Wonder how the left was able to mobilize so quickly on the Rush Limbaugh boycott? According to the architect behind it, Media Matters online strategy director Angelo Carusone, the project was actually created in 2009, but stayed inactive until the Sandra Fluke controversy boiled over (via Legal Insurrection):
I started Stop Rush in 2009, 2010, and when I went to register the domain, I saw that Rush owned StopRush.com….
The Beck work was working, and I kind of froze the Rush work, and experimented with it a little, to get a sense of who Rush’s advertisers were and what their comfort level with him was. It was definitely valuable, and I am glad I spent some time doing it. It has informed the work I am doing now.
Legal Insurrection’s William Jacobson connects the dots on the story most of the media missed: that the entire Limbaugh boycott was pure, undistilled Astroturf.
The secondary boycott of Rush Limbaugh advertisers is portrayed in the media as a reaction to a groundswell of public outrage. In fact, the secondary boycott was initiated by and driven by Media Matters, which had a “Stop Limbaugh” campaign on the shelf waiting to be used, and was executed by Angelo Carusone, Director of Online Strategy for Media Matters.
But while Carusone depicts his campaign as a response to the Fluke controversy, it seems obvious from the timeline that Media Matters played a large role in creating the controversy. According to the New York Times, the dormant “Stop Rush” twitter account run by Carusone snapped to life on Wednesday, Feb. 29, the day Limbaugh made his now-infamous comments. Media Matters also appears to be the first media outlet that reported on Limbaugh’s remarks, with Think Progress picking up on the story a few hours later, and the Huffington Post following up that evening.
This is a really useful case study of how the left coordinates to create a full-blown media uproar. Democrats in Congress don’t typically rush out to respond to every insult from conservative radio hosts. But Rep. Nancy Pelosi managed to round up six other female congressional Democrats to release a joint statement condemning Limbaugh’s comments within hours of the broadcast:
“When Sandra Fluke testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee after Republicans attempted to silence her, she courageously spoke truth to power. As a result, today, she has been subject to attacks that are outside the circle of civilized discussion and that unmask the strong disrespect for women held by some in this country. We call upon the Republican leaders in the House to condemn these vicious attacks on Ms. Fluke, which are in response to her testimony to the Congress. Democrats will always stand up for women’s health and women’s voices.”
According to Carusone, he began reaching out to Rush’s advertisers the next day to put the boycott campaign into action. Two days after Limbaugh’s comments, a Friday, President Obama put in a call to Sandra Fluke, which fanned the flames of the controversy and kept it going through the weekend.
Something else worth noting: Tucker Carlson recently reported that Media Matters representatives have weekly meetings with the White House, and the activist group is in close contact with the administration. Was anti-Rush media strategy ever discussed? Was the White House aware that Media Matters had a “Stop Rush” boycott campaign teed up and ready to go? After all, top White House officials have spoken openly about their 2009 campaign to use Rush Limbaugh to attack the Republican Party.
The anti-Limbaugh boycott may not have been the wild success Media Matters wanted it to be, since at this point it doesn’t look like there’s going to be any long-term fallout for Rush. But they were able to dominate the news cycle with their message for weeks and during a contentious primary race – a pretty impressive feat. Ruthless conservative political strategists out there would do well to take notes.
So this is the same crap as when they (and the President) went after Fox News. The y don't want any argument, they just want to shut down debate and seize power any way they can.
Nothing is as first appears in lefty politics since the 70s and late 80s. Some of you may remember the late Ted Kennedy who took down fine and esteemed jurists like Robert Bork and Miguel Estrada as SCOTUS candidates.They also almost derailed Clarence Thomas. NOW, NARAL, Plannned Parenthood, NPR, the Main-Stream Media, ACLU et al., have spawned Code Pink, MoveOn, ACORN, Media Matters, and other George Soros-funded partisan attack organizations. Then they went after Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Gen. Petraeus and Secy of State Rice. Now they go after Limbaugh, Hannity, Fox, Roger Ailes, Romney and the GOP. For those who want a civil dialogue, politics has always been a blood sport since the time when Jefferson got together with Sally Hemings. Read what they said about Abraham Lincoln and you will be shocked and dismayed!
funny they way Rush is popped into the elected politicians in your missives…. hmmm – there's the rub.
