Paul F. Tompkins
Appearances
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
If your name is Big Rush and two guys go after you, I think that's a fair fight.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
They're thin from being poor.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, I don't remember ever being concerned as to the investigation of that fire.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I mean, how many how many of these guys were born out of the the the sort of ritual humiliation by their fathers in front of an audience?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You know, it's such a common thing that I guess I'm just glad my dad was a guy who didn't say anything ever.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Right. He's more from the darn shucks school of the darn shucks school of political commentary.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's very much like the original origin story of Lex Luthor that Superman blew out his hair. Superman was responsible for him going prematurely bald, and he became a supervillain because of this.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I mean, join the club rush. Yeah, we all hate school. It's trash. It never occurred to me to relate to the guy on the radio. Like, how come he gets to have fun? This grown adult. And I have to go to school.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
and handed to this ream of paper that has information on it so it's true. But Lujac was not a political guy, right? He was just a DJ?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's so wild to think about someone being alive at that time. And not having a strong feeling either way about anything that's going on.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
That is like a kind of privilege that I can't even begin to fathom.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
The idea that you would say, Martin Luther King, who is that again? Which guy? Bobby who got killed? You know what? Dimly aware that RFK was assassinated.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I mean, look, he has undeniably great voice. Great voice. Very good at imparting information, like actual factual information. This movie is for sure playing here at this time. Day of the time. Dolphin, absolutely. I can't wait to see it. Yeah, I'm not. It's the exciting movie day of the dolphin. But that he's just straight reading things that you cannot misinterpret in any way.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
If only he'd stuck to that. But yeah, I... It's so – I guess I don't want to get ahead of us and get ahead of ourselves, but the idea that this guy would not be content doing just this is, like, when does it – the idea that it turns, like – I don't know. I'm sorry. We'll get to that.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You know, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who who also does podcasts and radio and.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
for neither of us it is our thing our first thing but we shared a uh we we had a conversation where we we shared our love of being good at reading copy like when you have to do ads there is something that's weirdly satisfying about like oh i sound like a guy on the radio like i'm doing a good job at reading this and making it sound natural and whatever and it's like there it like there's isn't that enough isn't that enough that there's there's
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It is a good feeling when you nail an ad read. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
To be fair, I'm also the voice of a lot of characters that people hate.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, it could be both. It could be both. There is a kind of lording it over like, you know what, this is a dumb job, but you're still not allowed to do it.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, do you know what? I forgot that... First of all, I forgot how long he's been around. Yeah. And I remember watching him in his earliest days on TV and watching that show, like, as a goof, the way I would watch, you know, the Morton Downey Jr. show or Wally George or whatever, and just like, who is this clown? And he's, like, doing this sort of...
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. As a boy growing up in Philadelphia. Yeah. I dreamed of advertising for missiles.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Here's what sucks. Raytheon is such a cool name.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's so good.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I'm sorry. I don't know if you'll know or not. Like, talk radio... How much of a thing is it at this point of people calling in to radio stations to have conversations with broadcasters?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
The original idea of the DJ was maybe a personality, but his main thrust was, I'm giving you this music that you crave, and that's why you like me, is because I'm going to maybe get tracks before other people get them, and you're going to hear this stuff first. But there's still a thing of... it's not about my personality necessarily.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's mainly about, I am the, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm the Santa Claus of music. I'm giving you these things. Yes. And that's why you like me.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
you know, what seemed like a character, you know, at the time, because he, I think he fancied himself an entertainer and had a show that had little skits in it and stuff like that. And I, I thought he was just ridiculous. And so, uh, uh, I watched him ironically and, um, and then things just got worse. Like I, I sort of got tired of it.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Is that being I don't know if that's being good at insulting people. Yeah, that's not really it. So that's just that's just being cool. Ready to insult. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. I mean, the the I the number one indication that someone is racist is when they say they're the least racist. Has that ever been said by a non-racist person? It's always got to be, not only am I not racist, I am the least racist person you're ever going to meet. Maybe don't go that far. Because it's so...
