Rush Limbaugh's Disturbing Hold on His Listeners

Image from source, RushLimbaugh.com

I've commented previously that Rush Limbaugh creeps me the hell out. He is--by far--more than merely a right wing radio bloviator. He fancies himself as an entertainer, Keith Olbermann refers to him as "the comedian." My preferred designation is cult leader. The thrall he holds over his listeners is downright frightening.

Now, you might dismiss me as paranoid, or just biased against right-wing pundits in general. And you might be just a little correct, but that's not all there is to it. I've reported earlier on this blog about how Rush often tells his fans that they don't need to get their news anywhere else, he'll do the work for them. On his website, he gives his listeners marching orders. And today, in a facetious ramble about supporting Sen. Barack Obama for President, he said the following:

"So, using their guidance and using their thought processes, how about, ladies and gentlemen, if I were to announce today and use my powers as a pied piper over all of you mind-numbed robots to declare our support for Obama, for this reason: Some of the key issues that our candidate supports are signature issues of McCain."

Now, you might claim that Rush is just being funny. . .jabbing at liberals like me, who think of him and his dittoheads precisely as he described in the bold letters above. And you might be right, unless you heard the phone call that followed shortly after that:

RUSH: What are you going to do?
CALLER: Well, I'm a member of -- I'm an op for chaos.
RUSH: And so what are you going to do?
CALLER: Well, I'm going to do whatever you say, basically, I just can't bring myself to vote for McCain.
RUSH: A-ha. Well, what if I told you to vote Obama?
CALLER: That's classic. If you were serious, I'd do it. . .

Now really, how far is it from that kind of talk to the big drum of special kool-aid?

Source: Rush Limbaugh