On September 1, Rush Limbaugh went on a sickening diatribe against the victims of Katrina, blaming them for their own dire situation. According to Rush, it's not race but ideology that explains what we're watching in stunned silence on our TV screens.
Ever the "contradictarian", Rush begins his monologue on how this is not racism by making a distinction that is purely race-based:
The non-black population was just as devastated, but apparently they were able to get out, and the black population wasn't able to get out. Maybe New Orleans has a half decent mass transit people and some of these people don't need cars.
After that grotesque attempt at a joke, Rush raises the possibility that perhaps many in the black population didn't have cars in which to flee for economic reasons.
Well, why is that? Why can't they afford them? What is it about New Orleans that doesn't pay? It's a 67% black population. They have lots of black-run businesses. Why is this they don't pay well down there?
Gee, Rush, I guess those black business owners are just glorified slave-drivers. Is that what you're getting at?
What Rush is actually getting at is easy to discern, because it's what he's always getting at. He suffers from a particular failure of the political imagination that makes it impossible for him to assimilate any new information. All he can do is regurgitate the same hackneyed theories that he's rehearsed so many times before.
His condition springs from the same source as the mentality that holds that two diametrically opposed situations—a huge budget surplus and a huge budget deficit, for example—require the same course of action: massive tax cuts for the rich. It's also the mentality that allows government officials to slap each other on the back for the great job they're doing in the relief effort at the same time that people are perishing in the streets of New Orleans due to the indifference and negligence of those same officials.
Anyone who listens to Rush for even five minutes knows that his golden rule is this: liberals can and should be blamed for every bad thing that ever happens in the world. So it is with New Orleans. Who's to blame for the suffering in the Big Easy? Why, it's the victims themselves, and it's all because they're a bunch of filthy commies.
Socialism to one degree or another has failed everywhere it's been tried. New Orleans has been run by liberal Democrat governments, people, for as long as I can remember, and there's an entitlement mentality there. You are never going to have a thriving city relying on handouts, or on welfare payments, whatever you want to call them. It's just not going to happen.
So, according to our latter-day McCarthy, socialism has taught the people of New Orleans to expect a hand-up from the government and that's why the deserve to die like dogs in the street now. Well, Rush, your happy day has come. It looks like none of these people will ever expect assistance from the government again. Good for them. Good for America, right?
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Natalie Davis
Rush Limbaugh must be digging into the Oxycontin again...
2 - Kurt
It seems like the arch-right-wingers are tripping all over themselves to out-stupid each other.
Did ya'll see the info about Bush's head of FEMA? Check it out - I wouldn't hire the guy to flip burgers. Cronyism, incompetence, graft. Murder.
3 - WTF
Just leave Limberger out of the posts, he doesn't count and you're wasting space.
4 - RJ
Rush blames "liberals" for everything. The Left blames Bush for everything.
What's new?
5 - Pete Blackwell
WTF, As I mentioned, Rush is the most popular radio pesonality in America. Of course he matters. Also, don't tell me what to post about. You can GAFB or you can STFU, in a manner of speaking.
RJ, are you implying that George Bush holds no responsibility for the failings of the federal government? He's in charge, so he gets the blame for massive ineptitude. That's not a liberal position, it's an obvious one. Same would be true if Dollar Bill Clinton was still in the White House.
6 - Demi
Another fat talking head, him an Moore ought to have a coming out party.
7 - Dave Nalle
Wow, I hate to find myself agreeing with Lardball, but if your last couple of paragraphs are correct characterizations of what he was getting at then he's spot on. It's the institutionalized political structure of Louisiana which is to a large extent responsible for making the black population of New Orleans dependent and discouraged from advancing themselves. Even a couple of liberals I know who are from Louisiana acknowledge that this is at the heart of the problem, except they're a lot more colorful about what opportunistic scumbags New Orleans politicians are.
Dave
8 - jack e. jett
rush limberger is about as respected for comments as courtney love....i think they share the same pharmacist(s)
jack jett
9 - Dan
Sounds like Rush is right on target...again.
The failure of this writer to grasp the obvious is just another example of willful ignorance.
Willful ignorance and obstinant refusal to accept truth is hard to understand. Just like looting and firing upon rescuers at a time of crisis.
