Rush Limbaugh has died and Twitter is celebrating after this man spent a lifetime rallying the far-right with racism, homophobia, and misogyny
They say you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but what if you die and the world is like, “Yayyyy!” Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has died at age 70 after a year-long battle with lung cancer. In the wake of his death, Twitter has erupted to celebrate the death of one of America’s most-famous racists, homophobes, and misogynists.
After going national in 1988 with “The Rush Limbaugh Show” radio show, Limbaugh wore the phrase “most dangerous man in America” as a badge of honor. He became synonymous with a Trumpian-kind of conservatism and despite being a millionaire himself, he attracted working class listeners, who aligned with his specific brand of conservatism, one that is brazen and unabashed in its racism and bigotry.
“His approach to politics was to speak to one side, but it was a side that was very eager to hear that kind of broadcasting,” Kevin Wagner, a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University, told People. “Whether you like him or not, his impact was certainly pretty profound in that he popularized talking about politics in a way that many more Americans could access.”
In no particular order, here are just a small handful of some of his “politics” that Limbaugh helped Americans “access.”
After President Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, Limbaugh continued to falsely claim that Biden did not win the election.
He wrote a racist parody song called “Barack the Magic Negro” about President Barack Obama. He also called the NBA, “the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association,” and said to “stop calling them teams. Call ’em gangs.” He said Obama and Oprah are only successful because they are Black, also said the NAACP does “riot rehearsals,” and said the “NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.”
He said “Feminism was established as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society,” and also said that “women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.”
He also said that “When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it’s an invitation.”
Rush Limbaugh died. Rightwingers on Twitter are heaping praise on him.
I challenge you to read the things he said about minorities, black people, gay people, women, sexual consent, torture, climate, even the Jan 6th attack, and find things to praise in there.
I challenge you.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) February 17, 2021
Really that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Limbaugh’s unabashed bigotry. Anyway, now that he has passed, #GoodRiddance is trending on Twitter because the general reaction to his death is to celebrate, and well, I’ll just let these tweets speak for themselves.
Always try to live your life in such a way that #GoodRiddance and #RotInHell don’t trend upon news of your demise pic.twitter.com/8jipSnvCWz
— Rick Younger (@RickYounger) February 17, 2021
The back-to-back notifications I received this morning…#goodriddance pic.twitter.com/dwoBXYQyJX
— Paul McLaughlin (@UnmitigatedPaul) February 17, 2021
What I listen to when I’m making my morning coffee and Rush Limbaugh is not pic.twitter.com/muZD3DT2mc
— caitie delaney (@caitiedelaney) February 17, 2021
"We shouldn't speak ill of the dead…" pic.twitter.com/2UR7OfxXu7
— Kayleigh Donaldson (@Ceilidhann) February 17, 2021
When "good riddance" and "rest in piss" are trending, I managed to get it in only a few guesses.
— Amy Berg (@bergopolis) February 17, 2021
Honestly we love to see it #GoodRiddance #RotInHell pic.twitter.com/HRa2NyY5vd
— Sean Branchaw (@seanbranchaw) February 17, 2021
I’d like so send my condolences to Rush by saying “bye, bitch”.
— Heath (@ubiquitousai) February 17, 2021
Anyway, don’t live your life in such a way that the world celebrates when you’re no longer in it.
