Lessons Learned From Rush

October 15, 2003

Conservatives across America were shocked on October 10 th when talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh confessed to his 20 million listeners that he was addicted to prescription painkillers.   As a result of unsuccessful back surgery years before, Rush had become more and more dependant on the little pills to ease his discomfort and help him make it through the day.   He turned around six or seven years later to find that he was popping an alarming number of them.   His former housekeeper claims he was using her to score more than his doctor would prescribe on the black market.

 

Those of us who admire Rush for not only what he's meant to the conservative movement but talk radio were dismayed and disappointed, to say the least.   It was inconceivable that someone of the stature of Rush could fall victim to the frailties of the human condition.   But he did.   And now we have to deal with it.   The interesting part will be in how we deal with it.

 

Exactly a week before Rush's confession, while the wounds were still fresh from the ESPN/Donavan McNabb flap and the drug allegations were just beginning to surface, I advised my listeners to brace themselves.   The fact that Rush had returned to the airwaves, addressed the rumors but refused to deny them didn't, in my mind, bode well for El Rushbo.   A few listeners excoriated me for pointing out that Rush did not deny the allegations thus there must be some truth to them.   They accused me of becoming part of the “liberal media” intent on destroying conservatism via Rush Limbaugh.   It was tantamount to killing the messenger.   The vast majority of listeners, however, understood that an innocent man would never pass up the opportunity to tell 20 million people the truth.

 

I personally did some soul-searching that day.   I wondered aloud on the air if this were someone on the other side of the aisle, say, Al Franken or Tom Daschle, how would we, as conservatives, react?   How would Rush react?   I'd like to think that I would offer compassion in a difficult situation and show some restraint but I couldn't swear to it.   I'm sure many other soul-searching conservatives would reach the same conclusion.

 

To be sure, Rush's path to addiction cannot be compared to the illicit drug user who first sets out on a more sinister journey to get high, knowing that what he's doing is immoral and illegal.   Rush was legitimately prescribed painkillers by a licensed doctor after serious surgery.   However, the time came when he crossed over to addiction and he chose his next steps poorly.   That's not an excuse for Rush's addiction – there is no excuse – it's merely the reason he finds himself in the mess he's in.

 

So, what now?   There are those who suggest that Rush's addiction exposes him as a hypocrite thus nullifying the entire conservative movement.   That's poppycock.   Rush's addiction no more nullifies the conservative movement than Jesse Jackson's exposure as an adulterer and a shake-down artist nullifies the Civil Rights movement.

 

Rush is not the conservative movement, nor is he the head of such movement.   He is a cog in the perpetually turning wheel of debate in America.   A very important cog, mind you, but by no means the whole machine.

 

Hollywood should resist the temptation to gloat or lecture and offer some of that compassion they're always bragging about.   Rush has already hit rock bottom.   He will now need God's help - from whom his talent is on loan - to make it through this ordeal.   He also has the benefit of knowing that 20 million listeners are praying him through.