This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by Obama and the underpants gnomes
By Simon Maloy

One more hour to go, and Rush got it going by noting with some amusement what White House communications director Anita Dunn said today that the media should be fair to Senate Republicans because Rush Limbaugh doesn't speak for them. Rush thought this noteworthy because just a few weeks ago, the White House said Rush was the leader and chief spokesman of the GOP. Rush said this is designed to manipulate the Senate Republicans to get them to vote to confirm Sotomayor.

Then Rush offered us another reason why we should never doubt him -- he's been saying for years that exercise doesn't do anything unless you change your eating habits, and here's a story from MSNBC about how exercise isn't likely to boost the body's ability to burn fat. Then it was on to Ray LaHood -- one of those moderate Republicans who committed the cardinal sin of joining the Obama administration as Transportation secretary -- who Rush attacked for allegedly telling reporters that he wants to “coerce people out of their cars.” We don't have immediate access to the Q&A session, but judging by this write-up in the Boston Globe, it seemed like LaHood was mocking Republican attacks on the Obama administration's transportation funding priorities - or as the Globe put it: “LaHood expressed exasperation with the suggestion from some of his fellow Republicans that redirecting federal transportation money from highways to other modes of transportation amounted to government meddling in individual decisions.”

Then Rush read extensively from a Power Line blog entry, the conceit behind which was that Obama supporters “trust him precisely because they believe that he frequently misrepresents his own beliefs.” Rush linked this to a Wall Street Journal piece by Bret Stephens, who linked Obama's policy proposals to the classic episode of South Park in which the underpants gnomes encounter difficulty in explaining the method by which their thievery of undergarments will net them a profit. Rush said this is how Obama operates -- don't bother with the details, tell people what they want to hear, but don't tell them how it will happen. When Obama “lies,” Rush said, his supporters love it. They know he's lying, but it lets him get away with his ultra-liberalism, so they're all for it. Remarkable as it may seem, we've actually already dealt with conservative attempts to co-opt South Park for their own purposes.

After the break Rush aired audio of Anita Dunn saying that Rush doesn't speak for the Senate Republicans when he calls Sotomayor a “reverse racist.” Rush said that Sotomayor is “not qualified because she doesn't understand justice.” Then Rush took a call from a man who said that the GOP has to back Sotomayor because she'll be confirmed anyway and their opposition will be spun as hatred of Hispanics. Rush again reiterated that Republicans should oppose Sotomayor because that will help the country understand who Obama is. The media didn't vet Obama, so by being critical of her record you can understand who Obama is. The way to get Hispanic votes, Rush said, is with unflinching conservative values.

Another break and Rush wanted to clear something up. Republicans, he said, don't do “identity politics.” The GOP, he said, didn't win the Hispanic vote the last time around, the they had a candidate (McCain) who was the “architect” of “amnesty” for illegal immigrants. Rush then explained why he called Sotomayor a “reverse racist”:

LIMBAUGH: She ruled against the white firefighter Ricci and other white firefighters just on the basis that she thought women and minorities should be given a preference because of their skin color and because of the history of discrimination in the past. The law was totally disregarded. That's what I mean when I refer to her as a reverse racist. Obama himself is one, the chip on his shoulder that he brings to office. If people just listen to what he said over the course of his career, it's unmistakable. I know the media is going to harp on this reverse-racist stuff, and I just want all of you to know that I am perfectly willing to back it up and I'm proud that I said it. It happens to be true.

Rush then said that Democrats are going to attack any successful conservative or Republican, but they're particularly going to go after the minorities: “Ask Clarence Thomas. Ask Micha -- Ken Blackwell of Ohio. Ask Thomas Sowell. Ask any number of black conservatives.” Supporting Sotomayor, Rush said, will have no effect on the Hispanic vote, and Republicans and conservatives should stop buying into the premises of the left.

Then Rush had a theory for us -- Power Line and Bret Stephens wrote about how much Obama's supporters love it when he lies, so maybe it is time for Rush and the Republicans to start lying as well. We guess that would be like opening the barn door thirty years after the horse had already left. Anyway, Rush said that one day soon he will lie about everything he says on this show and not tell anyone that he's doing it, then we'll see if the media and the Democrats start to love him for it. We're confident that when that day comes along, it will be marked by a profound sense of déjà vu.

