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NY Times article disappears conservatives' charges of racism against Obama

Friday, September 18, 2009
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by Biodun Iginla, BBC Media Analyst. Researcher: Tamara Kachelmeier in Minneapolis

September 17, 2009 11:14 am ET — 15 Comments

The New York Times reported that "several conservatives ... accused their liberal counterparts of unfairly tainting them as racists for engaging in legitimate criticism of the White House" and quoted Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh saying, "Today, it's all based in racism -- the criticism of Obama's health care plan or whatever." But the Times article ignored Limbaugh's statement that "in Obama's America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering"; the paper also ignored charges of racism by other conservatives, including Glenn BeckGlenn Beck, who has stated that President Obama is a "racist" and has "exposed himself as a guy" who has "a deep-seated hatred for white people."

UPDATE: In the print edition, the Times accompanied the article discussed in this item with several quotes, including Rush Limbaugh's assertion that in "Obama's America: white kids getting beat up on school buses now." In addition, accompanying the online version is a set of "related" hyperlinks, one of which is labeled "A Sampling of Statements on Race and Obama," and leads to a page that also includes Limbaugh's assertion that in "Obama's America: white kids getting beat up on school buses now." In neither the online version nor the print version is Limbaugh's quote about "Obama's America" included in the actual article.

NY Times: "[P]rominent conservatives say critics have been smeared by many of the president's supporters"

From the September 16 Times article by Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg:

President Obama has long suggested that he would like to move beyond race. The question now is whether the country will let him.

He woke up on Wednesday to a rapidly intensifying debate about how his race factors into the broader discussion of civility in politics, a question prompted in part by former President Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter's assertion Tuesday that racism was behind a Republican lawmaker's outburst against Mr. Obama last week as the president addressed a joint session of Congress.

Even before that, several conservatives had accused their liberal counterparts of unfairly tainting them as racists for engaging in legitimate criticism of the White House.

[...]

But a number of prominent conservatives say critics have been smeared by many of the president's supporters.

On his radio program this week, Rush Limbaugh said, "Today, it's all based in racism -- the criticism of Obama's health care plan or whatever." On Fox News, former Speaker Newt GingrichNewt Gingrich added, "I think it's very destructive for America to suggest that we can't criticize a president without it being a racial act."

[...]

Other supporters of Mr. Obama, however, say they cannot help seeing overt racism in some of the conservative attacks.

"You cannot act like you don't have several hundred years of racial context here, where a painted face has a racial context to it in this country," said Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster who helped on Mr. Obama's presidential campaign and has studied race extensively.

Times ignores Limbaugh's racism charges against Obama and others

Limbaugh: "[I]n Obama's America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering." During the same show from which Zeleny and Rutenberg quoted Limbaugh's statement that "it's all based in racism -- the criticism of Obama's health care plan or whatever," Limbaugh referred to an incident in Illinois in which a white student was allegedly assaulted by black students on a school bus, saying: "[I]n Obama's America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering." [Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/15/09]

Limbaugh called Obama "the greatest living example of a reverse racist." Attacking the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Limbaugh called Sotomayor a "reverse racist" who was appointed by "the greatest living example of a reverse racist." [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 5/26/09]

Limbaugh: The way to "get promoted in a Barack ObamaBarack Obama administration" is "by hating white people"; compared Sotomayor nomination to David DukeDavid Duke. Discussing Sotomayor's nomination, Limbaugh stated, "How do you get promoted in a Barack Obama administration? By hating white people or even saying you do." Limbaugh later said that Sotomayor "brings a form of bigotry or racism to the court" and asked: "[H]ow can a party get behind such a candidate? That's what would be asked if somebody were foolish enough to nominate David Duke or pick somebody even less offensive." [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 5/29/09]

Limbaugh: "I do believe" Obama is an "angry black guy." Responding to criticism from Georgetown University professor and author Michael Eric Dyson, Limbaugh said: "[T]hey're finally hearing me. 'He's an angry black guy.' I do believe that about the president. I do believe he's angry. I think his wife is angry." [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/27/09]

Limbaugh called Gates "an angry racist." Talking about Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Limbaugh said: "He's a racist. He's an angry racist, and is -- you know, when he got into -- when he applied for admissions to Yale, he said, 'Yeah, OK, I have to sit and be judged by whitey again.' " [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/27/09]

Limbaugh said Colin PowellColin Powell's endorsement of Obama was "purely and solely based on race." Limbaugh stated: "The Republican Party nominated the exact kind of candidate Colin Powell thinks the Republican Party should have, and he still endorsed Obama. I just think he's just mad at me because I'm the one person in the country that had the guts to explain his endorsement of Obama: It was purely and solely based on race. There can be no other explanation for it." Limbaugh later added: "The only reason to endorse Obama is race. I don't think Powell thinks he could get away with not endorsing Obama because the Republicans nominated the exact candidate and had the exact campaign -- other than Sarah PalinSarah Palin -- that Colin Powell advocated." [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 5/6/09]

