Right wing derangement on display

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Rush Limbaugh Still Toxic For Advertisers One Year After Fluke Attacks

ANGELO CARUSONE/Media Matters for America

It's been one year since Rush Limbaugh's invective-filled tirade against then-Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke. With hundreds of advertisers and millions of dollars lost, the business of right-wing radio is suffering, but Rush Limbaugh continues to act as if it were business as usual, which is why Limbaugh is still bad for business.

On February 29, 2012, Rush Limbaugh initiated a three-day smear campaign against Sandra Fluke, launching 46 personal attacks against her. This moment and Limbaugh's subsequent refusal to apologize for, or even acknowledge, all but two of those attacks put the spotlight on the right-wing talk business model that Limbaugh helped construct.

During the following weeks, headlines tracked in near real-time the names of advertisers exiting Limbaugh's show as pundits and natterers speculated about Limbaugh's future. As so often happens, the buzz faded and the news cycle rolled on. But the consequences didn't fade, they intensified. This is due in large part to scores of independent organizers, like theFlush Rush and the #StopRush community.

Rush Limbaugh's recklessness damaged the radio industry and the business of conservative talk.

When advertisers began fleeing from his program, Limbaugh dismissed the losses as akin to losing a "couple of French fries" and insisted that "nobody is losing any money here." This position seemed less tenable after Limbaugh employed the services of a crisis manager to handle the fallout, and the right-wing talker's protestations were proven false once financial reports started rolling in.

For example, Cumulus Media, a radio company that carries Limbaugh's show in 38 markets, reported millions of dollars in lost revenue and attributed the losses in part to the Limbaugh advertiser fallout. Dial Global, a radio syndication company, reported roughly $100 million in losses for 2012 and publicly cited Limbaugh as a significant contributing factor.

Owing to the structure of radio advertising, the losses Limbaugh felt rippled outward, intensifying their effect. Reports indicate that 70 percent of advertisers didn't know their ads were running during Limbaugh's show. From my own extensive conversations with advertisers, I would say that more than half were not aware that their ads were running during Limbaugh's show. That may seem unlikely, but it's quite possible after you consider how the ads got there in the first place.

Advertisers pay media buyers to negotiate rates and coordinate ad buys with radio companies. Typically they're just buying a certain number of commercials during a defined period of time. Consequently, the advertiser is often several steps removed from the actual ad placement. Once notified that their ads are running during his program, advertisers often immediately recognize that they shouldn't be supporting Limbaugh. They contact their buyer to request that the ads be removed and instruct them to exclude Limbaugh from future ad buys. After a few of their clients request the same thing, savvy buyers get the message. They start proactively excluding clients from Limbaugh's show. Many go a step further and exclude their clients' ads from programming similar to Limbaugh's, which amplifies the negative impact on right-wing radio.

Radio companies are still not equipped to respond to these kinds of client requests, which creates additional problems. The increased frequency of ads being run in error frustrates advertisers and strains relationships with the buying agencies. The Limbaugh advertiser problem is so significant that it has even spilled over into the business of online radio streams, according to Erica Farber, who is CEO of the Radio Association of Broadcasters.

At a Talkers forum last year, Norm Pattiz, CEO of Courtside Entertainment, summed up the destructive effect Limbaugh has had on the entire industry, noting that a "tremendous chunk of advertising revenue was wiped out in terms of support for national talk radio programs." Pattiz added that "the movement in talk radio to some degree is moving away from conservative talk radio and into other genres."

Despite continued rebukes by advertisers, and seemingly without regard for the damage he is causing, Rush Limbaugh adds to the problem by proceeding as if it were business as usual.

Every day, Rush Limbaugh reminds advertisers why they should be wary about associating with right-wing radio by filling his airtime with the same kinds of bigotry, deceit, and chicanery that have come to define his brand.

Last July, Limbaugh argued that feminism is "ruining women" and assertedthat feminism was established so that "unattractive women" could have "easier access to the mainstream." In September, Limbaugh warned that men's penises are shrinking and blamed "feminazis" and "chickification."

Last month, Limbaugh inexplicably claimed "African-Americans today can be convinced that they are still slaves." He also launched a series ofslavery-based attacks on Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, wondering if Jackson Lee had "outlived her usefulness on the plantation."

