Hour 3: Rush compares DHS report to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1794

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the pierced and tattooed spies of "the left"
By Simon Maloy

One more hour to go, and Rush kicked it off in fine fashion, attacking Janet Napolitano for saying on Morning Joe today, in response to questioning over the DHS report, that "our job is to protect against terrorism, whether it comes from abroad or internally." Rush was outraged, said she was digging the hole deeper by characterizing people as terrorists... Once again, the DHS report deals with people who are violent anti-government and racist groups, not Grover Norquist. But Rush went on to compare this report to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1794, saying over and over that this legislation was intended to destroy Thomas Jefferson's "Republican Party." Republican Party? We're sure he meant to say, accurately, Jefferson's "Democratic-Republican Party." No, wait, sorry, we're dealing with Rush here: Jefferson's "Democrat-Republican Party."

Anyway, Rush said this report is what he meant when he said in the past that the Obama administration would "overreach." Rush added: "[T]his is Obama, by the way. This is not her. This is Obama. This is Jeremiah Wright. This is all of these people that Obama has grown up with that are angry, outraged -- the unfair majorities in this country have oppressed long enough and it's about time they were dealt with." No! No, it's not. Even Fox News says it isn't about conservatives. DHS released a report on "left-wing" extremists as well -- there is no targeting going on. None, zero, zip, zilch, nada. And yet, Rush said: "[I]f they actually try to implement this stuff -- you're just driving around with a pro-life bumper sticker or whatever -- if they actually try to put people in jail or to, in other ways, to somehow prevent them from involving themselves politically, that could become a tipping point."

Then Rush hit us with some extraordinarily subtle satire, saying that Obama has redefined the avenue to prosperity, and it involves racking up all the debt you can, investing it all in green energy and then borrowing from the Chinese when the investments fail. That's what Obama is doing to the federal budget, Rush said, and since that's Obama's "prescription" for prosperity, it makes sense that the same would apply to household budgets.

Between breaks, Rush aired some of Janet Napolitano's remarks on Fox & Friends this morning , during which she said that Timothy McVeigh was trained by the military. Rush's response was to call "these people" -- Obama, Napolitano, Democrats, etc. -- "hideous." Coming back from commercial, Rush read from an AP story that reported that "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is announcing new efforts to freeze pirate booty." We knew where this one was going immediately, and Rush didn't disappoint: "For those of you in the AP, the words 'Clinton' and 'booty' are two words that should not be close together in a news story. Clinton's trying to get a legacy out there and you're not helping when you write sentences like this: 'Clinton is announcing new efforts to freeze pirate booty.' "

Rush went on to take a call from a man who was upset that the conservatives are not "hammering Obama" the same way the "liberal media" did George W. Bush. Rush said that conservatives are, in fact, hammering Obama, the difference is they're not "lying" about him. This proved to be an excellent set-up for the remainder of the conversation, during which the caller expressed his skepticism that Obama made millions of dollars in book royalties. Rush explained that Obama probably did make all that money from his books, adding: "He also got some from Tony Rezko to buy his house." And just like that, Rush's claim that he doesn't "lie" about Obama evaporated.

One more caller before the break, this one explaining how his boss had told him that he saw a bunch of tattooed and pierced young people protesting Obama in Portland, Oregon. Rush speculated that they might have been those "leftists" who had planned to infiltrate the tea parties. That makes sense -- if you're going to send someone to "infiltrate" a crowd, you want the most conspicuously tattooed and pierced people you can find.

After the final break, Rush took another drive down Hypocrisy Lane, overwhelmingly praising GM's Total Confidence Plan. As we pointed out the last time he did this, Rush trashed the very same program just a few weeks ago. Now, Rush hasn't explained what brought about this sudden change of heart, but we're considering taking up a collection so he'll finally start saying some nice things about us.

Rush closed out the program by criticizing CNBC for creating a "personality"-driven network, drawing from reports that CNBC executives held a meeting to discuss "whether they've turned into the President Obama-bashing network." Rush said they're worried about not being able to attract liberal guests.

That's it for the Wire for today -- we're obligated to tell you that we shamelessly stole a couple of jokes from a colleague for this hour. Anyway, while we think up fresh material, please revisit Media Matters' comprehensive Limbaugh coverage.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: This is what I meant when I said, some months ago, that it's likely the Obama administration is going to overreach. At some point, they're going to do something that will be a tipping point. Now I don't know that this is it. This is just a summary. This DHS report is just a summary -- bad enough as a summary -- and she's not walking away from it. She's standing firmly behind it.

I think she piled on here when she now says we've got to -- you've got to be aware of terrorist threats outside and inside the country. She didn't try to soothe any of this or change any of it. So, if this administration, if -- and this is Obama, by the way. This is not her. This is Obama. This is Jeremiah Wright. This is all of these people that Obama has grown up with that are angry, outraged -- the unfair majorities in this country have oppressed long enough and it's about time they were dealt with.

So, that's their thinking. So, it could well be that if they hang tough with this, and if they actually try to implement this stuff -- you're just driving around with a pro-life bumper sticker or whatever -- if they actually try to put people in jail or to, in other ways, to somehow prevent them from involving themselves politically, that could become a tipping point.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: First, try this story. This is from the AP -- "Clinton announces new Somali anti-piracy steps": "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is announcing new efforts to freeze pirate booty." Now, I'll tell you something: For those of you in the AP, the words "Clinton" and "booty" are two words that should not be close together in a news story.

Clinton's trying to get a legacy out there and you're not helping when you write sentences like this: "Clinton is announcing new efforts to freeze pirate booty."

America's Truth Rejector

Falsely claimed Obama "got some" money from Rezko to buy his house:

LIMBAUGH: The standard operating procedure is that you get 15 percent of the average retail price. So, if you've got a book -- or 30 percent, rather, you get a third. So, if a book sells for 25, you get eight bucks. For 24, you get, you know, a little less. So, it's possible that somebody could sell 2 million books and make $6 million.

CALLER: I'm sorry. I'm having a hard time believing that he's made that kind of money.

LIMBAUGH: Well, he did. He also got some from Tony Rezko to buy his house. But why is that so hard for you to believe? Just 'cause of -- it's all book income.

Clips from this hour

Limbaugh: "[T]he words 'Clinton' and 'booty' are two words that should not be close together in a news story."