Times also ignores other conservatives' charges of racism against Obama

Beck called Obama a "racist" with "a deep-seated hatred for white people." Beck said on Fox News' Fox & Friends that Obama "has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture," adding, "This guy is, I believe, a racist." [Fox News' Fox & Friends, 7/28/09]

Hannity: "Do the Obamas have a race problem of their own?" Sean HannitySean Hannity asserted on Fox News' now-defunct Hannity & Colmes: "As more is learned about Barack Obama's positions, his past, and his affiliations, it seems that the 'change' candidate has all the same problems with race as those before him." Hannity later added: "It's only fair to ask: Do the Obamas have a race problem of their own?" [Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, 3/2/08]

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- by IRONY 101 (3 hours and 33 minutes ago) 4 Beck called Obama a "racist" with "a deep-seated hatred for white people."
  
  Hannity: "Do the Obamas have a race problem of their own?"
  
  Barack Obama has, on occasion, made disparaging references to the negative coverage he gets from FOX News. And FOX calls him a racist. In effect, by right wing reasoning (?), a black man cannot criticize FOX without being labelled a racist. Reply Report Abuse
- by The_Cat (3 hours and 32 minutes ago) 3 Interesting, but not surprising, that the NYT would publish conservatives complaining about being charged as racists, and yet still fail to do the tiny amount of research necessary to find out whether or not those charges are in fact true.
  
  I guess they're just following the wildly successful example of FOX 'News', airing reports of Ms. Maelke's husband's death before finding out whether or not he was still alive. He is. And some of the conservatives who oppose our President are in fact racist.
  
  When will someone in the media realize that, in order to truly separate themselves from the pack, all they have to do is investigate stories, stand firm on journalistic ethics, and then report what they've found. What a breath of fresh air that would be! Reply Report Abuse
- by right ON (3 hours and 26 minutes ago) 4 The NYT should have included Limbaugh's statement, and others like him, to give the article full context. Reply Report Abuse
  - by vhw28672478 (3 hours and 11 minutes ago) Media is major joke Reply Report Abuse
    - by Easy to refute wingnuts (3 hours and 8 minutes ago) 2 At some point in the future, could you start posting in English, and use a word other than "joke?" Reply Report Abuse
  - by The_Cat (2 hours and 48 minutes ago) The NYT did include a statement from Mr. Limbaugh, among others. Did you have a specific statement in mind, right ON? Reply Report Abuse
    - by right ON (2 hours and 45 minutes ago) 2 I meant they did not include his vile rant on the school bus beating, and they should have. It gives the article context. Statement was not the best word, I should have said his monologue. Reply Report Abuse
      - by The_Cat (2 hours and 43 minutes ago) Thanks for the clarification. I suppose monologue is indeed more appropriate, since he does not seem often to have guests, only people who call in. I agree the rant on the school bus beating was vile, though. Reply Report Abuse
        
        by right ON (2 hours and 34 minutes ago) 5 It was vile because Limbaugh has indeed outed himself as a proponent of a race war in this country. There are no words to describe how horrible he is, a racist pure and simple. Reply Report Abuse
        
        by Craig (2 hours and 7 minutes ago) Yes, and you can add Drudge and Dan Riehl to the list. Reply Report Abuse
        
        by Indy (1 hour and 37 minutes ago) 1 Lets not forget Charles MansonCharles Manson and Helter Skelter. Reply Report Abuse
        
        by antifear (1 hour and 45 minutes ago) 1 Pot meet kettle... Reply Report Abuse
        
        by all your eyes (10 seconds ago) The funny thing, to me, is that a lot of the folks who are passing around these email chains saying that Obama is not an American, he's secretly a Muslim, we want our country back, health care is a form of reparations, etc, don't seem to realize how offensively racist these statements are. I would venture to guess that my grandfather is not a racist, or at least he doesn't realize that he is. But he trafficks in these platitudes of the anti-Obama right, and calls me a racist for calling him out on it. It's good to hear at least some conservatives repudiate this filth, there needs to be a top-down movement within the Republican party denouncing these tactics, and the talk radio hosts who push them to the limit, or else I fear the consequences for America. Reply Report Abuse
- by SMTDL (3 hours and 3 minutes ago) 2 Maybe they'll say something about the black female army reservist beaten by a white MAN in Georgia in friont of her 7 year old child at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant..who's America is that!!?? Reply Report Abuse
  - by foghornleghorn (2 hours and 12 minutes ago) Cracker Barrel? How ironic. Reply Report Abuse