Rush Criticized For HIs Driving Nancy Pelosi Comment

I'll just share this real quick, as its interesting how the news media latch on to everything Rush says. I blogged about this the day it happened.

Last week I was minding my own business. It might have been the week before that, but within the last ten days, clearly, minding my own business I played an audio sound bite. Martin Frost, a former Democrat member of Congress, now a lobbyist and commentator, went on MSNBC to explain the controversy between Steny Hoyer, the rich white guy, and Jim Clyburn, the Democrat majority whip, both wanting the same leadership post after the election. The obvious contest here: rich white guy versus the black guy. And it was not smooth. The campaign had its rough spots out there and of course we've been told to believe that what happens in situations like this, Democrats just lay down, if the black guy wants the job he should get it because they've authored such legislation, affirmative action, it's only fair, they've been denied all these opportunities by rich white guys. But when the rich white guy's a Democrat somehow that all goes out the window.

So Martin Frost goes on and says why this is important. He said it's important because the leader gets a car and gets a driver. That's apparently a big deal to have a chauffeur. You don't have to drive yourself. You don't have to take the subway, the bus or a cab. It's a big perk. And if Clyburn didn't get the leadership job he wasn't gonna get the car, he wasn't gonna get the chauffeur. So I proposed a compromise. Let him drive Pelosi around. He could be in the front of a car rather than the back of the car, be driving the car, Driving Miss Nancy. Well, they flipped over this Driving Miss Nancy business. I was minding my own business listening to Martin Frost explain what this all was about. So I'll take a break. When we come back from the break we'll play the sound bites of MSNBC going batty last Friday over Driving Miss Nancy.


BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now, before playing you these sound bites, the end result here is that Pelosi has essentially made up a new job for James Clyburn. It's a position that didn't exist. 'Cause they weren't gonna deny Steny Hoyer this gig. There was no way Steny Hoyer was gonna be denied this, and they couldn't, when the controversy arose, then slight Clyburn. From their perspective he had done a good job as whip and he used to head the Congressional Black Caucus, so they had to create another leadership position with a new car and a new driver 'cause Steny Hoyer was not gonna lose this, and because of the inherent controversy Clyburn was not going to, either. So they just created a new position for Clyburn that he didn't have to win, was just appointed to. That's how it's all ended up. But how did it get there? Well, starting Friday night we have a montage of various, ahem, personalities at MSNBC weighing in on the dastardly villain Rush Limbaugh.

SCHULTZ: Rush Limbaugh ought to be fired for what he just said after labeling Democratic leadership a bunch of white racists.

MATTHEWS: Road kill. Rush Limbaugh has committed another hit-and-run.

RATIGAN: Rush Limbaugh accusing Democratic leaders of being racist.

RUSH: Well, I was just sitting here listening to what they were doing. See, at what take it. They call us racists, sexists, bigots, homophobes just for getting out of bed, and here they were trying to figure out how to ace out the black guy so that the white guy kept the leadership gig. Now, what's that? They're supposed to lay down and let the black guy have it. That's what they teach us, that's what they teach affirmative action is. So Sergeant Schultz is not happy about the way we presented this at RushLimbaugh.com.

SCHULTZ: Rush Limbaugh is proving once again he's nothing but a flat-out racist. This time he's attacking the highest ranking African-American in Congress. Limbaugh felt the need to make the leadership contest between Congressman Steny Hoyer and Congressman Jim Clyburn, make it about race. Any fair-minded American knows that this is no slip of the tongue. Limbaugh posted this Driving Miss Nancy image of Clyburn and Pelosi on his website hours after he called the Democrats racist.

RUSH: (laughing) We did. We had a graphic up there. (laughing) Well, hey, we didn't create the movie. We didn't cast the movie Driving Miss Daisy, Driving Miss Nancy. The way this was all presented it was a race between a black guy and a white guy. I didn't make this up. And that's the way The Politico and everybody else was covering this. Sheila Jackson Lee was on Sergeant Schultz's show, Sergeant Schultz said, "Leave it to the right-wing talkers of America to have a competition between Jim Clyburn and Steny Hoyer enter into the arena of race. There's only one group of people that's done that and that's the conservative talkers of America. How do you feel about that?"

LEE: They're abusing the First Amendment. They are the crowd that calls fire in a crowded theater. It is shameful, absolutely shameful for the laxity and the misuse of words to compare or to equate Mr. Clyburn's stellar service to Driving Miss Daisy, to equate the first woman speakers to Driving Miss Daisy. It is insulting. Mr. Limbaugh is entertainment, but it's entertainment in which he will ultimately eat his own words.


