This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the eulogy for Obama's teleprompter
By Simon Maloy

We're fond of the idea that one should respect one's audience. Of course, here at the Wire, our audience is comprised mainly of people who went too far in their Google searches for the critically acclaimed HBO series, so respect doesn't really enter into it. But for people who actually have an audience that wants to hear what they have to say, such respect is key. Just look at Glenn Beck, who yesterday attacked the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee for their "questioning" of Sonia Sotomayor. Of course, there was no "questioning" of Sotomayor yesterday, and the clips Beck aired were of the senators' opening statements. There are two possible options here: Beck honestly, but wrongly, believed that the Judiciary Committee questioned Sotomayor yesterday, or he knew that there were no questions, but nonetheless decided to attack the Democrats for lobbing softballs. No matter how you slice it, this shows a staggering lack of respect for his audience -- either he didn't care enough to know what he was talking about before commenting on it, or he assumed that his audience wouldn't know better and deliberately lied. And then there's Rush, who yesterday reached back an entire week to lie about President Obama's trip to Russia as part of a tired harangue about Obama's intentions to cripple America at home and abroad. Now, as members of his audience, we expect Rush to lie, but he should at least have enough respect for us to keep those lies fresh...

And speaking of fresh material, Rush got the program started with an extended teleprompter joke. Actually, that's not quite true. Before he launched into the teleprompter foolishness, he had to get this in: "Yes, I've been watching the Sotomayor stuff. What do you think I've been doing? Start the tape, from the beginning. I'll tell you what, though; I can't -- I had to turn it off. I had to -- the woman's scary." After praising Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and saying that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) "needs a drain in his throat," Rush finally got around to the teleprompter. Apparently, one of the president's teleprompters fell during his speech yesterday and shattered. Rush said he doesn't know if a eulogy is in order, but he was shocked that Obama didn't even apologize to the teleprompter, given that the teleprompter made him who he is. Words cannot convey the horror we experienced in seeing the Teleprompter in Chief in pieces on the floor, said Rush. Who among us is not sad to see TOTUS pass away at such a young age? It was brilliantly talented, said Rush, and "many will say he was taken from us too soon," but Rush had this to add: "To that I say, good riddance. That little wise ass teleprompter was propping up an authoritarian socialist, and it helped this president conduct a war on prosperity."

But what happens when TOTUS dies like this? What happens, said Rush, is that the teleprompter's duties are immediately transferred to Vice President Joe Biden's teleprompter. Rush then remembered some of the high points of the teleprompter's life. The teleprompter tried to kill itself at the Air Force Academy during Biden's commencement speech, and it told Obama a story last week about how he met his wife in class, but Obama did not meet his wife in class. So the teleprompter was sabotaging him as recently as last week, said Rush. The state-run media decided they had to do some quick clean-up after this faux pas. If any of these things had happened to Bush, he'd have been called a dolt and an idiot.

So things were not well between Obama and the teleprompter, said Rush, and so people are trying to figure out what the real situation was. Was there a secret CIA program hatched by Dick Cheney to get this teleprompter? We'll never know.

After the break, Rush was still on the teleprompter, saying that Obama claims that his administration is transparent, but the teleprompter was the only transparent aspect of the administration. Rush added: "A little ditty here about the teleprompter saying and making Obama say he met his wife in class when he met his wife at work; perhaps Obama met his next wife in class and they're just getting -- you never know. I mean, now because that's a substantive error out there. And not long after that, bam! Bamster! Teleprompter is fini."

Then Rush said you can sum up everything Sotomayor has said today in five seconds -- everything she is saying is not true. She's making it up and pretending she never said what she's said. She said the Ricci case was decided on precedent, but there was no precedent to cite, said Rush. Actually, there was precedent, and it was cited in the opinion Sotomayor joined in Ricci v. DeStefano. Anyway, Rush said that Sessions was great from top to bottom; he exposed all of Sotomayor's hypocrisy, and that's great because it exposes Obama for who he is. Rush guaranteed that if there were good video of Sotomayor making that "wise Latina" statement, she wouldn't be sitting there today.

Rush then noted that the new New York Times/CBS poll shows that Obama's approval rating has dropped to 57 percent, and Gallup says that Americans are getting impatient for an economic recovery. Then he aired sound bites from CBS' The Early Show this morning in which Bob Schieffer said that it's the economy affecting Obama's numbers, and while he's a long way from being unpopular, people are not seeing the impact of the stimulus. The media are slaves, said Rush; they're liberals. They want Obama to succeed more than they want the economy to survive, and that's why they fret over the poll data.