In December, he asked a caller: "You're a woman and you like the Super Bowl? Or, is that when your husband beats you?" Last month, he told another caller: "You know how to stop abortion? Require that each one occur with a gun."

Limbaugh has argued that there is "scholarly research" to support his contention that Mexicans are lazy in comparison to Cubans.

I could go on (and there are plenty more examples), but my point is to illustrate that Limbaugh is just as risky today as he was when he made the Fluke comments. Advertisers don't want to associate with this kind of vitriol, and they know that since Limbaugh hasn't changed, it's only a matter of time before he causes another Fluke-like stir. And they don't want to be on the hook when that happens.

Rush Limbaugh is still bad for business.

The clearest indication that Rush Limbaugh is still bad for business is the fact that advertisers continue to flee his program. There are signs that the radio industry is internalizing that notion and adapting accordingly.

In some ways, the adaptation is taking place on branding and marketing grounds. When Philadelphia's WPHTreplaced Rush Limbaugh with Michael Smerconish, promotional material for Smerconish that was sent to advertisers declared the era of "angry is over." In the same vein, right-wing extremist Glenn Beck was replacedon twelve stations with moderate conservative Geraldo Rivera. Perhaps the era of angry is indeed over?

Mike Huckabee is trying to stake out a similar position. One radio company executive reportedlycharacterized the marketing of his show, saying: "They are positioning Huckabee as the safe, non-dangerous alternative to Rush." It's debatable whether Huckabee actually is a "safer" alternative to Rush, but the key takeaway here is that some in the radio industry are trying to draw a red line between themselves and what Limbaugh represents.

Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks, Limbaugh's syndicator, had a difficult first quarter due to weak ad sales. They wouldn't offer additional information about this (and they don't have to because Clear Channel is a private company). But, given how much damage Limbaugh is causing to the broader industry, it's not much of a stretch to deduce that his home base is also experiencing some effect.

Last September, I attended the Radio Show, an industry event produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau and the National Association of Broadcasters. In every session that I attended, managing the negative impact of Limbaugh was addressed at some point - even in the sessions in which I didn't expect it to come up. Overall, I left with the impression that the industry is deeply aware that a problem exists and is in the process of adapting.

Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey signaled the toxicity of Limbaugh's business model as well as industry adaptation in a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, saying: "We're sort of seeing a shift in spoken-word radio from political-based talk over to sports." Sports radio is popular with advertisers, Dickey explained, and "people may be a bit tired of all the partisan bickering."

One year out from the attacks on Fluke, we see that Limbaugh's business model is not just bad for business, it's breaking talk radio.

And, onward we go...

Vandals spraypaint swastikas on Obama Colorado campaign office

By Arturo Garcia/Raw Story

For the second time in a week, a Colorado field office for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign has been targeted.

KUSA-TV reported Friday that the campaign’s field office in Conifer, Colorado, was found with swastikas spray-painted on it.

According to The Denver Post, a spokesperson for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department said a deputy answering a vandalism report that morning found three windows and five campaign signs for the president had been vandalized, though he did not know what had been spray-painted on them.

The swastika symbol is widely associated with the Nazi parties and accompanying philosophies like white supremacy.

Conifer is less than 60 miles away from Denver, where a gunshot was fired at an Obama campaign field office Oct. 12. A Denver Police spokesman said the bullet was recovered from inside the office, but he did not have an update on that investigation.

Members of the Obama campaign at the Conifer office refused to comment on Friday’s incident.

KUSA’s report on the swastika incident, aired Friday, can be seen below.

Michelle Obama Derangement Syndrome: Four Years, 40 Smears

TERRY KREPEL & LESLIE ROSENBERG/Media MAtters for America

Conservative media figures have spent the past four years smearing, attacking, and hurling insults at Michelle Obama. As the first lady prepares to address the Democratic National Convention, Media Matters details the right-wing media's Michelle Obama derangement syndrome.

