The Daily Brew
 

Why did corporate America decide it was OK to lie to their investors,
the SEC, and the public?  How did corporate America get the idea that
they could tell huge whoppers without getting caught?  Who is responsible
for giving them the idea that deceit was a sure fire path to riches?
That one's easy.  Rush Limbaugh.

From 1992 until today, Limbaugh has been without question the single
most influential political commentator in America.  After making possible
the GOP's 1994 congressional takeover, Limbaugh was named an honorary
member.  It was Limbaugh's GOP majority who then changed the law in
1995, shielding outside accountants, law firms, CEOs and directors from
liability for false corporate reporting.  Limbaugh and his 20 million
listeners cheered them on every step of the way as they passed the bill
over President Clinton's veto.  In the past five years since the GOP
congress made that law, over 1,000 public companies have been forced to
restate misleading reports.

Today, Limbaugh's influence is equally felt among Republican lawmakers
and their corporate sponsors.  Limbaugh is the highest paid personality
on the radio.  His contract is reported to be worth over a quarter of a
billion dollars.  When a guy earns that kind of money, the corporations
take notice.  Especially the five or six global giants that control 95%
of the US media.  And what did they notice?  They noticed that no lie
was too big, no story too tall; Limbaugh could say virtually anything
and get away with it.

Day after day, lie after lie, Limbaugh keeps them coming.  Whether
accusing Hillary Clinton of murder, or denying that global warming is real,
no whopper is too big for Limbaugh to throw at his credulous sheep.
Not content with helping the GOP destroy the bedrock regulatory oversight
that had made the American financial system the envy of the world,
Limbaugh spent the remainder of the 90s as a veritable poster child for
earning huge profits by lying about progressive politicians and policies.

So it came as no surprise that the rest of the corporate media would
follow suit.  Whether misquoting Al Gore, making up stories about
president Clinton's White House staff, or misreporting the voter fraud that
installed their candidate in the White House, all across America the
corporate media have adopted Limbaugh's modus operendi.  And guess what?
Just like Limbaugh, they get away with it!

Limbaugh's latest lie, which has been picked up and amplified by the
corporate media, is that all this permissiveness is somehow Bill
Clinton's fault.  But 7 years and $70 million dollars in special prosecutors
later, we know that Clinton's only lie, if you even want to call it that,
was about his private life.  And even the most self-deluded ditto-head
would have to admit that Ken Starr and the GOP Congress made damn sure
Clinton didn't get away with it.

No, Rush, corporate America didn't convince themselves they could get
away with lying because they watched Bill Clinton get crucified for a
tiny white lie about his personal life.  They decided they could get away
with it because they had watched you get away with repeatedly raping of
the truth for ten years in front of 20 million Americans on a daily basis.