10 - Victor Lana
It seems Al Franken was right:
Rush is a BIG FAT IDIOT!
11 - Dan
I think Al Franken is fatter than Rush is now. And Franken has always been an idiot.
12 - RJ
Yeah, why do people STILL call Rush "fat"? Didn't he lose a lot of weight?
13 - Dave Nalle
I think his head is still fat, RJ.
Dave
14 - Marvin Blades
Some of those who have (the fortunate) will always consider those who have not (the unfortunate) as being lazy, shiftless and a burden on society.
It is sad that one of America's most prominent voices chooses to use his considerable influence to place everyone who is poor into a group that consciously chose to not take advantage of the American Dream of prosperity.
Unfortunately, opportunity doesn't always knock on everyone's door. Until America approaches the poverty issue as one that merits real attention, we will always have a 3rd world within our borders!
15 - Dave Nalle
A good start would be for some politicians to develop consciences and stop feeding off of the poor like vampires.
Dave
16 - Donna A.
I stop listening to both left and right years ago. They all talk out of their ass. They are so into listening to themselves they forgot about what the real issues are. And I don't think any of them really care about the people of this country. It would be to much work to really do something about what is happening to this country. It is much easier to point fingers at each other and blame each other and let the people who they say they are for die in the street.
Donna A.
17 - Gary Brackett
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I send you this rather long comment because ‘blogcritics’ will not post this ‘opinion’.
There seems to be many ways to look at the events in New Orleans. I always liked Sid Vicious and his take on things, especially when ‘Anarchy in the U.K.’ came around. Now how can one even think of the ‘anarchy’ in the flooded streets of lower Louisiana as a positive thing! The word anarchy is one of those loaded words meaning different things to different people. It’s usually batted about when situations of chaos have arisen; with bomb throwers, or like here in Italy, the so-called anarchists and their mail bombs. The press likes to vehemently denounce these groups as ‘insurrectionist anarchists’. (Also the ‘anarchist’ Black Bloc whose tactics I do not support!) There is not enough time here to get into the historical roots of the word, much less the history of anarchist movements, its philosophy and the scarce number of anarchist successes (see Kronstadt, Russia 1920’s; Seattle, early 1900’s; Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War). Nor am I interested in any semantic discussions with journalists, right-wingers or Marxists. What I want to talk about is how this disaster, this horrible plague of destruction by Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing chaos puts into high relief the question of who we are for one another as a society, of the modern state (I mean government) and the rule of coercive authority, and also of what we might call the human spirit. More specifically this crisis calls into question the role of the individual and society. These are for me the proper fields of discourse when speaking about anarchy (anarchism).
The plague: the great and crazy French poet and theatre artist and theoretician Antonin Artaud used the metaphor of the plague: The theatre like the plague should strip away the veil of all societal forms: the hypocrisy, the rule of violence, the fragile veneer of social order, the banality of daily life and ALL of its tedious concerns. And equally so, the individual when faced with crisis and a life and death struggle only the real and basic concerns of life matter: the desire to survive. Or perversely one sees exploding to extremes the driving forces that move ones desire, be it gold, sex, power or ego survival.
Anarchist poster : Spanish Civil War
What is important when crisis strikes? What becomes of our cherished ideas, of government, of religion and philosophy, of a life of status and prestige, of property and power? In a crisis of great magnitude all the ruling structures of our culture are laid bare and shown for what they really are: illusions, shells of thoughts and ideas. Just talk! And in the end, when confronted with harsh, brutal, relentless and raw life, such as the plague, or Hurricane Katrina- to use the vernacular: out come our true colors.
If in New Orleans we are surprised at the lawlessness, if we are shocked by the viciousness of individuals, if we are dismayed at the blatant racism, if we are disheartened by the ineffectiveness of government, if we are disgusted by yet another media frenzy feeding upon suffering, if we are left in wonder at the posturing and dallying of our president, if we are baffled by the callousness of the many absurd and ridiculous statements expressed in the press and on the Internet, well then, Katrina is the wake-up call that perhaps we need. For beyond the immenseness of the tragedy and loss of countless persons, the lesson to be gathered from this disaster is that it raises the question of who we are as a people, as a nation, and why have we so miserably failed.
