This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by Rush's adamant refusal to not call Sotomayor "racist"
By Simon Maloy

Happy "Open Line Friday" to everyone. Finally, after nearly a week, the conservative Republican factions on the Sotomayor nomination are beginning to demarcate themselves. Rush, Newt Gingrich, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Barnes have settled on the argument that she's a stupid, racist, reverse racist, radically racist, affirmative-action pick. Meanwhile, on the elected-Republican side of things, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas says that Rush's and Newt's comments about Judge Sotomayor are "terrible" and "wrong." On the other hand, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas has already announced his intention to vote "no" on the nomination, and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma voiced his concern about the influence of Sotomayor's "personal race" and "gender" on her adjudicating. Meanwhile, John McCain and Jon Kyl of Arizona are refusing to say much of anything beyond expressing their desire to have her record "examined." The reactions from these Republican senators become even more interesting when you look at the racial make-up of their states. Kansas and Oklahoma are 8.8 and 7.2 percent Hispanic, respectively -- well below the 15.1 percent national average. Texas, however, clocks in at 36 percent Hispanic, while Arizona comes in at 29.6 percent. We already know Limbaugh's antipathy towards McCain, but Cornyn and Kyl are no one's idea of RINOs. Then again, favoring reality over ideology is grounds for excommunication in Limbaugh Land, so it'll be interesting to see how El Rushbo handles these two.

And sure enough, Rush got the show started on that very topic. Saying that he has become "America's piñata," Rush claimed that he has become the "passkey" for RINO Republicans to get unchallenged media coverage. The White House, Rush said, loves to see Republicans bash him, but they're also scared of Rush because they know that he's telling the truth. So bashing Rush has worked for Colin Powell and Tom Ridge, El Rushbo explained, and now it's working for John Cornyn. After airing Cornyn's comments on Limbaugh and Gingrich -- noted above -- Rush said that we can not forget that the Democratic Party "was and is vicious," as evidenced by their treatment of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Janice Rogers Brown. They "destroyed" Brown, said Rush, and no one stood up to defend her except him. Actually, there was someone else who stood up in defense of Judge Brown -- newly minted RINO John Cornyn.

Normally, Rush said, he doesn't respond to this media-bashing, but the fact of the matter is that his wit, wisdom, and brilliance are being drowned out, so he has to stand up for himself. A day will come, Rush said, when reality hits and every American will look up to the heavens and ask: "Why didn't someone warn me?" Rush declared himself "that someone," and all these Republicans using Rush as a "one-night stand" with the media are not going to stop Rush from being "that someone."

Rush then read from a Reuters article: "Job losses muddy outlook for U.S. housing comeback." Despite Obama's assurances, Rush said, the economy is not coming back from the brink because we have serious problems that are being made worse by this administration. No one, Rush said, is willing to be honest in their criticism of Sotomayor. Not even one of Rush's heroes -- Charles Krauthammer. Rush wanted to know why Krauthammer says Republicans shouldn't call Sotomayor a racist -- Rush is called a "racist" 20,000 times a day, he said. The fear, Rush explained, is that this blunt talk is going to force moderates and independents to sprint to the Democrats, but that doesn't make sense. The Democrats define meanness and lousy manners, so how is it that these moderates have no quarrel with the meanness of Democrats, but are intolerant of harsh criticism from Republicans? Rush said you can not go through life worrying about appeasing your critics because you will never succeed, and that's what's happened to the "squishy" and "moderate" Republican Party.

After the break, Rush was still on the Sotomayor nomination, reading from Krauthammer's column. Rush responded: "Yeah, exactly. No offense, Charles -- I said this on Tuesday, and I said the reason to do it was to tell the American people who Obama is. She is a reflection of Barack Obama's own racial identity, his own bigotry. That's why she was chosen." Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comment is absolutely disqualifying, said Rush, but Republicans are supposed to sit by and watch this person who is utterly unqualified be confirmed? The only reason the Republicans are putting duct tape on their mouths is to appease critics. They're being told, said Rush, that shutting up and holding back is smart politics. Rush said he stands for the "truth" and that "enlightened men" are "truth seekers."

Another break, and we were treated to quite the rant on -- you guessed it -- Sotomayor. The effort to silence all of Obama's critics is working everywhere, said Rush, except for The Rush Limbaugh Show. Rush dismissed the idea that honestly characterizing the words and ideas of Sotomayor is going to doom Republican efforts to gain Hispanic votes, asking: "Who are we to think that all Hispanics think alike?" That's not only wrong, said Rush, it's insulting. But, Rush said, Republicans are buying into it. The GOP is becoming extinct by virtue of its own actions -- appeasing its critics, standing for nothing, all for a great interview on television where they can be praised by the enemy.

