Following Limbaugh, conservative media push baseless charge that Obama administration helped kill his Rams bid
Following Rush Limbaugh's failed bid to purchase the St. Louis Rams football team, the right-wing media have echoed Limbaugh's baseless claim that the Obama administration was involved in torpedoing his NFL ambitions. Limbaugh has claimed that the Obama administration "corrupted" the NFL bidding process because the head of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, once served as counsel for Attorney General Eric Holder.
Limbaugh's conspiracy theory: Obama "corrupted" NFL new-owner bidding process
Limbaugh: "Obama people have got their hooks in the NFL now." Limbaugh claimed that "[t]he NFL is as politicized as anything else is in this country, and for lack of a better word, when DeMaurice Smith, and Al Sharpton, and Rev. Jackson can pressure the commissioner into saying who can and cannot even apply and go through the vetting process, then they've got their own slippery slope and they're admitting that politics is here. And DeMaurice Smith is an Obama-ite. The transition team. A big donor. Close buddy of Eric Holder. So Obama, the Obama people have got their hooks in the NFL now." [Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/16/09]
Limbaugh: Obama "corrupted" November elections, Nobel Peace Prize, NFL bidding process. Limbaugh declared that in "each of these instances, Obama's success begins and ends with corrupting the voting process. And not just the November elections. I'll mention me first, the process where bids are taken for NFL owners to vote on new owners. The vote process has been totally corrupted." [Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/16/09]
Smith served as counsel for Holder in the 90s. According to his NFL Players Association biography, Smith previously "served as Counsel to then Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder in the U.S. Department of Justice before entering private practice. His duties revolved around national security issues, congressional relations, and DOJ budget and finance allocation. He was also responsible for the development of business and strategic plans for prison construction, as well as budget development and component management of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service." A July 14 Associated Press article reported that Smith "served on the Obama transition team and also worked for Eric Holder before Holder became attorney general."
Right-wing media run with Limbaugh conspiracy theory
American Thinker: "Limbaugh Targeted by Obama Official." A October 16 blog post by Joseph Ashby detailed the conspiracy theory, stating, "we know that a former Obama official and political ally -- who was chosen by the NFLPA specifically for his political clout and connections to the highest rungs of power in government -- directly attacked Limbaugh for the radio-talker's political commentary." Ashby added: "Historically politicians have been prone to vindictive and petty behavior, but never in American history has someone had so much power to pummel his political opponents as President Obama. With control over banks, insurance companies, car companies, media (sports media included) and unions (like the NFL players union), Obama tentacles seem to penetrate into nearly every corner of the nation."
Instapundit flogs reader claim that this is "something Nixon" would "have done." Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds highlighted the American Thinker post and added a reader response which read in part, "[T]his is a big, big deal, and something Nixon ( or maybe Gene Talmadge or George Wallace in his heyday.) would have done."
On Fox News, Juan Williams suggested Obama administration was "involved in this." NPR's Juan Williams said while guest-hosting for Bill O'Reilly on the October 16 O'Reilly Factor, "Now everybody knows that Rush is a huge critic of the Obama administration. But here is something that you probably did not know. Smith worked on President Obama's transition team. And he also used to work with Attorney General Eric Holder. Did you know that?" He later added: "What we've seen here is so much information coming out about how the Obama administration and their friends were all involved with this."
Fox Nation links to Limbaugh claim. After Limbaugh floated his conspiracy theory, Fox Nation linked to a video of Limbaugh's October 16 comments initially under the headline, "Did a Former Obama Official Kill Limbaugh's NFL bid?" From Fox Nation:
Must be in a hurry to get something out early Monday morning. Declaring the claim "baseless" and then citing numerous sources on which the claim is "based"...with no rebuttal evidence.
Limbaugh and some supporters have the opinion that Smith's actions are political and tied to the Obama cabal...mmfa's opinion is that they are not.
This story belongs on the mmfa blog roll...where opinions are voiced.
What an idiot. Wesley didn't even cast a real vote in the presidential election, he wrote in fictional characters on his ballot. So even though he was too much of a punk to cast a real vote he thinks he we should give a crap about his opinion of the president.
Idiot.
Let Rush pay for his own racism and lack of restraint. The only person to blame for him not being able to achieve his dream is HIM and his big mouth.
Unbelievable. Everything is personal with this pathetic little gasbag.
On a side note, I find it particularly amusing that the NFL is now a bastion of liberal activism, on par with other political bogeymen such as the ACLU and ACORN. This s***slinging is getting more and more idiotic with every passing day. Maybe next will be MLB. The country's really going to be screwed when fascist-socialist-liberals subvert our national pastime!
