So you’ve made a bronze bust of Rush Limbaugh and put it in your Hall of Famous Missourians. Now what do you do? If you’re the Missouri House, you spend $1,100 on a security camera to watch over the thing.
Limbaugh was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians last week, in a closed-door ceremony. The Hall includes statues and busts of the Show-Me State’s most illustrious citizens: Harry S. Truman, Walt Disney, Stan Musial. Limbaugh’s is the only one with a dedicated camera. Republican legislative leaders were worried about vandalism, Clerk Adam Crumbliss told the Associated Press.
“We recognize that there was a level of controversy around it, and we want to make sure that property is protected,” Crumbliss told the AP. “We’ve had lots of calls, and some calls and complaints have been a little beyond the pale.”
Assistant House Minority Leader Tishaura Jones told the AP she thought the taxpayer money had better places to go.
“If they thought that the bust might be defaced or vandalized and they have to guard it with a camera, it’s another indication that maybe they shouldn’t have put it there,” said Jones, D-St. Louis. “It’s another chapter in this never-ending saga of this man who deserves no honor in the people’s house.”
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com
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