When the forms and structures of our city fall away, the jails, the police, the law, the economies of buying and selling and of work, we are left naked and exposed to the brute reality of just what is a city: and what is a city? Without going too deep into an anthropological survey of its origins, I think we can safely say that a city exists on two basic fronts: one is a state of war where many poor people, and some other less poor people, must work and survive and scramble to procure their basic necessities- necessities which by the way are NOT scarce albeit for a false sense of scarcity created by a system that must create a false sense of scarcity in order to maintain a system of privilege and wealth. And on the other front we have the multitude of citizens who pacifically co-exist with each other: creating, helping, working, loving, despairing, hoping, dying: millions of mostly poor people who simply by reason of their innate goodness get along.
Yet, and it’s a big yet, in our CULTURE, what are the prevailing ideas that guide and influence the behavior and mindsets of these multitudes? Well if we look at “Big Brother” and other reality shows, for example, where to compete, lie, maneuver and basically F___ over your competitor is the way to win; if we examine the prevailing winds that say to be greedy and selfish is the way to get ahead; if we scrutinize conflict where to launch violence against your neighbors is justified; if we see that to get ahead in the world means to step over your co-workers; if we acknowledge that a person’s worth is based on how much one accumulates money and status symbols, we see then that many if not most, aspects of our so called culture are based on the cult of competition, greed and selfish individualism. With the messages that we are bombarded with everyday (not to mention the enormous amount of violence we see, and while I’m at it, thank you NRA, the idea that we have a right to buy and use guns to defend yourself, i.e. that killing is sometimes justified), IS IT ANY WONDER that what we have seen this last week in New Orleans presents the worst characteristics of our culture?!
In simple words, a crisis brings out the best or the worst in us. WE are to blame: not Bush, not the government, not the racism of Yahoo or the media. We have not laid the necessary groundwork of a caring nation. Which do we teach: Everyman for himself, or, All for one and one for all?
To finish: last night I saw the DVD Meet John Doe (by F. Capra). It’s the story of a rising social movement outside of the political mainstream of party politics, of a grass root movement of compassion for the underdog, of getting to know your neighbors (who nobody knows in America); of people solving problems by their own initiative (there was a telling scene of a welfare administrator lamenting that their offices were now becoming obsolete thanks to the work of community organizations, the John Doe Clubs.). This is exactly what is lacking in the USA. There is little sense of helping one another, of self-initiating and not waiting for the government, of creating real communities and extended families and tribes; of a real counter-culture to this culture of selfishness and greed. (All of these positive things DO exist of course, but they are drowned out by mass media and ‘popular’ culture, a veritable swamp of lies and false values.)
When disasters strikes, and I believe we will face other disasters soon enough in this world, be it crisis from energy, ecology or economic, then we will see the great distance between our professed ideas and ideals coming again into sharp relief with our actual behavior. To talk the talk is not enough; we must begin to walk the walk: with our neighbor, the stranger, the immigrant, the person of a different color, or religion or sexuality- to walk, rich and poor together. And hopefully the rich and the many of us who emulate their ethics and morals will let go of this culture of privilege and selfishness that continues to divide us. We see now too clearly just how dangerous and evil this society of the “me-culture” has become. It’s time we started preparing ourselves. Is this asking too much?
18 - Eric Olsen
Gary, what do you mean Blogcritics will not let you post this opinion?
Marvin, have you seen my shift? It appears to be missing
19 - Pete Blackwell
Nalle,
I think you miss the point. Limbaugh was saying that race has nothing to do with this. He says it's culture. Yet he can't even make his argument without using race to explain it.
So, even if the culture of black New Orleans contributed to the fact that many residents didn't have cars or means to flee, do you agree with the decision to let them die? Because it's their fault? I doubt you do. They should have been taken care of by our government. The failure to do so is a disgrace. That's what Rush is arguing against.
