Jesse Jackson: Limbaugh needs treatment, not prosecution.

Limbaugh should lead charge to reform U.S. drug laws

October 21, 2003

BY JESSE JACKSON

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk show bully, is in big trouble. He's admitted to being addicted to painkillers. His former housemaid, Wilma Cline, testifies that he got her to supply him with enough illegal drugs to ''kill a horse,'' and apparently has given authorities records on some 30,000 illegal drugs that he purchased.
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In fact, what Limbaugh is struggling with is a terrible, brutal addiction, a destructive disease that afflicts many Americans. Limbaugh needs treatment, not prosecution. It is good that he checked himself into a rehab center, although 30 days is probably not long enough to rid him of a habit as bad as this one reportedly is. The last thing Limbaugh needs is to be locked up in a cell for falling prey to a disease that consumes him.

Limbaugh, of course, denounces treatment instead of jail as wooly-headed liberal coddling of crime. He's of the lock-'em-up, zero-tolerance school of jail cell conservatives. ''Drug use . . . is destroying this country,'' Limbaugh has ranted. ''Too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we're not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.''
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http://www.suntimes.com/output/jesse/cst-edt-jesse21.html

As much as I believe Jesse, I think he also wrote this article as a backhanded slap. Could you imagine if Limbaugh was facing prosecution and Jesse came to his aid? It would almost be better than seeing him prosecuted. Rush: "I would like to thank Rev. Jackson for his compassion at this time of need." LOL

Rush Limbaugh deserves to rot in jail. I read somewhere (here?) that minimum sentence for the amount he supposedly possessed would be 25 years. Anyone who say's justice is blind is stupid. It's not blind, rich assholes like limbaugh get away with murder and poor saps rot in jail as examples.

And I'm not for locking drug users up, but I COULD make an exception for Rush, since he is such a fucking hypocrite on this issue.

...nothing gets bad laws changed faster than strict, full, and fair enforcement.

But it's not changed yet. Sentencing and parole may be affected by mitigating circumstances, but he should still have to stand in front of a judge and face the music.

Instead of taking his cue from all the snipers.

Cool guy.

He wouldn't be a bad person to lead this fight. The elected dem party, at least a signifigant wing of it, needs to embrace theses reforms. God knows we could use that support from libertine independants, in addition to the fairness that these reforms would bring, or at least the needed discourse from the attempt

congrats!

shut his cake hole raise your hand!
:hi:

By taking this action he is kicking the man while he is down, while taking the high road. With Jesse speaking up against prosecution of Limbaugh it will really fuck up a lot of freepers. Besides basically Jesse is putting Rush on the spot, if Rush gets off he will have to change his position on drugs.

:thumbsup:

*

Just like where he wants all others like him to go to.

He still clings to the notion that the average American will care that he is taking the "high road."

He seems to forget that most have already formulated their opinion about him from the media frenzy surrounding his "moral indescretions." I believe the person leading that charge was none other than Rush Limbaugh.

And we wonder why we lose so often to the GOP...

. . .is making Rush and his ilk look foolish. He is showing compassion (or political pragmatism), also given the hatred of Jackson by Rush and Co., Jackson shows himself to be a better man. In the end Jesse wins with this.

Its better that he say this than "Rush should go to jail".

Take a lot of class to say that. Rush could learn a thing or two.

For Crush?? Typical Repuke - sends someone else to do his dirty business! Send the maid to deal with the drug dealers!

:puke:

Imagine if Jackson had been exposed as druggie. I think Rush Rot would have tied the knot in the noose himself that he would have hung Jackson with as a drug addict.

over the disclosure of Jesse's illegitimate daughter.

The "War on Drugs" is bogus and a complete failure. It has done so much damage to our society. Limbaugh has also done a great deal of damage to out society, spreading his hate to millions of uninformed, angry people. Addicts should recieve treatment not jail. Limbaugh deserves the worst he has wished on others due to his RANK HYPOCRACY not his ADDICTION.

(And I for one don't buy for a microsecond his lame EXCUSE of becoming addicted due to back pain. He may well have had a legitimate prescription at one time, but I'm sure he started illegaly buying his drugs because he LIKED TO GET HIGH.)

Whatsupwiththat?

I think us "bleeding heart liberals" are cleverly using the very trait they like to hold over our heads as a weakness (forgiveness and compassion) to embarrass the CONs further.

