In the video above we addressed a lot of the substance of Rush's comments. You can argue that there was no need to because the comments are so stupid and offensive that there is no sense in responding to them. But what does need to be addressed and what we emphasized on the live show (but what you didn't see in the clip above as much) was the Nelson Mandela comments.
Who criticizes Nelson Mandela? Who still calls him a communist? But much more importantly, who argues that we should not have helped to replace the white government of South Africa? Only a racist like Limbaugh. The transcript is right here:
LIMBAUGH: Yeah. This is -- you're not going to believe this, but it's very simple. And the sooner you believe it, and the sooner you let this truth permeate the boundaries you have that tell you this is just simply not possible, the better you will understand Democrats in everything. You are right. They want to get us out of Iraq, but they can't wait to get us into Darfur.
CALLER: Right.
LIMBAUGH: There are two reasons. What color is the skin of the people in Darfur?
CALLER: Uh, yeah.
LIMBAUGH: It's black. And who do the Democrats really need to keep voting for them? If they lose a significant percentage of this voting bloc, they're in trouble.
CALLER: Yes. Yes. The black population.
LIMBAUGH: Right. So you go into Darfur and you go into South Africa, you get rid of the white government there. You put sanctions on them. You stand behind Nelson Mandela -- who was bankrolled by communists for a time, had the support of certain communist leaders. You go to Ethiopia. You do the same thing.
When I was a Republican, I thought Nelson Mandela was a living legend. He helped transform South Africa into a functioning democracy where everyone was equal without any bloodshed. Look at what has happened in the Palestinian territories and all over the world when you have ineffective leaders who choose violence instead of the path that Mandela took to get to justice. But now I see that I was in the wrong room, with the wrong people. The rest of the people in my party apparently paid lip-service to what I was saying and actually believed what Rush was saying. Did anyone of them ever care about Mandela or the injustice in South Africa at all?
How can anyone say they are a proud Republican anymore? I guess if you disavow all of the people like Limbaugh (and the torturers, and the ones who support wars of aggression and the people who violate the constitution, etc.), then you might be able to begin to rebuild the Republican Party. But what you can't do is claim you support Rush Limbaugh and still pretend not to be a racist.
Remember, Rush earlier in his career also told an African-American caller to "take that bone out of your nose." Let alone his nonsensical comments about how people in the media rooted for Donovan McNabb because he's black and rooted against Rex Grossman because he is white.
None of that matters now, because now Rush's racism is irrefutable. He argued against replacing the white government of South Africa. I guess if he still had it his way, the black citizens of that country -- and maybe our country as well -- would still be under the thumb of white people. I guess just like Rush dreams about.
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Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 16)
16. CHANGE RUSH LIMBAUGH TO HUSH BLAH-BLAH
LINDAGALE at 8:00PM on Aug 25th 2007
17. anytime anyone says anything derogotory about a black man it is automatically labled racist i am 52 years young and have never seen it any other way as far as i am concernd i dont need a crutch to fight my battles for me and when ever a mexican american has claimed racism i dissown him or her. i want my herritage to be that i reasted on my laurels not my race
RODOLFO FLORES, Sr. at 8:01PM on Aug 25th 2007
18. Rush is right
joe at 8:04PM on Aug 25th 2007
19. THIS MAN IS A JOKE. SOMEONE SAID IT, HE IS AN ENTERTAINER. IT'S HIS JOB TO STIR UP CONTROVERSY.
THAT UPS HIS RATINGS. IF WE QUIT LISTENING TO HIM,[AND I DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM, CAUSE HE TALKS CRAP!]HE WILL QUIT TALKING. NO RATINGS, NO SHOW. DON'T LISTEN! HE IS ONLY TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING. AS LONG AS YOU LISTEN, HE HAS YOUR EAR.
LINDAGALE at 8:12PM on Aug 25th 2007
20. Before you come jumping in, please use your spell check. I was replying to how Rush and his flunkies are saying that the "dems" are only going after Dafur (somebody please get Rush to say it correctly) to get the black vote (eh, racism) bad mouthing Nelson Mandela and talking about the white gov't being removed from South Africa (more racist comments). His opinion is racist because in fact most black people do not associate themselves with Africa and it is not part of our everyday lives, most black people do not even know what is going on in Dafur and by the way Africa is a continent so Dafur is a small part of it therefore that limits even more the cause to put it all on black people as Rush is implying. The bottom line is he is telling on his own racist opinions as most of his viewers by making that assumption trying to strike down Democrats that are showing some humanitarian efforts which might be political, but not for a singled out group. Gee aren’t there a lot of humanitarians who vote? Aren’t there a lot of people who a decision like that may sway them to vote for the democrats? So why single out blacks?
tre 1 at 8:19PM on Aug 25th 2007
21. Rush Limbaugh has made ignorant and racist remarks on the air about blacks, Native Americans and many other types of people several times. So it's no real surprise to hear him defend South African apartheid like this. That just shows his true colors, it reveals that he is a bigot. As for the Darfur thing, I ain't sure who's killing whom for whatever reason but nonetheless it's a genocide and genocide must never be allowed to happen or to continue. That applies everywhere, whether it be in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Darfur Sudan or anyplace. Look in your history books. People like Limbaugh have stirred up the flames of hatred and violence and caused wars thruout history. People have acted like sheep when they listened to such demogaugues. People need to get around and observe and make up their own opinions about people. This ain't a "liberal" thing nor is it a "conservative" thing. Hate is hate. Rush is a hatemonger. Rush is wrong. When will people quit following these self-appointed gurus? The only Rush I listen to is a three-man band from Canada - they rock! The rabble-rouser of the radio - I don't need his bilge spewings, I've been all over North America and what I think is based on what I see and what I experience. Flush Rush!
