The Rush Limbaugh Appreciation Thread

[Xenophanes]

Talk Radio is about emotion more than logic, reason or insight.  It is about portraying the other party as the enemies willfully tearing the country down.  It is rage fueled paranoia.  I think that it does harm to the people that listen.  Either it closes minds or makes blood boil.  It is bad news.

There's always Stephanie Miller.  She's progressive but she deals with reality.

http://www.stephaniemiller.com/listen-live/

[bigshot]

Championship Wrestling is a lot of fun, but some very silly people get all worked up over it and think it's real.

[Florestan]

...to be called "far left" by people on the Right.  A important distinction.  As has been pointed out by others,  "conservative" in European terms (especially the UK) would often be "Democratic Party" in the US (or, to be fair,  old style Republican before the GOP got taken over by the true Right.)

FWIW

1. I am European (Romanian)

2. I consider myself a Liberal in the classical European sense: I am very sympathetic to the kind of Liberalism espoused by Benjamin Constant and Wilhelm von Humboldt.

3. I also consider myself (paradoxically for those unfamiliar with European history, not so at all for those familiar with)  an "extreme conservative arch-liberal" or "liberal of the extreme right": I am also very sympathetic to the social and political stances of Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn.

4. I'll leave it to you as an exercise to place me on the contemporary US political map. 

[Gurn Blanston]

FWIW

1. I am European (Romanian)

2. I consider myself a Liberal in the classical European sense: I am very sympathetic to the kind of Liberalism espoused by Benjamin Constant and Wilhelm von Humboldt.

3. I also consider myself (paradoxically for those unfamiliar with European history, not so at all for those familiar with)  an "extreme conservative arch-liberal" or "liberal of the extreme right": I am also very sympathetic to the social and political stances of Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn.

4. I'll leave it to you as an exercise to place me on the contemporary US political map. 

A problem with US political map is that it seems to be based on the concept that if you believe one thing, then you believe everything the same as the cohort who also believe that. Perhaps it is that way everywhere (I wouldn't know), but here we only have, at most, 3 names for categories (Conservative = Republican, Liberal = Democrat, Independent = Libertarian) , and if you belong in 1, then it is a killing offense to be sympathetic to any of the beliefs of those in a different barrel. I see you folk have anywhere from 5 to 50 political parties/categories, so once you find your proper place, it must be good to actually have a kindred spirit.   (Of course, I, personally, have no kindred spirit politically ).

[Todd]

and if you belong in 1, then it is a killing offense to be sympathetic to any of the beliefs of those in a different barrel

A bit extreme, I would think.  Conservatives often have no issue with some Libertarian views, as they pertain to business, gun rights, etc.

[kishnevi]

A bit extreme, I would think.  Conservatives often have no issue with some Libertarian views, as they pertain to business, gun rights, etc.

It's probably more precise to say that libertarians are conservatives who reject government social intervention whether it's engineered by the left or the right (for instance, the war on drugs).  Someone once described libertarianism as being so far to the right they've turned into the left.  And there's a difference between Libertarian Party, an organized political group (I use the term organized very loosely), and libertarians, many of whom describe themselves as conservatives, Independents, or anarcho-capitalists.  And many Independents are simply somewhere between the Democrats and the Republicans.

In American terms, Florestan is not on the political map so much as he's all over it

[Todd]

And many Independents are simply somewhere between the Democrats and the Republicans.

Agreed.

The US political system has always struck me as rather narrow in scope.  Both main parties are essentially Liberal (big L), though clearly they differ in policy and other specifics.  I don't see large, concerted assaults on private property, say, or a push to have an official national church established.  Other views have always had a hard time gaining ground.  There are always third parties to choose from, but they are usually silly.  Commies, Socialists, Constitutionalists, Greens, whatever, they all fare poorly.  Usually, when I see and hear people lament about not having a third party or Independent Party in the US, they really just want what would be moderate by US standards, which means merging what are seen as the best ideas, or at least ideas, of both parties.  Perhaps that would simply be really big L Liberalism.  (Well, not really.)

[Florestan]

Well, according to the Political Compass test here is where I stand:

Economic Left/Right: -0.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.36



(with the caveat that some questions are thus formulated as to beg the answer).