Soros, Media Matters, et al have been in full blown 'Exterminate' mode trying to get Rush, Hannity, Levin, Talk Radio in general and Fox off the air since before Clinton was in office. n nHasn't happened yet and never will. The left is too stupid to realize that every attack makes those they want to destroy stronger and pull in a larger audience.
Where is the IRS? This certainly is not the profile of a 501-C(3) or (4).
So lets see if I have this straight: a self loathing left wing homosexual, Carusone, devotes his time and energy to trying to harm other people, and then remarks to a Village Voice reporter–accusing Beck of being irresponsible–that "he really ramped up why he was problematic," because Beck called Obama a racist. nSo, Beck telling the truth was "problematic." n nFurther, the self loathing homosexual also told the VV reporter that, "The way I look at this, this is a question for our society, and the values we have." nSo, creating a completely fictitious story about a completely astroturfed boycott is mentioned in the same sentence as 'values'? n nWhile Rush will continue to collect his $68 million a year for at least the next four years, Carusone will be a self loathing homosexual; indeed, he will remain a homosexual and will die a homosexual no matter how hard he tries to pretend he wishes he was normal. nDon't doubt me–the energy he puts into harming other people is really just his attempt to divert his attention from his abnormality, and all the while he is twittering, he is really thinking about whose balls were hanging out of his mouth that morning.
why exactly is he self loathing or are you projecting?
They've been going after Rush for years….he never says anything without a backup plan…and a backup of that…the left has always been a bunch of bullies and cowards….no longer will they be the only ones out there….Obama started this and Rush will end it in a time and place of his choosing….it isn't called the 'Jackass Party' for nothing,…too funny watching the backfire….
RICO!!
I joined Rush's 24/7 when I hear him describe Sandra Fluke as a slut because she felt the need to go in front of the government and claim that she was having so much sex that she felt that I should be paying her for her liberal activities. nIF THAT ISN'T A SLUT…I'LL BE DAMNED IF I KNOW WHAT A SLUT IS ! n(PS: I have know a ton of sluts in my life !)
You are an idiot. A woman who uses birth control to avoid an unwanted pregnancy is responsible citizen, not a slut. Like Rush, you probably think a lady takes one pill each time they have sex. Not that is you, one purple pill each time. __And don't give me this abstinence crap. Last time I checked, people don't wait 10 years to get married before doing it, this is not the 1700s and depending on a man for birth control is risky.__What really made Rush look stupid is he revealed his own ignorance and completely distorted the issue which is why someone's health insurance, which they pay for, should exclude a medical prescription merely because it "offends" archaic religious beliefs of the Catholic Church? So does the death penalty and virtually all wars, but I don't see conservatives trying to impose those religious beliefs on others.
YOU are the idiot here. You've fallen into the leftist way of thinking. A woman who takes birth control pills to avoid an unwanted pregnancy is NOT being responsible if she demands someone else pay for them. If she raids your refrigerator in order to eat healthy, is she being responsible? That's the same mindset that believes that if you get to keep more of the money you earn every week, then somehow that's a government expenditure.
A significant part of Rush's bellicose, perfidious rant about Sandra Fluke is that he said she expected others to pay for her birth control so she could have more sex. His fans' comments on his facebook page demonstrate that they thought he meant contraception coverage would be a government program paid for by taxpayers. This is all complete nonsense. She testified that insurance companies should cover prescriptions for contraception just as they do for hundreds of other medicines. I think what Rush actually meant was that policy holders would have to pay more in premiums if insurance companies are mandated to cover contraception. This view, however, isn't a valid argument against such coverage because health insurance covers many procedures and medicines that most policy holders pay for in their premiums but from which they will never benefit. My insurance policy, for example, is over $5,000 per year, of which I pay about $1,200 out of my paycheck and my employer pays the rest. Fortunately, the money paid out by my insurer for my medical needs has so far not come close to the total cost of my coverage. Other employees, however, are likely receiving thousands in medical benefits because they have a variety of disorders that require medical treatment. Limbaugh is a very high risk individual, who eats a high-fat diet, refuses to exercise, smokes cigars, and is obese. Perhaps insurance companies should refuse to cover medical conditions caused by people's debilitating personal choices. I shouldn't have to pay higher premiums because my coworkers lead unhealthy lives, as Limbaugh does, but I do. That's the way insurance works. We're all paying higher premiums because policy holders like Rush need their Viagra, Hydrocodone, and Oxycontin. I'll happily pay for any drug that will get the POS to STFU! I would also pay higher taxes to help his listeners get the education they so badly need to be functioning citizens and perhaps some psychiatric help as well.
