D.R. Tucker, a black Republican writer and talk show host, used to get in arguments with black liberals who accused Limbaugh of racism. Now he agrees with them.
In an essay Tucker wrote that he asked me to post on my blog LimbaughBook, he noted:
Having defended and supported Limbaugh for fifteen years, I realize, perhaps too late, that I must have been robbed of my common sense.
On March 22 I was a guest on the podcast Tucker co-hosts, Patriot Games Radio, where we had an intelligent and thoughtful argument about Limbaugh's racism and my new book about Limbaugh, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh's Assault on Reason. It was unusual to have a right-winger invite me on a talk show, and I enjoyed the conversation. I may not have convinced Tucker then, but last week I posted a blog entry on my website limbaughbook.com about Limbaugh's depiction of Obama as a burglar on the cover of The Limbaugh Letter.
In a blog post on his site “The Urban Right” titled, “Talent on loan from the devil: Rush Limbaugh embraces old-school bigotry,” Tucker concluded: “I can't defend Limbaugh anymore after seeing that sickening image.”
Tucker had defended Limbaugh for years. In 2008 on the conservative website Human Events, Tucker recalled the “media assault” against Limbaugh for his 2003 remarks on ESPN about Donovan McNabb. Tucker called the attacks on Limbaugh “horrifying.” In 2009, Tucker defended Limbaugh's song “Barack the Magic Negro” by declaring, “if one understands the backstory of the song, it doesn’t come across as bigoted.”
Tucker noted today about Limbaugh,
I still felt compelled to give him the benefit of the doubt on the question of race.
Until now.
I was repulsed when I learned that Limbaugh had depicted Obama as a burglar on the cover of the August 2011 issue of his publication, The Limbaugh Letter. Some images are politically incorrect but not bigoted. This image was bigoted.
Tucker wrote,
Does Limbaugh personally dislike blacks? I can’t credibly make that claim. Has Limbaugh exploited racial stereotypes to make money? The evidence for that is obvious.
I encourage you to read the full essay by Tucker. At a time when Republican politicians and talk show hosts are too terrified to criticize Limbaugh and the Tea Party, it's refreshing to know that some Republicans like Tucker are willing to keep an open mind and change their views when the evidence demands it.