Rush Limbaugh: Tech bloggers ‘hate’ Apple

Apple, that icon of left-leaning Silicon Valley whose board of directors includes former Democratic Vice President Al Gore, is really a symbol of the Republican Party.

Rivals Google and Samsung, meanwhile, are more like Democrats.

Got that?

This analysis comes courtesy of Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk-show host, who ventured into the unfamiliar world of tech punditry last week. On his radio show Friday, Limbaugh went on a curious rant about how tech bloggers are overrun with liberals who hate Apple – not unlike, in his view, how the mainstream (translation: left-wing) media covers the GOP.

“I would venture to say that 9 out of 10 bloggers writing high-tech hate Apple. Apple is the equivalent of the Republicans on these blogs, and Google, Android, and Samsung are the equivalent of the Democrats. They’re perfect, they can’t do anything wrong, they’re ideal, and everybody hates Apple,” he said, according to a transcript posted on his website.

Limbaugh added this opinion of tech bloggers: “I’d say most of them vote Democrat. Most of them think they’re young and hip, pop culture hip. That’s high-tech, of course it would be. Republicans to them are probably aliens from Mars, racists, sexists, bigot homophobes.”

The right-wing commentator went on to accuse pro-Google, pro-Samsung bloggers of “faking data, faking news to make it look bad for Apple when it really isn’t.” He added that a small minority of pro-Apple bloggers are starting to write about this “media bias,” even though “they don’t understand it.”

Limbaugh offered no explanation for why so-called liberal bloggers would favor Google and Samsung over Apple.

His comments prompted some head-scratching among tech reporters who questioned Limbaugh’s knowledge of the tech-media landscape.

“Yes, there are certain bloggers who obviously favor one company or another,” wrote Chris Matyszczyk for CNET. “But the idea that 9 out of 10 bloggers regularly toss rancid red tomatoes at Apple, while Tim Cook is trapped in the stocks and pleading for his life, seems a trifle stretched.”

Others took issue with Limbaugh comparing Apple to the Republican Party. While Apple has evolved from a scrappy, counterculture startup into a wealthy corporation that’s a darling of Wall Street, it’s been more historically aligned with left-leaning causes. Its late co-founder, Steve Jobs, often expressed support for Democratic candidates.

And still others poked fun at Limbaugh’s comment, in describing the tech sites he reads, that “some of these blogs have actual websites.”

“I dunno about anyone else, but when I want a real nuanced take on the tech industry, I go to Limbaugh,” said Henry Tsay on Twitter.

“Rush Limbaugh says that Apple is like the Republican Party. That grinding sound you hear is coming from Steve Jobs’ grave,” added Twitter user Brand Gamblin.

When asked by a listener to identify which tech sites and bloggers he was talking about, Limbaugh declined.

“Folks, I’ve thought about it, and there’s nothing to be gained by it. If I call ‘em out, all they’re gonna do is get happy that I’m giving them attention … it’s not gonna change them,” he said. “They don’t need more readers. The more readers they have, the more damage they would do.”