Hour 2: Echo Chamber: Limbaugh Promotes Health Care Falsehoods From IBD, Betsy McCaughey

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the first hour's falsehoods, no less false an hour later
By Simon Maloy

Rush started the second hour exactly how he ended the first -- attacking Obama with Investor's Business Daily's lies about the health care bill: "How can he make this speech when he just said he doesn't know what's in the health care bill? He doesn't know what's in it. He hasn't read it. He has denied what the Investor's Business Daily people found and Betsy McCaughey found about losing your health insurance -- that you won't be able to keep the option that you have now. He flat-out says people will not lose their insurance. But he doesn't know this. It's in the bill." No, it isn't. Not even close. Even the Heritage Foundation, whose word Rush treats as gospel, said IBD was wrong in claiming the bill has a provision that outlaws private insurance.

Regardless, this is why the White House is becoming "unhinged," said Rush. It was all supposed to be based on our love of Obama's personality, but, now, it's not working, even though it is all about him. Obama just wants us to trust him, said Rush, and this speech today is a joke coming on the heels of him admitting that he doesn't know what's in the bill. Perhaps we're doing this wrong; perhaps we should congratulate Rush for exposing the fact that Obama didn't know that something that isn't in the bill isn't in the bill. Negative reinforcement doesn't seem to be working, so perhaps this new tack will be more effective.

The value of Obama's health plan is not self-evident, said Rush, it's all about him. The plan does not stand on its own. ". This is what you have to know. The plan sucks. The plan will not stand on its own. They have to send Obama out to use this magical power of -- his Messianic appeal, his cult-like appeal to people to try to get them over the hump on this." It's very obvious, said Rush, that the bloom is off the rose and the poll numbers indicate it. His poll numbers are lower than Jimmy Carter's at the same stages of their presidencies. We'll point out here that he's also lower than Bill Clinton, who, you know, ended up being a pretty popular two-term president.

Anyway, Rush said that Snerdley told him that a carton of cigarettes is $100 in New York, $50 in Florida. All that money is going to health care, said Rush. In the House bill, there is a provision that if you make a "lifestyle choice" that puts you at a greater risk than others, your premium is going to be higher. Quick note, the word "lifestyle" appears nowhere in the bill. Anyway, Rush said he can't find a "porker provision" in the bill, adding: "I mean, there's no surcharge for promiscuity. There's no slut surcharge. I mean, there's no satyr surcharge, and no gigolo surcharge." There was a time in this country when 50 percent of the population smoked, said Rush, and now it's less than 25 percent. What were we promised? We were promised better health and lower health care costs once people quit smoking, said Rush. What do we have? Half the people who smoked have quit, and we have higher health care costs. Less smoking didn't cut health care costs, said Rush, and subprime mortgages wrecked the financial system, so "subprime health care" will not lower health care costs. Smokers should be given the Medal of Honor, said Rush, because they contribute so much to children's health care with their taxes. He concluded: "So what's the lesson? The lesson is that believing liberal claims on health care savings can be more dangerous to your health than smoking."

After the break, Rush took a call from a doctor who said that in order for a bill to be taken seriously by the American people, it has to have some sort of tort reform in it. Rush said he's right, it would dramatically reduce health care costs, even though it will never happen while the Democrats are in charge. The drug companies and insurance industry are being demonized by the president, said Rush.

Rush then said that Obama could have had his health care reform bill in March if he really was what he said he was -- a politician who was above politics. He could have gotten what he wants, but "[h]e's nothing but a twisted, liberal, radical ideologue. He is no different than any other elected Democrat except he's more radical." There's nothing new about Obama. There's nothing special. He's less qualified than most who run for the office. He is a fraud, a petty, angry, partisan, liberal, radical, communist, blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. He never ran anything in his life, said Rush, and he has no background. We only have his associations. He's never accomplished anything. There are no records of anything. We don't know who he is, so all we have are his campaign promises. [Insert standard rant about how Obama is a failure who is purposefully destroying economy, and see opening comments from the first hour.]

