How Rush Limbaugh Almost Cost Me A CD Sale

I'm writing this in the wee hours of Monday morning from my hotel in Texas. I'll be traveling pretty much all day heading back west and won't have time to do much else. However, I thought I'd relay one little story from the trip which kind of demonstrates the current state of the political discourse in America these days.

As I usually do at these events, I spent pretty much all day Saturday at our product table at the Rockport Gospel Music Festival and had a chance to speak to lots of people. Some of them know about my political blogging but most probably don't and that's fine. Sometimes it's better to just keep politics out of stuff.

A lady came up to the table and told me how much she loved the quartet as she purchased our new 20th Anniversary Collection CD. Then, just before she was ready to walk away, she asked me about the tie I was wearing. You can see it in this shot:

That stained-glass tie always gets comments, and I told her where I got it - Rush Limbaugh. You may remember that back in the 90's he sold a collection of brightly colored ties and this was one of them. I have three of them and they're my favorites.

Her face immediately went dark and she went from smiling to angry...just like that. She said "you don't listen to HIM, do you? If I'd known that I wouldn't have bought the CD!"

Well, I'd already processed her credit card and I wasn't about to reverse it just because she didn't like the guy who sold me my tie. She grumbled a bit more and then sulked away. I just kind of laughed and realized that I'd just had a run-in with what passes for rational thought from the left these days.

Since the table at a gospel music festival is not the time to engage in political debate I let her go without further comment, but I'd have loved to have said something like this:

"Ma'am, at any point did I ask you who you listen to on the radio before agreeing to sell you that CD? You know why I didn't do that? Because I'm capable of rationally separating politics from other aspects of my life and your choice in radio hosts doesn't mean squat to me. Grow up - you'll get over it."

That would have been fun.

In some ways I'm almost hopeful she threw the CD away so she'll have spent $15 for nothing. However, if she didn't, I hope every time she listens to it she'll be reminded of Rush and it will aggravate her all the more.