In 1991, I was the program director of WBOW in Terre Haute, IN.  Desperate to revive a dying AM radio station, I turned to the one force I knew could help...Rush Limbaugh.  On Labor Day, 1991, Rush made his debut on the station, much to the anger of the locals.  I didn't care, because I wanted ratings and a much younger audience.  Nine months later, I was out of a job because the station hired a new manager who thought Rush was too over the top (and he was from Arkansas and thought Rush was unfair to Bill Clinton.)  I died with my boots on, defending Rush to the Nth degree, not because of his politics, but because of his ability to drive listeners to the radio station.  That's all I give a damn about when it comes to Rush.

Rush Limbaugh singlehandedly saved AM radio.  There is no one more responsible for the growth and interest of talk radio than Rush Limbaugh.  It is because of him we enjoy sports talk radio. It is because of him we enjoy talk radio.  He is the patron saint of all of us that enjoy programming on the AM band.

So, if Rush wants to own a football team, I say why not?

Forget the blowhard politics for a second.  There are several positive aspects to Rush owning a team.  He's loaded.  He is a lifelong sports fan.  He has worked for a professional sports franchise (okay, so it was the Royals, but they were good then.) He cares about winning.  Isn't that what you want in an owner? 

Apparently not, according to football experts Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. They are demanding that Rush not be allowed to own a team.  According to them, he is not owner material because of his conservative views, making Rush out to be David Duke.  This is a typical liberal trick, when our enemy is about to prosper, we go in, denigrate his character and demand he be denied what ever is rightfully his because we believe his views are dangerous, racist or some other fear mongering word.  Al and Jesse are experts at this technique.  They used it successfully against Don Imus.

The thing is Al and Jesse have their own closet full of skeletons.  Al is a tax fraud and a fraud in general.  Jesse is an anti-Semitic philanderer.  Yet that never comes up when CNN, MSNBC or some other news organization puts one or both of these publicity whores on camera.  Why do they get so much love?  Because they are available.  And because they fan the flames of social and public discord so well, the sound bytes last for months.

Here's what you need to know. Rush Limbaugh should be able to own part of a football team if he wants to.  If he has the financing, the knowledge and the commitment to run a successful franchise, he should be considered like every other applicant.  All of this other stuff is crap being driven by forces of discord. 

What if a rapper wanted to invest in a team?  Or a rock star?  Or a politician?  Or Charles Barkley?  Or Mark Cuban? 

In the end, Rush Limbaugh will be denied ownership of the Rams, not because he is unqualified, but because he brings baggage that the NFL doesn't want to deal with.  They already have Michael Vick vs. PETA and in their world, that's enough.

What makes this situation sad is that Rush Limbaugh is being denied an opportunity because he stands accused as a hater. Yet, it is those who are hurling the accusations that are, in reality, the haters.  Those who hate our system of government.  Those who hate opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, creed or political opinion. Those who hate seeing someone prosper.  And those who should look twice before throwing their rocks from the walls of their glass houses.