Hour 1: For Earth Day, Limbaugh plans to “personally” oversee destruction of two acres of rainforest
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by “finals week”
By Simon Maloy
Happy Earth Day, everyone. We've been eagerly anticipating all the anti-environmentalist shenanigans Rush is sure to have in store for today, but still we find ourselves skeptical that he'll be able to top this. Also, as a coda to Rush's rant yesterday about how “liberals” like Obama think the Bill of Rights is “horrible,” we'd like to point to the recent remarks of one of America's more influential jurists as he discussed the Bill of Rights: “Today there is much focus on our rights. Indeed, I think there is a proliferation of rights. I am often surprised by the virtual nobility that seems to be accorded those with grievances.” And who was the radical left-liberal fanatic who said those words? Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Rush kicked off the show by announcing that it's “Open Line Friday!” on Wednesday, because Rush will be away tomorrow and Friday. Then he dubbed the culmination of Obama's “mythical” first 100 days as “finals week,” adding that you have to say Obama is “failing” because Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinjad and Fidel Castro are “ripping Obama” despite his “worldwide tours” to get them on our side.
Then Rush had to tell us something -- he's heard a lot of people say that Obama's “flip-flop” on investigations of Bush officials sanctioning torture tactics was a result of pressure from the left wing of the Democratic Party. Rush said Obama wasn't buckling to anything, he's orchestrating all of this. Then Rush let Matt Drudge take over the program for a moment, asking if we'd heard that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had claimed that the 9-11 terrorists had entered the U.S through Canada, or if we'd read a piece in Canada's National Post asking “how U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano got her job.”
Rush then moved on to Obama's “flip-flop” regarding investigations into former Bush administration officials, claiming that if Attorney General Eric Holder does pursue investigations, then the goal won't be to secure convictions but, rather, to “destroy” the Bush officials and “criminalize” policy decisions that the administration disagrees with. Rush said this could be the overreach everyone is waiting for. Rush went into the break seamlessly weaving together Obama's meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs' “incompetence,” the resignation of the White House communications director, the apparent suicide of Freddie Mac's CFO, and the Miss America pageant. Despite linking all those things together, he didn't really explain what they had in common. But he did promise that on the other side of the break he'd go through his “finals week” list of examples of Obama's “incompetent buffoonery.”
After the break Rush finally acknowledged that it is Earth Day, and said he was celebrating by having all his cars driven, having his plane flown to Los Angeles and back, cranking up his air conditioning, eating “all kinds of beef,” and will “personally” oversee the destruction of two acres of rainforest. Sorry, Rush. You'll have to do better than that to beat out Glenn Beck.
Then it was time for “finals week,” which was simply a lengthy recitation of a “list” Rush put together “off the top of his head” of the many aspects of the nascent Obama administration that have stuck out to him. We're not going to bother repeating the whole list, because if you've listened to his show (or, better yet, read the Limbaugh Wire) for the past few weeks, you already know what was in there. We'll just give you a few phrases as a cross section of the whole rant: bowing to the Saudi king, apologizing for the U.S., tax cheats, bust of Churchill, ACORN, teleprompter, nationalization, tea parties, and census.
After reading the list, Rush said the administration has been “one part joke, one part unbelievable, and many parts scary.” After attacking the “sycophantic” media's coverage of Obama, Rush the world is “making a joke of our country,” and the media is praising Obama for it.
Back from the break, Rush noted that Fidel Castro had rebuffed Obama's insistence that Cuba free political prisoners and cut taxes on remittances from the United States. Rush claimed this was an example of the “teacher” trying to “educate the student.” Then Rush moved on to Hillary Clinton saying in House testimony today that she didn't consider Dick Cheney to be a reliable source of information on interrogation tactics. Rush then explained how everyone “need[s] to look at this interrogation stuff.” According to Rush: “Imagine that one of these people has a member of your family and they're threatening to behead them, but you don't know where they are. We have a prisoner who knows where they are. You wanna bet on how much you would be willing to support these very techniques which are said to have worked? It's even in The New York Times today: The interrogation techniques that Obama has now banned worked.” Rush was referring to the Times' report on a memo from National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair that said “the harsh interrogation techniques banned by the White House did produce significant information that helped the nation in its struggle with terrorists.” Rush was only giving half the story, though, as Blair also said: “The information gained from these techniques was valuable in some instances, but there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means. ... The bottom line is these techniques have hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security.”
Rush then said that Obama is a “very cold” and “extremist political animal,” and that he has a hard time listening to Obama speak of morality when “he supports infanticide.” No ... no he didn't. Then Rush took a call from a woman who asked if Obama is playing Russian roulette with America's safety. Rush said it's tough to speculate on what Obama believes regarding the prosecution of the war on terror, but the primary reason Obama does everything he does is to make us more moral and improve the country's image.
After the break, Rush aired audio of Clinton's testimony in the House today, saying she and the president were intent upon getting to the bottom of the torture matter. Rush said this is a lie - if they did get to the bottom of it, that would show that the Obama people are screwing up the war on terror. Rush said Clinton and Napolitano and Geithner are “petty, partisan, mean-spirited little leftists” who have no idea what they're doing.
Closing out the hour, Rush noted that Wells Fargo president and chief executive John Stumpf said that "[t]he best way to generate capital is to earn it." Rush's response: “Now, in the Obama administration, this could be a hate crime.”
Highlights from Hour 1
Outrageous comments
LIMBAUGH: Now we've got Fidel Castro setting Obama straight about how Cuba handles political prisoners and its economy. Fidel Castro, one of Obama's idols, calling him superficial.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: He has declared those five things morally deficient. And only now will Wall Street and CEOs, Bush and Cheney, CIA and even America be straightened out with a new moral rudder headed by himself, the One, the Messiah, Barack Obama, the Most Merciful. Yet he supports infanticide. He attended a racist, bigoted church for 20 years. He had active support of the criminal political bullying enterprise known as ACORN. He has dealings with Tony Rezko. His working relationship with Bill Ayers. Embracing a smiling Hugo Chavez. Daniel Ortega and not defending his country after it was slandered. This guy tells us he's in charge of our new morality. Sorry, folks, it's just tough to stomach, tough to deal with on a daily basis.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: The Wells Fargo president and chief executive, John Stumpf ,with the quote of the day: “The best way to generate capital is to earn it.” Now, in the Obama administration, this could be a hate crime. Because in the Obama administration, the best way to generate capital is to print it and to borrow it and then to give it away or to tax it.
Enemies list
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano:
LIMBAUGH: I mean, the Canadians -- did you hear Janet Napolitano the other day? Janet Napolitano -- this is a rumor that has been debunked years ago. Janet Napolitano said the 9-11 hijackers actually got in our country through Canada. So now the Canadians are up in arms, and the National Post in Canada has a piece, “How in the hell did this woman get her job?” Earlier this week, she says it's not a crime to illegally enter the country, cross the border, when it is. She's a ditz. She's a total hick, hack, left-wing kook that is now head of -- in charge of Homeland Security.
America's Truth Rejector
Misleadingly cited New York Times report on Blair memo:
LIMBAUGH: Let me ask something -- the way you need to look at this interrogation stuff, folks. Imagine that one of these people has a member of your family and they're threatening to behead them, but you don't know where they are. We have a prisoner who knows where they are. You wanna bet on how much you would be willing to support these very techniques which are said to have worked? It's even in The New York Times today: The interrogation techniques that Obama has now banned worked.
Clips from this hour
Limbaugh on Earth Day: “I personally am going to see to it that we lose 2 acres of rain forest”