[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1225584071]No. You can disagree with the man and still be respectful. The POTUS deserves a certain respect after the election. It wasn't extended to Clinton by the Republicans (many of them) and it wasn't extended to Bush by certain Democrats. Election season or after somebody leaves office is different.
IMO, I think Rush Limbaugh ripped the lid off this Pandora's box. The tone of political discussion changed in this country in 1988, as a whole section of the electorate found a voice. Problem is, they didn't find a brain and just became 'dittoheads'.
Sadly, I think Rush is right about tapping the views of his conservative listenders, but he convienently ignores the darker side of many of his listeners' psyche. He (and Hanity, and O'Riley, and even Lou Dobbs) elevates his viewpoints (and the viewpoints of his listeners), but at the expense of everyone elses viewpoints (which are quashed).</blockquote>
No one else's viewpoint is being quashed. Rush found an untapped market using what was then a wasteland of radio spectrum. He's successful because people tune into him which drives ad revenue. If he wasn't popular, he wouldn't be on he air. Air America was launched as the "anti-Rush" network but it hasn't had nearly the success because people who have that same point of view are less likely to listen to talk radio and more likely to watch TV or read blogs. Keith Olbermann seems to be doing pretty well representing the other side, and Rachel Maddow has gotten some success as well. Not to mention the newspapers, local television, etc. But let's get back to your implied point.
No one is quashing anyone's viewpoints. Prior to 1987, the conservative side had no voice in media... none. Now, with the ubiquity of the internet in American households, the explosion of cable TV channels, and the retooling of AM radio programming more people are expressing more viewpoints than ever. Contrast Rush with Keith Olberman and you see two people doing the same thing in seperate mediums and from opposite ends of the spectrum. How many websites are there that do nothing but push a liberal or progressive point of view? According to Alexa.com, 592 versus 490 for conservatives. Yes, Rush and his ilk dominate the AM talk radio market, but not because they force stations to carry their shows. They dominate because they have listeners that tune in, they frequently have guests or callers arguing for the opposition on any number of topics, and they rarely cut people off (unless they are breaking FCC rules, lied to get past the screener, etc.). I would argue that more viewpoints are being expressed than ever before, and Rush was the first "alternative viewpoint" to make money doing nothing else. But he isn't the only one (Daily Kos, annual revenue of $50-100 Million according to Alexa.com) nor will he be the last.