This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by democracy around the world* (*offer void in Afghanistan)
By Simon Maloy

Well, as promised, we're back for more of the Mark Belling guest-hosting extravaganza. One of the things we noticed yesterday was that Belling couldn't bring himself to judge whether or not Sarah Palin's resignation was a smart political move, but he was 100 percent positive that Republican candidates across the country would be knocking down the good, soon-to-be-ex-governor's door to get her to come down to their states/districts to campaign or raise money. But it seems like that might not be entirely true, as the Virginia and New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidates look less-than-enthusiastic at the prospect of helping Palin fill out her newly freed-up schedule. Perhaps they recognize that it might not be good politics in a governor's race to have the endorsement of someone who just quit that office to avoid being a “dead fish.”

Belling got today's trainwreck a-rolling with a question: “Are we a bunch of wimps?” Belling wondered if “we” have what it takes to fight the battle to “save our country,” or if “we” have been beaten back by an opposition that plays by rules that we don't have the guts to play by. He said he'll return to this later, but, first, he had some unfortunate news for us: Mark Steyn will be taking over guest-hosting duties tomorrow.

Then Belling gave us his thoughts on Michael Jackson, whose memorial service is dominating the cable news coverage today. Belling said he wasn't going to dwell on Jackson, because that isn't what Rush would do, but he felt a need to address the media coverage of the late singer. Belling said what he's noticed is that everyone is taking this story and making it black-and-white -- people either dismiss Jackson as a pervert or they act as though they've lost a dear person in their lives. But those people who are acting as though they've lost someone important are deluding themselves, said Belling, because he didn't mean a lot to a lot of people, unless you're “a really screwed-up person.” But Belling allowed he was an extremely powerful force in popular music.

Coming back from the break, Belling said that it has been a tragic day for U.S. soldiers, reading from a New York Times article reporting that "[t]hree separate episodes in different parts of the country made Monday the deadliest day for American forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year." Of course there are going to be more casualties, said Belling, because we're escalating the war. As you start taking the fight to the enemy, there are going to be casualties. Belling then wondered if what we're seeing is a “surge,” saying that the media will never use that word because it was associated with President Bush, but it's obvious that this is an attempt to recreate in Afghanistan what happened in Iraq. Belling said it would be nice -- but it won't happen -- if Obama would recognize the success of the war in Iraq. This is putting liberals in a very difficult position, said Belling, because "[t]hey are not used to rooting for American forces at war." But now Obama is the one killing people, said Belling -- this is their war. So, if you're a liberal, Belling asked, what do you want? Do you want us to win, or do you go back to the position you're normally in and want us to lose? This has got to be causing incredible pains for the average lefty, he said, because for the first time ever, they're rooting for victory in a war.

Belling went on to say that what's important is that Afghanistan not become another home for Al Qaeda, but he doesn't know that bringing democracy to Afghanistan is necessary. You'll recall that just yesterday Belling was saying that it is the responsibility of the United States to “stand on the side of democracy and freedom.” Anyway, Belling then said he fears that Afghanistan could become Obama's Vietnam, adding: “And it would certainly be ironic if it was the Democrats that got us into the war that, as it turns out, we can't win.” Yeah, it certainly would be “ironic” if the Democrats who controlled the White House and Congress in 2001 got us into that war.

After the break, Belling said it's fun to try and figure out what the dumbest liberal idea of the last five years is. Ethanol and nationalized health care are in there, he said, but you can make a strong case for cap and trade. Belling said there's a strong chance Democrats are not going to win on this, because it barely passed the House. Now it's going to the Senate, he said, where every Dem is going to have to hold ranks, which is going to be tough because the more people learn about cap and trade, the more they fear it. Belling said it's nothing more than a massive tax on the American people that will be destructive to the economy.

