Collected by Christopher Bateman
Rush Limbaugh’s three-decade career in radio has produced some of the dumbest statements ever uttered. To coincide with Michael Wolff’s article on Limbaugh from the new issue, VF.com presents a list of the schlock jock’s 10 most asinine pronouncements:
1. “There is no conclusive proof that nicotine’s addictive… And the same thing with cigarettes causing emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease.”
2. “Columbus saved the Indians from themselves.”
3. “He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act… This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting.”
4. “[African Americans] are twelve percent of the population. Who the hell cares?”
5. “Kurt Cobain was, ladies and gentlemen, a worthless shred of human debris.”
6. “Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.”
7. “We are a growing country and everybody needs energy! We’re not going to stay the United States if we start reducing energy usage. Conservation is not the answer.”
8. To a black caller: “Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.”
9. On torture at Abu Ghraib: “This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation. And we’re going to ruin people’s lives over it, and we’re going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I’m talking about people having a good time, these people-you ever heard of emotional release? You ever heard of need to blow some team off?”
10. “Screw the world. Do you really think we ought to govern ourselves based on what the world thinks of us?”
Photograph courtesy of Patrick McMullan.
This is real funny! I like the first one where Columbus saved the Indians from themselves! ๐
Of course, each statement is taken out of context. Liberals simply can’t tell the truth. Because when they do, people discover who and what they really are, and would never support them.
Lets take one question, for example, about Columbus and the Indians. He was stating that without Western-European influence, the American Indians would have died out as a race. They were in a state of constant war among themselves. They had not progressed one bit technologically, medically or socially in thousands of years. They were cavemen, and would have died out from disease or famin, or would have been concuered by a more advanced race eventually. Any race too stupid to progress enough to defend themselves will always be concuered by someone else.
They were not in a state of constant war amongst themselves. In fact, the tribal disputes were usually small and settled quickly. Generally, the Indians lived a very peaceful way of life. They figured out how to harvest many different crops and plants, mastered the art of hunting game, and lived in a highly organized society in which many people participated in the governance and decision making. They were extremely generous with their personal possessions, and mostly disregarded seizing land and other natural articles as their own “private property” (unlike the money-grabbing Spaniard Columbus). They had learned to live off the land quite sufficiently for their way of life. It was the ebullient capitalist greed of Columbus and his acolytes that destroyed the Arawak Indians. It was not themselves. Rush Limbaugh’s thoughts here show him to be nothing more then a self-aggrandizing jackass that is revising history to square up with his demented confirmation bias.
Mr. Fleming:
F-A-M-I-N-E … C-O-N-Q-U-E-R-E-D … You haven’t progressed enough to even know how to spell or have the presence of mind to use spell-check. The Indians were not cavemen and knew how to cultivate, so check your facts before you become as asinine as Limbaugh (unless you’re there already, which seems entirely plausible). Limbaugh is a pedantic, self-centered bigot, and anyone who takes him seriously is an automaton that needs Limbaugh to spell their own bigotry out to them.
Have a great day!
Dan, there are lots of other conservatives you can look up to that make a lot more sense than Limbaugh. He simply caters to the mindless uneducated masses and its a shame that with your comments you place yourself soundly in that group.
Haha, I like this:
6. โFeminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.โ
Context is important, too, people. I could list 10 things that I have said that would seem 50 times dumber than that–provided they also had no context.
Rush Limbaugh’s 10 Dumbest Remarks? Why stop at ten??
I thought we’d have been done with this guy after the huge drug scandal (swept under the rug) and the “Is Rush gay?” tabloid blip (who cares?!). But let us get an actual ELECTED President, and this guy rises again like the undead, eager to stir up the American public.
One of our the comments on this “Best Article Every day” feature is that “each statement is taken out of context.” REALLY?!!? Isn’t that the very nature of a quote? I had a religious broadcast peon to complain that I had taken a Bible verse out of context.
What did she want, that I quote a whole chapter, instead of slipping in just “Hebrews 12:8” ? Forget the context — I doubt I could sit through the context of a whole Rush flush just to hear one pithy line. Actually, I’d rather apply his own insults back to Mr. L, like his No. 5 on this list, when he pontificated, “Kurt Cobain was, ladies and gentlemen, a worthless shred of human debris.”
That’s a prime example of the pot calling a kettle black. I can’t think of a bigger chunk of debris than this waste of broadcasting space. If he doesn’t like the President that America elected, tell Rush to hop a boat to some tropical backwater. For many of us, it would be great to see his voluminous backside dwindling into the distance.
How about such a list on Ann Coulter? She’s a lot smarter and a better writer than this guy. And when she starts foaming at the mouth with her “con”-servative insanity, at least we can turn off the sound and watch the TV picture.
1. 3 decades ago, no one knew anything about cigarettes. this is out of context.
2. look at the mayan civilization and what became of them… how do you know columbus DIDNT save the indians from themselves.
3. I wasnt there and neither were you. how do you know he WASNT exagerating? millions of people exagerate their afflictions to get more attention.
4. indeed. who the hell cares. lets worry less about being some special demographic and worry more about being AMERICANS
5. Cobain WAS a worthless piece of trash. he inspired millions of youth to think that their lives suck
6. there is nothing untrue about this statement. lie to yourself and believe otherwise if you want.
7. taken out of context. energy conservation is not the [best, only, end all] answer.
8. a) why do you assume that caller was black. you are generalizing white man’s “disdain” for black people. shame on you. b) if that caller was ingorant and inflammatory, you would have said the same thing. dont be a hypocrite.
