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Volume 27, Issue 11, october 21, 2004

Opinion

Looming contradictions

mugHeather Wahle
Columnist

The right wing commentators are falling apart. Bill O’Reilly’s recent harassment lawsuit is just beginning and Rush Limbaugh’s painkiller addiction is reexamined. Sex and drugs ... it seems as if the conservative media is having an image crisis.

Rush Limbaugh announced a year ago that he had an addiction to prescription drugs he was prescribed to alleviate pain. OxyContin and Lorcet, both having effects similar to morphine, were used in large amounts by Limbaugh. He went to detox following the announcement that his use was in excess, and then promptly filed suit against the police for seizing his medical records.

Hydrocodone and the family of opiates it belongs to is not a prescription drug one can obtain casually. It is listed as a Class A highly misused drug in the U.K., and it’s disbursement in the states is strictly regulated.

The police seized Limbaugh’s records to find out if he was visiting multiple doctors to get several prescriptions. Limbaugh filed suit claiming that his privacy rights were in violation.

The investigation on his drug use was sustained pending the results of his lawsuit.

The court ruled that the investigation was preformed legally, and that medical records and other documentation could be seized lawfully without informing him. If the police have a search warrant and you happen to be under investigation for abusing a controlled substance, don’t expect a memo every time they want to peek at your records. And, if you happen to acquire over 2,000 painkillers from the same pharmacy in four months, expect some questions.

An addict recovering from heroin addiction, falsifying injuries in order to get methodone and hydrocodone could expect the same procedures. The big difference is Limbaugh has more money then the average addict, and will be appealing the court’s decision.

“There’s nothing good about drug use. We know it ... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.” (Limbaugh in 1995)

Limbaugh says that he never claimed to be a role model, but when he speaks of such topics like the War on Drugs he ought to remember that war does not merely affect dealers on the street but also pill poppers with good insurance plans.

Bill O’Reilly has been accused of sexual harassment and says he fears for his career. His accuser, Andrea Mackris, is a former producer of his cable talk news show “The O’Reilly Factor”. Mackris claims that O’Reilly pressured her into having unwanted phone sex conversations and harassed her with offensive sex talk.

O’Reilly likes to lecture guests on his show about morality and family values. He even recently wrote a book of advice for children. The man who criticizes the sex scandals of others on his show can now look forward to being on the receiving end of the commentary. His lawyers at Fox filed suit against Mackris to fire her legally.

O’Reilly commented on the day the scandal broke, ““I knew that by filing this lawsuit I was going to perhaps ruin my career. . . . If I have to go down, I’m willing to do it. But I’ve got to make a stand.”

What stand? He refuses to deny that he is in the wrong. He stands behind his lawyers and says he has been advised not to comment further. Why would anyone be so “willing” to be persecuted falsely? If it could do more damage to tell the truth, then let everyone assume.

Andrea Mackris left Fox News Channel because she was offered a better position at CNN. She left on good terms and later returned to work on “The O’Reilly Factor” in July. If the conditions where so horrible why did she return? Mackris states she returned because O’Reilly agreed to not speak to her that way again, but boundaries where pushed.

It does not seem logical that one would return to a work environment that is plagued with sexually offensive behavior simply because the person who is initiating the behavior promises to refrain. Mackris should have filed her complaint prior to returning to Fox.

Just because she took some time to tape some phone calls and go through negotiations for settlement doesn’t mean the incidents never happened. Perhaps Mackris is just an opportunist and came back to Fox to get the proof to bust O’Reilly.

Limbaugh’s syndicated radio show has 12 million listeners daily, and approximately 20 million listeners weekly. His contract for 2001-2006 was reportedly $285 million.

“Limbaugh” is offered on over 600 channels and makes $50-60 million a year in advertising for the company Premiere. His popularity has not subsided since he announced he is hooked on painkillers.

O’Reilly makes $10 million a year from his show and his book sales. He brings in $60 million a year for Fox. “The O’Reilly Factor” is the highest rated talk news show. What started as a pitch to a brand new news channel in 1996 has turned into a successful investment for a conservative viewing audience.

Now, with the recent allegations, will O’Reilly be forced into early retirement? Not likely. Instead, Fox has a case to terminate Mackris while the lawsuits take place. Publicity may help O’Reilly’s ratings, and this would be great subject matter for another one of his books.