Obama Calls For Imus Firing...

[Imagevision]

In an interview with ABC News Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called for talk radio host Don Imus to be fired, and said he would never again appear on his show, which is broadcast on CBS Radio and MSNBC television.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."

Obama said he appeared once on Imus's show two years ago, and "I have no intention of returning."

I suspect Hillary will await the public response before once again getting on the Obama bandwagon..

[renie408]

1. The "Obama" bandwagon? He came a little late to the party, didn't he?

They started calling for Imus to be fired over the weekend, it hit the nationally on Monday and Obama just said something about it this afternoon....after people started noticing that he was black and hadn't come out strong on this issue.

[Bluebear]

2. I am grateful for the Senator's response.

Too many, even here, are apologists for Imus' disgraceful words.

[renie408]

5. Oh, I agree with what he said. I just think it is a little disingenuous

to act like he is leading the charge on this whole thing.

[Bluebear]

7. The article does not imply that he thinks he is leading the charge

Not as I read it. :shrug:

[renie408]

14. That's not what I got out of it either. I was referring to the OP's 'Obama's bandwagon' comment. n/t

[Imagevision]

3. Who was the first public figure to step forward to ask for Imus's firing?

[renie408]

10. Uhhh..Al Sharpton? Jesse Jackson? What are you talking about?? n/t

[Missy M]

4. Yes, he said it after he knew which way the wind was blowing.

[Imagevision]

8. While Hillary states; " I am a public figure and don't believe I should express my personal views

regarding the Imus issue"

[Missy M]

11. She has already expressed her views on what he said...

whether she should call for Imus to be fired is another thing. What do you think of some of the things Imus had to say about Hillary, such as the following -
As Media Matters for America has noted, Imus, on the May 24 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, referred to Clinton as "Satan" 11 times, once calling her "that buck-tooted witch, Satan." Two days earlier, on his May 22 broadcast, Imus had said that he never had to apologize for insulting former President Bill Clinton and his "fat ugly wife, Satan."

[renie408]

17. Yep. I can see where Hillary might get accused of paybacks if she calls for his firing. n/t

[Imagevision]

29. I think Imus insulting another female (Hillary) adds more reason to be replaced

insulting a female (once calling her "that buck-tooted witch, Satan.") is even more gronds to lay the law down on what is and isn't permissible by these hacks we allow to function under the so called freedom of speech act... The man is the lowest of scum and must be dumped.

Imagine if your kid fought to win a championship only to be taken away by the lack of better judgment instead of congratulations your being referred to as a "ho"

[ronnykmarshall]

16. Oh damn her to hell!

How would SHE feel if Imus said something horrible about HER???

Oh wait, he did. Over and over and over.

But, but STILL .... damn her to HELL!

:sarcasm:

[William769]

19. A thread about Barack and you turn it on Mrs, Clinton.

How quaint. :eyes:

[renie408]

23. And so original, too, dontcha think?? n/t

[ronnykmarshall]

45. Shocking, huh?

:wow::wow:

Up until NOW, I don't think I have EVER seen an attack on Hillary from a supporter of ANY other candidate.

EVERYONE has been so nice! I just don't know what to think!

:sarcasm:

[carpe diem]

26. actually, his first comments came on Monday

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/04/sweet_blog_special_obama_says.html

Sweet blog special: Obama says Imus comments "divisive, hurtful and offensive."

This from Democratic White House contender Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

“The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds. With a public platform, comes a trust. As far as I'm concerned, he violated that trust,” said U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

[Missy M]

31. Not about firing Imus, as this thread is about.

[NormanYorkstein]

6. I'm boycotting any company that sponsors Imus' show

So far Proctor & Gamble, GM, and Sprint have all pulled out. Just a few more and Imus' is toast.

[Bluebear]

9. Bigelow Tea and Staples are gone too.

[BeyondGeography]

12. We can always dream

I'm beginning to think it could happen.

[femrap]

49. I heard Staples and Bigelow Tea as well....

I hadn't heard about GM or Sprint. Drip drip drip.....the $$$ guys at NBC are feeling the heat!!!

