This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you the word “atavistic”
By Simon Maloy

As you may have noticed, the running theme of The Rush Limbaugh Show over the past few weeks has been the dangers of health care reform. Specifically, the dangers to senior citizens, who, if Rush is to be believed, will be passively euthanized under the guise of “end of life consultations,” which is just code for evil bureaucrats in Washington determining that old folks have lived long enough and it's just not worth the cost to keep them alive and kicking. You see, it's all part of the insidious liberal Democrat plan to get rid of old people, the purpose of which is two-fold: To satisfy the liberal desire for homicide, and to reduce the Social Security and Medicare rolls. Damn those murder-loving big-government Democrats! It all makes perfect sense, if by “perfect sense” you mean “our heads hurt because it's so painfully, painfully stupid.” But here's the best part -- it turns out that this alleged liberal Democratic plan for elderly euthanasia is actually a bipartisan idea. Greg Sargent did a little digging and found that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) sponsored an initiative this spring that was virtually identical to provision in the House health care bill that has Rush and Co. screaming “euthanasia” from the rooftops.

Rush got things rolling by saying he has a blurb by the pollster Peter Hart, who wrote that Obama is a president who needs a vacation. No, said Rush, we need the vacation -- from Obama's policies and from Obama himself. Obama needs a vacation from destroying the private sector. Anyway, Rush said the big beer conference is tonight on the picnic table at the playground. Rush wonders if this Cambridge cop is even going to get a look inside the White House. Rush then asked why we don't have a mojito conference for Mideast peace, or a Jell-O shot conference for global warming.

In yet another trademark, smooth-as-sandpaper segue, Rush switched to polling data, pronouncing the Obama administration to be “in big trouble.” The newly released New York Times poll, Rush claimed, shows that 69 percent of people uneasy about ObamaCare. That's actually not true; the poll found that “69 percent of respondents in the poll said they were concerned that the quality of their own care would decline if the government created a program that covers everyone.” On the other hand, the poll also found that people really, really, really want health care reform, and they trust Obama to handle that reform more than anyone else. That's some “trouble” ...

Anyway, back to the beer meeting. Rush said Obama is starting to look like he's not cool, and is starting to remind Rush of Nixon walking the beach in a suit and wingtips. And then right back to polling -- nobody wants this health care package, said Rush. The New York Times, the liberal bible, found that 69 percent are worried, but why are they doing this? Because there's no way to stop these clowns, said Rush, except for this recess -- it's up to you. When these people come back to their communities that they represent, said Rush, you have to make them scared to death to go back to D.C. and vote for this thing. This is a powder keg waiting for the explosion.

And then back to beer. Rush noted that Obama's going to have a Bud Light, the cop is going to have a Blue Moon, and the professor, “the snob,” is going to have a Red Stripe. We're not sure how Red Stripe is snobbier than Blue Moon, but we digress... Having beer before dinner is the wrong message to send to the obese, said Rush. If we're going to micromanage Americans' weight, then we should at least be sending out positive messages. Most people don't drink beer before dinner. Overweight Americans are under assault as a drag on health care, said Rush, and what's Obama doing? He's showing them how to pack on calories. Rush said he also hasn't heard anything about Crowley or Gates being asked to stay for dinner. If you're going to do this, said Rush, then at least invite them into the White House.

Rush then announced that did some “research.” We've seen the stories about jobless claims going up “more than expected,” said Rush, and he “researched” that phrase. By “research,” of course, he meant that he Googled it and found that phrase turns up 898,000 times. That means it's in the template, said Rush.

After a lengthy discussion of his diet and weight loss in general, Rush said he has received more complaints about the unintelligibility of the sped-up Obama sound bites, and since he respects his audience, he offered to play a couple of sound bites of Obama from his town hall meeting yesterday. Rush said Obama was asked if the public plan was one he'd be willing to put his family on. Two things happened then that we saw coming a mile away -- the Obama clip was played below normal speed, and Rush called Obama a liar. The next question to Obama, said Rush, was about older citizens being put out to pasture, and Rush then aired another slowed-down clip of Obama calling that a scare tactic, and explaining that seniors are legitimately worried about this stuff. Rush said: “It's right there in the House bill, five years -- every five years, end of life counseling. Really what the Obamacare plan contains is end of life. Forget end of life counseling, it does have end of life, it's right there in the bill. He said it himself a number of times.” Once again, as we've noted before, this is absolutely untrue.