So much for my Liberalism! Looks like I am far-left compared to the US guys... 

[kishnevi]

Well, according to the Political Compass test here is where I stand:

Economic Left/Right: -0.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.36



(with the caveat that some questions are thus formulated as to beg the answer).

So much for my Liberalism! Looks like I am far-left compared to the US guys... 

If my memory of that test is correct.  you're well within the moderate camp in terms of US politics.  (I am pretty sure that "Barack Obama" is seriously mislabeled there!)  When I took it, many years ago,  I was IIRC well to the bottom (ie,  Social Libertarian) for the vertical and somewhere close to the center for the horizontal (the Left-Right axis).

[Florestan]

I have taken the test again, this time allowing some corrections for those questions formulated in an obviously tendentious manner. The results are more consistent with what I would've expected: now I'm further on the right on the economic scale and more or less in the same spot on the social scale.

Economic Left/Right: 3.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.46



Based on that, can anyone tell me which US party would suit me best and which candidate would be most likely to have my vote were I American and republican (small r)? 

[Superhorn]

   Rush Limbaugh claims to have "talent on loan from God", but his  only talent is for making a fool of himself .
He is a joke. 

[Todd]

but his only talent is for making a fool of himself.

He also has a talent for making huge sums of money.

[Karl Henning]

He has little talent for ... oh, never mind.

[DavidW]

No wonder I hate politicians, they are so far removed from my pov:



-1.9, -4.4 I'm a left libertarian.

[kishnevi]

I have taken the test again, this time allowing some corrections for those questions formulated in an obviously tendentious manner. The results are more consistent with what I would've expected: now I'm further on the right on the economic scale and more or less in the same spot on the social scale.

Economic Left/Right: 3.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.46



Based on that, can anyone tell me which US party would suit me best and which candidate would be most likely to have my vote were I American and republican (small r)? 

At a guess, the Republican party when and if it returns to its senses.

You are too far to the right in economics to be comfortable with the Democrats;  you're not authoritarian enough to be comfortable with the Republicans (although from what I've read of your comments, in foreign policy matters you'd be much more comfortable with the Democrats).

Twenty years ago,  you might have been a conservative Democrat or a moderate Republican, but those seem to be extinct species.  Or at least very dormant ones.  The old style conservative Democrats have either joined the Republicans or died off or disappeared;  the old style moderate Republcans seem to have decided to hunker down or play loyal partisans while the more extreme conservatives romp through the GOP.

[Florestan]

At a guess, the Republican party when and if it returns to its senses.

Aha!

You are too far to the right in economics to be comfortable with the Democrats;  you're not authoritarian enough to be comfortable with the Republicans

It's not my fault then; it is they both who would be uncomfortable with me. 

(although from what I've read of your comments, in foreign policy matters you'd be much more comfortable with the Democrats).

The principle I uphold for my own country and would like to see uphold by any other country  is "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none. ~ Thomas Jefferson". Now, I am fully aware that in the contemporary world it is impossible for it to be uphold; therefore I side with the US, NATO and what is generally known as "the Western World" --- because I am convinced that, for all its flaws and defaults, it is the least bad of all the political and economical arrangements that have been tried.

Twenty years ago,  you might have been a conservative Democrat or a moderate Republican, but those seem to be extinct species.  Or at least very dormant ones.  The old style conservative Democrats have either joined the Republicans or died off or disappeared;  the old style moderate Republcans seem to have decided to hunker down or play loyal partisans while the more extreme conservatives romp through the GOP.

Okay, I've got it: right now I'm neither a conservative Democrat nor a moderate Republican. I am what I've always considered myself to be: a European classical liberal. 

[Kontrapunctus]

I'll appreciate reading his obituary...or at least that he has moved out of the US as promised if Obama won the '08 election.

[Gurn Blanston]

Actually, I was a bit curious about all this so I Googled it up and took the test myself:



Here's the link if you hadn't tried it yet.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/test

[Mirror Image]

Your political compass:

Economic Left/Right: -4.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.54

I'm a Social Libertarian.

[Karl Henning]

My political compass

Economic Left/Right: -5.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.23