Rush Defense....

For those of you who don't know my politics lean left. And by lean I mean I am a bleeding heart liberal compared to most of my friends. So when I heard that Rush Limbaugh was in a group bidding for the St. Louis Rams I was horrified. But then I thought; how bad could it be. So I decided to be objective and write this with as little opinion as possible. (Ok that is a lie. This is my opinion!)

First let us start with Rush Limbaugh the entertainer. Rush is a shock jock, nothing more. I don't understand why people continue to think of him as a political analyst or legitimate candidate for Republican supremacy. He is little more than a comedian. He is a well educated man, with highly offensive things to say. But I don't know him personally so I don't know if he truly believes the things he says. But it is the things he says that might keep him from being an owner of an NFL franchise, even if they are to rile up the masses! Rush came under some fire already while trying to be a sports commentator. He voiced an opinion about the sports media and their desire to see a black quarterback succeed. While his statement might have been spot on, it is not the thing you can say openly in America without drawing some fire. However these comments where mild compared to some of the other quotes attributed to Mr. Limbaugh. I was going to post them here but I can't find any that I can actually prove he said. The biggest problem with Rush, as he continues his quest to own a football team, is that he is very polarizing. Whether his persona is manufactured or real, people have strong feelings about him. He is not a nice person on his radio show which is all we really get to hear of him.

The question I have for Rush is; can he run the team without letting his politics get in the way? I think that this would be the biggest challenge for him. The only way to make it happen would be to quit his radio show. He has to say things on his show to keep his radio fan base, things that might not go over well with his football fan base. Is it fair of us to ask him to give up his radio show to chase his dream of owning a football team? Is it our fault that he cannot be the owner of a football franchise?

I asked a ton of people what they thought about this, an unofficial poll if you will. I got very different responses. But the overall consensus is that if he can separate the two he is fine. I just don't think that he can. The truth is I hate Rush Limbaugh. I think that he uses his freedom of speech to divide the country that I love, but he has to be a good business man, because he has a very successful business. It is not like there are no politics among NFL owners, the owner of the Steelers is the American ambassador to Ireland, but he is also not a controversial figure in the very divided world of politics. It leaves a lot to think about, but here is my opinion: Rush Limbaugh should be allowed to own a team. But if he wants to be successful he will have to watch what he says, and I don't think it is in him to do so. Live like no one is watching and do what you want, but watch what you say.