Jargon of The Rush Limbaugh Show

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Rush Limbaugh uses his own on-air jargon on his radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, some of which he invented and some of which he merely popularized.

Contents 1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 E 6 F 7 G 8 H 9 I–K 10 L 11 M 12 N–O 13 P–R 14 S 15 T 16 U-W 17 X-Z 18 Nicknames Limbaugh uses for himself 19 References

[edit] A

Algore

Former Vice President Al Gore. This nickname was originally used in a parody of Count Dracula involving "Count Taxula" (voiced so as to sound like Bill Clinton) and his loyal servant "Algore" (as in Igor).[1]^{[citation needed]} The nickname "Algore" was used extensively on the show during the U.S. presidential campaign in 2000.^{[citation needed]} [2]

Atlanta Urinal-Constipation

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a major Atlanta newspaper. [3]

Ali Limbali

Limbaugh portrayal of an imaginary Middle Eastern version of himself broadcasting from a "secret location somewhere in Northern Afghanistan."[4]

[edit] B

Barry Obama

Barack Obama, who went by the name 'Barry' in the 1980s [5]

Bank of Amigo

Bank of America. Referring to Bank of America offering credit cards to persons without social security numbers, criticized because this practice may benefit illegal immigrants, specifically Hispanics. [6]

Ben Afflection

Ben Affleck [7]

Barbara Wawa

Barbara Walters [8]

Bella Pelosi

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).^[1] It refers to former Representative Bella Abzug, who represented the West Side of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City.

Breck Girl

John Edwards [9]

[edit] C

Club Gitmo

The U.S. prison for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and an oblique reference to Club Med. An announcer in a mock advertisement bills it as "your tropical retreat from the stress of jihad." Noting that Guantanamo prisoners receive new prayer rugs and Korans and gain seven pounds on average after arrival (source: US Department of Defense), Limbaugh uses the appellation to suggest that the prison is more like a vacation resort than a detention facility. He contends that the living conditions there are better than those described in the media, deserved by suspected terrorists, or enjoyed by many servicemen in Iraq. He has started selling a line of "Club Gitmo" clothing through his website, sporting such slogans as "My Mullah went to Club G'itmo and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" and "What Happens in G'itmo Stays in G'itmo." [10]

Cuber

Cuba [11]

[edit] D

Daficit

Rush would often parody the countrified pronunciation of deficit by former Senator Jim Sasser (D-TN) during Sasser's tenure as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.[12]

Dearbornistan

Rush's mocking reference to Dearborn, MI, which has a considerable muslim population.

Dingy Harry

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)[13]. [14]The nickname is a mocking reference to Clint Eastwood's character "Dirty" Harry Callahan.

Dittoheads

Faithful listeners to The Rush Limbaugh Show. [15]

Don't try this at home

Limbaugh's admonition to callers who try to emulate on-air his rapid fire verbal acrobatics, e.g., Phoney-Baloney Plastic Banana Good Time Rock'n Roller.

Drive-by media

The mainstream media. Limbaugh alleges that the mainstream media attempt to ambush their enemies in a manner analogous to that of gang members i.e. spray a bunch of bullets and drive off. He also uses the term to liken the media to causing the news instead of just reporting it, e.g., by creating a rigged poll to report that a politician is polling poorly, then run stories about why people think the politician polls poorly.^[2]

Dung Heap Harkin

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). Limbaugh gave him the name during the Clinton impeachment after Harkin called the charges against President Clinton a "dung heap."^[3] Recently Harkin has attacked Limbaugh on the floor of the Senate over Limbaugh's presence on AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio). (See Armed Forces Radio controversy.)

[edit] E

EIB Southern Command 

Limbaugh's studio/broadcast complex in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Rush Limbaugh Show has been originated from there since 1997.^[4]

Environmentalist wacko 

A militant environmental activist, usually a Democrat, but sometimes a Green Party member, who is usually a member of Greenpeace, ELF, or other environmental extremist organizations. [16]

Epidemic Awards

The Oscar Awards [17]

[edit] F

Feminazi

Limbaugh uses this title to refer to certain feminists he considers to be very militantly pro-choice, to the point that he views them as preferring abortion to childbirth.

Fitzfong

Scooter Libby (see also Plame affair) prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, as compared to Duke rape case prosecutor Mike Nifong; Rush considers both men's work to be purely politically driven.

Frenchurian Candidate, the

2004 Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). See also "Jean Francois Kerry." The nickname, coined by a caller on August 2, 2004, parodies the title of the 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate; a remake was released during the 2004 election campaign.[18]

Forehead, The

What Rush calls CNN contributor and democratic strategist Paul Begala.

[edit] G

Gorbasm

Used to refer to fans of Mikhail Gorbachev who believe Gorbachev alone brought freedom to the former Soviet Union. Rush always plays the "Darth Vader" theme during a report about Gorbachev in reference to Ronald Reagan who referred to the USSR as the "Evil Empire".

[edit] H

Halfrican American

Term used to describe mixed-race African-Americans such as Barack Obama and Halle Berry.^[5]

Helmet Head

Term used to describe Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota

[edit] I–K

James Baker's Fruit Salad

The Iraq Study Group Report. This refers to Group Co-Chairman James Baker's appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee in which he said that he didn't want the report to be picked over by the Senate or President Bush "like a fruit salad."^[6]

Jean-François Kerry

2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh uses the French analog of his first and middle name to mock Kerry's alleged elitist views and ancestral ties to French royalty.^[7]

John Effing Kerry

2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh uses the nickname to mock Kerry's use of the word "fuck" in a Rolling Stone interview. It also serves to mock Kerry's use of his middle initial "F." to emphasize a nominal similarity between "John F. Kerry" and "John F. Kennedy."

WASHINGTON (AP) December 7, 2003 ...John Kerry used profane language to assess President Bush's Iraq policy, and Bush's chief of staff said Sunday the Democratic presidential candidate was out of line. The Massachusetts senator uttered a profanity in an interview in the latest Rolling Stone magazine to express his dismay over Bush's handling of Iraq. When asked in the interview about the success of rival candidate Howard Dean, whose anti-war message has resounded with supporters, Kerry responded: "When I voted for the war, I voted for what I thought was best for the country. Did I expect Howard Dean to go off to the left and say, `I'm against everything?' Sure. Did I expect George Bush to f--- it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did."

John Filibuster Kerry

2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh adopted this nickname once the New York Times called the Democratic Party on the carpet to filibuster the vote on Judge Samuel Alito. Kerry, obviously responding to the Times editorial, made an appearance the same day and boldly promised a filibuster.

John Kerry, who, by the way, served in Vietnam

2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh used this phrase to parody Kerry's apparent zeal to mention as often as possible that he served in the Vietnam War. This phrase is also commonly used by James Taranto in his Best of the Web Today column on OpinionJournal.

KOOKS

1. "Keepers Of Odd Knowledge Society." This is Limbaugh's moniker for conspiracy theorists. What Happened to the Keepers of Odd Knowledge?[19] February 2, 2007 RUSH: Well, that's some guy from Maine. He owns a diesel fuel facility, and I haven't heard from him, the Keepers of Odd Knowledge Society, in a long time. I think the Keepers of Odd Knowledge Society actually ended up getting mad at me because I wasn't getting kooky enough for them. It's been years since I've heard from them. E-mail addresses are public so I don't know what happened to the Keepers of Odd Knowledge Society. I don't know if it was passed down somewhere else and they've gone elsewhere for their attempts to be publicized, but I have no clue what happened to them.

[edit] L

Larry King Alive

Larry King Live [20]

Limbaugh Doctrine

The thesis that only decisive victory, not diplomacy or humanitarian aid, can bring peace; used most often in the context of the ongoing Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.^[8][9]

Limbaughlogically

to denote the number of years one has listened to the program. Coined by caller Leah Hayes from South Carolina to denote the number of years that she had been “born” into the family of Limbaugh listeners. She called on January 12, 2007 to wish Rush a Happy Birthday and claimed to be his six year old “daughter.” Rush laughed and then asked for an explanation to which she explained that biologically she was 37, but Limbaughlogically she was “six years old.”

Loser, the

Michael Dukakis, unsuccessful candidate for President in 1988.^[10]

[edit] M

Mary "Cute Little Baby Fat" Landrieu

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Limbaugh noted on the air that he thought she was cute, that her facial features still had baby fat. The support staff has not let him live it down.[21]

Mrs. Bill Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton. Limbaugh says that he uses this nickname because it is the nickname she would find most offensive. As of March 5, 2007, Rush will exclusively refer to her by this name to emphasize her husband's role in her presidential campaign.[22]

[edit] N–O

NAALCP (National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Limbaugh says that "liberal" refers to the NAACP's support for left-wing African Americans, while denigrating African Americans on the right side of the political spectrum, such as Condoleezza Rice and Clarence Thomas.[23]

NAGs (National Association of Gals)

National Organization for Women (NOW).[24]

Ned Lament

Nickname (coined on 8/15/2006) for Connecticut Democratic Senate primary election winner Ned Lamont. Limbaugh believes the Democrats will soon lament supporting him for his anti-war policy because to support him, they will have to denounce any and ALL actions that promote national security.[25]

New Fallujah

Auburn Hills, Michigan, home of the Detroit Pistons. Limbaugh gave the city this nickname after the 2004 Pacers-Pistons Brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills.[26] He recently (2006) indicated on air that out of respect for Detroit area listeners (and the term's lack of context due to the story's age) he will no longer use the term.

Nikita Dean

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Limbaugh assigned this nickname to Dean in the 2004 election cycle as a reference to Nikita Khrushchev. Limbaugh said Dean had positioned himself so far to the political left that Vladimir Putin was to his right.[27]

Ninth Circus

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, noted for controversial decisions which have lead it to be the circuit court most often reversed by the Supreme Court.[28]

Nostrilitis

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)[29]

Obasm

Collective release of joy and pleasure by the media over Barack Obama. Similar to a Gorbasm.

