By Scott Tibbs, April 29, 2008
Rush Limbaugh sparked controversy last week when he said he was "dreaming of riots in Denver" during the Democrat Party's national convention this summer. Limbaugh said that riots would ensure that the Democrats to not win in November, and having the Democrats lose would be "the best damn thing could happen for this country." While I respect Limbaugh a lot and credit him for helping shape my political views, what he said about riots was just plain irresponsible and he should apologize for those offensive comments.
Would riots at the Democrat Party's convention this summer benefit the Republican Party, politically, in the November elections? Probably. But people are going to be hurt and killed in a riot, including innocent bystanders and police officers. No amount of political gain is worth that price. It is not unreasonable to hope that the Democrat Party becomes fractured at the convention, especially if Barack Hussein Obama holds the advantage in the popular vote but the superdelegates throw the nomination to Hillary Clinton. But no conservative should be hoping for violence of any kind. That discredits the primary issue for many conservatives: the sanctity of human life.
In addition, supporters of both Clinton and Obama need to be responsible in the words they use leading up to the convention. Limbaugh has pointed out that notorious race baiter Al Sharpton has promised "trouble" if the superdelegates give the nomination to Clinton. With the atmosphere at the convention likely to be emotionally charged, Democrats should be prepared to denounce Sharpton should he become unnecessarily inflammatory. Of course, it would be great if Sharpton would not be unnecessarily inflammatory in the first place. Unfortunately, that is not very likely. Sharpton is interested only in himself and the attention he can get.
On the other side of the fence, can we please have a story about Limbaugh without bringing up his past abuse of the prescription drug Oxycontin? It's an old story, a dead horse that has been beaten into the ground. It serves absolutely no purpose to bring it up, over and over again. It does nothing to enhance arguments against anything Limbaugh says. As a matter of fact, bringing up Oxycontin serves the exact opposite purpose by galvanizing Limbaugh's supporters around him. It's an insult and a taunt, nothing more.
