Glad you’re okay, Rush; been there, done that.

Quick question: In what way is it relevant that a multimillionaire received excellent health care in the U.S.? Do you knowingly mislead by anecdote or are you just that selfish? Both?

Good news about Rush.

Is FNC the only network that carried the presser live? I first heard about his press conference on CNN, who I thought was the first to alert their audience that Rush would be holding a presser yesterday afternoon.

There you have it!!! Limbaugh got the best health care available which is proof positive that people just like to bitch. End of story.

Why isn’t it completely legitimate to call it a “news alert” or “breaking news.” The man has regularly been described as the single most influential force in the Republican Party today and is one of the best known people, talk show host or not, in the country. Why aren’t his first comments since being released from the hospital news even if the only “substance” is that he is ok?

One has to wonder if Limbaugh created this for publicity and as an anti-health care reform story.Think about it.He’s in Hawaii quietly,he suddenly has chest pains out of nowhere,he goes into a hospital where Hippa laws can’t reveal much,he comes out with NO known health issues,he holds a presser where he works in praise for the existing health care system.Hmmm…

As for the coverage,,,no surprises on who did or didn’t and in what way.Non-story.

I have to agree with @Dan. How does Media define “news alert” or breaking news”. What’s the definition? It appears Mediaite ‘may’ feel this presser was not “news alert” worthy. At minimum Mediaite is questioning its news worthiness.

I beleive it’s worthy because all the cables covered this story way too much over the last couple days before the presser. Mediaite had multiple Rush stories over the last couple days, including presiding as the main story. Mediaite’s Rush story had one of the top commented stories (if not the most) over the last couple days since it broke.

Mediate and cables really had no news about Rush’s true health situation. Didn’t even know if he had a heartattack. But Media covered it big anyway.

Bottom line. If it wasn’t news alert worthy, why care if it was covered that way? Or don’t complain about riding a story angle coat tails until its not useful to you anylonger.

For the sake of perspective, when Limbaugh was involved with the prospect of NFL team ownership he was given banner headlines for over a week regarding his “comments” and the subsequent intervention by the commissioner of the NFL. That was concerning a private business enterprise. Therefore it is not too surprising this coverage surrounds the man who has been targeted directly by the White House and has been tabbed by many Dems and media players as the defacto head of the Republican party. Since they elevated him to that perch it will garner the same level of interest.

I agree with Dan that the story is worth covering for reasons he cited. But here we have the leader of the conservative movement (perhaps co-leader with Beck), a multi-millionaire who can get health care where and when he wants it, suggesting that everything is just dandy. Talk about a guy who lives in a bubble.

>Talk about a guy who lives in a bubble.

Yet he’s got followers who just nod their heads in agreement to whatever he says. It really is sorta sickening because he’s got such an incredible amount of listeners who just gobble everything that comes out of that mean despite the fact that it’s against their own self-interest. “Well…Rush had great health care, so even though I’m without insurance/even though my coverage only let me keep 3 fingers on my hand after the accident – the system must be working!”

You know what Rush is really saying? He’s saying the system works because you’re not covered and that he receives great care because of his wealth. He’s defending the current cesspool of a system, the most disenfranchising, immoral, inhumane and unchristian health care system in the western world – on par with how most third-world countries have it in treatment and disparity. That’s what he’s really saying.

Is anyone truly surprised that Fox Not News But Entertainment and Rush Limbaugh would engage in a circle jerk such as this?

Regarding the main topic: Fox News is a conservative channel, so the fact that they use this “news alert” to report Limbaugh’s health status is completely fair by me. I mean, we all know where FNC stands, and once you accept that then it’s easier to understand.

Jim R says:
January 2, 2010 at 9:33 am

Do you have any evidence that he was treated differently than anyone else would have been? That seems to be the crux of your argument, but I haven’t seen anything (and Rush’s statement suggests the opposite) that would say he was treated differently due to his wealth.

Dan Abrams says:
January 2, 2010 at 10:46 am

Because it’s not “news” in the cosmic sense… or “news” any real relevance to our daily lives. However, you are correct… in this society, and this media, even a story like this (which is half political, half gossip) is worthy of the “news alert” note. It’s only bothersome when you think that this gets the same tab as, for example, the Christmas terrorism attempt. They’re not on par… and yet, they are.

dhg says:
January 2, 2010 at 11:04 am

Wow… that seems needlessly cynical… especially because there’s enough going around currently for Rush to attack the Democrats and Obama with, he didn’t need another stick. But if that was so, wouldn’t the hospital have released him earlier?

