This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you, forcibly, by the Obama thugocracy
By Simon Maloy

Rush kicked off the final hour by attacking MSNBC for reporting that Obama and Vice President Biden left the White House to hit up an Arlington, Virginia, burger joint for lunch this afternoon. Rush was particularly incensed that one of the reporters speculated that Obama's cash outlay for a few burgers is a confirmation that consumer spending is up.

Then he moved on to Thomas Lauria, the intrepid lawyer who is claiming that the White House threatened one of his clients, Perella Weinberg Partners, to get them to support the terms of the Chrysler bankruptcy offer. Of course, both the White House and Perella Weinberg Partners say this never happened, but that isn't stopping Fox News, which hosted Lauria this morning. Rush aired audio bites of that appearance, during which Lauria declined to comment on the White House's denial of his allegation. Rush said that Perella Weinberg are now receiving death threats, which he said is “probably ACORN people, just like harassing the AIG people. I'm sure it's coordinated. Obama has the network in place to do this.” Anyway, Rush took Lauria's refusal to comment as a shot across the White House's bow: “Don't mess with me. I'll go back on the record again, no matter what the consequences.” We're not exactly sure how that constitutes a threat -- he's already on the record, and no one involved says he's telling the truth.

Anyway, Rush said that Lauria's allegations are proof that this was “Obama pushing a button” and forcing the Chrysler deal on the creditors, whom he then demonized. Rush's logical conclusion: “We're looking here at a thugocracy -- is what we're looking at in the White House. This is not the first. They came after me. They've come other -- gone after other people by name. They're going after this lawyer now, Thomas Lauria. This is a -- they've gone after the AIG people, encouraged their minions to go protest at their homes. We've got literally a thugocracy that is operating out of the White House.” Remember that all this “thugocracy” nonsense was born from an allegation that the White House threatened a hedge fund -- an allegation that the allegedly threatened hedge fund says is not true.

After the break, Rush took a call from a man who said that trickle-down hasn't been working recently because the income gap keeps getting larger. Rush said the gap is irrelevant, what matters is that all income levels are rising. Rush cited Heritage, which said that after-tax income went up for all quintiles after tax cuts -- well, maybe not the bottom quintile, Rush said, because the bottom quintile is “always a crap shoot.” Maybe not the bottom? If the tax cuts aren't helping the people who need the most help, then what's the point? What the caller has to understand, Rush said, is that the Reagan and Bush tax cuts were for all Americans (except the bottom fifth, apparently), but Obama's tax cuts will mean that the government gets richer while people get poorer. It should be noted that "[e]ven the staunchest free-market advocates agree that a widening income gap can be harmful to a society if it cuts people off from economic opportunity," which is likely what is happening as a consequence of a profound recession, rising health care costs, wage stagnation, etc.

Rush's next caller asked if Rush thought people like Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee are real conservatives or if they're just talking the talk. Rush said whether they're real conservatives or not doesn't matter; he's not looking for an ideological litmus test. Rush's problem is with the listening tour, he said, which he doesn't think Republicans need right now. Rush doesn't pander, he explained. But, as we'll demonstrate later on, he will say things that contradict his own views for money.

Another quick break and Rush was back with another caller, this one wanting to know Rush's thoughts on why the Democrats are mocking Rush's “teaching tour” idea even though Democrats also say that education is really important. Once again, Rush said it's because they're afraid. And the media are attacking Rush because they don't want him to teach conservatism to the masses. Rush's next caller took it upon himself to “apologize” on behalf of all Americans who voted for Obama, and said that even though he didn't vote for the president, he expected the unemployment numbers to have turned around by now. Rush said this is his point -- everything Obama tries to fix is getting worse, but no one is willing to blame him for it yet.

One more break, and Rush was back in fine conspiratorial form, returning to Thomas Lauria's allegations of threatening behavior by the White House against Perrella Weinberg Partners (remember, Perrella Weinberg and the White House say that never happened). According to Rush, “Obama loves the fact that two things are happening. He loves the fact that they're getting death threats, and he loves the fact that people think that he might have been willing to sic the press corps on a private sector firm to ruin their reputation.” Why does he love this? “See, when you have Chicago thug politics, the threat of intimidation, which creates a fear that causes people to shut up and not oppose you, is exactly what you want. That's the outcome.” You have to understand how “thugs” work, said Rush. They're not embarrassed over any of this. Sure, they'll deny it publicly, Rush said, but it's a show of the “thug power” that they have.

