Poor Rush...

[IJ Reilly]

I guess he doesn't like to be treated like a drug addict.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031204/ap_on_en_ot/limbaugh_pain_killers_9

Limbaugh: Agents Seized Medical Records

Thu Dec 4, 5:03 PM ET

By JILL BARTON, Associated Press Writer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rush Limbaugh told listeners on his radio show Thursday that prosecutors in Palm Beach County have seized medical records from four of his doctors, but he called the investigation a "fishing expedition."

Limbaugh, reading from a statement prepared by his attorney, denied any wrongdoing and said the medical records will clear him.

"What these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication," Limbaugh said, reading from the statement by attorney Roy Black. "Unfortunately, because of Mr. Limbaugh's prominence and well-known political opinions, he is being subjected to an invasion of privacy no citizen of this republic should endure."

The statement also said: "Let us make our position clear: Rush Limbaugh is not part of a drug ring. He was never a target of a drug investigation."

The conservative commentator was absent from his show for five weeks recently while spending time at a drug rehabilitation program because of his addiction to prescription painkillers.

Previously, law enforcement sources in Palm Beach County, where Limbaugh owns a $24 million oceanfront mansion, confirmed that a criminal investigation into a prescription drug ring involved Limbaugh. His former maid, Wilma Cline, reported supplying him with OxyContin and other painkillers.

Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office, declined comment.

Last month, a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity said authorities also were investigating whether Limbaugh illegally funneled money to buy prescription painkillers. The radio host responded with a blanket denial of the allegations during his third day back on the air.

[mactastic]

Oh now he minds when a politically motivated prosecutor goes on a "fishing expedition"!:p

[gwuMACaddict]

uhhh... i listen to rush whenever i get a chance... and he specifically told people to NOT feel sorry for him. and to NOT pity him. and to NOT feel bad for him. i respect that man a great deal, but he's no martyr- i don't think there is any reason to feel sorry for him- just wish him a speedy recovery. and although he has been back on the air for about a week now, i'm sure the fight isn't over...

[IJ Reilly]

Uh... he claims he's being persecuted because of his "prominence and well-known political opinions." If that's not an invitation to martyrdom, then I don't know what is. The sad reality is that if it weren't for his wealth and celebrity, he wouldn't be talking on the radio about an alleged "invasion of privacy" by criminal investigators, he'd probably be in prison, where he could learn about invasions of privacy first hand. Ironically, that's precisely the fate he's recommended for other drug addicts.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by gwuMACaddict
he specifically told people to NOT feel sorry for him.

and his little trick worked. it sounds like you feel rather sorry for him.

[mactastic]

That stuff about not feeling sorry for him was code for "feel sorry for me". It's a classic conservative tactic of coding your message. All his friends in the conservative media should take that to read "make a hero out of me" while he denies he wants that role.:D

Zimv20 found this a while ago, and I think it sums up quite well how Rush would handle this were the situation reversed somehow.

What if Bill Clinton had been caught with an addiction to perscription painkillers. I realize it's satire, but I think all the dittoheads here would agree that Rush would have been merciless on Clinton, and so I say he deserves the same in return.
Somewhere in a parallel universe, where we are the same people but things have happened in slightly differently ways, Rush Limbaugh greets his loyal listeners this morning.

"Lots to talk about today. You all know already that Bill Clinton, our former president, has admitted an addiction to prescription drugs.

"It's interesting to see the way the liberal media are playing this. I'm looking at a copy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Saturday, October 11th, edition - the day after the big announcement. Well, the story is on Page 2, and right next to his photograph, in large boldface print, is the following quote: 'I take full responsibility for this problem.'

"That's interesting, folks, because if you look at his actual statement - not what the liberal media say he said, but what he really said - you get a different take on it. First, he says he's got back problems. So he's blaming it on that. Then he says he had surgery, but the surgery wasn't successful. So he's blaming it on the doctors. Then he says the pain medication was addictive. So he's blaming it on the pharmaceutical companies. Folks, he blames it on everybody but himself! But as long as he puts in that obligatory line about taking responsibility, that's what the liberal media are going to grab: Clinton takes full responsibility!

"Here's another interesting thing in his statement. I love this one. He says a lot of athletes have admitted drug problems and have been treated like heroes. Huh? Can you name one athlete who admitted a drug problem and was then treated like a hero? How about Darryl Strawberry? Maybe liberals thought Strawberry was a hero, but I don't think most of us felt that way. And then Clinton says, 'I refuse to let anyone think I'm doing something heroic here.'

"You want to know what that's about? He's telling his friends in the liberal media how he wants this thing played. He wants to be called a hero for admitting his problem. That's why liberals confuse so many people. They mean the opposite of what they say.

"And I'm telling you folks, the liberal media are going to do it. He's going to be a hero. I can already see the spin on this: Clinton accepts responsibility! Doesn't blame others!

"I know you don't believe me - 'Rush, not even the liberal media can pull that one off!' - but just watch. I'm telling you. Just watch.

"Another thing. I heard him on the radio the other day. He was whimpering, 'I want to tell you about this because you're like family to me.' If there are any liberals out there listening, I'd like to ask you this: Weren't you people like family six weeks ago? How about six months ago? Two years ago? But he didn't feel the need to tell you then, did he? So why now? You think it could be because he's been caught? Because his high-priced attorney has told him he'd better act remorseful?

"Speaking of getting caught, have any of you read about those tapes and e-mails the cops have? Heh, heh, heh. You won't read them in the mainstream press, or hear about them on the Clinton News Network, but they're a hoot. He sounds like he's auditioning for a part in the next Cheech and Chong movie. He calls money "cabbage," and he refers to his favorite pills as "blue babes." It's always interesting to hear the way somebody talks when he thinks nobody is listening.

"I know what liberals are going to say: 'This is a time for compassion.' Let me be very clear about this, folks. I have compassion. But my compassion is for all the people who believed in the guy. He was their shining star. He could do no wrong. But you know something? I probably don't have to worry. Because his followers are going to still believe in him. That's the thing about liberals! You can't convince them! You can show them the facts. You can say, 'Look, here is what he really said, and here is what he really did,' but they don't want to know the truth. That's the big difference between them and us. Liberals are afraid of the truth.

:D :D :D