After a quick break, Rush came back for an even quicker segment, explaining that he is now being inundated with emails asking him to speed up the Obama clips again. Rush said we have to understand that this is a brilliant plan being executed here. When you take away Obama's voice, it's the same as cutting Samson's hair -- he becomes mortal.

Another break, and Rush said he thinks Obama may do more to damage liberalism than anyone before him, as evidenced by this Reuters headline: “As U.S. recession bites, Ohio hopes fade for Obama.” Ohio has lost its hope for Obama, said Rush. They thought they were electing a savior. Rush then aired the one of the Obama sound bites from earlier at high speed, once against saying there is “nothing truthful” in anything Obama says. Rush then moved on to a Rasmussen poll which found that “just 30% of U.S. voters give the president good or excellent marks for his handling” of the Gates situation. And the woman who called 911 hasn't been invited to the White House, said Rush. The state-controlled media painted her as a racist.

Now remember, said Rush, that CNN and Newsweek are reporting that the recession is over. But the AP reports that "[m]ore than 90 percent of the nation's largest metropolitan areas saw their unemployment rates climb in June from the previous month." You know how many stupid smart people there are out there? Businessmen who expected help from Obama have to realize that they're not going to get anything until they hire a bunch of union workers, said Rush. The recession isn't over, for a lot of people it's just getting started. The Gallup poll shows that Obama's approval ratings among the young are falling, said Rush, and then there's this Gallup poll on health care, which did not find “a terribly optimistic picture of Americans' views of the perceived impact of healthcare reform.” What this means, said Rush, is that Obama's arguments have failed to convince a skeptical public. The more he talks, the more disapproval we're seeing. The bottom line is that people do not want this, so why are Obama and the Congress doing it anyway? They don't care what you want. You're just another obstacle in their way.

One more break and Rush was back with an AP headline: “Apologies aren't expected at Obama 'beer summit'.” Rush said if there aren't going to be any apologies, then what's the point? Do you realize how this diminishes the office of the presidency? Rush wondered if the cop will split the scene while Gates stays for dinner with Barack and Michelle.

Then it was on to Nancy Pelosi, who, according to Reuters, “ramped up her criticism of insurance companies, accusing them of unethical behavior and working to kill a plan to create a new government-run health plan.” Rush said this is their modus operandi -- attack the villains they created. And yesterday, said Rush, Barney Frank threatened the banks “that if they don't volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress will make them.” Rush said this is a guy who said it's not his job to help people make money, he helped create this subprime crisis, and now he's saying that he'll require banks to lower monthly payments. He's going to write legislation requiring banks to lose money, to do things they would not otherwise do. Rush said this is not the way to fix the problem - not only does it violate morality, but our founding documents as well: “Folks, this is not how we fix this, though. You do not have leftist radicals -- who are clueless about how life actually lives -- is lived, who are clueless about how markets work -- you just don't have them running every aspect of the private sector, because nothing they've ever run ever works anyway. But philosophically, it's wrong. Morally it's wrong; constitutionally it's wrong. I would go so far to say that the entire Obama approach is immoral in its scope.”

Rush closed out the hour with a caller who labeled Rush “atavistic” for “making voices.” Rush said the caller should know that everything Rush does is done with a purpose. The caller said they're irritating, these “voices.” Rush asked if he voted for Obama. Caller said no, just stop messing with the voices of Obama and all these people, it's childish. It's like Samson, Rush repeated. Obama deserves to be ridiculed. It's hard to listen to that man at any speed, said Rush. It is hard to listen to him, period. That is why we need the vacation. Rush said if he listened to every suggestion, he would have long ago been committed to a padded cell. So the sped-up sound bites stay.

Arianna Probinsky and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Folks, this is not how we fix this, though. You do not have leftist radicals -- who are clueless about how life actually lives -- is lived, who are clueless about how markets work -- you just don't have them running every aspect of the private sector, because nothing they've ever run ever works anyway.

But philosophically, it's wrong. Morally it's wrong; constitutionally it's wrong. I would go so far to say that the entire Obama approach is immoral in its scope.

America's Truth Rejector

Once again falsely claimed that the House health bill provides for euthanasia:

LIMBAUGH: It's right there in the House bill. Five years -- every five years, end-of-life counseling. Really, what the Obamacare plan contains is end of life. Forget end-of-life counseling. It does have end of life. It's right there in the bill. He said it himself a number of times.