Ted says:
January 2, 2010 at 12:40 pm

Yet again Ted (and I appreciate you making real arguments, not personal attacks… I hope this was the New Year’s resolution… it will make this more fun), I’ll ask the same question to you, as I did to Jim. If you’re suggesting that he got better care because he’s wealthy… what is the evidence for that? He said he got the same care as anyone else… is there something he’s not sharing, something that has been reported to contradict that?

If he was treated well, regardless of him being “Rush Limbaugh,” then isn’t that a sign that our Healthcare IS doing something right?

m says:
January 2, 2010 at 12:48 pm

You know what Rush is really saying? He’s saying the system works because you’re not covered and that he receives great care because of his wealth.

Actually, what he said was: “I got no special treatment other than what anybody else that would have called 911 and had been brought in with the same kinds of symptoms,”

Sooo… that kinda contradicts your theory… and while Jim and Ted share the same theory… I’d like to see some evidence that he was treated differently. Without that, you’re just making stuff up to fit YOUR spin.

Bill Adkins says:
January 2, 2010 at 12:48 pm

m says:
January 2, 2010 at 12:50 pm

*Sigh*

Did you miss the “Update” above?

(Update: In the interest of clarity, Limbaugh’s illness was also covered by competing networks including CNN, all of which tend to overestimate the gravity of breaking alerts.)

So is CNN also a “conservative network”?

Man… you guys. It’s like the facts are just a nuisance. You’ll tell the story you WANT to tell, and the truth is irrelevant.

This was the first time Limbaugh has addressed the issue himself.. and Limbaugh potentially having a heart attack is significant news just like his Rx pills addiction and NFL bid. This posting would not have been written if he had not praised the current system but I’m just glad he is okay.

ImNotBlue – How does Limbaugh know he got the same treatment as everyone else? Seems to me he has a credibility problem on the issue. First, he is against any kind of health care reform and secondly, he has deep pockets; his comments are not surprising. As mentioned, he’s not credible…call me cynical.

Ted says:
January 2, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Well… I think he’d be in a better position to know if he got special treatment than you or I. After all… he was there! Perhaps he’s judging on the frequency with which he saw the doctors, the room he was given, the time it took to receive treatment, etc. The same things you’d notice if you went to the hospital, and judged whether or not you received good or bad treatment.

Just because someone is wealthy, doesn’t mean they’re always out of touch with the “regular” folks, does it? Remember, there are a lot of wealthy Democrats and Liberals (politicians and professionals alike), so to make a blanket statement that “just because he’s got deep pocked, he’s got a credibility problem,” swings both ways.

Additionally, from what I understand (and I don’t listen to Rush much… perhaps if I’m driving to work at that time, and I’m not interested in listening to some music), Rush isn’t opposed to ALL kinds of reform. Like many of us on the right – center/right, we don’t want to see a government takeover of healthcare, but there are some things that can be done to improve the system. Tort reform (which Howard Dean said can’t happen because they’re too beholden to the trial lawyers) could help bring down cost, and improve the psychology of doctors or potential-doctors. Ability to buy insurance across state lines could help increase competition and lower prices across the board. And so on… there are plans from the right, and from folks like Limbaugh. To think that the right is simply saying, “NO!” to everything, is a myth.

How can Mediate criticize Fox’s coverage of Rush Limbaugh’s press conference, and then decide that its own coverage of Fox’s coverage should be a prominent home page story? If the original story was unimportant, than how important can the story about the story be?

Either Rush is a prominent figure who deserves coverage, or he doesn’t. The bias here comes when the mainstream media decides that stories unfavorable to Rush (his use of painkillers) are headline news, but anything to his credit (such as pointing out the invented quotes and slander when he tried to make a bid for a NFL team) must be ignored at all costs.

Olbermann rants about Limbaugh on a daily basis, but somehow that doesn’t seem unfair to the mainstream media. But heaven forbid that Limbaugh gets a few minutes of TV airtime in which he isn’t savagely attacked, and they start crying bias.

It is a legitimate breaking news story just like Michael Jackson and Tiger woods, both of which were “Breaking News,” and “Alerts.” Like him or not (and I don’t) Limbaugh is a very prominent person in America right now and it is a legitimate breaking news story.

