This hour of the Limbaugh Wire is brought to you by the stupid streets of New York City
By Simon Maloy

Top of the hour, and Rush announces that there is a “Stalinist power grab” going on, designed to distract everyone from the “mess” created by the Democrats. He then announces that Sen. Chris Dodd was the largest recipient of AIG campaign donations in 2008, citing OpenSecrets.org. We're glad Rush has discovered the wonders of OpenSecrets -- maybe he'll use it to update his theories from yesterday regarding the Wall Street-Democratic cabal conspiring to circulate stimulus money as campaign funds.

After noting that Caterpillar is continuing to shed jobs, and crowing that Obama was wrong about the stimulus, Rush offered a little economic history lesson. Noting that overall household worth dropped 18 percent last year, Rush credited Ronald Reagan and Reaganomics for increasing overall household worth from $10 trillion in 1980 to $60 trillion in 2008, citing this Wall Street Journal chart. It was all Reaganomics! And, according to Rush, now we have a choice between 28 boom years like we had from Reagan, or 28 “doom” years like we'll get from Obama. We don't know about you, but we were plenty shocked to hear that Bill Clinton was such an avid practitioner of Reaganomics, particularly since Rush spent most of the '90s attacking Clinton's allegedly disastrous economic policies.

Coming back from the break, Rush got in a quick plug for the Heritage Foundation, crediting them as one of the few institutions out there standing up for conservative principles.

Another break and Rush renewed his vow to stand up for military families, but then took a cue from William McGurn's Wall Street Journal column and laid into Michelle Obama for saying to ABC News after visiting Fort Bragg: “I think I was like most Americans ... [p]retty oblivious to the life of military families. Sort of taking it for granted.” According to Rush, this was “outrageous,” “disingenuous,” and “insulting,” explaining: "[S]he's admitting she was oblivious to the life of military families, and then has the gall to tell the rest of us that so are we, when we are not oblivious to the lives of military families." Actually, Rush, she was demonstrating a renewed commitment to the struggles of military families. Nevertheless, Rush capped it off by saying: “No, you're not like everybody else. Your ideas and your plans and the anger you bring to your life, you're not like everybody else, Mrs. Obama. Please don't equate us with your view of aspects of this country.”

From there, Rush went on to explain how caps on executive compensation won't work, because it will kill New York City, as the lost tax revenue would mean the city couldn't “maintain its stupid streets, potholes, and welfare state.” Moving on from bashing New York, he discussed the rest of the country, offering his thoughts on Obama and the Democrats coming into power: “God, what a bunch of idiot jerks we are in this country. What have we given ourselves? What have we elected for ourselves?”

One more break, then Rush repeated his comments from yesterday about New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo residing in the Albany Reichstag, and then -- in the grand conservative tradition -- likened the country's struggles to what he sees happening on the new season of Fox's 24 and proclaimed himself Jack Bauer, adding: “We need to torture some people!” Mission accomplished, Rush. And now we're all out of whisky.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: I want to ask all of you in this audience and those of you who are new to this program a question. Way back last fall, when all this bailout stuff started, I warned you: This isn't going to work. This is not the way to do it. This is the government asserting control. We see now what a total mess all of this has become.

Guess where we are now? We've got the administration led by President Obama and his teleprompter. His teleprompter told him to say yesterday that these AIG executives are greedy and selfish, and now what? We've got death threats being phoned in to the AIG headquarters in New York, and all this time, we've been told that it's talk radio that incites this kind of hatred. It's Limbaugh and the little Limbaughs that create all of this animosity and anger and cause people to behave in ways that are uncivil.

And the president's own teleprompter is telling him to say that these executive are greedy and selfish and this is inciting people to behavior that could lead to violence if their threats are acted out. This whole thing is a boondoggle. It is a mess brought to you by the United States government led by Democrats.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: This $500,000 limit on executive pay -- let me tell you why it won't work. New York City will die. New York City needs a whole bunch of people being paid a whole lot of money, so they can tax their butts off, so that the city can maintain its stupid streets, potholes, and welfare state. Without the super wealthy in New York, it's over. You might as well go get Kurt Russell in there, put a fence around the whole country, and turn it into a prison, because that's what it would be. Escape from New York, did you see the movie? That's what it would be if you start limiting the pay of people whose taxes pay the freight in that city. That's why it's never gonna happen. This -- it's just a populist ruse. It's just designed to people go, “Yeah, yeah!”

