ABC aired Limbaugh as "observer" on race issues in Biden controversy
On the January 31 edition of ABC's World News, during a report on Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s (D-DE) controversial description of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), senior national correspondent Jake Tapper cited radio host Rush Limbaugh as an "[o]bserver" who "questioned what Biden meant, especially by the word 'clean.' " Tapper aired an audio clip of Limbaugh saying, "And see, folks, this is the problem for the libs. Once they get off script, they expose their idiocy. They expose their prejudice." Tapper paired Limbaugh's comments with remarks by civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.
In an interview with The New York Observer, Biden had stated that Obama was "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." Biden later apologized and claimed that he had intended to say "fresh" instead of "clean." Tapper included Limbaugh in the report, despite Limbaugh's history -- unmentioned by Tapper -- of racially charged comments, including comments about Obama himself, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted:
- As Media Matters noted, on the January 24 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh referred to Obama and actress Halle Berry as "Halfrican American[s]." Also, on the January 16 broadcast of his radio show, Limbaugh called Obama a "half-minority" and said that "the media ... are in the midst of Obama-gasms" because "Barack Hussein Obama" has formed a presidential exploratory committee. Further, on February 7, 2006, Limbaugh said he "kind of like[d]" a caller's statement that Obama "is the Donovan McNabb of the U.S. Senate." The statement was an apparent reference to Limbaugh's controversial 2003 comments about McNabb, a quarterback for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles, which caused Limbaugh to resign from his position as a commentator on ESPN. During the September 28, 2003, edition of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, Limbaugh said that "[t]he media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well" and, therefore, that McNabb "got a lot of credit for the performance of this team [the Eagles] that he didn't deserve."
- As Media Matters noted, on the August 23, 2006, broadcast of his radio program, Limbaugh commented on a season of CBS' reality TV program Survivor in which contestants were originally divided into competing "tribes" by ethnicity. Limbaugh stated that the contest was "not going to be fair if there's a lot of water events" and suggested that "blacks can't swim." Limbaugh stated that "our early money" is on "the Hispanic tribe" -- which he said could include "a Cuban," "a Nicaraguan," or "a Mexican or two" -- provided they don't "start fighting for supremacy amongst themselves." Limbaugh added that Hispanics have "probably shown the most survival tactics," that they "have shown a remarkable ability to cross borders," and that they can "do it without water for a long time, they don't get apprehended, and they will do things other people won't do." When the Survivor producers decided to dissolve the show's racially segregated "tribes" after only two episodes, Limbaugh declared that "[t]here can only be one reason for this. ... [T]hat is the white tribe had to be winning."
- On the February 14, 2006, broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh invented a "racial component" to explain Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett's departure from the Ohio Democratic Senate primary race. While reporting on Hackett's decision to withdraw from the race against then-Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for the seat then held by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH), Limbaugh asserted: "And don't forget, Sherrod Brown is black. There's a racial component here, too," adding that "the newspaper that I'm reading all this from is The New York Times, and they, of course, don't mention that." In fact, Brown is Caucasian -- a point which Limbaugh acknowledged later in the program. Brown defeated DeWine in the 2006 midterm election.
- Limbaugh frequently refers to the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as "Club Gitmo." In unveiling this moniker, as Media Matters noted, Limbaugh described the prison as "Club G'itmo, the Muslim resort," a "tropical paradise down there where Muslim extremists and terrorist wannabes can get together for rest and relaxation." Accompanying his new "advertising campaign" for the detention facility, Limbaugh sold on his website "Club G'itmo" T-shirts that read "I Got My Free Koran and Prayer Rug at G'itmo," "Your Tropical Retreat from the Stress of Jihad," "My Mullah went to Club G'itmo and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt," and "What Happens in G'itmo Stays in G'itmo."
- Limbaugh repeatedly referred to American Indians as "injuns," as Media Matters has documented.
- As Media Matters also noted, Limbaugh has described illegal immigrants as an "invasive species" that U.S. courts willingly permit to enter the country.
