Can there possibly be a Limbaugh Wire without Limbaugh?
By Simon Maloy

Rush is off today and tomorrow, attending a charity golf tournament. But the Limbaugh Wire will play through, teeing up three hours of fact-checking as we chip away falsehoods, slice through the misinformation, and abuse as many golf terms as we can. Birdie.

Filling in for Rush today is Jason Lewis -- or El Jas-bo, as he calls himself. He kicked off the show by noting that it's cold in the Midwest, which means that Al Gore must have given a speech somewhere, calling Gore “a walking contradiction.” And if you thought the program couldn't go anywhere but up from there, he announced that ABC's John Stossel will be joining him in the next hour. So we'll have that to look forward to.

Lewis expressed his frustration that a second stimulus package may be on the way, and his belief that it's impossible for the government to create demand. After some boilerplate conservative ranting about Fannie, Freddie, and the housing crisis, Lewis referred to President Obama as “Mussolini,” adding: “I don't mean it in an oppressive way or in an imperial way.” So how did he mean it? "[W]hat I mean is the policies, the corporate state-ism, the kind of -- it's a loaded word but -- Italian fascism, if you want to call it that."

Of course, if one were to take seriously his argument that Obama's economic policies resemble “Italian fascism,” he also used the word “socialism” at least five times during the hour to characterize Obama's economic policies. So Obama's a socialist-fascist Mussolini, but not in the oppressive or imperial way. Is it time for John Stossel yet?

After invoking “socialism” over and over, Lewis professed to be incredulous that the Politico ran an opinion piece by Matthew Dallek this morning entitled: "The false charge of socialism." As part of his proof that Obama and his plan to "nationalize health care" represent “socialism,” Lewis cited the fine health care analysis of Betsy McCaughey. However, McCaughey's attacks on Obama's health-care policies have lacked accuracy -- probably why she's so frequently cited on Limbaugh's program.

After some extended discussion of the failures of stimulus plans peppered with a few more “socialism” references, Lewis declared that the Democratic Party has been “hijacked” by the “socialist left,” adding: “The Democrat Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACORN, of MoveOn.org, of MSNBC. Their goal is not economic growth.” MSNBC owns the Democratic Party? We were always told it was the other way around.

Anyway, coming back from the break, Lewis continued to attack bailouts and such, claiming that the government is rewarding “irresponsibility,” and that “irresponsibility” is all that's required for a “bailout.” As evidence of this dynamic, he cited Social Security, which the government never should have “promised” to its citizens.

Lewis ended the hour by firing yet another broadside at the socialist menace, claiming that the “mainstream media,” the “nonprofit community,” and the “vast majority” of “academia” are “committed ideological socialists.”

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LEWIS: You guys don't get it. The Democrat Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACORN, of MoveOn.org, of MSNBC. Their goal is not economic growth. This is not an economic policy. This is a political policy to grow the public sector deliberately at the expense of the private sector, because Democrats know when you grow the public sector, when you have more government employment, when you have more people getting the check from government, presto, ergo, those people tend to vote for the guys writing them the checks.

“Socialism” watch

LEWIS: I don't know how many times Americans have to reinvent the wheel. I mean, if socialism, if government spending could get you out of an economic depression, Eastern Europe would have been an economic juggernaut. The Soviet Union wouldn't have collapsed. You've got places like China and Asia and South America in some quarters -- although, in some quarters, it's going the other -- back the other way -- that are rediscovering the fruits of capitalism and private property and free minds and free markets.

The point is you would think America would get it finally, but I'm afraid that doesn't calculate the sophistry of the mainstream media, the sophistry of the nonprofit community, the sophistry of academia, who are all committed, I'm afraid -- all is a little bit strong -- the vast majority of whom are committed ideological socialists and they don't care about -- the economy is not it. They don't care.

They would rather have an equal distribution of poverty and make certain it's equal than an inequality of wealth even if that means most people would be wealthier. It is perverse and we have to keep fighting it. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. I guess Jefferson was right.

“Fascism” watch

LEWIS: A lot of people have advice -- a lot of people have advice for Republicans and I've heard some people say, “Don't overreach on this. The economy will eventually recover. Don't do that.” Let me -- let me disagree a little bit. I think the GOP, or the loyal opposition to Mussolini -- I mean President Obama. All right, I'm going to catch some flack for that.

I don't mean -- I don't mean it in an oppressive way or in an imperial way, what I mean is the policies, the corporate state-ism, the kind of -- it's a loaded word but -- Italian fascism, if you want to call it that, where we end up nationalizing businesses, whether it's Detroit or the banks, and then we tell them exactly how to run is very, very similar to what happened in that era, but, you know, look, I digress.

Echo chamber

Lewis cited Betsy McCaughey in railing against “nationalized” and “rationed” health care.