More Fox News revisionism: Baier ignored Limbaugh assertion that he hopes stimulus "prolongs the recession"
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SUMMARY: On Special Report, Bret Baier reported that Rush Limbaugh "has been under fire for saying he wants President Obama to fail. Limbaugh has since explained he was talking about the president's policies and not the president specifically or the economy." In fact, Limbaugh has said he hopes the economic recovery package "prolongs the recession" and has also repeatedly said he wants Obama specifically to fail.
On the March 9 edition of Fox News' Special Report, host Bret Baier reported: "Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been under fire for saying he wants President Obama to fail. Limbaugh has since explained he was talking about the president's policies and not the president specifically or the economy." In fact, on February 13, responding to a caller's question about whether Limbaugh wanted the economic recovery package to fail, Limbaugh said, "I hope it prolongs the recession." Limbaugh has also repeatedly said he wants Obama specifically to fail.
From Limbaugh's February 13 show, as transcribed (subscription required and emphasis added) on his website:
CALLER: Well, I understand that. Like I oppose the stimulus package, for instance, because of the overspending, but once it is passed, do we have another choice? How can you oppose it once it's passed?
RUSH: Oh, (sigh). Easily. I oppose it beforehand; I oppose it afterwards. I'm being consistent. You know the reason? You know why I oppose it, Trevor?
RUSH: Well, because I'm all for prosperity and opportunity and freedom. I don't want people to be poor. I don't want people to be unemployed. I don't want people to be hopeless. I don't want people to be misled. I don't want people to be lied to. I don't want people to be told that somebody like government is going to do something for them when they're not.I want this to fail because this is the most expansive expenditure in the Democrat Party and liberalism's power that there has ever been. I hope it blows up in their face. I hope this thing does exactly what those of us who have studied these kinds of things do. I hope it prolongs the failure. I hope it prolongs the recession. Because people are going to have to figure out here that this is not how economies recover. Government is not the central planner. Government is not control of this. Government can't do it. This is a disaster. And, you know, I could sit here and say, "Yeah, I'm going to cross my fingers and hope and pray this is the first time this works," but if this works, the America that you and I know is over, Trevor, for your kids. It's over for a generation. It just is.
Earlier during his February 13 show, Limbaugh said: "Of course I want Obama to fail. And after this stimulus bill package passes, I want it to fail."
Baier's claim echoes Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace's March 8 assertion that Limbaugh "wasn't saying, 'I want the president to fail' -- he was saying, 'I want his policies, his agenda to fail,' and that he disagreed with them and thought they were bad for America." In fact, in addition to his February 13 remarks, Limbaugh's website features a transcript (subscription required) of his January 16 segment with a headline reading simply: "Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails." More recently, as Media Matters for America documented, Limbaugh said on February 27: "The dirty little secret ... is that every Republican in this country wants Obama to fail but none of them have the guts to say so; I am willing to say it. We want him to fail because we want to preserve our country as we found it. We do not want to see a successful attack on capitalism." Additionally, in his February 28 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Limbaugh described "[t]his notion that I want the president to fail" as "nothing more than common sense."
From the March 9 edition of Fox News' Special Report:
BAIER: Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been under fire for saying he wants President Obama to fail. Limbaugh has since explained he was talking about the president's policies and not the president specifically or the economy.
does it really matter whether Limbaugh wants OBama to fail, or his policies? The two are hardly seperate entitites, so to keep harping that one sounds ok and the other is horrible, or that they are somehow that different, is just more obsessive hand-wringing by liberals over Limbaugh.
So...does that mean you hope the recession is prolonged as well? Ideology over country..at least be honest about it.
no
Limbaugh not only hopes it is prolonged, he admits that he and others are just the guys to do it:
Apparently, he not only hopes Obama fails, he actually has the ability to prolong failure and the recession. Who knows? With a little more study, limpaugh and his fellow students might be able to steer the economy into a nice, long depression...
Tommy, don't use "hand-wringing" so much. Dead giveaway. ;0)
Do you really think that jamesb is Tommy?
I figured that the infamous Tommy disappeared when he stopped getting a paycheck from the Bush Administration the end of January.
Sorry Jimmy, it's the Foxies trying to pretend that Limbaugh didn't say what he did who are doing the hand-wringing.
I agree that hoping for Obama's individual failure and hoping for his policies to fail are inseparable for the most part. But I think this item shows that the 'obsessive hand-wringing' over parsing the GOP leader's words is occurring at Fox News and in the media.
i would say that this website also is in the hand-wringing mode. Now that they have a 24/7 Limbaugh wire up or whatever they call it, recapping every hour of his program. That's an obsession.
