About a year ago Imus made racist comments about the Rutgers

[rurallib]

women's basketball team. His compadres in the RW media fought tooth and nail for his free speech rights.
This year Obama's pastor has bits of his sermon taken out of context to vilify Obama. Why are the same people not standing up for the pastor's free speech rights?
BTW - I have had few heroes in my life. Vivian Stringer is a hero to me. What a great human.

[Mooney]

1. Because they're racist and it's a double standard.

What do I win?

[leftofcool]

2. Didn't Imus get fired?

[LisaL]

7. Yep. In fact it wasn't enough for Obama that Imus got suspended.

He demanded Imus be fired. Free speech, anyone?

[jackson_dem]

17. That is ironic since Obama himself stereotyped an entire race just last week

[EFerrari]

23. So, Imus should enjoy free speech but not Obama?

[FrenchieCat]

25. It wasn't even Obama speaking.......

[EFerrari]

26. The poster was expressing consternation because Obama

called for Imus to be fired -- because, Imus, I guess, should enjoy free speech but not Obama?

[ZombieHorde]

8. Yes

But I believe that the point of the thread is to point out the hypocrisy of RW talking heads.

[LisaL]

11. Here is what Obama had to say about Imus back then.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3031317

[BlooInBloo]

3. It can't be race; white people tell me it's not.

[LisaL]

4. And Obama demanded Imus be fired.

Adding that anyone in his campaign would be fired for such a thing.

[durrrty libby]

5. Obama demanded Imus be fired..........next

[skooooo]

6. Imus is back on the air..

...and I like him. It's ridiculous that some people act like he committed murder or something. He lost his job, apologized to the Rutgers team, and now has 2 African American commentators on his show every day. They provide balance, and add alot to the show.

LONG LIVE IMUS.

[leftofcool]

12. I wish we could get him here

[skooooo]

14. stream on the Internet...

Or get Dish TV. You can listen to podcasts. Bernie has been shelved, thank god. He chimes in once in a while, but is very much subdued. Tony Powell is great. Karith Foster too. How Imus handled the Reverend Wright controversy was really interesting. It's a good show - and doesn't have those "lapses" in judgment that happened in his old show.

[againes654]

9. Vivian Stringer is an amazing woman!!

She really held her class through that whole ordeal.

Oh, didn't you know that free speech only applies to the RW, when convenient for them? I guess you didn't get the memo. :sarcasm:

[EffieBlack]

10. Because they all appeared on his show and never got up and stormed out but hope no one remembers

so they don't get called on their hypocrisy when they wring their hands and moans "why didn't he just LEAVE?!"

The same thing occurred after Bill Bennett made his racist comment claiming that aborting black babies would reduce the crime rate. He didn't even lose his job - in fact, after they defended him tooth and nail, they went right back to having him on as a guest analyst.

And let's not even talk about Ann Coulter's gigs on the MSM - funny, these people interview HER and never get exorcised enought to get up and walk out.

And Bennett, Imus and Coulter don't have a lifetime of good works and inspirational and rational commentary to offset their offensive remarks.

Double standard. Hypocrisy.

[LisaL]

13. Well, Obama was very un-supportive of Imus' "free speech,"

in case you didn't notice. Here is what he had to say, among other things-
"And the notion that somehow it's cute or amusing, or a useful diversion, I think, is something that all of us have to recognize is just not the case. We all have First Amendment rights. And I am a constitutional lawyer and strongly believe in free speech, but as a culture, we really have to do some soul-searching to think about what kind of toxic information are we feeding our kids," he concluded."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3031317

[EffieBlack]

21. This wasn't about "free speech." If you don't see the difference between the two

I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain it to you since I suspect that it won't matter to you anyway.

[DURHAM D]

15. Vivian is also one of my sheros.

Hope you got to see her interview/story this week on Brian Gumbel's HBO show - Real Sports. Mary Cariella did the piece. It was very interesting and very moving. She has dealt with way more adversities than I realized. What an amazing woman.

[GoldieAZ49]

16. Obama called for Imus to be fired

and yet spent 20 yrs with Wright and had him on his campaign staff until the media found out.

Hypocrisy.

[goletian]

18. its amazing how many people in this country are so clueless about race issues

its like the republicans citing rap music as an excuse for imus' comments.

[ellacott]

19. I just shake my head reading some of this stuff

[mrreowwr_kittty]

20. Time to put your crybaby, RW meme spewing, racist ass on ignore. nt

[EFerrari]

24. Who do you have to be to compare Imus to Dr. Wright?

:wtf:

[Berry Cool]

22. Wright and Imus are apples and oranges. Neither is a free speech issue.

Obviously, both have a right to free speech. Imus, however, did not have the right to exercise that speech with any employer he chose. That employer could always fire him. There was nothing wrong with Rev. Wright wanting him fired. In fact, he probably would like to see him fired from his current job, too. That's his right, but it doesn't mean it is going to happen.

I don't believe anyone, even those who most excoriate what Wright says, have attempted to deny him his free-speech right to say it.