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I remember getting tired of it and like, okay, this is just like the same thing over and over again. And it's not, um, It's not pushing that that button in my ironic pleasure center anymore. So I just stopped watching. But despite despite my my jumping ship, he continued to do what he was doing.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Do we know what the sources of the type of controversies? Yes, we're about to get into that. Yeah, okay.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Well, sorry.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. So now, just so I understand, Rush is this satire that he was doing. Yeah. The idea was here is what left wing people think right wing people are like. And the point he is trying to make is they see us as they see the left wing sees the right wing as, uh, extreme and, uh, hateful and, um, you know, racist and, and close minded. Like, is that, is that the point he was trying to make?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
But through the, through the lens of here's how the left sees them.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. It sounds like it's a protective phrase of like, I was not satirizing these guys directly. I was not satirizing right wing people. I was satirizing how left wing people see right wing. Yes, that is how I have interpreted what I've read. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That does sound like a base covering kind of thing.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yes. So he's an apolitical guy who's like, this is... This is what this is what politics sounds like to me, I guess.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You know what? Not super political. My family was a lower middle class, big Catholic family in Philadelphia in a sort of suburb called Mount Airy. And we were both of my... my family was like lifelong Democrats, you know, Philadelphia Democrats. And so that was kind of it. Like we were just sort of, you know, like a conservative liberal family.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, absolutely.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And yeah, I, we, we didn't talk a lot about politics in the house growing up. And that was kind of it. But I knew that we were, we were liberal Democrats, you know, who were weirdly enough guided by,
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
guided by I'm not even gonna say faith I think we were guided by my parents sort of morals where they were greatest generation depression babies and they voted straight Democrat but they were not like even though we were Catholic it was like we were not single issue voters you know yeah
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It is absolutely undeniable. And especially if you spent time on Twitter and if you've ever been like I have on occasion, deliberately stupid on Twitter and gotten sincere replies to something that is so obviously a joke. So obviously a joke. It absolutely is fun. There's no way around that. There's no way around that.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Seeing people take you at your word when you say something that's so patently absurd.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And that is the key difference of, you know, you seeing something that catches fire in a, forgive the phrasing, but catches fire in a charged situation and how easily people can glom onto something when everything's so churned up. And then realizing like, oh, words have power. I have to be careful rather than words have power. Here we go. Here we go! Let's use it to sell gold.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
But they but my family was my parents were brought up with the same sort of prejudices that people of their generation were brought up with, you know. But but, yeah, politics did not figure in it. It was like when I got when I got, you know, a little older and out of the house and everything. That's when I started, you know, investigating my own politics. And it was like a long journey, you know.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You have to know, before I start the story, you have to know.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's so... It's so the fully formed version of him that I first experienced. And he's really going for it. He's really... He's so aggressive in it and saying, I'm going to come... Clearly, the intention is, I'm going to come on your show and I'm going to take it over and I'm going to be the alpha here. I'm going to dominate you with this. The presentation of the LA Times is because...
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
why that guy got fired from the la times yeah i mean like no i think he'd been in los angeles and they savaged him in a review right right right okay yeah so it's it's um you know it's that frankly it's like it's all the shit that i hate yeah yeah it is it is it's it's so it's it's aggressive it's mean it's um You know, it's he's also correcting him on one of his, you know, eight catchphrases.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You know, you have to get it right. I say it like this every time. This is the way it goes. You know, it's just it's a drag. It's a drag.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. It's like when you when you like that, that that understand the the importance of branding over having an actual thing to say, like, honestly, yeah. The what you what the content is secondary to the presentation of here's who I am. I'm going to tell you through repetition. This is my whole thing.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's like they're, you know, comics that to me, it always makes me think of comedians that majored in marketing in college. Yeah. And then it's like, OK, but are they actually that funny or did they just are they able to really sell themselves so well that the content is secondary to the image?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Look, we're all guilty a little bit.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And before that, already, that doesn't sound good.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
He just doesn't see it as a big story. Even just plainly stated... That is terrible.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I, I, I totally agree that his influence cannot be, uh, is it overestimated?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's like I, I, the day he died, I tweeted, uh, I tweeted, uh, if I had to say something positive about, I guess if I had to say something positive, I'm glad Rush Limbaugh lived long enough to get cancer and die. Um, and then that got, that got picked up by, uh, Fox news.com.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's wild that that is good. It it seems there's something about that that seems so modern. Do you know what I mean? Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. What are the... I guess that's a thing you can just say that most rich people earned their money. Like, yeah, it's it's it's objectively untrue. But yes, you can say that. But I guess if you if you are born to wealth, but then you also get a job that makes you even wealthier.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