Well, this clip did air on Fox News complete with its “RUSH TO JUDGMENT?” graphic, and Baire did opine on Fox News that “Limbaugh has since explained he was talking about the president's policies and not the president specifically or the economy." Media Matters didn’t obsess this into being.
Right- I think that if the media wasn't treating Limbaugh like a candidate for president or chair of the RNC, MMFA would not have to take him so seriously.
As long as they continue to elevate Limbaugh to a status he doesn't deserve and hasn't earned, MMFA is going to have to continue to cover what he's saying on pretty much a daily basis.
When someone else emerges as the "real" spokeman of the GOP, my guess is that MMFA's focus will shift to that person.
JJ - MMFA covers Rush nearly every day all the time. MMFA is wise enough to know that Limbaugh has been defacto leader of this bunch for some time now.
Things sort of culminated in his jumping-the-shark speech as CPAC. But prior to that, the GOP leaders have repeated nearly verbatim, words from Rush's show on a daily basis.
Lastly, I would say, do not forget that the GOP elevated Rush to an honorary congressman in the 1990s and refuse to repudiate any of his comments.
Telling by his thin-skinned reaction to criticism and negative press, it is obvious that he does not want the spotlight and wants to hide in his living room in Florida behind his microphone, free to spew hatred.
well, let's just say that Limbaugh and liberals are like plants and humans - what one exhales, the other inhales so their reliance on each other is obvious.
It's about as obvious as your need for so-called liberals to rely Limbaugh.
Bad, bad, bad analogy.
Liberals don't need Limbaugh. Liberals don't rely on Limbaugh. In fact, (if I may speak for most liberals), most of us would like Limbaugh to just STFU. On the other hand, Conservatives NEED Limbaugh, if nothing more than for his daily talking points.
He can have his radio "show" - just stop with the controversy and hoping for failure.
as I said, tell that to Carville, Begala, and WH chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. They don't share your view that he stfu.
What part of 'most' don't you understand?
He doesn't understand all four letters of it.
Carville, Begala and Emmanuel don't need Limbaugh, and would rather not have him spouting lies.
But until the time that those on the right dismiss people like Limbaugh, the 3 listed above will continue to use Limbaugh.
That's the difference that you can't seem to grasp.
well the moron does provide an endless amount of ammunition
No, it's important to highlight that Rush Limbaugh apparently hates Americans. He would like to see the people of this country suffer the effects of the recession simply to satisfy his ideology and ego.
Don't be silly. MMfA needs Limbaugh, therefore whatever they say about him is questionable. Whether the complaint is clearly legitimate or not makes no difference.
This argument is eerily familiar.
Yeah, the argument is as familiar as it is foolish. Greenpeace does not need pollution, MADD does not need drunk drivers, and Media Matters does not need misinformation.
do you think I look for liberals and Limbaugh to admit they need each other? anyone with half a brain can see how each flourishes when the other is in the spotlight can also see how dependent they are on one another. except you. no surprise.
I think you need liberals to need Limbaugh.
That's exactly what it is.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Most progressives (the correct term not liberal) need Limbaugh like we need another hole in the head. He is afraid of the truth says he has tallent on loan from God. That is blasphamy since God does not loan his gifts he gives them. He takes people out of context all the time and then throws a fit if he thinks he is taken out of context even when tapes show he is not. He like a lot of the right is a hypocrit and nobody needs a hypocrit.
The only thing liberals need limbaugh for is for him to shut up and let our beliefs prove themselves one way or the other. Limbaugh is a hinderance on liberal ideals and only serves to prolong success. We don't need him to prove our ideas work, but he sure needs us to increase his personal wealth.
your beliefs will prove themselves one way or another in spite of Limbaugh.
Then you agree that liberals don't need limbaugh like limbaugh needs liberals.
Nicely done, snoopy.
Bravo!
And there's no response from jamesB. How surprising.
I'd settle for MSM shutting up about Limbaugh.
tell that to very famous liberals, Carville and Begala, they were the ones who wanted Limbaugh to be focused on and obsessed over. So much for your wish the MSM shut up, start with your own.
