By Greg Lewis
Limbaugh calls for “massive bombing raids” to “pound Iran into submission”
Rush could hardly focus his attention on a trio of stories he was just itchin' to address as he started off his final show of the week. Taking his cue from The Drudge Report, Rush highlighted the news that Iranians had reportedly taken over an oil field on the Iraq border. But Rush also wanted to address happenings in Copenhagen and that Al Qaeda's second-in-command al-Zawahiri's wife released a statement calling for Muslim women to join the fight.
Rush got to the al-Zawahiri story first, and found a way to tie in Obama:
LIMBAUGH: Now, I guess this is what Obama meant when he said the rest of the world's so much more open, how husbands in America are very backwards with their old-fashioned notions, compared to the very forward-thinking husbands like Zawahiri.
Next, Rush discussed the story about Iran. Well, that's actually putting it quietly. He “discussed” it, yes, but more notably, said we need to go to war with Iran. Oh, but we wouldn't need ground forces -- Rush stated as fact that we could topple the Iranian regime with air strikes alone. Rush warned that if we don't pound Iran into submission at some point, then they will get the bomb. However, Rush did concluded that the situation with Iran was “precarious,” which is curious after having just moments earlier called for war with them.
Then Rush jumped over to health care reform and the controversy on the left over removing the public option from the Senate bill. Rush noted that Howard Dean is sounding a lot more like Jim DeMint. (We ask: When did Jim DeMint become a fierce public option proponent?)
Anyway, Rush went on about how Americans love their country and don't like their president trashing it, and that the Senate isn't acting in the interest of the American people by hurrying to vote on health care.
After the break, talked about Obama at the Copenhagen climate conference, and said that the world will soon realize they have been hoaxed by Obama just like the world hoaxed us on climate change.
Rush touts upcoming northeast snowstorms in discussion of climate change
Returning from another break, Rush trumpeted forecasts of snowstorms in New York and DC -- and it's not even winter yet! -- in part of his grand illusion that individual, cherry-picked storms are relevant to the debate over global warming. It's not! (And as a northeasterner, I can safely say that snowstorms at this time of the year have happened before. Numerous times, in fact, during my relatively short time spent on this planet.)
Then Rush talked about how people are ignoring Iran's inevititable nuclear program, but back in the 80s, liberals in the media thought that nuclear proliferation was the most frightening problem facing the world. But now that we have a “real” threat from “real” lunatics, “nobody cares.” Instead, Rush explained, the “new bugaboo” is global warming.
Segueing from there, Rush read a UK Telegraph article about a geologist standing trial in Switzerland for allegedly causing earthquakes while drilling for “hot rocks” to produce clean energy. This led Rush to conclude: “Green technology can kill you!” If Rush only supports energy sources that never caused harm to people and the environment, then we think he's going to have a hard time flying around in his private jet, powering his home, or doing anything powered by electricity for that matter.
Rush: “Mark my words”: Obama will be “exposed” like Tiger Woods; “parallels” between Obama and Woods “are stunning”
Then Rush aired several audio clips from Obama's speech at the climate change conference, and highlighted criticism of Obama's lack of action. Rush closed out the hour with a call to “mark” his words: Rush predicted that just as the truth about Tiger Woods was exposed, so should it be about Barack Obama. He added that the “parallels” between Obama and Woods “are stunning” and that we should expect the “puff piece image” of Obama to be exposed.
The second hour began with for some reason making a big deal about Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro talking about the environment and climate change. Then he read a pair of posts from the American Thinker, one of which claimed that: “The worst victims of invidious bigotry in America today are conservatives.” Ah, Rush Limbaugh, always standing up for the oppressed.
Rush on Rep. Wasserman Schultz: “She's one of those women you're happy somebody else married”
After the break, Rush turned to an exchange on MSNBC this morning between anchor Dylan Ratigan and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). Before commenting on the content of the clip, he stated:
LIMBAUGH: Roger Ailes told me that he has a factory out there that produces blondes at Bikini Atoll. These people as MSNBC must have a factory that produces empty-headed, knee-jerk liberals, because this Ratigan guy is one of them.
Then he turned to Wasserman Schultz, calling her “one of those women you're happy somebody else married.”
Rush next took a caller who thought the ACLU should block moving detainees from Guantánamo to Illinois, because it would be “torture” to go from tropical weather to cold weather. The next caller suggested that Rush open up a camp to brainwash children (her words) to be Rush-like conservative thinkers.
Rush on Rep. Wasserman Schultz: a “harmless, defensive, little woman”
Following another break, Limbaugh returned to the Ratigan/Wasserman Schultz clip, in which Ratigan berated her for the recent rise in health insurance company stocks. Rush said that Ratigan was “treating Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is a harmless, defensive, little woman like she is the most evil, rotten Republican this guy's ever met.”