They did a roundup of, you know, uh, liberals celebrating, um, Rush Limbaugh's death, which really was just like, Hey, if you want to harass some people, here's, here's who to harass. And I had people, I had people in my mentions on Twitter, like saying things like, uh, You better pray you never meet me. Like people implying violence because I said I'm glad Rush Limbaugh is dead.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's because I got a break that they didn't, you know, that's leaving, leaving that, leaving that part out is how you were able to convince other people that, uh, that the majority of people who are, well, The majority of people are wealthy through hard work.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, I see what he's going for. Sure.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
As a means of maintaining standards.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
What the fuck is he talking about?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
objectively true well documented this is how the right works absolutely I don't know when listening is going to disagree but it's frustrating but it is it is absurd the idea of you know like it's it's cancel culture if you if you compare being conservative to being a Jew in 19 late 1930s Berlin to like it should be illegal to give the finger to the flag yeah
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I had somebody call my house and say Rush Limbaugh contributed far more good to society than you ever will. Fuck you. My God. For Rush Limbaugh. This guy. But I mean. This guy had a show. He had a show. He wasn't a legislator. He wasn't like some sort of freedom fighter. This guy just had a show where he said mean things.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Absolutely. And it's also if you're willing to go to bat for Rush Limbaugh because you think it's mean that somebody is glad that he's dead. Let's lay it all out. And here's why some people might not be so sad that a human life has been lost.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Well, let's see. You can find me on social media at P.F. Tompkins on Twitter and Instagram. I have a bunch of podcasts going on at any given time. Freedom, which I co-host with Lauren Lapkus and Scott Ackerman and Stay Up Homekins, which I co-host with my wife. We started a podcast during the pandemic and unfortunately we are still doing it.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
and I do I do shows the first live streaming improv shows the first Monday of every month with my friend Lauren Lapkus and that all those tickets can be found at paulftompkins.com slash live awesome well speaking of cancel culture this episode is now over and thus canceled because of the libs it's done bye bye
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Hey, if it ain't broke. Yeah, if it ain't broke.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Wait, I'm sorry. Did you say he retired at 102? In 1994. Yeah. And then how long did he live after that? Did he get to enjoy his retirement? I think he died immediately.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Some people are like that. His grandson was like that.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I know. Somebody had to be his Washington generals. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
That is the most suspicious sounding phrase I've heard in a long time.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's sinister.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
oh big rush man one of those nicknames that you you cannot combat like it's no like no we're you're big rush sorry big rush sorry big rush you you can ask politely it's not gonna happen why are you in a big rush uh so big rush became an attorney sorry that's what you would tell people like all right because i'm always rushing around i'm always rushing around
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Absolutely, yeah.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
So Rush has a brother? Rush has a brother.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part One: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, they didn't do a George for him.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And the idea that it's so... That he phrased it as this matter of personal choice rather than like just common sense practical thinking. You know, like, do you really want to put your trash in two separate trash cans? Yeah. And it's like, well, it's not so much that it's a hassle. It's that we're going to make Earth unlivable for ourselves. Not that we're like, you know, fuck you, the dodo.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You should have had claws or something. It's that we're fucking ourselves. Why has that been... Why is that so hard to understand and so hard to comply with and so hard to keep as part of the narrative? Because the logical extension is, what do you care? You'll be dead. By the time this shit affects people in a meaningful way, to you a meaningful way, you'll be dead. So what do you care?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And these are people that are allegedly all about the family. And it's like, well, I mean, do you plan on having grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren? Like, do you care about what – I don't know. I'm not being funny now, and I'm just being whiny.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
My politics are, I don't want somebody telling me what to do. I believe in a vague idea of a John Wayne movie, and things were better in this bygone era before these people started to suggest that maybe we could improve things, and that's where it ends.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I know. Right. It's so abusive. It's so and it's so bald. Yeah. It's right out there. It's like he's not. There's no. It's not like a sort of obfuscating language. He is saying very clearly. Yeah. What the deal is, this is fucking unbelievable.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
He's fun. Yeah, he's fun. But he also says things that I like to hear. But he's fun. He's just fun. But he's fun. I think also you cannot underestimate the effect of the pointer. If you're on television and you have a... You're walking over a television with a pointer and you're pointing at something. It looks very official.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