Actually, MSM probably should report on what the leader of the GOP is saying, so I did not mean they should "shut up" all together on Rush. Rather, they should report what he's actually said, instead of covering for him and reporting revisionist accounts of his words - as Fox News does here.
actually you have no idea what you mean. because on one hand you, like a good liberal, have to denounce Limbaugh and his antics, then call him the GOP leader, then say liberals don't need him, then ignore Carville/Begala and WH chief of staff Emanuel's Operation Limbaugh as they orchestrated his elevation to MSM headlines. So it's all very confusing and contradictory, so it's understandable why you're all over the place here.
im a conservative and i denounce boss limbaugh.
hey and begala and carville, they are a hell of alot smarter than the combined brainpower of the whole of news corp and limbaugh combined.
Media Matters, Me, and James Carville, along with are the 'you liberal people' you bug out about, are all separate entities. Unlike you and Tommy.
considering Carville and the rest are all about stragegy and positioning, then your claim that liberals don't need Limbaugh was off base. the powers that be, including the White House apparently need him quite badly. and those that profit, or solicit donations to combat his rhetoric with "wires" devoted to his every word. they need him. if you don't, good for you.
Ridiculous assertion.
Are you really trying to contend that the WH would be lost without the fat bastid? I would suspect they would much prefer having an adult discussion with the nation without the RW filter.
If Rush weren't spweing his vitriol through the megaphone of his shown and it wasn't being amplified in the echo chamber there would be no need to push back. I think the Dems have learned that ignoring the likes of Rush just doesn't work and is detrimental to their message.
"your claim that liberals don't need Limbaugh was off base"
OK, what are you talking about now? I didn't and don't make claims of what librerals need. You do that. And I think you need to do that.
I am no Liberal but,
liberals dont 'need' Rush but will take/use him when he makes idiotic statements. more so when Steele denounces him then apologizes. Any smart person / group/ party would use the hypocrisy.
White House does not need him nor is using him as a distraction, IMO. Most of the Limabuagh centered communications are coming from political wing of Democratic Party.
Allow me to amend my remarks by saying Rush Limbaugh doesn't hate all Americans...just the losers who don't have good jobs and/or health care. And he does hate liberal Americans. But he loves some Americans, rich Americans...so long as they agree with him and are willing to apologize when they disagree. Just want to be fair... ;>)
Now, wait a sec. How can it make no difference if a criticism of Limbaugh is legitimate or not? A legitimate criticism is still legitimate regardless of the motive of the critic.
As for Media Matters "needing" any of these crazies, you assume that MM wouldn't have anything better to do. I am sure they would agree with me that they'd prefer to evolve into a discussion site for actual policy matters being seriously deliberated in the media. If you think not then you likely only browse for the pleasure of combatting on ideology.
I spend most my time seeking education on these complex issues and developing my perspectives. Some I write about, others I don't, but they all affect my choice for candidate, my letters to my representatives, and the positions I share with my friends. I'd love to have a one stop shop for many of my ideas, but, in reality, I really only trust a sea of diverging points of view. That is one of many things that hampers the education of "ditto heads", a total lack of competing perspectives.
I'm mocking James' argument.
So you're admitting that you NEED James... Uh huh. I knew it. Without James, you have no reason to exist.
Just like my lungs have no reason to exist without oxygen. Bravo Neon for exposing jimmy's inanity!
Well, absolutely. Ask any honest conservative in an unguarded moment whether they would rather see High Unemployment, mass suffering, one percent of the population fabulously wealthy and half the country struggling just to get by under unregulated Capitialism on one hand, or Low Unemployment, high wages, no one very rich and no one very poor under strictly regulated Capitalism, and they'll pick Option A. Every time.
In fact, these wingnuts don't care if an increase in the tax rate ceiling from 36% to 39% would lead to a vast improvement in the standard of living for millions of Americans, because it poses the mere possibility of an inconvenience to them. It's all about what's best for the Haves. All. the. Time.
Oh dear, God. How very Tommy of you. Jump the thread from go with a false premise.
What you wish were nothing more than hand wringing is turning out to be a very clever, well co-ordinated and grandly successful effort by the progressive blogosphere to inextricably link Limbaugh to the Republican Party
It is about time Rush is put front & center as the crap machine that produces most of the vile hatred and half-truths told by the GOP leaders that usually comes straight from their staffers listening to Rush's show.
This video of Rush's own words from the mouths of every-day Americans is priceless (IMHO):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK3vC0WIRBQ
The problem is Rush, like Faux News, gets his talking points from the RNC.
Once in the public domian every manner of right wing talking heads, bloggers etc amplify his lies.
"The problem is Rush, like Faux News, gets his talking points from the RNC."
IMO, I think it's a lot more vice versa.
LIMBAUGH: I hope it prolongs the failure. I hope it prolongs the recession.
