Tuesday, May 02, 2006 1:17:42 AM
Rehabbing Rush
Rough Day: Limbaugh was arrested Friday on prescription drug charges
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
A high-profile probe of painkiller addiction ends with a slap on the wrist. Inside Limbaugh's road to recovery.
By Arian Campo-Flores and Evan Thomas
Newsweek
Rush was on a roll. He made fun of polling showing that Hillary Clinton has a higher rating when she uses the last name Rodham instead of Clinton. He lambasted a Republican proposal to alleviate high gas prices with a $100 rebate check and accused Congress of pandering. "The more I think about this," said Limbaugh, "the more like a slut I feel." He extolled the patriotic new movie thriller "United 93." He criticized U.S. immigration policy for favoring uneducated laborers over highly trained technicians. He jauntily discussed the etiquette of cigar smoking. And he thanked his listeners, the 20 million or so "Dittoheads" (so called because they agree with Limbaugh's firm and fierce conservatism) who tune in every week to 600 stations across America. "The loyalty and support that all of you have contributed to this program just blow me away," said Limbaugh. "Regardless of what's going on in the country or the world, you are always there."
Limbaugh was ostensibly thanking his listeners for helping surpass the $15 million mark on the talk-show host's annual fund-raising campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. But he may have been sending a more personal message as well. Soon after he stepped away from the mike last Friday after his usual noon to 3 p.m. broadcast, the radio icon climbed into a black Cadillac Escalade with his lawyer, Roy Black, and drove over to the Palm Beach County jail. There he surrendered to authorities on a charge that he had fraudulently obtained prescription drugs. He was fingerprinted and released an hour later on $3,000 bail. LIMBAUGH ARRESTED was the immediate headline on the wires and on TV, but the word "arrest" was misleading. In fact, Limbaugh had pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer had worked out a deal that would cause the single charge to be dropped after 18 months as long as Limbaugh stayed out of trouble and continued to see a doctor who has helped him with an addiction to painkillers.
It was a mild wrist slap for Limbaugh, an essentially happy ending to a long ordeal. Two and a half years ago Limbaugh's career, if not his life, seemed to be hanging in the balance. His housekeeper had gone to the National Enquirer to tattle that she had been buying painkillers by the thousands for her boss. The authorities opened up an investigation and the mainstream media, including NEWSWEEK, mocked Limbaugh—the great moralist of the airwaves who had often called for prison sentences for drug users—as a hypocrite.
Limbaugh confessed at the time that he was hooked on painkillers and went into rehab for five weeks. He turned his show over to fill-ins (including Tony Snow, the former Fox News commentator who last week became President George W. Bush's spokesman) and began the arduous process of weaning himself from drugs like OxyContin, an extremely addictive narcotic. When he returned to the airwaves in mid-November 2003, he was contrite and seemed to be struggling not to play the victim or the hero. "I'm not a role model," he said. "What I did, I did knowingly. What I did, I did because I wanted to do it, but I knew it was wrong the whole time. It's a powerful addiction this stuff has."
Though funny and sometimes bombastic on the air, Limbaugh was said to be shy in person. He gave a hint of his insecurities when he came back from rehab. "I can no longer anticipate what I think people want and try to give it to them. I can no longer live my life by making other people happy," he told listeners. "I can no longer turn over the power of my feelings to anybody else, which is what I have done a lot of my life."
Limbaugh has been called "the man who saved AM radio" for the enormous popularity of his national broadcasts, and in 1992 President Ronald Reagan dubbed him "the number one voice for conservatism in our country." Running for re-election, President George H.W. Bush made a show of carrying Limbaugh's bags when he came to stay at the White House in the Lincoln Bedroom. The elder Bush lost, but in 1994 Limbaugh was widely credited with helping the GOP win control of the House of Representatives by flogging Newt Gingrich's "Republican revolution" on the airwaves.
But there were signs that Limbaugh's personal life was less successful. He has been married three times; his last marriage ended in divorce a few months after Limbaugh came out of rehab. According to a close friend who did not wish to be identified talking about personal matters, Limbaugh was badly shaken about three years ago when he appeared to be going deaf. His hearing was restored by cochlear ear implants. (Though deafness can be caused by overuse of certain painkillers, Limbaugh denied any connection.)
Limbaugh's drug problems began after he made a medical choice to try to preserve his radio voice. According to the close friend (whose account was confirmed by Limbaugh's lawyer), several years ago the radio host was suffering from spinal problems and was faced with a choice of surgery. The doctors wanted to go in through the back of his mouth, but Limbaugh was worried about his vocal cords. A different procedure was performed, and Limbaugh's suffering did not go away. He began to take pain pills in ever-larger numbers.