All we need is for Sharpton, who Rush mocked to no end, to step up and "help" Rush now.

lying, weasel. However, you can't honestly compare rush's addiction to Darryl Strawberry or Robert Downey, Jr. The abused drugs for recreational purposes. Rush abused drugs because of a pain that was so great he risked and did lose his hearing because of that pain. There's no comparision. Now, I don't believe that Strawberry and Downey should have been prosecuted either.

Darryl Strawberry was suffering from cancer and Rush crucified him anyway. Rush lost his hearing because of his drug use. He didn't start taking drugs because of his hearing loss. Rush has been using drugs for over twenty years according to a close aquaintance as told in Newsweek Magazine. His only pain is a guilty conscience from the hatred he has been spewing over the last twenty years

addiction is addiction. I could tell you stories I personally heard from leads of alcoholics risking death, maiming, poverty, homelessness, and every other kind of consequence you can name for just one more drink. Again, you couldn't be more wrong.

Calling a spade a spade ... right on Jesse!

Keep hope alive!!!

:dem: :kick:

:kick:

I googled site:209.157.64.200 "jesse jackson" "rush limbaugh" drugs.

Not sure if that's Free Republic proper, but its full of loudmouth wingnuts. So far, they are just making fun of Jesse as per usual, and trying deperately to defend Rush.

They are cowards and hypocrits. Oh, we knew Rush was that. But the lack of response to a serious challenge shows definitively that Rush's supporters have even less virtue than the man himself, if such a thing is possible.

But what I'd really like to see is Rush's apologists in the mainstream media answer this, or answer for Rush's cowardice. This ought to thoroughly discredit him once and for all. It won't, I reckon, but it ought to.

what the good book says to do, which is forgive your enemies. By doing so he's showing the world what a TRUE Christian is supposed to do. Can you imagine for one nanosecond a statement like Jesse's coming from someone like Jerry or Pat?

I'm vehemently against the prosecution of non-violent (HA!) drug users. That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing Rush in Federal Pound-Me-In-The-Ass prison.

. . .if Jesse were to save Rush from jail. Rush and his followers would not know what to do?

weren't quite as diplomatic when they found out about Jesse's baby he had with his mistress. <sigh> Shit....we're just too damn nice! Do you honestly think Rush Limbaugh would be preaching those same words if it was Jesse who was the addict?? Of course not! Rush needs to be procecuted just like all of the poor addicts before him!

weren't quite as diplomatic when they found out about Jesse's baby he had with his mistress. <sigh> Shit....we're just too damn nice! Do you honestly think Rush Limbaugh would be preaching those same words if it was Jesse who was the addict?? Of course not! Rush needs to be procecuted just like all of the poor addicts before him!

Jesse is much better for not living down to the Republican/right wing standards. . .so is Tommy Chong.

They should treat him with preperation H. Then he will just go away.

David Frum gives Limbaugh a pass: ''I don't think any less of him for having ordinary frailties. The question is, do you face up to them in a manful way, which it sounds like he did.''


I'm not big on semantic arguments, and I'm not a big PC person, but what can this possibly mean? It seems to me that if gender has a role in this discussion, it would be about how men are more prone to addictive behaviors than women.

I heard that word "manful" recently applied to George Tenet for taking the fall for Bush's uranium lie. I didn't get it then either. Is it manful to cover up for your boss? Is that a good thing? It would seem to me that it's better for our country for our leaders to be held accountable for their actions, rather than having loyal underlings cover up for them.

And P.S., if David Frum is who I think he is, isn't he a little bit effeminate?

There are so many wonderful things about this article, I don't know where to begin.

Jesse is, under the innocent, well-intentioned suggestion that Rush get treatment and not jailtime, is demonstrating Rush's hypocrisy and his cruel attitude towards criminals and addicts.

Without suggesting Rush should get treatment-which is sure to infuriate dittoheads and Rush because this is the noble thing do, and gives the right no fuel for hatred towards people like Jesse-this article would not have the same impact, and may not have been published.

It's a thing of beauty, this article.

But part of recovery is accepting responsibility for your actions. If you have broken the law and you're facing criminal penalties, you need to come clean with yourself and accept the punishment for your actions. This is not JUST a precept of recovery, it's an adult way to live.