I’ve hesitated mentioning this because it’s basically had 24/7 coverage on the MSM channels since Thursday, but Jeff Cohen at Alternet brings up a valid point about the Right’s outrage over Hugo Chavez calling Bush "El Diablo" at the U.N.:
Among those exercised (and exorcized) about Chavez’ name-calling were some of the loudest name-callers in American media today — including Rush Limbaugh and other rightwing talk hosts. Limbaugh tried to equate Chavez’ remarks with the alleged Bush-bashing that comes from top U.S. Democrats. In case you’ve forgotten,
- It was Limbaugh who ridiculed Chelsea Clinton, then 13, as the "White House dog;"
- It was Limbaugh in 2001 who routinely referred to Democratic leader Tom Daschle, literally, as "El Diablo." Along with "Devil in a Blue Dress" theme music, Limbaugh would carry on at length about how Daschle may well be Satan in soft-spoken disguise. Bellowed Limbaugh in July 2001: "Just yesterday, as Bush winged his way to Europe on a crucial mission to lead our allies into the 21st century…up pops ‘El Diablo,’ Tom Daschle, and his devilish deviltry, claiming that George Bush is incompetent."
(Read the rest of this story…)
Nicole Belle, Crooks and Liars
2 comments:
"It was Limbaugh who ridiculed Chelsea Clinton, then 13, as the "White House dog;"
Urban lergend. Rush never said that.
I beg to differ with the previous anonymous poster. A Google search reveals the following:
(1) Columnist Molly Ivins reported this incident in the Arizona Republic on October 17, 1993.(http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1895)
(2) Roxanne Roberts, a well-respected Washington Post staff writer, reported the incident on February 27, 1996 (Page D01)
(3) Wikipedia also reports the incident (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh): On November 6, 1992, three days after the presidential election, Limbaugh made a reference to Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President-elect Bill Clinton, Limbaugh stated: "Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat; Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is also a White House dog?" -- a picture of Chelsea then appeared onscreen. Although Limbaugh has claimed it was a technical error, as Al Franken documented in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, the show was on a tape delay, so if truly a technical error, it could have been corrected prior to the show's airing. Limbaugh countered that the TV show was a big drain on his time and did not include retakes. Limbaugh apologized on his show, claiming fatigue. A few days later, he said, "I don't need to get laughs by commenting on people's looks, especially a young child who's done nothing wrong. I mean, [Chelsea] can't control the way she looks." [An apology and then a back-handed slap – classy guy.]
The original post never says Rush "said" it, but he did in fact - through the words he used and the photo shown - convey to the viewer exactly the ridicule he meant to deliver.
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