Scout Limbaugh earns his ignorance merit badge. Again.

Written by Ben Dimiero

Published

Continuing the utterly predictable conservative freak-out over the news that President Obama will be addressing the Boy Scouts' 100th anniversary jamboree via taped message rather than in person, Rush Limbaugh used the occasion to take a shot at Obama's past experience as a community organizer:

According to Limbaugh, Obama “stiff[ed]” the Boy Scouts, even though they visited the oval office two weeks ago, he's addressing the gathering via video, and several past presidents (including Limbaugh hero Ronald Reagan) did not attend jamborees. Rush purports to explain this imagined snub of the Scouts by saying it is “probably because there isn't a merit badge for community organizing.”

As usual, he has no idea what he's talking about.

According to the Scouts' website, in order to become an Eagle Scout, you have to earn the “Citizenship in Community”badge:

A nation is a patchwork of communities that differ from each other and may be governed differently. But regardless of how local communities differ, they all have one point in common: In the United States, local government means self-government. Good citizens help to make decisions about their community through their elected local officials.

[...]

Discuss with your counselor what citizenship in the community means and what it takes to be a good citizen in your community. Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of citizenship, and explain how you can demonstrate good citizenship in your community, Scouting unit, place of worship, or school.

And here are some of the books the Scouts recommend :

  • Kielburger, Marc, and Craig Kielburger. Take Action! A Guide to Active Citizenship. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2002.
  • Gary, Lawrence. How to Win a Local Election: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide. M. Evans, 1999.
  • Lewis, Barbara A., Pamela Espeland, and Caryn Pernu. Kids' Guide to Social Action: How to Solve the Social Problems You Choose-- and Turn Creative Thinking Into Positive Action. Free Spirit Publishing Inc., 1998.
  • Isler, Claudia. Volunteering to Help in Your Neighborhood. Scholastic Library Publishing, 2000.

While this is minor, it's a nice example of how conservative blowhards like Limbaugh can let their irrational hatred for everything associated with Obama lead them to look like complete fools.