- According to a June 7, 2000, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) article, "As a young broadcaster in the 1970s, Limbaugh once told a black caller: 'Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.' " In the early 1990s, "after becoming nationally syndicated, he mused on the air: 'Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?' " According to FAIR, "[w]hen Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL) was in the U.S. Senate, the first black woman ever elected to that body, Limbaugh would play the 'Movin' On Up' theme song from TV's 'Jeffersons' when he mentioned her. Limbaugh sometimes still uses mock dialect -- substituting 'ax' for 'ask'-- when discussing black leaders." FAIR also reported that "[i]n 1992, on his now-defunct TV show, Limbaugh expressed his ire when Spike Lee urged that black schoolchildren get off from school to see his film Malcolm X: 'Spike, if you're going to do that, let's complete the education experience. You should tell them that they should loot the theater, and then blow it up on their way out.' "
From the January 31 edition of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson:
TAPPER: Observers from both parties questioned what Biden meant, especially by the word "clean."
JACKSON [video clip]: They are loaded words, and that's why he should interpret what he meant by those loaded words.
LIMBAUGH [audio clip]: And see, folks, this is the problem for the libs. Once they get off script, they expose their idiocy. They expose their prejudice.
TAPPER: In a conference call with reporters today, Biden said he was praising Obama.
the new talking point, it's only the conservatives who really understand minorities. it's to abc's further discredit that they quote this gasbag.
Don't worry us minorities don't buy it for the most part.
***LIMBAUGH NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PRIZE***
HAHAHAHAHA so much for MMFA's attacks, [link to news.yahoo.com]
By some right wing think tank called Landmark Legal Foundation bfd. Gore was nominated too, are we creamin' our jeans over that? Not so much.
Stalin and Hitler were nominated.
Anyway...there is nothing that rush said that isn't true.
Had Rush said those same things, the media would have reported it...and nobody would have defended him.
But with Biden, the Media is reporting it and then trying to justify what he said....why?? Well, he's a democrat and must speak for minorities, therefore, he coudln't possibly be racist.
Just curious. Are you imputing some meaning to my post that isn't evidenced by my words? Did I defend Biden? Did I attack Limbaugh?
there is nothing that rush said that isn't true
Of course there is, don't be silly. Limbaugh, much like Coulter, are so desperate to defame their opposition that they're willing to lie and paint all "libs" as racist hypocrites, which simply is not true, no matter how much some right-wing fanatics would like it to be.
The primary thing wrong with Limbaugh's comments being aired as they were on this news channel is that he didn't attack Biden - he attacked "Libs" (a word that shouldn't have ANY place in polite public discourse anyhow). The news network allowed him to take one Democrat's idiot remark and instead of defaming that Democrat (rightfully so, in my opinion), he broad-brushed it without any supporting evidence.
For those people whining that Biden got a free pass from the media, I say this: how many major news networks took Lott's comments and allowed commentators to rant that this is yet another example of how all conservatives hate minorities? Instead of going into a fit of logical yoga, they attacked Lott (rightfully so) instead of his party.
"Stalin and Hitler were nominated."
-----
Rush fits right in, then.
boy i've change my mind about limbaugh now. of course, anyone with a pen and paper can nominate anyone.
where is your nomination?
where is your medication?
all the lefties of san fransicko and huntington beach cali used up all the prozac:(
If you want to post moronic statements like you have been, at least have the decency to drop "col" from your sig. You are a disgrace.
the nobel prize committee invites select groups to submit nominations.
http://nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/process.html
my guess is that a right-wing U.S. think tank isn't one of the groups that could submit a legitimate nomination. looks like a p.r. stunt by landmark and limbaugh in an attempt to mock gore's nomination. it must be tiring to be so filled with hate and jealousy.
Of course Biden made a goof here, no big deal. I completely accept his clarification. However, if he had been a Republican or a conservative and made this exact comment, he would be vilified and fried by this website and the mainstream media until he was toast.
Fair point. As someone on the other side I agree with you.
I think if McCain did something like this and handled it in the same way I would get over it though. I was a mistake and his apology has been accepted.
That being said he has killed any chance he had at even coming close to getting the nmination.
Absolutely Tommy.
Of course the mantra HERE will be that Republican/Conservatives mean what they say while Democrats are ALWAYS misunderstood...we hear THIS excuse over & over & over again. Mmmmm how many misunderstandings BEFORE they are villified too?
Thing is, it seems like republicans/conservatives (and to a larger extent their media gas-bags) seem to make a regular habit of making these "goofs"...
George Allen, Trent Lott anyone???
If you're going to go there with the likes of Jesse Jackson.. I'm sure I could pull a bunch more examples of republicans/conservatives making those "goofs".
