This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the new “cap-and-tax-your-ass-off” environmental policy
By Simon Maloy

One more hour to go, and Rush got it started by reading from an AP story reporting that “Wall Street is not going to play as dominant a role in the economy as regulations reduce 'some of the massive leveraging and the massive risk-taking that had become so common,' President Barack Obama says.” Rush asked us to remember when Michelle Obama, on the campaign trail, told people in Zanesville, Ohio: “Don't go into corporate America. You know, become teachers. Work for the community. Be social workers. Be a nurse.” According to Rush: “Well, that tells me she's been angry. I think Michelle ”My Belle" is an angry woman. I -- Barack himself is angry. And they spent their whole lives in anger, and they've been -- and that anger has been fueled by people like Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers." Anyway, Rush said Obama really means that the entire private sector, not just Wall Street, will play a less dominant role in the economy, and that this is a “command-and-control” economy.

What's important to Obama, said Rush, is that people don't make money in the stock market, because he doesn't like that. Rush quoted Obama saying: “I think it's important to understand some of that wealth was illusory in the first place.” Rush was particularly interested in the word “illusory,” saying: “Some of the wealth was illusory. Really? So, according to Obama, you didn't really lose anything when your 401k was cut in half. You haven't lost it, because the value of your 401k was illusory. It was artificial. It wasn't real, so you really haven't lost anything. If you have a stock portfolio that's down 40 percent, you really haven't lost anything because you really never were up 40 percent, because what you've lost, you never had. It was illusory.” Now, of course, that isn't what Obama said, but Rush moved right along, saying that the real examples of “illusory” wealth are Social Security, Medicare, and the War on Poverty. The wealth on Wall Street wasn't “illusory,” and this goes back to what he said at CPAC, Rush said -- this is Obama remaking America in his image.

After the break, Rush warned us that his next topic of conversation was “stupid,” and we have to say that we agree. Rush aired audio of columnist Connie Schultz of the Cleveland Plain Dealer saying that there is so much hate in Rush Limbaugh and that an example of such “hate” was Rush's “unconscionable” wish that Obama fails. Rush said it is manifestly obvious that Schultz never listened to the program and that she was “blitheringly ignorant” and a “ditz.” Rush once again explained what was behind his desire to see Obama fail: “Obama succeeding, to me, precisely means America failing as we know it.”

Rush then took a caller who confused El Rushbo -- and us, quite frankly -- by asking if the SEC was going to investigate the CEOs of Citibank and Chase, just as they're investigating Bank of America, for lowering the price of their Chrysler bonds to the level that the Obama administration wanted. After repeated attempts to have the caller more completely explain what she was getting at, Rush gave up and fell back on the disputed Thomas Lauria allegation from the first hour: “There is one hedge fund -- and I'm having a mental block of the name of it -- that held out. And the Obama administration, according to the lawyer for this hedge fund, said we're going to unleash the power of the White House press corps to ruin your reputation on that one hedge fund. And so, the hedge fund buckled.” Like we said two hours ago, both the Obama administration and the hedge fund in question denied that this happened.

After another quick break, Rush noted that UPI is reporting that “the 'worried well' are overburdening many U.S. hospitals with imagined symptoms of the H1N1 virus commonly known as swine flu.” Now, before we get to the rest of Rush's comments on this one, we'll ask you to remember what Rush said in the previous hour about the “paranoid” and “conspiratorial” thinking among conservatives that is “depressing” him. Now that we've pre-emptively framed things, let's go back to what Rush had to say: “Who's worrying the well? My friends, it's the Obama administration with their buddies in the drive-by media, so here you have, on one hand, the Obama administration is a juggler. On one hand, here's the swine flu and crisis and paranoia. What are they doing with the other hand that you're not watching? Whenever this bunch gins up a crisis, I guarantee you, the last thing you should do is pay attention to that. Pay attention to other things.”

Speaking of framing, Rush then moved on to The New York Times, which reported on Friday on the efforts of ecoAmerica to “find new ways to frame environmental issues and so build public support for climate change legislation and other initiatives.” According to Rush, the Times is helping a bunch of left-wingers “sell” the “hoax” that is climate change by inventing new terms for global warming and cap and trade. So said Rush: “There is no cash back with cap and trade. The correct way to describe cap and trade is cap-and-tax-your-ass-off to the tune of an additional average $3,000 a year for the average American family.”

Rush's next caller asked why stem cells harvested from cord blood have not been put forth as a middle-ground solution to the stem cell debate, explaining that she just gave birth in December and no one at the hospital even mentioned that her cord blood could be used for medical research. Rush was “offended” at her suggestion that no one talks about cord blood stem cells because he's been talking about it constantly. According to Rush, there is absolutely no record of success with embryonic stem cells, and the only reason the “left” insists on their use is because it's a political issue. Rush then said to the caller: “Now, as to why hospitals didn't tell you about cord blood, guess who's running the health care system for the most part? The U.S. government. And Barack Obama and the U.S. government are big believers in embryonic stem cells primarily because they get mucho bucks -- bucko bucks in contributions from people who believe in it.” We'll just remind you really quickly that the woman said she gave birth in December -- as in, before Obama's inauguration.

Anyway, Rush's conclusion was that “the embryonic stem cell argument has as its unspoken purpose to further the issue of abortion. You have to abort kids to get embryos.” Actually, no. Existing stem cells lines were created from embryos that were to be discarded by fertility clinics.

