My pal Mark Bourne, a liberal Portland writer of SF and other good things, offered this eminently sensible tongue-lashing to disruptive antiwar protesters in a guest commentary column published in yesterday's Oregonian:

Limbaugh's loving every minute of itIf you engage in knee-jerk belligerence while protesting, don't pretend to be representing me. If you shut down traffic or close bridges or force people to endure other annoyance-for-peace tactics, don't think that I'm with you. If you harangue our police, insult the soldiers who are honor-bound to obey the orders they are given, or throw a brick through a window (corporate or otherwise), absolutely don't count me among your number. Instead, consider me against you....

If nothing else, think of it like this: When you block traffic or provoke anger in those who might otherwise listen to your words, Rush Limbaugh is right there, loving every minute of it. [read all]

Turns out, Limbaugh really is loving every minute of it. Mark's name-check brought the column to the Rushmeister's attention, and the big fat idiot read from it on the air yesterday afternoon. A transcript:

Yes, Limbaugh is loving thisHe closes with this line: "When you block traffic or provoke anger in those who might otherwise listen to your words, Rush Limbaugh is right there, loving every minute of it." Damn, they're getting it! But they won't listen to the guy. If anti-war Canadians can turn on Wayne Gretzky over supporting Bush, then anti-war people on this side of the 49th parallel will turn on Bourne. He'll be called a traitor to the cause. He'll be accused of having lost his courage or selling out. These people have closed minds, and they don't care about persuading anyone. You're either with them or you're against them. [read all]

Backhanded as it is, what a compliment!