Ignoring Rush Limbaugh, Americans donate to aid Haiti, new poll shows

A new survey released by Zogby Interactive found that 64% of adults in the United States have given or plan to give to relief efforts to aid quake-ravaged Haiti.

The survey, released on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, found that 33% of respondents have already made a donation and 31% plan on doing so. Giving was more pronounced among African Americans, with 47% already donating and 34% planning to do so. Apparently these donors didn’t pick up on what Rush Limbaugh had to say last week about donating to a government-created website to help Haiti.

As our colleague Mark Silva reported: “We’ve already donated to Haiti,” Limbaugh told the caller on his radio show. “It’s called the U.S. income tax.” (White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, with some understatement, called the comment “really stupid.")

Undeterred, former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are spearheading fundraising efforts for clintonbushhaitifund.org. Bush had this to say about relief efforts:

That money will go to organizations on the ground and will be -- who will be able to effectively spend it. I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water -- just send your cash. One of the things that [President Clinton] and I will do is to make sure your money is spent wisely.

Clinton recalled how he teamed up with another Bush – President George H.W. Bush – to raise money for the parts of Asia devastated by the tsunami in 2004:

Right now, all we need to do is get food and medicine and water and a secure place for them to be. But when we start the rebuilding effort, we want to do what I did with [President’s Bush's] father in the tsunami area. We want to be a place where people can know their money will be well spent, where we will ensure the ongoing integrity of the process.

As for the reaction to U.S. relief efforts, check out La Plaza, the latimes.com blog on Latin America and the Caribbean, which is offering frequent updates out of Haiti. The blog features a video, which was released by the White House and widely seen on YouTube, of a California rescue squad pulling a victim from the rubble. As you’ll see and hear, the crowd begins to applaud and chant, “U.S.A! U.S.A.!”

-- Steve Padilla

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Photo: A woman pauses at the National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[Dave]

The headline is a smear. It implies in some way that Rush Limbaugh opposed contributions, when he did not. He said that it would be more productive to donate to private agencies, and he explained why:

1. More of the money would make it to Haiti victims (less admin cost than US government).
2. Many charities had help infrastructures already in place since that have a history of doing charitable work in Haiti.
3. The donor would not end up on a White House politically-inspired mailing list, as has happened in the past.

How do I know this? I am a daily listener and I heard him say it in real time.

Thanks.

[ScientistsRCool]

Limbaugh is a smear

[Phillip]

I hate to admit this but I agree with Rush.

(Shudders)

I feel so dirty now.

[adoptivefather]

Limbaugh was trying to make the salient point that the government has usurped our ability to donate to charities of "our" choosing that "we" have vetted by stealing "our" money via outrageous taxation.

GO SCOTT BROWN!!!!!

[savvydude]

OF COURSE it's a smear. What else would you expect from the LATimes? Rush is a conservative so he is eligible for hate.

[Sam]

People not listening to Limbaugh is a good sign.

[truth to power]

Best thing we can all do is ignore Rush Limbaugh!

[Willie Wilcox]

C'mon Steve. I know times are tough in the newspaper business, but this type of misleading headline only serves to undermine your credibility.

I know, you want to stand out. And you have: you stand out now as one who thinks the controversial headline is what it takes. And maybe the success formulae are not savvy to see beyond raw page hits. Maybe you've found a concept that works.

But it did not for me. I think I'll pass on Steve Padilla's next story.

[Adam Colson]

It's a shame that an opinion headline shows up on the homepage of latimes.com. This is opinion, and a bad one at that, and it clearly is an attempt by the desperate mainstream left-leaning media to report the news instead of trying to make it up.

[Larry]

I agree with Dave. The headline is a cheap shot at Limbaugh. So typical of the MSM. Shame on you! You dont have to agree with Limbaugh but at least report on him honestly. This kind of journalism is why the L.A. Times and other newspapers around the country are losing subscribers.

[P J Evans]

Limbaugh likes the attention he gets from saying things like that.
That two-thirds of the people in the US have donated, or intend to donate, to relief is a _much_ better indicator of what this country can be and do, than anything that comes out of Limbaugh's mouth.

(By the way, donating for relief will _not_ put you on any White House list. That _is_ a lie.)

[RealisticExpectations]

Rush is a pinheaded, myopic, isolationist fool.

