On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh told Republicans that they are wasting their time chasing Obama scandals, because America will not tolerate the removal of the first black president.
Audio courtesy of Media Matters:
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Transcript via Rush Limbaugh:
LIMBAUGH: Well, look, let me tackle this. I’ve seen all these — they’re almost predictable. “Don’t overplay it. Don’t act happy Obama’s in trouble. Don’t do it. Don’t gloat. Don’t laugh. Don’t look like you’re enjoying this. Don’t convey that you’re happy Obama’s in trouble, because all it’s gonna do is make the Republicans look like all they care about is getting Obama.” Folks, we are so far beyond any of that. In the first place, Obama isn’t in any trouble. I don’t know how else to say this. Obama’s not in any jeopardy whatsoever.
Folks, let me tell you something. I’m just gonna launch here. I’ll do this with as much restraint as possible. But in my humble thinking, the people of this country, if it came to this, are simply not going to tolerate the first black president being removed from office. And if that’s not gonna happen, all the rest of this is academic. The people of this country are not gonna tolerate the first African-American attorney general being removed from office. They’re just not gonna put up with it, and they’re not gonna sit by while it happens, no matter what.
Limbaugh was offering a twist on the tired Republican claim that Obama got elected president because he was a novelty. The big hole in this theory has always been that it doesn’t explain how Barack Obama was reelected to the presidency, but don’t look for logic in right wing attempts to delegitimize Obama.
Rush Limbaugh was correct about one thing. President Obama isn’t in trouble.
Do you want to know why Obama isn’t in trouble? He hasn’t done anything wrong. That’s the part that the right can’t wrap their heads around. They can run around screaming about Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP all day long. They can talk about impeachment. But when asked to provide evidence to back up their allegations of conspiracies and cover ups, they offer nothing.
They keep repeating the same worn out gibberish about how they just know that Obama is up to no good. The constitution is pretty clear on the fact that a president can’t be impeached based on feelings of up to no good. Republicans need evidence, and they don’t have any. The reason why none of these scandals have caught on with the broader public is that they lack both smoke and fire.
Limbaugh was trying to give Republicans an out. The claim that these scandals haven’t gone anywhere because Obama is the first black president is another psychological crutch that the right will use to justify their failure. It appeals to their racism to think that Obama would be removed from office if he wasn’t black.
The reality that Obama won’t be removed from office because he has done nothing wrong in invisible to Republicans, because in their eyes Barack Obama will always be guilty of being president while black.
Since they can’t impeach him for that, they are going to continue to dream up phony scandals until this president leaves office.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
