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439 Comments
- freedomjoe, on 01/25/2009, -38/+355"In a time like this, when tempers are riding high and many Americans are close to panic about their jobs and finances, you have a special responsibility to consider the accuracy of what you say and the consequences of inflammatory and erroneous statements. In the last few days, manifestly distorting my words and pulling them out of context, you have accused me of wanting to exclude white males from jobs generated by the stimulus package. Anyone who takes a moment to examine what I actually said and wrote knows this to be an absurd misrepresentation of my position (see this). My goal is and has always been to create as many opportunities for as wide a group as possible, and not exclude anyone from access. There is and has never been any ambiguity about this. The hate mail I have received since your broadcast suggests that the mischievous consequences of your demagoguery are potentially dangerous, in addition to being destructive of rational and constructive political discourse. I urge you to take responsibility for your words. Words and ideas have real world consequences, and you have demonstrated a cavalier disregard for both."
EXCELLENT response. Looks the like end is near. - novenator, on 01/25/2009, -52/+277Limbaugh and Hannity can eat all the dicks
- Dipsomaniac, on 01/25/2009, -22/+165He can urge Malkin et al to take responsibility for their words all the live long day, but we all know that's just not going to happen.
- MediaWeasel, on 01/25/2009, -33/+172Good to read. It needed saying.
Sometimes I wonder how much these right wing "pundits" (I use the term advisedly) get paid by the Republican party to misinterpret and lie and distort. I note that they are dismayed by the uncovering of Bush administration papers and emails for scrutiny and the instatement of something akin to the Fairness Doctrine .. puffed up airbags are likely to be punctured by sharper minds. - AgeofMastery, on 01/26/2009, -13/+132Specifically, they can eat Coulter's dick
- thejimmyo, on 01/25/2009, -12/+93This is what Reich said:
"[I]f there aren't enough skilled professionals to do the jobs involving new technologies, the stimulus will just increase the wages of the professionals who already have the right skills rather than generate many new jobs in these fields. And if construction jobs go mainly to white males who already dominate the construction trades, many people who need jobs the most -- women, minorities, and the poor and long-term unemployed -- will be shut out."
http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/01/stimulus-h ...
As I read it, Reich was calling for a broader range of targets for the stimulus. If it focuses disproportionally on construction, then the job creation will largely leave out women, to take one example. If, however, it focuses on a broader range, it will help out everyone.
For example, if the stimulus package focuses more on health care and education, women will see some of the stimulus' benefits as well.
I think it was a distortion for Limbaugh to say that "he wants it to go to inexperienced minorities and single women." Limbaugh appears to be playing the sadly-effective race card here, drumming up fear that the Robert Reich just wants to tax white people and hand out their money to "inexperienced minorities."
I also think it was a distortion for Michelle Malkin to say that Reich was expressing the "same old Democrat mentality of treating people based on the color of their skin rather than the content of their character or the content of their resumes." She then held herself out as the defender of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was sad to read.
Hannity similarly displayed part of Reich's comments, and snidely commented, "Now here I thought the package was intended for everybody." I guess that Hannity missed the point of Reich's comments, too.
In the end, I have to disagree with you when you say that "criticism of Reich's words is justified," and that he "deserves any reaming he gets for this one." - newfrickinshow, on 01/26/2009, -31/+111Oh my goodness. You mean to tell me that Limbaugh, Malkin, and Hannity were untruthful and dishonest? I haven't been this shocked since I was told that the sky was up and water was wet.
- Aggaman, on 01/26/2009, -8/+83Like these ***** will pay any attention to him. None of them (especially Malkin) has any respect for facts or accuracy.
Throw shoes at them. - Alheithinn, on 01/25/2009, -21/+96Beautiful. I have posted this in full, with the link, on all the threads here on digg by Right Wingnuts featuring claims like "white males need not apply". I may have missed a few; there are probably dozens the way these people repeat themselves.
- ADVIZR, on 01/26/2009, -12/+59Limbaugh, FOX News, Hannity, Coulter, and all the other fools are the greatest thing to ever happen to democrats and liberals. That's because these people/orgs cause the thinking public to associate the republican party with what it now is: lies, idiocy, simple-mindedness.
