Rush Limbaugh Uses Down Syndrome Story Rehashed from Hannity

I heard it on Hannity first.

Then the very next day, just yesterday, I heard it on Rush.

Yeah, I listen and watch all sorts of things to see what the opposition is doing. But this latest stunt was one of their worst.

It's the story of Chloe, a Down Syndrome child, whose parents had an encounter with McCain and Palin on a campaign stop. But that's just the wind up. The pitch is personal, meant to move, as well as use an event to capitalize on a special need's child and the sympathy it engenders to bring in votes for McCain-Palin.

Republicans are nothing if not cynical, opportunistic and always willing to play an angle, no matter how repugnant.

Once "Kurt in Pennsylvania" started telling his story on Rush, I knew it sounded familiar. He went through the same patter as he did the day before.

CALLER: And I wanted to share a story with you.

It just so happened to be the exact same story the caller had shared on Hannity's show the day before. What a coincidence.

...A week ago last Saturday we went to the Palin-McCain rally in Washington, Pennsylvania, was the day after he announced her, and we have a five-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, and we made a sign that said: "We Love Kids with Down Syndrome." So when they pulled in in their bus the sign did catch their, McCain and Palin and the rest of their family, it caught their eye, we could tell, they gave us a thumbs-up from the bus, so we were all excited just by that --

RUSH: Wait, wait, wait. Who gave you the thumbs up, McCain and Palin?

CALLER: McCain, Palin, Cindy McCain, we could see them from the bus. We were in a position where we had eye contact with them --

RUSH: Oh, cool!

Only this time, unlike Sean, Rush was offered pictures of the event. He immediately asked for permission to put them on his website, even saying he'd give "Kurt" his super secret email so he could send him the shots. Of course, one of the shots was a special one with Sarah Palin.

After Rush got through, the National Review was only too willing to push the propaganda along.

Having been around radio for well over fifteen years, doing interviews across the country, having my own show (and then losing it), while I try to get back on the air, I know this stuff. When Hannity has a caller on, then that same caller suddenly and miraculously appears on Rush's show, which evolves into a big PR event, it's not by accident. Manufacturing these events is what the right-wing does best.

Using a Down Syndrome child to help their candidate get votes is just their latest low.

Taylor Marsh is a political analyst who's been seen on CNN and MSNBC, talk radio personality, and author. Twittering daily.

Follow Taylor Marsh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylormarsh

Comments

[newsreader64]

10:45 PM on 09/11/2008

Lets see if this can be used as evidence to prove that these AM talk shows are, in fact, working lockstep with the Republican National Committee to support the McCain campaign. This kind of campaign contribution, in the form of free, nonstop, pro-Republican airtime, been going on for years, but if it can be proven that Hannity, Limbaugh and the likes are conspiring with the RNC, it might spell the end of the Radical Right's takeover of the public's AM airwaves. A complaint must be lodged with the Federal Election Commission.

[ManWithLantern]

06:24 PM on 09/10/2008

All you posters stating the special needs angle will not help the ticket are goofy.
YES it will help - It is ALL part of the (false) Public Image the Wingnuts are out there to paint.
You know what? They are repulsive in their technique but they ARE effective.
Dems have to get that baby talk & pregnant snowbilly daughter OUT of the discussion.
Plain as a wart on a goats ass.

[sarahfan]

05:10 PM on 09/10/2008

I think this guy is just excited to share his story. He was on Glenn Beck on Tuesday Sept. 2 with the same story too. See transcript at http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/14676/

[edgraham]

03:13 PM on 09/11/2008

I have also been in talk radio for years, and I know that the odds of getting through to the air on a national show are in the range of winning the MegaMillion, It just doesn't happen, unless it is planned.

Not even a great story. Who isn't in favor of caring about any children?

Ed Graham

[edgraham]

03:14 PM on 09/11/2008

I meant to say on multiple national shows...

[BethStuart]

03:33 PM on 09/10/2008

Rush is getting famous overseas. The Frankfurter Allgemeine (the newspaper of record in Germany) had a lengthy article on him this past Sunday. Rush probably liked the publicity but not the article's contents assuming someone told him what was in it.

Among other things, the newspaper quoted Rush as saying he knew there were no manly men at the Democratic convention because Denver prostitutes reported business was way down during the convention.

It's hard to exagerate how much contempt the rest of the world has for American broadcast journalism. However, I expect neither Limbaugh nor his listeners care.

[ReelBusy]

01:33 PM on 09/10/2008

What a cute little anecdote for Sean and Rush.
It's about as real as making eye contact with John Paul George or Ringo during a Beatles Concert.
Because Sarah and McCain never just give a thumbs up to just anyone in the crowd.

[blueskybigstar]

01:23 PM on 09/10/2008

Staging events is a form of propaganda which is a crime. Why aren't these people being prosecuted or at least sued. A class action suit for the damage they have done this country.

[robotsoul]

01:55 PM on 09/10/2008

It is one thing to be an advocate for a special needs children, it is another to use your advocacy for special needs children as personal PR aimed at getting you a cooler job. Why does the public continue to allow coercive journalism? When did news stories become press releases?

[kingofscotts]

03:16 PM on 09/10/2008

I will give you a slightly used Toyota if you can back up what you just posted.

Seriously, please explain how this is a crime. Please cite which law would cover this type of thing.

Please I dare you......try and defend what you just posted.