The health care system itself is fine and worked well. I had a dental emergency today and my dentist made himself available and the pharmacy had the meds ready in minutes. There is no question that the US has the best health care anywhere.

It is the Health Insurance system that is the problem and it is the insurance situation that the legislation largely addresses.

The question is not whether Limbaugh got better or worse treatment. The question is how difficult was it for the drug addict with preexisting conditions millionaire to get insurance as compared to an average family.

@ImNotBlue: The idea of buying across state lines is unworkable. All health insurance companies are state regulated because they serve one state. If you live in New York and have Blue Cross, you deal with a different company than a Blue Cross victim in Florida. Also, each state mandates different things and has different requirements. Plus, if one lives in New York and buys insurance from Nebraska, the Nebraska company is going to charge New York rates, since the rates are based on the cost of health care in the insured’s home state. Another flaw in this particular one liner with zero details is the question of who does the consumer turn to for help? The New Yorker that got insurance from Nebraska can’t go to the New York insurance commissioner and the Nebraska authorities have no responsibility to anyone not in Nebraska.

As I recall, the “across state lines” idea is based on GEICO and Progressive auto insurance ads. Well, go ahead and contact them. Immediately, you are dealing with a company based in your state and charging rates based on your state. Floridians will not get Wyoming rates from GEICO and the same applies to health insurance.

As it now stands, each health insurer has a separate company in each state. that company never deals across state lines, making it responsible only to that state’s regulations. Any federal intervention is going to slam right up against the Tenth Amendment.

I agree that the Republicans did offer a couple of good ideas such as the much needed tort reform, but their official position as put forth by Jim Demint is to stop health care to “break this president.” And that is just saying no to make political hay.

I personally think that the bills as they stand offer some good and some bad. The mandate is flat out unconstitutional. Eliminating pre-existing is an excellent idea and way past due. The failure to include tort reform is criminal.

CNN & FNC not cover Limbaugh in a breaking news event?

It’s like having a Hot Dog without Mustard & Sauerkraut.

How soon Mr. Coscarelli forgets Rush’s GOPAC speech last year.

Keeva says:
January 2, 2010 at 4:03 pm

You raise some interesting points about buying insurance across state lines. As you may have noticed, I didn’t really give my opinion on that one, because I’m not really sure how much it would help, and the problematic logistics of it all. My point was only that Rush (and others) have offered plans and ideas of their own… in addition to attempting to make political hay. In other words, it’s not just one or the other… they don’t like the plan, they have plans of their own, and they see the political expediency in seeing this plan fail. But then again, I think that’s true of most political battles on both sides of the aisle.

ImNotBlue,

I wasn’t clear. My point is that for most the “health care experience” doesn’t end with the trip home. For example, my ambulance trip in 2005 with similar symptoms and lack of conclusive diagnosis isn’t completely paid for yet, despite being “insured”.

In the general context of discussing health care reform it is utterly irrelevant to site a personal anecdote from someone who will never suffer being uninsured or under insured.

We need systems designed to work for the masses. The top ten per cent will always get along just fine.

Jim R says:
January 2, 2010 at 8:35 pm

Well, the system does work for “the masses,” that’s why the majority have insurance, and have little to no problem with it. The new plan would only help a small percentage of the percentage of people without proper healthcare… every study and report has shown that. So “helping the masses” this doesn’t… only a small section of the already hurting “masses.” Additionally, the US already has a plan in place to help those who can’t afford care… if this was really about helping them, the government would spend more time improving and fixing that system… not building a new one.

Furthermore, I don’t think you can discard a “personal anecdote from someone who will never suffer being uninsured or under insured,” for a few reasons. One, are you sure that never applied to Limbaugh… I’m not, but I don’t know his early history. Two, does that mean we discard the words of half of congress, simply because they’ve never been “under insured?” Three, how do you know that you and Limbaugh had the same problem? To assume that because you had similar symptoms, and he was fine and released, while you were hit with big bills, makes a lot of assumptions.

I agree that “the system” needs improvement… however, just “doing something” is not the answer, and I don’t think this plan is going to fix what you want to be fixed. Your putting your faith in this because you want “something,” and you’re assuming that this will fix what you think is wrong. Odds (and facts) are, it won’t.

happy New Year guys

There is one other reason the Republicans appear like contrarians with no solutions of their own: Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have routinely kept Reps out of the process of crafting this legislation.

