Limbaugh Repeats Myth That Obama Is Of ‘Arab-African’ Descent

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Yesterday on his radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is “Arab.” “He’s Arab. You know, he’s from Africa. He’s from Arab parts of Africa,” Limbaugh claimed.

Today Limbaugh repeated the lie. While attempting to deny that race may play a role in the presidential campaign, Limbaugh read portions of a Philadelphia Daily News article by Dave Davies. Limbaugh inaccurately quoted Davies’s article, inserting the word “Arab” into a description of Obama’s ethnicity. According to Limbaugh, the article read:

Obama’s name and his

Arab

-African heritage

are obstacles to the party’s chances of capturing the White House, party activists are finding.

In reality, Davies’s article

reads

:

Obama’s name and his

African heritage

are obstacles to the party’s chances of capturing the White House, party activists are finding.

As Yglesias notes, “Obama’s father was, for the record, from Kenya which is

not an Arab part of Africa

.” Limbaugh’s latest attempt to stoke racist fears of Obama is particularly ironic considering the fact that Limbaugh penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last Friday accusing Obama of “

stoking racial antagonism

.”

Limbaugh, however, has used his radio show again and again to do exactly that. In the last 18 months, Limbaugh repeatedly played a song that called Obama the “

Barack the Magic Negro

,” argued that Obama has “

disowned his white half

,” and referred to Obama as the “

affirmative action candidate

.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/23/limbaugh-obama-arab-2/

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

From the CIA World Factbook's entry on Kenya:

Ethnic groups:

Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

Religions:

Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2%

note: a large majority of Kenyans are Christian, but estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely

Languages:

English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages

From the CIA World Factbook's entry on Morocco, a country that actually is from the Arab part of Africa:

Ethnic groups:

Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%

Religions:

Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%

Languages:

Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy

[Mononoke28 135]

Yesterday on his radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is “Arab.” “He’s Arab. You know, he’s from Africa. He’s from Arab parts of Africa,” Limbaugh claimed.

Sooooo? He's still an American. Rush Limbaugh is fat and I don't dislike him for that, I dislike him because he's ruthless bigot.

Diana

[rebeccajo 14]

Good old Rush.

He takes freedom of speech to the absolute limits.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Yesterday on his radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is “Arab.” “He’s Arab. You know, he’s from Africa. He’s from Arab parts of Africa,” Limbaugh claimed.

Sooooo? He's still an American. Rush Limbaugh is fat and I don't dislike him for that, I dislike him because he's ruthless bigot.

Diana

He's not an Arab. See post above.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Good old Rush.

He takes freedom of speech to the absolute limits.

Maybe he ran out of Oxy. I've heard withdrawal is a biitch.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Good old Rush.

He takes freedom of speech to the absolute limits.

Maybe he ran out of Oxy. I've heard withdrawal is a biitch.

He knows what he's doing....he's hoping to lead a few astray.

[Peikko 1,575]

So what? Anyone who takes this guy seriously is not going to vote Barack Obama. Honestly, it's totally unimportant yet another non story.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Madame Cleo

[rebeccajo 14]

So what? Anyone who takes this guy seriously is not going to vote Barack Obama. Seriously, it's unimportant.

Well, you know....you're absolutely right about that...........

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Good old Rush.

He takes freedom of speech to the absolute limits.

Maybe he ran out of Oxy. I've heard withdrawal is a biitch.

He knows what he's doing....he's hoping to lead a few astray.

If he shares his stash, maybe some will be persuaded

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

So what? Anyone who takes this guy seriously is not going to vote Barack Obama. Honestly, it's totally unimportant yet another non story.

No, but it may bring out a Republican or two who might have otherwise stayed home. Keeping an Ay-rab out of the WH might just be the motivation one needs?

I recall a few days before the Presidential Election in 2000, I was driving north on Route 287, going to work and listening to my favorite (at that time) hip-hop station. Then they decided to do a short election piece. They had on a guest who was basically a Gore activist. A few years before that, a black man was dragged to death by three white guys. He was tied to the back of their truck I believe and they dragged him till he died, I believe. The Gore activist brought this up on the show. He said if Bush won, this would happen everywhere to black people. He struck an alarmist tone that a Bush presidency would mean genocide (he didn't use that word but he seemed to imply it) against black people. Do I think some black people came to the polls who wouldn't have otherwise, because of that ad? Yes. I think some did. It's not all that different.

[Peikko 1,575]

Yeah, anything 'might' sway a voter but getting all uptight about the things this little guy says is just pointless. He's going to say stuff to attract attention no matter what and I don't intend to lose any sleep over it.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

... I don't intend to lose any sleep over it.

No one asked you to

[Peikko 1,575]

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Yeah, anything 'might' sway a voter but getting all uptight about the things this little guy says is just pointless. He's going to say stuff to attract attention no matter what and I don't intend to lose any sleep over it.

Although Limbaugh doesn't carry the same political clout he once did, back in '94, Congressional Republicans were actually consulting him for policy....I sh!t you not.

As for the Arab lie...rumors spread like that and you'd be surprised to find how many people think it or are at least suspicious about it with Obama. Limbaugh's no dummy...he's not doing it to be funny. He's spreading a virus, using the radio waves.