This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the autographed Limbaugh shoe of our dreams
By Simon Maloy
Kicking off the second hour, Rush attacked Reuters for its headline: “U.S. private sector axes 742,000 jobs in March.” The sin Reuters committed, allegedly, is suggesting that the “evil private sector” is cutting jobs, but not the “precious government.” This objection doesn't make a whole lot of sense to us, since the headline reflected what was reported in the story -- specifically, that "[p]rivate employers cut jobs by a record 742,000 in March versus a 706,000 revised cut in February that was originally reported at 697,000 jobs." Finished with attacking Reuters, Rush moved on the NBC's Richard Engel for characterizing the G-20 protests as “festive.” Rush said they're actually “rioting,” but they should be celebrating because they are anti-capitalist and Obama, the “premier anti-capitalist,” is among them. Rush then claimed that Obama could get the protesters to stop, but he loves the chaos and confusion.
Then El Rushbo moved on to Obama's meeting with Russian President Medvedev, claiming that as Obama was speaking about Russia and the U.S. sharing interest in reducing nuclear weapons, Medvedev has his hand over his mouth and was barely able to contain his laughter. Rush said that Medvedev couldn't wait to get out of there and tell Vladimir Putin, “Did you hear what he thinks we agreed to?” Then it was on to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as Rush played snippets of his press conference with Obama, praising the president for the changes he's enacted in the United States. Rush was amazed that this “committed socialist” was praising Obama, calling this “slobbering” and warning that if he keeps it up, he will “come down with anal poisoning and may die from it.”
Back from the break, Rush took a quick call from a man asking why the media were not reporting on the Republicans' budget alternatives. Rush said they don't care and cautioned the man against seeking validation in the mainstream media because they hate conservatives and Republicans and that will never change.
Another break, and Rush re-aired his Kim Jong-Il parody from yesterday. We might have laughed even harder this time around. Then it was time to air some clips of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) presentation of the GOP budget this morning. Rush said that Ryan had some great ideas, because many of them were in Rush's January 29 Wall Street Journal op-ed. One specific “great” idea that both Rush and Ryan shared was slashing the corporate tax rate, which the Congressional Budget Office considers to be quite an ineffective method of stimulating the economy. (Fox News loves Ryan's ideas as well.)
Rush then took another caller, this one eager to explain to El Rushbo the dystopic dream she had in which she and Rush were in a post-Obama America at a required seminar of some kind. In the dream, Rush acknowledged that his show was being shut down, took off his shoe, signed it, and gave it to the woman. Rush was flabbergasted and said it was indicative of the “fear” people have out there, they're “dreaming of Obama camps.”
Rush turned next to Obama and the G-20, airing clips of Obama saying: “People losing their homes, losing their businesses that they've worked so hard for, losing their health care in the United States; people around the world who were already desperate before the crisis and they find themselves even more desperate afterwards -- that's what our agenda has to begin with, and that's where it will end.” Rush says this is wrong -- people aren't “losing” their homes, “we're paying them to stay in their homes.” Rush then offered his translation of this clip -- Obama's not only going to spread your wealth around in America, he's going to spread it around the world. Then he attacked Obama for “blaming” the global financial crisis on the United States, saying that all these G-20 conferences are about blaming the U.S., the only difference is that now we have a president who is also willing to blame America.
Back from the break, Rush took one more caller, a woman concerned about GM plant closing in Texas and asking if Texans will have any sway over the White House's plans for GM. Of course not, says Rush, look at the stimulus. Rush claimed there is an “unconstitutional” provision in the stimulus that empowers state legislatures to accept stimulus cash if the governor doesn't want to. It's the same with GM -- if they're going to close plants, it's Democratic politics, according to Rush, to close plants in Republican states because Obama wants that “chaos” and “misery” in Republican states.
Hour 2 highlights
Outrageous comments
LIMBAUGH: If he causes chaos and unemployment in a Republican state, that helps him. President Obama is about chaos. He's about misery. He is about people being unsatisfied and frightened of the future so that they will turn to him for the solution, not Governor Perry or Palin or Sanford.
Clips from this hour: