Welcome to what may be the start of an ongoing series (depending how it's received and such), "Refuting Rush", where I pick up and poke some generous holes through some current Limbaugh rhetoric. Why bother, you ask? Because even if he is, in many ways, not worth responding to, he does have a large influence and as such is worth paying attention to. He is a good barometer of the current extreme-doublethink-rightist tendencies, and as such picking up on his "arguments" and showing some of the many inconsistencies is both a productive and entertaining exercise. So without further adieu:
Rush Limbaugh recently argued against hybrid cars, reasoning that lower gas sales hurt state taxes to support highways. And as for why that's just silly, keep with me after the break...
Observe the smooth and smarmy flow of Limbaugh:
How many of you suckers...? Uh... How many of you people out there have been seriously thinking about getting a high-mileage automobile, particularly those of you in California, but anywhere in the country. You've been thinking about maybe getting a high-mileage automobile, maybe going with one of these hybrids or whatever -- they get 50, 60 miles to the gallon -- because you want to save the environment, and, and you want to save money? You're thinking about doing this, Brian? I thought he had one. What is that little thing out there that you're driving? Scion xB? What is it? Is it a hybrid. Is it uses gasoline? That uses gasoline? It's the strangest look thing you've ever seen. Anyway, get this. I just love this. At some point everybody is going to understand liberals. At some point everybody is going to understand big government tax-and-spend liberal.
Rhetorical question after rhetorical question, followed by a totally discontinuous and generalizing assertion about "liberals." But his making fun of the way the Scion looks, while it is part of his presentation, is not part of his actual argument as it were. Here is his reasoning, or semblance thereof:
"So Jason Just bought a fuel-efficient hybrid and said good-bye to his gas-guzzling BMW. What kind of mileage does he get? Well, the EPA estimate is 60 miles in the city, 51 miles on the highway, and that saves him almost $300 a month in gasoline. It's great for him, but..." Do you hear a "but" coming here? Let me ask, if his gas bill was 500 bucks and it's now $200 a month, who's being hurt? You know, nobody ever asks this question. You always think, "I'm going to save big on my gasoline bills. I'm going to go out and get one of these hybrids, one of these little lawn mowers with a couple seats on it. I'm gonna putz around out there, and I'm going to save big money so I'll have money left over to go to Aspen." Well, it may be great news for you, but it's bad news for the roads that you drive on, folks, because in that $300 a month that Jason Just no longer spends a month in gasoline he's also not spending any gasoline taxes. (Laughing.) And gasoline taxes fund highway projects and road repairs and whatever other giveaway programs liberals want to come up with -- and get this. "As more and more hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads ahead."
He goes on with more of the same, and amusingly glorifies the Governator and his Hummer. But I'll just respond go this excerpt, since it captures all the relevant bits.
Logically speaking, this is what Limbaugh is arguing:
- People (presumably bad "liberals") champion hybrid cars for helping the environment and their pocketbooks
- Hybrids use less gas, which means less gas taxes
- ??? (bluster and bravado)
- Therefore "liberals" suck
Really, it's a typical Limbaugh-argument form, but can be difficult to effectively respond to when it's delivered with as much practiced bravado as Limbaugh has. The key elements to point out are this:
a) Limbaugh has effectively conceded both the actual points he started arguing against: he didn't provide any real response to the issue of the environment, and he affirmed that hybrid cars are more efficient and substantially lower gas bills.
b) While lowered gas bills do result in lower gas taxes, it's a necessary transition and just part of the natural "supply and demand" of our economy. You do like capitalism, right Rush?
c) It's a bit ironic for Limbaugh to champion taxes at all, given how often he has previous railed against all forms of taxation. I won't dig up a specific example, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
The bottom line is that hybrid cars do exactly what "liberals" (and whoever else, though I guess anybody who prefers a Scion to a Hummer is apparently a dirty "liberal") claim they do, and while this may short-term hurt gas taxes, it is a natural and necessary step in improving our environment, our technology, and even our economy. The development of the internet and email has greatly lowered the usage of the postal service, hurting government revenue, but that doesn't justify restricting or condemning the private market. In fact, Limbaugh should hypothetically be a champion of the private market in any and all contexts, and believe in capitalism and the invisible hand and that these things will correct themselves over time. Of course, his hypocrisy and double-think allows him to dislike the private market when it's doing something he doesn't like (like making better cars), just like he dislikes state rights when it's for things he doesn't like (Oregon's assisted suicide and medicinal marijuana laws).
So, that's "Refuting Rush" - hope you enjoyed, and feel free to use any and all of this if you happen to encounter a few "dittoheads" out there.