"Osama" Obama

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Rush uses this alternate name for Sen. Barack as a reference to Senator Ted Kennedy's (D-MA) mis-speak during a luncheon at the National Press Club (Jan 11, 2005). Sen. Kennedy, making mention of Sen. Obama's large win during the 2004 elections, stumbled over Sen. Obama's first name, stating "Osama bin Laden, Osama Obama, Obamamam."^[11] Rush has been incorrectly cited as the originator of this 'nickname' by other news agencies.^[12]

[edit] P–R

Phony baloney, plastic banana, good time rock 'n' roller

Limbaugh's favored description for liberals.

PMSNBC

MSNBC; suggests the cable channel presents the news from an overly female perspective, or from the perspective of a female suffering symptoms of PMS. [30]

Rio Linda

When "dumbing down" a concept, Limbaugh will begin it by saying "for those of you in Rio Linda..." (Meaning Rio Linda, California) Sometimes (especially after the 2000 Presidential election aftermath) he'll also add West Palm Beach, Florida, and say, "For those of you in Rio Linda and West Palm Beach..." or simply "Rio West Palm" for short.

Queen Bee Nancy (QBN)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.[31]. Rush coined this nickname after reading an article about the "queen bee syndrome" among working women and opined that Pelosi's attitude toward her fellow congresswomen (such as fellow California Democrat Jane Harman) fit the description.[32]

[edit] S

Schoolbus Nagin

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin.

Senator Depends

Senator Patrick Leahy, Limbaugh also refers to him as "Leaky" Leahy.

Senator Turban

Senator Richard Durbin, (D-IL). Limbaugh began using this moniker after Durbin made controversial remarks on the Senate floor which according to Durbin's critics amounted to a comparison of the alleged abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay by U.S. military personnel, with the war crimes of Pol Pot and Hitler. Limbaugh opined that liberal Democrats in Congress seemed to favor Islamic terrorists over the United States Military fighting them in Iraq and Afghanistan.[33]

Stack of Stuff

The pile of magazine and news clippings, faxes, and printed e-mail messages accumulated during show prep, background material generally related to the show's daily agenda. Also, a number of relevant web links offered to subscribers of his Web site, culled from a variety of current on-line news organizations, highlighting various issues of the day.[34]

St. Louis Descratch

St. Louis Dispatch [35]

Stuck on Stupid

A phrase that General Honoré (commander of forces in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina) shouted at a reporter who repeated (and rephrased) a question asked previously by a different reporter. Rush has adopted this phrase and uses it often in reference to the media, liberals, et al.[36]

[edit] T

Testicle lockbox

An (imaginary) device to hold a man's privates. Limbaugh invokes this device to explain how Hillary Clinton gets very few hostile interviews: When Hillary Clinton is interviewed by the male hosts of talk shows, she supposedly puts their manhood in a lockbox before the program and, if they behave and don't ask her hard questions, they may get their manhood back when the interview is over. [37]

[edit] U-W

White trash cake

Yellow cake with white frosting. This is also Rush's favorite cake (as he revealed on the air on his 56th birthday).[38]

William Jefferson (Democrat-Louisiana)

[39] Rush consistently and conspicuously refers to the disgraced Congressman this way to mock the media's perceived downplaying of the fact that Jefferson is a Democrat, and to draw a comparison with Kathleen Blanco and Ray Nagin, two other Louisiana Democrats Rush sees as incompetent.

Worst President in All of Our Lifetimes and Beyond, The

Former President Jimmy Carter.^[13]

[edit] X-Z

[edit] Nicknames Limbaugh uses for himself

Throughout the years on The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh has established several nicknames with which he describes himself on the air.

• Chief of the Patriotism Police

This refers to the criticism by Molly Ivins of himself and others in the new media. [40]

• The Mr. Big of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy[41]

A reference to Hillary Rodham Clinton's claim that a "vast right-wing conspiracy" was attempting to bring down her husband. When Limbaugh says "Mr. Big," he uses a Russian accent. This may be a reference to the character Mr. Big, a Russian spy on the Rocky and Bullwinkle series.

• Cute, harmless, lovable little fuzzball.

Used repeatedly over 16 years.

• The most dangerous man in America

On March 3, 1991, Jon Kleinman wrote a letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine stating "Radio is powerful. Limbaugh's views go unchecked. It is my view that he's one of the most dangerous men in America." [42] He kept the title throughout the mid-90s as a badge of honor before ultimately passing the title on to Bill Clinton.

• Über-sexual

Limbaugh used this description of himself after reading a press release [43] that called men who "embrace the positive aspects of their masculinity or ‘M-ness’ (e.g., confidence, leadership, passion, compassion) without giving in to the stereotypes that give guys a bad name (e.g., disrespect toward women, emotional emptiness, complete ignorance of anything cultural outside of sports, beer, burgers, and athletic shoes)," Limbaugh declared that "[b]y this definition, I'm one." [44] [45] He was incorrectly quoted by Beth Thames in the Huntsville Times as having called himself the "uber-male" [46]

[edit] References