Rush then said if it's Tuesday, it must be spending day in Washington, D.C. Rush cited a New York Times article reporting that Obama "plans to head to hard-hit Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to announce a $12 billion infusion for the nation's community college system," a Reuters report on Obama "mulling new ways to delay foreclosure for jobless homeowners who are unable to keep up with monthly payments," and an ABC News report on "top labor leaders pushed for a second stimulus package to create more jobs." That's three brand new spending proposals in one day, said Rush, ignoring the fact that the ABC News article was not about a new spending proposal.

Another break and Rush was back saying that with all the Sotomayor analysis going on, what's being missed is what happened in the Ricci case. The fact is that Sotomayor buried the case, said Rush. There was no published opinion, and she was doing everything she could to make sure that her reasoning would never come to light. All of this back and forth today about Ricci, said Rush, "is an attempt for her to retrace her steps, recast what she did, lie about the fact that there was precedent involved when there wasn't." Like we said above, there was precedent involved, and it was cited.

Anyway, Rush said "[i]t is clear she does not have the courage of her leftist convictions." Sonia Sotomayor knows that her views are nowhere near the mainstream, said Rush. In Ricci, she couldn't afford to write an opinion because she knew she would never make it to this point if she did. She's not a crusader in the public sense, said Rush. She's trying to hide it, which tells everyone that the things that she believes are not mainstream. Rush said it would have been very easy for Sotomayor to say today that she misspoke on the "wise Latina" stuff, and everyone would have applauded her. We doubt that Rush really believes this, since he attacked Sotomayor back in June for making similar comments in 1994, saying specifically that since she said it two times, there's no chance that she misspoke. Anyway, Rush continued, saying that she tried to excuse it and reposition it, and she believes what she did in Ricci was right.

So, in the end, said Rush, she buried the Ricci case in an unpublished opinion that makes sure the affirmative action position wins, but she didn't try to defend it publicly. That's why we need these hearings, he said -- we're not going to get to the real Sotomayor unless the Republicans continue to push. She's a "radical," said Rush, and there are many other "radicals" on the committee -- the Democrats. They're doing everything they can to help her bury who she really is.

Rush then noted that Obama's out in Michigan looking for a boost today. Rush addressed the people of Michigan, saying that the worst thing that could happen to them is Obama coming to see you. You Michiganites know why you're in trouble, said Rush -- because Democrats have been running your cities and states. And now the architect of 9.5 percent unemployment and unimaginable debt is coming to your state. Rush summed things up, saying that whenever Geraldo shows up on TV, that means someone has died. He's the grim reaper. And Michigan, you've got the economic grim reaper showing up.

One more break and Rush had one last question on Sotomayor -- Obama said we needed someone with empathy, and she used empathy in Ricci, so why didn't she just say she was empathizing with the minority? The woman is hiding who she is, said Rush.

Rush then took his first caller, a woman who said that people don't care who Obama really is -- they care that he's a minority, and they care that he's not George Bush. Rush said, right now, that's mostly true, but his numbers are starting to come down. Look at the Rasmussen presidential approval index, look at the New York Times poll. The caller then said people aren't going to care until they realize that they are the ones who are going to get hurt, and when the middle class people who voted for a minority to prove they aren't racist start seeing their taxes go up, they're going to have a change of heart. Rush said there was no point in this listener calling because he agreed with everything she said. If that were a rule Limbaugh listeners adhered to, then the phone lines would be dead.

Rush closed out the hour with a caller who said that Obama is doing a great job, and Rush and the Republicans should be doing something to elevate their own party. Rush said Obama isn't doing a great job, and people are laughing at him across the world. Rush said he feels like he's watching The Omen, and everything that has happened -- the teleprompter dying, the massive unemployment, Hillary Clinton getting mad -- shows that it's not as smooth as glass out there.

Greg Lewis and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Yes, I've been watching the Sotomayor stuff. What do you think I've been doing? Start the tape, from the beginning. I'll tell you what, though; I can't -- I had to turn it off. I had to -- the woman's scary.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Who among us is not sad to see the Teleprompter of the United States, TOTUS, such immense talent, pass away at such a young age. I mean, this prompter -- not even seven months old. The president's teleprompter, brilliantly talented, a giant in his field, one of the best teleprompter ever -- at a time like this, many will say he was taken from us too soon, that his best days were still ahead of him.