Rush continued: "When a nominee for the United State's Supreme Court, one of only nine lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court, one of only nine makes an overtly brazen racist comment about tens of millions of American citizens while she is a judge and that nominee is rewarded for it with a nomination to the Supreme Court, we don't need lectures. I don't need lectures from any columnist or any commentator on TV about decorum." What everyone has to understand, Rush said is that "the left from Barack Obama on down are committed to a divided country. They are committed to a country at war with each other over race, over gender, over sexual orientation, over whatever they can promote. The more chaos, the better."

Then Rush professed his amazement that Sen. Chuck Schumer said that Republicans can vote against Sotomayor at their "own peril." This is a blatant attempt, said Rush, to use race to intimidate Republicans, and he gets away with it. He doesn't even have to intimidate, Rush added, because Republicans are already compliant. There's something "self-destructive," Rush said, about Republicans not challenging Sotomayor, adding: "Letting Sonia Sotomayor get away with her statement is renouncing decades of progress in civil rights. Do you understand what a setback this is? A woman as a judge makes a blatantly racist, bigoted comment and she is rewarded with a promotion to the Supreme Court?"

Rush added: "So we have made a lot of progress with civil rights but now, with this? How do you get promoted in the Barack Obama administration? By hating white people or even saying you do or that they're not good -- put them down, whatever.

After saying that he doesn't care what race Sotomayor is, only that she's qualified, Rush said: "Anybody who votes against Sotomayor is not voting against a Hispanic for the court. Most of them voting against Sotomayor voted for Miguel Estrada. They didn't vote against a Hispanic, who as a matter of a fact -- Estrada never made a racist comment. However, those who do vote for her are voting to enshrine bigotry on the Supreme Court and to renounce decades of racial progress." The question needs to be asked, said Rush: How could a president nominate such a candidate? Rush added: "That's what would be asked if somebody were foolish enough to nominate David Duke or pick somebody even less offensive."

After the break, Rush rounded out the hour by noting that the Politico reported: "White House urged to address 'racist' charge." The point of reading from this article, Rush said, is that obviously what he's doing is working -- the White House knows that if "racist" sticks, it's a problem.

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: The bash-Rush -- the passkey for RINO Republicans to get glowing media treatment -- works for Colin Powell, it worked for Tom Ridge, and it's now working for John Cornyn, a person from -- I'm probably going to embarrass him by saying this, but I was asked by friends to do a fundraiser for Senator Cornyn when he was running, and I did -- flew to Texas and I did it. Yesterday on NPR, John Cornyn was asked this question: "We've heard Rush Limbaugh. We've heard the Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calling Sonia Sotomayor a racist, saying that she should withdraw." I didn't say that, Newt did, but that's the question. "What do you make of the rhetoric that's tumbling out of these people these days, Senator Cornyn?"

CORNYN [audio clip]: I think it's terrible. This is not the tone that any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional abilities of advice and consent. Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials. I just don't think it's appropriate. I certainly don't endorse it. I think it's wrong.

LIMBAUGH: All right, now we'll talk about this in detail as the program unfolds here. But we can not forget something here, ladies and gentlemen -- that is that the Democrat Party was and is vicious.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Today, the Republican Party seems more interested in condemning its supporters and its friends than in doing its job. Now, normally, I don't respond to all of this media-bashing because if I did, it would be all I do -- there's so much of it -- but the fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, my wit and wisdom and brilliance is being drowned out out there, and I have learned over the course of many, many moons that if you don't stand up for yourself, nobody else will either.

Now, a day is going to come here -- a day will come when reality hits. A day is going to come when each and every American looks up to the heavens and says, "Why didn't somebody warn me?" I am that someone. I am that someone warning you. I am here to warn you each and every day, and all the drive-bys and even Republicans -- all of these people using me to win a one-night stand with the media, to win glowing praise from their enemies -- is not going to stop me from being that someone that you're going to say someday, "Why didn't somebody tell me about this?"

[...]