After the break, Rush said that listeners are upset about him speeding up the Obama clips. These are the libs out there, said Rush, and they're mad because they know how effective this is. There are also some "libs" out there, said Rush, that are figuring out that they are going to lose their health coverage. They didn't anticipate this situation. Rush added: "Obama owns this legislation that he admits he hasn't read. Bernie Madoff owned the fraudulent investment schemes he was peddling, and he was promising people all this great stuff -- well, look what happened to him and the people who believed him." Another reason this is about Obama, said Rush, is because he is the one remaking America. Rush then read from today's Wall Street Journal editorial as further proof that Obama is "lying" about health care.

Rush's next caller said there are millions of kids who are going to have to be funneled into the government health plan once they're off their parents' insurance. She's absolutely right, said Rush -- the whole point is to get everyone on the government plan and destroy private health care.

Another break and Rush was back with some speeded-up sound bites of Obama this afternoon, in which the president, according to Rush, attacked opponents of reform as stooges of the health insurance and drug companies. And when Obama says that you can keep your plan, said Rush, "[t]hat is not true! He just admitted to liberal bloggers last night he is not aware of the provision that makes that not possible. He didn't know it was in the bill." Negative reinforcement didn't work, positive reinforcement didn't work, and pointing out that Rush's buddies at Heritage say he's full of it didn't work, so we're just going to write him off, once again, as an inveterate liar and move on.

One more break and Rush closed out the hour with a caller who said that her husband became a "statistic of Obama" when he was laid off this morning. They didn't vote for Obama, and this is the change they're getting? What has this man done for the country? Rush said he is as frustrated as she is. Hey, isn't this great? Two people who don't like Obama get together on the radio and blame everything they don't like on the president. It's special when that happens. Anyway, Rush counseled the woman that Obama hasn't completely destroyed the private sector yet, and there's nothing stopping him from hanging his own shingle. Obama hasn't succeeded in beating everyone down yet.

Greg Lewis and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: The plan -- the health care plan does not stand on its own. This is what you have to know. The plan sucks. The plan will not stand on its own. They have to send Obama out to use this magical power of -- his Messianic appeal, his cult-like appeal to people to try to get them over the hump on this.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: And there are a lot of other lifestyle choices that people make that place them at greater risk than the norm, but only the smokers. Now, let's focus on the smokers. Yeah, I mean, there's no surcharge for promiscuity. There's no slut surcharge. I mean, there's no satyr surcharge, and no gigolo surcharge.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: So what's the lesson? The lesson is that believing liberal claims on health care savings can be more dangerous to your health than smoking.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: He's nothing but a twisted, liberal, radical ideologue. He is no different than any other elected Democrat except he's more radical.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Everything is about him. When you lie to the American people about what legislation is and isn't, you're putting your personal credibility on the line. Obama owns this legislation that he admits he hasn't read. Bernie Madoff owned the fraudulent investment schemes he was peddling, and he was promising people all this great stuff -- well, look what happened to him and the people who believed him. Obama is making personal promises. He is personally guaranteeing results, just like he did with the stimulus package and his failed mortgage foreclosure legislation.

America's Truth Rejector

Once more falsely claimed that IBD exposed the House health bill as making private insurance illegal:

LIMBAUGH: He didn't say anything new. He just told the same lies. How can he make this speech when he just said he doesn't know what's in the health care bill? He doesn't know what's in it. He hasn't read it. He has denied what the Investor's Business Daily people found and Betsy McCaughey found about losing your health insurance -- that you won't be able to keep the option that you have now. He flat-out says people will not lose their insurance. But he doesn't know this. It's in the bill.

He returned to that same falsehood later in the hour:

LIMBAUGH: That is not true! He just admitted to liberal bloggers last night he is not aware of the provision that makes that not possible. He didn't know it was in the bill.