20 - KL
No, no, no. This poster does not get it, so neither do many of the readers of the post. Mr. Limbaugh does not believe that these people should die because they are liberals(?) or anything of the sort. Let me enlighten you on what he was saying...and what the facts are. This, of course, is a sensitive subject, but I won't beat around the bush. The fact is that New Orleans has a large poor population. They also have a large black population. The two do not necessarily have to go together, but in this case they do. The reason that these black people are poor is not because of their skin color. No one in this day and age says "Because you are black you are not allowed to succeed or to prosper". They are allowed to go as far as their ambitions will take them. And that is where the problems lie. The majority of those people are not motivated to succeed and escape their circumstances. And why is that? Because of the liberal viewpoint that they are not capable of achieving as much as the rest of us; that they are "victims" and need our sympathy and government help. This does them such a great disservice by teaching them not to rely on themselves, but to the government for subsistence. This, naturally, does not foster a rugged sense of individualism or self-reliance. And with this kind of attitude and worldview, they will never be able to excel, but rather to sit passively by and allow their fates to be decided for them. We've seen this all too plainly this past week. This is what Rush Limbaugh was saying, and this is what he means about liberalism being detrimental to society. It is why the liberals are the truly biased, even racist, among us. Conservatives believe that everyone has the ability to succeed, you just have to work hard, have integrity and use the gifts that God has given you. No, those aren't dirty words, even today. Black, white, Hispanic, you name it, they all have opportunity in this country. All races are equally qualified to achieve excellence. I hope I have made myself clear, and shed some light on the truth of all this. My heart goes out to all the survivors, I am a Floridian so I know all to well it could easily have been me. I have given as much money as I can to help them. This is no time for finger-pointing, but when people attack things I care about, I will defend them.
21 - rwood
The above is the best post of the day.I grew up as a liberal but am ashamed to say that the liberal concept has been hi-jacked by demigods.
22 - Heloise
Being able to get a job, with a living wage, helps. I taught in inner city schools and tried to get a job in the regular business world and have as yet been unable to do so I became a teacher, after trying for many years to get a job in the world of business.
Let me tell you there are offices and places that one might want to work but if you are not white or Jewish or Mexican the chances are slim to none. The construction jobs are damn-near locked up with the influx of Mexicans.
The white, white collar jobs are locked in by whites and Jews who are well-educated and good with numbers. Black people have a problem with math, a serious problem let me tell you. I know, I am not guessing.
You have to know something to start a business so that leaves out people who are anti-math and anti-school. For the blacks who did get education in this country and there are many...most work for governmental agencies and service-type jobs and low-wage shit.
As for NOLA that is another country. It truly is. You see all the fat ass, black people they are showing who can barely walk? Who could not fit into a regular car, and have no cars? This is par for the course. They are on relief, the dole, welfare, SSI, streetwalkers, drug dealers, project dwellers. No one seems to understand that NOLA is the UNDERBELLY of America.
God has judged them and rightly so. This is NOT the fault of white people, I repeat this is not the fault of white people. I blame any people who does not control its own educational system in order to determine its destiny. Until and unless blacks wake up and stop allowing Jewish intellectuals to run the schools and to think for them...they will continue to drown in shit.
Heloise
23 - Pete Blackwell
What a truly disgusting comment, Heloise. How can you even use the word "education" when you're spewing that kind of racist garbage. Oh, and Jewish people are white, the last time I checked. How 'last-century' of you to claim otherwise.
KL, it's ironic that you say I do not "get it" and then you go on to not "get it" yourself in your long, pointless comment.
So, here's "it": when a huge, category 5 hurricane bears down on a major US city with plenty of warning, it is the combined responsibility of local, state and federal authorities to evacuate the city and provide for the citizens' safety.
The fact that over 100,000 people were left behind to die is not a failure of the local, liberal political ideology. It is a failure of the federal political ideology, which, last time I checked was all about compassionate conservatism and safeguarding American lives. (Pause for laughter.)
It's not welfare to expect the government to save you from a hurricane. It's common sense. What happened is not the victims' fault and it's not the friggin judgment of God.
24 - Bob A. Booey
Typically cheap, dismissive "blaming the victim" nonsense.
Limbaugh's such an idiot. Perhaps you should tune in more often, Dave -- he has lots of great things to say about the "culture of dependency and failure" that would really get your blood to boil just the way you like.
That is all.
25 - MCH
"Sounds like Rush is right on target...again."
- Dan
Oh really? Kinda like when he said that "all drug addicts need to be sent up the river for good;" except for when HE got busted for purchasing black market narcotics.
Your boy Lardbaugh's a phony and a hypocrite, Danny, among other things.