So, Robert, why are all your weapons in front of you? Well, I'm always I'm always surrounded by weapons. What's what's going to happen during this discussion?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, you're not you're not strapped, Paul.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Here's my knife.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I didn't realize this was a knife on the table show. I apologize.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I also think it's worth noting that on the show itself, the idea of her being a single mother was a plot point that was a story arc that they discussed a lot on the show. It was not a blithe decision by the character. It was, they really talked about
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
What it because because it was a show that did that did a lot of satire, talked about issues, the discussion of whether or not she was going to have the baby and what it meant to be a single working mother was discussed at great length on the show. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
He pioneered this idea that if you are saying this is OK, this thing is OK. what you are doing is saying that's it. That's somehow, that's an attack on me and what I believe.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
So the idea of Dan Quayle saying it glorifies single mothers, um, no one that, that show, no one was ever saying we should do this instead. Um, Right. We should be doing we should be doing this instead of what you think is right. This is what we should be doing rather than just saying, isn't this OK?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
He's not even talking about a slippery slope. He's just saying that if you are saying this is okay, that means you are saying the way we live is not okay.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And that's just not there at all.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
We can't do a rewatch of the, we can't do a rewatch podcast with the Rush Limbaugh show.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Feeling great. Feeling great. I feel energized that he is dead.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
What's strange to me is, well, I guess because the show was over, I guess the show, you know, the viewership went down. I wonder why he didn't just stick Limbaugh on Fox News in those in those early days. He he he wanted to actually. Okay.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It hasn't worn off yet.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And they're absolutely going to praise me. And so in order to save some time, let's get, let's just condense all the, the, the, the fawning praise that you will no doubt give me into one word. So we know that what you're saying is rush. I love you. You are everything to me. And I, I need you to know that before we get into whatever fucking issue we're going to get into.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Until that first guy came along that had to implement mega dittos.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
There's also never any follow up on these these the fear mongering claims whenever there's an election. Like what happened to the Obama sleeper cells? Like, yeah, never. Are they still in play? Is he still waiting to give them the word? Like they never go back and say, oh, it turns out that didn't happen.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You would think that by now people would know, no, no one's going to take your guns.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
which on its own is a reasonable statement except you spent years attacking clinton for being a draft dodger yeah like oh that's so funny and hypocritical yeah to me my my favorite draft dodge uh uh explanation of all time is still dick cheney i had other priorities
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. It's doubly immoral when you're well past the age where it would affect you. Where it's you're now there's another there's a later generation of people that will be affected by this very, you know, hypocritical line of attack.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And did it come from did he have some injury that got him hooked on it or?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
yeah i i actually didn't i didn't really i wasn't really cognizant of all the the legal side of this i just remember the the hypocrisy of him being you know uh uh shaming just gobbling up yeah shaming and while he's gobbling down these pills but i had no idea i i guess i didn't i i didn't uh i didn't bother exploring that side of
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I the the other point of like they just these, you know, these people, they just love to riot.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. Look, slavery is over. What more do you want?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Is this just like, at this point, when you say things like that, right, he is... What do you think the percentage is of... For in Russia's mind, I actually believe this or what is the most out to what is the most outrageous thing that I could say?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I like the Trump thing where he starts out telling a lie, but then he repeats the lie enough times that it becomes true to him because he is saying, yes, that's exactly the case.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
But at that time, when he was saying that shit, she was literally a kid.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. Such a bad person to say that to to imply that Michael J. Fox was playing it up for the cameras.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
When he went testified before Congress. I remember this. I remember this so well because Michael J. Fox deliberately did not take his medication and said that and said, I want you to see this is what happens. And Rush Limbaugh accused him of like playing it up like it's not that bad. And he's he's jiggling all around like that's like burned into my brain forever.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I want to make this less abstract to you.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. Sorry. It gets that, that sort of, Specific personality demonization gets in the way of actually accomplishing discussions of policy and where we are as a country and how we do things. Because, absolutely, they were completely typical of the people that occupy the White House on any given year. You know what I mean? Yeah. Absolutely.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You know, Hillary, even if she had killed as many people overseas as Trump did, probably fewer people domestically in terms of policy. If you're talking about the if you're going to talk, get into the pandemic and stuff like that, if she had been elected and, you know,
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Anyway, yeah, I totally agree that it's a very weird thing that absolutely sprung out of the Rush Limbaugh personal demonization that then gets into... fucking Alex Jones shit where she's a demon.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