It would be nice if this were true. The market has spoken. Bye bye Rush…
Where are you going? Because Rush ain't going nowhere.
Well, for all MM's effort and their success in winning a few games, I'd say the match goes to Limbaugh. We'll see who takes the set.
Commentary soils itself via its recent online infatuation with Rush Limbaugh, the late Andrew Breitbart and other undignified loud-talkers. Just because they are fellow conservatives does not mean we need to admire them! Alana, please read the responses you have gotten to this stuff and ask yourself if this kind of discourse is consistent with being "America’s premier monthly magazine of opinion and a pivotal voice in American intellectual life?" I know a blog is never written to the same level as a printed magazine, but this is not just a tad lower…it is seven stories into the basement lower!
Two good things wioll come from this.____One is that Rush will look much harder at the political affiliations and leanings of the companies who seek to sponsor his program. He doesn't need any Quislings standing behind him, waiting to turn as soon as the faux heat rises. I'm guessing many firms headed by Democrat Party contributors will now get short shrift.____Second, conservatives have learned a useful lesson. The aggressor sets the rules. Secondary boycotts, so often derided by the moderates and the centrists, are powerful weapons and can be used by a motivated right-wing as well as by a left-wing one. And the Right has the numbers.____"They put one of yours in the hospital, you put one of theirs in the morgue."
The humor here is that if anyone says anything remotely prejudiced while refering to Israel this publication would be howling for blood and calling for an execution. Claiming there was a conspiracy to get Limbaugh is like claiming the founding fathers created the military because they knew Iran would be getting out of hand in the early part of the 21st century. Limbaugh is a disgusting , vulgar boor. He is being punished for hateful statements by his Sponsers, not God, not liberals, not Muslims, not this publication. Take any Limbaugh show and replace the policy or person he is attacking and replace it with a reference to Israel or Jews and get back to me with your outrace and conspiracy theories. Limbaugh is a creep and he will turn on who ever refuses to pay the freight. He just happens to be in the conservative camp right now because he tells his audience the same hate filled lies they tell them selves to feel good about being useless and promises to keep their secrets of fear and desperation as long as they pay up.
What mindless drivel. Way to answer fact with rhetoric.
This is exactly the tactics used by the left constantly, and it didn't work in fact it back fired. As a result of a few sponsors leaving the show, myself and thousands like me have stopped buying their products.Sorry lefties we are not going away . We are here to get rid of the fascist regime in the White House .Wake up sheep !!! You all wanted this fanatic in the office solely because you wanted to be part of history by electing the first black president .And he isn't even black you all keep forgetting about his white side I for one don't give a rats ass if he is green with pink polka dots. That is why there should be an IQ test for all registered voters because most of them don't vote on issues they vote as a means of trying to make payback with "evil whitey"
With all the problems caused by Obama, the 7 bankrupt solar companies, the illegal war in Libya, and the new estimates by the CBO that the Affordable (lol) Health Care Act will end up costing $1.76 trillion than Obama's (lol) original insistence that it would "only" cost $900 billion, today I saw Democratic Representative on Stuart Varney's show stating he has introduced a bill to forgive ALL student loans after 10 years because, boo hoo, those graduates can't invest in America. His bill would allow students to pay 10% of their "discretionary income" for 10 years, and then the balance of the loan would be picked up by YOU the taxpayer. n The dictionary says "discretionary income" is money that's left after food, clothing and shelter. So, a student who lands a job will essentially have zero worries about paying back his student loan, how's that for preparing someone for the real world? n Last month it was a Democratic Representative from CT or NH who wants YOU the taxpayer to pay for diapers so women won't have to worry about it. That is the left's solution to everything: let the taxpayer pay for it.
