I don’t necessarily think Rahm should be fired over this, but I do think we should expect more from the White House. Everything that they say and do is heard around the world.

They have made gaffe after gaffe and have made the White House seem more like Animal House. Just because other people use the word, including the headlines on this site, doesn’t mean it is ok that the Chief of Staff to the POTUS uses the word. She called him out, and he deserved it.

The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President. The office-holder has been dubbed “The Second-Most Powerful Man in Washington” due to the nature of the job. He is in a very high profile positoin, one that will be in the history books…

He should be held to an higher standard.

Rush quoting Rham is a big deal? Did you listen to the full segment on Rush’s show?

BTW: Sarah Palin spokesperson Meg Stapleton told Fox, “The Washington Post is trying hard to take the pressure off the White House by creating a side controversy, but it is missing the point: as the Governor has said, it doesn’t matter who says the “r” word: it should no longer be part of our lexicon.” Her comment was not in reaction to Rush’s mocking/quoting Rham.

I didn’t bother with the Olbermann link — when Olbermann calls anyone a hypocrite I know it’s not worth my time to click. Olbermann = meltdown.

TfT says:
February 5, 2010 at 9:14 am

I agree. I love the Meltdown, btw. hahah Perfect name for his show.

Ditto. Why would anyone care what Olbie says. He will have taken someones comment out of context and then distorted it even more. Someone here trying to take the heat off Rahmbo?? Moral equivalency does not apply here, or anywhere for that matter. Calling someone a R******d is not the same as reporting on someone calling another person a R*****d.

This is beyond disingenuous. So, when someone on the left utters a controversial phrase and then a person on the right repeats what they said the person on the right can fall under more criticism somehow? This is a wondrous standard. Slate, Huffington, Olbermann and manyn more all declared that Rahm Emanuel was being raked for a phrase that was not so controversial and the outrage was a hype job, but when Rush repeats those words he is a monster.

Two things on the Beck “paintings of retarded children” comment: 1) She was the one who mentioned her own paintings of retarded children, to which Beck asked “What do the paintings of the retarded children go for?” Imagine that, there was a context from whence he spoke that. 2) Glenn himself has a daughter who is a special-needs child.
This is to be expected coming from Media Matters, a group who thinks nuance is the title of a John Tesh album.

MartiniShark says:
February 5, 2010 at 10:27 am

You’re right. He was mocking the actress that said it. Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chloe from 24. Beck’s daughter has cerebral palsy. (so weird, right when I was typing this a cerebral palsy ad came on FOX.)

GLENN: Seriously? Now, what kind of painter are you?

RAJSKUB: I like — my taste is I like modern impressionist painting, but I also like painting of retarded children and painting of the insane.

GLENN: How much of the painting of the retarded children —

RAJSKUB: Who’s laughing in the background?

GLENN: No, we’re not laughing. We’re just imagining that those would be nice. What do the paintings of the retarded children go for? Because I’ve been — honestly I’ve been looking for one of those and I haven’t seen them. But I want to —

RAJSKUB: The thing is they are really good. It’s like pure expression, emotional painting.

GLENN: See, I don’t — you have no idea if you really do this or you’re just screwing with people.

RAJSKUB: In this case I’m being completely honest. Because, you know, if you are going to look at a painting, what’s the point of making a painting like a photograph? Just take a picture. You want to feel what’s happening with that person, as far as I’m concerned.

“Why Isn’t Palin Calling For Rush Limbaugh And Glenn Beck To Be Axed?”

Because she is a right wing hypocrite who doesn’t want to offend her supporters.. And something said behind closed doors as in Rahm’s case doesn’t compare to something said for a public audience’s consumption.

And I am glad emails are starting to come about her and Todd’s administration.

This is like one of those so-called IQ tests.Which of the three pictures is different?

Answer:The one of a member of the US Government with the ear of the President and the ability to influence bills passing through congress.

Two shock jock DJs are expected to say stupid insensitive things.A top level government official is not.

Apparently Rahm has a vocabulary that would make the bluest of stand up comics blush.Now it seems he also has a mouth and brain that would make anyone with an IQ higher than their shoe size blush.

How stupid. People in high-levels of government cuss, swear and say inappropriate things behind closed doors that would never be acceptable for the public airwaves.

Right same2u, except we keep getting sold on how brilliant and articulate all the members are in this administration, despite all the contradictory evidence.

