This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the Photoshopped bridge conspiracy
By Simon Maloy

Top of the final hour, and Rush read extensively from an Associated Press analysis which found that "[c]ounties suffering the most from job losses stand to receive the least help from President Barack Obama's plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges." Rush had to make a point about this -- economists say the recession will end before the year is over, but job creation will lag because Obama is trying to remake the economy. The stimulus spending doesn't even really kick into gear until 2010, Rush said, and that's because 2010 is an election year. Once again, however, real economists (not the pretend talk-radio variety) say that there's a very good reason to keep stimulus spending going after the recovery begins -- the economy will remain below its potential even after the economy starts getting back on its feet.

Anyway, Rush couldn't believe that the AP would publish an article like this, saying that the reporters are not long for the media world once the White House sees it. Wait, no, said Rush -- no one will ask the White House about this. Rush read from the article: “The very promise that Obama made, to spend money quickly and create jobs, is locking out many struggling communities needing those jobs.” Rush had a question -- if these counties don't have any projects ready to go, might that be because they don't have any work to be done? This stimulus is not about the economy, said Rush, it's about stimulating Obama and the Democratic Party. Rush wagered that even though the AP put out this report, the government stimulus-tracking websites will say the opposite, and “they'll have pictures of all of these dilapidated bridges that are in the process of being repaired and so forth, and they're all going to be Photoshopped.”

Rush then offered a story that he said was “related” to the AP report -- Venezuela's Hugo Chavez sending troops to seize companies that service the Venezuelan oil industry as part of a “revolutionary offensive.” It's “related,” said Rush, because Obama is seizing GM and Chrysler, he just doesn't need the troops yet.

After the break, Rush apologized for “misinforming” his listeners in the previous segment, noting that the government stimulus-tracking websites aren't even up and running yet. That's a shame -- we thought the Photoshopped bridge conspiracy had some real legs. Anyway, Rush informed us that he had glanced at MSNBC and saw that the director of the Miss California pageant was making a statement on Miss California and whatever she's done that the media insist on talking about. Rush said the “controversy,” if there can be said to be one here, is about the fact that Miss California referenced God when she spoke about gay marriage. We are headed for the day in this country, Rush said, where some of us are going to be “fined for things that we say.” Well, don't look now, Rush, but that day's already here -- just ask the FCC.

Rush then took a call from a gentleman who agreed that Cheney is motivated by love of country when he says Obama is endangering America. Rush repeated his assertion that Cheney is the only Republican with the guts to warn the country about the dangers of Obama, and claimed that the modus operandi of the Democrats is to destroy anyone who speaks out. They don't like the “opposition,” said Rush, so they try to “discredit” and “impugn” you.

Another break and Rush came back attacking Obama for saying today that Americans are “skimping” on health care. Rush noted that the AP reported that “leaders of the health care industry offered $2 trillion in spending reductions over 10 years to help pay for” Obama's health care program. After again noting it's “like Don Corleone bringing these people in and telling what's going to happen to them if the don't go along,” Rush wondered why, if there was $2 trillion in cuts that could be made, the health care industry is making them now. The reason, Rush said, is offered later in the same article: “The industry groups are trying to get on the administration bandwagon for expanded coverage now in the hope they can steer Congress away from legislation that would restrict their profitability in future years.” What this means, Rush said, is that they think that if they go along now and show goodwill, then they'll be taken care of by Obama down the road.

They're fools, said Rush. Whatever profits there are will go to Obama and government, he said. Obama's going to fix health care like he fixed GM, Chrysler, and Wall Street. The health care representatives are scared to death, he said. They saw what happened to Rick Wagoner, and they saw the legislation on pay caps for executives, and now they're thinking that if they don't make Obama mad, then he won't restrict them. But, Rush reiterated, they're fools for thinking this.

Before the break, Rush took a call from a gentleman explaining that the space shuttle mission to repair the Hubble telescope is so dangerous because of excessive space debris -- a problem that is exacerbated when countries like China and the U.S. fire missiles into space to destroy satellites. Rush said the thing to understand about this is that the Chinese wouldn't even have satellites to blow up if Bill Clinton hadn't given them satellite technology in exchange for campaign donations.

After the break Rush noted that California is in dire financial straits, but the LA Times reported that the “Obama administration is threatening to rescind billions of dollars in federal stimulus money if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers do not restore wage cuts to unionized home healthcare workers approved in February as part of the budget.” Rush said that Constitutionally, “this does not fly,” but it will happen anyway. This is “reparations,” said Rush, and “payback” for the unions.

Then Rush aired an audio clip of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on The Charlie Rose Show last week saying that legislation intended to place “greater constraints on leverage and risk-taking” is about “preventing the next boom.” Rush was positively apoplectic over this statement, saying that Geithner acknowledged that the administration wants “stagnant” and “zero-sum” economics, and predicted that they will institute a “wealth tax” in addition to the income tax. That's Obama's aim, said Rush -- just look at his Treasury secretary saying that they're trying to prevent booms. Now, what was missing from this rant was the all-important “context” that Rush continually insists his critics omit when they attack him. Specifically, the bit just before that comment in which Geithner explained the kind of “boom” he is looking to prevent:

GEITHNER: Now, you don't want the government sending limits on overall compensation, or deciding what's appropriate in terms of the level of compensation. That's not something we should do as a country. But what government has to do is to make sure that the incentives compensation set -- set by those things don't create too much risk of excessive risk-taking in the future, where people get to benefit from the possibility of future public support and reap all the gains of that support today. And that's not something we can have.

So broad standards and principles that will make sure that money is at risk, incentives are -- the company is at risk until you really realize the gain. You're not incenting short-term risk-taking at the expense of long-term stability. Those are the kinds of changes that all institutions today are trying to get right and put in place.

That's it for today's Wire. We didn't hear from Rush on Wanda Sykes, and he actually made a side comment to his producer that seemed to indicate that there won't be a response. But, as we all know, Rush's promises have an extremely short shelf-life, so please tune in tomorrow to see what happens. Until then, please take a moment to refresh yourself on all things Limbaugh with a quick peak at Media Matters' Limbaugh archives, which continue to grow at an exponential rate.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: The stimulus bill was not about stimulating the economy, and it wasn't about stimulating poor Democrats. It was about stimulating the Democrat Party and stimulating Barack Obama. Because while AP is going to report this, I will guarantee you that all these stupid websites that Obama puts up there where we can track where the money's going, I'll bet you it's a wholly different story. I'll bet the government's websites suggest that all this money is going to all these depressed areas, and they'll have pictures of dilapidated bridges that are in the process of being repaired and so forth, and they're all going to be Photoshopped. Such a disconnect out there.

The AP examined the earliest projects announced nationwide, the ones most likely to break ground and create jobs first. More projects are continually being announced, and some areas that received little or no help so far may benefit later. The Obama administration could also encourage states to change their plans. So even -- after they dumped totally on the plan, they have to end here by saying, “Well, Obama could fix this. He might want to fix this.” In news that I think is related -- you may not, but I think is related -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent troops to take over companies that provide services for the oil industry in Venezuela.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: He had another one of those meetings today with all of these health insurance groups. It's like Don Corleone bringing these people in and telling what's going to happen to them if the don't go along. We know this is the modus operandi. We know that threats and intimidation are used by this administration to get what they want.