The goal of cap and trade, said Belling, is not controlling emissions or global warming. It's about control, because that's what liberals are all about. But before you even get to this point, said Belling, don't we have to force them to demonstrate that there's a problem that this addresses? There is no global warming, said Belling, adding that it “stopped in 2001.” That's actually not true, but that didn't stop Belling, who said that warming has stopped in spite of increasing carbon emissions. So if man is causing global warming, how come that planet hasn't continued to warm? Man has nothing to do with it, said Belling, and global warming was “invented” as a way to control industries. Belling added: “So we're going to do all of this to the American economy, we're going to pass this major change that's going to be so devastating to so many sectors of the country, that's going to cost the American consumer so much money, because we're going to fight global warming, which isn't even occurring. They claimed that Bush rushed us into the war in Iraq, yet they are rushing us into the destruction of the American economy to fight a problem that they can't even prove exists anymore.”

The momentum is on the side of the global warming skeptics, said Belling, and all that's going to happen with cap and trade is that manufacturers in the Midwest are going to move jobs to countries that weren't stupid enough to pass cap and trade. If Democrats and liberals truly believe that carbon emissions cause global warming, said Belling, then why aren't they demanding that countries like China and India and Africa (not a country) regulate emissions? Well, it turns out that they are advocating that China and India regulate emissions. They're not “demanding” it, we suspect, because of that whole “sovereignty” thing.

Another break and Belling was back saying that states with a lot of nuclear power are all about cap and trade, because nuclear has very low emissions. But the same people pushing cap and trade are also against nuclear power. That's why Belling believes that this has nothing to do with global warming -- it's all about control and killing the private sector.

Belling's first caller said he looks at these cap-and-traders like the snake-oil salesman Al Gore, and he wonders who exactly is going to be making a profit on this. Belling said a lot of the money is going to government, but the caller is right -- someone is going to have to establish the system for carbon credits, and there's going to be a massive government bureaucracy overseeing all of it. It's going to force manufacturers, including “Obama's own General Motors,” to make decisions on relocating jobs. Obama's going to have to decide, said Belling, whether or not he's going to move GM jobs overseas to avoid compliance with the cap-and-trade bill he signed.

After one more break, Belling rounded out the hour with a caller who said that cap and trade will lead to the nationalization of the energy sector because gas and electricity will become unaffordable. There are estimates out there, said Belling, that energy prices will go up 200 percent. This is a fight conservatives can win, he said, because they have the facts on their side.

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

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

BELLING: What we're doing in Afghanistan right now is very similar to what we did in Iraq. This is putting the average liberal in a very difficult situation. They are not used to rooting for American forces at war.

[...]

BELLING: I do fear that, because of the terrain in Afghanistan, the mountains and so on, that this could become Obama's Vietnam, that it could become a guerilla war, the kind of war in which we fight and fight and fight without a whole lot of accomplishment. I have that fear. And it would certainly be ironic if it was the Democrats that got us into the war that, as it turns out, we can't win.

[...]

BELLING: So we're going to do all of this to the American economy, we're going to pass this major change that's going to be so devastating to so many sectors of the country, that's going to cost the American consumer so much money, because we're going to fight global warming, which isn't even occurring. They claimed that Bush rushed us into the war in Iraq, yet they are rushing us into the destruction of the American economy to fight a problem that they can't even prove exists anymore.

America's Guest-Truth Rejector

Wrongly claimed global warming “stopped” in 2001:

BELLING: The goal here, of course, isn't to reduce emissions and the goal isn't to fight global warming -- that's never the goal. The goal is control. Control is what liberals are all about. What they want to do is be able to control American industry and decide which industries can do what and be in charge of everything. They want to be able to control whether or not Americans are going to have coal plants; they want to control whether or not Americans are going to drive SUVs. Cap and trade is all about that.

But before you even get there, don't we have to at least force them to prove that there's a problem that this is addressing? “We have to save the planet.” There is no global warming going on. Global warming stopped in 2001, if it had ever been going on in the first place.