RUSH AND DRUGS

A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. A civil libertarian is a
conservative who has been indicted. And someone who considers drug abuse a
disease is a lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key guy with an addiction.

Rush Limbaugh recently announced his entry into rehab. The shout-show host
admitted his addiction to painkillers, reportedly including OxyContin.
Certain conservative commentators responded to the news by urging compassion.

Conservatives traditionally have seen drug abuse and addiction as character
flaws. A gentle approach may be more appropriate, but compassionate does
not describe the snickering that usually occurs when an individual on the
other side of the ideological divide succumbs to demons. The jokes about
Kitty Dukakis - or, locally, about Chuck Richardson - were not intended to
promote recovery.

The reaction to news such as this almost always reflects partisanship.
Liberals are more forgiving of liberals; conservatives are more forgiving
of their own. Limbaugh deserves the same treatment from his fans that he
would receive if he were a Hollywood hotshot or a child of the inner city.

Jesse Jackson seriously, and perhaps fatally, sullied his reputation with
his bastard child. Drug abuse will damage Limbaugh, too. While professional
conservatives talk about forgiveness and love, much of Rush's rank-and-file
audience likely feels betrayed.