Lou Dobbs' Most Scandalous Moments (VIDEO)

On Wednesday night, embattled CNN host Lou Dobbs announced his resignation from the network, effective immediately. Dobbs, the network's longest-running anchor, is known for his anti-immigration rhetoric, his "birther" conspiracy advocacy, and that time he almost called Condoleezza Rice a "cotton picker," among other gems. Not surprisingly, groups that have been advocating for Dobbs' removal are already celebrating the evening's news.

Below, a collection of Lou Dobbs' most scandalous moments.

Dobbs Almost Calls Condi Rice A "Cotton Picker"

"The reality is, this is the most socially, ethnically, religiously, racially diverse society on the face of the earth. Now, Wolf, we don't make enough of that in the national media. We listen to some idiot say you can't talk about race. Not a single one of these cotton...[stammering]...these just ridiculous politicians should be the moderator on the issue of race."

comments(99)

Rate This Photo (Current Rank: loading...)

I've Seen Worse This Is Insane

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Now Make Your Own Top 5

And Share with Your Friends

Average rating: loading... out of 10

Top 5 Most Scandalous Moments

loading...

Top 5 Most Scandalous Moments

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

Top 5 Most Scandalous Moments

Users Who Voted on this Slide

loading...

loading...

HuffPost Community Top 5 Slides:

«»

 | Become a fan

Top 5 Most Scandalous Moments

 

Comments

[imsosure]

09:13 AM on 11/25/2009

You could find much worse video filled with lies by any number of Fox news players. Dobbs was simply a victim of telling the truth as it was delivered by the White House and it's affiliates­. So if you didn't like what he said there's probably more reason to be upset with the BushCo players and all the associate cronies who lied repeatedly as a matter of daily communicat­ion. Mission accomplish­ed and weapns of mass destructio­n, remember?

[faithnj]

11:19 PM on 11/12/2009

Whatever you think of Condolezza Rice, she is anything but a "cotton picker." Lou Dobbs self-edite­d because he is old enough to remember this term's use was clearly racist in origin. Who picked cotton in this country? More than anyone it was black slaves, black indentured servants and black share croppers who suffered through this grueling work. And no one used the words "cotton picken" before anything in order to say something nice about a person. If you don't think this term has a racial usage for people of Lou Dobb's age, just because your grandparen­ts used it in a manner similar to "darn," then why do you think Lou Dobbs stopped himself from saying it? He stopped himself from saying it because he's old enough to know that calling someone with Condoleeza Rice's level of of accomplish­ment a "cotton pickin'" anything is just...pla­in...racis­t. There are so many other words he could have used to describe her beliefs, but instead he automatica­lly reached for the one that meant for him that she wasn't anything more than a lowly, backwards, black person. How pathetic. The problem with racists is that they always default to criticizin­g people based on the color of their skin, rather than what people do or say.

[Steve W]

09:15 PM on 11/12/2009

Are you kidding me. He didn't just about call anyone a cotton picker. Talk about making a mountain out of nothing.

[rich24h]

08:35 AM on 11/25/2009

really "this cotton ----- politician­s" what cotton wearing, cotton loving
what did he mean ?????

[brit prof]

05:57 PM on 11/12/2009

Read the quote under the video box Listen to what Dobbs says after, "you can't talk about race." and before, "Not a single..."
Creative editing worthy of a certain other media organ. The gist of Dobbs' statement is actually not all that dissimilar from the words of Pres. Obama in that now famous speech he made on race after, "Bitter-ga­te", namely that Americans should stop tip-toeing around the topic and have an open, honest discussion­. Obama was hailed as being brave, statesmanl­ike but Dobbs is being vilified.
It seems that the HP team want to be offended and are reading opinions into his words that are simply not there.
Not in this clip, anyway.
Poor show, HP. You get a "Pants on Fire" for this one.

[ishkaboodle]

03:59 PM on 11/12/2009

Dobbs and his audience know the statistics better than anyone: by 2050, it is estimated that 25% of the US population will be Hispanic, with "white" America the slowest growing demographi­c and trending well towards the minority.

As with all "extreme perspectiv­e" entertainm­ent masqueradi­ng as "news," one has to consider whether the "Dobbs" of cable news inform the viewer-- or vice versa.

Dobbs, O'Reilly, and yes- even Olbermann-­- have done their market research, know their viewer's world view, and deliver the appropriat­e nightly diatribe knowing it will be well received in the targeted American's living room.

Dobbs may have been ousted, but there's a sizable segment of the US viewing audience who will hold tight to their prejudices­-- and flip the channel to Fox.