To me all this “political” posturing is a bit too much. Sure, make politics out of it to start the debate/advocacy of offensive terms use. Fine. But to make political hay is too childish in my mind for a politician or radio talk show hosts.

Make the politics of it more about the substance, those with special needs. Use it to start the language debate (which I think it has done) but the overboard attempts to take political shots and taking their political licks at the expense/ exploitations of those with special needs, puts the substance in the background.

It’s either offensive term or not. But to me, it’s too much politics and little debate on the substance.

I don’t see the need for anyone to be fired, maybe learn something to alter their behavior and use of language if they “recognized” the need to.

Rahm, I think has stated he wants to (lesislation, r-word.org). Rush, has not yet I don’t believe. I did not listen to Rush’s comments. But from what I’m reading he set up the segment and predicted he would get more heat than Rahm for doing the same thing as Rahm. So doing the same thing as Rahm to me seems that Palin should extend her denouncement of the term to Rush as well. That’s if what I’m reading Rush did, accurate

Shark – But you haven’t been buying the “brilliant and articulate” narrative have you? So why bother? Does this mean that Limbaugh and Beck are not brilliant and articulate and therefore should not be held to the same standard?

Those who didn’t have the guts to watch the Video from Countdown, do so with the full knowledge that they can’t face the truth. It’s kind of pathetic to listen to the spin from her fans. Either you’re consistent or you’re a hypocrite. As for Beck’s comments, if you actually watched the clip from Countdown you’d clearly hear the laughter as he repetedly used the word over and over again. While some of you are trying to defend him or blame the administration for words Rahm spoke and apologized for is truely disingenuous. We’re still 2 apologies short. The attempts to spin Palin’s hypocrisy is not backed up by the facts either. It also sounds eeriely similar to the spin from Republcans who sent out a Fundraising letter claiming they, in their words “Stuck It To Obama” last Friday at their retreat when we all saw and heard exactly what happened. You folks have really mastered the art of delusion though.

Oh, and please stop saying that Rush did the same thing As Rahm, because he didn’t. While Rahm’s comments were offensive, they were made in private, not on tv or radio. And, as I said Rahm has apologized though; he still hasn’t apologized to the people his comment was originally targeting. While we all have a right to our opinions, facts don’t have a bias…..which is why they’re called facts.

Short of a death threat, no one should lose their job for exercising free speech. They might need to apologize, but they shouldn’t be fired. Of course, in cases like Jimmy the Greek, Don Imus, or Rush Limbaugh being allowed to own a football team, the left sees no hypocrisy in calling for heads to roll.

Rush had fun at Wolffe’s expense in his first segment, along with mocking the rest of MSM for their idiotic display regarding this topic. In SOP the media are trying to create a war among the right by the false reporting and misrepresenting of the truth. I don’t know how the MSMers can even go on teevee anymore and pretend they are “journalists”. What a joke MSM has become.

Palin’s spokesperson called Rush yesterday afternoon because of the false information that POlitico put out there. Bwahahahahahaha

Try and make mountains out of molehills all the while IGNORING the fact that the President of the US, the CINC doesn’t know what a Navy corpsman (per Obama a corpse man) is. Pathetic.

No Ted, it means the vaunted minds are in fact no better, and in many cases worse.

It works like this – when someone on the right speaks in any kind of offensive fashion they are spotlighted and demonized, then their comments are held up as being indicative of the greater body that needs to be demonized (Republicans, conservatives, ect.) A candidate says the obscurity “Macaca” and he his run off his campaign and then noted as a prime example of “The racism we all know is rampant in the Republican party“, or something similar.

Emanuel uses “retard” disparagingly, and Obama referenced the Special Olympics derisively, but this is not a sign of a recidivist mentality on the left. These become “Inartful elocutions” and the individual is given a pass for being sensitive to the issue. Given that the Left in this country dictates what is and is not Politically Correct language it is even more revealing when they are the ones using the invective.

Shark – I’ve heard this argument before. It’s the liberal medias fault, I get it. By the way one persons obscure “Macaca” comment is another’s pejorative epithet; its a clear slur. People who want to run for political office are expected to understand that. The problem is that it seems an inordinate number on the right don’t.

I’m still not sure if you think Beck and Limbaugh (who both by the way used the term “retard” in a disparaging way) should be held to the same standard as RE. And it seems to me that RE has been pretty much spotlighted and demonized, yes?

