Dr. Laura Schlessinger left her long-running radio show recently after a racially tinged tirade. Palin: Dr. Laura no racist

Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin is defending Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who left her long-running radio show recently after a racially tinged tirade.

“Does anyone seriously believe that Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a racist?” Palin asked in a post on her Facebook page. “Anyone, I mean, who isn’t already accusing all conservatives, Republicans, tea party Americans, etc., etc., etc. of being racists?”


Schlessinger used the N-word 11 times after being asked a question about mixed-race dating.

Schlessinger has apologized for her outburst. But in an interview with CNN’s Larry King, she claimed her First Amendment rights were being violated because she was being widely criticized for using the term.

Palin, who also defended Schlessinger on Twitter, agreed with the radio host’s assessment, writing that “adversaries who have been trying to silence Dr. Laura for years seized on her recent use of the N-word on her show as she subsequently suggested that rap “artists” and other creative types like those producing HBO shows who regularly use the N-word could be questioned for doing so.”

“Her intention in discussing the issue with a caller seeking advice was not to be hateful or bigoted,” Palin wrote. “Though she did not mean to insult the caller, she did, and she apologized for it. Still, those who oppose her seized upon her mistake in using the word (though she didn’t call anyone the derogatory term) to paint her as something that she’s not.”

Palin then contended that she, too, has been “shackled” by critics and said she sympathizes with the situation Schlessinger has found herself in.

The former Alaska governor then turned her fire on White House chief of staff while misspelling Rahm Emanuel's name, criticizing him for his use of vulgar language.

“Dr. Laura did not call anyone or any group of people the N-word,” Palin wrote. “Curiously, the same criers over this issue didn’t utter a word when White House chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel [sic] called a group protesting the Obama administration’s actions, ‘f——— retards.’”

“When this presidential spokesman uttered this term, I commented that the president would be better off not including Emmanuel in his circle of advisers, and my opinion was based not just on the crude and disrespectful term Emmanuel used to label people, but because he too often gives the president very poor advice,” she continued. “I was called intolerant and narrow-minded by many on the left for commenting on that issue. Many of these same leftists are now spinning the Dr. Laura issue into something it is not. As usual, their hypocrisy and double standard applications are glaring.”