Right-Wing Media Attacked Michelle Obama As Unpatriotic

Wash. Times Attempted To Lip-Read First Lady's Whispering To Husband To Claim She Attacked American Flag. In an article which was later picked up by the right-wing blogosphere, Washington Timessenior editorial writer for foreign affairs James Robbins speculated that Mrs. Obama "appear[ed] to" whisper to her husband, "all this just for a flag" during the 9-11 Memorial ceremony in New York City. From the September 13, 2011, piece:

The internet was buzzing Tuesday night with video of First Lady Michelle Obama apparently showing extreme disrespect to the American flag at a ceremony in honor of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. As police and firefighters fold the flag to the sound of marching bagpipers, a skeptical looking Mrs. Obama leans to her husband and appears to say, "all this just for a flag." She then purses her lips and shakes her head slightly as Mr. Obama nods.  [The Washington Times, 9/13/11, via Media Matters]

O'Reilly Didn't "Want To Go On A Lynching Party Against Michelle Obama" Unless "Evidence" Showed She Felt America "Is A Bad Country." After a listener of his radio show said that according to "a friend who had knowledge of her," Michelle Obama " 'is a very angry,' her word was 'militant woman,' " Fox News' Bill O'Reilly later stated: "I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels -- that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever -- then that's legit. We'll track it down." [Westwood One, The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, 2/19/08, via Media Matters]

Hannity Repeatedly Attempted To Paint Mrs. Obama As Unpatriotic By Distorting Her Senior Thesis.Fox News' Sean Hannity distorted a passage from Michelle Obama's 1985 Princeton senior thesis to claim that she holds "the belief that blacks must join in solidarity to combat a white oppressor" during several of his February 2008 shows. Hannity ripped the line from its proper context:

As discussed earlier, most respondents were attending Princeton during the 70's, at a time when the Black Power Movement was still influencing the attitudes of many Blacks.

It is possible that Black individuals either chose to or felt pressure to come together with other Blacks on campus because of the belief that Blacks must join in solidarity to combat a White oppressor. As the few blacks in a white environment it is understandable that respondents might have felt a need to look out for one another. [Media Matters, 2/29/08]

Fox's Juan Williams Claimed That Michelle Obama's Instinct Is To "Blame America." Fox News contributor Juan Williams baselessly attacked Michelle Obama, claiming that "her instinct is to start with this 'blame America' ... stuff." Williams asserted that Michelle Obama's "instinct" is to "blame America" or be "the victim." Williams also said that she could be a "liabilit[y]" or an "albatross" for President Obama. [Fox News,The O'Reilly Factor, 1/26/09]

Fox's Attacks On First Lady Were Not Missed By ABC News. During the February 21, 2010, edition of ABC'sWorld News, correspondent Yunji de Nies noted that Fox "has repeatedly questioned the First Lady's patriotism." [ABC, World News, 2/21/10]

Limbaugh Claimed Michelle Obama "Is Not Proud Of Her Country Unless She's Getting What She Wants From It." From the October 1, 2009, edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Now I'm like you, I'm thinking that Michelle Obama needs a little dictionary lesson. Let's not forget this is the woman who is not proud of her country unless she's getting what she wants from it. She said during the campaign the first time she had been proud of her country was when Obama was nominated or done something. So she sacrificed herself to get in a big, luxurious jet, a Boeing 757, to fly to Copenhagen where she is pampered and treated like she were a goddess. Yes, this is a sacrifice. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/1/09]

Beck & Crew Joked About Michelle Obama Not Loving Her Country. On the July 13, 2010, edition of Glenn Beck's radio show, he and his cast spent more than four minutes sarcastically commenting about how much Michelle Obama doesn't love her country. As proof of this, they cited her observation that "stubborn inequality" still exists in the United States and her promotion of healthy eating. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 7/13/10]

Right-Wing Media Attacked Michelle Obama's Efforts To Fight Childhood Obesity

Beck Claimed Michelle Obama's "Let's Move Campaign" Could Lead To Imprisonment For Serving Fries. Following the launch of Mrs. Obama's "Let's Move Campaign" to fight childhood obesity, Glenn Beck said:

BECK: So then what? Well, you're going to have to tax, you're going to have to make it more and more difficult, but when those options don't work, how do you get people to stop eating french fries? Because french fries still beat carrots. What's left? Well now you have to start thinking about punishments. Maybe a fine, maybe even jail! But it always starts with a nudge. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 9/14/10]

Limbaugh Was Not "Surprised" That Michelle Obama Encouraged People To "Get On That Teat."Disparaging Michelle Obama's promotion of breastfeeding, Limbaugh said that he wasn't surprised to see the first lady "encouraging people to get on that teat." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show,9/21/10]

