Ralph Nader Challenges Rush Limbaugh "the corporate welfare king"

[Better Believe It]

Nader throws hat in the ring against Limbaugh
Criticizes radio host over stimulus
Jennifer Harper (Contact)
February 3, 2009
Washington Times

Consumer activist Ralph Nader challenged Rush Limbaugh to reimburse the American public for his multimillion-dollar salary - adding more discord to the life of the radio host, who skirts the line between media heavy and uber-politico.

"It's amazing how he gets away with it. Rush Limbaugh hammers away about big government and welfare and yet he's the corporate welfare king," Mr. Nader said. "He's an unctuous megalomaniac."

Mr. Nader, who turns 75 this month, was as ferocious about Mr. Limbaugh as he once was about smog.

He urged Mr. Limbaugh "to set a capitalist example for his peers and pay rent to the American people for the very lucrative use of their property. You need not wait for the broadcast industry-indentured FCC and Congress to do the right thing. You can lead by paying a voluntary rent - determined by a reputable appraisal organization."

"This is a ridiculous idea. Rush Limbaugh already pays his dues to the American people in the form of income tax," said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine, which tracks talk radio.

Please read the entire article at:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/03/nader-throws-hat-in-the-ring-against-limbaugh/

------------------------------------

The following is an open letter to Rush Limbaugh from Ralph Nader:


Rush Limbaugh
The Rush Limbaugh Show
2 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10121

Dear Mr. Limbaugh,

The Associated Press reports your new contract with Premiere Radio Networks will enrich you with at least $38 million a year over the next eight years. You are making this money on the public property of the American people for which you pay no rent.

You, Rush Limbaugh, are on welfare.

As you know, the public airwaves belong to the American people. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is supposed to be our trustee in managing this property. The people are the landlords and the radio and TV stations and affiliated companies are the tenants.

The problem is that since the Radio Act of 1927 these corporate tenants have been massively more powerful in Washington, DC than the tens of millions of listeners and viewers. The result has been no payment of rent by the stations for the value of their license to broadcast. You and your company are using the public's valuable property for free. This freeloading on the backs of the American people is called corporate welfare.

It is way past due for the super-rich capitalist -- Rush Limbaugh from Cape Girardeau, Missouri -- to get himself off big time welfare. It is way past due for Rush Limbaugh as the Kingboy of corporatist radio to set a capitalist example for his peers and pay rent to the American people for the very lucrative use of their property.

You need not wait for the broadcast industry-indentured FCC and Congress to do the right thing. You can lead by paying a voluntary rent -- determined by a reputable appraisal organization -- for the time you use on the hundreds of stations that carry your words each weekday.

Payment of rent for the use of public airwaves owned by the American people is the conservative position. Real conservatives oppose corporate welfare. Real corporatists feed voraciously from hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare gushing out of Washington, DC yearly.

Whose side are you on? Freeloading? Or paying rent for the public property you have been using free for many years?

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely yours,

Ralph Nader

PO Box 19312
Washington, DC 20036

http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=166473&Itemid=95

- The above statement is a public open letter and is not copyrighted material -

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I eagerly await the shrieks of anguish from DU

Who will be first to start whining (yet again) about Nader having the courage and moral strength to do what desperately needs to be done, but no Democrat has the guts to do?


:popcorn:

[rcrush]

4. I'm surprised to see anyone here speaking well of Nader.

Usually whenever anyone mentions Nader here its all "OMG FUCK THAT ASSHOLE MOTHERFUCKER@#@#!@!!@!)*@!)@"

[Better Believe It]

5. Let me add my two cents: $@#&*"&%$#% Nader!

:)

Well, the election is over so now people will be a bit more civil.

[Initech]

10. Agreed.

I'm still pissed off about the whole Florida recount fiasco.

[PatrynXX]

46. that wasn't nadar. it didn't help but not nader

that was totally stolen. bout as silly as Bob Barr costing palin/mccain (er is that mccain/palin?) the election

[certainot]

17. nader's role in getting bush elected was a drop in the bucket compared

to what limbaugh and the talk radio monopoly has done the last 20 years since the Fairness Doctrine was killed. and progressives let it happen because it gave them headaches to listen to it and they just turned the dial and gave limbaugh and sons the biggest soapbox the country has ever had. good on nader for getting obama's back where it really counts.

the fla election wouldn't even have been close if progressives hadn't completely ignored the monopoly and allowed pompous twits like limbaugh to fill the public airwaves with GOP coordinated UNCONTESTED repetition from 1000 stations 24/7/365.

[kenfrequed]

20. Florida was stolen

It really is that simple.

Would all of Naders voters jumped to vote for Gore had he not run? I doubt it.

But look at the actions of the Secretary of state and the corruption of that states registration lists, voting machines, and suppression systems.

As inaccurate and fraudulent as their system was (which awarded a massive number of old Jewish votes to Pat Buchanan) how do we even know that Nader was that much of a factor?

[certainot]

26. i agree, i was relating it to nader's important continuation of obama's

call to action re the talk radio monopoly.

