Pubdate: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) Copyright: 2003 Richmond Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.timesdispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/limbaugh Rush Limbaugh Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) RUSH AND DRUGS A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. A civil libertarian is a conservative who has been indicted. And someone who considers drug abuse a disease is a lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key guy with an addiction. Rush Limbaugh recently announced his entry into rehab. The shout-show host admitted his addiction to painkillers, reportedly including OxyContin. Certain conservative commentators responded to the news by urging compassion. Conservatives traditionally have seen drug abuse and addiction as character flaws. A gentle approach may be more appropriate, but compassionate does not describe the snickering that usually occurs when an individual on the other side of the ideological divide succumbs to demons. The jokes about Kitty Dukakis - or, locally, about Chuck Richardson - were not intended to promote recovery. The reaction to news such as this almost always reflects partisanship. Liberals are more forgiving of liberals; conservatives are more forgiving of their own. Limbaugh deserves the same treatment from his fans that he would receive if he were a Hollywood hotshot or a child of the inner city. Jesse Jackson seriously, and perhaps fatally, sullied his reputation with his bastard child. Drug abuse will damage Limbaugh, too. While professional conservatives talk about forgiveness and love, much of Rush's rank-and-file audience likely feels betrayed. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom