Right-Wing Hypocrites: 10 Reasons Conservatives Should Shut Up About Letterman's Sarah Palin Gaffe

By Karl Frisch, Media Matters for America. Posted June 22, 2009.

8) Syndicated radio host Neal Boortz, for describing welfare recipients as "human parasitic garbage lining up to get their applications to loot."

7) Fox News conspiracy-theorist-in-chief Glenn Beck, for describing Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court as, "Hey, Hispanic chick lady! You're empathetic. ... You're in!"

6) MSNBC's resident cranky uncle, Pat Buchanan, for saying prior to Sotomayor's selection that he wanted Obama to pick a Supreme Court justice "who has real stature, impresses people" but thinking instead that Obama would pick "a minority, a woman and/or a Hispanic."

5) Syndicated radio host Jim Quinn, for repeatedly calling NOW the "National Organization of Whores."

4) Cincinnati-based radio host Bill Cunningham, for alleging that "Obama wants to gas the Jews."

3) Michael Savage (née Weiner), the third-highest-rated radio host in America, for saying "Obama hates" and "is raping America."

2) Fox News' irrepressible mega-star Bill O'Reilly, for repeatedly quacking that the legalization of gay marriage could lead to folks marrying ducks.

And No. 1, the conservative movement's de facto leader, Rush Limbaugh, for saying of Obama, "We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles ... because his father was black."

In all honesty, the list could have included dozens of other media conservatives, with comments and actions numbering in the hundreds.

At the end of the day, expecting consistency from a movement motivated primarily by divisiveness and fearmongering is perhaps a bit much to ask. It's sad that the righteous complaints over Letterman's ill-conceived jokes are undermined by the right's inability to hold their own ilk accountable.

We should all be concerned about the level of sexism, racism, homophobia, and bigotry in general found in today's media landscape -- regardless of the offending party. Unfortunately, much like the iconic gap between Letterman's front teeth, so too is there a gaping hole in the credibility of his conservative critics, however justified their claims may be.

See more stories tagged with: obama, rush limbaugh, letterman, glenn beck, sean hannity, james dobson, pat buchanan, sarah palin, bristol palin, sonia sotomayor, andy martin, neal boortz

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