Originally Posted by Bestworking:
I read that they had somewhere between 18,000-20,000 advertisers. Then you figure that some of the sponsors that the lefties claim have pulled their ads are disputing that claim, that adds a few more to the pot. If I woke up tomorrow and rush limbaugh was off the air, and you lefties weren't crowing about it, I'd never know. If he was off the air what would you have gained? He feels the way he feels, he has millions of listeners that feel the same, well except the demmie listeners.
So what would you have? One more example of your incredible hypocrisy. You bleat about freedom of speech and people's rights, but you would be crowing because you just took that from someone. Then to top it off you could all tune in to bill maher or one of your other hatefilled leftie radio/tv "personalities" and listen to them brag because you guys showed the c**** and t**** what happens when you call one of their shills a name. Freaking nasty, bullying hypocrites. And that's the dems good points.
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Limbaugh retains his freedom of speech. As to the advertisers, their commercial announcements fall within the legally-defined subset of "commercial speech" (http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/p...onlaw/commercial.htm), which itself enjoys considerable freedom.
It is THE ADVERTISERS' decision whether to air or print their advertising within any given medium or to withdraw it. That decision may turn on any number of things. Intelligent advertisers decide where and how to advertise on the basis of anticipated return on the money invested in advertising. That, my friends, is the good ole American capitalist free enterprise system at work, the very system that Limbaugh so often and so enthusiastically rhapsodizes about.
But now Limbaugh's beloved capitalist free enterprise system has come home to roost. Having exercised his First Amendment rights in a manner offensive to a very large sector of the electorate, he has poisoned his own well, defiled his own mess kit, and slaughtered the goose that has for so long laid golden eggs for him and for his mentor and colleague in obesity, Roger Ailes.
Understandably, many of Limbaugh's sponsors apparently now consider that advertising on his program is not likely to provide the desired return on investment; that indeed the continued association of their products or services with the "Excellence in Broadcasting" Network could even result in decisions on the part of decent people to withhold their business. Or, to be totally fair, some advertisers simply might have decided that although staying with Limbaugh would not be disastrous for them, their advertising dollars could provide a better return if invested with media where civility takes a higher priority than it enjoys on Rush's program. There it is again--that old equalizer, the free enterprise capitalism coming into play.
Ain't it just delicious to see a bully get bitten by his own dog?