As for Limbaugh - well - He's not the first person I'd go to with regards to discussing or passing judgment on issues of race. (Obama, the "half minorty" or have we conveniently forgotten that?)....
Just my opinion
Hey Spin,
Not to belabor a point, BUT Biden's word usage [clean] could be described as a "goof", while Jesse Jackson's usage of "Hymie Town" wasn't a "goof", "gaffe" or "mistake". It was a bigoted reference.
While I agree that Rush was an odd choice for this topic, I don't think Jesse was perfect either.
ABC could have found 2 more qualified people to highlight on this issue.
Jeter,
Exactly.......Limbaugh is no more worse a choice than Jackson. Jesse only thrives, survives and flourishes if he can exacerbate any issue regarding race.
Tommy and Jeter...
It's pretty silly to try to equate Jesse Jackson's level of inflamed rhetoric with Limboob's.
I mean, come on, that's just absurd on its face.
Let's just say the Jesse Jackson would never kill the goose that laid "his" golden egg.
Color Coded,
No one is equating the two, my point was as bad a choice as Limbaugh was, Jackson is hardly an unblemished figure. ABC could have found 2 less controversial people to present their opinions on this topic.
I would have preferred, for instance, to hear what a Charlie Rangel's thoughts were on Biden's remarks instead of a Jesse Jackson.
I don't personally believe Biden meant anything racist in his remarks, he simply didn't express his thoughts very well.
You make a good point...
Charlie Rangel would be a better choice. I'm tired of hearing from Jesse Jackson everytime a "race" controversy comes up.
Maybe the corporate media does it purposefully because they know Jackson is a soft target for the right wing-nut media machine?
So does Limbaugh, but for some reason you seem way more tolerant of him. You really hate Jackson don't you? I thank God for the Jaksons, Kings, and other civil rights people who paved the way for me. They literally risked injury and death and their efforts made life so much better for people like me than it would have been. So stop hating. Ok back to Biden. Biden is a doofus and this latest gaff combined with his gaff about Asian Indians tells me a lot about him. He has some residual old school issues with race, and he needs some serious self reflection. That said, Biden doesn't seem to be intentionally trying to offend as Savage and Limbaugh are always going way out of their way to do. I already had some concerns about Biden including that Indian comment he he made last year.
Some might, but my mantra is payback's a b--ch.
Not this time, J2. Biden's not being given a pass on this because it's clear what he meant. He's toast.
Indeed, as I said before, the liberal blogs (particularly Daily Kos) were among the first to report this story AND lambaste Biden for his asinine remarks.
This issue is as dead as disco.
Clean or no clean, Biden would have lost anyway for his many other asinine remarks, as well as just being an ass. So many politicians, so little substance.
Indeed. You'll get no argument from me on those particular points.
No Biden wasn't misunderstood. He obviously is one of those old coots that still believe in stereotypes. The truth is Biden is an old schooler whose time is passing. The genration X-ers have much healthier attitudes about race and sexual orientaion. His Obama statement and his Indian statement last year speaks volumes about where his head is at on race. That said Biden doesn't seem to be intentionally trying to be an ass and I am in no way giving him a pass on this. I'm glad he made these statements because it gives me a look into his soul. The presidency was a long shot for Biden, but that shot has gotten longer.
You call Biden "old-school" and insinuate he is an old bigot then tell us not to hate Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson?
Give me a break. That wreaks of hypocrisy.
I don't even know why I'm responding to you because I have a real hard time taking you seriously. But in case some reasonable poster misunderstood my earlier post let me clarify; Jesse Jackson and Joe Biden are from the same generation and they have old school racial issues that I personally don't have. I don't have them because I have shed such silliness from my life, and I taught my child better. My daughter has a friendship group like the rainbow coalition. Biden and Jackson should be and will be replaced with new leadership that doesn’t harbor the baggage of the 50s and 60s. The new leaders will not have known the kind of segregation that BIden and Jackson grew up with and the resultant behavior that is a consequence of the isolation of groups from other groups. That said I will be forever grateful to Jackson for showing the courage that he did, he did risk his life for a noble reason. His efforts made my world better. I wouldn't have had the opportunities that I had if it hadn't been for the civil rights advocates White and Black that removed obstacles I never had to face. SO I"LL MAKE THIS AS CLEAR AS I CAN, Biden and Jackson certainly have demonstrated that they either had or have bigoted feelings on some level. In addition, and I have said this before so I'm being consistent here; people who have limited exposure to other groups often harbor stereotypes that they've learned in their non-diverse worlds. Jackson and Biden are two such people as I suspect you are Leather. There is a big difference in uttering bigoted statements due to the ignorance that is born out of the lack of exposure and embracing ignorance like it's a value. Savage and Limbaugh do the later. These wing nuts are like MBLA telling pedophiles that it's perfectly natural to date a 5 year old. Freaks telling other freaks how normal and misunderstood they are. That's what the right wing bigots like Limbaugh and Savage do. Their followers are told that it's normal to be a bigot and that everyone really is they’re just hiding it. They tell them it’s no need to try to work on ridding themselves of their bigoted feelings. Having Limbaugh do race commentary is indeed like having a MBLA representative comment on child sex abuse. In closing, we all have something we need to improve about ourselves, but bigotry isn't one for me.
