Commentary: A challenge to Rush Limbaugh

Editor's note: Campbell Brown anchors CNN's "Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull" at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays. She delivered this commentary during the "Cutting through the Bull" segment of Friday night's broadcast.

(CNN) -- Thursday night on this program, we spent some time talking about Rush Limbaugh and a piece he had in The Wall Street Journal, arguing there should be more emphasis right now on tax cuts to help the economy.

Our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, came on and took issue with some of what Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh responded with this Friday:

Rush Limbaugh: "Mr. Velshi, you are incompetent. You are a disservice to your business. Except you fit right in at CNN. Disinformation, character assaults. This economy is nowhere near as bad as it was in 1982."

Let's stop there.

Mr. Limbaugh, you may well have a legitimate case to make about tax cuts and what they can do for the economy.

But the histrionics and name-calling, they undermine anything constructive you might have to say.

Rush, I would love for you to come on this show and debate Ali on the issues.

Make a case for your ideas. Our country is in desperate straits right now and we need ideas.

What we don't need is nasty rhetoric and useless noise.

This doesn't help anyone get a job, keep a job, or feed their family.

If there were ever a time to put the meanness behind us and focus on real dialogue and real solutions, this is the time.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Campbell Brown.

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