I want his ass fired....this just might put a lid on rush and the other racist misogynists....make them think twice before spewing their hatred.

[BlueManDude]

13. Where's Harold Ford on this?

[NormanYorkstein]

18. Harold Ford is posing with the Confederate Flag

He's a good ole boy!

[AspenRose]

34. Good Lord, is that for real?!?

:puke:

[NormanYorkstein]

46. oh yes it is! This was part of Ford "last push" before the election

They staged this photo op and pushed the photos around the media just before the election. I'm not sure what their "strategy" was supposed to be exactly.

Now Ford was promoted to the Chair of the DLC. Amazing huh?

[BronxBoy]

64. Oh the irony..

He probably lost the election because of a commercial that played to the baser instincts of some of the people that love that flag.

[athena]

15. More excerpts:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3031317&page=1

"He didn't just cross the line," Obama said. "He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women — who I hope will be athletes — that that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment. It's one that I'm not interested in supporting."

Though every major presidential candidate has decried the racist remarks, Obama is the first one to say Imus should lose his job for them.

...

"Insults, humor that degrades women, humor that is based in racism and racial stereotypes isn't fun," the senator told ABC News.

"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.

This is exactly how I feel about the situation. Considering the number of Imus apologists on this liberal forum, it takes guts to call for Imus to be fired, and I'm proud of Obama for taking that stance.

[Beausoir]

20. I believe this is the beginning of the end for Imus. He will be fired.

It may not be termed a firing...but he will no longer have his day job.

I hope I'm not wrong.

[renie408]

32. You are right about it maybe not being a 'firing'. But he is losing the ad dollars

that pay his paycheck. If he doesn't make the stations money, they will replace him.

[femrap]

58. Losing Procter and Gamble is big....

of course women (who don't like to be referred to as whores) are their main customers....maybe P & G needs to hear from us....P & G needs to take ALL of their money away from NBC until he's fired!!!!

[Beausoir]

76. Wow! That was quick. MSNBC just fired his ass.

[AnnInLa]

21. We need to get ready to pelt MSNBC with emails, phone

calls. When Imus goes, and he will, there is that time block to be filled....the public is hungry, hungry I say (Pounding on desk), for more like Olberman. Look at KO's increase in viewership, it proves that the public likes his rhetoric.....can you see Sam Sedar and Rachel Maddow in the morning??? I would set my clock every night to watch liberal programming in the wee hours of the morn.

[jgraz]

22. Hillary? We already know her response

Q: Senator Clinton, is was Don Imus wrong to say what he did?

A: I'll leave that to others to decide.



Edit: just to be clear, she never said this. I'm paraphrasing her response to another question (see response 36)

[Missy M]

27. That's ridiculous and you know it...

she has already made a statement regarding what he said. At least be truthful when you bash her.

[jgraz]

36. Oh really?

From her ABC News interview:

Q: Senator Clinton, do you agree with General Peter Pace that homosexulity is "immoral"?

A: I'm going to leave that to others to conclude.

That's what I was referring to. No principles, just the pursuit of power. Same as a rethug.

[Missy M]

40. We are not discussing that issue on this thread....

and I assume you must not know anything about Senator Clinton because if you did you would know she is an advocate of gay rights and always has been.

[jgraz]

43. I know quite a bit about Hillary, esp wrt her political courage

or lack thereof.

Which, btw, is the core issue we're discussing. The next time Hillary takes a courageous stand on an issue will be the first.

[Missy M]

44. Well you're wrong.....

the issue we are discussing here is Imus and she took a courageous stand on the issue.

[Imagevision]

37. Hillary's Imus "statement" was equal to her admitting she was wrong on invading Iraq

[renie408]

65. WHOA!! Can I have some of what you are smoking?? n/t

[renie408]

28. Given the way Imus has gone after her, Hillary would have to be

careful how she handled this whole thing. She deplored the comments. She said it wasn't up to her to decide whether he got fired. I think that was probably the smartest thing for her to do. If she jumped onto the 'Fire him.' bandwagon, she would run the risk of being accused of being bitter and only attacking him because of his past comments.