Fox's Ingraham Directed GOP To Oppose Michelle Obama's Efforts To Fight Childhood Obesity. During a December 14, 2010, appearance on Fox's morning show, right-wing radio talk show host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham urged Republicans to "be more vociferously opposed" to Michelle Obama's ideas, now that she is "clearly in the policy arena" by opposing childhood obesity. [Fox News, Fox & Friends,12/14/10]

Fox's Tucker Carlson Equated Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" Campaign To Her Raising Your Kids For You "At Gunpoint." During a debate on the February 15, 2011, edition of Fox's Hannity, Fox contributor Tucker Carlson slammed the First Lady for her "let's move" campaign, asking, "Why would you want to raise your own kids when Michelle Obama will do it for you ... at gunpoint?" [Fox News, Hannity, 2/15/11]

Following A Speech By Mrs. Obama On Food Deserts, Ingraham Commented On Sasha Obama's Build. While playing a clip of Michelle Obama talking about food deserts, Laura Ingraham said, "One Of [Michelle Obama's] daughters apparently is not living in a food desert." [Talk Radio Network, The Laura Ingraham Show, 4/28/11]

Human Events' Mattera: Michelle Obama Is A "Dietary Dominatrix." Appearing on Fox Business Network, conservative author and radio host Jason Mattera called Michelle Obama a "dietary dominatrix." [Fox Business,Follow the Money, 12/6/11, via Media Matters]

Right-Wing Media Attacked First Lady's Body

Andrew Breitbart's Website Published A Cartoon Of An Overweight Michelle Obama Saying "Shut Up And Pass The Bacon!" Taking a cue from Rush Limbaugh's nickname for the first lady -- "Michelle, My Butt" -- one of Andrew Breitbart's websites posted a cartoon of an overweight Michelle Obama eating a plate-full of hamburgers and saying: "Shut up and pass the bacon!" [Big Government, 2/12/11, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh Told Michelle Obama She "Had Better Look Like An Ethiopian" To Promote Healthy Eating.Limbaugh attacked Mrs. Obama for advocating fitness and healthy eating: "If you're gonna tell everybody to eat twigs and berries ... you had better look like an Ethiopian." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 2/23/11]

National Review Columnist Suggested Michelle Obama Is Fat. In a column for National Review, David Kahan wrote:

Still, Michelle would have a real shot of slipping into Queen Kapiolani's muumuu collection and making it her own, especially after a few more meals of short ribs in Vail, the calorie count of which is only slightly offset by her incessant finger-wagging at the rest of us. [National Review,3/15/11, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh: President Obama's Limousine "Weighs Eight Tons Without Michelle In It." Discussing President Obama's limousine on his radio show, Rush Limbaugh stated that the limousine "weighs eight tons without Michelle in it." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/15/11, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh Somehow Turned Libya Discussion Into A Fat Joke About Michelle Obama. Rush Limbaugh accused Sen. John McCain of "butt-kissing" by giving credit to President Obama for the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi, adding, "Whose butt is he kissing with that comment? Obama's? Obama doesn't have a butt. Compared to his wife, he really doesn't have a butt." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show; 10/20/11, via Media Matters]

Right-Wing Media Played Fashion Police For First Lady

Michael Savage Called Michelle Obama "The Worst Dressed First Lady In The History Of The Country." On his June 25, 2009, radio program, Michael Savage lashed out against the characterization of Michelle Obama as a fashion icon, declaring her "the worst dressed first lady in the history of the country," and asking, "Why every night a sleeveless dress? What's that all about?" [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation,6/25/09, via Media Matters]

Beck: Michelle Obama's Beach Outfit Was The "Most Marie Antoinette" Yet. During an appearance onThe O'Reilly Factor, Glenn Beck found Mrs. Obama's outfit during a visit to an oil-polluted Gulf beach unacceptable, calling it "the most Marie Antoinette I have seen of anything with Michelle Obama," and "an outrage." [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 7/16/10, via Media Matters]

Right-Wing Media Claimed Michelle Obama's State Dinner Dress Honored Communist China. The right-wing media attacked Michelle Obama for wearing a red dress to a White House state dinner, suggesting she did so to honor "Commie Red China." [Media Matters, 1/20/11]