Lynn,
Well thought out and clear.
Here is the prob, @ what age CAN a boy have Sex with a man?
that is the problem with a sliding scale of morality.
Are you arguing against age of consent laws?
Rusty,
I was too afraid to ask.
Crust,
I am constantly amazed at points missed.
Exceptionally well put. Thank you, Lynn.
Tommy, I tend to agree with you. Biden made a mistake and apologized. Clearly he did not mean what he said. I do think if Biden were a Republican this would be a major major story however that would be because of the way the Republicans have treated African Americans in the post FDR period.
You could be right, but I don't know. The only recent incident with respect to a Republican politician that comes to mind is George Allen. In that case, the criticism of Allen was deserved.
By the way, Tommy...your point, while arguable, is really a diversion from the topic here. MMFA isn't defending Biden in this entry. Instead, their point is that using Limbaugh as an expert on race relations is ludicrous.
Of course it's a diversion - because you and many others don't want the double standard highlighted. Which is exactly what this is.........sorry if the truth is a diversion to you.
That's like claiming I'm only saying it's not lunch time because I don't like tofu. Whatever, Tommy.
My original point stands. You dismissed it for reasons already stated. If you are unwilling to judge items like this fairly and in totality except to exclaim "whatever", that is your business.
Are you unwilling to stay on topic?
Double standards? I think it's wishful thinking on your part. Biden's comments were immediately clarified and his intention was to compliment someone not degrade. Limbaugh calls Obama a halfrican, now that's meant to degrade people. Macaca was meant to degrade. The only Republick I know of who was unfairly roasted was Trent Lott and that was the Bush administration's doiong. They hyped the comment he said at Strom Thurmond's b-day party.
Not a problem. I wouldn't expect a hard left ideologue, partisan individual to admit the double standard. Any reasonable person, and there have been many here, would even admit that.
It's OK, keep towing the line.
And we wouldn't expect a "hard [right] ideologue, partisan individual to admit" he's wrong. No problem.
Also, what double standard is it that "we" don't want highlighted that MMFA hasn't already highlighted?
http://mediamatters.org/about_us/
Of course it's a diversion - because you and many others don't want the double standard highlighted. Which is exactly what this is.........sorry if the truth is a diversion to you.
Diversion is your tactic on this site, as should be obvious by now. Thanks for admitting it.
There are no "experts" on race relations.
Only people with open pie holes.
Tommy,
I must ask, does anything, such as villifing Liberals take place on Conservative websites in cases such as Biden's.
I'm sure it does. Double standards and hypocrisy know no political bounds from either party.
So once again you demonstrate that you don't understand the mission of this website. It's to point out CONSERVATIVE MISINFORMATION and the like. The key word being "CONSERVATIVE."
So yeah, if a Republican had made this idiotic comment, they'd have been busted on this site. And justifiably. And there'd prolly be a dozen articles about how Limbaugh and his ilk defended the Republican making the comment.
What you're NOT seeing here is a defense of Biden's idiocy. (Not from MMFA, anyway.) The guy blew it. Now, he might recover, and recover well if his record outweighs the comment (something Dixiecrat Strom and Lott couldn't fall back on.) But he's gonna be explaining this stupid comment from now until ... well, as long as he's around.
"However, if he had been a Republican or a conservative and made this exact comment, he would be vilified and fried by this website and the mainstream media until he was toast."
-----
And you and the "Colonel" and LDoren would have defended him to the hilt.
