Thursday, October 15, 2009

Limbuagh Dropped from Rams Bid

Well, that was much ado about nothing ...

After days of controversy and hand-wringing in the sports world, news broke on Wednesday that Rush Limbaugh would not be a part of an ownership group looking to buy the St. Louis Rams. So either everyone (including yours truly) made a bigger deal out of this than it really was, or the NFL made a pretty telling statement in its tasteful rebuke of the conservative radio talk show host.

Limbaugh's response was predictable: "This is not about the NFL, it's not about the St. Louis Rams, it's not about me. This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative. Therefore, this is about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we're going to have."

Umm ... yeah. Considering NFL ownership is probably one of the most conservative groups of people in this country, that's not the issue here (though in Limbaugh's inflated noggin, liberals are responsible for everything ... probably even his Oxycontin addiction and his anal cyst). The issue was Limbaugh's history of racially-insensitive comments as it related to his bid to own a portion of a team in a league that is roughly 70 percent African-American.

Not to mention, that quip about the NFL resembling the Bloods and the Crips without weapons? That really didn't help.

Three-quarters of NFL owners have to approve any ownership bid in the league, and it was clear -- between Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's comments during the week -- that Limbaugh wouldn't have had the necessary votes. As a private entity, that's the NFL's right, just as Limbaugh had the right to place a bid in the first place.

Of bigger concern to me was the stunt CNN pulled Wednesday evening. Wolf Blitzer was hosting a panel discussion including Huffington Post founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington, who on Wednesday wrote a lengthy and thought-provoking op-ed detailing a scenario in which Joe Biden should resign the vice presidency.

The discussion was serious and important -- you know, considering the grim reality of the war in Afghanistan -- when Blitzer interrupted for some Breaking News! Fancy graphic, important-sounding music and everything! This had to be pretty important, right?

... Right?

Not so much. Blitzer interrupted the Afghanistan-Vice President Biden discussion to tell us ... that Limbaugh would not be part of the bid to won the St. Louis Rams. Seriously? That was the important, cannot-wait bit of news that pre-empted discussion of troop escalations and the idea of the Vice President of the United States leaving the administration over disagreements within the White House with regards to said war?

We've been in Afghanistan for eight years, and we desperately need to decide a new course of action; I realize the NFL is a big deal in America, but is it really more important than an unfocused war that might see a troop increase in the coming months ... or the possibility, however minute, that the Vice President might step down?

CNN and Rush Limbaugh ... EPIC FAIL.

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