After one more commercial time out, Rush closed out the show with a caller who said she watches Obama “micromanage” companies like Chrysler, and she's worried that he'll do the same with American lives through health care reform. Rush said she was right, and aired audio of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) saying that the purpose of health care reform is not to save the private health insurance industry.

And that's all for today's Limbaugh Wire. We're glad to be back, and we hope you'll join us again tomorrow. As always, Media Matters' complete and unabridged Limbaugh archives are available for your perusal. Even if you've had enough Rush for the afternoon, we encourage you to go anyway just to see Media Matters' handsome new website redesign in its entirety.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Do you remember, during the campaign -- setting up this next Obama quote -- when Michelle “My Belle” Obama went to Zanesville, Ohio, and she told the women in the audience, “Don't go to Wall Street. Don't become lawyers. Don't become” whatever, the hedge fund managers, or whatever Wall Street term. “Stay here. Stay in the community. Become a nurse. Help people.”

Now, this is a quote that got some attention. To me, it was worth a lot because I think these people inadvertently slip up and tell us what they really think, and, therefore, what their policies are really going to be.

I think another time she was honest when she said she was the first time -- the first time proud of her country. And I -- because it finally - her husband was nominated to be president. Well, that tells me she's been angry. I think Michelle “My Belle” is an angry woman. I -- Barack himself is angry. And they spent their whole lives in anger, and they've been -- and that anger has been fueled by people like Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. All that stuff mattered to me.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Obama said that he's confident that people will regain trust and confidence in the financial system, but believes it's going to take time. He then said, “I think it's important to understand some of that wealth was illusory in the first place.” Some of the wealth was illusory. Really?

So, according to Obama, you didn't really lose anything when your 401k was cut in half. You haven't lost it, because the value of your 401k was illusory. It was artificial. It wasn't real, so you really haven't lost anything. If you have a stock portfolio that's down 40 percent, you really haven't lost anything because you really never were up 40 percent, because what you've lost, you never had. It was illusory.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Now, how did the well get worried? You're running around out there, you're minding your own business, and you turn on the television, and you hear about swine flu, swine flu, swine flu. And you hear about, “close the border here” and “close the border there,” and airplanes being cancelled and countries shutting down. And then, you read, “300 cases, ten deaths.” This was as of the weekend. Who's worrying the well?

My friends, it's the Obama administration with their buddies in the drive-by media, so here you have, on one hand, the Obama administration is a juggler. On one hand, here's the swine flu and crisis and paranoia.

What are they doing with the other hand that you're not watching? Whenever this bunch gins up a crisis, I guarantee you, the last thing you should do is pay attention to that. Pay attention to other things. I will guide you.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: So, once again, we get a story right out of The New York Times that tells us how the left attempts to bamboozle everybody, and then, when they fail, we get advice from other left-wing groups, “OK, you're failing to bamboozle and mislead this way, so here is some new terms. Don't use cap and trade, use cap and cash back.”

That's a bigger lie. There is no cash back with cap and trade. The correct way to describe cap and trade is cap-and-tax-your-ass-off to the tune of an additional average $3,000 a year for the average American family.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I'm sorry. I don't mean to be offended, but I am, 'cause we talk about cord blood, adult stem cells, alternatives to embryonic stem cells on this program all the time. The reason why you weren't presented is because there are people who do believe in absolutes, who only want embryonic stem cells used even though there is no record of any success. They want embryonic used, because it's a political issue.

So, we have to fight absolutes. And you don't fight absolutes with lukewarm water. You don't fight efforts to destroy the American culture and the American political system and the Constitution with lukewarm water. Now, granted, absolutes may offend people and may make them feel uncomfortable and so forth. Well, damn it! It's about time left-wing absolutes made them feel uncomfortable. It's about time destroying the U.S. economy and nationalizing it made them feel uncomfortable instead of comfortable.

Now, as to why hospitals didn't tell you about cord blood, guess who's running the health care system for the most part? The U.S. government. And Barack Obama and the U.S. government are big believers in embryonic stem cells primarily because they get mucho bucks -- bucko bucks in contributions from people who believe in it and that is -- the embryonic stem cell argument has as its unspoken purpose to further the issue of abortion. You have to abort kids to get embryos. There are successful stem cell applications from, like you say, cord blood, adult stem cells.

America's Truth Rejector

Once again repeated disputed claim that the Obama administration threatened a hedge fund involved in Chrysler deal:

LIMBAUGH: There is one hedge fund -- and I'm having a mental block of the name of it -- that held out.

CALLER: Right.

LIMBAUGH: And the Obama administration, according to the lawyer for this hedge fund, said we're going to unleash the power of the White House press corps to ruin your reputation on that one hedge fund. And so, the hedge fund buckled.

CALLER: Right.

LIMBAUGH: And the -- that hedge fund held about $6.9 billion in debt that was debt for Chrysler that resulted in individuals investing in that hedge fund, who were taking a risk on buying Chrysler debt.

Clips form this hour

Limbaugh: “Michelle 'My Belle' is an angry woman. I think Barack himself is angry and they spent their whole lives in anger.”

Limbaugh attacks columnist Connie Schultz as “stupid,” “blitheringly ignorant” and a “ditz” but says, “There's no hate on this program”