This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the Waxman-Markey-Madoff bill
By Simon Maloy

Rush got the second hour rolling by returning to cap and trade, repeating his claim that Waxman-Markey is a disaster and that it's not about saving anything. It's all about raising taxes and redistributing wealth. Rush then read extensively from the Heritage Foundation's analysis of the bill, which described it as “nothing more than an energy tax in disguise.” Rush zeroed in on the bill's energy refund program, which says that households making no more than 150 percent over the poverty line are “eligible low-income households” who “shall receive a monthly cash energy refund equal to the estimated loss in purchasing power resulting from this Act.” They know that the bill is going to cream you, said Rush, and this measure means that the poor are going to get direct-deposit transfers from your money. They intend to raise prices on energy, said Rush; intend to make you use less energy; intend to make you less mobile and comfortable; and intend for you to have less disposable income, which is freedom and liberty.

Rush said that Barack Obama and the Democrats intend to just direct-deposit your money into the bank accounts of the poor because of this act. Your wealth will be redistributed to the poor, he repeated, calling this an attack on achievers and an attack on wealth, disguised as something to get to your heart. They're trying to convince you that this will save Woody Woodpecker and Peter Polar Bear, said Rush. This is a carbon tax: We are a carbon-based life form, we exhale carbon dioxide, so we are polluters. They should call this the Waxman-Markey-Madoff bill, said Rush, because this is a con game.

Rush then read extensively from George Will's Washington Post column yesterday, in which Will promoted the work of Spanish professor Gabriel Calzada, who conducted a study that found that Spain lost two jobs for every “green” job it created. We dealt with this study yesterday -- Calzada is committed to combating global warming “alarmism” with the ExxonMobil money he apparently receives, and actual experts say it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to compare the Spanish and American green jobs bills. Also, we're more likely to trust, well, just about anyone on climate issues more than we are George Will, who has a spotty record on this topic.

After the break, Rush took his first call of “Open Line Friday!” as a “personally outraged” gentleman from Virginia explained that he called the office of his congressman -- Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) -- and a staffer told him that Goodlatte does not have a position on cap and trade. The caller said he was flabbergasted, and that if Goodlatte votes for cap and trade, then he will work as hard as he can to make sure he doesn't get re-elected. Rush said there's some Democrat from Virginia who was wavering on cap and trade, but just announced he's voting for it. There are a lot of people who want to vote on the right side of this, said Rush, but they view the right side as the side that's going to win.

After another break, Rush noted that RedState.com is reporting that “Congressman [Tom] Perriello's (D-VA) office told a caller that Congressman Perriello wants there to be enough votes to pass Cap & Trade so he can vote no on it.” Rush then noted that Andrea Mitchell, on MSNBC, just spoke to Mike Viqueira about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) comments that the cap-and-trade bill was unlikely to pass the Senate, and aired audio of Viqueira saying that Democratic congressmen are looking at this bill and asking why they should vote for it if it isn't going to pass the Senate. Rush said this is a test for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) -- if it isn't going to pass the Senate, how do you get people to vote for it? Rush said Pelosi's telling them, “because I said so,” and is threatening to withhold campaign funds. And they're “buying off” rural Democrats. Rush said this is a classic illustration of “to whom do they answer?” -- you or Nancy Pelosi? And a lot of people who vote for this thing have seen their last days in Congress, said Rush. They're going to lose in 2010.

Rush then said that James Carville sent a fundraising letter out warning Democrats that they're facing an identical set of circumstances to what they faced in 1994, right before the GOP took over Congress. They're using it as a fundraising tool, said Rush, but he also believes that the Democrats are truly worried. Deep in the bowels of this party, they're worried -- they don't publicly oppose the president, but they don't want this future for their kids either. Rush said he doesn't think it's just like 1994 -- back then there was a whole lot of corruption in the House that was being brought to light. There's still corruption, he said, look at Charlie Rangel. What's happening with this bill is the same thing that happened to “amnesty,” said Rush, they're being flooded with emails and calls. But they don't care what you think.

Rush's next caller said he was watching Fox & Friends this morning, and they interviewed House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who said that cap and trade is not a tax and only costs Americans $174 a year. Rush said “that number, 174, is so low and so untrue that's he's making it up.” Actually, it's not untrue, and he's not making it up -- that's the estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

One more break and Rush came back, saying that the “New Manhattan Project for Energy Independence” amendment to Waxman-Markey is a “teachable moment.” The fact that they have to offer a prize is evidence that we are nowhere near accomplishing any of this, said Rush. Edison and the Wright brothers didn't need prizes, he said, they invented on their own. This is market economics, Rush explained, so if there were a profit in solar power, we would have it. If there were a profit in “putt-putt cars” that got 70 mpg, we would have it. Rush told us not to believe these conspiracy theories that the oil companies work with the car companies to keep costs down (I guess we're only supposed to believe the conspiracy theories that President Obama is keeping gas prices high to force car companies to make fuel-efficient vehicles). Rush said that the very fact that this “rotten legislation” has to dangle carrots in front of peoples' eyes is proof positive that we're nowhere near what it hopes to achieve.

Greg Lewis and Laura Deck contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 2

America's Truth Rejector

Falsely claimed Rep. Steny Hoyer was “making up” $174/year figure for Waxman-Markey:

CALLER: I was listening to Fox & Friends this morning, between like 8:15 and 8:45, and they had an interview with Mr. Steny Hoyer --

LIMBAUGH: Yeah.

CALLER: -- who said that he was voting for the cap and trade -- he says it's a good thing -- but that it's not a tax, and that it would only cost the people $174 per year. Now if that's not a tax, why would it cost $174? Obviously it's a tax of some type, right?

LIMBAUGH: Well, depends on how you define tax. I would say that legislation that raises the cost of living, it's a tax or whatever, but it's still bad. And he's -- that number, 174, is so low and so untrue --

CALLER: Right.

LIMBAUGH: -- that's he's making it up.

CALLER: I think so, too.