Loesch Guest: "Why Doesn't She Wear Anything That Fits?" Appearing as a guest on CNN contributor Dana Loesch's radio show, commentator Tony Katz said if President Obama actually "liked women he'd buy Michelle Obama better clothes. Why doesn't she wear anything that fits?" [KFTK, The Dana Show, 4/12/12, viaMedia Matters]

Right-Wing Media Launched Sexist Attacks On First Lady

Wash. Times Called Michelle Obama Campaign Event An "Estrogenfest" And "A Girlie Show." In a news article, The Washington Times described a 2008 campaign event featuring Michelle Obama as "as much estrogenfest as it was campaign rally." The article continued: "Even Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm got in on the girlie show as they campaigned together." [The Washington Times, 7/14/08]

Beck Asked Why Michelle Obama's "Breasts Are All Smushed Up." On his May 20, 2010, radio program, Beck cited the Drudge Report's sexist attack on Michelle Obama, saying: "She looks positively like she's trying to be some Greek statue. I don't think I've ever seen the First Lady with her -- excuse the expression, but with her breasts all smushed up, I mean what is that? Did you even see that picture, I mean, that's -- what is that?" [Drudge Report; Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 5/20/10, via Media Matters]

Conservative Media Likened "Pampered" Michelle Obama To A "Modern-Day Marie Antoinette."Right-wing media repeatedly compared First Lady Michelle Obama to Marie Antoinette. This comparison was in part based on the falsehood that the Obama family dog flew on his own "separate aircraft to vacation with them in Maine." [Media Matters, 8/5/10]

Fox's Malkin Calls Michelle Obama "The Bitter Half Of The Obama Administration." On Fox News'Hannity, Fox contributor Michelle Malkin said that Michelle Obama has "earned" the designation as "the bitter half of the Obama administration." [Fox News, Hannity, 5/30/12, via Media Matters]

Right-Wing Media Played The Race Card On Michelle Obama

Fox's Michelle Malkin Called First Lady One Of The President's "Cronies Of Color." In her book Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies, Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin wrote:

But they are still in the minority. And there will be more predictable excuses. As I document in this book, Obama's cronies of color (beginning with his own wife) reach for the race card when their dubious judgment is questioned. And when all else fails, there's always the "I inherited the problem" alibi.

To which I reply: Read the book. Barack Obama owns this cabinet of tax cheats, crooks, and cronies. It is his and his alone. In the era of "new politics," judge him as you would judge other mere mortals. Judge him not by the company that preceded him. [Media Matters, 8/1/09]

Limbaugh "Speculate[d]" That Michelle Obama Skipped Sen. Robert Byrd's Funeral Because Of Her "Authentic Slave Blood." From the July 2, 2010, edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: I don't know why Michelle, my belle, is not there. But, as has been said by several Black civil rights leaders, Obama does not have authentic slave blood. But Michelle does, and maybe that's why. We can only speculate. Maybe she's at a skybox at a baseball or football game, who knows. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/2/10]

Limbaugh Called First Lady's Trip To Spain "Vacation Affirmative Action." On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said:

LIMBAUGH: The liberals in this country, the left, the elite, who are walking around with a collective guilt of 200 some-odd years over our nation's slave past, over our discrimination past, and all of these things, civil rights violations, all of these things, running around -- it's the animating factor of many sports writers by the way, it's the thing that animates them. It's the thing that animates a lot of people on the left.

And Michelle "my belle" Obama is descended from slaves. As the left has pointed -- not me -- as leftist preachers have pointed out, she's got slave blood where Obama himself does not. He's not authentic, she is. Now for years, and years, and years, powerful people have been able to game the system and travel all over the world and have fine meals and fine wine and all of these fine things. It's only fair, and it's only right that members of an abused minority now get their share of the pie. It's like vacation affirmative action. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 8/10/10]

Limbaugh: Michelle Obama Was Booed At NASCAR Event Because She Exhibited "Uppity-Ism."Discussing an appearance by Michelle Obama at a NASCAR event during which she was booed, Rush Limbaugh said that she exhibited "a little bit of uppity-ism" by traveling in a separate plane than her husband to a destination. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 11/21/11, via Media Matters]

