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Rush Limbaugh Goes "Off the Rails" About Race

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While many are welcoming the recent news that minority babies are, for the first time, constituting a majority of the nation’s newborns—a rather predictable segment of America is not so receptive to the change.

“It is clear that this, and other similar stories like this, are meant to serve as a warning to Republicans and conservatives,” hatemonger Rush Limbaugh said during a rant about the story.  He continued:

And the warning is: You are on the wrong side of history. And you are on the wrong side of demographics. You better do what the coming majority wants right now, or you’re gonna suffer the consequences. There is an implied threat in this story. You’re getting older. You’re white and you’re dying off. Pretty soon you’re gonna find out what it’s been like to not be you.

That’s the implication of the story.  You’ve been the majority for all these decades, all these generations, but your time is coming when you’re gonna be the minorities and there’s gonna be people with majority power over you. So you better learn right. You better change your ways. You better get with the program so that everybody likes you.

Um, what?

While we’re not surprised that an intolerant bigot who makes money by calling people sluts and demonizing immigrants is unexcited about the prospect of a future where fewer people might tolerate these antics, Rush is leaping to conclusions a bit here.  If the US population and its corresponding demographic power is a pie, Rush is watching it be re-divided and assuming that if one group wins, another loses.  In reality, when a nation becomes more diverse and more people are brought in to participate, the pie grows and everyone wins.

As CNN contributor and columnist Ruben Navarrette puts it, when Limbaugh “talks about race and ethnicity, he tends to go off the rails and he did in this particular case.”  Navarrette continued:

What needs to change is this kind of thinking. It’s total nonsense. In nearly 25 years of writing about politics, race and ethnicity, I’ve never heard any member of a minority group talk about how they’re looking forward to “payback” once they’re in the majority. Not one.

What I do hear quite a bit is that people of color believe in the greatness of this country, and they want to help write the next chapter in ways that benefit them and their families. They want a seat at the table, not because they feel entitled but because they feel they have something unique and valuable to offer. And they don’t want to get even; they just want to get ahead.

What’s wrong with that? Nothing.

In fact, it’s in keeping with some of this country’s greatest traditions. Have no fear. The face of America is changing. But its heart and soul never will.

Watch the CNN clip about the whole spat below: