"Why has, say, Salon not weighed in?" Sullivan wrote. "Why has Slate not barred [Rall's] work permanently from their site?" These were examples of a distinct genre of conservative political writing that seeks to pressure liberals into distancing themselves from their extreme elements, ostensibly in the name of fostering a more civil, reasonable political culture. Conservatives who deploy this argument profess merely to be concerned about the tone of American politics. David Brooks summarized this view in a New York Times column last fall, writing that "the core threat to democracy is not in the White House, it's the haters themselves."

Now we have a well-timed opportunity to see how sincerely the right believes its own platitudes about civil discourse. On his syndicated radio show yesterday, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh hit a new low. Discussing the allegations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, he suggested that the humiliation of detainees was merely a bit of misguided recreation.

By the standards of civility Sullivan and Brooks apply to the left, Limbaugh's outburst is surely beyond the pale. His cavalier endorsement of sadism and sexual abuse for "emotional release" counts as hate under any reasonable definition of the word. Limbaugh trivializes the suffering of Iraqi civilians as badly as Rall trivialized Pat Tillman's heroism. His comments are also, incidentally, a slur against the accused soldiers, none of whom have been so depraved as to defend their actions as "a good time." They, at least, have insisted that the actions had a purpose--to soften up the detainees for interrogation--however warped it might have been. (Limbaugh was also inaccurate; the Skull and Bones initiation, while bizarre, is apparently light on physical cruelty.)

Thus far, however, his remarks have been met with silence on the right, which has indulged Limbaugh for years. If lack of condemnation is really the equivalent of approval, then the complicity of the right in Limbaugh's bile is overwhelming. There have been no calls for radio stations to cancel Limbaugh, as Sullivan called for newspapers to drop Rall's comic. Sullivan lightly mocked Limbaugh's comments, but did not call for him to be taken off the radio. Ramesh Ponnuru came closest to mustering some genuine criticism on National Review's website, where he managed to summon up a sort of decaffeinated outrage: "It was a tough line [Limbaugh] was trying to walk," Ponnuru wrote. "But when he ended up comparing the abuse to a fraternity initiations ritual, I'm afraid he fell on the wrong side of it." You don't say!

Part of the reluctance to criticize Limbaugh may stem from his prominence in conservative politics; in terms of influence, Limbaugh, with his 20 million listeners, is an immeasurably more significant figure than Rall, whose cartoon reaches a paltry 140 newspapers, only some of which print any given strip (compared to 1,400 newspapers daily for Doonesbury). His prominence--and, indeed, the power he wields with the right-wing base--may help explain why conservatives repeatedly let Limbaugh off the hook. But it's also why his comments are even more deserving of outrage than Rall's. After all, Ted Rall is a pretty minor figure; Rush Limbaugh isn't. Both men said repulsive things this week. If one is beyond the limits of acceptable political discourse, then surely the other is, too. It would be nice to see a conservative, any conservative, acknowledge that.

On November 21 the Claremont Institute will honor Rush Limbaugh with our Statesmanship Award. One of our heroes, Abraham Lincoln, frequently reminded his countrymen that "our government rests in public opinion." Few Americans in recent memory have done more on a daily basis to sustain and invigorate a healthy public opinion in this country than Mr. Limbaugh, known fondly to us all as "Rush."

In an overwhelmingly liberal media, Rush has brought to unprecedented millions of listeners a conservative point of view, year in and year out, on virtually every significant issue, trenchantly, intelligently, wittily, and inimitably. The buoyancy and optimism that infuse all of Rush's commentary, the unfailing good cheer in a good cause that uplifts the spirits of conservative millions every day, are reminiscent of the irrepressible spirit of the man whose life we gather here annually to celebrate, Sir Winston Churchill.

There could be few more eloquent testimonies to the success of Mr. Limbaugh in broadening and strengthening conservative public opinion in America than the deep fear and loathing he inspires among big-government, politically correct, blame-America-first liberals. Few if any since Ronald Reagan have had the honor of being more doggedly hated and feared by America's liberal elite than Rush Limbaugh. And the reasons are the same?Rush's staunch opposition to liberal cultural tyranny and tax and spend government, and his unblushing conviction that America is a good and great country that does not need the permission of the United Nations to defend itself against its enemies.

In recent months, wealthy liberals have launched a multimillion dollar campaign in the desperate --- and need one say, fruitless --- effort to create a "Limbaugh of the Left." More recently the same liberals have, of course, been publicly licking their unseemly chops at Rush's widely publicized personal setbacks.

