Missouri woman wants to ‘Flush Rush’
Rush Limbaugh is no stranger to rattling cages, but a Missouri woman isn't directly battling his conservative radio talk show- she's battling his bust.
St. Louis resident Heather Woodside is rallying to remove Limbaugh’s likeness from the Missouri Statehouse Rotunda.
In May of 2012, Republican lawmakers held a closed-door ceremony to induct Limbaugh into the Hall of Famous Missourians – an honor that included placing a bronze bust of the radio personality and Missouri native in the Statehouse.
None of the previous inductees, which include Missouri greats Mark Twain and Walt Disney, caused much fuzz, but the “Rush Bust” rubbed quite a few people the wrong way, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
And it appears that distaste remains.
Woodside’s petition asking Gov. Jay Nixon (R), Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) and the state legislature to “flush Rush” is a single sentence: “Remove the Rush Limbaugh Bust from Missouri’s State Capitol.” At the time of publication, the petition had 5,846 signatures from across the county.
During the induction ceremony in May 2012, House Speaker Steve Tilley (R-Perryville) lauded Limbaugh as the “voice of conservative America for more than a decade.” Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said he considered Limbaugh among the “Pantheon of Republican heroes” alongside Ronald Regan, the Post-Dispatch reports.
The ceremony was held behind closed doors, and guarded by highway patrol officers. A 24-hour surveillance camera was installed to keep watch over the Rush Bust because of the uproar it caused, according to the Post-Dispatch.
“… Rush has still been demeaning women, people of color, immigrants, the working class and the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community,” Woodside told the Post-Dispatch. “As a Missourian, I am appalled that we made and placed a bust of him in our State Capitol. He does not represent Missourians. He should not represent Missouri.”
It is unclear if the petition will sway the Missouri lawmakers it addresses, who have yet to make public statements. However, House Speaker Steven Tilley told a reporter at the time of Limbaugh’s induction, “It’s not the Hall of Universally Loved Missourians. It’s the Hall of Famous Missourians,” according to local paper the Riverfront Times.
Limbaugh, who is currently embroiled in controversy over his use of racial slurs, has been silent on the matter.
What do you think? Will the Bust go bust?