RUSH: That's the first time, folks, I have been accused of misusing words. It was a misuse of words. Now, correct me if I'm wrong. Driving Miss Daisy, Miss Daisy, she was a fine old lady, right? There's nothing wrong with Miss Daisy. Nice little lady. I wonder what Sheila Jackson Lee thinks happened in that movie. At any rate, it didn't stop. Sergeant Schultz said, "I don't want to say, should there be a law against this? But where's the decency here in the misuse of words?"

LEE: As you well know, the Fairness Doctrine exists no more. It was interpreted that that was stifling the First Amendment. It might be worthy of a debate again because, without the Fairness Doctrine, of course, there is a wide latitude of the use of language that is provoking, provocative, and insulting.

RUSH: And leave it to the Democrats to decide what it is. Leave it to the Democrats to determine where the misuse of words takes place and who does the misusing of words. And then, still with Sergeant Schultz, they went out and dragged in the Reverend Sharpton. Sergeant Schultz: "I've come to the conclusion in this business that Limbaugh's so big, his company so jaded, he can say anything any time, any way, get away with it, he's too big. What are your thoughts on this, Rev?"

SHARPTON: For him to be the keynoter at all of these mainstream Republican events, when he's talking about somebody Driving Miss Nancy, clearly the race card inferring on Driving Miss Daisy, why do people in mainstream Republican America have him keynoting their events? People can say whatever they want, but not on the air, not on federally regulated airwaves, and not when those licenses are very difficult to get and should be upholding a standard that they mock the standard, they mock the licenses that this government gives rather than a privilege to express yourself to the American public.

RUSH: That's wandering in vain in search of a thought. They mocked the standard. They, not me. They. He said they mocked the standard. It's gone beyond me. Now it's not just me mocking the standard and misusing the words, it's "dey" mocking the standard. Who dat? Who dat dey say mocking the standard? Al Sharpton say dey mocking the standard. That's wandering in vain in search of a cogent thought. That's just the playbook wasn't handy, they had to ad-lib it. What mainstream Republican event have I keynoted recently? Well, which one is this? Anyway, that's not the point. Driving Miss Nancy just sent them into orbit! (laughing) Miss Daisy is an anti-racist. Miss Daisy's a fine woman! Miss Daisy realizes in several circumstances that her driver's race affects how others treat him. Her eyes are furthered opened to the social aspects of racial prejudice. She sees it and she's about the same age as Pelosi. I mean the comparison is apt. Now, Sergeant Schultz went out there and got hold of a Republican to talk about this named Ron Christie, and Sergeant Schultz said, "He gets away with it. Ron Christie, your thoughts?"

CHRISTIE: The segment actually referred to a segment not on a network that we don't know. It was on MSNBC where they were talking to former Congressman Martin Frost, and Frost said that the leadership battle that's going on in the House of Representatives right now frankly has been reduced to perks and whether or not Clyburn, if he is forced from his leadership position, will have to give up his driver, his security detail, and of course the car. And Limbaugh is --

SCHULTZ: He referred to her as Miss Nancy, Ron. Come on.

CHRISTIE: Hang on just a second.

SCHULTZ: And the back of the bus.

CHRISTIE: I will not let you guys try to denigrate him here. I am --

SCHULTZ: Nobody's denigrating you, and you're not calling the rules on this show.

CHRISTIE: I'm not calling the rules. I actually listened to the entire segment, Ed. I dare say you didn't listen to the whole thing --

SCHULTZ: How do you know I didn't?

CHRISTIE: -- I did.

RUSH: (laughing) So Ron Christie, Ed -- (laughing) -- "Ed, I don't think you listened to the whole show," and Schultz says, "How do you know I didn't?" Because of the way you're treating it. I should point out that Morgan Freeman, who drove Miss Daisy, won the NAACP image award for Driving Miss Daisy. Look what was in Clyburn's future. I mean, he, too, could have won an NAACP image award because Morgan Freeman won one for the character he portrayed in the movie Driving Miss Daisy. NAACP image award for outstanding actor in a motion picture went to -- dadelut dadelut dadelut dadelut dadelut -- Morgan Freeman, Driving Miss Daisy. It could just as easily have been James Clyburn for Driving Miss Nancy. These people, folks, does this not illustrate the balsa wood on which their whole foundation is built? (laughing) You know, you live by the race card, you're gonna die by the race card. They just can't have it thrown back at them