Neal Boortz Calls New Orleans "City of Parasites"

Cross-posted at Consequences of Republicanism. According to Media Matters, conservative talk radio host Neal Boortz referred to New Orleans as "a city of parasites, a city of people who could not and had no desire to fend for themselves" during his January 30th show. Boortz also made inexcusable remarks about victims of Hurricane Katrina, saying, "When these Katrina so-called refugees were scattered about the country, it was just a glorified episode of putting out the garbage."

Expressing what has become fairly typical Republican outrage over the tendency of many Americans to blame Bush for the inadequate federal response to Hurricane Katrina, Boortz said,

But I am fed up with this conventional wisdom that Katrina and the disaster that followed was George Bush's fault. It was not. The primary blame goes on the worthless parasites who lived in New Orleans who you -- couldn't even wipe themselves, let alone get out of the way of the water when that levee broke.

In the midst of what I certainly hope will be swift and prolonged outrage resulting in Boortz's termination, I hope that we remember one important thing. His statements, while quite venomous, reflect the manner in which many Republicans view persons less fortunate than themselves.

Tags: Neal Boortz, New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, media, politics, Republican, radio