Its called satire. They are exposing the politically correct hypocrites. If Sarah Palin called for Limbaugh and Beck to be axed she would then be the ditz that liberals so desperately try to make her out to be.

Really? Because before Limbaugh uttered the phrase I saw numerous outlets defending Rahm by saying the comment was no big deal. Limbaugh did not use it disparigingly, he was echoing the use of Emanuel and noted it ahead of time. Beck was responding to a woman who used the phrase, and he issued a follow-up question. Neither used those words without provocation, and there is the difference, so there is no equal standard. Rahm used “retard” unbidden.

As for those inordinate numbers who run for political office expected to understand, Harry Reid just used “negro” in the perjoritive, echoing similar words made by Joe Biden, who also made comments about Indian-Americans as well. And as I said, given they come from the party lecturing us on the language they should understand it even more so. What is inordinate is the accountability – Republicans are called to stand down, Dems are excused and allowed to move along.

Next up will be Limbaugh is a racist, after his discussion today of NBC’s menu for black history month.

Well, I’m not defending Harry Reid but here’s the difference. If I’m not mistaken Harry Reid apologized to Obama and others. Limbaugh on the other hand, and as a matter of policy, won’t apologize for anything, except perhaps his addiction. Maybe that’s why Reid is allowed to “move along” and Limbaugh isn’t. I think if you did some digging you will in fact find that Limbaugh has used the term in a pejorative way as has Beck.

When are people on the right going to start holding Limbaugh and Beck accountable?

Beck was interviewing an actress who mentioned her “paintings of retarded children”, which led to Beck asking about said paintings. It was not a non sequitur, like Rahm’s comment. Limbaugh intentionally used Rahm’s own language to make a point about Rahm using such language, therefore there was no need to apologize; he was not using the term in general conversation. Same thing happened weeks back after Harry Reid’s “negro dialect” comment; Limbaugh said “Watch me get in more trouble than Reid”, and sure enough, it happened in the press.

But look at your comment about what people are supposed to understand while running for office. Your implication that “an inordinate number on the right” suggests that they don’t get it, they have something ingrained in them. That would come to mean that those on the left know better on this matter. To follow that further then means those on the right should be more forgiven because they don’t know any better, and those enlightened individuals on the left should be even more aware of what constitutes poor language and be held to a higher standard as a result. Instead it is completely the opposite.

Those on the right who have been caught in this maelstrom have done numerous apologies and mea culpas, and from Don Imus going back they more often than not still suffer some way professionally. Usually when a liberal has used any kind of “inartful” language there is an apology and and then they are permitted to carry on as usual.

I’m not suggesting anything, I’m simply stating a fact. The fact also remains that Beck and Limbaugh have used the term in question in a pejorative way and the right either will not or can not hold them accountable.

It is not a fact, it is an opinion — you keep insisting they spoke in the pejorative. If Glen is interviewing a woman who uses “retarded children” how is it perjorative when he asks her a question with the same phrase? It is in no way comparable to Emanuel invoking “F***ing retards” to describe politicians.

And when it comes to accountability how is it lieberals can apologize and everything is fine, yet conservatives apologize and still have to pay a price?

No, not an opinion but a fact. There are examples of Glen(n) Beck and Limbaugh using the term in question in pejorative fashion; no question about it. When was the last time that Beck or Limbaugh apologized for anything? They could actually spend the rest of their lives apologizing (not that they ever would) for the bs that they push day in and day out.

PS – I’m not defending RE but you apparently are defending the vile and repugnant remarks by Beck and Limbaugh.

There is certainly a question about it. I’m not defending the remarks, I’m debating the “pejorative, vile, repugnant” terms. How is Beck guilty of it by using the words of his interviewee? She said the term, he asked the question in response. There is no belittlement in doing so and to equate that with Rahm’s use is pure deflection. Rush was turning Rahm’s use back on him. The only equation would have been if Limbaugh had a completely seperate monologue and randomly inserted “retard” in his phrase. Cite a time he did such and I would not defend it.

May I quote Dick Cheney?

I’d like to say “Go fuck yourself” to Rush and Sarah Palin.

The Keith Olbermann segment was fine until Richard Wolffe came on. Is that supposed to be an interview?

Richard Wolffe’s claim that a critique of the use of the word “retard” somehow constitutes an attack on the first amendment is beyond stupid. How can anyone watch that crap?