Radio host Rush Limbaugh, who has joined with Dave Checketts in an effort to buy the St. Louis Rams, has begun to launch the kind of effort that he should have launched on Monday in response to a string of inflammatory quotes that have been attributed to him, and that he claims are not his words.
His reaction on Monday to the quotes, which has been reported in various places, was too restrained, in our view.
On the Tuesday edition of his show, he said what we thought he should have said on Monday.
Regarding quotes assigned to him as to slavery and James Earl Ray, Limbaugh said, “They were never uttered. . . . I never said them.”
More importantly, he said that he is now working to get apologies and retractions.
Limbaugh suggested that the phony quotes trace to a Wikipedia page. There’s also a 2006 book, 101 People Who Really Are Screwing Up America by Jack Huberman; we don’t know whether Huberman relied on the Wikipedia page or the other way around.
Bottom line? The issue has been joined by Limbaugh. He says that his lawyers will be contacting the writers who have attributed the quotes to him, and seeking information as to their sources. If the writers can’t show that Rush said the things he allegedly said, he’ll be seeking retractions.
So stay tuned.