[Imagevision]

42. If Hillary jumped onto the 'Fire him.' bandwagon she at least would have proper judgement

[renie408]

61. Right. And I know YOU would be the first to pat her on the back for it.

Face it, as far as a lot of people here are concerned Hillary can't do anything right. And neither can Obama. Or Edwards. The more people are welded to THEIR guy, the less they will allow that anybody else can do anything right.

And it is only going to get worse. What fun!!

[ronnykmarshall]

47. Oh how niiiiiiccccceeeeeee!

[Benhurst]

24. Whether or not Imus is fired is not the main issue. It's not even a very important one.

The real problem is the control of the people's airwaves and cable by corrupt corporations, completely unfettered by the fairness doctrine they worked so hard to destroy.

Imus is a piss-ant. There will always be people like him spewing out their poison at local bars. It is his unchallenged access to the public airwaves which makes him dangerous.

As an American he has the right to say whatever nonsense comes into his head. But it is a privilege to broadcast over the public airways, not a right.

We should be focusing our attention upon the owners of the corporate media, not a loud-mouthed underling spreading their poison for profit.

It's easy to go after Imus now -- he's despised and down. But why not use this as an opportunity to go after the corrupt corporate culture which enables not only him but Limbaugh, Coulter and the rest of the fascist choir?

The Fairness Doctrine should be restored. It is within Congress' power to do so. The public airways should be retaken for the people. Obama and the rest of our candidates should step up to the plate and demand this be done.

Imus is just a symptom. It's time to go after the disease.

[Catherine Vincent]

25. Why the dig on Sen. Clinton?

[renie408]

30. You have been around long enough to know the answer to that one...

half the people here cannot say something good about the candidate of their choice without a 'nahney nahney boo boo' at the other guys.

[jgraz]

38. That, and it happens to be spot-on

Check back here in a week and let's see if the prediction is wrong in any way.

[renie408]

55. She might. But would that really be jumping on 'Obama's' bandwagon?

[jgraz]

74. Of course not

She's just waiting for her handlers to tell her how she feels on the issue. Then I'm sure she'll come out forcefully and stick to it until the wind changes.

[shaniqua6392]

39. I don't think she is a favorite here on DU.

At least that is what I have seen. I would never dream of saying that I liked her for fear of being torched into a pile of ashes. To me....If she wins the primary and is running against...say...McCain. Who are we going to vote for? I just like to give everyone a chance...It really is early.

[ronnykmarshall]

50. Fuck that shit!

I've said I like Hillary and the bashers can kiss my ENTIRE ass!

I'm sick of their fucking bullshit.

[ronnykmarshall]

48. Because that the groovy thing to do!

EVERYTHING is about Hillary!

Someone could talk about their pet hamster dying and there would be an outcry that Hillary didn't send a sympathy card.

[femrap]

62. You're absolutely right.

No matter what Hillary does, it is wrong...ALWAYS. Of course, that's usually the case with all women. No matter...she's wrong.

I am not a fan of some of Hillary's politics, but the more people pick on her, the more I feel the need to stand up for her. Which, of course, makes me wrong! lol.

[Imagevision]

33. General Motors just announced they would be removing their ads on MSNBC/NT

[ronnykmarshall]

52. Fucking Ford isn't !!

They probably support Hillary anyway.

[AtomicKitten]

35. Is it possible to post a "yeah for my candidate" without a dig on another?

guess not

sigh

[ronnykmarshall]

53. Atom Cat .... sweetie you know that's impossible.

Their heads would explode!

Hillary attacks are a MUST!

[AtomicKitten]

63. I guess I just don*t get it.

It's like a nonstop pissing contest over minutia.

This Olympic style rating of reactions by the candidates to everything in the press - rating the timing, frequency, tone, and sincerity of their statements - is completely subjective, and then turning around and using it as a cudgel against the other candidates is completely off the chart of rational and reasonable discourse. Oh vey.