The Palm Beach authorities charged that Limbaugh engaged in "doctor shopping"—deceiving doctors so he could obtain overlapping prescriptions. According to a police affidavit, during one six-month period in 2003, he obtained some 2,000 painkillers from four different doctors. ("Mr. Limbaugh and I have maintained from the start that there was no doctor shopping, and we continue to hold this position," Black said last Friday.)
When Limbaugh returned from rehab in November 2003, he told his listeners, "I've not been phony here. I've not been artificial on the program. I was all of that elsewhere," he added, somewhat cryptically. His listeners rallied to him and seemed to forgive him for struggling with addictions faced by millions of Americans. Before long, Limbaugh was back to normal on the air, bashing Hillary Clinton and rallying support for Bush.
Meanwhile, his lawyer, Roy Black, well known as a top criminal defender out of Miami, fenced with the authorities in Palm Beach. When they tried to seize Limbaugh's medical records, Black protested invasion of privacy. Limbaugh took out full-page ads in two local papers to accuse the local prosecutor of playing politics.
The defense won an important round last December when a judge, basing his ruling on privacy, refused to let prosecutors take testimony from Limbaugh's doctors about his medical treatment. Black was now in a position to negotiate a deal. He persuaded the authorities to allow Limbaugh to enter a diversion program that is commonly used for first-time drug offenders.
Limbaugh "is very happy," Black told NEWSWEEK. "For two and a half years he has had this hanging over his head. It's been very stressful." Though the Dittoheads will remain loyal, it's likely that gossip columnists will continue to track Limbaugh's personal life. Living in a $30 million mansion in Palm Beach with a broadcast studio nearby, he does not go out much. In February, New York Daily News columnist Lloyd Grove reported that Limbaugh and CNN daytime anchor Daryn Kagan, whom he had been dating for two years, were "kaput." But Limbaugh was also seen looking fit and cheerful (once tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds, he has lost considerable weight) at a National Review banquet in Washington six months ago.
Limbaugh did have to undergo the indignity of a mug shot last week. His expression may reveal that he took a cue from Congressman Tom DeLay, who wanted to make an optimistic statement with his expression when he was booked for money laundering last fall. Or it may just show honest relief. In any case, Limbaugh is smiling broadly.
With Mark Hosenball
© 2006 MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12555181/site/newsweek/
Rough Day: Limbaugh was arrested Friday on prescription drug charges
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
A high-profile probe of painkiller addiction ends with a slap on the wrist. Inside Limbaugh's road to recovery.
By Arian Campo-Flores and Evan Thomas
Newsweek
Rush was on a roll. He made fun of polling showing that Hillary Clinton has a higher rating when she uses the last name Rodham instead of Clinton. He lambasted a Republican proposal to alleviate high gas prices with a $100 rebate check and accused Congress of pandering. "The more I think about this," said Limbaugh, "the more like a slut I feel." He extolled the patriotic new movie thriller "United 93." He criticized U.S. immigration policy for favoring uneducated laborers over highly trained technicians. He jauntily discussed the etiquette of cigar smoking. And he thanked his listeners, the 20 million or so "Dittoheads" (so called because they agree with Limbaugh's firm and fierce conservatism) who tune in every week to 600 stations across America. "The loyalty and support that all of you have contributed to this program just blow me away," said Limbaugh. "Regardless of what's going on in the country or the world, you are always there."
Limbaugh was ostensibly thanking his listeners for helping surpass the $15 million mark on the talk-show host's annual fund-raising campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. But he may have been sending a more personal message as well. Soon after he stepped away from the mike last Friday after his usual noon to 3 p.m. broadcast, the radio icon climbed into a black Cadillac Escalade with his lawyer, Roy Black, and drove over to the Palm Beach County jail. There he surrendered to authorities on a charge that he had fraudulently obtained prescription drugs. He was fingerprinted and released an hour later on $3,000 bail. LIMBAUGH ARRESTED was the immediate headline on the wires and on TV, but the word "arrest" was misleading. In fact, Limbaugh had pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer had worked out a deal that would cause the single charge to be dropped after 18 months as long as Limbaugh stayed out of trouble and continued to see a doctor who has helped him with an addiction to painkillers.
It was a mild wrist slap for Limbaugh, an essentially happy ending to a long ordeal. Two and a half years ago Limbaugh's career, if not his life, seemed to be hanging in the balance. His housekeeper had gone to the National Enquirer to tattle that she had been buying painkillers by the thousands for her boss. The authorities opened up an investigation and the mainstream media, including NEWSWEEK, mocked Limbaugh—the great moralist of the airwaves who had often called for prison sentences for drug users—as a hypocrite.
