Rodgers suggested that just as the O.J. Simpson verdict “was a racial vote,” African-Americans support Obama because of “racial brotherhood”

Written by Hannah Dreier

Published

On his KSFO radio show, Lee Rodgers claimed O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder because of a “racial vote” by the jury and said of polls that show “98 percent of black voters voting for” Sen. Barack Obama: "[A]re we to assume they all agree with him on all his principles? Or could there be a hint of racial brotherhood in that vote? Come on, we know the answer to that." Rodgers also declared, “If any white person, for whatever reason -- because they think he consorts with terrorists or communists, or believes in all the things that black racist preacher said for 20 years votes against him for that reason -- no, no, no, no. If you're a white person voting against Obama, you are a racist.”

Arguing that “some things never change” during the October 3 broadcast of KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Show, host Lee Rodgers claimed that O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges in 1995 because of a “racial vote” by the jury and said of polls that show “98 percent of black voters voting for” Sen. Barack Obama: "[A]re we to assume they all agree with him on all his principles? Or could there be a hint of racial brotherhood in that vote? Come on, we know the answer to that." Rodgers also declared, “If any white person, for whatever reason -- because they think he consorts with terrorists or communists, or believes in all the things that black racist preacher said for 20 years votes against him for that reason -- no, no, no, no. If you're a white person voting against Obama, you are a racist.”

As Media Matters for America noted, on the April 9 broadcast of Fox News Radio's The John Gibson Show, host John Gibson said to an African-American caller, “It is a racial solidarity bond you have with Obama. Tell me -- I dare you to deny that.” Moments later, Gibson added: “You're sticking with Obama, because he's ... he's a brother.” On the June 6 broadcast of his radio show, Gibson told a caller who spoke favorably of Obama: “You don't know what Barack Obama stands for. You just like him because he's -- he's -- he's like you and you want to see one of you up there, and you don't care what he stands for.” The caller responded: “He's not one of me just because he's a black guy or something like that. That doesn't make him one of me. He's standing for him, not me.”

From the October 3 broadcast of KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Show:

RODGERS: I remember that day very well --

OFFICER VIC (co-host Tom Benner): Yes.

RODGERS: -- because the entire staff of ABC Radio was gathered in a big conference room here --

OFFICER VIC: Mm-hmm.

RODGERS: -- waiting for the [O.J. Simpson] verdict to come down. Were you there, Sherry? I think -- yeah.

OFFICER VIC: Sherry was there? Wow.

RODGERS: The verdict to come down. And the president of this broadcast operation asked for a show of hands: “How many people believe O.J. will be found guilty?” And every hand in the room went up, except for one. And he said, “Who believes he won't be found guilty?” And that one other hand went up, and it was mine. And a matter of -- a couple of minutes later, they announced the verdict: not guilty.

OFFICER VIC: Mm-hmm.

RODGERS: And everybody's hollering, “How did you know? How did you know? How did you know?” I said, “This isn't brain surgery. Look at the jury.”

OFFICER VIC: Mm-hmm.

RODGERS: It was a racial vote -- of course it was.

OFFICER VIC: Mm-hmm.

RODGERS: Some things never change. You read the opinion polls on this upcoming election. Now, let me see. If any white person, for whatever reason -- because they think he consorts with terrorists or communists, or believes in all the things that black racist preacher said for 20 years votes against him for that reason -- no, no, no, no. If you're a white person voting against Obama, you are a racist.

But you see the same polls showing 98 percent of black voters voting for Obama -- are we to assume they all agree with him on all his principles? Or could there be a hint of racial brotherhood in that vote? Come on, we know the answer to that; of course we do. And that's why I didn't find it difficult at all to figure out how the O.J Simpson trial was gonna come out 13 years ago today. The truth is the truth, reality is reality, and some things about human nature just don't change.