Jeez, this pretty much nails it, doesn't it? I was just in my car and heard a few minutes of the second hour of Limbaugh's show. It struck me that he is on good behavior today, speaking in calm, measured tones and trying to explain what he meant, citing checks and balances and all sorts of other double-talk. It's interesting to listen to him from day to day because it appears that he has now concluded that he has to tone his act down a notch. But how can Limbaugh possibly explain these remarks? There are no silent qualifiers...he hopes the President's stimulus plan prolongs the recession. What is he going to say now...that he wants the recession prolonged but he doesn't want anyone being hurt by that? I think he's painted himself in a corner...but that he feels he can talk his way out.
Limbaugh does appear to be making an effort to appear sane in the last few days. After his ranting, bouncy, sweating tirade at CPAC, the rumors of renewed drug problems began to swirl again. He certainly did look like he was in a chemically altered state on that stage.
Kentucky Fried Chicken altered as well.
Awhile back some poster here chastized me for making fun of Rush's propensity for fatitude by claiming that he'd lost "the weight."
Well... looks like he found it! And then celebrated with glutonous levity.
You must be taking him out of context. [/hysterical laughter]
Rule One of the MMFA / RW drinking game:
Drink everytime a conservtaive claims that MMFA took him out of context.
Twice if it's Limbaugh, O'Rielly, Hannity or Beck
Three times if there explanation of context: makes no sense, contains a logical contradiction, comes from an edited transcript or actually MAKES THE QUOTE WORSE.
Four times if it can reasonably proven that NO CONTEXT would excuse the original sentiment.
Methinks people would be dying of alcohol poisoning if they played this game...
Rush doesn't want people to be poor or unemployed or hopeless, but he's openly hoping that they stay that way. He feels that the longer the suffering continues, the more right he is.
Pete, it's Limbo and the GOP's goal to do ANYTHING to make sure ANY Democrats fails. They could care less about whether the economy improves for Americans, they just want their power back.
Can you imagine what the current "so called media" would have done if ANY Democrat had said this:
“We will lose on legislation. But we will win the message war every day, and every week, until November 2010,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., an outspoken conservative who has participated on the GOP message teams. “Our goal is to bring down approval numbers for [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and for House Democrats. That will take repetition. This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
The reason that Republicans find nothing wrong with Limbo is they share a common goal. Do ANYTHING to get control of the government back!
It has NOTHING to do with Obama's "liberal policies" or so called "fiscal conservatives", it's power and power means money.
I suspect a number of the beltway pundits and so-called "journalists" are much more comfortable with the good 'ole phony fiscal conservatives. They think the cynical ranting about responsibility while doing nothing is the norm in Washington, and that's the way it's s'posed to be...
Limbaugh says: "I hope this thing does exactly what those of us who have studied these kinds of things do."
Huh? This guy claims to be a proficient speaker of English? Or did he really mean to say this? In which case, it's pure gibberish.
How is he one of "those of us" who have "studied" ANYTHING?
This guy is a one-semester, strait-F's, college dropout! He even failed BALLROOM dancing for cripesake!
(Though, to be fair, those academics teaching ball-room dancing these days DO have a well-known liberal bisa.)
So... I guess he hopes that Obama's recovery legislation becomes an overpaid, drug-addicted, right-wing AM Radio talk-show host?
Bret Baier has to apologize to Rush for ignoring him!!!!
How dare somebody at Fox ignore the leader of the Republican Party?
Limbaugh is invested in defeat. He spent many years accusing liberals of that , relying on layers of twisted strawmen to make the point.
Funny that he finally comes out explicitly as cheering on defeat for America. Projection is a heavy burden to bear over long periods of time.
Limbaugh hopes the liberal policies fail only because their success would cause him a great deal of cognitive disidence. He might even have to admit he's been wrong all these years. And then his head would explode. And the hot air that would come out would then contribute to global warming - which he might begin to suspect he was wrong about as well... which... well you get the idea.
So he's not hoping that we all suffer more economically just so he can make a little more coin, he's really trying to save the world here!
And your ideas are how much better?
Liberals ideas are light years better than Republicans, overall.
They actually believe in personal freedoms when those personal freedoms don't impign upon others. They believe in the checks and balances that our federal government is supposed to have. They believe in listening to experts in the field and then going forward with the best plan that will work politically, because if it doesn't fly politically, it won't fly. They believe in not hiding from reality, like admitting how bad Afghanistan has been going for the last few years!
I could go on and on.
I see.