I guess this means Limbaugh's in with the Zionist Jews.
You mean unlike Jesse Jackson who once called New York City "Hymie Town" ?
I don't get why this keeps getting brought up... Jackson was vilified for that comment (rightly so, IMHO). I just don't get where this double standard business comes from.
The double standard is MMFA constantly points to Rush Limbaugh as a racist but doesn't point out Jesse Jackson has made much more blatant racist statements. Three times a week MMFA calls some conservative a racist based on its own disputable laughable standards of what a racist is.
MMFA thinks Limbaugh is a racist for making jokes about a tv show that divided people up by race. Yet, Jesse, calls Jews "Hymies" and that is unmentioned. Typical double standard baloney.
When was the last time Jackson made one? "Hymie Town" was what... during the Reagan years? If you've got a quote from him today, by all means submit it to MMFA.
It gets really tiresome having to explain the purpose of this site to guys like you. Quotes from twenty years ago don't really fit in with the goals of this site.
"Yet, Jesse, calls Jews "Hymies" and that is unmentioned."
Uuuuh, Leather... how long ago did Jesse Jackson make his obnoxious remark about New York Jews? As I recall it was quite a number of years ago. His remark was wrong regardless how long ago it was, don't get me wrong, but there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then. Although that episode is still part of Jackson's record (and it has not been forgotten) what is its relevance today? Jackson is a marginilized character who may sometimes speak for one segment of the Democratic Party but he is certainly not the power figure that Republicans make him out to be. Rather, he serves as a bogeyman for the Republicans to throw up as a false example of what the Democratic Party is all about... simply because Jackson's constituency is black and Jackson speaks out primarily (but not exclusively) on issues involving African Americans. When Jesse Jackson dies, Republicans should mourn him the most because they will have lost their Democratic bogeyman.
But, more to the point, who speaks out today in subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways that reveal his racism? I would suggest you tune in to Rush Limbaugh...
Cupid is right,
Cut JJ some slack,
it's not like he spit any-ones food because of their color or anything.
And what does that have to do with Limbaugh, the topic of this thread?
Except for its deflection value, which is nil, not a thing.
Easy,
in discussing Rush, Jesse J came up. I was simply adding to the discussion.
Relax
Limbaugh is nothing but a provocateur with no journalistic credibility. Why is he being given a platform by ABC News?
RS,
Why, you ask?
Maybe it's because ABC has so many in their news management ranks that are combination NEOCON-John Birchers.
Or, maybe it's because the schmuck was just nominated for the nobel peace prize?
Trust me, i have been pasted by those who remind me of the free speech clause in our Costitution. That is why he gets air time. I believe free speech comes with the responsibility ( political discourse devoid of personal attacks), a pipe dream of course. Cable news seems to be the license to throw undocumented accusations without being held accountable by the companies they represent.
The Constitution guarantees free speech, but not airtime on ABC News. Rush's rantings belong among the mentally ill drunks on street corners, or their internet equivalents at FreeRepublic or LGF.
Don't smear the freepers!
Don't smear the freepers! - HBL
Thanks a lot, HBL. Now I've got BOC in my head.
More Cowbell!
Ahh Rush Limbaugh a great mind in race issues in America.
Exposing "prejudice"? This is ridiculous...
While I can't say with absolute 100% certainty that Joe Biden's comments were 100% historically accurate, I would tend to agree (at least in my memory) with his observation that Barak Obama represents the Democratic Party's first MAINSTREAM black candidate who possesses the positive qualities Biden enumerated. Obama is mainstream. He's not a "black activist" or any other sort of one-trick racial pony and he's generally accepted by whites and blacks alike in the Democratic Party. Al Sharpton isn't mainstream. Jesse Jackson isn't mainstream. I can't recall any other black Democratic candidates for president who in the past who were as mainstream as Barak Obama is. Can you?
As for the word "clean" I use it all the time in the same context. It is slang for someone without baggage... no scandals... a straight arrow person. Many white politicians don't run for president because they're not "clean". Does Rush think Biden meant that Obama bathes every day? But, importantly, Biden didn't just say Obama was clean... he also said sme other positive things about him too that make him an attractive candidate.
For Rush Limbaugh, of all people, to suggest Biden's comment reflect "prejudice" is the height of hypocricy. But then, what else would we expect from Rush Limbaugh?