Back to the subject at hand, Limbaugh et al are the ones making the claim. They have the burden of proof - you can't seriously expect Media Matters to rebut what isn't there.
Obama didn't sabotage Limbaugh. Limbaugh sabotaged Limbaugh.
At the very least, I'm sure you will agree that Rush is controversial, and it is not in their best interest to have that kind of owner. It's bad for business. It's all very simple.
To suggest that Barack Obama is so concerned about whether Rush is part-owner of a football team that he is going to play some role in it is just a bit silly.
PAUL PELOSI BUYS FOOTBALL TEAM.
yeah, yeah- it's not a REAL football league- but the framing alone was great joke.
That's right wing nutz "proof" - not real proof in the real world.
Rush, buy the NFL network pass or watch RedZone.
So does Soros work for Obama? Or is Obama working for Soros?
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Losers
Limbaugh needs to accept the fact that he does not speak for the majority and that the administration has nothing to do with his failure as a human being.
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The Midnight Review
Mum Is The Word
And remmember when the dittocam worked, but the audio went down ---
Obama!
Be careful out there Rush.
The economy was destroyed before one penny of stimulus was spent. And if the stimulus was so bad, why did every damn Republican vote against it, yet they can't stop begging for more stimulus money in every single state in the union?
Why don't you just shut up and accept that Rush's hate speech and controversy got the better of him in this deal and he needs to take responsibility for his actions?
Tax cuts, as has been recently proven, DO NOT WORK, except to transfer wealth to the top 1% of earners.
In a consumer-driven economy, when no one has any money to spend, it is the government's responsibility to add funds to the system. Because they're the only entity that has credit.
That's w's base...according to w.
You're wrong. I don't think I've seen a post from you that's right, ever.
I'm not the only conservative who shares this opinion. If you agree with the crap Rush and his ilk are shoveling, then you are not a conservative, you're just a groupie.
That Republicans will be voted out if they reject the funds is also a good indication that people approve of the stimulus package.
The only problems with the whole thing is that it didn't go far enough to help more people. That's right, the stimulus wasn't big enough to turn the economy completely around.
As I said MOST legitimate economists believe that the stimulus was NOT large enough, but that it did stem the downward spiral.
Google Paul Krugman. He won a Nobel Prize in economics.
(psst - here's a hint - use the google)
The stimulus? Necessary, required, and reasonable. Bush's deficit spending? Not so much.
Face it. You're wrong. The stimulus is working and doing good in the lives of real people. It just needs to be bigger.
But I give you props on turning the discussion away from Limbaugh's lack of personal responsibility for his f'd up business deal. It's always blame, blame, blame with you guys and lecture everybody else about accepting the consequences of their actions.
Hypocrites to the core. Go away, loser.
And don't tell me it's about the supreme right of subsidized corporations to be free of government entanglement, not when every member who voted against Franken's bill were, just a few weeks prior, railing against subsidies to ACORN.
We know we don't have any wiggle room in the budget for discretionary, voluntary spending. That's why the healthcare reform bill needs to be deficit-neutral or better. Bush was the President who didn't know that. It was your side that blew the budget all to heck and back. It was your guy, Bush, who kept the two wars off the budget books for 6 or 7 years.
Yes, taxing the wealthy and closing massive corporate tax loopholes does solve problems. For decades until, Reagan came along and cut sweet heart tax deals for his corporatist pals, we had the greatest middle class in the history of the world due to the fact that the wealthy were not permitted to control a disproportionate chunk of our nation's wealth.
The simple truth is those who are more successful in America benefit more from our commons. Because, like it or not, wealth is not merely a station to acquire, it's not a means to an end. With great wealth comes great responsibility. Nobody makes it on their own, they have had help from those around them every step of the way. They have obligations to see their country succeed.
They benefit from the hard work OF OTHERS.
Gosh, you're dense.
It's been estimtated in fact, that the job loss would be roughly doube, according to the EPI, had the stimulus not been put in place.
And there is plenty of evidence that we would be in a Depression, costing our economy, and therefore all of us, a TON of money, if the stimulus bill hadn't been passed.
As for the mess we are in . . . sorry, but the problems with our economy started several years ago . . . the unemployment rate started climbing in December 2007. A stimulus plan would have been unnecessary if there hadn't been such a freaking mess made by 8 years of Bush and his rubber stamp Congress. Simply fact. BTW, you are aware that all those folks who were complaining about the "pork" [very little in the bill, actually] had their own "pork" in the stimulus bill, right?