Leading into the final break Rush took another caller who listened to Sotomayor's remarks this morning, and remarked that he has yet to see a government appointee thank the welfare system for their achievements. Rush answered: “Something I read this morning -- she is a workaholic, and her clerks become her family. And they go home with her and work, and they -- I mean, she's -- so she's a hard worker. She's a very hard -- so is John Gotti. But the story is very compelling.”

After the break, Rush offered a full-throated defense of his statement that Sotomayor is a “reverse racist,” saying that she is the “antithesis of a judge” because judges do not make policy, the elected leaders of the people do. Rush then noted that Sotomayor once said: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.” Rush quipped: “If that's not a racist statement, I don't know what is -- reverse racist or whatever.” Closing out the program, Rush took a call from a self-proclaimed former anti-establishmentarian who theorized that Obama, with his “insidious ... socialism,” is saying: “OK, whitey, I'm going to pay you back now.” Rush's response? “Oh, you were a long-haired maggot-infested FM type. All right, I got it. But you're on our side now. And I'm with you 100 percent, bro. You have -- you have nailed this.”

And that's a wrap for today's Limbaugh Wire. We are eagerly anticipating Rush's upcoming nothing-but-lies show -- which is to say that we're eagerly anticipating tomorrow. And Thursday. And Friday. You get the idea. Anyway, we'll see you tomorrow, and until then please check out Media Matters' ever-expanding and never-dull Limbaugh archives.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: I referred to her today as a reverse racist, and you can see in the Ricci case that's currently before appeal on the Supreme Court with the decision coming in late June. She sided against a white firefighter and was admonished in her reasoning by a Clinton-appointed Democrat judge for not even addressing the constitutional issues. She ruled against the white firefighter Ricci and other white firefighters just on the basis that she thought women and minorities should be given a preference because of their skin color and because of the history of discrimination in the past. The law was totally disregarded. That's what I mean when I refer to her as a reverse racist. Obama himself is one, the chip on his shoulder that he brings to office. If people just listen to what he said over the course of his career, it's unmistakable. I know the media is going to harp on this reverse-racist stuff, and I just want all of you to know that I am perfectly willing to back it up and I'm proud that I said it. It happens to be true.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: The premise that we hate Hispanics is wrong in the first place. George Bush had 'em all over his administration, and the liberals tried to destroy every damn one of 'em. The two most prominent were Miguel Estrada and Alberto Gonzales. It doesn't have anything to do with Hispanic; it has to do with liberal vs. conservative. And the media is going to side with the left, and the Democrats are going to try to destroy any conservative or Republican who's going to be successful, particularly minorities. Particularly Republican minorities. Ask Clarence Thomas. Ask Micha -- Ken Blackwell of Ohio. Ask Thomas Sowell. Ask any number of black conservatives.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Something I read this morning -- she is a workaholic, and her clerks become her family. And they go home with her and work, and they -- I mean, she's -- so she's a hard worker. She's a very hard -- so is John Gotti. But the story is very compelling.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: In the same speech, Sonia Sotomayor went on to say, quote, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.” If that's not a racist statement, I don't know what is -- reverse racist or whatever.

Let me read it to you another way. Chief Justice John Roberts in another speech said, “I would hope that a wise white man with the richness of his experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina female who hasn't lived the rich white man's life.” Do you think there would be any dispute that John Roberts had made a racist statement?

[...]

CALLER: It's just so much more insidious than just socialism that he's tried -- it's kind of like he's saying, “OK, whitey, I'm going to pay you back now. You had the last 200 --”

LIMBAUGH: That's what -- that's what you think's going on?

CALLER: That's what it seems like to me, with a lot of his --

LIMBAUGH: And you are a former lib?

CALLER: I wouldn't say I was a former lib, Rush. I didn't like you -- when I was younger, you know, I was into the punk rock music and all that, and I just -- anti-establishment. Now --

LIMBAUGH: Oh, you were a long-haired maggot-infested FM type. All right, I got it. But you're on our side now. And I'm with you 100 percent, bro. You have -- you have nailed this.

Echo chamber

Read extensively from Power Line blog entry on the idea that Obama's supporters like him because they believe he lies about his own views. Rush then linked the Power Line entry to a Bret Stephens column on Obama, South Park, and Guantanamo Bay.

Clips from this hour

Limbaugh compares federal judge and former prosecutor Sotomayor to late mob boss Gotti