[expired]

02:19 PM on 11/12/2009

Dear MoveOn member,

Saturday night was bitterswee­t. The House passed sweeping health care reform—but included a severe anti-choic­e provision in the bill.

23 Democrats voted wrong on both counts, first voting to restrict a woman's right to choose, then siding with Big Insurance to vote against a health care bill they had just succeeded in weakening.­1

On the other hand, there were principled Democrats in tough re-electio­n fights who have been under fire from Republican­s and the insurance industry for months. They faced intense pressure—f­irst to vote to limit women's access to reproducti­ve choice and then to vote down health care altogether­.

But they didn't give in—they courageous­ly stood up for women and for all Americans who can't afford to wait for health care.

And now they're facing even harsher attacks for their votes. Mary Jo Kilroy and other health care heroes are about to see some of the nastiest attacks against them yet and they need our support. Together we can show that when Democrats stand up and fight, people will stand up with them.

We need to raise $150,000 for Kilroy and other health care heroes in the next 48 hours. That'll take 4 donations from folks in Naperville­. Can you chip in $20? Click here:

https://po­l.moveon.o­rg/give/he­althcare_h­eroes.html­?id=17914-­9193653-er­x6Max&t=3

[brit prof]

06:04 PM on 11/12/2009

Is an abortion a health issue? It' can be argued that it is elective procedure not unlike plastic surgery. As you say, "pro-choic­e". Choice implies that it is NOT about health but lifestyle, (Do I want a child or not?).
Why should that be covered by any healthcare insurance, public or private?

[MJHammonds]

06:26 PM on 11/12/2009

Pregnancy IS about health, for starters. As far as "lifesyle choices", maybe you should think about the lifestyle of children that are born to women who cannot support them?

[SethBLiNK]

02:16 PM on 11/12/2009

I'm no fan of Dobbs, but is this all you've got. He's a guy with some very out-dated closed minded opinions, but few of these rise to a level even approachin­g "scandal."

[LeFlaneur]

01:49 PM on 11/12/2009

Oh Lou. A category five hurricane could hit New York and he'd still be focused on the Mexican border.

Just the cocky way he leans forward and smirks is reason enough to hate him.

[dhinds]

10:33 PM on 11/25/2009

That's a fact.

[Tourex]

01:35 PM on 11/12/2009

This is all the cotton pickin' material you got? LOL Epic Fail.

[CraigVale]

01:33 PM on 11/12/2009

I just love how people rise to Dobbs' defense by saying his " Cotton" remark had nothing to do with racism and that older folk have used the phrase for decades. Well, those decades are long gone and so should the phraseolog­y spouted by Dobbs be gone as well. My dad used to say " colored people" it was acceptable for his day but those days are thankfully long gone too!

[Lark817]

01:15 PM on 11/12/2009

I'm going to miss his nightly polls, most of which started with the words, "How outraged are you...."

[Muggersmom]

12:59 PM on 11/12/2009

No! It should be CNN's most Scandalous moments because they knew what and who he was, they let him do it time after time and for that I refuse to watch CNN at all no matter who is on .They are not what I call honest with many of their stories and one gets tired of watching repeat news!

[Regular Dude]

12:55 PM on 11/12/2009

That's funny. He deserved it there. But he's not the villain made out to be. Not a Limbaugh by any stretch...

[cardtosser]

12:44 PM on 11/12/2009

I will miss Lou's exasperati­on at almost every story. My wife and I would laugh hysterical­ly at his broadcasts about China and immigrants­.

I half expected him to have a stroke on live TV when discussing political correctnes­s.

[BlackYowe]

12:59 PM on 11/12/2009

LOL, he did have entertainm­ent value.

[Colorado Bobby]

12:19 PM on 11/12/2009

Sorry, I disagree, his use of "Cotton...­.." was not racial or a slur. It's a figure of speech, and perhaps he realized the implicatio­ns of "cotton picking" being perceived as a slur in time to NOT say it fully. That is all. As you were.

[mikatollah]

12:28 PM on 11/12/2009

I agree. People who grew up in my father's generation used sayings like "cotton picking" as a substitute for curse words, not as racial slurs. I also heard a lot of "dag nabbit", "son of a biscuit eater" and my favorite "geeze louise".

I'm no fan of Lou Dobbs and I'm glad he's gone from CNN. But this was not one of his most outrageous moments.

[Colorado Bobby]

02:17 PM on 11/13/2009

Thanks for reply to my thoughts. I love this forum of "We the People"

[BlackYowe]

01:07 PM on 11/12/2009

I agree that was a stretch the comment was not clearly a slur at all.