Reflections on Rush

The exclusion of Rush Limbaugh from a group seeking ownership of the St. Louis Rams is a bad development for Limbaugh and a bad development for those who value free expression of political opinion. But there is a potentially positive side to this development — it provides unusual clarity into the situation conservatives now face in this country and points, perhaps, to the proper response.
Those who celebrate Limbaugh’s exclusion like to call it a marketplace decision. Since most of these folks aren’t exactly free marketeers, it’s tempting to roll one’s eyes, or worse. But it’s difficult to deny that, at some level, this was the marketplace at work.
And therein lies a lesson for conservatives: we should consider making the marketplace work for us. This means, for example, organizing boycotts of the goods and services of those whose actions (I’m less inclined to say “views”) offend us.
I’m not talking about trying to boycott the NFL. Let’s not be ridiculous. Conservatives (including me) are at least as addicted as the rest of the country to sports, and professional football is the narcotic of choice for the American sports fan. I’m talking about directing our efforts at more vulnerable enterprises.
In a sense, this is already happening. Many conservatives have deserted the mainstream media, and a number of MSM outlets are suffering in part as a result. But this represents natural gravitation, not punitive behavior.
I’m suggesting that organized, punitive behavior may be the right response in some cases to left-leaning enterprises that seek our business, as well as to enterprises that, though not left-leaning per se, behave like leftists in order to maintain market share.