Rush is still a racist

"conservatives understand in the abstract that racism is bad, but they seem incapable of identifying actual racist behavior" - from Tapped

Well said. Either Rush knows he's a racist or he doesn't. Either way he's still a racist imo. How much of a racist? I guess that's a matter of opinion, but you know what they say about denial. Anyone see the story about the justice of the peace who refused to marry an interracial couple recently? Great to see us making such good progress in the 21st.

First, Mr. Adesnik, you slam the site http://thinkprogress.org for falsified vicious remarks attributed to Limbaugh. Then you give the same site as a reference to racist claims about Limbaugh.

???????

I'm not a Limbaugh "ditto head". I do listen to the man to balance out what I get from Ed Shultz; as I like to hear both sides of issues. But he is not a racist.

Because you HONESTLY confront issues facing blacks in this nation, it does not make you a racist. Uncouth or abrupt perhaps, but not racist. Even black leaders (including Jeremiah Wright, Al Sharpton, etc) have admitted that many of the ills facing blacks come from within the black community. The one thing those leaders do not address is the never-ending cycle of the entitlement-state spoon that's being fed to them. If those leaders addressed that, they would lose power in the black community. Of course, it's not black and white in the first place. It's CLASS warfare that is the root. But that's another thread.

If you read closely, Mr. Adesnik is disagreeing with Steve Benen.

To preface, I haven't listened to Limbaugh for several years but at one time I listened to him a lot. While he may be a out-of-touch overbearing blowhard, I don't think he's a racist. I don't think he is an appropriate NFL owner because of his controversial public persona, but not because of anything to do with race.

As JeffD suggests it's almost impossible to discuss race honestly without being branded a racist by someone. By honestly I mean acknowledging both the positives and the negatives, instead of pretending it's all positive.

The NBA has had image problems exacerbated by players embracing hip-hop dress and culture, and when Ron Artest charges into the stands and a fight erupts it's not a huge stretch to bring up gangs. When Pacman Jones' entourage is involved in a gun battle outside a strip club, again it's not a huge stretch to bring up gangs. It may not be fair - some of the most gangsta-looking players are model citizens - but it's not necessarily racist.

You know what DaGoat, I missed that. I went back and read and he was disagreeing with Steve Benen.
I had just finished an exhaustive thread with Father_Time and was already in the argumentative mood.

My apologies Mr. Adesnik!

How someone can read through the littany of RL's race related comments and fail to see the man has issues in the area is a little puzzling - especially after his long history of one-sided ranting and raving about whatever subject is on the table. One racially tinged comment or another might be explained away, but added together it seems pretty clear the man is less than up to speed... or maybe this is just another case of some folks being willing to accept a lower bar than others.

Rush has made millions pandering to his racist fans. He has discovered that those millions don't come without a price - good. It's really irrelevant if Rush himself is a racist.

What is the proof that Rush's fans are racist? They listen to Rush! What is the proof that Rush is racist? He has racist fans! What is the proof that Rush's fans are racist? They listen to Rush! What is the...

The proof that Limbaugh is racist is the words that come out of his mouth. The strong evidence, if not proof, that many if not most or all of Limbaugh's listeners are racist and/or are amused and entertained by racist patter from a radio talk show host, is the fact that they *are* his listeners. If Limbaugh was not giving his listeners what they want, they would stop listening to him.

I don't know whether Rush is really a racist or just playing to his audience. But he is a divisive figure and he does not do anything to encourage constructive dialogue in this country. Unfortunately he wields a lot of power and people take his entertainment show to be gospel.

I agree Kathy--- there was no need for lefty sites to make up racist comments, since there were plenty of genuinely racist comments to choose from. Of course Rush and his audience won't see it in themselves-- but he is only dishing out what his audience wants to hear. Otherwise he'd be off the air- because of nervous sponsors and shrinking ratings.Rush is in it for the money, first and foremost-- he has no scruples about how he makes it.

That alone should make NFL owners queasy.

Kathy, let me press you on this. In my post, I argue that Rush pushes the envelope very aggressively on racial issues, but isn't racist. Have you reviewed the comments I linked to, via TAPPED? I'd be curious to hear your assessment of whether particular comments are racist -- keeping in mind that I expect a clear standard to be laid out for differentiating intentionally provocative remarks from actual racist ones. (Yes, I am very hard on you, my friend.)

JSpencer, you suggest that any one of Rush's comments in isolation doesn't amount to proof he's a racist, but together they make a strong case. I disagree. Rush is in the business of offering provocative commentary from the right. You might say it's his business model, and it's made him rich. So I don't think all of his comments together add up to anything other than a business model.

