Rush’s Position Was Right Even Though His Actions Were Wrong

10 Oct, 2003 by John Hawkins

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Since Rush hadn’t bought any painkillers from his former maid in more than a year, I had hoped that he had gotten clean since then. However, given that Rush is checking into a drug rehab center for 30 days, we now know that’s not the case.

Some people have pointed out that Rush was hypocritical for being a staunch proponent of the war on drugs while being an addict himself. That’s true, Rush was being hypocritical. However, in my mind, it’s better to be a hypocrite who’s failing to do something right than to advocate doing something wrong just to be consistent. Rush’s actions were wrong, but his position on the drug war is right.

Moreover, Rush’s own experience with drugs confirms the damage that they can do to a human life. Here’s a man who’s wealthy, incredibly influential, & who has job that most of us can only dream of. Yet, he risked it all because he couldn’t control his addiction to painkillers. Although it has yet to be determined how much damage this will do to Rush’s show, you can be certain that it has tarnished his reputation and given his enemies another attack they can level at him. Furthermore, we have to consider the damage Rush did to his own health with his drug addiction. According to the story in the Enquirer, he almost died once and as I noted when I talked about this story previously, it’s possible that the drugs Rush took may have been what caused him to go deaf. Rush’s story is indeed a cautionary tale.

Also, it would be easy for me to make excuses for Rush since pain killers aren’t exactly heroin or cocaine. Heck, I can imagine just about ANYBODY taking Vicodin because they’re in chronic pain and getting addicted to it. But that being said, if Rush were to face charges — which as I’ve mentioned before, luckily looks to be unlikely — I wouldn’t suggest that he be given a break. The strict laws we have, including the mandatory minimum sentences, help deter people from damaging their lives the way Rush has and that’s a good thing.

Last but not least, I’m sincerely rooting for Rush to keep his chin up and make the most out of his time in the rehab center. He’s a brilliant man who has done a lot for conservatism and I think he still has a long, successful career in front of him. Personally, I wish Rush the best and I have to say that I’m looking forward to the day he gets back on the air. When Rush returns, I’ll be listening and I suspect the overwhelming majority of people who were his fans before this whole thing broke will be listening too.