To that I say, good riddance. That little wise ass teleprompter was propping up an authoritarian socialist, and it helped this president conduct a war on prosperity. This teleprompter that everybody is feeling so sorry for helped the president destroy the private sector. This teleprompter was the best friend of a fraudulent anti-free market liberal. The dearly departed teleprompter was an accessory here to outrageous acts against the United States economy, attempting to take our money and property under false pretenses, lying about global warming, lying about health care, cap and tax -- I don't have any sorrow that the teleprompter is fini.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: A little ditty here about the teleprompter saying and making Obama say he met his wife in class when he met his wife at work; perhaps Obama met his next wife in class and they're just getting -- you never know. I mean, now because that's a substantive error out there. And not long after that, bam! Bamster! Teleprompter is fini.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Every one of these liberals that come up there as appointees to one court or another -- and even in a lot of cases, some liberals running for office -- but especially Sotomayor, it is clear she does not have the courage of her leftist convictions. She is a big believer in affirmative action, but she will not dare go public and act as a crusader for it because she knows it's not a winner.

So, these people, Sonia Sotomayor, the whole point -- what you should be learning from these hearings if you're watching is how she's trying to bury who she really is. That's the whole point of this. That's the way she was rehearsed - bury who she is.

America's Truth Rejector

Falsely claimed there was no precedent involved in the Ricci decision:

LIMBAUGH: And all of this back and forth today about Ricci is an attempt for her to retrace her steps, recast what she did, lie about the fact that there was precedent involved when there wasn't.

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by Judge Sotomayor's "minority mindset"
By Greg Lewis

The second hour commenced with Rush bringing up an article in Time headlined, "Obama's Stimulus Plan: Failing by its Own Measure." Rush wondered why Time would run this story after it ran 40 covers of Obama in about 20 weeks. He continued, adding that everyone is missing how the stimulus is doing everything its "architect" intended for it to do: benefit Democrats and unions, and destroy the economy. So, yeah, basically everything Rush said yesterday, two weeks ago, two months ago, etc.

But that wasn't the end of "Repeat-Yourself Tuesday." Rush then pulled up an article from Fortune magazine headlined, "National health care may never happen," and read from it at length. Rush said that Obama wants to push through health care quickly because the economy is tanking -- speed and deception is the tactic here, just like with the Sotomayor hearings.

Then Rush briefly referenced Mort Zuckerman's Wall Street Journal op-ed this morning, before going back to Robert Samuelson's Newsweek column he read from yesterday. Then it was more of the same. Rush made an issue out of the fact that many taxpayers "don't pay income tax" -- only payroll, sales taxes, etc. -- so these people favor tax increases on everyone else. Politicians like Obama know this, and they use it to create class envy, control the economy, and to advance their own interests. Also, Rush explained how tax increases don't raise revenue, and that Obama is "purposefully" destroying the middle class. This went on for a while, and, again, if you've been tuning into the Limbaugh Wire at all for the past few months, then you've surely heard it before.

After the break, Rush criticized Obama for saying that the unemployment rate would continue to rise, accusing him of making a "strategic announcement" that would be overshadowed by the Sotomayor hearings. We're not sure why Rush is making a big deal about this, considering Obama made similar remarks about rising unemployment three weeks ago, and the Wall Street Journal's most recent survey of economists says they "forecast an unemployment rate of at least 10% through next June."

After another break, Rush returned with a Politico article headline, "Obama's rosy scenario turns thorny." Rush read some quotes from the article, and used it as another piece of evidence for his claim that the Obama administration was rushing health care before the economy got worse. Rush says the way the Democrats are talking about the economy is the same way they talked about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 1998 and during the lead-up to the Iraq war. But when no WMDs were found, explained Rush, "all of a sudden Joe Wilson surfaced" and started the whole "parade" of "Bush lied." Rush said that Biden is reading from the same script, saying that they didn't know how bad the economy was because Bush lied to them about how bad it was. Rush came up with a new slogan to emphasize his point: "Obama lied and the economy died."

Rush then enthusiastically returned to the New York Times/CBS poll showing Obama's approval rating dropped to 57 percent, noting that the drop came from Democrats and independents. Hey, you remember when that last New York Times/CBS poll found that a huge majority of Americans want health care reform? Rush didn't care for that finding, and at the time he dismissed the poll out-of-hand as "rigged." One would assume that "rigging" a poll would be grounds to never again trust a polling outfit's results, but Rush was clearly excited over the poll's latest findings, and he didn't seem to have the same concerns over its methodology. Funny, that...

