Hour 2: Rush: DC is "Old South" for Republicans, An "Oppressed Minority" In Need Of "A Civil Rights Movement"

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by "civil rights" -- for Republicans
By Simon Maloy

Rush was as good as his word, replaying the remaining audio sound bytes of Obama speaking on Chicago Radio in 2001, specifically Obama comments that the Warren court didn't break away from the "essential constraints" of the Constitution, and that "the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties." We've explored Rush's past distortion of the word "negative" in this context, as well as his twisting of Obama's words to suggest Obama was complaining about the Constitution. Well, he went and did it again: "[W]hat this means to Obama is, when he says the Constitution doesn't say what the federal government do in your behalf, means it doesn't say that he can tax the rich at a higher rate and give the money to the poor. It doesn't say that he can redistribute -- in fact, the Constitution does not have Marxism in it. The Constitution doesn't have socialism in it, and as such, Obama is constrained."

These sound bytes, Rush said, convinced him that Obama is angry and has a chip on his shoulder, and that he heard everything Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright had to say. While we were double-checking our calendar to make sure it was not, in fact, October 2008, Rush offered this interpretation of Obama's thinking: "America's unjust, it was constituted as unjust, and that unjustness permeates to this day. So now it's time to change all that, and we're gonna change all that by desecrating the Constitution. Hence, Sonia Sotomayor." This, Rush said, is what he means when he says Republicans should go after Sotomayor so they can educate America about Obama. After getting through all this, Rush said that Republicans don't have to go after Sotomayor for being Hispanic -- he's not saying that, and no fool out there is saying that. Nope, Rush isn't saying that, he's just saying that Republicans should go after Sotomayor by distorting something Obama said eight years ago that has nothing to do with Sotomayor. That's much more effective ...

Then it kinda went off the rails. Rush declared that he has never been an "oppressed minority," even though he is a member of one, because conservatism is an "oppressed minority." Rush added: "If ever a civil rights movement was needed in America, it is for the Republican Party. If ever we needed to start marching for freedom and constitutional rights, it's for the Republican Party. The Republican Party is today's oppressed minority, and it know how to behave as one." The GOP, Rush continued, know to go to the "back of the bus" and drink from the right water fountain. Rush then assured us that he is an "intellectual," whereas Obama is a "narcissist." And just in case you're not sure what that means, Rush elaborated: "He's like Narcissus." Washington, D.C., Rush concluded, is the "Old South" for Republicans, and they are comfortable being an "oppressed minority."

Rush then read extensively from a 2003 Wall Street Journal editorial highlighting internal Democratic memos on the opposition to Miguel Estrada, saying that the Democrats would never say it publicly, but they opposed Estrada because he is Hispanic. They're never concerned, though, that opposing people like Estrada will anger Hispanics. And yet, Rush said, the Republicans are scared to death of opposing Sotomayor. They're acting like an oppressed minority, doing whatever their "masters" tell them to do. They're so obedient to their masters that they vote for Democrats. They've mastered the art of thinking like an oppressed minority, Rush said, and have no interest in "emancipation" or "freedom."

After the break, Rush took a call from a man who agreed that Obama is a mean narcissist, a sadist who tortures all the masochists in the country who are ready to go along with it. The caller said Obama has no sympathy and no empathy, as evidenced the fact that he turned away a busload of crying kindergarteners so he could meet with the Steelers. Rush said he would guarantee that if that bus had shown up at the Supreme Court and Clarence Thomas had turned them away for being late, there would be "recall hearings."

Coming back from the second break, Rush took a call from a man who wanted to disagree with the listener who emailed in counseling that conservatives not oppose Sotomayor. Rush misunderstood the man, and thought that he was disagreeing with something Rush said. After a few moments the misunderstanding was cleared up, and Rush thanked the man for repeating back to him everything Rush had said in the preceding hour. Rush's next caller said that to a conservative there's no such thing as a Hispanic vote or an African American vote. The 2008 exit polls certainly seem to bear that out (ba-dum-ching!) Anyway, what the caller really meant, we assume, is that conservatives don't do "identity politics," they just trust in the fundamentals of conservatism. Rush said the old-guard Republicans still want to keep identity politics around. Then Rush offered his standard dissertation on how conservatives want everyone to succeed, whereas liberals want to step on puppies, or something like that.

After one more break, Rush returned by mocking Energy Secretary Steven Chu for saying that painting roofs white could help with climate change by reflecting sunlight. Rush was incredulous -- he explained that he knows how clouds can reflect heat, but how can something on the surface do that? Where does the heat go? Well, we'd point out that part of the reason why the polar regions are so cold is because sea ice -- which is most certainly on the surface -- reflects sunlight back into space. Because it's white.

Regardless, Rush said it's all "gobbledygook," and the National Review exposed this, because they reported that the white-roof proponents are former colleagues of Chu. This is the dirty little secret of the environmental movement, said Rush. It's all about these guys getting money for each other.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: But what this means to Obama is, when he says the Constitution doesn't say what the federal government do in your behalf, means it doesn't say that he can tax the rich at a higher rate and give the money to the poor. It doesn't say that he can redistribute -- in fact, the Constitution does not have Marxism in it. The Constitution doesn't have socialism in it, and as such, Obama is constrained.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: America's unjust, it was constituted as unjust, and that unjustness permeates to this day. So now it's time to change all that, and we're gonna change all that by desecrating the Constitution. Hence, Sonia Sotomayor.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: If ever a civil rights movement was needed in America, it is for the Republican Party. If ever we needed to start marching for freedom and constitutional rights, it's for the Republican Party. The Republican Party is today's oppressed minority, and it knows how to behave as one.

Clips from this hour

Limbaugh: DC is "Old South" for GOP, who are an "oppressed minority" in need of "a civil rights movement"

After calling himself "an enlightened individual," Limbaugh calls Obama "a narcissist"