We'll just restate this so the point is made clear: There is no evidence to support any of this. None, other than the allegations of Mr. Lauria, which are disputed by the very law firm he says was threatened. It's pure conjecture, concocted in the absence of fact, and presented as the honest truth. It's what we in the media criticism business politely refer to as a “smear.”

Rush closed out today's show with our favorite bit of hypocrisy -- he offered yet another advertisement for GM's Total Confidence Plan, whereby the automaker will “make your payments up to $500 a month for nine months” if you lose your job. Once again, let's go to back to March 31 and revisit Rush's original thoughts on GM's Total Confidence Plan, before the advertising dollars came rolling in: “Yeah, OK, well -- ask you a question here: With whose money are they going to pay for your car payment? Mine, dingleberry, and every other taxpayer's.”

And that's it. Another Limbaugh Wire etched into digital stone. We're actually a little disappointed that Rush didn't touch on Obama's Spanish screw up, but we guess he had more important things to say. Anyway, we hope to see you again tomorrow. As always, Media Matters' Limbaugh archives are available for your reading pleasure.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: I know the Dow's down 37, but that's good. We want Wall Street to get creamed. Obama wants Wall Street to get creamed, not we. Obama wants Wall Street to get creamed. He's in the process of creaming Wall Street.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Next question: Are you worried about death threats? By the way, this hedge fund -- what are the name of the company? Yeah, Perella Weinberg Partners -- they are getting death threats now. Perella Weinberg Partners getting death threats. And they're probably ACORN people, just like harassing the AIG people. I'm sure it's coordinated. Obama has the network in place to do this.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: He's sending his own message saying, “Don't mess with me. I'll go back on the record again, no matter what the consequences. I heard him say that the White House press reports were BS, that there were negotiations going into the middle of the night. There weren't. He was sitting by his phone after having made a commercially reasonable offer. He got no phone calls. There weren't negotiations. This was Obama pushing a button. This was Obama forcing the deal on these people.

The White House favored one group of pension fund holders -- the unions -- over another. They demonized the creditor merely for making an offer. That's what Obama stood up and said: ”These people wouldn't sacrifice. They stood in the way. They weren't sacrificing like everybody else."

Well, the union was not sacrificing. The union got 55 percent of the deal. We're looking here at a thugocracy -- is what we're looking at in the White House. This is not the first. They came after me. They've come other -- gone after other people by name. They're going after this lawyer now, Thomas Lauria. This is a -- they've gone after the AIG people, encouraged their minions to go protest at their homes. We've got literally a thugocracy that is operating out of the White House.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: We've all heard that Thomas Lauria, the lawyer for the hedge fund, that held out for a better deal -- it didn't even actually hold out; they just offered a price, a negotiation, to go along with the Chrysler situation -- Perella Weinberg Partners -- that they were getting two things: They were getting death threats and that the White House, according to Lauria, had threatened his clients to sic the White House press corps on them and ruin their reputations.

Now, the White House came out quickly and denied this. Lauria, in his refusal to comment, sort of gives the impression that “Hey, it did happen. I'm just not going to say anymore. My law firm has asked me to back off of this, but if you keep digging, the truth is going to come out.” He's warning everybody if you don't want to know the truth, let it go.

But the truth is, Obama loves the fact that two things are happening. He loves the fact that they're getting death threats, and he loves the fact that people think that he might have been willing to sic the press corps on a private sector firm to ruin their reputation. Don't forget it was Barack Obama, when he called the bank CEOs up to the White House to tell them what for and how come and why, who said to them, “I'm the only one standing between you and the pitchforks.”

Barack Obama said to the CEOs of these banks that took TARP money, “I'm the only one standing between you and the pitchforks,” meaning the angry mob. The implication is if you don't have me on your side, the angry mob is coming for you. “I'm the only one that can stop the angry mob.”

See, when you have Chicago thug politics, the threat of intimidation, which creates a fear that causes people to shut up and not oppose you, is exactly what you want. That's the outcome.

America's Truth Rejector

Once again, Rush offered hypocritical praise for GM's Total Confidence Plan:

LIMBAUGH: Ladies and gentlemen, General Motors is still selling cars. They are still selling good cars with full warranties. In fact, they're not only selling cars, they've got a new deal happening. They've actually extended this deal through June the 1st -- and that is, if you lose your job after you buy a new Chevrolet, they'll make your payments up to $500 a month for nine months.