LIMBAUGH RIP?

 Today, at the age of seventy, radio personality Rush Limbaugh died of lung cancer.  In many ways, his passing just after Donald Trump exited the White House has a certain perfect symmetry to it; Limbaugh's rambling, hate mongering broadcasts over the years primed a right wing audience for Trump's similarly rambling, hate mongering speeches. And even before Trump, Limbaugh paved the way for the entire right wing media, showing that there was audience for a combination of bigotry, bullying and conspiracy theories.  From Fox News to Qanon,   Limbaugh influenced them all.

While I have always found Limbaugh's politics abhorrent, as an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, it would be hypocritical for me to say that I take any pleasure in his passing.  But I feel no sadness, not just because I think that he was a misogynistic bigot, but also because of the terrible behavior he has promoted over the years.  I'm talking about his advocating for cigar smoking.

Limbaugh has continually promoted cigar  smoking on his show; often he would praise the joys of a "good" cigar, and in most of his promotional photos he would be holding one.  One time on his show he even flat out lied and said that the dangers of tobacco were being overhyped and it wasn't dangerous at all.  This may have had more to do with the fact that tobacco companies tended to make more contributions to the Republicans than to the Democrats than his own personal enjoyment.  

Either way, this was a man who broadcasted for decades to  millions of people.  How many of those people started smoking or decided not to quit because they listened to him?  How many children heard him talking about the joys of cigar smoking and decided to try it?  When you are a media figure that influences millions of people (many of whom proudly proclaimed themselves "ditto heads") isn't it wildly irresponsible to promote something as unhealthy as smoking?  The Center for Disease Control estimates that almost five hundred thousand people die every year from smoking in this country.  How many of those people were fans of Limbaugh?

When you combine his promotion of cigar smoking with his similarly deplorable comments about the coronavirus (which he said was no worse than the common cold, even as it was ravaging the country) it's clear that this man openly endorsed dangerous behaviors.  Politics aside, this man had blood on his hands.