Hour 1: Rush Reacts To Newt's Backtracking On Sotomayor "Racist" Charge: "I'm Not Retracting It"

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by Osama bin Laden's successor: Barack Obama
By Simon Maloy

Well, it's Wednesday, and Rush's attacks on Sonia Sotomayor continue to crumble before our very eyes, largely due to the efforts of his fellow conservatives. Rush said she's a racist bigot and that no one has disputed this assertion. Well, people like Sen. Lindsey Graham and Kathleen Parker, and Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSblog have not only denied it, they've said it's flatly untrue and ridiculous. On top of that, Rush's partner in crime on the "Sotomayor is a racist" front, Newt Gingrich, this morning said perhaps he was a little too "strong" in his language. Rush has also said that Sotomayor should be disqualified because she said she brings her "personal life experiences to the job." By that rationale, Justices Alito and Thomas -- who have said pretty much the exact same thing -- should tender their resignations. Rush claimed that Sotomayor is Obama's instrument to unmake the Constitution because she said that "the court is where policy is made." Well, another conservative justice -- Antonin Scalia -- wrote the exact same thing in a majority opinion. And let's not forget that Rush ripped Sotomayor for ruling "that ownership of a gun is not a constitutional right." We learned this morning that yesterday a three-judge panel of Republican-appointed judges on the 7th Circuit Appeals Court unanimously reached the same conclusion.

Rush got things rolling by saying that a lot of "unbelievable" stuff happened overnight, the most pressing of which was Obama's statement to the French media that "if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." Rush noted that ABC's Jake Tapper wrote a blog post on the emergence of Obama's Muslim roots, and this set him off, claiming that during the campaign we were told that Obama's father was an atheist, and now we're being told he's a Muslim. As far as the United States being a "Muslim country," Rush said "the current Islamist identity of Islam, the terrorist wing of Islam, which is what it's most known for today, is trying to take us back to the 7th century." Then Rush added: "I know this is going to offend some people, but we're going to have to look at the Nobel Prize winners and we're going to see how many Muslims are there and I could really anger some people and say, 'let's compare the number of Muslims who have been Nobel Prize winners to the number of Jews who have been Nobel Prize winners,' and I don't think it's a contest." He didn't explain this "point," and we can't really figure out what he was trying to get across.

So, Rush said, Obama is trumpeting his Muslim roots in anticipation of a visit to the Middle East, but during the campaign we weren't allowed to say "Hussein." Rush found it fascinating that Obama goes over to the Middle East -- "no doubt to apologize again" -- and he's heralding his Muslim roots. Once again, Rush said, we're getting a totally different Obama than we had in the campaign. Rush added: "I feel like, Allah Akbar. OK, Allak Akbar. Allahu Akbar. I mean, is this supposed to be our reaction now?" Rush concluded all this by saying that there were people who tried to "warn about this," they were told to shut up, and now look what's happening.

Then Rush got his Drudge fix for the day, noting that Reuters reported that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez "said on Tuesday that he and Cuban ally Fidel Castro risk being more conservative than U.S. President Barack Obama as Washington prepares to take control of General Motors Corp." Rush's reaction to this was "Holy smoly!" Then it was on to another Reuters story, "GM, Chrysler to face Senate scrutiny on dealers." They're asking the wrong people, said Rush. Obama owns GM and Chrysler, and if you want to find out why dealerships are being closed, ask the White House.

Leading into the break, Rush said no, his words on Sotomayor have not been too strong, and he's not going to "retract" them like Newt. Rush didn't know why Newt had "retracted," but he has his own theory, which he wasn't going to share because he himself wasn't going to retract. Rush again said that no one is saying he's wrong (they are). Then Rush repeated his assertion that if Sotomayor turned out to be pro-life, he would support her nomination.

After the break, Rush had a few quick shots at California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for saying that California is facing its day of reckoning. Rush said the way they get everyone in gear on these deficit problems is by saying they might have to delay payments to welfare recipients. Then Rush moved on to the new Quinnipiac poll, saying: "New polling out there from Quinnipiac. Is that -- no, Quinnipiac University. Fifty-five to 36 percent, people say affirmative action should be abolished. This is a poll on Sonia Sotomayor."

Rush cam back from the break explaining that he had read Gingrich's op-ed, and he thinks he knows what's going on here -- Newt doesn't want to get personal, he wants to judge her by her words, and she has said racist things. He stresses her words rather than what kind of person he is. So it may be a retraction of the word, but he's refocusing his critique. Rush then explained that he'd be willing to listen to Democrats on race after they apologize to Miguel Estrada and Clarence Thomas for the way they were treated. Rush said he isn't going to retract because what he said happens to be true. What Democrats said about Thomas and Estrada, on the other hand, were lies. They are the ones who should be retracting, said Rush, for what they did to these judges. Rush doesn't have to retract anything. The truth does not get retracted, except in the state-run media.

