Media Overlook Limbaugh’s Ethnically-Charged Insult Against LA Mayor
Media Overlook Limbaugh’s Ethnically-Charged Insult Against LA Mayor
Yesterday, as ThinkProgress reported, Rush Limbaugh went on Fox News and insulted Los Angeles’s Hispanic mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Limbaugh said that when he first met Villaraigosa, he thought he “was either the shoe shine guy or a Secret Service agent.” Yesterday on his radio show, Limbaugh again repeated the story:
I shook his hand, he left, comes back, the mayor of Los Angeles, I thought it was a Secret Service agent, maybe a shoeshine guy. Turns out he gives me his card, I said, “Oh, my gosh, it’s the mayor of Los Angeles.” I stood up, I said, “Hello, Mr. Villaraigosa.
Limbaugh’s remarks were in response to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) joke that he has a crush on her. While major media outlets reported on Limbaugh’s Fox apearance, all overlooked his insult to Villaraigosa:
ABC’s Jake Tapper: Tapper noted the “shoe shine” quote, but did not note its discriminatory nature. [Link]
Time’s Mark Halperin: Halperin did not note the “shoe shine” quote at all, focusing instead on Limbaugh’s allegations that President Bill Clinton hit on his date. [Link]
Politico’s Jonathan Martin: Martin also did not note the “shoe shine” quote and also focused instead on Limbaugh’s allegations that Clinton hit on his date. [Link]
Portfolio reports that Villaraigosa plans to release a statement today in response to Limbaugh’s comments. Perhaps then the media might notice.
There will be no national debate about whether he should step down as there was when Imus referred to a women's basketball team in a derogatory fashion. There will be no national outrage like there was following the racist vocal vomiting of "comedian" Michael Richards. There will be no slam down and painful lame excuses like those offered by Mel Gibson after his anti-Semitic comments. The rules for Latinos are different.Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition also responds here.
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i swear, if it wasn’t for the endless fantasizing about bill clinton’s sex life, the washington dc political press corps would have no sexual gratification at all.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:35 pmrush’s date was an “escort“.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:36 pmBill Clinton hit on a mirror?
May 6th, 2008 at 12:39 pmWhat can I say? Rush is slime and the corporate media isn’t far behind.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:39 pmWell, seriously, all anyone needs to do is report the shoe shine line. They don’t need to point out the obvious racism. Ignoring it entirely while concentrating on The Clenis, though, isn’t that special?
Still, I’d love to know who the “date” was. And how much Rush had to pay her.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:41 pmQuestion is: Just how much did Limpballs pay his “DATE” (can anyone say Escort Service?)
May 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pmMassah Buttboil can’t even get his racist stereotypes right. Shoeshine boys are black; chicanos are groundskeepers or stable boys. Jeez.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pmcavjam Says:
Massah Buttboil can’t even get his racist stereotypes right. Shoeshine boys are black; chicanos are groundskeepers or stable boys. Jeez.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
____
Judging by the picture, I’m thinking Mayor Villaraigosa is more of a pool boy than a shoeshine boy.
As in the one who walks in while the lonely housewife is sunbathing naked and then the wah-wah music starts.
Seriously - look at that guy and tell me he hasn’t done soft-core!
May 6th, 2008 at 12:48 pmdid rush Limpdick just call the mayor of L.A. ‘ a phoney mayor” ?
Did I just ‘jumped the snark’?
May 6th, 2008 at 12:53 pmI believe Keith Olbermann mentioned it, but I haven’t seen it in any other media.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:53 pmSilly blogger. Making a stink out of comments is for DEMOCRATS!
May 6th, 2008 at 12:54 pmanymouse19 Says:
The reference to a “secret service agent or a shoe shine guy” is a reference back to a story Rush covered previously about secret service agents keeping a shoe shine guy away from Barack Obama.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
_______
Ah yes, that must be it. Cause black people don’t wear shoes, right? More racism from the Rushbo!
May 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pma story Rush covered previously about secret service agents keeping a shoe shine guy away from Barack Obama.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
no one can be considered a reliable source who is so conversant in Limb-ology. just imagine the amount of fascist, racist, sexist dreck to which one would have to submit oneself to have mined that tidbit. this is not anything a sane, responsible person does…
May 6th, 2008 at 12:58 pmSlimebaugh is the modern embodiment (!) of Nixon’s Sec of Ag, one Earl Butz, who was taped remarking, iirc, that all ‘them negroes’ cared about was ‘loose shows and tight pussy’…and was soon thereafter released from his Cabinet duties. This was of course well before the release of the tapes of Billy Gaham engaging in some Oval Office anti-semitism…one wonders if kissinger was in the room any time billy g also was?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:02 pmThey ddidn’t cover this upto protect Rush, it was to protect Hillary Clintonfrom charges she can’t control her husband. If she can’t control Bill Clinton now, how can she control him if he’s running around the White House with nothing to do. So the media who are in the tank for Hillary Clinton had a more complicated plot in mind when they decided to cover this up. As for Rush being a racist, that’s nothing new to anyone who has paid attention to the racist things he’s said against African Americans for years.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:04 pmanymouse19 Says:
13. No. Actually, Barack Obama was wearing shoes, and the shoe shine guy they blew off was white (click link for picture). More racism from toasterhead.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Ohhh, so now you’re insinuating that white people can’t shine shoes? Is that it, Trajan?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:10 pmSo, ‘Operation Chaos’ includes Bill Clinton?