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Have you been -- you people been watching 24 by the way? Oh, you like it, Brian? Man! I feel like I'm -- I feel like this country is in the middle of its own 24. I mean, I wrote it down. I wrote it down last night. I'll go through all the things happening in this season of 24 with this country involved -- not the TV show -- but our own 24.

I am Jack Bauer. I am Jack Bauer, my own government is coming after me at every turn. It happened again yesterday with that bumbling idiot Bob Gibbs.

Anyway, I have to take a brief time out. This is an act. This is a three-act play. The script has been written. Everybody's doing their part -- except I'm Jack Bauer. I'm trying to say, “No, no, no, what you're being told is a bunch of BS. We need to torture some people!”

Enemies list

First Lady Michelle Obama:

LIMBAUGH: Here is a story from Bill McGurn in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, Michelle “My Bell” Obama, the first lady, went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina: “By choosing Fort Bragg for her first official trip outside Washington last week, Michelle Obama signaled that she will use her position to promote one of America's most deserving causes: military families. The families loved it. You can see the smiles on their children's faces as Michelle read them 'The Cat in the Hat' to them. So it was just a little disconcerting the next morning to hear the first lady explain how she came to this issue during last year's campaign. Michelle Obama said to ABC News 'Well, I think I was like most Americans, pretty oblivious to the life of military families. Sort of taking it for granted,' ” quote-unquote.

I just don't believe this. Oblivious to the life -- she's admitting she was oblivious to the life of military families, and then has the gall to tell the rest of us that so are we, when we are not oblivious to the lives of military families.

So while she's out touring Fort Bragg, North Carolina, reading “The Cat in the Hat” to the children of military personnel and acting like all of a sudden, she's just now in the campaign -- she just started to love her country in the campaign, she just started to be proud of her country -- and it was only during the campaign that she finally figured out what military family life is like, while her husband is mulling eliminating government-paid health-care benefits for wounds and injuries suffered in combat.

And I thought it was talk radio that was ginning up all this anger and angst and so fourth. This is -- I mean, it's just -- it's outrageous. It is disingenuous and it is insulting, and I resent Mrs. Obama saying that she -- her thoughts on military life, “Well, I'm like everybody else” -- no, you're not like everybody else. Your ideas and your plans and the anger you bring to your life, you're not like everybody else, Mrs. Obama. Please don't equate us with your view of aspects of this country.

“Socialism” watch

LIMBAUGH: President Obama's teleprompter tells him to say that the tired ways of the past didn't work, that we need a new way. Here we go; we've got the new way. We've got peasants with their pitchforks phoning in death threats at AIG. We have members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives sounding like communist dictators.

We have phony scandals being ginned up by Obama's teleprompter, promoted by White House media designed to distract you from the destruction that is happening to the United States economy and thus our country.

“Fascism” watch

LIMBAUGH: “AIG paid bonuses of $1 million or more to 73 employees, including 11 who no longer worked for the company,” said Andrew Cuomo, the Reichstag attorney general in New York.

Echo chamber

Lauded the Heritage Foundation for their defense of “conservative principles,” specifically cites this blog post on Obama's alleged $1.4 trillion tax increase.

Cited William McGurn's March 17 Wall Street Journal column.

Vox populi

LIMBAUGH: This man, Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd, these are your saviors. These are the people, along with President Obama's teleprompter, that are going to lead you to the promised land of prosperity. God, what a bunch of idiot jerks we are in this country. What have we given ourselves? What have we elected for ourselves?

You just heard -- you just heard Elmer Fudd. Elmer Fudd is in charge of inspiring and motivating you to be the best you can be: “The hell with contracts, we are going to take that bonus money back.” Well, if they can do that, then nothing you have is yours.