On Thursday, Limbaugh for the first time explained to his listeners what precipitated his interest in the team and the events that led to him being fired from the prospective ownership group.
At the end of his opening monologue, Limbaugh painted a very scary picture of the media forces behind the smear campaign to prevent him from being involved in the Rams ownership, and what it means to our country (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, relevant section at 5:30, h/t Story Balloon):
Those people who enabled this event, for their own racial reasons, for their own ratings, their own fundraising, their own face-time, their own business reasons, they're going to be just as unhappy as they were before this happened. It's a collection of unhappy, angry, agitated people, and that's not going to change. But this kind of stuff, this misreporting, mal-reporting, lying, repeating the lies while also saying Limbaugh denies, repeating the made-up quotes, the blind hatred, and believe me the hatred that exists in this is found in the sportswriter community. It's found in the news business. It's found in the race-hustler business. As I said yesterday and I've said I don't know how many times on this program I love the National Football League. I don't dislike anything about it. I'm a fan. But the hatred that I am able now to mirror for the country to see is all over the place, and I tell you with absolute sincerity I am more sad for our country than I am for myself...These are dark days that we face, and I'm not talking about the National Football League or me, I'm about my news stack today.
Those interested should watch part one of his monologue. Pay particular attention around minute four when Limbaugh talks about how George Soros is apparently involved in this ownership group:
If it turns out to be true, and multiple news outlets are now reporting this, how will media scrutinize some of Soros's anti-American comments in the past?
For instance, this was posted moments ago by Newsday.com:
Now comes word, via Bloomberg, that ultra-liberal billionaire financier/philanthropist George Soros, who once compared some of Pres. Bush's tactics in the war on terror to the Nazi regime, may also be part of the bid.
Talk about NFL ownership making for strange bedfellows. That's about as bizarre as it can get. [...]
If Soros is indeed a member of the ownership group, then Checketts must eliminate him from consideration, too. After all, if Limbaugh's polarizing views were anathema to a league that wants to avoid controversy, then Soros' extreme remarks should also raise a red flag to owners.
Soros was once reported to have said that removing Pres. Bush from office was the "central focus of my life" and "a matter of life and death."
Talk about polarizing comments.
Don't think the NFL will want to be addressing those remarks any time soon.
Fascinating. Will other media outlets go after Soros with the same vigor as New York's Newsday did at its website?
Stay tuned.
Those interested can read the entire transcript of Rush's opening monologue here.