Then Rush took a call from someone who tried to explain to Rush that community colleges are taking the place of high schools regarding economics, and college is another means to keep people in school to continue brainwashing them. Rush elaborated on this, saying that if people are losing health care, they'll support health care reform. This was just like Marie Antoinette, said Rush, as he compared the ill-fated French queen to the current occupants of the White House: " 'They don't have bread? Let them eat cake.' Michelle Obama, Barack Obama: 'They don't have jobs? Let them hear about universal health care.' "

The next caller told Rush about how liberals excuse themselves from laws they put on others, and that Sotomayor lies and misrepresents what she believes. Rush said this was exactly right, and continued to make the same point he's been making on Sotomayor for the past two hours, days, weeks, and months.

On the other side of the commercial break, Rush took a caller who wanted to know if any of the senators would ask about Sotomayor's affiliations with the National Council of La Raza. Rush said the senators probably wouldn't because they want the Hispanic vote.

Then it was time for some sound bites from today's hearings. After playing some bites from Sen. Leahy, Rush claimed that there was "no way" to take the "wise Latina" quote out of context. Sure there is. How do we know there is a way? Because Rush did it over and over. From there, Rush played a few clips from Sotomayor at the hearing and finished out the hour by arguing that she has a "minority mindset":

LIMBAUGH: These people know what it's like to have a tough and hard and miserable life because of the majority in this country and they -- because of the disadvantages and the discrimination that they have found -- they are going to be able to make wiser rulings to help them. That's what she believes.

It's not about sound judging. It's about reversing power and using the law to do it, from a flawed perception of who has power in the first place. She's got this minority mindset. And part of the minority mindset is you're always getting beat up; you're always being discriminated against; you're always being treated unfairly. "I'm gonna fix it! And everybody that comes from that rich background of being treated unfairly and discriminated against -- we know how to get even!" That's what - she's not talking about sound judging.

Simon Maloy, Zachary Pleat, and Ariana Probinsky contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: It's like Marie Antoinette. Remember? Now she didn't actually say this -- Marie Antoinette has been crucified, theoretically, philosophically, by history -- you know, the whole thing, "Marie Antoinette, they don't have any bread." "Fine, let them eat cake." In fact, when I first heard that, you know, I was a kid, and I said, what's wrong with eating cake? I'd much rather eat cake than bread. Give me a good old-fashioned white cake or yellow cake anytime over bunny bread or some of this, you know, store-bought, processed -- no, no, no, the bread back -- the cake back in those days was the scrapings from the oven. I said, oh, OK.

But let's go along with history and Marie Antoinette: "They don't have bread? Let them eat cake." Michelle Obama, Barack Obama: "They don't have jobs? Let them hear about universal health care."

[...]

LIMBAUGH: These people know what it's like to have a tough and hard and miserable life because of the majority in this country and they -- because of the disadvantages and the discrimination that they have found -- they are going to be able to make wiser rulings to help them. That's what she believes.

It's not about sound judging. It's about reversing power and using the law to do it, from a flawed perception of who has power in the first place. She's got this minority mindset. And part of the minority mindset is you're always getting beat up; you're always being discriminated against; you're always being treated unfairly. "I'm gonna fix it! And everybody that comes from that rich background of being treated unfairly and discriminated against -- we know how to get even!" That's what -- she's not talking about sound judging.

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by Ronald Reagan Iran-Contra Washington National Airport
By Greg Lewis

Rush got the final hour rolling by reading reports that more that 43,000 children go to emergency rooms every year after slipping in a bathtub. Rush reminisced about his childhood -- riding his bicycle without a helmet, running errands for his mother, his injuries from playing baseball when he was 12. Kids today are worried about stupid polar bears dying, whereas 50 years ago, we were worried about the Russians nuking us. Anyway, Rush's trip down memory lane was to make the point about how things today are different than they were when Rush was a youngster.

Rush came back from the break with a brand new comedy bit for us to enjoy -- a parody of Obama's speech in Michigan today, which, until today, had been scheduled as a town hall. The parody must have been thrown together on very short notice, and trust us when we say the quality of the bit reflected the time constraints... Anyway, Rush moved on to more sound bites from the Sotomayor hearing today, heaping praise on Sen. Jeff Sessions for his "terrific" questioning. Rush said Sessions dissected every one of her statements and properly analyzed it. Rush played audio of Sotomayor defending her comments at Duke University Law School in 2005, when she said the "court of appeals is where policy is made." Rush said that she was fudging what she really meant in order to get confirmed. Actually, her testimony is completely in line with what she said in 2005 if you actually consider the comment in context.

Then Rush went back to the Ricci case, repeating his claim from the first hour of today's broadcast that Sotomayor "buried" what she really believed, and she wasn't citing precedent like she claimed she was. You can scroll up the page to see our rebuttal. Continuing, Rush elaborated on his feelings about "precedent." If your thought process is like Sotomayor's, explained Rush, and you thought that precedent meant that you have to go for precedent every time, then we'd still have slavery.

