Hour 3: Limbaugh claims swine flu and "torture garbage" are cover-ups

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the thrall of the "subconscious mind"
By Simon Maloy

Rush came back for the final hour still talking about the two callers claiming to have had difficulties with the White House mortgage website. Rush aired audio of Obama announcing the launch of his "loan shark website" and stated that the second caller -- the one who paid to have a law firm assess his mortgage situation -- has "a target on [his] back" because he is a small business owner and his taxes will skyrocket under Obama. We're not sure how Rush arrived at this conclusion, given that the caller didn't mention how much he earns annually (although one explanation would be that Limbaugh has spread the falsehood that taxes on "most small businesses" would go up if President Bush's tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans).

Then Rush allowed for the possibility that the two callers were victims of a fake website that scammers had set up after the launch of the real website. If this was, in fact, what happened then it's the administration's fault, said Rush, for not buying up all the similar-sounding domain names. We guess personal responsibility and not relying on the government have their limits, even in Limbaugh Land. Then Rush aired audio of Obama explaining that if someone wants payment up front to help with your mortgage, then it's "probably a scam." Rush was disconcerted by that "probably," saying that Obama was purporting to warn Americans off of scams, when the website he's promoting could very well be a "scam" itself. If this "scam" turns out to be widespread, Rush theorized that Obama will respond by appointing yet another czar (just like those Russian revolutionaries did, right, Rush?), and that the perfect person for this job is John Edwards.

After the break, Rush announced that he had visited the White House's mortgage website, and that it says you have to have a mortgage through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to qualify. This means, Rush said, that they still have to "batten down" exactly what's going on here. Good thing he spent the past two hours screaming bloody murder about something he admittedly had no knowledge of. Rush then shifted gears to a graphic he saw on MSNBC declaring that the swine flu outbreak is distracting the Obama team from getting their message out. Rush was incredulous, claiming that they want everyone talking about swine flu and torture. Why? "The reason that the swine flu and the torture garbage is out there is to cover up the mess that is the United States of America right now."

Then Rush attacked the Boston Globe for reporting that Attorney General Eric Holder had visited the Tower of London while in England. "This is so idiotic," said Rush, because 5 million tourists visit the Tower every year, but the media is reporting it as some mission Holder is on -- a "torture tour" -- to go around the world and learn what torture techniques will no longer be tolerated.

Then it was time for a caller, this one a woman who was incredulous that Obama's approval ratings are as high as the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll would have her believe, given that approval for Obama's policy initiatives is lower. Rush said this is an example of why he and the rest of the conservatives out there have to work harder to tie Obama's failed policies to him, because people love him personally but they also insist that Obama doesn't know anything about all those policies they hate.

Coming back from the break, Rush again spoke to the caller with the "target on [his] back," reading to him excerpts from this Washington Post story on two small business owners who expect to see their taxes rise under Obama. Rush said that small business owners are going to get "creamed" because small business owners like the people in the Post article have had the "bullseye on their back" since Obama was elected. It's worth pointing out that the Tax Policy Center, who we tend to trust more for tax analysis than Limbaugh, estimates that just 2 percent of small businesses will be affected by Obama's plan to let the Bush tax cuts on wealthier taxpayers expire. Indeed, the small business owner in the Post story and her spouse make more than $500,000 a year.

After the break, Rush gleefully read from MSNBC reporter Courtney Hazlett's blog, in which she reported that some families at Sidwell Friends were upset that, for a recent charity auction, the Obamas placed up for bid "a signed copy of the Rolling Stone issue featuring the president and a signed copy of the January Vogue that featured the first lady," and not items of a more personal nature. Rush asked: "Doesn't it sound like there's a messianic complex here?"

Rush closed out the show with a call from a woman who had read all of Obama's books and agreed with Rush that Obama has a lot of "anger." She also praised Rush for his armchair psychoanalysis of the "emotional" responses that Obama supporters (and anyone else he doesn't like) traffic in. Rush said that since he has no emotion, he is not a "prisoner" of the "subconscious mind." Frankly, we're not sure he's a prisoner of the conscious mind either.

Speaking of the conscious mind, it's time to shut ours down as our Limbaugh Wire duties for the day have come to a conclusion. We hope you'll join us tomorrow for another trip down Limbaugh Lane. Until then, as always, please poke through Media Matters' wildly popular Limbaugh coverage.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: You know, poor old Fred, he's a small businessman. Fred, you are the guy with a target on your back. You are the guy that's going to be paying more taxes because of your small business. In fact, there's a -- I have a story here coming up -- and it's in The Washington Post -- about this happening to small business people, their tax bite just sky-rocketing.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: The reason that the swine flu and the torture garbage is out there is to cover up the mess that is the United States of America right now.

Clips from this hour

Limbaugh: Swine flu "is out there" "to cover up the mess that is the United States of America right now"

Limbaugh on small business owner: "You are the guy with a target on your back. You are the guy that's going to be paying more taxes"