[certainot]

27. (cont) and fact is, it wouldn't have been anywhere near close enough to

steal if dems hadn't completely clueless about the GOP/rove's invisible talk radio 2x4

[kenfrequed]

22. I would not.

Nader has always been an honorable man. A bur in the heel of the ruling class and an inconvenience to those that would collaborate too much with them. In a sane world he would be in charge of the DNC.

[samsingh]

45. nader has been an imbecile in the last 8 years

[roguevalley]

35. Bwahahahahaha!

[whistle]

2. unctuous megalomaniac suggests buttery manner I would say Rush is lardy

[terisan]

3. Go Nader, No payment to us for the use of our airwaves since 1927!!!!!!!!

We need to start raising money through these licenses.

[wandathewitch]

7. Mr Nader has courage...

We need more of that sort of person in this world. What is so hard about it? I have never, never felt sorry for standing up for what is right in my soul. Yes, I am not always liked for it, but I like myself for doing what is right in the eyes of God or whatever power that is bigger than me. It must be the fact that I have suffered a lot from good people saying nothing, and should be thankful for knowing the harm it does. Suffering not being liked is much better than living with myself for being a coward and knowing the pain that comes from being a wimp. Mrs. Moose

[terisan]

19. He has a powerful message. We need to hear more from him-I know he got shut out

by media this last election cycle

[4 t 4]

8. As you know, the public airwaves belong to the American people.

this is exactly the point public airwaves we are the public right and I would wage a bet if it wasn't for corporations supporting him ( the top rich ellette) the people as a whole would want him to go-no? I want our country back, the majority of the people and what they want. This is a really good time to try and change things we don't feel good about.

[Karenina]

21. Erraaa... they did, but apathy has changed the dynamic.

Did you ever run across our Symbolman? http://www.takebackthemedia.com

[GreenTea]

6. Limbaugh never seen a corporate subsidy, a corporate tax cut or corporate bailout he didn't love.

All at the workers expense and stealing of the workers taxes.

But when the workers ask for some help for their tax dollars...Limbaugh goes on a rampage screaming "socialism" just look in your own corporate welfare backyard, you lying greedy, corporate republican elitist pile of pig shit!!

[mzmolly]

9. Nice.

:toast:

[Initech]

11. $400 million to pay for that gas bag to spew his bile and garbage... what a waste.

I dont always agree with Nader but Rush needs to go away. Permanently.

[nxylas]

12. Limbaugh the bully won't address these arguments

He'll either ignore the letter or engage in ad hominem attacks on Nader.

[G_j]

14. ad hominem attacks on Nader?

who ever heard of such a thing?



I believe Rush is the one mostly responsible for making lying and slander acceptable on our airwaves..

[malaise]

13. Bravo Ralph

I don't expect Rush to attempt a serious argument with you.
You'll crush the bug.

[wroberts189]

15. Long live Ralph Nader ..and I don't care what anyone thinks. nt

[Deja Q]

30. Agreed.

And Nader was a scapegoat for election 2000; despite poorly ran campaigns, a supreme court, and other non-Nadery factors.

[hfojvt]

49. Deja Q? Deja Q?

What happened to the Toad?


'The world has held great Heroes,
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!

'The clever men at Oxford
Know all that there is to be knowed.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr. Toad!

'The animals sat in the Ark and cried,
Their tears in torrents flowed.
Who was it said, "There's land ahead?"
Encouraging Mr. Toad!

'The army all saluted
As they marched along the road.
Was it the King? Or Kitchener?
No. It was Mr. Toad.

'The Queen and her Ladies-in-waiting
Sat at the window and sewed.
She cried, "Look! who's that _handsome_ man?"
They answered, "Mr. Toad."'

Plus Nader deserved to be a scapegoat. You mention a poorly run campaign as if it is Gore's fault, and ignore the M$M's "war on Gore". Nader certainly played a key part in it, and plus when asked "What if your campaign helps Bush win?" he answered "I don't care." Just put that as an answer to these follow-up questions.

What if the Bush administration takes us to war?
What if the Bush administration bankrupts the government with tax breaks for the rich?
What if the Bush administration guts environmental protections?

Nader's answer "I don't care."

[Median Democrat]

16. The Mainstream Media Will Only Give Nader Airplay If He Attacks Democrats and Liberals

Sadly, Nader often obliges. It is refreshing that Nader is actually attacking the right wing once in a while.

[butterfly77]

18. This fat bastard should be attacked...

everyday like this.

[Bake]

23. OK, Nader's not ALWAYS wrong ....

Here, he's doing what he does best, and doing it exactly right.

Bake

[Adsos Letter]

24. THIS is a good use for Nader's skills...the Dems could use a skillful attack dog...

[yella_dawg]

25. Ummm...

Thirty eight million a year for a guy with ten million listeners on AM radio? Somebody needs to look into Premiere Radio Networks and their links to the RNC etc. That's well past insane. Nobody makes anything remotely like that kind of money hawking prostate cures and gold.

yella

[Catherine Vincent]

28. It's about time Nader go after who he is supposed to go after.

He's still a jerkoff.

