Indiana Limbaugh and the Temple of Gloom

By Si Dunn

The Washington Post has reported that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is claiming smashing success for his “Operation Chaos” in the Indiana Democratic primary.

In several recent primaries, Limbaugh has urged Republican listeners “to vote for Clinton to ‘bloody up Obama politically’ and prolong the Democratic fight.”

According the Post: “Limbaugh crowed about the success of his ploy all day Tuesday, featuring on-air testimonials from voters in Indiana and North Carolina who recounted their illicit pleasure in casting a vote for Clinton.” Limbaugh contends that “his” voters cast the votes that gave Hillary Clinton her narrow, 14,000-vote win.

Now, in his own “Mission Accomplished” moment, however, Limbaugh is telling his 20 million listeners that Barack Obama actually will prove to be the weaker of the two Democrats against John McCain. (Meaning: “I know I told you I wanted that Devil incarnate, Hillary, to win. But now that she can’t win and I’m beginning look stupid, I want Obama to win, so I’ll look smart again.”)

Meanwhile, supporters of Obama, Clinton and a possible Obama-Clinton ticket may be tempted to respond: "Hey, wake up and smell the change, Rushmore. Once the Democrats unite and line up their new waves of registered voters, it’s gonna be tsunami time for anything resembling neoconservative Republicanism. Your signal’s gonna take a big-time fade, bud."

I had a Rush Limbaugh-Indiana moment a few years ago while driving through some of that state’s rural areas. I turned on my car’s AM radio, hoping to get some sense of the local, small-town news or music. Instead, on every audible channel from 540 to 1610 kilohertz, it was all Rush Limbaugh all the time, amplitude-modulating his spleen.

It was hot outside in the Indiana sun, and almost no one was visible doing any work in the great fields of corn. There seemed to be no life, either, in the widely scattered farmhouses. Yet, Rush Limbaugh’s radio rants were flowing over and through thousands of acres of corn, from horizon to horizon. And the stalks seemed utterly unmoved by his vitriol.

For just a moment, it reminded me of a grim movie scene where emaciated prisoners stand huddled inside a barbed-wire compound while loudspeakers blare “Achtung! Achtung!” and warn against trying to escape.

American politics has long had its share of colorful scoundrels, thieves and fools. Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos,” however, is just one more sad example of how small-minded people can become once they convince themselves that they are completely right and anyone who doesn’t agree with them is completely wrong.

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