U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar asked Friday that the owner of KOA radio “reprimand” Rush Limbaugh for what Salazar calls Limbaugh’s “clear exhortation” for riots during August’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Limbaugh said earlier this week that he is not calling for a riot in Denver but only “dreams” of it, to the tune of “White Christmas.”
“Now, I’m not inspiring or inciting riots. I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming of riots in Denver,” he said, mimicking the holiday tune.
But Salazar, in a letter sent Friday to Clear Channel Radio, owner of KOA, characterized Limbaugh’s comments as “incendiary.”
“As I read Mr. Limbaugh’s comments about riots at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, they appear to me to be a clear exhortation that those riots are exactly what he wants to happen,” said Salazar. “For that kind of incendiary comment, I ask Clear Channel to reprimand Mr. Limbaugh.”
Kris Olinger, director of AM programming for Clear Channel Denver, said Limbaugh is syndicated by Premiere Radio Network, the syndication arm of Clear Channel. “We passed the letter along to Premiere,” said Olinger.
Olinger said she was not surprised to receive a letter from a U.S. senator over Limbaugh’s comments. “We certainly expected strong reaction from the leadership,” Olinger said.
She added that she didn’t believe Salazar has heard or read the full transcript of Limbaugh’s comments. She said the conservative talk-show host talked about it again Friday on his show.
Limbaugh reiterated that he is not calling for riots, she said. Rather, he said that if the extreme left of the Democratic Party riots in Denver during the convention, it would be bad for the Democrats and good for Republicans, Olinger said.
