Limbaugh Compares Midwest Flood To Katrina: ‘I Want To See The Murders’
Limbaugh Compares Midwest Flood To Katrina: ‘I Want To See The Murders’
On Tuesday, Rush Limbaugh went on a blatantly racist rant comparing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to that of the Midwest floods, saying, “I look at Iowa, I look at Illinois — I want to see the murders. I want to see the looting. I want to see all the stuff that happened in New Orleans.” He continued:
I see devastation in Iowa and Illinois that dwarfs what happened in New Orleans. I see people working together. I see people trying to save their property . . . I don’t see a bunch of people running around waving guns at helicopters, I don’t see a bunch of people running shooting cops. I don’t see a bunch of people raping people on the street. I don’t see a bunch of people doing everything they can . . . whining and moaning, “Where’s FEMA, where’s Bush?” I see the heartland of America. When I look at Iowa and when I look at Illinois, I see the backbone of America.
Listen to the audio at Crooks & Liars.
Limbaugh also claimed “we all know why” we didn’t see “Shepard Smith or Geraldo or anybody else” in Mississippi following Katrina:
This was an excellent opportunity to bash Republicans and conservatives under the time-honored and old-hat cliche that they are racists and that they are sexists and that they are bigots and that they are homophobes, and when a flood happens to minorities, “Republicans don’t care. Bush doesn’t care. I mean, Bush might have even steered the hurricane right in there! Bush wanted half the residents of New Orleans to leave so that the Republicans could win the state in future elections,” da-da-da-da-da.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest hurricanes and the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, displacing more than half a million people, killing over 1700, and causing $81.2 billion in direct damage.
FEMA has admitted it is applying lessons learned from its abysmal response to Katrina to the present disaster. Sadly, as the Iowa City Press Citizen reports, “Unfortunately for public safety officials, crime and fires don’t take a break during a natural disaster” — even in the heartland of America. Although the Midwest floods are responsible for a much smaller loss of life, their economic impact will likewise be tremendous — unlike Rush, deadly weather does not care about party, race, or media coverage.
UPDATE: At the Ethicurean, Elanor asks, “Will people survive the flood, loss of cropland, and waterlogged houses just to be poisoned by their drinking water?” She notes that the Bush administration has steadily cut funding to stream and river gauges, the National Water Quality Assessment program, the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, the Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, the National Stream Water Quality Accounting Network, and NASA’s climate satellites.
As the Wonk Room has previously noted, the Bush administration also shuttered regional EPA libraries, reopening them years later in starkly reduced capacity. The EPA’s Midwest Regional Administrator, Mary Gade, was fired after trying to get Dow Chemical to clean up riparian pollution.
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4 Responses to “Limbaugh Compares Midwest Flood To Katrina: ‘I Want To See The Murders’”
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PHUCK YOU,Limbaugh and BUSH and the rest of you warmongerer`s and bigots and homophobes and racist.Bush and company dropped the Ball in New Orleans, because of the magnitude of Katrina or any other hurricane, looting and pillaging are what people like the Reich would harp about instead of trying to help people who`s lives have been devastated and ruined.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:57 amF**k u Limbaugh. You’re an embarassment to the human race.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:58 amWe as Republicans can once again thank Mr. Rush Limbaugh for showing the rest of the world just why there is the constant perception of elitist, racist, and uncaring qualities that others have towards us.
I am appalled to hear about what Limbaugh said about the Katrina victims in comparison to those in the Midwest who recently suffered tragedy and destruction due to tornadoes. The main reason why many readers and viewers of the news saw victims of Katrina as looters and criminals is because, ironically enough, the media portrayed individuals as such. When most of us live in a world that is outside the boundaries of Katrina, all we have to rely on is the media to inform us of what is happening during these circumstances. It is the media who frames these words and images into our minds, which is what helps shape our perceptions of world events, such as Katrina. Just as there were many who stole and looted, there were an equal amount of people who refrained from doing so. However, the sensation and the news unfortunately belies within those who have done wrong. The same can be said for those in the Midwest. It would be unrealistic to imagine an entire region unaffected by looters and criminals taking advantage of a golden, but sad opportunity. However, once again, the media are the ones who frame the images and words we see and hear, and they chose to portray the healing of the victims rather than any of the crime that probably went on as well. Just because the media isn’t reporting it or isn’t showing it to us doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
Rush, understand that the reason you feel the way you do (as incorrectly as it is) is because your own comrades, the media, chose to frame similar stories in dissimilar ways, and you like many others based your opinions on what was spoon-fed to you. Because you chose to believe something based solely on what you saw and heard, and not on your own research, you ended making comments that were unnecessary and harmful to your reputation and career. By also giving these remarks, you also hurt the Republican Party to whom is so dear to you. These comments only further people’s perceptions of Republicans as unconcerned with poverty and tragedy that affects thousands and thousands of lives.
If you’re going to continue to be a help to the Republican Party this year, then stop making these stupid, uneducated comments. Get smart, Rush, or just glue your mouth shut.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:49 pmIt’s interesting how people respond with rage to what Rush said. Exposing the media hypocrisy of the two events seems to strike a nerve. If only those responding with rage could calm down enough to realize who it is that Rush is criticizing (MSM).
The people of New Orleans had been bragging for years how if the big one came, the city would be under water. Well it came, and the city government-the first responders failed the citizens. Next in line, the state government failed to respond. Leaving the FEDs to have to come in and cope with the “chocolate city”.
All the while the BIG MEDIA fed us images of rape and murder, and no one was there to stop it. And the public ate it up, believing that Katrina was Bush’s fault.
Because he failed to build the levees or reinforce them, Katrina was his fault; that because it was such a strong storm, it just HAD to caused by GLOBAL WARMING, and because GW is caused by BUSH, the storm was his fault again.
Because New Orleans had a significant minority population and “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”, Bush let the storm happen - thus its his fault.
I wish I could feel sorry for the people who can’t seem to grasp who the real culprits are among us.
Katrina happened. People in all forms of government who failed to plan for this eventuality, and those so-called environmentalists who stopped the construction of levees along the Mississippi, can take a bow for it’s outcome.
The media that could get crews into the floodzone, but not supplies can take a bow. They played their part, the public accepted it as gospel, and the Democratic party capitalized on others misery for political gain – bottom line.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:35 pm