Oh wait, I get it ... rational and reasonable. Never mind. :crazy:

[renie408]

67. The thing that kills me is that it nearly ALWAYS backfires.

Just look at this thread. If the OP had just left off that last snide line, this thread would be about a GOOD thing that Obama had done, instead of being about that snide line.

[AtomicKitten]

71. you nailed it

I really like Obama a lot (my second choice only to Gore as a matter of fact) and it pains me to see this behavior because it does not augment his candidacy in any way, shape, or form by attaching his name to this kind of ugly.

[renie408]

59. I think that's a big NO on that one. n/t

[boston bean]

41. As a matter of fact, Clinton was first to boycott, before Obama.

tsk tsk tsk.

I am not a hilary fan, but atleast lets get the facts straight.

[Skidmore]

56. Perhaps she should tell her Frick and Frack (Begala & Carville)

who apparently showed up on Imus' last show to provide him with support and soothe his wounded spirit.

[Missy M]

69. That was Begala and Carville, not Hillary....

I'm sure they can do what they want. We know Hillary would never show up on his show for all the rotten things he has said about her over the years. Of course you would not have an outrage over that, would you. He said equally horrible things about Hillary but she is a public figure and has to take the punches and to her credit she has.

[ronnykmarshall]

57. LIES! LIES! LIES!

You, you, your just a Hillary mole! ADMIT IT!

How DAAAAARRREEEEEEEE you come in here and spew some pro-Clinton message.

You're on her payroll, ain't ye??

:sarcasm:

[indie_voter]

73. Wasn't Imus the one who trashed them to their faces

at a press conference dinner years ago? There hasn't been any love lost between the Clintons and Imus since then, if I recall correctly?

[ObaMania]

51. Well, he just lost any support he'd get from me.

Just buying into the scapegoating of a schlock jock.

[femrap]

70. 'scapegoating'....so are you

saying that it was really the Devil that made Imus spew the hate????

Maybe Imus' comments about the Rutgers team was the last straw for many, many citizens. I believe Americans are sick of the hateful words, the bigotry, the misogyny....a lot of us thought we had conquered this hatred back in the '60's and '70's....or at least made great inroads into at least shaming bigoted people into keeping their evil thoughts in their pea-sized brains and not vocalizing them to those who want some justice and fairness in this country.

And Imus is not a 'jock' dj...he discusses politics, current events, etc.

[Forkboy]

54. It seems to me like most,if not all,candidates were waiting to see which way the wind was blowing.

Before making a strong statement.

I could care less which candidate was first.That's just mental feces for supporters to throw at one another.They should all have made statements like this sooner.I'm glad to hear it,don't get me wrong,but it could have,and should have,come sooner.

Just my 2 cents.

[BronxBoy]

60. Oh fer crying out loud!!

Why can't we be happy that they both made statements condemning the remarks????

Hey here's a new angle: Why don't we talk about all the Republican statements condemning Imus's remarks and who came first.

They did make some didn't they?

[AspenRose]

66. *cue chirping crickets*

At least I haven't heard of any....have y'all?

[BronxBoy]

75. Actually

I just read on one of the Imus gets fired threads that McCain and Giulani have said that they will CONTINUE to go on his show

Well not anymore apparently

[ronnykmarshall]

68. No! No! NO! NO! NO!

EVERY thread. EVERY SINGLE thread. Must have an attack on the evil, blood sucking Hillzilla!

That is the word!

Please follow!

:sarcasm:

[MODemocrat]

72. Will Obama call for Rush Limbaugh's firing as well

He's one of the biggest racists on the airwaves today. One thing about Rush is that he doesn't mind
saying nasty things about ALL women, regardless of color. I'll never forget what he said about Chelsea Clinton... :evilfrown: :mad:

[Name removed]

79. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Connie_Corleone]

77. I'm an Obama supporter, but I'm sick and tired of this putting down other candidates.

Both of them made great statements about Imus' remarks.

Imus is gone from MSNBC.

[Imagevision]

78. MSNBC just announced they will no longer be carrying the Imus Simulcast

MSNBC just stated it will no longer carry the Imus simulcast
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/