Glad to know people are NOT heeding his words.

[rallenr]

You guys twisted this one really well. Limbaugh was correct in steering people AWAY from the government sites and to the honest ones like the Red Cross.

No wonder you're going out of business -- distorting the truth like this.

[conservativesonsmakk]

They ignore him donate to haiti, but to save their own nations politics they know not best. That Douche Limbaugh is still blithering and violently spewing his synthetic opiate addicted...self dietized, un-American, dementia is a severe concern. Not anything else.

[Andy Eppink]

"He said that it would be more productive to donate to private agencies, and he explained why:..."

Guess I should've read Limbo's comments in their entirety instead of being sucked in by the libmedia. I should've known better. That puts him up to 99%.

Of course religious/private donation is better gov't. Much more effective, goes w/o saying. Thank God Obamacare was scuttled. The crazy leftists would've been extended the abortion license just as much as they thot socially possible, in addition to which they'd have been killing people left and right w death panels. The only way to have effective healthcare on an extended basis throughout the nation is through the religious bodies. No one should be w/o adequate healthcare, but it has to be done cost effectively and with incentives for people to take personal responsibility for their own and their family's health and welfare, a tough nut to crack. Just having (too many) people suck off the system, being entirely dependent on society for their health and welfare, the lib ideal, is obviously socially debilitating, in addition to which market incentives have to be maintained so as to keep healthcare improving, not that it's very efficient now.

The best way was the old customary and accepted way of doing things - the family doctor. Somehow or another that's got to be preserved. Healthcare is like religion, education and so many similar things. Those endeavors aren't like soullessly making money on Wall Street (tho that too serves a social purpose, hard as it can be to see sometimes), they have to be treated differently. Yet there has to be 'efficiency'.

It's a tough nut to crack, no doubt about it.

[Diddy]

@Dave

Well What did you expect from Rush. He also said that this TRAGEDY also somehow has to do with Obama improving credibility wih Black people.

[Mark]

I want to let Rush know that I am going to make a donation in his name to the Haiti relief effort.

[LAME]

Dave you know darn well Rush made less than genuine comments about Haiti. Get a life.

[Tom]

This article is spot on with the way it reported how Rush twisted the White House's call for donations to Haiti quake relief for his own self serving purpose. The government website only listed organizations you can donate to (The Red Cross (then), Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund (now)), resources for friends and families of victims and information on the government response.

The website had no requests for donations to a government run fund or personal information.

How do I know this? I checked the website and ignored Rush and his listeners.

You're welcome.

[deBeer]

This article is wrong. Rush never said do not donate to Haiti. He did say do not donate thru Obama's government web site. That money donated there would not be spent fast or it would be wasted bureaucracy style. He did mention that we have paid taxes that have gone and will go to Haiti aid, but again, he NEVER stated do not give to Haiti.

[Paul Manderson]

This world needs more compassion.

[TomTallis]

Let's hope that this is the beginning of a trend of ignoring Limpbaugh.

[Michael]

Limbaugh is an entertainer, not the face of the GOP. Of all the others who have talk radio shows: Hannity, Hewitt, Beck etc...who has annointed Rush as "the" voice of conservatism? Sometimes I think the MSM finds the easiest scapegoat they can, and chooses that person as their most favored fall guy. Although I believe he is being misquoted and taken out of context, I really don't find anything refreshing and entertaining from his show. I do however find it strange that after all this time, you'd think he would choose his words more carefully.

If you don't like what he has to say, don't listen. It's a free country...but for how long?

[dave]

I listen to Rush as much as I can. He is one of the most invidious racists I have ever encountered. He relentlessly tries to twist everthing, especially dwelling on race, into some kind of snide stuff to hurt Obama and the democrats. This Haiti thing is more of the same from him. In the weeks after Obama took office I listened to him say that white people should arm themselves and form groups in the woods because Obama is out to get whitey, several times. How can anyone but the KKK defend him!

[Scott Brown]

64% of American adults have given??? I find this number to be a bit inflated.

Why didn't Obama ask 64% of American adults to give to Haiti before the quake?

[mndasher]

Of course Rush did not say to not donate to aid Haiti, he said do not donate to the government to aid Haiti.... There are many many charities and places that can more effectively use aid money then the government which will waste 60% percent of the aid money in overhead and inefficiencies.