[ajjackian]

12:27 PM on 09/10/2008

Isn't it a bit disingenuos to think that people with special needs kids will vote for McCain because Sarah Palin has one too and she is going to be our "friend" when she is in the White House. I have a boy with autism and I am for Obama. I will cast my vote not so much for me but for my son's other 2 brothers and their future. This election is too important to get bogged down with silly lipstick controversies.
This women is not our friend.

[sarana]

11:08 AM on 09/10/2008

Taylor calling the Repub's cynical is definitely the pot calling the kettle black. Before you jump on the cheap trick bandwagon, check the facts about Palin.
Here:
http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/

and Here:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_palin.html

and Here:
http://medusa2.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/move-on’s-and-others-rumor-mongering/

[twofish]

08:47 AM on 09/10/2008

Another piece of Palin's pregnancy story that doesn't make sense: if there's no way she would ever have an abortion, why go through the testing that told her she was going to have a Down's syndrome child?

[moracity]

09:48 AM on 09/10/2008

Some of us like to know if there are issues to prepare for. Her AFP test, which most women over 30 have when they find out they are pregnant, was probably elevated. At that point, amnio is an option.

This is what happened to us and we have a beautiful, smart 21-month old daughter with Down syndrome. She is not a Down syndrome child. She is not afflicted. She is not suffering. She is strong and independent. She is a fighter. She is a person that doesn't deserve to be treated like biological waste. That is what we will teach her. Hopefully she will pass on that lesson to everyone she comes in contact with.

We actually know many families that are getting to meet Palin and McCain as they campaign across the country. Parents of children with special needs often feel isolated, especially with the huge movement to abort all children with prenatally diagnosed conditions like Down syndrome. The abortion rate is already 90%.

Regardless of your political leanings, it's nice to see a parent they can relate to getting this kind of attention. Of course they are reaching out to parents with special needs. They would be foolish not to. Is it wrong for Obama to reach out to black voters? Was it wrong for Hillary to reach out to women voters? Is it wrong for McCain to reach out to veterans? Why do people lose all common sense when it comes to politics?

[KNadine]

02:50 PM on 09/10/2008

I too have a child with special needs, but that is where my commonality ends with Sarah Palin. Quit with the biological waste bullshit. I am staunchly Pro-Choice. Most people who receive the elevated AFP test choose to abort, especially when it comes to Down syndrome. That is one of the most common syndromes, one where the child often leads a very happy & relatively healthy life. I have 3 children, received 2 elevated test. Those 2 children are perfectly normal. The one I CHOSE not to have the test on because abortion was not an option for ME actually turned out to have Turner Syndrome.

[caseyblab]

06:15 AM on 09/10/2008

Maybe Rush Limbaugh is trying to repair his crude comments in his "imaginary conversation" about Palin's special needs baby.

[PenelopeS]

04:50 AM on 09/10/2008

As a parent (though a Democrat), remember there are 400,000 people with Down Syndrome in the U.S. Many of them vote and they have families who vote. There are also - though I don't know the exact figures - probably as many or more persons with autism. Sarah Palin has a nephew with autism. The families and advocates of both groups have historically been allies. And historically, we have learned that it doesn't matter which political party you vote for, the progress made for people with learning disabilities is made by parents and families who act as advocates. This was true for the Kennedys. It was also true for George H.W. Bush (his cousin had two daughters with Down Syndrome). Even liberal parents may find it difficult to vote against Palin - and we're talking about probably 2-3 million voters here. Voters who often do not vote because they feel their interests - special needs - are not addressed by either political party.

[Tenley]

08:08 AM on 09/10/2008

Except, of course, Palin slashed programs for special needs in Alaska. Not so hard to vote against her.

[Ailidh]

12:32 PM on 09/10/2008

Tenley, Newsweek discredited the claim that Palin had cut funds for special needs. She tripled funding - see the link to fact check above.

I am a Democrat and I always like to think that Democrats are too smart to indulge in 'gutter politics' - Huffpost's banner today is accusing McCain of gutter politics.

Depends on your definition of gutter politics, but I think accusing a woman of faking the birth of her child, etc., spamming half of the planet with a "I think you should know.." chain letter full of baloney (Kilkenny) really, really, really qualifies as gutter politics.

It's like Democrats learned all the lessons of Karl Rove and decided they'd play the same game. So much for Barack Obama and 'our better nature'.

[PerryWhite]

01:19 PM on 09/10/2008

The funds for special needs children in Alaska were nearly tripled. From Newsweek's website:

"According to an April 2008 article in Education Week, Palin signed legislation in March 2008 that would increase public school funding considerably, including special needs funding. It would increase spending on what Alaska calls "intensive needs" students (students with high-cost special requirements) from $26,900 per student in 2008 to $73,840 per student in 2011. That almost triples the per-student spending in three fiscal years. Palin's original proposal, according to the Anchorage Daily News, would have increased funds slightly more, giving intensive needs students a $77,740 allotment by 2011."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/157986/output/print

[AntiSocialite]

09:41 AM on 09/10/2008

I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of children with special needs would be helped immensely by greater access to healthcare via socialized medicine. Lets not forget that Sarah Palin's child will never be spared the best medical care no matter who is in office, can the rest of those 2-3 million voters say that??

[BurtR]

12:40 PM on 09/10/2008

Are the Palins rich? If Mc loses, where does she go? 5 kids and a husband who is a union worker. Things might look ok now but let's see in 15 years.