Rush Limbaugh Haiti comments defended by Free Republic

In a classic example of "why-did-they-do-that?" Kristinn at Free Republic tries to play Matrix with Conservative Radio Host Rush Limbaugh's terrible and insensitive Haiti comments.

Kristinn claims this:

Led by the Democratic party front group Media Matters which issued a posting headlined "We've already donated to Haiti, it's called the U.S. income tax", the media is smearing Rush Limbaugh with a despicable lie accusing Rush of telling his listeners to not donate to Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Rush was warning listeners of being taken in by the Obama administration by going to WhiteHouse.gov, as Obama instructed, to make donations to Haiti earthquake relief. He was concerned the donations made there would go to the Obama administration. It was that concern that prompted his remark that has been taken out of context and used to smear Rush--and conservatives.

A caller to Rush questioned why he should go through the Obama administration to make a donation to the Red Cross and Rush expounded on that thought. Additionally, the caller said his mother was headed to Haiti to help out. Rush did not discourage that nor did he in any way discourage people making donations to non-Obama administration controlled charities.

He did make the point that throwing money at the problems in Haiti has not worked because of thievery by dictators who've run Haiti and a failure to focus on self-reliance with the charitable work.

Rush did not tell people not to help the Haitians.

Kristinn didn't listen to what Rush Limbaugh said, or did hear it but only picked out what she wanted to hear and not what Ruch Limbaugh said. Here's what Rush Limbaugh said:



In addition to "We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax", Rush Limbaugh made this statement after the caller said his mother was going to go to Haiti. Note that Rush Limbaugh never encourages the effort:

There are people who do charitable work everyday in Haiti. It's not as though (Florida Democratic Representative) Debra Wasserman Schultz, 'It's our fault. Reverend Wright "It's our fault; excuse for such poverty when there' a nation as rich as we are so close (hear hand pound on desk). Uh. There are people who have been trying to save Haiti, just as we're trying to save Africa. You just can't keep throwing money at it cause the dictatorships there just take it all. They don't spread it arou...and even if they did you're not creating a permanent system where people can provide for themselves.

Translation: none needed. Rush Limbaugh is openly discouraging donations and expenditures to help Haiti after the horrifying Earthquake.  Note that's what he did because Rush Limbaugh's about to provide a lesson in how he gains ratings below.

The fact that hundreds of thousands of people may have died is apparently of no concern to Rush Limbaugh. For anyone from Free Republic to defend Rush at this point in time is to run the risk of being accused of exhibiting the same level of insensitivity as Rush Limbaugh did yesterday.   But Rush Limbaugh's playing a game that even the Free Republic doesn't get.

Rush Limbaugh cleared his comments today in a phone comment to a caller named "April". He said today he does not discourage donations to Haiti: "I did not say do not send donations to Haiti." He said he loves to "tweak" the media.

Right. He didn't say donate to Haiti and he made a long statement that anyone would interpret as "don't donate to Haitian relief."

What Rush Limbaugh likes to do is say things that he knows will upset people, then backtrack after people do get upset about them and say that what he did say was wrongly interpreted by "The Liberal Media" (he forgot Conservative Pat Buchanan).

Rush Limbaugh then called April a blockhead and a bigot (?) and said she was ill-informed. Then he says... "Your mind is totally closed. You've got tampons in your ears."

That was sexist and uncalled for. But here we go again.

In a way, Rush Limbaugh's starting to look like the Perez Hilton of radio, violating the basic decency of people to cause a fuss which then turns the attention to himself, which Clear Channel then makes sure he gets paid for.    How long that will go on for is anyone's guess.  But Clear Channel's going to have to atone for Rush Limbaugh's antics.

Stay tuned.