Right-Wing Media Used Jodi Kantor Book To Launch Racially Charged Attacks On Michelle Obama. Following the release of The Obamas by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor, the right-wing media used a passage from the book to suggest that Michelle Obama has a problem with "white Irish Catholics" wielding power. In fact, the line that was distorted by the right-wing media was not a quote by Obama, but a description by Kantor, and the full context of the quote makes it clear that Obama was referring to entrenched power and political dynasties, not any particular ethnic group. [Media Matters, 1/10/12]

Right-Wing Media Launched Other Random Attacks On First Lady

Fox Nation Suggested Michelle Obama Stocked Socialism Books In White House Library. Fox Nation and other conservative blogs falsely accused Michelle Obama of "stock[ing] the White House Library with books on socialism." The books in question have been in the White House library since 1963. [Media Matters, 2/18/10]

Limbaugh Falsely Claimed Taxpayers Funded 60 Luxury Hotel Rooms For Michelle Obama's Vacation. Rush Limbaugh falsely asserted that Michelle Obama took "40 of her best friends and leas[ed] 60 rooms in a 5 star hotel -- paid by you." In fact, the White House has said the Obamas are paying for personal expenses on the trip, including their lodging. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 8/6/11, viaMedia Matters]

Beck Lied About First Lady's Staff Size To Say She "Is Really Marie Antoinette." On his radio show, Glenn Beck attacked Michelle Obama for allegedly lavish spending on staffers and parties, saying, "The first lady's office needs 43 people? For what? These people are out of control. It is really Marie Antoinette." PolitiFact.com checked Beck's claim and found that, in fact, "Michelle Obama has a staff of 25, not 43. ... The size of Michelle Obama's staff is similar to that of her immediate predecessors." PolitiFact gave Beck its "Pants on Fire" rating. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/25/11, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh Attacked Michelle Obama For Going To Target. When a picture surfaced of Michelle Obama shopping at a Target discount store, Rush Limbaugh said, "It has gotten so bad, they had to send Moochelle out there in a Lady Gaga-type getup. She went shopping at Target." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/30/11, via Media Matters]

Malkin: Obama Went To Target To "Counter The Negative Diva Buzz." In a blog post, Michelle Malkin attacked Michelle Obama for shopping at Target, writing that Obama was "about as 'incognito' as Lady Gaga's outfit at her younger sister's graduation." Malkin went on to call the first lady "the glamour queen" and further stated that Obama's Target visit was "[t]o counter the negative diva buzz" and that it "[l]ooks like she left the bling at home." [MichelleMalkin.com, 9/29/11, via Media Matters]

Right-Wing Blogs Attacked Michelle Obama Over Appearance On Nickelodeon's iCarly. During a guest appearance by Michelle Obama on the Nickelodeon show iCarly, one of the characters on the show referred to the first lady as "your excellency." Another character corrected the first, saying, "You don't call her 'your excellency,' " to which Obama responded, "No, no. I kind of like it." The Weasel Zippers blog responded to the scripted line by writing: "Queen Michelle On iCarley Confirms What We've All Suspected: 'I Kind Of Like Being Called Your Excellency'..." [Weasel Zippers, 1/3/12]

Right-Wing Blogs Attacked Michelle Obama For Leading Olympic Delegation. Right-wing bloggers attacked Michelle Obama following an announcement that the first lady would be leading the American delegation during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games, despite the fact that both Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton previously led Olympic delegations. As the AP pointed out, it has "become somewhat of a tradition for first ladies to lead the U.S. delegation." [Media Matters, 6/22/12; AP, 3/13/12]

Fox News Twisted Michelle Obama's Comments To Claim She Said Voting For Republicans Would Cause People To "Die From Cancer." Fox News distorted comments by Michelle Obama at a campaign event in order to claim that she was "insinuating" that "if you elect Mitt Romney, women will die from cancer." But Obama simply pointed out that Romney's plan to repeal health care reform would increase the number of people without access to health insurance. [Media Matters, 8/16/12]

Fox's Dobbs: Michelle Obama Is "High Maintenance" From A "Taxpayer Perspective" Because Of Her Vacations. On his Fox Business show, Lou Dobbs said that "when the first lady is living high and taking sixteen -- sixteen! -- vacations, and that's in a period of approximately three and a half years, well, things start to add up. She gets to be, if you'll forgive the expression, from a taxpayer perspective -- certainly, I'm sure, not from her husband's perspective -- high maintenance." [Fox Business, Lou Dobbs Tonight, 8/9/12, via Media Matters]

Study Finds Conservative Talk Radio Promotes Echo-Chamber Of Hate Speech

 SALVATORE COLLELUORI/Media Matters for America

On Wednesday, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center released a study showing that guests and topics discussed during "The Rush Limbaugh Show," "The Sean Hannity Show," "The Glenn Beck Program," The Savage Nation" and "The John and Ken Show" overwhelmingly marginalized minority groups.

