When we last left the most vociferous intellectual leader in the conservative movement, he was being widely condemned for telling NY Times environment reporter Revkin: “Why don’t you just go kill yourself?” Limbaugh’s remarks were far beyond the pale even for his brand of extremism.
Yesterday, Limbaugh closed his show with a mention of this incident (audio here):
(music up)…Another excursion into broadcast excellence gone, in the blink of an eye. The fastest three hours of media. You remember last week I had a little fun with this New York Times guy Revkin who seriously considered the carbon limiting implications of limiting childbirths to one per family and I suggested show us some leadership on this. I mean you’re always telling everybody else to not have any go ahead and show us how it works. Die and save the planet. And he was profoundly offended by this and I’m told wants an apology…. (music up, end)
In the comments section of his blog, Revkin takes an Uber-optimistic spin on what looks to me like another slap in the face:
Hey all, is this a Rush version of an apology? Keep in mind I only sought one for my wife and two sons (note I’m below replacement level), not myself. I get hammered by just about everyone, but they don’t.
I think the answer is, “No, Andy, that would not be an apology.” It sounded more to me like doubling down (aka an anti-apology) — wherein the speaker points out that he has been asked to apologize but then refuses to do so.
Urging another human being to commit suicide is grotesque, though you could perhaps partially excuse his behavior as the ramblings of a guy trying to fill hours and hours of airtime. But now we know that Limbaugh has taken the time to actually think through what he said and what it meant — and he still defends it and reject an apology. That is doubly grotesque.
Shame on Rush.
