THE AWARD ON DRUGS

One of San Jose's liberal legislators will likely turn down the luncheon
invite he received recently from L.A.'s gun-toting,
ballistic-missile-loving, three-strikes-law-lauding Claremont Institute.
But, Rush Limbaugh will be there.

Drug rehabber Limbaugh, called "a big fat idiot" by at least one detractor
and other times referred to as the "Great One," is slated to received the
Claremont Institute's "statesmanship award" during the Nov. 21 Churchill
Dinner at the Westin Bonaventure in L.A. Limbaugh turned over a new leaf
last month when he announced he would check himself into a 30-day rehab
program to defeat his addiction to painkillers. The National Enquirer, which
outed him as a druggie, interviewed his former maid Wilma Cline, who
professed to be his drug connection. The Florida state attorney's office
also reportedly started an investigation. Following these revelations, the
popular radio big mouth was roundly criticized as being a hypocrite because
of comments he made in the mid-'90s attacking people who like to get high.
It's unclear how recognizing Limbaugh fits into the Claremont Institute's
mission "to restore the principles of the American Founding to their
rightful, preeminent authority in our national life." The institute's
president, currently in D.C., plans to issue a statement on the war on drugs
after he returns.

Claremont Institute marketing director Melanie Marlowe tells Eye that
Limbaugh gets out of rehab 10 or 11 days before the dinner.

Limbaugh joins such previous statesmanship honorees as Ronald Reagan,
Margaret Thatcher, Clarence Thomas and Bill Buckley.