Paul Harvey's Passing Brings Tributes From Friends, Anger From Foes

UNHINGED AGAIN

Some Leftists React To Harvey's Passing With Rage




*** GAROFALO, OLBY RIPPED OVER RACISM ***


Remember the unhinged leftist reaction to President Ronald Reagan's passing in 2004? Some lamented that he hadn't died in prison, while others said he deserved to suffer from Alzheimer's Disease as "karmic payback".

This weekend's passing of radio institution Paul Harvey has brought a near-repeat of that earlier hate-filled sentiment, with a twist: while some trash his non-conformity with their ideology, others are using it to bash Rush Limbaugh.

At AOL's Political Machine, far-left Wonkette contributor Ken Layne threw everything but the kitchen sink at Harvey and Limbaugh alike:

Paul Harvey's dad really was a Baptist preacher who really was murdered by a gang of thugs when Paul was just three years old. And Paul Harvey really was arrested for trying to break into a nuke lab -- he supposedly did it as a radio stunt, to show how the Commies could get inside Illinois federal facilities or something.

Harvey started his radio career in Oklahoma and began working for ABC in Chicago, in 1944. With the help of his producer and wife, Lynne Harvey, he became a national broadcaster and now you know ... he's dead.eventually heard on more than 1,200 stations.

The best thing about Paul Harvey -- humble old Paul Harvey with his solid family life and one (just one!) wife who was with him until her death in 2007 -- is that his peak audience was millions bigger than Rush Limbaugh's largest audience.

Fat sex-creep Rush peaked with 20 million listeners in 2003 (all downhill since then!), while Paul Harvey peaked with 22 million. And while Paul Harvey was long mocked by hipsters and comedians, he sure wasn't hated. In fact, Paul Harvey was one of the most admired people in America for half a century.

Rush Limbaugh is despised by most Americans, while his only fans are mouth-breathing angry losers.

So, farewell, Paul Harvey. Farewell to your odd little stories, outrageously twisted wingnut version of current events, and the commercials you wove so seamlessly into your "news" that the old and feeble-minded could never really tell if those mattresses and mail-order radio sets were part of the days headlines or not.

At the Chicago Tribune, commenters went further, with one making the tie to Reagan:

The Truth Hurts wrote:

Now he can kiss Reagan's butt in hell.


rebmeMasneMoNsIotnaSnoR wrote:

Finally! Goodbye and good riddance! He was past his prime years ago! Of course, that is assuming he ever reached his prime! Six feet underground and decomposing is a better place? Dead is dead; death is the cessation of life and there is no God or heaven or hell or any of that garbage. That is simply a fairy tale!

And from the delightful readers of the far-left Huffington Post:

Disappointed? Mr. Aurandt (a.k.a. Paul Harvey) was simply a toned-down version of Limblob. He espoused the same arch-conservative, right-wing, hate-filled philosophy as does Limblob, and he was adriot at twisting the facts and omitting things in order to "prove" his point of view.

---

I know he was a fixture, but I have to say this out loud:
I could not STAND that man's voice-- even when I was a little kid, every time he came on the radio I wanted to rip my ears off my head and stuff them back in their holes to block it out. Aaargh! How how HOW did a voice like that-- hammy, overwrought, shaky, and just plain annoying-- EVER end up in radio?!? And his son who's taken over for him is just as bad (if not worse, because it's put on). When I could manage to grit my teeth through them, the stories proved to be fascinating, but oh god, that voice!

Sorry. But there it is.

From BoingBoing:

I'm sorry but this guy is a leech.

This is the first time I ran across a 'news' show where the news was intentionally indistinguishable from the advertising.

He may have had an interesting style and interesting stories but he was also a slimy bastard with no integrity.

And at Democratic Underground:

Very surprised by this

Edited on Sun Mar-01-09 05:40 AM by old mark

First because I thought he had died years ago.
Second because of the respect and kindness shown by many here for Mr. Harvey.
He was no less a fascist because he was an old fascist.

I'm wondering what kind of posts Rush's death will bring.
Hope I'm around long enough to find out.


----


Don't let the smallpox-infected blanket hit you in the ass on your way out, you f--k.

Edited on Sat Feb-28-09 11:09 PM by J-Lo Biafra

He was a douchebag, and I never speak ill of the dead, but I make exceptions with a--holes that celebrate one of the worst chapters of this nation's history.

----


Pro-slavery, homophobe, endorsed native American genocide. Sorry for the family but no tears here.

Condolences to the family but the man was a right wing loon with a microphone.

We didn't come this far because we're made of sugar candy. Once upon a time, we elbowed our way onto and across this continent by giving smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. That was biological warfare. And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this land from whomever.

And we grew prosperous. And yes, we greased the skids with the sweat of slaves. So it goes with most great nation-states, which--feeling guilty about their savage pasts--eventually civilize themselves out of business and wind up invaded and ultimately dominated by the lean, hungry up-and-coming who are not made of sugar candy. - Paul Harvey

Note the postmortem smears, all delivered when he's no longer here to defend himself: did he really endorse genocide or slavery? Of course not, that's a twisted misinterpretation of his words.


Thankfully, however, many more have showered Harvey with praise, included other commenters at those very sites. And according to Fox News, President George W Bush has already weighed in with his own thoughts:

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2005.

"Laura and I are saddened by the death of Paul Harvey," former President George W. Bush said Saturday night. "Paul was a friendly and familiar voice in the lives of millions of Americans. His commentary entertained, enlightened and informed. Laura and I are pleased to have known this fine man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

If Obama has made a statement on Harvey's death, it hasn't yet been included.

Asked by your Radio Equalizer about Harvey's impact on the medium, syndicated host Mark Levin had this comment:

Since I first owned a transistor radio as young boy, I listened to Paul Harvey. Like millions of others, I always felt like Mr. Harvey was talking directly to me. I think the best way to describe him would be as the Norman Rockwell of radio -- or maybe Norman Rockwell was the Paul Harvey of painting.

He had a wonderful way of capturing the American scene through his broadcasts. There's no question that his voice, good humor, and style will be badly missed. My very best to his family.

From here, could anyone possibly replace Harvey? Because the radio industry hasn't bothered to develop new air talent in many years, we'll never know. Simply inserting celebrities in his slot won't have a prayer of succeeding.


Harvey image: Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune

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