After another break, Rush moved on to Sotomayor's defense of her "wise Latina" remarks, and her explanation that it was a "rhetorical flourish" based on something said by Sandra Day O'Connor. Rush explained that this is why Sotomayor is "dangerous":

LIMBAUGH: She couldn't have meant what she said. If she can say that about Sandra Day O'Connor, she could look at the Constitution and say, "They didn't mean that." And this one little example is all you need to know how dangerous this woman is. Your Constitution -- our Constitution is not safe with this woman interpreting it.

Then Rush continued to gloat about how "effective" Sessions was, and how the state-run media are talking about it. He aired audio of Chris Matthews and Richard Wolffe on MSNBC discussing how Sessions was playing "racial politics." Au contraire, said Rush:

LIMBAUGH: She's the racist, and they turn it around and say that Sessions is the racist. Sotomayor is the one who used the word -- or the phrase "wise Latina" and "the richness of her experiences" would make her a better judge than the average white guy. She is the racist.

Here's the amusing thing: Rush has no problem saying "wise Latina" over and over, ripping it out of context, and declaring Sotomayor a "racist," but when someone in the media says Sessions is playing "racial politics," Rush pronounces that ridiculous, but won't get into anything Sessions actually said today. Well, a quick review of Sessions' comments from today would have given some much needed context -- he invoked a Puerto Rican judge's ancestry in explaining why Sotomayor should have voted with him, and he (in the words of Jeffrey Toobin) adopted a "line of questioning" based on the notion "that being a white man, that's normal. Everybody else has biases and prejudices."

The next sentence in Rush's monologue led straight back to his bizarre obsession with rape:

LIMBAUGH: State-run media attacks Jeff Sessions. 'Cause he's from Alabama, why, he's got to be a racist; just like those three kids at Duke had to rape that dancer. She was black, she was poor, she was a dancer; they're rich elite athletes at a power school -- of course they raped her! We don't even need to know the facts; of course they did. Uh, no, they didn't. OK, never mind. So, now, Jeff Sessions is the racist.

The next caller on the program went back to the bathtub story, explaining that in her experience working in emergency rooms, most people who go to emergency rooms do not go for actual emergencies. Rush understands this, relating it to his theory on our society's "health panic," describing it as a combination of media, affluence, and medical advancements creating unnecessary hospital visits.

Then, in introducing a story about an airline for pets, Rush took a quick swipe at Baltimore-Washington International Airport for being named after Thurgood Marshall:

LIMBAUGH: There's an airline, it'll be operating out of Baltimore, Baltimore-Washington International -- Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Brown versus Board of Education Airport. See if I can say that again: Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Brown versus Board of Education Airport.

One more break, and Rush concluded the show with a caller who was upset with Rush's comments from earlier in the hour about why Sotomayor is dangerous. The caller said it was a stretch to say that Sotomayor would look at the Constitution and say that it's not what the founders meant based on what she said about O'Connor's statements today. Rush disagreed and played the clip from the hearings today again to prove his point.

That's all for the Limbaugh Wire today. We hope you'll join us tomorrow for another day of priceless commentary from El Rushbo on the third day of the Sotomayor hearings. Meanwhile, get a sense of everything Rush has said about Sotomayor (again and again and again) by taking a peek at our comprehensive and thorough Limbaugh Wire archives.

Simon Maloy, Zachary Pleat, and Ariana Probinsky contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: She couldn't have meant what she said. If she can say that about Sandra Day O'Connor, she could look at the Constitution and say, "They didn't mean that." And this one little example is all you need to know how dangerous this woman is. Your Constitution -- our Constitution is not safe with this woman interpreting it.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: She's the racist, and they turn it around and say that Sessions is the racist. Sotomayor is the one who used the word -- or the phrase "wise Latina" and "the richness of her experiences" would make her a better judge than the average white guy. She is the racist.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: There's an airline, it'll be operating out of Baltimore, Baltimore-Washington International -- Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Brown versus Board of Education Airport. See if I can say that again: Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Brown versus Board of Education Airport.

Ladies' man

LIMBAUGH: State-run media attacks Jeff Sessions. 'Cause he's from Alabama, why, he's got to be a racist; just like those three kids at Duke had to rape that dancer. She was black, she was poor, she was a dancer; they're rich elite athletes at a power school -- of course they raped her! We don't even need to know the facts; of course they did. Uh, no, they didn't. OK, never mind. So, now, Jeff Sessions is the racist.