All the more reason, we say, for friends and fans of Rush to come together to welcome him back to the good fight, honor him for his remarkable contributions, and wish him many more years of broadcasting the conservative truth "across the fruited plains."

Please join the Claremont Institute as we honor Rush with our Statesmanship Award for the service he has done our country as a leading voice of American conservatism.

The Claremont Institute announced Wednesday that Rush Limbaugh will not be in attendance at the Institute's annual Churchill Dinner on Friday, Nov. 21, 2003.

The Institute announced that Dr. William J. Bennett, recently appointed Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute, will deliver the keynote address at the event.

NewsMax.com's Wes Vernon reports that top radio talker Rush Limbaugh wowed the Media Research Center with a surprise appearance at yesterday's awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

He was not on the program, but the audience in a huge hotel ballroom knew Rush Limbaugh was about to appear on stage when they heard his familiar radio theme song.

The occasion was the Media Research Center?s annual Dishonor Awards, held each year to spotlight grossly biased, inaccurate and downright wacky statements by the so-called "mainstream media," or "partisan media," as the famous talker prefers to call them.

Limbaugh castigated the elite media regarding a huge example of bias just within the last few days.

Taking note of the arrest of accused Saddam spy Susan Lindauer, Rush recalled that her resume includes four Democrat officeholders and several jobs with "the partisan media."

"And all they could emphasize was that she was something like the 13th cousin of [White House aide Andy Card]," he lamented, "even though Card and Lindauer hadn?t seen each other in years."

What set him off on the "partisan media" recently, Rush said, was the way South Florida news outlets had treated his well-publicized case where a Democrat prosecutor is singling him out on charges of "doctor shopping" in his pursuit of painkillers - the result of a years-long back pain problem.

Referring to the Palm Beach Post as the "newsletter" for Palm Beach prosecutors, the man regarded as a broadcast icon by 20 million-plus listeners revealed an "editorial" meeting he had with the newspaper editors.

He complained that other prominent figures in the area had been given a pass when they became reliant on painkillers, while the prosecutor went after him, largely as a result of e-mails received from Rush-haters. He cited reports from conservative news sources and interviews his lawyer had had with Sean Hannity and Joe Scarborough.

"We don?t recognize the partisan media," the editors responded.

By stubbornly refusing to recognize any news source other than those blessed by the liberal establishment, Limbaugh said, the editors were in essence regurgitating what has been heard in elitist newsrooms for years: "Facts don't matter."

Henceforth, said the top talker, he will not acknowledge that these establishment outlets are "mainstream," a concession conservatives have been willing to make until now.

They are, he told his wildly cheering audience, "the partisan media."

"Up until the last 15 or 20 years, they had 'a virtual monopoly' on deciding what is and what is not 'news,'" he explained.

President Bush, according to Limbaugh, has found out that there is little point in trying to "get along with them. They hate his guts," even more than they hated Reagan, "and that is saying something."

The Democrats, the surprise guest proclaimed, "care more about whether Europeans like them than they care about terrorists who want to kill us."

And don't let them tell you they're compassionate, he warned. "Just try disagreeing with them and see how far you get."

In the world of the left, Rush believes, politics is about seeking power "to rule other people," whereas conservatives seek to "give power back to the people."

Nominees for each category were selected by the senior staff at the MRC, who combed through our massive archives to find 2002’s most biased quotes. The quotes were placed into five categories and provided to a distinguished group of 14 judges that included Rush Limbaugh,William F. Buckley, Jr., Robert Novak, Michael Reagan and William Rusher,among others. The judges voted for a winner and two runners-up in each cate-gory and, the “winners”were announced at the DisHonors. As a fun touch, we invite a top conservative leader to “accept” theaward on behalf of thewinner. More than 900 conservatives from around thecountry attended this year’s Dishonors and participants were a literal who's who of the conservative movement. Sean Hannity, the co-host of FoxNews' Hannity & Colmes; Laura Ingraham, the host of the country's third-highest rated conservative radio talkshow; and Anne Coulter, the best-selling author of Slander: Liberal Lies About the America Right,were our Presenters. Rich Lowry of National Review, Steve Moore of The Club for Growth, Judge Robert Bork, author Mona Charen and the Washington Times' Tony Blankley were our Accepters.