Limbaugh confessed at the time that he was hooked on painkillers and went into rehab for five weeks. He turned his show over to fill-ins (including Tony Snow, the former Fox News commentator who last week became President George W. Bush's spokesman) and began the arduous process of weaning himself from drugs like OxyContin, an extremely addictive narcotic. When he returned to the airwaves in mid-November 2003, he was contrite and seemed to be struggling not to play the victim or the hero. "I'm not a role model," he said. "What I did, I did knowingly. What I did, I did because I wanted to do it, but I knew it was wrong the whole time. It's a powerful addiction this stuff has."
Though funny and sometimes bombastic on the air, Limbaugh was said to be shy in person. He gave a hint of his insecurities when he came back from rehab. "I can no longer anticipate what I think people want and try to give it to them. I can no longer live my life by making other people happy," he told listeners. "I can no longer turn over the power of my feelings to anybody else, which is what I have done a lot of my life."
Limbaugh has been called "the man who saved AM radio" for the enormous popularity of his national broadcasts, and in 1992 President Ronald Reagan dubbed him "the number one voice for conservatism in our country." Running for re-election, President George H.W. Bush made a show of carrying Limbaugh's bags when he came to stay at the White House in the Lincoln Bedroom. The elder Bush lost, but in 1994 Limbaugh was widely credited with helping the GOP win control of the House of Representatives by flogging Newt Gingrich's "Republican revolution" on the airwaves.
But there were signs that Limbaugh's personal life was less successful. He has been married three times; his last marriage ended in divorce a few months after Limbaugh came out of rehab. According to a close friend who did not wish to be identified talking about personal matters, Limbaugh was badly shaken about three years ago when he appeared to be going deaf. His hearing was restored by cochlear ear implants. (Though deafness can be caused by overuse of certain painkillers, Limbaugh denied any connection.)
Limbaugh's drug problems began after he made a medical choice to try to preserve his radio voice. According to the close friend (whose account was confirmed by Limbaugh's lawyer), several years ago the radio host was suffering from spinal problems and was faced with a choice of surgery. The doctors wanted to go in through the back of his mouth, but Limbaugh was worried about his vocal cords. A different procedure was performed, and Limbaugh's suffering did not go away. He began to take pain pills in ever-larger numbers.
The Palm Beach authorities charged that Limbaugh engaged in "doctor shopping"—deceiving doctors so he could obtain overlapping prescriptions. According to a police affidavit, during one six-month period in 2003, he obtained some 2,000 painkillers from four different doctors. ("Mr. Limbaugh and I have maintained from the start that there was no doctor shopping, and we continue to hold this position," Black said last Friday.)
When Limbaugh returned from rehab in November 2003, he told his listeners, "I've not been phony here. I've not been artificial on the program. I was all of that elsewhere," he added, somewhat cryptically. His listeners rallied to him and seemed to forgive him for struggling with addictions faced by millions of Americans. Before long, Limbaugh was back to normal on the air, bashing Hillary Clinton and rallying support for Bush.
Meanwhile, his lawyer, Roy Black, well known as a top criminal defender out of Miami, fenced with the authorities in Palm Beach. When they tried to seize Limbaugh's medical records, Black protested invasion of privacy. Limbaugh took out full-page ads in two local papers to accuse the local prosecutor of playing politics.
The defense won an important round last December when a judge, basing his ruling on privacy, refused to let prosecutors take testimony from Limbaugh's doctors about his medical treatment. Black was now in a position to negotiate a deal. He persuaded the authorities to allow Limbaugh to enter a diversion program that is commonly used for first-time drug offenders.
Limbaugh "is very happy," Black told NEWSWEEK. "For two and a half years he has had this hanging over his head. It's been very stressful." Though the Dittoheads will remain loyal, it's likely that gossip columnists will continue to track Limbaugh's personal life. Living in a $30 million mansion in Palm Beach with a broadcast studio nearby, he does not go out much. In February, New York Daily News columnist Lloyd Grove reported that Limbaugh and CNN daytime anchor Daryn Kagan, whom he had been dating for two years, were "kaput." But Limbaugh was also seen looking fit and cheerful (once tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds, he has lost considerable weight) at a National Review banquet in Washington six months ago.
Limbaugh did have to undergo the indignity of a mug shot last week. His expression may reveal that he took a cue from Congressman Tom DeLay, who wanted to make an optimistic statement with his expression when he was booked for money laundering last fall. Or it may just show honest relief. In any case, Limbaugh is smiling broadly.
With Mark Hosenball
© 2006 MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12555181/site/newsweek/
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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