As the study explains:

The findings reveal that the hosts promoted an insular discourse that focused on, for example, anti-immigration, anti-Islam, and pro-Tea Party positions and that this discourse found repetition and amplification through social media.

These viewpoints have far reaching consequences. NHMC President and CEO Alex Nogales told Fox News Latino that the social network surrounding conservative talk radio and Fox News has spread to social media websites resulting in "an echo-chamber of voices, both online and off, that promotes hatred against ethnic, racial and religious groups and the LGBT community on social media web sites."

Using hateful rhetoric, these hosts have cast immigrants as disease ridden, equated pro-immigrant organizations with neo-Nazis, called Islam an "evil religion," claimed the Obama administration is promoting "race riots" and made fun of the ethnicity of Asian-American politicians.

Nugent: "I Will Stand By" Inflammatory Attack On Obama Administration

by Oliver Willis/Media Matters

National Rifle Association board member and Washington Times columnist Ted Nugent refused to back down from his recent inflammatory comments about the Obama administration in a radio interview with CNN contributor Dana Loesch on The Dana Show. Nugent told Loesch that "I will stand by my speech" and said that he was being attacked with the "Saul Alinsky Rules for Radicals playbook."

Speaking at the NRA's annual meeting Nugent accused President Obama of having a "vile, evil America-hating administration" that is "wiping its ass with the Constitution." He went on to tell a crowd that "We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November" and said that "If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year." The Secret Service is reportedly reviewing Nugent's comments.

Nugent insisted to Loesch that his message had been "100 percent positive," and Loesch agreed that he was being used as a "scapegoat" by the Obama administration.

Later in the interview, Nugent added more derogatory comments about Democrats. He described Democratic chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz as a "brain-dead, soulless, heartless idiot," and said House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi was a "sub-human scoundrel."

Asked about a request from the Democrats that Mitt Romney (who sought and received Nugent's endorsement) distance himself from Nugent's comments, Nugent claimed that "Mitt Romney knows what I'm saying is true. He puts it into words for him, I put it into words for me."

These aren't the first inflammatory remarks from Nugent.

• Nugent said Obama was "a piece of shit" who should "suck on my machine gun."
• Nugent said the Muslim community is "rude and stupid."
• Nugent described Hillary Clinton as a "toxic cunt" and a "two-bit whore for Fidel Castro."
• Nugent said anyone who says "gun control" should be put in jail.
• Nugent described the Democratic Party as a "modern-day slave master" to the poor and unemployed.

Ted Nugent's trash talk catches ear of Secret Service

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Santorum told to ‘pretend it’s Obama’ at shooting range

By David Edwards/Raw Story

At a shooting range in Louisiana on Friday, an onlooker encouraged Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum to pretend the target he was firing at was President Barack Obama.

“Santorum is shooting a 1911 Colt,” Politico’s Juana Summers tweeted from the sheriff’s office shooting range in West Monroe. “Range master says ‘Well, it’s not your first rodeo.’ Someone here says ‘pretend its Obama.’”

“As Santorum had headphones on and was standing far from supporters, he likely didn’t hear [the] woman say ‘pretend its Obama’ as he shot,” she added.

NBC’s Andrew Rafferty provided confirmation: “Woman watching Santorum at shooting range in LA yells ‘Pretend it’s Obama’ (there is 0 chance Santorum heard it)”

Afterward, the former Pennsylvania senatorreportedly called the remarks “horrible.”

A recent Public Policy Polling surveyshowed Santorum holding a 14 point lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney going into Saturday’s Republican primary in Louisiana.

Update (1:15 p.m. ET): The Secret Service is investigating, according to The Associated Press.

Update (1:30 p.m. ET): MSNBC has obtained audio of the remark.

Watch this video from MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchel Reports, broadcast March 23, 2012.

 

Watch this video from Fox News, broadcast March 23, 2012.