One other reason behind the lockstop vote of the Reps is the farcical stance the Dem leadership takes on this issue. The President has routinely stated healthcare in this country is “broken”, ‘unsustainable”, ect. and this is their reason to pass UHC. However their solution is not to make a better system but to make Medicare available to 30 million more people. So in one breath they say our medical care is deplorable AND that they want to make that deplorable care available to everyone. How is this a good idea? And how is a system that is going broke going to somehow save money by expanding to an immense bureaucracy?

ImNotBlue,

“Your putting your faith in this because you want “something,” and you’re assuming that this will fix what you think is wrong. Odds (and facts) are, it won’t.”

Where did I say a word pro or con on the pending proposals? I’ll use “never” in this context with a guy that just signed a 400 million dollar contract.

Saying people have little or no problems with the current system, or in the parlance of our vaunted “liberal” media that “most people are happy with their insurance”, doesn’t make it so.

We’re approaching half the citizenry being under-insured or uninsured if nothing is done, spending 30% of GDP instead of the current rate that already doubles the next most expensive country – doing nothing only works in the party of no and not the real world.

That being said, if someone were to pin me down on the pending legislation I’d say immediately scrap it as the corporate sellout anti-American piece of trash it is and replace it with a one page Medicare Part E buy-in for anyone that wants it with rates based on years left to retire on S.S.

The contrast I was making between Rush’s situation and mine is that he writes a check and I set up a payment plan. The impact of those payments for many years after the fact, working short hours, wife laid off, $ 3,000.00 deductible insurance plan, all conspire to make health care services simply unavailable except for emergencies.

All of these things and much more make our current system not only unsustainable but immoral as well.

I respect Rush for what he’s accomplished, if not his MO or ideology, and I wish him no ill. I simply don’t believe that what he or Bill Gates or name your wealthy person has experienced on one occasion or another is germane to solving this crisis.

Oh please! Republicans suck and that idiot Limpballs will be taking back his comments once he reads about the fact that the hospital he was in has already instituted the “socialist” policies that this healthcare bill will have. It gives new meaning to the phrase Fat and Stupid!

Jim R says:
January 3, 2010 at 11:46 am

So what you’re saying that Rush doesn’t get it because he’s wealthy, he can pay it off in one lump sum, versus an extended payment. Hmmm. Perhaps… but I don’t think that negates his opinion on the issue. Remember, out debate is over heathcare… and he was (apparently) treated the same as anyone else, and charged the same as anyone else. His payment was easier than for you or I because he’s wealthy, but he wasn’t saying that it wouldn’t be… just that all elements of the treatment were the same.

roxsteady says:
January 3, 2010 at 12:45 pm

Thanks for being rational and respectful… as always.

ImNotBlue,

No, I really need to work on my writing skills I guess.

I didn’t say Rush doesn’t get it because he’s wealthy or that that fact negates his opinion and the words that I wrote never said that.

My point is that as a statistical digit amongst millions his experience is not noteworthy and therefore tells the citizenry absolutely nothing about our health care system.

But that was never truly in question, either from him or you as far as I can tell. Due to his beliefs Rush rails daily against ANY government involvement in health care REGARDLESS of the impact of our death by spreadsheet health care system on millions like myself that have been bankrupted by a morally bankrupt sytem.

That’s his right, it’s your right to support what he says – and no, because millions disagree with both of you (thank God) doesn’t mean anyone is impinging on your well demonstrated free speech rights every time someone has the temerity to disagree out loud. That’s an old lazy canard you both use frequently, he on the radio and you here.

Any criticism is immediately wrongly characterized, usually 180 degrees, to make it easy to bash a nonexistent bogey man or straw man instead of debating the merits.

By the way, I’m really glad he got treated in a union hospital under a socialized system Hawaii adopted some time ago, where statistics show they are having tremendous success with the usual caveats and needed continuous improvement – not that you or Rush would care IMHO.

Second by the way, no friggin way he and I got treated the same – don’t even try that crap. That’s what the elite Republicans tell themselves so they can look in the mirror in the morning without gagging, but it doesn’t pass the laugh test.

Jim R says:
January 4, 2010 at 7:11 pm

Second by the way, no friggin way he and I got treated the same – don’t even try that crap.

Is there any evidence of this? Making assumptions based upon NOTHING doesn’t pass the “laugh test,” does it?

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