The GOP sacrificed appealing to intellect for appealing to a big pool of voters who are more ignorant. I can't really blame them since reality, for the most party, /does/ have a "liberal bias." So they don't have many options of who to appeal to.
Luckily, more people are becoming aware and less ignorant as time goes on. Thank you, Internet (and GOP propagandists)! - homercles337, on 01/25/2009, -14/+59It needs to be said again, and again, and again...Faux News needs to stop their divisive, dishonest rhetoric.
- ThsGuyRightHere, on 01/25/2009, -6/+47They don't need to be on anyone's payroll. Their audience will support their cushy lifestyle on their own without any middleman.
- JenniferInMO, on 01/25/2009, -20/+56NO.
Reich was NOT wrong in what he said. His words were twisted to mean something that he did not mean. They did it for the ratings, the money and to cause divisiveness. That's all.
btw: please note that when you respond so intensely contrarily how the person reading is immediately put into a defensive position. It makes it difficult after that to consider what you have to say. - JimmyIkon, on 01/26/2009, -12/+46In his own words. You make the call.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opxuUj6vFa4 - anothrnbdy, on 01/26/2009, -11/+44Can I buy my pot from you?
- SirBruce, on 01/26/2009, -4/+36You're missing the point. Yes, it's wrong to simply state that he's saying that none of the money should go to white construction workers. But Rush played the full quote, in context, for everyone to understand the real underlying issue - racism.
Suppose a politician had said something like: "White middle class workers are being hit very hard by this recession too, and I think more of the stimulus package needs to be aimed at them. I'm not saying no money should go to minorities... I'm just concerned that too much of it is and not enough is going to white middle class workers." Many, on the left particularly, would be crying racism. The fact is there are more white people than minorities (though not for much longer), so it's only natural that they receive more benefit if the benefit is allocated strictly equitably. You can argue that the poor may "need' more jobs stimulus, but if you argue that a middle-class minority needs more jobs stimulus than a middle-class white, that's racism.
If race isn't a factor, then there's no need to bring it up. No, what he's saying is that race is inherently a factor because whites have an a priori predisposition to have the better jobs that will benefit from the stimulus. He *wants* race to be a factor... he wants more benefits given the minorities than would otherwise be apportioned.
It's that old joke about the New York Times headline "World to End - Women and Minorities Hardest Hit". Many Liberals want to disproportionally help minorities that are deemed to have special needs simply by virtue of skin color. Many Conservatives would rather apply the same standard to everyone, or at least have it based on economic class rather than perceived social status. - Alheithinn, on 01/25/2009, -8/+39Where's Cathy Griffith to knock them out of their mouths?
- anothrnbdy, on 01/26/2009, -7/+38*wooooosh*
- normlsparky, on 01/26/2009, -10/+40Never buy pot from a republican.
- inactive, on 01/26/2009, -27/+54Limbaugh, Malkin, and Hannity three people who are lucky that gitmo is closing.
- extraqueso, on 01/26/2009, -16/+42because it wasn't justified maybe?
- shupy, on 01/26/2009, -6/+31They aren't paid by Republicans. However, Newt Gingrich was the one who proposed the idea of using the right-wing pundits to promote the Republican agenda.
Unfortunately, I don't think they had any clue as to what they were encouraging. If they did, shame on them. - inactive, on 01/26/2009, -7/+30Great job... They have nerve to call fox a news station, what a joke! Fox news = oxy-moron.
- twiztidsinz, on 01/26/2009, -14/+37Limbaugh distorting words??
THATS UNPOSSIBLE!!!! - Kodiak41226, on 01/26/2009, -19/+42I heard what he said, how could you take those words in any other context?
Reich, you doche bag, you forgot to mention Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck. - geoffg, on 01/26/2009, -7/+28Truth is sooo 20th century, we're trying to build a utopia damnit!
