Limbaugh on Darfur: It's All Politics
It’s not easy for Rush Limbaugh to say something so outrageous that it rises above his run of the mill outrageousness. But he did so last week. Rush (I hope he does not mind my being so informal) believes that the Democrats are only interested in the situation in Darfur because it allows them to appeal to Black voters at home.
What exactly did he say? In response to a caller, Limbaugh claimed that Democrats "want to get us out of Iraq, but they can't wait to get us into Darfur." He continued: "There are two reasons. What color is the skin of the people in Darfur? It's black. And who do the Democrats really need to keep voting for them? If they lose a significant percentage of this voting bloc, they're in trouble." The caller responded, "The black population," to which Limbaugh said, "Right."
This raises so many questions. Does Limbaugh think, for example, that the many Republicans who have called for forceful action in Darfur are also only doing so to compete for Black votes? Does he think it is simply impossible that some politicians – Democratic and Republican alike – could look at the tragic situation in Darfur and feel that their own personal morality requires responding? Is Limbaugh’s cynicism so great that he cannot believe that people would seek to end genocide for other than nakedly political reasons?
Feel free to leave your own question below.