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Barely a day had passed after last week’s devastating earthquake in Haiti when rightwing media pundits Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson began issuing some disturbing rhetoric. Limbaugh wasted no time in asserting that the earthquake will “play right into Obama’s hands,” and that the President and his administration will “use this to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. This [meaning the earthquake] is made to order for them.” Limbaugh went on to say that Haiti is a nation that produces “zilch, zero, nada” implying Haitians are not worth much. He also responded to a caller inquiring about donations saying that “We’ve already donated to Haiti, it’s called the US Income Tax.” Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network has called the earthquake a “blessing in disguise,” and implied that the Haitians deserved the earthquake because when they were under French rule, they “got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said we will serve you if you get us free from the French. True story.” Robertson went on to assert, “And so the devil said, okay, it’s a deal. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other.” The rightwing cable channel Fox News has given comparatively little coverage to the Haiti earthquake, opting instead to promote their newest employee, Sarah Palin. Media Matters for America reported that the day after the earthquake, Fox News devoted a total of 7 minutes to cover the disaster.

GUEST: Brian Fredrick, Senior Editor at Media Matters for America

Find out more at http://mediamatters.org/research/201001140029 and http://mediamatters.org/columns/201001140050