It appears to have increased Rush's audience. <BG>
I am not a leftie. I am a constitutional conservative. n nIt is appalling that anyone on the right attempts to defend what Rush Limbaugh said, and how many times he said it. His sexual obsession with a college co-ed was a disgrace to decent people everywhere. "Show me your sex tapes" was disgusting. n nJust because some on the left may do equally bad things is no moral justification for any of us to imitate them. What is the point of having moral standards if we jettison them for revenge? n nThere are people writing here whom I suspect are actually Obots. They are trying to make conservatives look so ridiculous, so willing to countenance immorality, that I have to wonder if they are not actually plants. n nRush made a cascading series of terrible mistakes. He embarrassed all of us. In time, because the public memory is short, all will be forgotten. Meanwhile, it is unseemly and vulgar for any conservative to try to defend what he said — and the frequency with which he said it. n nVulgarity on the left does not justify vulgarity on the right. Rush behaved like a very, very vulgar man. We admit it, and wait for the storm to pass. Thank God for Rick Santorum. He will never disgrace us the way Rush has.
You speak a very informed outlook on Limbaugh…critical, opposed and punishing. You open your post setting the tone with "I am a constitutional conservative"…and I would bet you have never once listened to Limbaugh's program. If you have, then you would already know he "illustrates absurdity by being absurd". …and real conservatives who understand the left, understand that this works everytime. You are the one who is the plant, with your "feelings hurt" and your "morals insulted" and your embarassement. If you really are a conservative, then catch up, this is 2012, not 1942, and the world is not a "truly nice place" any longer. The tactics of the socialists have to be fought with the same things they do to impose their lunacy…can you get that??
Absolutely. Considering how Beck, Hannity, and the bloated nazi air-bag rush have attacked anyone to the right of Mussolini, including folks like the Dixie Chicks, in their case for the mildest of "offenses", you imbeciles can stop whining right now. Tough. It's taken the left decades to begin to match the well-financed class warfare and ad hominem attacks of the right. But, as we are smarter, richer, and just plain better than cons, we're winning. Prepare for another four years of Obama, Rush crippled, Beck gone, gays getting married, and the continued access for abortion. Tough.
Limbaugh is a disgusting , vulgar boor and a creep because? r nBecause he makes hateful statements. r nr nWhat we have here is serious introspection-deficiency.
I've been wondering – with the pull-out of some of Rush's sponsors, I would assume that a number of sponsors who didn't pull out (and those on a "waiting list" or of a "let's see what happens" mentality) might be filling up the ad spots that were vacated. Love him or hate him, you can't deny that he's the most-listened to radio host in the nation. And when it comes to business, advertising on his show is makes good business sense. Especially since the truth behind Sandra Fluke's background is now being exposed by conservative citizen journalists (but not on the liberal news shows). Looks like Carbonite jumped ship to save money, using this as a feeble excuse, because when I last looked, the company was still advertising on ultra-liberal Ed Schultz's show. And he has called at least one conservative woman a slut – and that remark was unwarranted misogyny, it was NOT directly related to her wanting others to pay for her birth control, either, as it was with Rush's observation about Fluke ($1,000 a year for birth control? That's a lot of extracurricular sex).
No matter how you twist it Rush fell right into his opponents trap with his fowl mouthed rhetoric. Make noise yes be a jerk no. Do not attack a private citizen with innuendo wither the person is a plant or not, it will cost you.
Tucker Carlson is a liar, and you people here are stupid.
If you listening to Media Matters, they lie about Rush all the time. There is no war on women. They're "using" women. It's sad to see it play out. Young people don't get it till they get older
I don't "listen" to media matters. That's the point.
If that is to suggest I am a "young person" the two of us who are updating our website are both 50 – one man, one woman.
And YOU, my dear, are YET ANOTHER USEFUL IDIOT! LMAO
Payday loans are a great way to help the middle class that is being forced to live paycheck to paycheck by this economic downturn. People should def look into it rather than have their bills go late IMO
I've been thinking that as well. Not only does it keep Limbaugh from being associated with the impending Carbonite implosion, but when it does go bankrupt, it's going to be impossible to cover the story without talking about how it went bankrupt after dropping advertising on Limbaugh. Seems like they gave Rush a gift. n