Back to the Quinnipiac poll, Rush was ecstatic that the poll found that Americans reject affirmative action programs. He also falsely claimed that the poll found that they disagree with Sotomayor's ruling in the Ricci case. Rush was also rather happy about a new Rasmussen poll showing that Sotomayor's support has "softened" over the past week. The reason he brought up these polls, he explained, is because the left "lives by polls."

Leading into the break, Rush aired a sound byte of CBS' Lara Logan reporting that Muslims around the world have had their hopes raised by Obama, and now they expect much from him. Rush said there's one Muslims whose hopes haven't been raised -- Osama bin Laden. Noting that Bin Laden just released an audio tape in which he said Obama is just like George W. Bush, Rush turned to another sound byte, this one from Christopher Dickey of Newsweek saying on MSNBC that the Muslim world largely considers bin Laden to be a "has-been." Rush concluded from this: "I guess what's happened here if we put these two sound bytes together -- Lara Logan, state-run CBS, and this clown Dickey for state-run Newsweek -- we have to conclude that the Muslim world has a new leader. Bin Laden, a myth. Obama to power."

After the break, Rush expounded on this theory, replaying the CBS and MSNBC clips. Rush didn't buy the idea that Muslims consider bin Laden to be a "has-been," because there's a $50 million bounty on him, and Rush has to think that if the Muslims -- "who live in poverty, as we know" -- didn't care about bin Laden anymore, then they'd pick up the phone and turn him in. Anyway, Rush said he's just drawing a logical conclusion from these news reports -- Logan said that Muslim have their hopes raised by Obama, and Dickey says that bin Laden is a has-been. There's been a transfer of power, said Rush. There is a new figure atop the Muslim world -- Barack Obama.

Greg Lewis and Lauryn Bruck contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Folks, the current Islamist identity of Islam, the terrorist wing of Islam, which is what it's most known for today, is trying to take us back to the 7th century. I know this is going to offend some people, but we're going to have to look at the Nobel Prize winners and we're going to find -- see how many Muslims are there. And I could really anger some people and say "Let's compare the number of Muslims who have been Nobel Prize winners to the number of Jews who have been Nobel Prize winners," and I don't think it's a contest.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: During the campaign, we couldn't use the word "Hussein" because it was too negative. It conjured up all of these associations with Islamists. And we talked about he was -- Christian faith and so forth, and I'm not disputing that. I just find it fascinating now that as he goes over again to the Middle East and, no doubt, to apologize for the United States again, to start heralding for that part of the world his Muslim roots. Once again, we're getting a totally different Obama than we got during the campaign, and I'm certain -- you know, I feel like, Allah Akbar. OK, Allak Akbar. Allahu Akbar. I mean, is this supposed to be our reaction now?

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Have my words been too strong on Sotomayor? Are you asking me because Newt has retracted his -- no, my words have not been too strong. I just heard right before the program started. I didn't have a chance to do a lot of show prep late because of the Hannity interview, so I -- after the interview, I checked my email, and three members of the state-run media has sent me emails wanting my reaction to Newt's retraction of calling Sotomayor a racist, and I didn't know that he had, and I didn't know why he had retracted it, and I still don't. But -- what did he say? Why did he retract it? Did he say that he thought the word was too harsh or -- well, I have my own theory about what Newt's doing, but since I'm not doing it, I'm not going to comment.

I'm not retracting it. Nobody's refuted it. You know, they're out there saying, "It's too harsh. It's distracting, Rush. I mean, it's calling -- you know, you just don't want to use the word." Why? If the word means something -- words mean things -- and if it fits, I use it. Now, they may say, "Don't say it, Rush. Dial it back a little bit." But nobody's saying I'm wrong. Nobody's saying I'm making it up. I mean, when she says she'd do a better job than a white guy, what is it? It's racism, reverse racism, whatever, but it's still racism. She would bring a form of racism, bigotry to the court.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: New polling out there from Quinnipiac. Is that -- no, Quinnipiac University. Fifty-five to 36 percent, people say affirmative action should be abolished. This is a poll on Sonia Sotomayor. We'll be back. Stay with us.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: We kept hearing over and over about the incompetence of George W. Bush because he hadn't captured bin Laden, and now bin Laden's a myth? Bin Laden doesn't matter? Old hat, doesn't inspire the Muslim world. No, I guess what's happened here, if we put these two sound bytes together -- Lara Logan, state-run CBS, and this clown Dickey from state-run Newsweek -- we have to conclude that the Muslim world has a new leader. Bin Laden, a myth. Obama to power.