Mr. Limbaugh,

Despite the fact that you and I have had a very loose association for many years now, it’s fairly likely that you have no idea who I am. While I do have a rather large ego, I’m ok with that fact. You’re a busy man, and while there certainly can’t be a large number of people who call themselves liberal that have actually taken the time to listen to your show or read your books I have no reason to believe you’d have any actual interest in seeking out my company or advice.

This isn’t the first time I’ve considered addressing you directly. I almost did so once before about six months ago. As is frequently the case on your daily show, you were discussing the “drive by” media and the Hollywood Left, and you had a caller who phoned you to rally against all the Hollywood types who were upset over the Fox show “24” and how the anti-terrorist hero Jack Bauer was free propaganda for the Bush Administration. During this call, you correctly pointed out to the caller that there had been no such outcry from Hollywood about “24.” Instead of taking the opportunity to continue your rant you actually spoke the truth, and I was impressed. One of the things I’ve noticed about you in the past is that while you make outrageous claims about the left, you can almost always back them up in fact. It offends me that you will point to a small group of individuals and paint everyone associated with them using the same brush, but you always seem to base at least some small part of your rhetoric in reality.

Because of this fact I have always had a small amount of admiration for what you do.

That was up until recently.

Yes, Mr. Limbaugh, I am referring to the comments you made about Michael J. Fox and the subsequent comments you have made in the days since then.

I’m not going to make emotional statements to the similarities your own struggles with hearing and drug addiction, nor will I lower myself to making insults at your expense in response. As much as I appreciate Keith Olberman, his recent interview with Steven Seder devolved into this at times, even while he was discussing the virtues of grace. No, Mr. Limbaugh, I will not do what you and others have done in this and lower myself to ad hominem attacks. I will simply state a simple fact.

I am disappointed in you, sir. Some how, some way, I thought you were better than this. Perhaps that is a failing on my part, but there it is. Your refusal to budge even one inch on this matter makes you look even worse. You continue to repeat the false claims that Mr. Fox was off his medication when the commercial was filmed, despite numerous medical experts coming out to say that his movements in it were a direct result of taking his medication. You continue to paint him as a tool for the left, even though it’s clear that Mr. Fox is supporting a candidate who he feels will help him find a cure for the disease that is slowly destroying his life – Much like he did when he filmed a commercial to support Arlen Specter in 2004 (a Republican, in case you had forgotten).

Three days after you made your comments, I tuned in to your show yet again to hear you referring to a comment that George Clooney made in 2003. Mr. Clooney made jokes about Charlton Heston’s Alzheimer’s disease, and when pressed for an apology afterward commented that because Mr. Heston was the head of the NRA he deserved what he had gotten. You held this up as evidence that your actions were no worse than those on the left, and as such they were justified. No, Mr. Limbaugh, there is no justification for what you have done. As the saying goes, two wrongs do not make a right. What you did was wrong. You have made baseless claims about the sincerity of Mr. Fox’s condition, and accused him of exaggerating his disease to win votes for the Democratic Party. Until and unless you can prove that what you have said is true you have moral right to continue these statements.

Unfortunately, it seems, actually showing some class and admitting that you are wrong is the farthest thing from your mind.

In the grand scheme of things, my opinion of what you have done matters very little. For what little it ends up being worth, though, I just wanted you to know that this insignificant man in St. Petersburg, Florida has a very simple message for you –

You should be ashamed of yourself.

Sincerely Yours,

Michael C. McGreevy

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