Rush Limbaugh’s popularity with the Republican Party and the conservative movement has been on an increase lately. So much that he was even asked to speak at this year’s Conservative Political Activism Conference. But is this good? All politics aside, is it good for Rush Limbaugh to be so popular that any one in the Repulican party who speaks out against him must apologize? No, and here is a list of why it isn’t good. Rush Limbaugh has a “my way or the highway” attitude During his broadcast, Limbaugh consistently attacks all ideologies that do not agree with his views. He goes as far as to call feminists and environmentalists names such as “feminazi” and “environmentalist wacko.” He also talks about the “liberal media” as if all news outlets that weren’t Rush Limbaugh were bent towards liberal ideals. In fact, on his website he makes the claim that his show is the “most right, most accurate, and most correct. People who disagree with this are Rush Deniers.” He also attacks any Republican who “hopes his succeeds.” During one of his shows he read a question asking in 400 words what he hopes happens from the Obama administration, Limbaugh replied “I don’t need a 400 words, I need four: I hope Obama fails.” What is the problem with his polarizing rhetoric and views? People will always have different views, right? People will have differing opinions, but polarizing them to the point that any form of compromise is a sign of being weak or against Limbaugh and conservatives isn’t the answer. The United States was built upon compromises made by people who felt a lot stronger about their opinions than Rush Limbaugh, yet they were able to come together in order to make a better country from both views. Compromising is an American way, so if Limbaugh is adamantly against America because he is adamantly against any compromise with the “Liberal democrats.” Rush Limbaugh is sexist Feminism is the belief that women should be equal to men socially, economically, and politically. Limbaugh believes that this was “established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.” The movement that allowed women the right to vote, a fundamental part of the workplace, and better representation in government, was created to give women independence, not to “allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.” But then again, Limbaugh doesn’t recognize any of these advancements because according to him, “women were doing quite well in this country before feminism came along.” Limbaugh’s sexism doesn’t stop with criticizing gender equality. He constantly downplays women to only having worth in their looks. During Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Limbaugh said “Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?” He also attacked Chelsea Clinton by saying “everyone knows that the Clinton’s have a cat. . . but did you know that they have a dog?” at which point Limbaugh lifts up a picture of Chelsea Clinton who was only 13 years old at the time. This is the kind of conduct that the “leader” of the Republican party uses. Rush Limbaugh detracts from any debate Often surrounded by controversy for making comments that some people find offensive, Rush Limbaugh uses tactics like insulting people, name calling, and libel to get a point across instead of fact-based arguments. One of the more recent controversies that surrounded Limbaugh were the comments he made about Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease. Limbaugh was referring to Fox’s appearance while promoting stem cell research when he said “It’s purely an act. It is really shameless of Michael J. Fox.” Limbaugh also made the claim that Fox purposely didn’t use medications to show the effects of the disease. As if the comments weren’t enough, Limbaugh had to do an offensive impersonation of Fox’s movements. Now whether or not the claims Limbaugh makes are true, Fox said that they weren’t and that he was dyskinesic at the time(a side effect of the drug that makes one suffer from involuntary movements), but the problem is that instead of discussing the debate at hand Limbaugh attacked some one on the opposing side. He did this not as a way of making a more valid argument but by surrounding himself in controversy so he could get more publicity. Final Thoughts on Rush Limbaugh Rush Limbaugh says and does a lot of things that I disagree with. I disagree with his methods and his politics and I don’t like how much influence he has as a commentator. I don’t think, however, that he should be censored. I want him to be off the air because of a lack of listeners. Limbaugh is a commentator and should be taken about as seriously as Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert when it comes to actual politics. Limbaugh dumbs down his listeners by producing a show with only one side to every argument. He doesn’t allow any liberal who actually knows what they are taking about to speak on the show and if one accidentally slips through he interrupts them, dominates conversation, and prevents a real debate from forming. This allows Limbaugh to say what he wants without any of his listeners to actually understand the issue. Don’t listen to Limbaugh or believe anything he has to say.