Rush, you must be very lonely to have to hire a date.
Whassamadda? No young Dominican boys in L.A., or is just the thought of a Hispanic being Mayor of L.A. more than you can ’swallow’?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pmAh, well, now, Mayor Villaraigosa is a Democrat, and therefore fair game for any slime any reichwingers wish to pull out of their collective asses.
“Karl Rove Playbook” - page 2, paragraph 6
May 6th, 2008 at 1:16 pmanymouse19 Says:
19. Actually, it was you that assumed that shoe shine guys must be people of color when the actual shoe shine guy from the Obama story was white. Your racism is showing toasterhead.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
And you’re the one who doesn’t think black people wear shoes. Talk about the pot calling the kettle a shoeshine boy!!
May 6th, 2008 at 1:21 pmCan any troll (such as anymouse) explain how Rush calling the mayor of Los Angeles a “shoe shine guy” makes any sense even given the reference to the story about the Secret Service?
And, given the fact that Limpballs says the incident with Villaragosa happened “about a year ago”, and the Secret Service-shoe shine guy incident happened in April, how does Rush explain making the connection in his mind? Can he see the future?
Or is he just the fat racist he plays on the radio?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:22 pmanymouse19 Says:
19. Actually, it was you that assumed that shoe shine guys must be people of color when the actual shoe shine guy from the Obama story was white. Your racism is showing toasterhead.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Also - shoe shine boys do not go by the label “shoe shine boy” any more. The politically correct term is “footwear reflectivity facilitator.”
Get it straight, Mr. P!
May 6th, 2008 at 1:23 pmThen there was the time Rush tried to hit on my 3-year-old nephew.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:23 pmAfricanMexican Says:
anymouse19 Says:
I wonder if the political colleagues of these two approve of their interspecies dating?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:25 pmThe troll seems to ignore he is pushing his explanation to the “shoe shine” comment -not Limbaugh’s.
Why this ditto head thinks we should believe his half-cooked take on the story is a mystery to me.
Whatever your interpretation, fact remains Limbaugh insulted the mayor of one of the largest cities in the US. It seems to me no dark-skinned man can escape Limbaugh’s offensive babble.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:25 pmI can understand Rush’s obsession with shoes and shoeshines, however. The guy probably hasn’t seen his own shoes since the Carter Administration.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:26 pmMethinks anymouse19 = goon_golly guys.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:27 pmIgnoranceIsNotBliss Says:
Methinks anymouse19 = goon_golly guys.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Ah yes. You’re probably right. The typing is too correct to be Trajan and there’s not enough piss-and-vinegar to be Mr. P. And yet it knew about my long history of racist statements on the Internet (I have on several occasions insinuated that Armenians reproduce by budding). I think your theory is correct.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:30 pmMethinks anymouse19 = goon_golly guys.
How can one tell? They all look and sound alike from a distance and who can get past the smell to get closer to look for any distinguishing characteristics?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:31 pmAnd, given the fact that Limpballs says the incident with Villaragosa happened “about a year ago”, and the Secret Service-shoe shine guy incident happened in April, how does Rush explain making the connection in his mind? Can he see the future?
There you go again ralph, injecting logic into the conversation.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:32 pmMost trolls -and this one is no exception- always believe their opinions are facts.
I wonder if their moms dropped them one too many times on their head. Assuming they ever knew their biological mom was, that is.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:32 pmAh yes. You’re probably right. The typing is too correct to be Trajan and there’s not enough piss-and-vinegar to be Mr. P. And yet it knew about my long history of racist statements on the Internet (I have on several occasions insinuated that Armenians reproduce by budding). I think your theory is correct.
zactly. It’s goon_golly.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:33 pmThere is racial overtones to this story (and yes, that’s all it is, a fabricated story).
A rich, Oxycodone addicted white male is approached by a gentleman of Hispanic descent, and his first impression is “a shoe shine guy”?
Why couldn’t he just have been a patron attending the party?
I believe the addition of “or a secret service agent” was to dilute the blatant racial overtones.
Remember, Rush hates the Clintons, even going as far as ridiculing Chelsea’s looks on his short lived TV show. So of course he’s saying that Bill hit on his date (PFFFFFTTTT!), yet the importance of the “story”, that OxyContin breath equates the mayor of Los Angeles to a shoe shine boy is somehow missed???
May 6th, 2008 at 1:35 pmLiberal media, but A$$!!!
anymouse, can you explain HOW this wasn’t a racist comment?
