Discussing Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) speech following her election as the country's first female speaker of the House, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh noted on the January 5 broadcast of his show that Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) said that, in Limbaugh's words, “his 2-year-old daughter ... is inspired by Nancy Pelosi's ascension to the speakership.” Limbaugh then commented, “His 2-year-old can't possibly know who Pelosi is other than as a cartoon figure on television. Maybe Pelosi breastfed him, I don't know, when the kid was pregnant. Who knows? She's capable of doing everything else.” Limbaugh later added: "[L]ook at Ms. Pelosi. Why, she can multitask. She can breastfeed, she can clip her toenails, she can direct the House, all while the kids are sitting on her lap at the same time."

Earlier in the show, Limbaugh played a clip of Speaker Pelosi's election speech in which she thanked her family for “the confidence they gave me to go from the kitchen to the Congress.” Limbaugh then said in reference to Pelosi : “I wonder when she loses next if she'll go back to the kitchen,” adding, “What do you wanna bet she hasn't been in the kitchen for a long time anyway?” On the January 4 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh had asserted: “I mean whatever it was that I said in criticism of Democrats, it was not personal, like they have turned it into on the Democrat [sic] side."

Limbaugh also cited Washington Times editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden's comment on the subject of Pelosi's election as speaker in the January 5 edition of the Times in stating, "[T]his is a triumph of feminism and estrogen, as Wes Puden says today. And ladies, the long 200-year national nightmare without a woman at the top is now over." Pruden wrote: “Yesterday was all about celebrating estrogen. More powerful than strontium-90, deadlier than polonium-210, estrogen is better for you than testosterone.” Pruden closed his column by adding that “it was a great day for hugs, kisses and an estrogen fix powerful enough for anybody.” Pruden also referred repeatedly to “Mzz” Pelosi's “tiny fist,” a possible a reference to the picture of Pelosi that the Times put on the front page of its January 5 edition.

Strontium-90 is a radioactive synthetic strontium isotope used as a power source for space vehicles and other devices. Polonium-210 is a highly radioactive substance reportedly used in the assassination of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006.

From the January 5 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

PELOSI [audio clip]: I want to thank Paul and our five children, Nancy Korynn, Christine, Jacquelyn, Paul Jr. and Alexandra, and our magnificent grandchildren for their love, for their support, and the confidence they gave me to go from the kitchen to the Congress.

LIMBAUGH: Yes, you see, ladies and gentlemen, this is a triumph of feminism and estrogen, as Wes Puden says today. And ladies, the long 200-year national nightmare without a woman at the top is now over.

PELOSI [audio clip]: We have waited over 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights. But women weren't just waiting; women were working.

LIMBAUGH: Yeah.

PELOSI [audio clip]: Never losing faith.

LIMBAUGH: Right.

PELOSI [audio clip]: We worked to redeem the promise of America --

LIMBAUGH: Right.

PELOSI [audio clip]: -- that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and our granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling.

LIMBAUGH: No, you have cracked it, but you have not broken it. I wonder when she loses next if she'll go back to the kitchen. If her kids and family allowed her to go from the -- what do you bet she hasn't been in the kitchen in a long time anyway?

[...]

RUSH: One of the latest Democrat -- one of the new freshman, Heath Shuler, not the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with -- I have a story in which he says his 2-year-old daughter, who he named Island, his 2-year-old daughter is inspired by Nancy Pelosi's ascension to the speakership. Now Heath -- I don't have -- what? What do you mean -- oh, come on, of course it can't be. His 2-year-old can't possibly know who Pelosi is other than as a cartoon figure on television. Maybe Pelosi breastfed him, I don't know, when the kid was pregnant. Who knows? She's capable of doing everything else.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: And we're being told by her and the “drive-by media” that this is something brand new and revolutionary, and better than we have ever, ever had. Note -- we've never had old Grandpa Newt [Gingrich] up there with the kids on his lap, because he didn't care about kids. That's the assumption. Men don't just care -- 'cause look, kids are fine just as long as they're at home and the woman is raising them. But don't bring them to the office, I want nothing to do with -- that's the image that is portrayed. But look at Ms. Pelosi. Why, she can multitask. She can breastfeed, she can clip her toenails, she can direct the House, all while the kids are sitting on her lap at the same time. Take care of the children, take care of the country at the same time. Never, ever been done before. It's all about the feminization of culture, and if you think I'm going overboard on this, stay tuned for the next story.

From the January 4 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: But here's the question: You know, they were bashing -- my gosh, they set the record for bashing. I wasn't

---

I mean, the Democrats were bashing Bush, and they've done it for six years, and they've been bashing Republicans, and they have been saying -- I mean, whatever it was that I said in criticism of Democrats, it was not personal, like they have turned it into on the Democrat [sic] side.

From Pruden's January 5 Washington Times column:

The Democrats finally installed Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the House yesterday, and the talk of Capitol Hill was not about what to do about the war in Iraq, the minimum wage, finding that oxymoron quaintly called “congressional ethics,” or even the prospect of raising congressional pay.

Yesterday was all about celebrating estrogen. More powerful than strontium-90, deadlier than polonium-210, estrogen is better for you than testosterone. That was the new speaker's message, and she got a lot of “amens,” even if most were from the “womens.”

[...]

Several Democratic women from the Senate wandered over to join the 71 women in the new House to join the standing ovations and to see what a lady speaker looks like. Even Bill Clinton, ever on the scout for traces of estrogen, was in town to wave from the gallery to Hillary. They're both looking sleek and buff, just back from their Caribbean vacation where, despite the harsh speculation of one wag, they did not sleep on separate islands.

“The Democrats are back,” the speaker cried, once raising her tiny fist in a back-to-power salute. “The election of 2006 was a call to change, not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in Iraq.”

Mzz Pelosi insists that her new job makes her the most powerful woman in America, and maybe it does, but tiny fist or not she probably shouldn't say that if she runs into Cindy Sheehan on nanny patrol in the corridors of Congress. Cindy routed Democratic leaders on Wednesday, taking over a press conference called to set out the party's legislative agenda, and sending senior Democrats fleeing into an adjoining room where they barred the door.

[...]

The rout of the Democrats by Cindy Sheehan illustrates just how fragile the party's grip of power may be. The peace-at-any-price Democrats imagined they were voting for the impeachment if not the hanging of George W. Bush, and they're not likely to listen to reason just because temporary sanity rules at the top of the party. Still, it was a great day for hugs, kisses and an estrogen fix powerful enough for anybody.