Posted on 10/13/2009 1:46:29 PM PDT by kingattax
Media Research Center President Brent Bozell today demanded that CNN and MSNBC prove that radio talk show king Rush Limbaugh uttered a racist quote they have attributed to him as fact after Limbaugh publicly denied having ever said, “Slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back. I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark” on his nationally syndicated airwaves.
"CNN and MSNBC must immediately and publicly source when Limbaugh uttered this phrase. He has unequivocally denied it. Now it is up to the same news media that reported it as fact to prove that it was, indeed, stated," NewsBusters Publisher Bozell insisted in a statement, arguing that if the charges are undocumentable, the offending networks are "100% guilty of character assassination."
The accusations against Limbaugh came in the wake of reports the radio talk show host is part of a group bidding for ownership of the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise. The full Bozell statement is appended below the page break:
Story Continues Below Ad ↓ CNN and MSNBC must immediately and publicly source when Limbaugh uttered this phrase. He has unequivocally denied it. Now it is up to the same news media that reported it as fact to prove that it was, indeed, stated.
The MRC has overnighted letters to senior executives at both cable networks demanding that they take this sourcing seriously and report back to the public. We await their word.
Either Rush Limbaugh is lying or these networks – willfully or not – are participants in the worst form of character assassination imaginable. They can prove their innocence by documenting this accusation. If they can’t, then they are 100% guilty of character assassination.
Tomorrow we will go public with their response
Suppose anybody in the MSM will tumble on to the fact that the two liberal nets are just making up stuff?
Nah.
Nobody hold their breath.
I assume Rush knows a few lawyers. They can find their way to the local courthouse...
Actually, I believe that’s called defamation, and they’re taking a big risk doing this while Limbaugh’s in the middle of a big business deal. If he loses out on his bid for the Rams over this, that can amount to a lot of damages.
That kind of quote sounds more Michael Savage than Rush Limbaugh. This is probably the story: someone in some blog out there mixed up the speakers and the moonbats saw it and went moonbatty without vetting the reference.
of course it is willful character assassination, its gleeful and joyful charcter assassination. They likely knew the quote was a hoax too.
It is lame and will blow back in their faces.
Dan Rather is probably typing it out right now.
Rush was very firm and clear in his denial, after playing the CNN and MSNBC clips making the accusation. He also demanded that they either prove he said it, or issue an apology.
This is liberal race-baiting at its worst.
I don’t know if he’ll sue if they fail to meet his demand, but I hope he does.
Good luck gettin that apology.
Rush is going after these guys pretty aggressively, says he knows exactly who’s behind the false rumors and can prove it.
On his show today, Rush said his staff traced the comment back to an entry made 8 years ago on Wikipedia that is/was labeled “under dispute” or “unconfirmed” or something like that. I don’t use Wiki so I’ve never read the entry.
Oddly, though, the statement is actually correct, as slavery did help build the south (which is why they fought so hard to keep it), and the streets were undoubtedly safer a night before the civil war than they are today, at least in the cities.
And I can say both of those things without in any way suggesting that slavery was good, or that I dislike blacks in any manner.
So while I doubt Rush said it if he said he didn’t, since he obviously has transcripts online and has a search engine to check these quotes, the statement is not a racist statement, and the suggestion that it IS a racist statement is as much of a problem as falsely accusing Rush of saying it.
I hope we don’t lose the argument over whether it’s OK to speak the truth in this case, simply because they are lying about who said it.
Excellent.
I'm surprised they don't simply make up an arrest for pedophelia for Limbaugh.
I mean, hell, why not? Just continue making sh*t up.... like they have been up until now.
Wiki works out alright if you are looking for some information that the left can’t twist to its favor.
Wow. LEt’s see. If you willfully and maliciously cause material damage to the reputation AND the net worth of Rush Limbaugh, that is easily worth NINE figures in terms of real and punitive damages.
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