Freedom Fighter at 9:20PM on Aug 25th 2007
22. Okay, Rush is an idiot. No question. However, you are misinterpreting what he said. He implied that the Democrats unquestioningly try to cultivate issues that seem to support black people in order to appeal to African-American voters in the US.
Isn't it just as racist to blindly follow or support someone solely because he or she is black? (btw; I think Nelson Mandela is amazing and that what is happening in Darfur, Sierra Leone and our own cities in the US is awful--no matter the skin color of the oppressed)
Nelson Mandela was at one point supported by Communist monies. In case you haven't noticed, there have been a whole lot of candidates, governments, campaigns, etc. that have been on the wrong side of the issues at one time or another. As the saying goes, "Politics makes strange bedfellows". Rush does have a point.
I am a proud Republican. I am a proud American. I am also a sad American who sees so many people who just make inflammatory statements based on their incorrect perception--or even deliberate mis-interpretation--of others' words without consideration of the hate and fear they engender in others.
It appears that you, too, like Rush, Rosie O'Donnell and Bill O'Reilly, enjoy this kind of tactic. Too bad. This kind of thoughtless rhetoric prevents real dialogue and the possibility for people actually hearing each other and accomplishing something.
Kinda sounds like Congress, huh?
Lisa at 9:25PM on Aug 25th 2007
23. "three reasons why you can legally go to war based on international law"....liberal hippie blabber...
how can this guy (the "turks") say that we aren't in danger from the terrorist groups that use Iraq as a stronghold and training ground?
Rush is right, he hit the nail on the head and you pounded it in even deeper with your rediculous liberal commentary
derekmin2005a at 9:31PM on Aug 25th 2007
24. First off, I hate both parties, pretty vehemently at that. I reside on the left, but think that the democrats compromise beliefs for careers a little too often. But still, why would they put us in Darfur strictly to secure black votes? What in God's name have the republicans ever done to take the black vote away? The black sect of this country is still poorly treated in Jim Crowe fashion by the majority of the nation. Poor, trashy blacks stand out more because they're urbanly centralized, therefore seen in greater concentration. Just as many, and undoubtably more white variations of the same type are spread out a little more urbanly.
And to comment on Rush is pointless. He'll carry on his hateful blatherings no matter what the public outcry is, because he has become an icon politically and publically. Unfortunately for him, he's turning off an exponentially growing number of youths to the right, which is really quite counter productive. Because as Jerry Falwell proved earlier this year, he'll die before most of them.
Allen at 9:54PM on Aug 25th 2007
25. I love reading the comments posted by the "dittoheads". It just proves to me how brain-dead Rush's followers are! LOL!
So if the Democrats supported Black Africans to get the Black vote here in the US does that mean that the Republicans who supported the Apartheid regime in South Africa did it because they wanted to appeal to racist White Americans? Idiots!
Rick at 9:54PM on Aug 25th 2007
26. History lesson. It was the REPUBLICAN PARTY that was created in opposition to slavery. The Democrats were the pro-choice party on that matter. It was the REPUBLICAN PARTY that supported anti-lynching legislation in its platform. It was Republican Eisenhower who sent federal troops to integrate the public schools. The Civil Rights Act could not have passed without the broad Republican support it received. Matin Luther King praised Richard Nixon for his support of civil rights. George Wallace, by the way, was a DEMOCRAT!!!! ANOTHER reason I am a proud Republican.
dave at 10:16PM on Aug 25th 2007
27. Nelson Mandela, hero or failure? When the evil whites colonized South Africa the majority of the native population still lived primitive lives in the bush. Whatever the supposed shortcomings of the subsequent administrations there was a functioning society when Mandela and his associates threw off the evil white yoke. Results? South Africa now has the highest AIDS rate in the world, the highest violent crime rate in the world, the highest rape rate in the world, etc. etc. and the list goes on. When the former African breadbasket, Rhodesia, was seizing farms from evil whites and murdering any whites who resisted, Mandela publicly condoned and encouraged such acts. Results? The former breadbasket of Africa is now hungry and has a failed economy with an inflation rate of thousands of percent a year. Is it racist to point these things out?
lordfussy at 10:19PM on Aug 25th 2007
28. Steve--- you are a complete idiot. Your reply proves beyond a doubt that you conservatives will defend ANY neo-nazi-- um, I mean ultra-conservative(same difference). How anyone can still defend the offensive, drugged-out talking head Limbaugh is beyond me. I will give you conservatives really stick together--- like a toxic crazy glue (emphasis on the word crazy).
Anyway,I'll let you go- I'm sure you, Rush, and Bill O'Reilly have evening planned together full of oxy popping,boozing,watching a light comedy--- something like Roots or Birth of a Nation.
Todd at 12:30AM on Aug 26th 2007
29. Is it me or these guys sit around all day listening to savage,rush, hannity and boortz coming up with topics for their show. Its no wonder they have to pay to have their shows aired. Great minds talk about ideas samll minds talk about other people
romey rome at 10:45PM on Aug 25th 2007
30. you guys suck. this blog is such a waste of space. Who the hell are you again? Why are people wasting their time reading you?
Joe at 10:44PM on Aug 25th 2007