Andrew Sullivan likes to refer to stories like this as coming “from the annals of chutzpah.” And boy, does this qualify as chutzpah. Don Imus — Don Freaking Imus — is calling Rush Limbaugh an insincere pig for his attack on Sandra Fluke:
“It was a vile personal attack on this woman and it was sustained,” Imus noted on Monday. “It was Wednesday and then come back and double down on Thursday and then come back and double down on Friday. And then, issue a lame apology on your website.”
“So were it me and I ran a radio station or whatever, I would make him go down there and apologize to her face to face. He owns a Gulfstream IV (jet). Get on it, go to Washington, take her to lunch and say, ‘Look, I’m sorry I said this stuff and I’ll never do it again. Period.’ Now, he’s an insincere pig. Pill-popping pinhead.”
He’s right, of course, but holy crap. Talk about the wrong person making that claim. I think the pot just called the kettle a slut.
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Tualha
March 8, 2012 at 1:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Or, in this case, from the anus of chutzpah.
Who Knows?
March 8, 2012 at 1:36 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I think you’re being a little hard on Imus. I don’t think Imus made any attempt to justify his comments or the idea behind them.
Rush on the other hand, said I think she’s a slut but I shouldn’t have come right out and said so.
Chiroptera
March 8, 2012 at 1:38 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
…take her to lunch….
Actually, maybe he shouldn’t. Just get her a gift card to Red Lobster or something.
Raging Bee
March 8, 2012 at 1:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t have much of a problem with Imus’ criticism. It’s not exactly hypocritical, since: a) as he said, Rush made a SUSTAINED attack, not just a few insulting remarks on one show; b) Rush was engaged in deliberate character assassination, to serve an agenda, not just blithering tactlessly; and c) Imus got properly punished for his insulting words, so he has every right to be angry if Rush doesn’t.
The take-away message here is not that Don Imus has “chutzpah;” it’s that Rush’s behavior is so low that even Don Imus can justly look down on him.
Raging Bee
March 8, 2012 at 1:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And no, Rush should most definitely NOT take her to lunch. Would you eat anything that disgusting drug-addled asshole bought you? Would you even have an appetite, if he was in sight of you at the time?
He should giver a sizable check instead, with an explicit written apology, not just for calling her names, but for lying about the policy he was criticizing.
Jeremy Shaffer
March 8, 2012 at 2:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
In regards to Rush taking Fluke out to lunch as an apology: bad idea. Rush might expect reciprocation from Fluke and demand it be recorded.
d cwilson
March 8, 2012 at 2:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I never cared for Imus. I always thought he was too mush-mouthed for radio and I haven’t listened to him for years. But, I’m willing to give him the benefit of doubt here. He made a single remark and it cost him a job. Maybe he learned his lesson there.
fastlane
March 8, 2012 at 2:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I see what you did there.
..and I approve.
'Tis Himself, OM
March 8, 2012 at 3:58 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Raging Bee #4
Wins the thread.
aaronbaker
March 8, 2012 at 4:08 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I agree with Raging Bee re Imus, and my opinion of him actually improved when I read his remarks. Bad as he can be, he’s not Limbaugh, and he’s entitled to point out the difference.
edmundog
March 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And let’s not forget that when Imus apologized, he actually apologized for what he said, not how he said it, didn’t qualify, and seemed to mean it.
coryat
March 8, 2012 at 6:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Maybe she could post videos online of herself having dinner?
Ace of Sevens
March 8, 2012 at 7:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@coryat: I’m sorry. The thread has already been won. Your entry came in after the deadline.
shoutindarkness
March 9, 2012 at 1:48 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ed, you really do have a problem with the false equivalence fallacy.
Raging Bee
March 9, 2012 at 8:01 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I won another tube, YAAAY! Gotta collect ‘em all…
mucklededun
March 9, 2012 at 9:42 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
From the latin…
imus, ima, imum (adj)
1. the lowest, deepest, last
2. [as subst. n] the bottom, depth, lowest part
3.[figuratively of time or rank] the last
Your “Wait, What?” Moment of the Day (Turn Irony Meters Off) « Foster Disbelief
March 9, 2012 at 9:36 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
[...] Don “Nappy headed ho’s” Imus? Via Dispatches from the Culture Wars, here’s his response to the Rush controversy: “It was a vile personal attack on this woman [...]
eye glasses online
March 11, 2012 at 9:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
eye glasses online…
[...]Bryan Fischer Award Nominee: Don Imus | Dispatches from the Culture Wars[...]…