Good Riddance Dr. Laura!

Yesterday, Dr. Laura Schlissinger announced on Larry King Live that she is ending her radio show because she "wants to regain her First Amendment rights." Dr. Laura said that she wants to be able to say what is on her mind and in her heart without someone getting angry and attacking her affiliates and sponsors. She went on to whine about how her First Amendment rights are being usurped by angry groups that want to eliminate and not debate. Although she acknowledged that she was wrong for repeatedly using the "n" word, Dr. Laura attempted to justify her actions by claiming that she "wasn't dissing anyone".

During the show, Dr. Laura admitted that her sponsors Netflix, Motel 6, Onstar and Advance Auto Parts withdrew their support from the program following her "n" word rant. However, she claimed that her program gained sponsors as well. Who are they?

It is worth noting that renown African American linguist and conservative John McWhorter essentially supports Dr. Laura. In his article on the Root, he actually wishes that Dr. Laura did not apologize. Mr. McWhorter contends that Dr. Laura's African American critics failed to make the distinction between an assertion and a quotation. Contrary to Mr. McWhorter's claims, Dr. Laura was not simply quoting the "n" word. She said the "n" word over 11 times. Her racial insensitivity was on full display. Throughout her conversation with the caller, Dr. Laura repeatedly and dismissively described African Americans as "hypersensitive". She went on to say that maybe such "hypersensitive" people should not marry outside of their own race. She further asserted that African Americans voted for Barack Obama solely based on his race and not based on the issues. Clearly, she was expressing racial animus.

For those reasons, I salute Media Matters for launching the boycott. I commend Dr. Laura's sponsors for pulling from the program. Although Dr. Laura has a First Amendment right to use offensive and racist words, her critics have the same First Amendment right and responsibility to express their outrage. Good riddance Dr. Laura! At least for now.