9. define torture. if you answered emotional distress, then all the interogators on all the police forces around the world are guilty of torture. what is the difference between causing someone to believe he will drown and causing someone believe he will go to jail for the rest of his life? no physical harm was inflicted. answers were gained, AMERICAN soldiers’ lives were saved from that information.
10. do you think your high school english lit teacher should have taken your concerns into account when he assigned you that 10 page paper? do you think your boss at work should appologize for writing you up when you showed up late to work? do you think we should try to make everyone happy all the time? remember, it’s lonely at the top… if you want to make friends, move to canada.
Rush Limbaugh is not a politician. He’s a comedian, an entertainer. Much worse statements have been uttered by other entertainers and they don’t get shit for it. Rush Limbaugh only is because all the Liberals get their panties up in a bunch and complain about him making fun of them. Do you ever hear a Conservative getting all pissy about comedians making fun of them (which happens all the time)?
Do yourselves all a favor and ignore all pundits, right and left, do your own research and make up your own minds.
โKurt Cobain was, ladies and gentlemen, a worthless shred of human debris <— very funny ha ha ha
“Do yourselves all a favor and ignore all pundits, right and left, do your own research and make up your own minds.”
Fucking seconded.
1. Everyone says dumb things occasionally. Limbaugh has been on the air for 20 years, doing a live 3-hour program every day. He has certainly said a few things during that time that even his faithful followers don’t agree with.
2. Whether anyone likes it or not, context IS important. Without the context of the original statement, the quote loses at least some of its meaning. If you insist on condemning someone by listing things that they have said, you are obligated to provide at least a minimal context. Otherwise, you are being dishonest and unethical.
3. I have a Ph.D. from a major American university. I am one of those “mindless, uneducated masses” who listen to Rush Limbaugh. I don’t swallow completely everything he says, and I don’t agree with everything he says. But I do agree with a lot of it, because a lot of what he says is correct.
4. When you say that Limbaugh appeals to the “mindless, uneducated masses” you are committing the “ad hominem” logical fallacy–criticizing the person instead of the argument. So what if Limbaugh appeals to the uneducated masses? He doesn’t [see #3 above], but what if he does? That isn’t the issue. The issue is whether what he says is right or wrong.
5. Of the 10 “dumb things” that you have collected above, only one–#1–can possibly be considered to be an incorrect statement, and then IFF–“if and only if”–you have actually quoted Limbaugh correctly. The other 9 statements need a fuller context to be understood, and are clearly, in THIS context, just your attempt to dump on Rush Limbaugh because you don’t like him.
So, go ahead and just say “I hate Rush Limbaugh.” But 10 dumb things”–? Nah.
These are clearly taken out of context! This is nothing more than anti-Conservative propaganda by mainstream liberals :/.
1. “Everyone says dumb things…” Okay, so what’s your problem?
2. Who is “condemning someone by listing things that they have said?” I think we all know what Rush stands for. Anyone who doesn’t can listen to his program.
3. Having a Ph.D. from a major American university doesn’t mean much these days. You say you agree with a lot of what he says because it is correct. You do not need to agree with something that is correct (unless perhaps you are accustomed to delusion). Perhaps you agree with it because it is your opinion that it is correct.
4. It is not a logical fallacy to say that Limbaugh appeals to the mindless, uneducated masses. It is a statement that is either true or false, and it has important implications. It would be a fallacy to say Rush’s statements are wrong BECAUSE he appeals to the mindless, uneducated masses, but there is no such extension. You’re simply upset by this statement, so you’re lashing out by saying it’s a logical fallacy, but you fail to comprehend logic.
5. LMAO. All but #1, huh?
zufolek, you are a douche. YOU try to get a doctoral degree. it’s not a cake walk.
Doesn’t Rush take what others say out of context all the time? He is not a comedian has never worked a comedian and is not even funny!! He is the mouth piece for the the GOP ask Dick Cheney. If the “party of morals” wants him as their spokes person I say great, he is a three time divorced, prescription drug addict, who was “asked to resign” from ESPN for making racial remarks. How many people would Rush degrate for having this kind of record.
I agree with his last comment. Can anyone give me a legitimate reason as to why we should listen to the rest of the world? We as a nation are a unique entity (or were upon our founding…) and have been successful. Why jeopardize that by listening to those who have been less successful?
lmfao….
Rush…a comedian…yeah…right
the man obviously thinks hes some sort of political stratigist/commentator
but in reality he is simply an uneducated moron
yes maybe some of these statements were taken out of context
but I could find you 100+ that were not and still make him sound like an idiot
and number 6 is hilariouse…and definetly not true.
Rush Is Right 98% of the time. Most of these comments where right and you know it. You just dont have the guts to say it. Keep on going Rush! We love ya!
Saved the Indians from themselves? Really? First of, it’s Native Americans. They are not Indians, Indians are from India. Secondly, famine and disease killed them because of outsiders. They didn’t have immunities to many of the filthy diseases the Europeans had. Secondly, they knew how to cultivate and felt the land belonged to everyone. They were used, abused and killed off. Though Native americans fought others sometimes, they were no where near barbaric, stupid, uncivilized or evil wretched creatures like so many American Presidents so long ago claimed. As time progressed they were kicked out of land, no matter how much they tried to be accepted. Even going as far as owning slaves. Their population dropped substanstially because of the the Europeans. Saved? More like willingly tried to exterminate.
I really disagree with his Kurt Cobain remark…FUCK HIM!
and fuck anyone who agrees
and fuck you. i knew i should have had an abortion…
I, for one, completly and utterly resent his comment on Kurt Cobain…