Limbaugh: true right-wing crank and amoral wretch

I once had a conservative friend who asked me why I hate and deride the likes of Rush Limbaugh so much. (At least, I think she did. My memory’s tricked me before.) Well, there are understandably many solid reasons to dislike him – he’s an odious, dishonest, fear-mongering and propagandizing gasbag (and is readily exposed as such), but those are just part of the equation. One of the real reasons why I loathe people like him, is because they’re so incredibly morally bankrupt. Here’s an example: watch as Limbaugh, debating on the healthcare issue with William Shatner on (what I believe is) Shatner’s Raw Nerve, openly and shamelessly compares the basic fundamental humane right that is access to healthcare, to buying a luxury home and further claiming that it’s perfectly normal, even preferable, for wealthy people to get better healthcare than less financially able folks who are, and should be, left with the rest.

That sink in yet? Okay, now watch the vid for yourselves.

SHATNER: ‘Here’s my premise, that you agree with it or not: that if you have money, you’re gonna get healthcare; if you don’t have money, it’s more difficult.’

LIMBAUGH: ‘If you have money, you’re gonna get a house on the beach; if you don’t have money, you’re gonna live in a bungalow somewhere.’

SHATNER: ‘Right, but we’re talking about healthcare.’

LIMBAUGH: ‘What’s the difference?’

SHATNER: ‘The difference is that we’re talking about healthcare.’

LIMBAUGH: ‘No, no – you’re assuming that there’s some morally superior aspect to healthcare than there is to a house –’

Shorter Limbaugh: “Rich people have more money, so just like we get better houses, we should get better healthcare. Poor people are, and should be, stuck to living in bungalows and, as far as getting medical treatment goes, they can kiss rich people’s asses.”

He even accuses Shatner of believing that there’s a “morally superior aspect to healthcare” than to real estate. Uh … big fucking DUH?! Seriously – what the hell?? Buying a home is one thing; people can live in small apartments or even in shelters. It’s certainly not preferable or fair, but at least they can survive that way, if only until they’re able to get back on their feet and get some proper lodging. I’ll tell you what they can’t survive: getting struck by illness or injury and not having access to healthcare. Healthcare being a “morally superior” issue isn’t just granted, it’s inherent. To honestly claim that there’s no difference at all, morally, in between rich people being able to afford fancier homes and rich people getting the best healthcare while the rest of us get the rest … that takes some truly remarkable mental acrobatics, oiled by an equally remarkable amount of amorality.

He ends by saying that he “[want] America to be the best country it can be”. That would be a United States where there are no poor people to suck up all that precious rich-people’s healthcare, of course. (And, considering this is Limbaugh, probably no Blacks, immigrants and non-Christian people, either.)

(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)
Technorati tags: Rush Limbaugh · healthcare · William Shatner · vileness · amorality