- Gerz1219, on 01/26/2009, -11/+32A president choosing to go to war just so he can later claim immunity from criticism as a "war president" is a little like a convicted criminal cutting off his own dick and then trying to weasel out of prison because the inmates will make fun of him for not having a penis.
That said, truthers have always been a fringe radical group denounced by almost all mainstream commentators. Here is Bill Maher throwing a bunch of truthers out of his studio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5BJzEshMes - Alheithinn, on 01/26/2009, -3/+23UNBELIEVABLE!
- jbhannah, on 01/26/2009, -3/+23I can see it now: Anonymous declaring war on both of them, and at the end of every article on their websites inserting "HAHA DISREGARD THAT I SUCK *****"
I don't think truer words would ever have been spoken on either site. - bugsy187, on 01/26/2009, -2/+22Newt Gingrich could have spoken out against dishonest pundits any number of times. Has he? That should tell you something.
- pintomp3, on 01/26/2009, -23/+43Good luck. These purveyors of hate thrive on ignorance and disinformation.
- Rantus, on 06/11/2009, -13/+32The Fox News crew huh? One word: Delusional. Especially Malkin, I understand people like her.
I went to a Catholic School, like her. She's the incredibly annoying, invasive, gossipy self righteous hypocrite that only sought to fit in with the phony hip crowd. She sacrificed everything she really was to be accepted by people who actually despised her and she got so used to it that she made a career out of it. I hope she's happy.
These people accomplish nothing except taking away from other people to gain for themselves. And Reich said NOT ONLY white males, and of course they're interpreting it as "white males need not apply". What a crock of *****. Yet they will talk about how bad things are in poor neighborhoods and that "these people" need to get jobs but when the opportunity comes along to actually facilitate it then they rail against it because it might actually improve the lives of "these people" and make a difference.
And by the way: If anybody out there thinks that the current contracting and construction industries aren't rife with corruption and waste then you're dreaming. Just take a look at Halliburton. The biggest fear these right wingers have is that the contracts for work aren't going to be no bid and that they aren't going to go to their corrupt friends. That's why they tirelessly bitch about everything now.
Seriously, are they this stupid and detached from reality? The obvious answer is yes. - TheRedeemer, on 01/26/2009, -3/+22Does anyone else remember that skit Reich did with Conan O'Brien as they pretended to be cops? That was one of the best skits ever!
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/93882/Conan-O- ... - treehugger87, on 01/26/2009, -3/+21AWBoy, a person taking a verifiable fact like "The White House leaked Valerie Plaine's name" or "The International Red Cross is being denied access to Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay" is VERY different than a radio host claiming that something someone wrote means something that it does not. Does Robert Reich ever say he wants to "exclude white males from jobs generated by the stimulus package?" If he did, then Limbaugh et al criticizing him for it would be valid. Otherwise they are just stirring the race pot at a time when we need national unity more than ever.
I understand a "truther" to be someone who doesn't believe the part line about 9/11. Some believe Bush & Cheney orchestrated it. It wasn't *only* people with this belief who were criticizing Bush Jr. for the past 8 years. Indeed, 78% of Americans do not approve of the job he has done. - SifuMoKung, on 01/26/2009, -2/+20Wouldn't the assumption be that people of any race or gender that would be included with the white males be qualified? To even raise the question of race or gender ineptitude is an assumption that those not traditionally included would be deficient. It's all kinda bigotry, ya'll!
- bartpieters, on 01/26/2009, -24/+42These hosts should be charged with recklessly endangering the already fragile state of economy with willful lies.
- solidcube, on 01/26/2009, -4/+21Since you're so concerned about roads and bridges, surely you're angry at the Bush Administration for cutting federal highway funding at a time when our infrastructure was collapsing.
If you want to look at a bridge, go to downtown Minneapolis.
The republican idea of infrastructure improvement is broken levies, collapsed bridges, thousands of dead people. - ictoan, on 01/26/2009, -6/+23That's true but it's still better than staying silent and let these ***** have their *****.