[Niu'came]

Recent polling data shows Rush to be the most widely accepted spokesman for the Republican party.
Several of the talking heads on the right are using the "I'm just an entertainer." line when some of their more ridiculous pronouncements blow up in their faces. I've heard Glenn Beck use it several times, etc.

[Be Real]

LA Times and other Dems: Do you realize how ridiculous you sound??!! Stop filling peoples heads with lies. Rush NEVER said not to donate. Why can't you EVER have any common sense??!! Healthcare, CAP and Trade, bribery....sounds like treason!!! After last nights election the country is coming out of its coma...November will be increcible. Out with the socialist liars!

[Marty]

Total mischaracterization.

No one cares if people donate money for Haitis recovery.

Rush would applaud the thought

[Ryan M.]

LA Times and all of the other propaganda "news" companies are so ignorant. Dave, your comment is exactly what Mr. Limbaugh was saying. The LA Times took his comments out of context, as they always do with any conservative viewpoint, and imply the America said no to Rush Limbaugh. This is laughable at best and really shows how dumb the LA Times really is. Maybe that is why Rush has more listeners/audience than the LA Times...must be because America disagrees with principled, conservative "outside the box" thinking. LA Times sucks, fight the propaganda!!!

[Marty]

Tax payers donations are in the form of medical services and security in addition to urgent needs,

Long term our tax dollars will continue to help rebuild the infrastructure.

If the Hatian government is taken over by "freedom fighters" or "rebels" then our government will react accordingly and Hatian people may suffer.

[Lori andersen]

I would not recommend sending $ to something set up by the government! You don't know where that $ is going! Private organizations are much more effective in getting the $ out to the appropriate place. Once again Rush is right!

[cha]

Thanks GOD most ppl isn't like Rush. Lack of compassion and irritating self-serve egomaniac who care only his rating. I wish he would face some catastrophe event that need ppl help to wake him up one day in future to see and feel the real human being is all about.

[Absinthe]

If you compare American giving to the Red Cross to their Canadian counterparts, Canadians have donated over 4 times more per capita. Regardless of what Limbaugh"truly" meant in his remarks, the sad fact is that apparently many Americans interpreted the message as "don't give to Haiti".

[MrUniteUs]

The whitehouse.gov directed people to donate to the Red Cross. Limbuagh said hat the President was going to keep some of the money and that he was helping Haiti to make Black Americans like him more. This demented racist comment was make while thousand lie dead and dying in rubble. Haiti.

Then Pat Robertson repeated a 200 year racist lie concocted by the French to explain how Napoleons army was defeated by those Black slaves. If wasn't for those Black freedom fighters, Napoleon would not have sold the Louisiana Purchase to raise money.

[haphazard]

You left,radical libs hear what you want and not what is said. Rush said not to give to Haiti via the white house because you have no idea how they will use the money. They 'd probably use it to hire a new czar.

[Tye]

I am always amazed to ready the fabricated stories that liberals come up with in an attempt to justify their believes. Honesty and integrity create trust and the liberals in this county have neither.

[Larry Linn]

Rush Limbaugh, the antithesis of the Good Samaritan, motivated me to double my contibution to Haitian relief.

[David]

The fact that we've got to debate whether or not Rush Limbaugh has a point PROVES THAT THERE'S A SERIOUS MORAL AND ETHICAL VOID RIGHT NOW. Rush Limbaugh represents everything that is morally reprehensible in this country. He never misses the opportunity to come out against the poor, blacks, and women if they don't support the status-quo. I feel sorry for those who listen and believe in him. May God help him and his supporters.

[jimmy]

IF RUSH is right, then why don't he say the same thing during the TSUNAMI or other relief! Why is he voicing his opinion on Haiti? Is it because it's a black country or Obama is president? I'm an Independent and this shiet needs to STOP from both sides! PERIOD!

[kat;y]

There are many whites who have donated big dollars; however, we do not hear about the donations from Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfry, Beyonce, Jayzee, Kobe Bryant etc, etc. ? Doing a 10 minute singing gig is not enough!!! ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I have noticed ONLY white movie actors who have donated in a big way and ONLY whites who are going out of their way to adopt black children. Television shows only whites and other nationalities are e helping the Haitians. Where is the leadership from affluent Black Community in America? Do they expect everyone to do the job?????