But Joe Biden needs to learn to keep his guard up and watch what he says.. or, rather, how he says things. The lesson here for politicians is: Don't use slang...
(BTW, I think Joe Biden would be a great Secretary of State.).
Carol Moseley-Braun doesn't qualify as a "mainstream" type?
Mind you she didn't stand a shot of getting the nomination but I don't think she was some kind of "radical" either.
God, I can't believe I'm even phrasing stuff like that - "mainstream type"
Spin, that's why I qualified my remarks. I couldn't recall any other black previous candidate who might fall into that squiggly definition of mainstream.. there may hve been others. But regardless where the mainstream line falls Obama is the most attractive black Democratic candidate for President that I can ever recall. He is a serious candidate and he is electable...
Irony - I hope that didn't come across in a bad way - You asked for someone, and I remembered her. Also I had qualified my answer with regards to the "electability" issue. Mind you, it's the media that really dictates who and who is not electable.
No offense taken... it's all good. :>)
Irony, I agree completely.
As a African American I took Biden's comments to mean "clean cut" as in acceptable to white American voting public.
"Clean" can also mean "clean cut" or as in "he cleans up well".
Not without shampoo, though.
"on the January 24 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh referred to Obama and actress Halle Berry as "Halfrican American[s]." Also, on the January 16 broadcast of his radio show, Limbaugh called Obama a "half-minority" and said that "the media ... are in the midst of Obama-gasms" because "Barack Hussein Obama" "
This says more than enough about the racist pig Limbaugh. The fact that ABC would use him in any kind of commentary is ludicrious. Everyone should contact ABC on this one, and let them know loud and clear what fools they are for including Limbaugh anywhere in their programming.
Can they really be that sheltered from his hate speech?
Eh, I don't buy "clean" for "free of baggage." Now, had Biden said "squeeky clean" THAT would have almost certainly been about Obama's political baggage (as in, virtually none.) But that's not what he said.
Given our stumbler-in-chief, I don't think the "articulate" comment was all that out-of-line. I've heard that (or similar words) used to describe other candidates. This administration has made it worthy of note when a candidate can construct a full sentence.
When you combine "clean" and "articulate" with comments about a person who is black or who is partially black coming from an old white dude, it takes on different connotations, though. Even if Biden doesn't harbor racist overtones in his mindset, a potential POTUS must be diplomatically minded enough to realize that an old white guy can't call a younger black male "clean and articulate" without coming off as (1) patronizing, and (2) making a delineation between "good" black guys and "the rest."
Biden's comment, gaffe or not, aside, Limbaugh just threw MMFA the slowest underhand homerun lob they might have ever received. The gall of this man, given his well documented history, to comment on anything to do with prejudice, is simply astounding.
"However, if he had been a Republican or a conservative and made this exact comment, he would be vilified and fried by this website and the mainstream media until he was toast."
Total B.S. If Biden was a Republican and made this comment the MSM would be falling over themselves to give him a tv show with Tucker Carlson and John Kasich.
Don't forget CNN (Headline News) with the likes of Glenn Beck..
no GLenn Beck has an excuse. He's admitted that he is not to bright.
ABC has gone to the dark side. Forget their 911 propaganda movie, when they had Glenn Beck on GMA to discuss Muslims a few months ago, they moved firmly in to the Fox pseudo-news category. Obama should freeze them out too.
You can thank one Mr. Mark Halpern for that shift.
If you want to Google him, his name is Halperin.
I agree with other posters that the thought of Rush "Halfrican American" Limbaugh speaking on race relations, or anything for that matter, in the main stream media, is laughable. Conservatives have claimed that Rush is just trying to make jokes all the time. So the next obvious question for ABC is "what the h--- is he doing getting time". Un freakin' believable--there is NO ONE else they could ask to comment on this? No one in a nation of 300 million?
How about someone with some credibility on race relations and or civil rights in the US. Not Rush "take that bone out of your nose and call me back" Limbaugh. I'm sure that there are a ton more credible folks out there who could have spoken to what Biden said. Someone from the Southern Poverty Law Center for example would have been a good guest to have on the show to talk about race relations/ But Limbaugh?
On a side note, I think Trent Lott was villified for just trying to be nice to an old friend of his at Strom's retirement party a few years back.
Let's face it...
ABC would have this nauseating bag of filth anchor the evening news if they thought they could get away with it.
