Refresher on LIMBOsevic 101

[UTUSN]

It is just too high concept to say that LIMBOsevic and the rest of the wingnut flying monkeys "demonize" us-- the Left (in the umbrella sense) as being "loony Left. Crazies. Extremists."

That's what he has been doing all day today, besides that he does it off and on all the time.

But let's go back 15 years, to when LIMBOsevic went national. My local all-talk radio station was always on at work, and it consisted of Dr Joy BROWNE, the Brit Michael JACKSON in L.A., psychiatrist Dr David VISCOTT, and ONE, local wingnut crazy. So the line-up was relatively non-political, but generally "humanist".

When LIMBOsevic exploded onto my little desktop radio, it was SHOCKING. The #1 thing was the raucous rock theme song (by the Pretenders, who say THEY are not wingnuts, but their parents listen to him). Then he spent the next few weeks spelling his name. Then he told us it would take six weeks before anybody would understand him. But the MAIN OBJECTIVE he had from the first day was to DE-MARGINALIZE the wingnut movement and to make it "normal" and mainstream.

Needless to say, BROWNE-JACKSON-VISCOTT are gone today and we have ALL wingnuts ALL the time: BECK, LIMBOsevic, HANNITY, O'LOOFAH, INGRAHAM. Even poor Jim BOHANNAN tries not to "take sides" much.

Yes, his wingnut followers were ecstatic to hear their views actually being broadcast with music and JOY and LACK OF SHAME and began calling in in floods. And what did LIMBOsevic do? He very overtly SCREENED THEM OUT!!1 Yes, any of those John Birchers and Tri-lateralists and whatever other wackos were screened out.


We all know he has succeeded. Forget Ridiculous Ronnie RAYGUN. LIMBOsevic is probably the single most influential (for ill, of course) thing that has happened in U.S. politics in our generation.

Now, back to today. After he succeeded in re-defining the wingnuts, he could turn his full attention to MARGINALIZING US. The verbal abuse he has hurled today at "the Loony Left" is a concentrated version of this: Making US (I who am sometimes called here a DLCer and sneered-at "Centrist" and corporate tool) the FRINGE, the weirdos, the wackos.

Why have our Democratic politicians been put on the defensive about "the loony Left BASE"---why do media reporters do the wingnut work of demanding that Dem leaders DISAVOW Michael MOORE, Moveon, and even (in the past) Whoopie GOLDBERG? Why aren't we demanding at every turn that Rethug politicians disavow The Minutemen, the Swiftbots, and all manner of wingnut nutcases?

The wingnut school of thought had long been MARGINALIZED for what they were (and are). Not only were they considered to be extremists and fringe, but also old fashioned fuddy duddys who disapproved of all "modern" things like rock'n'roll. LIMBOsevic took on the monumental task of re-defining and reversing the image of a whole political movement and of making it out to be the new norm, mainstream, and the Center.

[UTUSN]

1. A kick from page three oblivion. n/t