LIMBAUGH: The American people don't yet know who Obama is. She deserves a fair and honest hearing so that people can find out exactly who she is. And you cannot describe who she is without using the "racist" word, unless you want to fluff it up and not use the word but try to convey the image anyway just because you're worried about what people will think of you.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Charles Krauthammer today: "Use the upcoming hearings not to deny him the seat but to illuminate her views." Yeah, exactly. No offense, Charles -- I said this on Tuesday, and I said the reason to do it was to tell the American people who Obama is. She is a reflection of Barack Obama's own racial identity, his own bigotry. That's why she was chosen. America doesn't know who Obama is. Use the hearing to inform Ameri -- since she can't be stopped anyway, we don't have the votes nor the wherewithal.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: When a nominee for the United States Supreme Court, one of only nine lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court -- one of only nine -- makes an overtly brazen racist comment about tens of millions of American citizens while she is a judge, and that nominee is rewarded for it with a nomination to the Supreme Court, we don't need lectures. I don't need lectures from any columnist or any commentator on TV about decorum.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: If we have any hope, ladies and gentlemen, of keeping this a united country and not a country divided by race and other factors that this administration and the left are committed to advancing -- I will say this again: The left from Barack Obama on down are committed to a divided country. They are committed to a country at war with each other over race, over gender, over sexual orientation, over whatever they can promote. The more chaos, the better.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: There's truly something not right about people who claim to be standing with us on our side who find it impossible to be critical of people who deserve to be called on their actions and their words. There is something self-destructive, perhaps self-loathing, about some of them. Letting Sonia Sotomayor get away with her statement is renouncing decades of progress in civil rights. Do you understand what a setback this is? A woman as a judge makes a blatantly racist, bigoted comment -- she is rewarded with a promotion to the Supreme Court? What is the message that was sent? Don't tell me that it was out of context. I know about being taken out of context, and she was not.

So we have made a lot of progress with civil rights, but now, with this? How do you get promoted in the Barack Obama administration? By hating white people or even saying you do or that they're not good or that -- put them down, whatever. Make white people the new oppressed minority, and they're going right along with it because they're shutting up. They're moving to the back of the bus. They're saying, "I can't use that drinking fountain? OK. I can't use that restroom? OK." That's the modern-day Republican Party.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I care about whether she's qualified, and I think she's disqualified herself. Not only does she lack the often-discussed appropriate judicial temperament, it's worse than that. She brings a form of bigotry or racism to the court. I don't care -- we're not supposed to say it, we're supposed to pretend it didn't happen, we're supposed to look at other things, but it's the elephant in the room. The real question here that needs to be asked -- and nobody on our side, from a columnist to a TV commentator to anybody in our party has the guts to ask: How can a president nominate such a candidate? And how can a party get behind such a candidate? That's what would be asked if somebody were foolish enough to nominate David Duke or pick somebody even less offensive.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Anybody who votes against Sotomayor is not voting against a Hispanic for the court. Most of them voting against Sotomayor voted for Miguel Estrada. They didn't vote against a Hispanic, who as a matter of a fact -- Estrada never made a racist comment. However, those who do vote for her are voting to enshrine bigotry on the Supreme Court and to renounce decades of racial progress.

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by Obama's desire to "deconstruct" the Constitution
By Simon Maloy

Rush got the second hour rolling by saying that he's going to revisit how Democrats and CNN attempted to destroy Samuel Alito during his Supreme Court nomination. Rush read extensively from an American Thinker post by Jan LaRue, who wrote that "privileged, wealthy, white Democrats attacked Brown as an 'extreme right-wing' judge who didn't care about 'civil rights' or the 'down-trodden.' They were unconstrained by accusations of racism and sexism." La Rue concluded the piece with: "A Latina woman can take it, especially a former prosecutor who grew up in the South Bronx. Besides, she's probably looking forward to the chance to prove she's smarter than white guys." Rush bet that bit offended someone, and that a number of people probably thought Limbaugh is a racist for saying that: "You know people reacted that way but she is the one who said that she's smarter and better than white guys." No, she didn't.

Then Rush aired sound bytes of Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer attacking Alito as "extreme" and so forth. Then he aired a clip of Howard Dean from the October 31, 2005, edition of Hardball allegedly saying that Alito is connected to the Mafia. The clip Rush aired, however, didn't demonstrate that in any way. Luckily, Media Matters happens to have transcript and video of that exact moment -- what happened was that Chris Matthews falsely accused the Democrats of saying that Alito was "lenient" on the mafia, and Dean denied that allegation. Rush then moved on to CNN's Bill Schneider, accusing him of conducting polling to help the Democrats oppose Alito, saying that the way to kill the nomination was to say that Alito was against Roe v. Wade. And for some reason, Rush said, Republicans want to appease the Bill Schneiders of the world. Rush once again said that we're going to "enshrine racism" on the Supreme Court with Sotomayor, and that all of her proponents have forgotten the goals and admonitions of Martin Luther King.

