ACLU COMES TO RUSH'S RESCUE

Talk about strange bedfellows, the American Civil Liberties Union has come
to the aid of troglodyte talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh, who has
admitted that he was addicted to prescription painkillers, is under
investigation for buying more than 2,000 such pills, prescribed by four
doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. Limbaugh
argues that the investigation is politically motivated, which prosecutors
deny.

What has piqued the interest of the ACLU, however, is that investigators
seized Limbaugh's medical records in November to find out whether he had
violated drug laws and where he purchased the painkillers. Howard Simon,
executive director of Florida's state ACLU chapter, concedes that it "may
seem odd" for his organization to be backing a conservative who frequently
bashes the ACLU, but, he says, a principle is at stake.

"We always said that the ACLU's real client is the Bill of Rights and we
will continue to safeguard the values of equality, fairness and privacy for
everyone, regardless of race, economic status or political point of view,"
said Simon.

In this case, ACLU attorneys believe that Limbaugh's medical records should
be off-limits to prosecutors. They argue that if law enforcement can
routinely ignore the privilege of patient-doctor confidentiality, the
records of everyone in Florida might be open to the prying eyes of
prosecutors.

You don't have to be a dittohead to appreciate that patients ought to be
able to talk with their doctors with some expectation of privacy.
Prosecutors have many other avenues -- including eyewitness testimony from
Limbaugh's servants -- they can pursue to nail him on the illegal use of
painkillers.

Digging into his medical records strikes us as a bad precedent, and we're
glad the ACLU has decided to step in. As often is the case, the ACLU gets
points for consistency, if not the company it keeps.