Rush Limbaugh Calls Obama a Racist

There’s an old adage in the world of the internet. "Please don’t feed the trolls." It refers to people who seem to take some perverse pleasure in stirring up anger and hatred. The theory is that these "trolls" are seeking attention and if you deny them what they want, they’ll simply go away. It usually works. I’ve seen it over and over, actually. Ignore the bullies and the hate-mongers, and they tire of their own games.

I truly hesitate to give Rush Limbaugh any more attention. I’m usually pretty good at ignoring him, even if the mainstream media insists on giving his comments national press. But I think he’s overstepped his bounds this time, even by the standards of the nearly extinct, neo-conservative right-wing nut jobs who hang on his every word. During his program on May 26, 2009 Limbaugh said, "Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he's appointed one." He was referring to Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for a position on the United States Supreme Court.

Repeating what the mainstream media has already pointed out, there is no such thing as a "reverse racist." Racism is racism, when you think about it. "Reverse racism," I think, would mean that one is not a racist. So thank you, Rush, for making the point that Obama and Sotomayor are not racist individuals. As a self-described "enlightened individual," I’m happy that you’ve decided to point this out to your Republican audience.

Trying to envision Rush Limbaugh as an "enlightened individual" is akin to envisioning Adolph Hitler as a kind and gentle humanitarian. Limbaugh is as enlightened as an ant that goes blindly about its work every day, never stopping to think about what it’s doing, never questioning, never thinking.

To then go on and contrast his own "enlightenment" with what Limbaugh calls Barack Obama’s "narcissism" brings a very old cliché to my mind. What was it again? Oh, I remember! I think it went like this: "Now, there’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black." If ever there was human being who was enamored with himself, who lived only to hear the sound of his own voice, no matter how ridiculous the words spewing forth might be, it is Rush Limbaugh.

What Limbaugh has failed to see is that he really has no political relevance. He has become a "shock jock," nothing more and nothing less. This puts him right up there with Howard Stern. More importantly, it reduces what he does and says to plain old entertainment. Limbaugh does not give politically relevant commentary, he provides entertainment. The fact that there are more and more republicans who are trying to distance themselves from him, quietly, but distancing nonetheless, is a testament to this fact.

What I find ironic in this whole thing is that Limbaugh fails to see what most of us average, everyday Americans can see plainly. While there is a definite need for many of the conservative values that the Republican party traditionally stands for, there is also a need for some of the liberal values that the Democratic party embraces. Moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats quite often come to an agreement about the issues that face them. It is the ultra-conservatives and the ultra-liberals who have the hardest time. More and more they are falling by the wayside, and rightly so. No one gets to have everything their own way

Limbaugh is so far removed from reality that he may as well be living on a different planet. His party is dying, and its only hope is for the Republican leadership to find some way to bring the party to a more moderate stance. Limbaugh rejects this idea out of hand, and desperately clings to his ultra-conservative beliefs, hoping and praying that somehow they’ll come back into fashion.

Hate to break this to you, Rush, but this is the twenty-first century. Those days are long gone.

You can click media matters to listen to Rush Limbaugh’s comments.