John Kerry all over againWhen Kerry uttered the phrase "you get stuck in Iraq" everyone who saw the whole segment knew he was being disrespectful of George Bush. So what did rightwing pond scum like Limbaugh do? Dishonestly attributed his comment to the troops. Biden says Obama is "clean", which anyone with a brain knows is a comment about the fact that Obama has no political baggage, and what does Limbaugh do yet again? Dishonestly label this as a racist comment. And need I repeat the litany of intentional distortions of things said by Al Gore in 2000?To conservatives who post here and have the gall to compare this to Allan's "macaca" comment and act as if that that wasn't prima facie racist: don't forget the endless hours of rightwing spin attempting to explain "macaca", even going as far as trying to pass it off as clown in Italian. For those of you who have suffered recent blunt trauma to the head, buffoon is clown in Italian.
Think back for a second. How much airtime was Kerry allotted to explain what he meant by "stuck in Iraq"? Some, but his explanations were immediately drowned out by the whining right, even after he apologized for their intentional misinterpretation. What about Al Gore? Zero. The lies became truth. Biden is lucky in that he was offered a chance on "The Daily Show" to remove his foot from his mouth, which I’m sure will be back in place come the weekend, factual or fabricated, since the scrutiny of his every utterance is now in high gear. One “Dean Scream” and he’s finished.
You nailed it Fantagor...
The right-wing media machine is sharpening their knives for the Democratic candidates. These are just the early little border wars. They've got their infrastructure in place on the corporate cable channels and talk radio.
The smears will be full tilt before too long.
ABC Acceptable Bigots Calling...... Having Limbaugh say anything about race is racist...
ABC is absurd. Wasn't Trent Lott available for "impartial" commentary?
Somewhat OT, but I thought this was all a bit overplayed until I read that Biden had given a eulogy for Strom Thurmond ("The truth and genius and virtue of Strom Thurmond is what I choose and we all choose to remember today").
I could even flow with that as just being a politico being kind at an opponent's funera,l if it wasn't for what Biden had said at a Rotary Club dinner in Columbia, SC:
Once is a gaffe, twice is troubling, three times... let me just say it is hard to imagine he doesn't mean what he says.
The Rotary Club comments are inexcusable. He's toast. Alterman was correct in more ways than one when he referred to Biden as the former presidential candidate. Shortest campaing in history?
But let's not judge Biden too harshly. I wouldn't want to give Tommy any reason to believe we're anything but "hard left ideologue, partisan[s]."
I didnt know that I agree.
Howard Stern is always playing a clip of Limbaugh calling the New Orleans mayor "Ray Nay-ger." You might want to add that to your collection.
The fact that it is ABC doing this is not surprising at all, given their recent history with Halperin and Beck. Also, Limbaugh is braodcast to millions through ABC Radio networks. Tapper probably got orders from the executives with the mouse ears. ESPN is a part of ABC and they are the ones who hired him, probably foolishly, to be a commentator for Monday Night Football, and we all remember how that turned out. Limbaugh is also clearly projecting when he says that liberals truly feel that way about minorities and they are fooling the many minorities who vote for Democrats. Kelly Arena on CNN did this with the Berger controversy. She aired a clip of Limbaugh unbalanced when she was doing a report a few weeks ago on Sandy Berger and the documents.THANK YOU.njguy93@yahoo.com
Can't George Soros buy a tv network?
According to Bill O"rielly Soros is single handedly funding AA radion and every liberal blog and susidizing liberal politcal commentators, so If that's true I'm sure Soros is flat broke about now.
You have to give Mr. Limbaugh credit. He somehow finds time to be an astute "Observer" of Lib Problems, Idiocy, and Prejudice, whilst obviously persuing a dynamic dining career. Lord help us if he should accidentally "expose" his belly.
Watch it, Dave. I'm trying to keep away from the cheap physical appearance comments, don't be a bad influence.
I might be tempted to remark that Rush probably hasn't been an observer of his shoes in quite a while.
Hunt,
Don't quit your day job.
unless off course it includes anything to do with young minds full of mush.
Biden goofed
I think he honestly wanted to complement Obama but he messed it up bad. It was real dumb, but I say so what, he wasn’t going to be our next president anyway. Biden has a great future ahead of him and Obama is not mad about it.
The First Black that is Articulate & Bright?
