During the April 11 broadcast of his nationally syndicated program, Rush Limbaugh accused the Democratic Party of using the immigration debate as a “vehicle” to gain voters, proclaiming: "[I]f you're Al Qaeda, come on in over the southern border! The Democrats will take your votes as well!" In recent weeks, Limbaugh has frequently accused Democratic leaders such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (MA) of pandering to immigrants in the hope of gaining political power and support. Limbaugh posted a compilation (subscription required) of excerpts from his radio show on his website under the title “This Isn't About 'Immigration.' It's About Advancing Liberalism, Seizing Power and Hurting America.”

From the April 11 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: All right, the so-called immigration rallies. It's not about immigration. Immigration is just the vehicle. What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is nothing other than the latest incarnation of the left, the socialist left, the Democratic Party in this country attempting to swell its ranks and regain power and using this issue as a means to do it. They're also trying to depress the Republican base into not turning out. They're not getting much resistance on that from the Republicans, who are mystifyingly absent on this, and it's hard to figure this out how they've so totally missed the boat on this.

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All right, now, look, some of you people need to calm down out there. I've been reading the emails here at the top, and you think I'm missing the boat when I say, “This is not about illegal immigration.” I'm talking to you about the reason that the Democratic Party has glommed onto this and who the organizers are and what their objective is. Of course it's about illegal immigration! It's a way to create chaos; it's a way to tear down the country, but it's primarily about getting them back in power. Greetings, and welcome back. Rush Limbaugh, the EIB Network -- 800-282-2882 is the phone number, if you want to be on the program. I am not diminishing the impact of illegal immigration on this. You should see the emails I got. “You're going off the reservation! You're being sucked into not believing what this is really about.”

I'm not being sucked into anything. I am thinking independently here. I am not saying illegal immigration is not the problem. I'm saying it's simply the latest springboard, it's the latest vehicle. Two weeks, I've been covering this. I'm just talking now about the motivations and the opportunity that illegal immigration presents. Ted Kennedy doesn't really care about these people the way he's speaking to them. He only cares about them as voters, and whatever harm illegal immigration en masse will do to the country is of no consequence to him. In fact, the more chaos the better. He can blame it all on the Republicans for their attitudes; he can blame the Republicans for creating this angry population group of people.

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Hey, and while I'm at it, if you're Al Qaeda, come on in over the Southern border. The Democrats will take your votes as well.