Unless the Mayor was carrying a shoe-shine kit, it sure sounds racist to me. (Of course, if the mayor had been carrying a shoe-shine kit, then the “Secret Service” line would have been quite insulting to the Secret Service.)
May 6th, 2008 at 1:39 pmmanylouse19 Says:
How is it being a “troll” to put a comment in context?
I signed on to this site about 2 days ago. I’m trying to be fair. We just happen to disagree on a few points.
gotta call Bull hockey on that one!
May 6th, 2008 at 1:40 pmPlease answer ralph’s questions on post #25.
anymouse19 Says:
How is it being a “troll” to put a comment in context?
Being a troll is ignoring the evidence that your “context” requires a time machine.
When will you respond to Ralph?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:42 pmThe truth lies within the following movies; Network and http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com Watch and learn the truth. We must engauge our system before the HACKS run us down to the ground.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:47 pmanymouse19 Says:
How is it being a “troll” to put a comment in context?
I don’t even know who Mr. P, goon golly or Trajan are. I signed on to this site about 2 days ago. I’m trying to be fair. We just happen to disagree on a few points.
Um..Anymouse? Some unsolicited advice? DON’T get involved with the Troll thing.
BE the Troll. EMBRACE the Troll. Best advice I ever got here.
If you are new to the blog, you should know that if you are anywhere to the right of Dennis Kucinich you will get called a Troll at times. It is no biggie, it doesn’t really even mean anything. Derailing threads is true Trollish behavior, which you aren’t doing.
And yes, Toasterhead is a crack up (budding Armenians indeed!) but he is no racist.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:49 pmOh dear. It appears I have been ungracious to our new friend anymouse19.
anymouse is simply trying to be fair (we just disagree on a few points) but I must have said something unwelcoming, because anymouse seems to have left.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:51 pmKeltoi Says:
Um..Anymouse? Some unsolicited advice? DON’T get involved with the Troll thing.
BE the Troll. EMBRACE the Troll. Best advice I ever got here.
So you’re recommending that he ignore any evidence that refutes his “context”?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:52 pmKeltoi, yes, you do get called a troll here, most times undeservedly.
But you should be able to recognize a genuine troll when you see one by now, hm?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:53 pmgummitch Says:
——————————————————————————–
Keltoi Says:
Um..Anymouse? Some unsolicited advice? DON’T get involved with the Troll thing.
BE the Troll. EMBRACE the Troll. Best advice I ever got here.
So you’re recommending that he ignore any evidence that refutes his “context”?
No, not at all, the failure to answer the psychic time traveller thing is legit, I just cringe when someone says “why are you calling me a troll?”. I played that game for a year or more til Zooey told me she had been called a troll, then the pointlessness of the word came home to me.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:08 pmanymouse19 Says:
How is it being a “troll” to put a comment in context?
You say “potato”, I say “potahto”.
You say “put a comment in context”, I say “grasping at straws”.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:12 pmYep. I’m afraid I chased off our good friend anymouse19.
My bad. And he was just trying to fair. Probably balanced, too.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:31 pmIt should be considered a complement!
REALLY?
Then you won’t mind me telling you that yo mama fcuked the shoeshine boy.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:46 pmthere are no dishonorable professions, only dishonorable people in them, or so it is said.
me? i’d say currency speculator–any kind of speculator, indeed–was by definition dishonorable and attracted only dishonorable people to them…
May 6th, 2008 at 2:49 pmI wonder if the bloviating lardass ever mistook Gonzo or Mel Martinez for a shoe-shine boy.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:20 pmExit Stage Left Says:I wonder if the bloviating lardass ever mistook Gonzo or Mel Martinez for a shoe-shine boy.
I don’t know, but I once mistook Mel Marinez for a Cuban cigar.
Re anymouse; reminds me of the Leave it to Beaver episode when Mom said, ‘Wally, don’t you think your were a little hard on the Beaver last night?…
May 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm“Look! It’s a brown person, therefore they have a lowly job!”
May 6th, 2008 at 3:40 pm~Typical reich-winger/Pedo-Rush/Anymouse
It’s going to be a great day for America when oral cancer catches up to pedo-Rush.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:43 pmthe day my shoe shine boy starts wearing 1000 Dollar suits, is the day I stop TIPPING him .
May 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pmLimbaugh refers to the Democratic mayor of one of America’s largest cities with an obvious ethnic slur, and this Democrat enabler can’t even work up the spine to call him on it.
My wife is Mexican-American, and if anyone called any of her relatives a shoeshine boy, all kinds of mayhem would follow. Apparently, she’s got bigger balls than Villaraigosa does. If he won’t stand up for himself, why should anyone else?
May 6th, 2008 at 4:09 pmWho was Limpdong’s date?….Larry Craig? I guess if Bill talks to any woman he’s hitting on them?…but there I go trying to use lodgic about Limpdong. Olbermann did a piece on this,and well done.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:30 pmSo we are finally gonna get that time space continuum problem solved
May 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pmObviously you do not.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pmSo answer the llama’s question
May 6th, 2008 at 4:53 pm