The Voice From Western Kentucky

I've often said that I do feel ashamed of my state, of the bulk of it's people, of how things like racism, ignorance, misogyny, and voting Republican even if Satan were on the ticket are seen as "tradition". The Western portion of the state, where I reside, is a mixture of "moderate" conservatives, balls-to-the-wall-twitchy tea-baggers, and a limited number of honest voices that come from people who have the ability to think for themselves.

One of those voices, April form Paducah, made it onto Rush Limbaugh's radio program and he proved once again that no situation will prevent him from browbeating a woman:



This is how Rush operates: His opportunistic nature tells him that is someone somewhere uses racial animus and is called on the carpet because of it, he feels that he can do the same thing. The only difference is that he then excuses himself by saying he was illustrating what that person(s) said. It wasn't his words, he was using them as a signifier of the times.

Unfortunately, those of us that have the ability to see through such a transparent lie know that Limbaugh uses such rhetoric to reveal what he believes about Democrats, be they liberal or progressive. Sure, he was using language allegedly used by Harry Reid, but the context - something that he claims to fully understand - was in reference to Obama's plans for aid to Haiti and how that could - in Limbaugh's mind - make blacks in America see Obama. It's no longer about Obama, it's about all blacks in America. The context has shifted.

But back to April. It would seem that she is a frequent caller, as her initial statement reveals. The only problem is that she is quite uncomfortable confronting Rush. Perhaps this is due to her anger at what he said or that she simply has the words but is unsure on how to put them together. Given Limbaugh's rich and lustrous history of downgrading women, if a woman caller is granted the opportunity to be on his show they have to meet his standard or he will not only dismiss all that they have to say but turn their thoughts and opinions into a sexist joke, which is what he did to April.

The reality of this clip is this - Limbaugh has no sense of context, of what it means to live outside the confines of his Palm Beach studio, what it means to be black or a woman. The disaster in Haiti is programming gold for him. It's an opportunity to lambaste a troubled nation of people that are "beneath him". He most certainly discouraged donations. The caveat that he offered was simply put forward to paint the Obama administration in a negative light. That's all he knows how to do. Like all conservatives, he has no plan, no alternative, it's simply oppositional positioning. And that is why conservatives see him as one of the leaders of the party.

Think Progress has more.