[anonymous171]

29. Why don't we hear about this on the MSM?

Whenever Nader attacks Obama and other dems it's all over the place, but when he attacks conservatives we never hear about it.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

43. Same reason we don't hear about Ralph for any reason between elections

Because, contrary to the myth that he's constantly running for president, he's still fighting the hard fight on the issues and telling the truth about the corporate powers-that-be

I voted for Obama, but I still have the utmost respect for Ralph and in a perfect system, I would have proudly cast my 2000 vote for him again

[libodem]

31. Good

Ralph may be on the way to redemption, in my eyes, if he keeps that up. Charity begins at home, Rush, donate some of those big bucks to the puuuuurrr.

[Kansas Wyatt]

32. RUSH LIMBAUGH = JUNKIE WELFARE QUEEN

[Jim Lane]

33. The idea of charging rent on the airwaves is hugely ANTI-progressive

Go ask the Libertarian Party what to do about broadcasting, and they'll call for a free-market solution: Sell or rent spectrum space to the highest bidder. If that's the system, what will be on the air? Believe me, Rush and his backers can pay more than Air America can.

There's no principled basis for saying that Rush should pay but Air America gets a freebie. ("Rush is a scumbag" is true but it isn't a principled basis.)

The better approach is roughly what we have now -- broadcast licenses awarded for limited time periods by a government agency, charged with considering the public interest -- but with some tweaks, such as the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine.

As to the Nader-bashing flamewar: It's not inconsistent for me to say that Nader is often right on many issues and that he's made some mistakes. In particular, I believe that his one huge mistake in 2000, with its horrific consequences, outweighs all the good he's done and permanently fouls his legacy.

Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that everything he says is wrong. I happen to disagree with him on this one on the merits, not because it's coming from Nader.

[Uzybone]

34. An irrelevant fool talking about a racist buffoon (and vice versa) = no news

Nader sure picked a hard target to bash didn't he?

[chill_wind]

36. Heh heh heh. Beautiful. :-) I'll take great talking points

about that gas-bag anywhere I may find them, especially when they are this succinct and acerbic.

I hope Nader adopts him as a permanent project.

[progressoid]

37. Sorry Ralph - fail.

I can't think of anyone I loathe more than Limpballs however even his mindless ditto heads can poke holes in Nader's supposition.

[Greyhound]

50. You haven't, are you less than a "mindless ditto head"? n/t

[progressoid]

54. Nope, just had to log off to deal with a teenager.

Here's a quick one before I move on:

If Rush is expected to "pay rent", so should Dan Rather and Brian Williams and Ellen and Willard Scott and Oprah and Garrison Keillor et al. that use the public airwaves. Wonder why Nader (or anyone here for that matter) isn't endorsing that?

As hyperbolic attacks go, Ralph's was pretty weak.

[Greyhound]

55. They should also. They enjoy the free use of a commodity, owned by us, that is worth

hundreds of billions of dollars annually. They have done so for so long that they feel entitled to them. We should remind them that we own them and they are in business at our sufferance.

[creeksneakers2]

38. For a second, I t hought Ralph might be going after somebody

who isn't a Democrat. But when I read it, it turned out Ralph was busting on Washington much more than he was busting on Limbaugh.

[Jefferson23]

39. ROFL, way to go Ralph, this is perfect and don't let up on this creep the

"freeloader." I love that, Freeloader Limbaugh, lol.

[jtrockville]

40. Limbaugh pays taxes? I doubt it. The rich pay accountants instead.

[omega minimo]

41. RUSH = BIG BROTHER. NADERHATERS = NOT WORTH READING.

:hi:

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

42. Every pro-democracy American ought to OUT Limbaugh as a corporate welfare whore!!!!

He's been not only freeloading but engaging in oppressive activities and flat out hate crimes against segments of this nation's population.

Force the buggar off his tower of greed so that he may have the opportunity to acquire the values to which he pays lip-service, for a profit.

[orleans]

44. (bla bla bla nader, bla bla bla limbaugh, bla bla bla)

(guess i'm still not "over it")

[G_j]

51. over what?

blacks being denied the right to vote?
yes, turning the Voting Rights Act on it's head is an extremely serious civil rights violation.

[mac56]

47. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.

But Nader's still a douchebag.

And I don't care what anybody thinks.

[Two Americas]

48. oh oh

The presents a dilemma for some DUers. They have to reveal that it is the political left they hate and are fighting against, not the right.

[G_j]

52. I hate to say this

but, I actually think you are correct.

:wow:

[Two Americas]

53. of course

We are going to lose our minds if we keep trying to make sense of this while ignoring what is right under our noses, right in plain view. The party and liberalism have been hijacked by people - a very small but domineering minority among us - whose prime mission is to destroy the Left, while hiding that from us by continually creating an uproar so people can not see what is happening. This is the source of all of the confusion and paralysis and frustration and ineffectiveness.