Whose Cult of Personality?

How will historians look back upon the exploitative vitriol of Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck era of American political and societal discourse? Not kindly, is my prediction.

I just read Conor Friedersdorf's article on why Rush Limbaugh is actually not a proven racist. But he is the worst kind of race-baiter. He calls everyone a racist. He accuses what he clams to abhor: immediate guilt of racism.

Limbaugh knows every dog whistle in the book of the Right Wing: Republicans, Libertarians, Fiscal conservatives, Christian conservatives, White Power zealots. He knows the resentful feeling many of these people share. They think the world perceives them as racists and they're afraid of being labeled the dreaded "racist" tag. So they turn to Rush to be their voice. They think they don't have anyone but Rush and Beck to speak up for them. But all these two do is play on the age-old stereotypical fears and preach the politics of resentment. Really, I think either of these two could go quite a long way with this schtick. They are the modern day charlatans of religion and racial button-pushing. They have few boundaries they won't touch. And they have major platforms.