Rush Limbaugh Strikes Again!

Here is the latest gem being attributed to him:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090306/ap_on_go_co/limbaugh_kennedy;_ylt=AnoR55xz7DwCcO0OyZH.faIDW7oF

I can’t say I’m surprised, the man really has no qualms about going after the gravely ill. Especially not after seeing this little clip (couldn’t find the clip of Rush alone, but this will do):

You would think that the man has some sort of a system in place to keep him from talking when what he’s about to say comes across as insensitive or just plain stupid. Sadly, that’s not the case. News flash Rush: cancer (regardless of what kind) and Parkinson’s disease are both devastating illnesses with no cure, and few treatment options. Here’s to hoping that Rush Limbaugh recovers his sense of propriety and compassion, since they’ve clearly been eaten away long ago.

Republicans Eager for Obama’s Failure…

Not all Republicans of course, just the ones that are way right of center and way off their rockers (Rush Limbaugh et. al.). I’m completely baffled that there are some in their party that would practically salivate at the thought of Obama’s policies failing.

Hal Sparks, a comedian, was a guest on the Rachel Maddow Show today, and I think he put it best and I will paraphrase as best as I can. It is as though the Republicans want to see the fall of Obama, who they see as this messianic figure at the helm of the liberalism movement. It clearly summarized what I think is running through their heads. It’s unbelievable. I know I disagreed with Bush on almost everything, but I always hoped that somehow, by some miracle, one of those policies would work out.

They want to see the one hope the country has to fumble and fail, they want to see the policies that have an infinitely better shot than anything the conservative base has been able to offer up die before it does any real good. It’s not as though they have had any groundbreaking ideas over the last eight years, instead they drove the country right into the ground. It’s not as though they have come up with anything new and potentially useful now, just the same old nonsense they have peddled for so long. Still, they worship at the altar of Reagonomics and the trickle down theory, which had left the rich richer and the poor poorer, before everything went to hell in a handbasket and everyone was in the same boat: poor or well on their way there.

The Republican Party, besides being the party of “no” has now become the party of “ego.” Their egos are so hurt by the fact that the country has abandoned them more quickly than they can say “tax cut” that they are hoping for the failure of this new administration and a quick reinstating of the old ways at the potential cost of a whole nation’s chance at picking itself up out of the rut that the conservatives themselves had dug. Many conservative lawmakers are refusing, or are poised to refuse, the stimulus money even if they desperately need it. This means you, Bobby Jindal, governor of a Louisiana that is still hurting and hasn’t been helped enough to this day…and Katrina was almost four years ago. This is petulance at its purest, and would be a wholly irresponsible move.

Please, to all you all who are hoping for Obama’s failure, get your collective head out of your (insert synonym for derriere here). This isn’t about liberalism supposedly trouncing conservatism. This isn’t about which party is in control, and how to oust the current party in control. This is about helping a country that is hurtling towards economic and social ruin if something isn’t done fast. If you made a mistake (or mistakes as the case may be), ‘fess up and let someone try their strategy. Don’t assume the same, failed strategies will work if you just keep pushing at it for long enough. If you can’t break down a brick wall with a toothpick, admit it, and find someone who has a jackhammer. The goal is still achieved. That’s really all that matters.

Rush Limbaugh Makes Don Imus Look Tame

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081227/pl_politico/16876;_ylt=AiwGR61DJ1A3BiVVbrFQEHYDW7oF

So the story goes that Chip Saltsman–a G.O.P. operative vying for the RNC chairman position–distributed a CD with the song “Barack the Magic Negro” on it. The song itself is a parody that had its origins in Rush Limbaugh’s program. Rush Limbaugh is playing the “humor” card, saying he has had many similar songs and parodies on his program that have been well-received.

Let’s rewind a little bit.

Don Imus did something not entirely dissimilar with his “nappy headed hos” comment. It was a racist comment, but it was his co-host Bernard that started the chain of events that led to the infamous remark. This, though, does not exculpate either of them, and we all know what happened to Don Imus. Yet people like Rush Limbaugh can be all-out racist under the supposed guise of humor, and get away with it. Can you smell the hypocrisy?

In an attempt to explain Saltsman’s rationale, the article goes on to state the following:

‘Paul Shanklin is a longtime friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies,’ Saltsman told The Hill.

Saltsman said in a statement later Saturday that the title was a reference to an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times in March 2007 with the headline, “Obama the ‘Magic Negro,” which argued that “The Illinois senator lends himself to white America’s idealized, less-than-real black man.

I’m not sure that good humor and good sense are exactly what’s needed to recognize the songs as “light-hearted political parodies. I’m thinking it involves more the complete lack of sense, if not a complete unawareness of what racism entails. That’s just my take on it.

Don Imus was notorious for his parodies, many of them involving racial stereotypes. Eventually he pushed it too far, and had to be both fired from one station and restructure his program on another station to satisfy the public. Rush Limbaugh has faced no such penalties, and his parodies verge far closer to being outright racist and usually dance right over the line separating parody from racism.

I’m hoping the Republican Party and the country as a whole both move to distance themselves from Chip Saltsman as well as Rush Limbaugh. To do otherwise would just encourage the steady smoldering of racism that still exists in our country.