The war *against* the war on Limbaugh

[richardmyers]

The war *against* the war on Limbaugh

The "war" to hold Rush Limbaugh accountable for his hate speech has taken numerous forms. The idea of a private lawsuit was kicked around, but then discarded. Complaints to the FCC never got far. A petition to remove Limbaugh from Armed Forces Radio made it to the White House, but was denied months prior to the election. There was some clamor about reviving the Fairness Act, but the judicial climate is not favorable. Some talked of mounting protests against radio stations. None of these efforts came to fruition.

What did take hold was a widespread movement to focus on a contradiction in the ultra-lucrative Limbaugh business model: advertisers funding the angry and depraved talk radio program did not necessarily support its excesses. Sponsor advertising is the achilles' heel of the Limbaugh empire.

At the start, hundreds of thousands outraged about Limbaugh's "slut" tirade had participated, with focus on a very small number of companies. Their numbers overwhelmed any resistance, and within ten days, more than 140 major corporations spontaneously distanced themselves from the Limbaugh show.

A few tens of thousands have remained engaged, with some of these making use of the Stop Rush database. Ever since, the simple, systematic process designed to help inform Limbaugh's claimed 18,000 advertisers of their sponsorship has been wreaking havoc on the radio networks that enable Limbaugh.

Pushback, and the birth of a counter-movement, at the link