Again, this is about Rush and his mouth. He did himself in with his racist, derogatory terms used about the black NFL players. Had nothing to do with his alleged political ideology. Just his mouth.
But back to the topic at hand. It's bad business for a team to have a high-profile, controversial owner. This became obvious when there was backlash to his bid. The other investors realized it would be bad for business, and dropped him. End of story. To suggest that Obama had something to do with it is ridiculous.
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from the consequences for what you say. Rush has the right to spew whatever he likes, but that doesn't mean he won't have to deal with the fallout. Now he's dealing with the fall out. Boo-hoo, the multi-millionaire won't get to be part-owner of a football team. What a sad, sad story.
And, as Ruby said, get back to the topic at hand. This is about Rush not being able to accept that it was HIS actions which snatched his dream away from him. He has to blame it on someone else or he has to blame it on those gosh-darned old liberals. He cannot accept the fact that it was his MOUTH which caused his woes.
[Nice try at deflection, though.]
"Yeah because the liberals NEVER do that. I mean, it's not like you blame Bush for everything that's wrong with the economy or anything. The $1 trillion stimulus package that was spent on pork had nothing to do with it."
This article isn't about our economy, it's about Rush's inability to accept responsibility for his own actions. He is trying really, really hard to make his racist mouth a political ideological argument.
As I said, nice try at deflection, but the article is about Rush's problems with his mouth.
And, as another commenter pointed out, many economists have stated that, without the stimulus package, we'd be in much worse shape than we are today.
I live in Louisiana, and I know that stimulus money has created jobs in this state. I also know that our Governor, Bobby Jindal, who railed against the stimulus package before and after it was passed, has been having a grand ol' time passing out giant novelty checks of stimulus money and requesting stimulus funds for a high-speed railway from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Now, I'm all in favor of the railway, I think it would do wonderful things for the economy of both BR and NOLA, but I do think Mr. Jindal's actions (which are quite similar to the actions of many prominent republicans who violently resisted the stimulus package) are a bit hypocritical. He is certainly reaping the benefits from a piece of legislation he
vehemently and loudly opposed. And I suppose it's perfectly fine with me for him to be a hypocrite, as long as the people of Louisiana are benefitting, but what I'm trying to demonstrate to you is that many of the people who were so publicly against the stimulus, are now finding things to put that money into, which can be beneficial to the economy.
Most importantly, this crisis didn't happen overnight, and thus it will not be repaired overnight. If we're in worse shape halfway through Obama's first term than we were at the beginning, then I'll become a critic.
But really, can we get back to what we're supposed to be talking about here? Which is Rush's failed bid.
Now, stark, even you have to agree that Rush is a controversial figure, and he simply wouldn't be good for the team as an owner. And I know you will also agree that even though we have freedom of speech, we must also be prepared to face the consequences of what we say. Rush is no facing the consequences. He has said many, many controversial things and thus, this makes him a less-than-ideal owner for an NFL team. End of story. Right, stark?
Try getting your news from another source besides Rush and Fox.
The Dow rising above 10,000 for the first time in a year, maybe? Is that an indicator that the economy is worsening?
What are these other indications?
see, i can do it too
As I pointed out earlier, it's not good for a team to have a high-profile and controversial owner. It's simply bad business.
It's quite simple. The commish wasn't the one that booted him.
Right on Anita Dunn! Right on Van Jones!
All whites are racist unless they are progressive liberals!
Obama should suppress Fox news and Rush Limbaugh!
The above is sarcasm if you lemmings couldn't tell.
No, just "on something" again.
Remember when Sen. Joe Liberman was close to being kicked out of the Democratic caucus in the Senate? Mr. Obama wasn't interested in making Mr. Liberman into a victim, letting him run to the nearing tv camera and start to whine about his ill-treatment.
Mr. Obama simply said "Leave him alone." And that worked out just fine.
Boss BlunderRush finally feels what it's like to have his character assulted. Unlike his own attacks, of course, this charge was fact-based. And it worked. And BlunderRush proves to be quite the cry baby - no surprise, there. Bullies are all cowards.
I'm so sick of this windbag!
Is Limbaugh a racist? Not mine to judge. Is he an example of a successful political commentator / entertainer worth 100's of millions of dollars? Absolutely. I would name any liberal talk show hosts with his $$ worth...but they don't exist.
My point is that his listening audience represents a large portion of the nation. Are they all "racist"? Hmmm...
The group decided to not include him in the bid because of politically correct nature of our society. Period.
Like most successful businessmen Rush will probably move on to another venture and continue to make large sums of money on our free market.