Who is to blame for the division in the states when it comes to politics?

@summersmiles I'd add Newt Gingrich to the divisiveness. His scorched earth tactics leading to the impeachment of Bill Clinton for a blowjob totally lowered the bar for investigation & impeachment.

@summersmiles I get it, but I don't like how much credit you're giving Rush.

He had compatriots like Rove, Gingrich, and inspirations like Goebbels, Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, etc, and ... tbh, I liked listening to shock jocks like Rush, Stern, Imus, and later, even folks like Maher and Stewart.

IMO, and I know, Trumpists will probably hate me for saying this, but where we lost this crap is with mixing enertainment with news, and reality with fiction.

Trump didn't start it, and Reagan preceeded him, but on a national level (Jimmy Davis comes to mind I'm a state level), I don't think we've ever had anyone exploit media like Trump did.

I listened to Rush during drivetimes, because I thought I heard the "wink". And it didn't bother me because of it.

Somewhere, though, I misread it, or failed to see the dog whistle, and while I get the connection, I don't want to give Rush credit for all of it.

Obviously there are a lot of names we can throw in here. But no one worked harder to make American hate American like Limbaugh. If there was a 'wink' not enough people realized it.
And the result of Rush preaching hate your neighbor? Trump awards him the Congressional Medal of Freedom.

@summersmiles okie dokie. Blame Rush.

I'm not inclined to defend him, but honestly, as far as the road to what are we doing to try to destroy the human race goes, I'd rank him as a sub-branch.

@MistyCee The good news is, Rush can do no further damage. But he planted some serious seeds, whether it was when he told a black caller to "take the bone out of your nose" or when he called a woman a "slut" for seeking treatment for ovarian cysts (progesterone, also used in some birth control pills). And he helped contribute to the atmosphere among some that consider racism and sexism perfectly okay again, no longer something society should be trying to overcome.