This hour brought to you by Obama's anti-constitutional presidency
By Simon Maloy

Kicking off the second hour, Rush claimed that Obama's release of the torture memos is all about “cutting the country down to size.” Rush guaranteed us all that the people in the counterterrorism field are feeling betrayed by all this, and this guarantee -- based on absolutely nothing -- proved to be the basis for the entire segment. Rush claimed that Obama's “rock star” reception at the CIA yesterday was “BS.” Rush explained: “The drive-by media said that Obama got rock star reception at the CIA just like he got a rock star reception in Baghdad. Do you know how they set up that photo op and all of the screaming soldiers? They went around and they only allowed soldiers that had voted for Obama in there and now at the CIA, do you think everybody other than the secretarial pool and people with hardly any clearance were able to get in there to see this thing?” This is a ridiculous conspiracy theory promulgated by credibility-challenged conservative blogs based on an anonymous email alleging that the Obama people pre-screened soldiers in Iraq and then handed out to them identical digital cameras with which to photograph the president. There's absolutely zero evidence to back up this absurd allegation (photos of the event show several different types of digital cameras), yet it's repeated as fact by “America's Truth Detector.”

Anyway, Rush claimed that the idea that CIA “universally loves” Obama is “absurd,” claiming that the reception Obama received was “a show.” His only evidence for that statement is his “belief” that counterterrorism officials (who he claimed are all in the field and don't work at Langley) feel betrayed by Obama, and the only ones who showed up are a “bunch of secretaries, a bunch of paper pushers who have lower security clearances than the janitorial staff that cleans the director's offices.” Rush wondered why anyone in the CIA would listen to a “community organizer” like Obama “condescend” to them.

After the break, Rush came back to a sound byte of Obama at the CIA, in which he said: “I understand that it's hard when you are asked to protect the American people against people who have no scruples and would willingly and gladly kill innocents. Al-Qaeda's not constrained by a constitution.” Rush was outraged by this: “Our president, your president, our President Barack Obama looks at the Constitution as a constraint and we know this because President Obama is also the kind of man who has legal people around him who look at the Bill of Rights who see it as a set of quote 'negative rights.'” Now, before we go any further, let's make a couple of things clear. First, the Constitution is a constraint. It constrains the federal government in several key ways, such as the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments,” which was likely what Obama was referring to when he said Al Qaeda “would willingly and gladly kill innocents.” Obama was praising the “constraints” of the Constitution, because they separate us from Al Qaeda. Second, that's the idea behind “negative rights” -- calling the Constitution a document of “negative rights” doesn't mean the Constitution is bad, as Rush would have us believe. It means that it enumerates the things the government can't do.

But Rush nonetheless twisted everything around: “Because, folks, to liberals, the Bill of Rights is horrible. The Bill of Rights grants citizens freedom. It tells the citizens what the government cannot do to them. The Bill of Rights limits the federal government, and that's negative to a socialist like Obama. That's negative to an elitist like Obama. The Constitution is negative, so he's got constraints.” Rush claimed that Obama and “liberals” want to change or ignore the Constitution because they see it as a constraint.

Then Rush aired audio of Obama speaking to the press today, saying that the possible prosecution of Bush Justice Department officials who authored the “torture memos” is a decision best left to the attorney general. Rush claimed that it is in Third World countries, not the United States, in which government officials “imprison” their predecessors. Rush said it was all “BS” anyway, since nothing illegal was done. Rush linked this to his previous distortions of Obama's views of the Constitution, saying: “Everything in the Constitution was designed to protect against a president like Obama.”

Rush then took a call from a woman who wanted to comment on how the release of the torture memos has put our soldiers at greater risk if they are captured. Rush respectfully disagreed with her, saying that our soldiers are always in harm's way by virtue of putting on the uniform. The only thing that's changed, according to Rush, is that America has in Obama a president who “has just as much disregard for the men and women of the United States military as every other liberal.”

Closing out the hour, Rush took a call from a man asking about the “fear factor” of the “labels” the Obama administration is putting on conservatives. Rush said this reminds him of the situation with the Miss USA runner-up being asked about gay marriage. It's evidence, said Rush, that conservatives have lost the pop culture war.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: There have to be lots of people who have sacrificed greatly in the field. We can never hear about them, and we can never hear about their success stories, but they have kept us safe, and I will guarantee you that the people in the field, CIA counterintelligence operatives, they feel betrayed. They have to feel betrayed. Now, there was a giant pep rally that made me sick yesterday at the CIA. It was a bunch of total BS. The drive-by media said that Obama got rock-star reception at the CIA just like he got a rock-star reception in Baghdad. Do you know how they set up that photo op and all the screaming soldiers? They went around and they only allowed soldiers that had voted for Obama in there. Now you -- and these -- and now at the CIA, do you think everybody other than the secretarial pool and people with hardly any clearance were able to get in there to see this thing? I guarantee you this whole thing was stacked as well. All of this is for show. It was designed to show that the CIA is totally 100 percent up to speed with what Obama's doing when that cannot be the case. People who have trained all of their lives, devoted to protecting this country in some of the most dangerous places in the world, have to feel betrayed especially with the release of Obama's memos.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Listen to just the first part of this.

OBAMA [audio clip]: I understand that it's hard when you are asked to protect the American people against people who have no scruples --

LIMBAUGH: Yeah, you try it.

OBAMA [audio clip]: -- and would willingly and gladly kill innocents.

LIMBAUGH: Now listen.

OBAMA [audio clip]: Al Qaeda is not constrained by a constitution.

LIMBAUGH: Stop the tape.

OBAMA [audio clip]: Many of our --

LIMBAUGH: Al Qaeda is not constrained by a constitution. Your president, our president, Barack Obama, looks at the Constitution as a constraint. And we know this because President Obama is also the kind of man who has legal people around him who look at the Bill of Rights who see it as a set of what is called “negative rights.” I know a lot of people go, “Negative rights? How can the CIA be negative rights?” Because the C -- the Bill of Rights be negative rights? Because, folks, to liberals, the Bill of Rights is horrible. The Bill of Rights grants citizens freedom. It tells the citizens what the government cannot do to them. The Bill of Rights limits the federal government, and that's negative to a socialist like Obama. That's negative to an elitist like Obama. The Constitution is negative, so he's got constraints. The Constitution tells him he's got things he can't do that he wants to do. That's not his job. He is there to defend and protect it, not unilaterally change it.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: This business, folks, of the Constitution being looked at as a shackle, the brilliance -- the brilliance of the Founding Fathers was separation of powers. Everything in the Constitution was designed to protect against a president like Obama. The express purpose of the Constitution is to stop somebody like Obama, who wants to have the federal government now have equity stakes in the automobile companies and in the banks and control the credit markets, the financial systems, and anything else he can get his hands on. It's to stop the president of the United States from handcuffing U.S. security, in limiting freedom of the American people. The Constitution was written with people like Obama in mind to stop them. It's been turned upside down and on its head, the Constitution has, because now the Constitution is looked as something limiting the great messiah. Why, the Constitution limits the greatness of the one who has finally restored morality and justice to the American nation. Everything is ass-backwards.

Clips from this hour

Limbaugh: Obama “has just as much disregard for the men and women of the United States military as every other liberal”