That is absolutely the dumbest thing to say, but I believe he said it in the context of an intended complement. I personally believe Obama really is smarter than ALL politicians both white and black. Biden should have said that, but he blew it instead.
By “Clean” Biden should have said Obama is not linked to scandals or controversies in spite of the efforts of Fox Network Lies.
When Byden said, “Main steam African American,” he wanted to say that Obama is appealing to all Americans ...( all races and all issues )... not just focused on civil rights and/or minority issues as many of the previous black leader were. But no, Biden blew that one too.
Senator Joe Biden:
"Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate that the Democratic or Republican Party has produced at least since I've been around," Biden said. "And he's fresh. He's new. He's smart. He's insightful. And I really regret that some have taken totally out of context my use of the world 'clean.'" "My mother has an expression: clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack."
Sam,
I too think he called himself giving Obama a compliment, but in his statement there seems to be the implication that he is suprised to find an articulate smart Black person. Obama is smart and articulate because he is smart and articulate it isn't a phenomeon. There are many many Blacks who have these qualities, but it seems that maybe Biden feels that the smart articulate Black person is not the norm. Biden has spent the last 30+ years hanging out with only White guys in the senate. I think he needs to get out more, or we are going to have to send some more Black folkdto the senate. His statement reminds me of the ""he's a credit to his race days". Now I don't think Biden meant any harm and he harbors no malice toward Blacks, but he seems to have some assumptions (stereotypes) that he needs to shed. Not as bad as George Allen's "macacca" statement, but this will probably forever be Biden's maccaca moment.
Interesting contrast...
Jesse Jackson comments on Joe Biden's remarks and he says Biden should explain, blah, blah, blah... Rush Limbaugh comments on Joe Biden's remarks and goes into a nasty tirade against all "libs". Of course Rush doesn't foment hatred for all Democrats...
I'm a liberal Democrat. I donate to the Democratic party, I volunteered for phone banks and door-to-door canvasing for Martin Frost in Texas. I've given thousands of dollars to various Democratic presidential candidates over the years.
But I have to disagree with almost every comment I've read. Biden may have been trying to make a compliment. He may have goofed. But he certainly made a very racist comment and deserves to be condemned for it. I think he showed his true colors.
Saying that Obama is "articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy" says that ALL of the previous black politicians have been inarticulate, stupid, dirty, and ugly. My take on Biden's comment is that he is essentially saying "finally we have a black candidate that acts like a real person!" And by that I think he means white person. I think Biden still sees a black man as a black man, and not just as a man. And I think that's why he "complimented" Obama in the way that he did. He's clean of the "black" taint.
Biden definitely deserves to be condemned and any long long long-shot he had as a presidential candidate is down the tubes now.
If we're going to condemn racist comments, we need to condemn ALL racist comments and not make excuses.
The largest part of posts here seem to miss the target.
Sure all racism is deplorable let's get that out of the way. But the crux of this article is ABC's disingenuous labeling of Rush as an "observer". That's like calling a sniper who just shot you in the forehead a "witness to the shooting".Let's be clear Biden in an attempt to discredit his opponents rather than engage them in debate just cost himself any shot at the presidency he had. And he deserves everything this is going to cost him politically. However, to hold Rush up as an untarnished individual fit to comment as to the incorrectness of the matter. Noe that is a joke and the fact that Rush, the NeoCons, and ABC thinks they can pull it off without getting called on it shows the pitiful state of journalism.Uflerix,
You can thank certain "conservative" posters for attempting to deflect the issue from Limbaugh being a "credible" commentator on race relations to making it about how liberals are hypocritical etc. when it comes to issues of race..
Given the history in this country of libs vs conservatives on race issues, I'll take the libs every time..
I spelled your name wrong,
My apologies..
How ironic that Rush Limbaugh himself would pretend to use the words idiocy and prejudice without for a moment having to perhaps think to himself that he's in fact describing his motto and only two of the words most often used my reasonable, smart, critical-thinking human beings to describe him.
I was thinking that ass and hole might be two words also used to describe Rush. Wait! That's one word. Dang, don't I feel stupie.
I am a Black Man and living in America all my life I know one thing race matters ...never mind if your a Demorcrat, Republican the issuse of race is important ....it always seems that the only ones it matters too most are Rich White People.. the fear of a Black Planet ...the fear of an African American being in power taking something from them ....so people stop with the BULL ....we know what Joe meant and we know what Limbaugh means.