After the break, Rush took his first call of "Open Line Friday!" The caller took things off in a completely new direction, saying that she is a Democrat who agrees with Rush on Sotomayor. You can never tell what kind of crazy things will happen on "Open Line Friday!" Anyway, the caller said that she doesn't know if Sotomayor is a racist or not, but Supreme Court justices must have control of their tongues because they represent the people of this country and defend the Constitution. Rush says that's a brilliant point, but that's not what Obama wants: "He's not looking at someone to defend the Constitution. He is constrained by it. He wants someone who can do his bidding there and that is deconstruct it."

After the break, Rush counseled everyone not to focus on Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comments too much (even though he had spent the past 90 minutes talking almost exclusively about that remark). Rush said: "Here's a woman who has admitted that her job as a judge is to make policy. That is just as good a reason to disqualify her. She's admitting that she is going to look for ways around the Constitution and she says that she can find them better than white people because of the rich life she's led as a Latina." As we explained yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia -- whose brain Rush has his eye on -- wrote almost the exact same thing.

Rush's next caller said that he understands that truth-telling is popular, and that's what we need from politicians, and he always thought John Cornyn was a strong conservative, but his comments about Rush and Sotomayor have caused him to rethink that. Rush said that there's a big difference between getting votes is very different from getting an audience, and that Cornyn's comments are all based on polling. Republicans, he said, are as afraid of the Hispanic vote as they are of conservative Christians. Rush said he thinks Republicans want Hispanics to replace conservative Christians in the party. All of these Republicans in Washington, said Rush, have this fear of moderates and independents fleeing in droves over extreme rhetoric, which they define as being "truthful." Rush wanted to remind everyone again that his analysis of Sotomayor is not aimed at keeping her off the court, but there is an opportunity here to tell the country who Obama is by telling the country who she is. Rush said he was dumbfounded by this reluctance by Republicans to contrast themselves with their enemies. It's almost as if they're content to share power as losers. John Cornyn can be loved by NPR -- all he has to do is bash Rush or Newt. That's how you get on these media programs, Rush said. His next caller wanted to know how much "influence" lobbyists and staffers have over elected officials. Rush's short answer: "Profound."

One more break and Rush was back saying that he heard from someone that judges wear black robes to hide their bias, or something like that. If that's true, said Rush, then Sotomayor's robe will be transparent, she's told us that she'll legislate from the bench. Then Rush aired a sound byte of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) saying that he doesn't know the details of the cap-and-trade legislation, and that much of the bill was left to the scientists, whom Rush deemed the "global warming hoaxers."

Rush rounded out the hour with a caller from Fresno who said there's going to be a gay rights march in her town because the homosexuals have decided that since California's Central Valley voted for Proposition 8, they're bigots. Rush said the objective is to intimidate you, and they're going to keep it up until they wear you out, but everyone should ignore them.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: That's not why President Obama wants Sonia Sotomayor on the Supreme Court today. He's not looking at someone to defend the Constitution. He is constrained by it. He wants somebody who can do his bidding there, and that is deconstruct it.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Here's a woman who has admitted that her job as a judge is to make policy. That is just as good a reason to disqualify her. She's admitting that she is going to look for ways around the Constitution, and she says that she can find them better than white people because of the rich life she's led as a Latina.

America's Truth Rejector

LIMBAUGH: As Jan LaRue writes, "A Latina woman can take it anyway, especially a former prosecutor who grew up in the South Bronx. Besides, she's probably looking forward to the chance to prove that she's smarter than the white guys." Jan LaRue talking about Sotomayor. Now, did that offend you? I'll bet it offended some people. I'll bet people who thought I was saying those words myself rather than reading Jan LaRue's words -- "She just wants to prove she's smarter than the white guys -- Oh, Limbaugh's so racist." You know people reacted to it that way, but she is the one who said that she's smarter and better than white guys.

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by "these clowns," the Native Americans
By Simon Maloy

Rush got the final hour started with "one more thing" about Sonia Sotomayor -- a mental exercise: "She said that because she is a Latina, because she is a Hispanic woman, that she'd -- because of the richness of that experience, she'd be a better judge than a white guy. What if she had said because of her rich experiences as a Latina, as a Hispanic woman, that she'd be a better judge than a black guy? What do you think the reaction to that might have been?" Doesn't matter what race you shoehorn in there, that's not what she said. What Sotomayor did say, while discussing the importance of judicial diversity in race and sex discrimination cases, was: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." And that's not too different from some praise John Yoo heaped on Clarence Thomas, or comments Thomas made himself.

Nonetheless, Limbaugh broke out the racial shoehorn to reinforce whatever point he was trying to make, and in the process insulted Native Americans: "If we want to talk about richness of experience, there's a group of people that were here before we got here, gang: the Indians, the Native Americans, the chiefs, the redskins. I don't see any of them being put up on the courts. Talk about a richness of experience -- hell, these clowns beat Custer. They have cred. You don't see them being put up, do you?"

