Villaraigosa gives Limbaugh the brush-off on "shoeshine guy" insult

So Rush Limbaugh calls L.A.'s mayor "a shoeshine guy" and at first, it looks like Antonio Villaraigosa's going to respond. Now, it turns out he's keeping mum, according to Portfolio:

Hey, you know what's a riot? Comparing one of the country's foremost Latino politicians to "a shoeshine guy" because of his race.

A spokesman for Antonio Villaraigosa says the Los Angeles mayor is planning a statement in response to an ethnically-flavored drive-by served up by Rush Limbaugh yesterday. [Update: Villaraigosa's press secretary says there won't be a statement after all; meanwhile, the head of the National Hispanic Media Coalition calls Limbaugh's remark "nasty, bigoted ...  racist." See below.]

The transcript of the edifying chat is here. It's Limbaugh, describing a dinner during which Bill Clinton introduces him to Antonio Villaraigosa. But no need to click -- here's the money quote:

[Bill Clinton] came over to the table three times. (doing Clinton impression) "Hey, Limbaugh, you're looking really good." I shook his hand, he left, comes back, the mayor of Los Angeles, I thought it was a Secret Service agent, maybe a shoeshine guy. Turns out he gives me his card, I said, "Oh, my gosh, it's the mayor of Los Angeles."

You can read the whole item about Rush Limbaugh's dis of Antonio Villaraigosa in Portfolio.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Doc Crabtree]

Yeah, and I guess all Secret Service members, many of whom are ex-military and all of whom are willing to put their lives on line for those they protect, are Hispanic as well. Myself, I've never seen a Hispanic shoeshine guy so I assume there was something else about this guy which led to this remark.

But if you're looking for an excuse to be mad...

[Timothy Scavo]

VILLARAIGOSA AS A SHOE SHINE BOY - it's a career goal that he should definitely consider. After all, what has he really accomplished as Mayor?

Has he aggressively addressed traffic issues? Right! His idea of solving traffic problems is to punish tax-paying drivers by opening toll roads.

Has he worked with LAPD to eradicate gangs in LA? He can't do that. He knows that many gang-bangers are illegal aliens, and he stood with illegals in their May 1st demonstration last year.

He can't even avoid the very appearance of conflict of interest. That's why he had sex with Mirthala Salinas, a local TV reporter who was doing news stories on him.

Villaraigosa as shoe shine boy. It's a viable job goal for him.

[Will Campbell]

I don't know if I'm more surprised or relieved to hear the news that the mayor is just going to publicly grin and shut up in the wake of that troll Limbaugh's insult.

[clete purcel]

If there were ever two losers it is Limbaugh and Tony V. This is not an either - or scenario. I can see Limbaugh as a grocery market bag boy. TV would be great cast as a shoeshine boy or hotel door man.

[Millard]

Well, once again the media fails to report accurately. They have their story set --- Rush Limbaugh is racist -- and that's what they report regardless of the facts. Rush is deaf, and couldn't hear when the mayor introduced himself. If you have ever gone to a restaurant like the Kobe Club, they have dapper men who are bathroom attendants and shoe shine men. But no, of course it HAD to be about race. He was also probably not expecting a liberal Democrat to be so happy to see him. If someone you'd never met approached you, would you think, "Oh, it's the mayor of LA!" or would you think he might be a member of the staff, a waiter, a matre'd? The man is a trailblazer, and is breaking the mold of what a mayor looks like. Rush did NOT call the man a shoeshine boy knowing who he was. I'm glad the mayor had the class not to take the race bait. This race McCarthyism has to stop, where we let people tell us what's on our minds and in our hearts.

[Futureosophy (Christopher Wilde)]

My Operation Chaos: What I Learned in Talk Radio

I've learned a lot from failure. In the late 1990's I worked in AM talk radio here in Salt Lake City. In that time I worked in front of and behind the mic of two AM talk radio stations and was the program director of a third station devoted to syndicated news. When I got into radio it was with the hope and ambition of having an enduring career. One day I thought, if I work really hard maybe I could be as popular as a Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, or G. Gordan Liddy....

[Xavier Aguilera]

Villaraigosa. Who in their right mind takes his last name and his wife last name combines them together and then legally has his name changed? Then gets a divorce! I think he's a pimp in a cheap suit and doesn't deserve to be mayor.

[Anonymous]

Forget the journalists--the Times' BLOGGERS can't even get a story correct. Limbaugh said he had no idea Tony was the mayor... "could've been a secret service agent or the shoe shine guy for all I knew."

There was NO INSULT. Why can't you be honest?