- sarahlee, on 01/26/2009, -14/+30Sorry, I am afraid that you and Rush and Hannity and Malkin are the ones who are wrong. You keep looking for things to hate and when you can't find them in reality, you reweave it to fit your bigoted world view. You really should be ashamed. Especially if you want our country working together to solve the immense problems we face.
- Dumbledorito, on 01/26/2009, -13/+29"Everyone else is just calling conservatives names."
Haw-haw. Conservatives can't read.*
"Stay classy and educated libs!"
Stay hateful and ignorant, AWBoy.
* This is ironic sarcasm, by the way. I figured you'd miss that. - billraydrums, on 01/26/2009, -24/+40The aforementioned muckrakers (do NOT call them journalists, rather they are pugilists) need to be called out by the 75% of Americans who find what they spew despicable.
- r0g3r, on 01/26/2009, -16/+32I dugg this, even though Hannity and Rush distorting reality for their radio and TV shows is not really news, but the norm. Rush is a big fat bag of hot air. I think all the opiates got to his mind.
- logophage, on 01/26/2009, -4/+20Yep, you don't know what "taking responsibility [for their words]" is. What else is there to say?
- TheMachine1, on 01/26/2009, -4/+20"For a handful of hydrocodon I'll cradle the balls, stroke the shaft, work the pipe, and swallow the gravy."
Rush Limbaugh - WraTH017, on 01/26/2009, -4/+19Should have addressed it to Lou Dobbs as well, who was quick to jump at this, as he is to anything that can highlight how deeply obsessed with race he really is.
- specialbuddy1, on 01/26/2009, -2/+16Most of the infrastructure in this country has been built by the High School educated. I guess you will be staying home from now on since everything has been built by high school educated people. Oh *****!!! get out of your house. It's been built by the high school educated, non-professional construction workers. Seriously though, wtf are you rambling about?
- thespiff, on 01/26/2009, -6/+20Did anyone see the Malkin clip, and the lead-in she used for this? It's infuriating.
MALKIN: "But this slogan, "My President is Black," is very popular among the young generation. You heard it on college campuses the day after the election. It's sold on T-shirts. And it's not just Jay-Z, it's not just Young Jeezy. Nas also did a song very much like it, called "Black President," and P. Diddy was up on stage during one of the inaugural balls, using this same slogan. And, you know -- and the fact that we have this kind of racial identity politics still infusing pop culture, I think points to the fact that the Obama administration itself has not distanced itself from these kind of policies."
How can she sit there and say that there's something wrong with a black person being proud of another black person's success? It's just disgusting that she can say things like that. I volunteer at an inner city high school, and during election season all of the kids were wearing Obama buttons. They have a big "Yes We Did!" display case just inside the entrance of the school. Obama really does bring hope to a black high school student, who is about to enter an adult world that often appears very hostile to him or her.
And she references a Nas song, which I believe is one of the greatest political songs of the decade. Nas takes a Tupac sample from the early 90's, "Although it seems heaven sent, we ain't ready to have a black president" and builds an Obama song around it. The world that Tupac described in his song was very real when he sang those words. Nas juxtaposed that with his own personal feelings about the first black presidential candidate. And it wasn't all praise, it was an honest and thoughtful commentary.
"But on a positive side,
I think Obama provides Hope - and challenges minds
Of all races and colors to erase the hate
And try and love one another, so many political snakes
We in need of a break
Im thinkin' I can trust this brotha
But will he keep it way real?
Every innocent ***** in jail - gets out on appeal
When he wins - will he really care still?" - spectecjr, on 01/26/2009, -6/+19You're an idiot.
Reich said - clearly - that the funds should not go __solely__ to White Construction Workers. - boozinf, on 01/26/2009, -6/+18What happened to staffing positions with the best available people? I don't know... why don't you ask Bush about every "scientist" he hired during his administration?
Or his head of FEMA? - TubaTechno, on 01/26/2009, -4/+16Race shouldn't have been taken into account at all during his thought process at all. To even qualify construction workers as "white male" is to be racist and sexist. We should have no tolerance for any sort of racism in America today.
Lets judge by the quality of the character, instead of the color of their skin please. -
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