My wife and I got together with a few other couples last week.  These are people we have known for nearly twenty years.  We've vacationed together a few times.  Two of the couples are African-American.  Naturally, the conversation drifted to politics.  And the main subject became the role that race is playing in this election and the level of hatred that is welling up in the public discourse.  It was a unanimous certainty among our black friends that if Obama is elected that he will be assassinated.  They said that they, and everyone they knew in the black community, almost feel like they are under siege from both the overt and covert racism that is being driven by people like Limbaugh.  And the dog whistle racism that the Republican Party and their nominee are employing is anything but subtle to them.  They hear it like a siren every day.  And it scares the living shit out of them.

When my insular white-man world is interrupted by such stark reality it is really jarring.  Limbaugh and his ilk are everywhere around me here.  And his following here is huge.  And these followers think nothing of what he says.  Racism is so alive and well in this country that I am often really disheartened and think that we will never get to a point where it is not the major issue.

The silent bigotry isn't silent at all.  It is deafening.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

I won't hold my breath for the Congress to issue a resolution condemning him anytime soon, like they did for the MoveOn ad.  Rush's verbal diarrhea is still in-bounds, apparently.

[thoroughly disgusted today]

Latino Político | "We are condemned to kill time, thus we die bit by bit." - Octavio Paz

He wants to call him "boy" so badly, yet the shrinking of Drug Rush's balls is all I can hear.

Take another hit, Drug Rush. It'll be OK.

Can't hear ya, Peach!

Too bad the Dems are too damn dumb to make Limbaugh McCain's Rev Wright from hell. Forget all the self-righteous posturing, calls for boycotts that will enevitably ensue. Just get photos of McCain and Limbaugh with the racist soundtrack running, on every media outlet, paid and unpaid, there is. If they can use racism, why can't we use fear of racism?

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

You're naive.

Anyone who listens to Rusty's show for more than 2 minutes knows the man has no boundaries.  he'd call Obama a nigger if he could (and probably will as the novmber gets closer).

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

And I think we should be calling for a boycott.

Hate speech has NO PLACE in a democracy on the public airwaves. NONE.

We should not roll over and ignore him. We should call his advertisers and tell them why we are boycotting their products.

Let's get a list going. Outrageous.


"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

I have written several posts about the socially destructive nature of the Talk Radio Network, Limbaugh is not the only one. There is Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham and Tammy Bruce just to name a few others. Even with the Democrats in control of congress there is NO POLITICAL WILL to impose any restrictions on these right wing demagogues. Recently Savage has been involved in a big fight with women in the Frisco area over his comments about Autistic children. Loosely translated the comment suggested that it would be better to dispose of these children at birth and save the millions of dollars for Insurance companies and States that it costs to maintain these "subhuman" kids.

Some of these radio wing nuts have been actually wishing over the air that someone would have the balls to go out and kill liberals so as to put them (liberals) out of their misery!! Then they add this little disclaimer, "Just joking folks, don't kill all the liberals, just some of them like this bastard XXXXX XXXX!!" (Instead of XXXXX just insert the name of some well known liberal person.)

Faced with a congress that does not care, I think we the people should take these Talk Radio people to court to face criminal action as anarchists. The evidence from their own mouths is definitely the kind of wild inflamatory speech that a raving anarchist would use to create widespread civil disorder and destruction by inciting the populace to commit criminal acts, including murder.

The general excuse that the PC people give for not taking this course of action against these radio right wing nuts is that they are protected under the Constitution's provision for freedom of speech. IMHO, NO ANARCHIST has this right under the Constitution. I say let's go after these anarchists and the sooner the better!

This thread really, truly does sicken me.  And it just confirms to me how serious a problem we will still have with race in this country, even should Obama be elected.  I don't buy KansasVoter's contention that "most Americans" feel the same as he does.  But the sad truth is that there are a very great number who do.  And that should give us tremendous pause; both as Americans, and as human beings.  I have personally heard the same sentiments expressed as those of KansasVoter.  I heard them in my office, I have heard them in social situations with friends, and sadly, I have heard them from the lips of my immediate family.  I cannot tell you how that sickens my soul.  The depth of hatred and ignorance that is required for a human being to wish rape and murder upon innocent women and children; to advocate hunting another human being for sport for making an attempt to improve the lives of their family and future generations. That, to me, is just unspeakable beyond belief.  The proper words escape me right now.  I am not a religious man, but I cannot help but feel that today, in this thread, we have glimpsed the face of this country's worst demon.  A demon which has stalked and terrorized us since our country's infancy.  And to get such a stark and telling reminder that this demon is alive and well among us is probably the most sobering and depressing fact I can imagine.  Reading this thread has sapped every bit of energy from my body.  I'm afraid that I will have to just spend the remainder of the evening contemplating how we, as human beings, can even begin to address this unspeakable situation.  We are so far from putting this evil into the grave, once and for all, that I can't help but feel a very deep sense of despair that, in my lifetime, we will barely make a dent in overcoming this moral failing.  

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

Call me naive, but I'm surprised at how Rush Limbaugh has dropped all pretext of political correctness and gone for the most overtly racist language I've seen in my lifetime in a high profile race.

Maybe you missed the Democratic primary this year...

I've come to expect this kind of behavior from Democrats - no way, no how am I even remotely surprised at it coming from Republicans, and anyone who has had to fight them ought to know that the only limit to their tactics is utility, do they think it can work. If they thought that they would win the election by hitting you in the head with a shovel then you can rest assured that some GOP lackey would indeed put in that spade work - there would most assuredly be a shovel up side your head.

In order to defeat your opponent enemy you must know them truly, not just according to your own idealization or caricature of them. You have to know what they will and won't do, what they can and can't do, and if Limbaugh's excellent adventure back to the future truly caught you by surprise then you may want to revisit your understanding of Republicans - such tactics were not only predictable but essentially inevitable. They will be true to their nature, they have no other choice.

The Underground Railroad