Rush went on to read various articles on health care reform and the obstacles it faces in the coming days, focusing a lot of attention on Sen. Ben Nelson and where he stands on an abortion compromise in the bill. He launched into the rant about how health care reform would be worse than a “garden-variety liberal disaster”:
LIMBAUGH: And I look at this. This -- even with the public option gone, and even with the Medicare buy-in gone, this is still a disaster. This is still something that gives the government total control over our lives. You have to buy insurance or you go to jail? Why can't you people on the left be satisfied with a garden-variety liberal disaster? Why do you have to have a nuke? Why is it you want to nuke the country? Why can't you just settle for a garden-variety liberal disaster? You libs are getting ideologically and policy greedy out there. Oh my God, you've already got a bill here that's gonna wreck the country -- is that not good enough for ya? What the hell more do you want?
This is what happens when you hate. You can never satisfy it. You can never satisfy your hate, if that's what you exist on, and plus, you need to hate.
Rush began the third and final hour of the week by announcing Obama's “trifecta of failure”: his failure to get the Olympics for Chicago, his Asia trip failure, and the failure of today's climate summit. Speaking of climate, Rush credited the Russians for being the “whistleblowers” for stealing the CRU emails, which Rush said "confirmed the hoax" of global warming. Rush proceeded to read from a blog post at the UK Telegraph about the conference and continued his own criticism of Obama in regards to the conference as well.
Rush then played a new Paul Shanklin parody about Guantánamo detainees to the tune of Credence Clearwater Revival's “Lookin' Out My Back Door.” It was at this point that I turned the audio feed to “mute.” There's a lot of things I'll sacrifice for this job, but ruining CCR is not one of them. (If only I can go back in time and un-listen to his “Michelle” parody, I would.)
Rush: Obama and Tiger “running neck and neck as the most unlikeable frauds in the world right now”
After the break, Rush returned with a “quiz”:
LIMBAUGH: Is it more shocking to discover that Tiger Woods or President Obama is a total phony? And which one's worse? Team Obama, Team Tiger running neck and neck as the most unlikeable frauds in the world right now. Have you seen what happened to Tiger's -- he's down to 5 percent popularity, or approval, from 80?
Later, Rush played an audio clip of Joe Lieberman being "shut down" by Al Franken on the Senate floor yesterday. He then went through a few more health care-related sound bites, and covered a “liberal” conference call by the White House. Rush said the left has doubly overestimated that the country turned left wing fringe after Obama won with his cult-like following.
Zachary Pleat and Zachary Aronow contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.
Highlights
Outrageous comments
LIMBAUGH: Ayman al-Zawahiri -- this is ABC News -- Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command, has been a regular presence on Islamic websites for years, releasing statements and all that,- but now his wife has joined the family business. In what is though to be her first public statement, Omima Hasan published a statement on Islamic websites that encouraged Muslim sisters to assist with jihad. They are now permitted to be suicide bombers.
Now, I guess this is what Obama meant when he said the rest of the world's so much more open, how husbands in America are very backwards with their old-fashioned notions, compared to the very forward-thinking husbands like Zawahiri.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: And this is hilarious too, from the UK Telegraph: “A geologist has gone on trial in Switzerland for allegedly causing earthquakes while drilling for hot rocks to produce clean energy.” Green technology can kill you!
[...]
LIMBAUGH: And I look at this. This -- even with the public option gone, and even with the Medicare buy-in gone, this is still a disaster. This is still something that gives the government total control over our lives. You have to buy insurance or you go to jail? Why can't you people on the left be satisfied with a garden-variety liberal disaster? Why do you have to have a nuke? Why is it you want to nuke the country? Why can't you just settle for a garden-variety liberal disaster? You libs are getting ideologically and policy greedy out there. Oh my God, you've already got a bill here that's gonna wreck the country -- is that not good enough for ya? What the hell more do you want?
This is what happens when you hate. You can never satisfy it. You can never satisfy your hate, if that's what you exist on, and plus, you need to hate.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: OK, I have another quiz, ladies and gentlemen. Is it more shocking to discover that Tiger Woods or President Obama is a total phony? And which one's worse? Team Obama, Team Tiger running neck and neck as the most unlikeable frauds in the world right now. Have you seen what happened to Tiger's -- he's down to 5 percent popularity, or approval, from 80?
Ladies' man
LIMBAUGH: Roger Ailes told me that he has a factory out there that produces blondes at Bikini Atoll. These people at MSNBC must have a factory that produces empty-headed, knee-jerk liberals, because this Ratigan guy is one of them.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: And he started shouting at her, treated her like she was a Republican. She was kind of shocked at first -- she's a scrapper. I've seen Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in action. She's one of those women you're happy somebody else married. And I tell ya, she was acting like she didn't know -- Dawn, it's a joke.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: Now notice also that here's this guy on the Democrat channel, Dylan Ratigan. He is livid that the insurance company stock is going -- there are average Americans who own stock in all these insurance companies, and this guy is ticked off like I've never heard anybody be ticked off. And he's treating Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who is a harmless, defensive, little woman, like she is the most evil, rotten Republican this guy's ever met.