mr. Limbaugh's detractors, Mr. Noth finds it necessary to make snide, offhand remarks about Mr. Limbaugh's weight. This is the sort of thing I would expect from a second rate comic like Al Franken, but I would have thought that a first rate journalist would be above poking fun at someone's physical appearance.

Mr. Noth goes on to suggest that it's Rush's $100 million a year income that explains his support for "tax cuts for the rich". Are we letting our jealously and envy get the better of us, Pierre? I'd say earning 1 percent of that income would be impressive for someone who "flunked out of college" and "failed a course in ballroom dancing".

Noth writes that Limbaugh wouldn't dare to run for political office because his loss would expose how much in the minority his viewpoints really are. I suggest that Mr. Noth run for office, as he most assuredly believes his views to be more mainstream. Besides, we all know that newspapers are rapidly losing readers to the Internet news sites and Mr. Noth may be looking to make a career move sooner than he'd like.

Mr. Noth says that there are two sides to an argument....unless Limbaugh is a participant, in which case he will shout down the other person and not allow a word in. Any listener to Rush Limbaugh's program knows that the quickest way to get bumped to the head of the call-in list is to be critical of Rush. Contrary to what Mr. Noth would have us believe, Limbaugh does not browbeat callers who go against him. He'll allow even the most pointy-headed Liberal to have his or her say.

The same cannot be said for the Rome News Tribune editorial page. Mr. Noth has complete control over which letters get published and which do not; a letter may not see the printing press if it contradicts one of Mr. Noth's pet beliefs.

Having written that, I know that Pierre may very well prove me to be a liar by printing this. If, however, this is published in the newspaper, it will not go unedited nor without a misleading and inflammatory headline at the top.

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