If you want to persuade me he's a racist, give me a crystal clear indication that he considers black people inherently inferior to white ones. That was the attraction of the fake quotes that CNN and others attributed to Rush. They were so damn clear, you didn't have offer complicated explanations of why Rush is actually a racist even if none of his comments are clearly so.

Yes, I have seen all those comments already. Actually, I linked that very post here in my post about Limbaugh and the NFL (or maybe I posted that at CFLF; I can't remember now).

I do think that most of those comments are racist, yes -- some more breathtakingly so than others. Some are on the edge. But I think it's a mistake to use some kind of precise legal framework for "defining" racism ("I expect a clear standard to be laid out" et al.). And I don't agree with your assertion to JSpencer that Rush Limbaugh cannot reasonably be accused of racism unless one can "prove" in some kind of legal or scientific way, that he agrees with the statement "Black people are inherently inferior to white people." Nobody comes out and says that anymore other than committed white supremacists, and even they usually parse their language so as to not come out and say that.

Most of the Limbaugh comments that people point to when talking about how racist he is, use generalizations or false or misleading analogies to associate individuals with persistent, obnoxious racial stereotypes. And everyone recognizes these stereotypes, even when they buy into them. That's what makes them so easy to use and so effective. Comparing basketball players to gang members? "Barack the Magic Negro"? I mean, come on.

So will I keep up my 4.0 grade point average with this answer?

Racism is a term that has been thrown around so loosely of late it has lost its shock value. If the claims were reduced to being used when it really applies it would be a more effective denunciation. Right now it has become a catch phrase that doesn't resonate strongly.

Rush is not a racist he is a racist baiter, meaning he edges right up to the line and then always backs away. If you then call him racist he screams "gotcha!" much like race baiters do in the opposite situation. When seen in its totality those who wish to see it as racist will those that wish to defend him will not and for much the same reasons as the followers of Al Sharpton, they like and believe him.

"As JeffD suggests it's almost impossible to discuss race honestly without being branded a racist by someone."

This is the kind of comment that drives me a bit up the wall. If your "honest" discussions of race cause people to call you a racist, perhaps your opinions are grown from a racist mindset. It seems that so few actually consider the possibility that they do hold some racist opinions, and start from the given that they are not.

Arg...this whole thread is so typical. A bunch of white people sitting around saying that a certain white person is or isn't racist, no way no how. Or maybe he's just a "race baiter", or is just playing to the audience, or whatever. If this guy makes his money pandering to a racist audience by specifically insiting racial tensions, he is a racist. Why is this ambiguous? If you care so little about a certain group of people that you are willing to get rich by insiting hatred or prejudice against a certain group, that is a racist act, even if in your heart of hearts you really don't think that group is "worse" than any other group. It's entirely possible that Rush thinks everyone but himself is a blathering idiot, and just chooses to pick on certain groups to make money, but the damage is no less for those certain groups.

Yes, Kathy your GPA is safe. I agree that the situation is complicated by the general awarness, even among racists, that your reputation will suffer if you get to be known as a racist. On the other hand, if being branded as a racist is so damaging, shouldn't we set clear standards for what counts as racism, rather than depending on complicated interpretations of uncertain evidence?

It's interesting how standards change from issue to issue. Consider how liberals and conservatives think about accusations of being unpatriotic. On the defensive, liberals loudly insist that people shouldn't call each other unpatriotic just because they've made several borderline comments. On the offensive, conservatives are glad to lower the bar, the way liberals do when it comes to accusations of racism.

So, a pox on both our houses? No. I just challenge both sides to raise the bar when it comes to throwing around accusations that can be very damaging.

If Rush is a racist, then so is Sharpton. Too bad they can't cancel each other out and leave us alone. I don't listen or read either one, but the spillover of their remarks still reaches me from the media reports. It's all noise.

The scope of this is larger than race. Leftists hate Rush Limbaugh, and routinely express their hatred for him, and at him (worse by orders of magnitude than anything he has done, which is also true with other, louder, or more controversial conservative talk show hosts, who are less extreme than the fringe far-left people that have gained their subculture market share in recent years, as well as a role on extra-liberal MSNBC now) because they resent that he filled an enormous hole created by the liberals who dominate the media, and because so much of the public rejects this liberalism and its excesses, especially those after the late 1960s. The Left has not only been radicalized, but has been reactionary for ages, and demonstrates these things in particular against principal objects of dissent or opposition, among whom Limbaugh remains a staple.