Is there any offensive behavior by a right-wing radio host the Media Research Center won’t defend or try to spin away?
Last year, the MRC responded to Rush Limbaugh’s tirade of misogyny against Sandra Fluke by starting a “I Stand With Rush” website. Now, in an Aug. 27 NewsBusters post, Tim Graham gave radio host Laura Ingraham an unfettered opportunity to play the victim after she was criticized for using a gunshot sound effect to interrupt a speech by Rep. John Lewis discussing the assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his “I Have A Dream” speech, and Graham added his own tacit endorsement:
On Monday, Ingraham exploded the Lewis soundbite as he demanded “comprehensive immigration reform,” just before he used the ridiculous metaphor of illegal aliens hiding “in the shadows” — she noted they were brought as guests to Obama’s State of the Union address. Ingraham explained their sound effect to NewsBusters:
My producers and I have used this blow up effect to interrupt windbags for 10 years of political and cultural persuasions. The cannon or “blow up” sound is meant to convey the gaseous thoughts of a speaker combusting, but of course the bilious Joan Walsh of Salon.com knows that. (My producers have even blown me up when we play long clips from TV appearances!)
Par for the course–people with an ideological axe to grind are attempting to read malicious intent where none exists. Their goal is not to debate, but to stifle speech.
So using a gunshot/explosion/whatever sound effect to interrupt a speaker is not an attempt to stifle speech? And using it on a civil rights leader who saw several of his colleagues assassinated isn’t crass and insensitive?
Graham continued to let Ingraham play defense:
Ingraham told me: “This is absurd and venomous and the predictably pathetic work of people who mean to crush free speech as they advance a failing, progressive agenda. If Joan Walsh or other left-wing loons give voice to their moronic, dishonest analysis, they might self-combust on my show, too. Boom.”
She also said “I referred to John Lewis as a ‘trailblazing civil rights figure.’ They’re absurd.”
Praising John Lewis before insulting him with a gunshot sound effect is supposed to absolve Ingraham? Really?
The only absurd thing we see here is Graham so desperately willing to spin away odious behavior by his beloved right-wing radio hosts.