Then it was time for one more "one more thing" about Sotomayor, as Rush read extensively from National Review's Andy McCarthy's blog post on how Sotomayor wouldn't qualify as a juror, let alone a Supreme Court justice. Rush, of course, loved every sentence of it. Personally, we're more interested in whether McCarthy has finally figured out whether Bill Ayers ghost-wrote Obama's memoir for him.

Rush then said he was moving on to other thi -- no, wait! There was yet another "one more thing" about Sotomayor as Rush read extensively from a Washington Post article this morning on how the "White House scrambled yesterday to assuage worries from liberal groups about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's scant record on abortion rights, delivering strong but vague assurances that the Supreme Court nominee agrees with President Obama's belief in constitutional protections for a woman's right to the procedure." Rush said that "the pro-abort crowd" cares only about her abortion record because they're afraid that she could become a Souter. Rush also got around to regurgitating an already-passé smear of Sotomayor: "I'll tell you, there's another concern they've got, and you've seen this being reported if you've been paying any attention: She's not an intellectual heavyweight. They are thus afraid that Scalia and Thomas and Roberts might get her mind right. They're worried about this."

Finally, there were no more "one more things" about Sotomayor as Rush moved on to a Miami Herald article on how, according to a recent poll, two-thirds of residents of coastal states are not concerned about hurricanes. This won't do for the media, said Rush, who want everyone scared to death. Rush then warned people from Maine to Texas to get ready, you're going to be deluged with footage of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina until you're officially concerned and blame Bush for it.

After the break, Rush read from a Washington Times article on how "Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day." Rush's takeaway from this article was that since someone set up a New Black Panther page on Obama's website (on which anyone could set up such a page) endorsing Obama, Attorney General Holder probably concluded that you don't put your earliest supporters in jail.

Rush squeezed in a quick call before the break, this one from a man who said Rush is an "inspiration" and that we'll all be successful if we live our lives according to Limbaugh's rules. We sure do love "Open Line Friday!"

After the break, Rush was very upset with NBC for their online article on the "8 health risks in your own backyard." He was so upset, in fact, that he read the entire article in his snide, mocking voice, and then enumerated the many things in the house that can kill you. From there it was a smooth segue into the latest Limbaugh song-parody masterpiece, "Obama Can," sung to the tune of "The Candyman."

One more break and Rush came back reading from a Huffington Post article on the four families featured in Obama's pre-election 30-minute television ad, and how "only one of those folks has seen anything resembling a rescue -- and it wasn't because of any government program." Rush said he didn't need the story to know this, just look at the Labor Department data. The economy shrank by an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the first quarter, and Obama hasn't done anything but make it worse.

Rush closed the show with a couple of calls, the first from a woman who cryptically intoned that there is no racial division except by those who make money off of it. Rush says what's happened today is that he's been scolded by all the learned people on his side on how we should raise the discourse, but guess what? The Sotomayor "racist" stuff is all over MSNBC. The White House allowed it to fester, said Rush, and that was a political mistake. Rush's last caller said that Sen. Claire McCaskill was interviewed on a Missouri radio station, and when they brought up Sotomayor's "wise Latina" statement, McCaskill misunderstood who said what and was awfully offended until she was told that Sotomayor said it. Rush said he was going to play that audio, but people were getting sick of Sotomayor stuff. You're telling us ...

Anyway, that's it for the day and the week here at the Wire. We hope you all have a great weekend, we'll see you back here on Monday, and, as always, Media Matters' ever-expanding Limbaugh archives are available for your perusal.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: She said that because she is a Latina, because she is a Hispanic woman, that she'd -- because of the richness of that experience, she'd be a better judge than a white guy. What if she had said because of her rich experiences as a Latina, as an Hispanic woman, that she'd be a better judge than a black guy? What do you think the reaction to that might have been? You think there might have been some people even on her -- you think the White House would have tamped that down pretty quick?

[...]

LIMBAUGH: If we want to talk about richness of experience, there's a group of people that were here before we got here, gang: the Indians, the Native Americans, the chiefs, the redskins. I don't see any of them being put up on the courts. Talk about a richness of experience -- hell, these clowns beat Custer. They have cred. You don't see them being put up, do you?

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I'll tell you, there's another concern they've got, and you've seen this being reported if you've been paying any attention: She's not an intellectual heavyweight. They are thus afraid that Scalia and Thomas and Roberts might get her mind right. They're worried about this.