True North

Yesterday, Rush confirmed that Clear Channel had signed him through 2016. Now Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Wolff says that it was a bad decision by Clear Channel. Here's one of his quotes:

"I think it's a monster error," Wolff said. "I know, I'm sitting here saying, 'What are these people smoking?' You know, the truth is that Rush Limbaugh has been, he's ridden the rise of conservatism for 25 years and I don't, maybe nobody quite, quite has been following the news, but that's coming to an end."

First off, Rush hasn't "ridden the rise of conservatism." Instead, it's accurate to say that he's been the rise of conservatism. Here's another Wolff quote worth ridiculing:

"It's going to be over and Rush Limbaugh in a relatively short period of time is going to look like a really kind of out-of-it kind of oddity," Wolff said. "And I can not for the life of me imagine how someone could have made this deal."

Men of Rush Limbaugh's talent and intelligence don't become oddities, whether it's in a "short period of time" or otherwise. Rush Limbaugh will leave on his terms at the time of his choosing.

Brian Stetler, a media reporter for The New York Times, disagrees with Wolff but throws in an interesting caveat:

Brian Stetler, a media report [sic] for The New York Times, appeared with Wolff and maintained Limbaugh was worth the deal. However, he suggested Limbaugh may have to "be a little less conservative. "[I] don't think it's a good sign though for the ad market," Stelter said. "I talked to Clear Channel and Premiere Radio today and they said it's pretty much a flat-to-declining market. That said though, Rush is looking at the long-term and if he has to reinvent himself, if he has to be a little less conservative, I think he will, as long as he can retain that audience."

Mr. Stetler is clueless. Rush won't stop being a conservative. That's who he is. It's time that people realize that Rush doesn't play a conservative on radio. It's time that liberal critics of his show realized that Rush is a conservative on and off the airwaves. It's just that simple.

This reminds me of what people said about Rush in 1992. The critics said that Rush needed Bush 41 to win. If Clinton won, that'd be the end of Rush. Then when Rush thrived beating up the Clintons, people suggested that Rush needed a Democrat in the White House because it gave him so much material. Rush proved his critics wrong by flourishing during Bush 43's administration.

In fact, when Rush first took the national stage, people said that talk radio was just a fad that wouldn't last more than a couple years. Rush's critics missed the mark by only 20 years...and counting.

Twenty years later, Rush is still laughing at his critics. That's because they don't realize that he connects with people, that he inspires people to be the best that they can be. That's the part of the equation that liberals like Michael Wolff and Brian Stetler haven't figured out.

That's because they don't pay attention to inspiration and connection. They just get ideology and gamesmanship. That's why they'll remain clueless about conservatism.

Comments welcome at LFR.