There's a black president. We're going to need more hate groups, guys. The hate groups, the extant hate groups, we're not going to get it done.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah, the guy from the L.A.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
They'll vote for him and not for me cause he's not from the hood.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I mean, I guess I just wish that non-comedy people would stay in their lane.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. I just bring it up a ton. That's all.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's just convenient that he's black. It's not a problem that I have with him, but it's convenient for me for my satire. God, I hate this guy. Why is he even doing satire at this point? Has he dropped that pretense?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yeah. You know, it puts me in mind of Howard Stern coming into the Philadelphia market and forcing John DiBella, the host of the morning zoo to apologize for being on the radio. Jesus. I didn't know that it happened. Oh, it was, it was, it was ridiculous.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
This now. Now we're in the age of. You know, because Biden said, you know, is looking for unity. Anytime somebody is looking for unity. Yeah. And there is a there's a criticism of a famous monster like Rush Limbaugh. The response from the right is always, oh, where's the famous unity? Where? Well, I thought you wanted unity. Right. And it's like, well, do you care about unity?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
You don't give a shit about it. You're already living in a world that says, if you don't come to believe the things that I believe... You are against America and you are you are the real racist. You're the real misogynist. You are the real hater of of all things that are decent. So it's I don't know how we I don't know how we unfuck ourselves from this from this situation.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Absolutely. I think the thing also about Trump is, like Rush, doesn't really have any deeply held beliefs. You couldn't say this guy, even convincing himself, really cares that much about anything beyond what's right in front of his fucking face that is about him.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's funny, like, sorry, but the idea that, like, with the Nixon era, after Watergate, when Nixon resigns, that is maybe the last time that there were real consequences for the highest office. Yeah. It doesn't mean anything.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It really is just like an asterisk in history, you know, essentially of saying like, just so you know, people, some people thought this was bad and they and they said so officially. But there's no real consequence for any of this. So really what they're doing is saying. We cannot, Nixon should not have had a consequence. We got to make sure that there's never a consequence ever again.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I'm good. I mean, look. He said some dumb things, and I am going to dance on his grave.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
He sucked, and I'm glad he's dead. He was a bad person. And I have to say, on social media, when the story broke, people were talking about it. There were a lot of people that wanted to say... you know, you can, you, you know, you can say whatever you want, but rush was hugely successful, more successful than you will ever be had more influence. He was a millionaire guys.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Take the W. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, you can't. And this is the problem with these guys, with Trump, with people like this is it's not enough for them to win. They need people to lick the boots. They need people to say you are the greatest and, It is never enough for them. It is never enough for them to be hated, to be feared, to have all the marbles. They need you to say, I love you too.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yes. They need it. And that is what the only solace I can take in a life like this is that in the end, He didn't get the thing that he wanted, which was everybody saying, you're the greatest, and I love you.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It was rest in piss and a bunch of Nazis crying. Yeah. If this is what you make of your life, This is how this is what's going to happen is that you're going to have people saying rest in piss. You're going to have people saying this. And it's and sorry, you can have all the success you want. You're never going to get that love. It's not going to happen.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And the lives of people they knew and the lives of people that they loved. You have made life that much harder for generations of people that will come after you.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I'm going to be appearing on the Daily Showa in a couple weeks.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
nazi content creators i guess you go nazi thought leaders in the united states very important work daniel harper i don't speak german he provided those clips to me thank you daniel yeah um sorry back here no not at all um uh you can follow me at uh pf tompkins on uh twitter and instagram and um i have a few podcasts that you can listen to um you know just all the usual stuff you can find out about me on paul f tompkins.com
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And unfortunately that meant for everybody for like, for, I don't know if, if, because if it didn't happen, if it didn't happen after Bush, which there was not even an impeachment for Bush, like for the Iraq war that we all know now was bogus. If there was never going to be a consequence for that, Then it worked. And there and from now on, like, when is it ever going to happen again?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
When if it didn't happen, then when is it ever going to happen again?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
And then it also conditions whether you're on Russia's side or not, whether you're on that side of things or not. It conditions everybody to feel like... it's okay that there's no consequences because what are you going to do?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
It's just the way things are.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
I mean, it's like, it's just not even that funny. No! You know what I mean?
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
That's one of the things that sucks about Rush Limbaugh is that he... For somebody who did a lot of bits and, you know, was supposedly doing satire, he just wasn't that funny.
Behind the Bastards
CZM Rewind: Part Two: The Rush Limbaugh Episodes with Paul F. Tompkins
Yes. Because you put the tiniest effort into constructing these bits.