By Greg Lewis

Rush on his recent health scare: “I'm just glad this happened before 2013 and Obama's health care went into effect because I might not have survived it”

Rush was glad to be back on the radio today, noting that on his first day back, “five or six” Democrats had quit. But before getting back to his usual political commentary, Rush took some time to describe what happened during his health scare last week while he was on vacation in Hawaii. For the interest of history, we'll go ahead and retell what happened as Limbaugh told it.

His retelling of the events were very similar to how his girlfriend (fiancée?) Kathryn Rogers told it. But Rush did offer some more insight into what may have caused the scare. He said that he had been on some anti-inflammatory medication for his herniated disc in his neck which had been bothering him for months, and also said that a day before the scare, he had gotten a spinal epidural shot in another attempt to deal with the pain.

After describing the events in his hotel room as his chest pain occurred, Rush explained that after hotel staff had arrived on the scene and had given him an aspirin, which immediately caused the pain to subside. But shortly afterwards, the pain came back, at which point an EMT administered a nitroglycerin spray, easing the pain again. All in all, Rush said that after tests, they didn't find anything wrong. He later said the causes might have been the spinal epidural or an arterial spasm that they didn't catch.

Then Rush changed gears and criticized the media for politicizing the comments that Rush made at a January 1 press conference about his health scare. Rush claimed the media took his comment that “The treatment I received here was the best that the world has to offer” as a criticism of Obama's health care reform plan. But Rush countered that what happened to him in Hawaii had “no resemblance... to Obamacare.”

LIMBAUGH: I just wanna tell you, what happened to me, the health care system in Hawaii has no resemblance -- zilch, zero, nada -- to Obamacare. There wasn't one bureaucrat between me and the doctors. There wasn't one insurance company. It was me dealing directly with the doctors. Me and my checkbook.

But Hawaii has a form of universal health care -- similar but not the same as the health care reform proposed by Obama that has a mandate for individuals to have insurance. Hawaii actually has a mandate for employers to provide health care to their workers. Rush, however, was able to pay for the expenses out of pocket, without insurance -- an option almost no other Americans have for dealing with serious issues like possible heart disease. Nevertheless, he continued his streak of being incredibly disingenuous in discussing Democratic health care reform:

LIMBAUGH: I wanted to say I'm just glad this happened before 2013 and Obama's health care went into effect because I might not have survived it. There might have been somebody who said, “You know what? We're not going to pay for Limbaugh to get treated here.” And remember, Obamacare requires you to have insurance or you get fined. And I don't have insurance, and I will get fined and go to jail before I buy it.

That's false. If Rush decided not to get insurance under health care reform, he would be fined, and if he paid that fine, there would be no prospect of jail time. And his claim that health care reform would have resulted in “somebody” saying that they're “not going to pay” for Limbaugh's treatment? Ridiculous -- that's false and Rush knows it. Also ridiculous -- that Rush is making wild accusations that the media is politicizing his health scare, when he's the one politicizing his health scare.

After a commercial break, Limbaugh addressed emails asking how he felt about unnamed Democrats hoping he would die. Rush said that the people delighting in his potential death and distress are the same people asking to control the health care system.

Rush continued to criticize those in the media who were outraged that he praised the American health care system. “They're upset because they know I made a point,” cried Rush. But this is inane. Limbaugh has spent months making very political comments on his radio, including saying that he thinks the American health care system is “fine.” He said it again at his press conference. Given the context of his past remarks -- which were political -- then his comments on January 1 can rightly be taken as so as well.

Rush argues that his being able to pay for medical coverage out of pocket doesn't mean he's “out of touch”

Then Rush defended himself against charges that his statements today would be used to call him “out of touch” (oh, really?). So he described what he thought “real reform” should include: cost controls, increased access, and different levels of insurance based on ones “ability to afford.”

Before the hour closed out, Rush revealed that the cost of his treatment in Hawaii were “less than the cheapest car that you will go out and buy today,” and that “just as is the case with a car, you can finance your health care coverage.” His point was that you don't need to make millions of dollars a year to afford what happened to him. Rush didn't tell us how much his treatment would have cost if he'd actually had a heart attack. The second hour began with Rush continuing to defend his personal health care costs. He said that people were “surprised” by how little his treatment cost.

Limbaugh: All of Obama's “screw-ups” are “on purpose”

Then Limbaugh launched into a heated rant about how Obama was purposefully screwing everything up:

LIMBAUGH: Now, is giving Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the mastermind of 9-11, and his two henchmen, giving them a show trial with full constitutional rights in New York City -- is that a screw-up?

Is giving the “fruit of kaboom” bomber, who isn't a citizen of this country, an attempted act of war, giving him full constitutional rights -- is that a screw-up?

Multiple, unauthorized guests into the White House -- is that a screw-up? Fort Hood terror attack -- was that a screw-up? Being tougher on Israel than Iran -- is that a screw-up?

Planning on sending 90 hardened terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to Yemen -- a screw-up?

Is lifting an executive order giving Interpol immunity from American laws a screw-up?

Is reneging on an unprompted, calculated campaign pledge to put Obamacare negotiations on C-SPAN eight different times -- is that a screw -up?

Is creating two trillion-dollar slush funds while calling them TARP and job stimuus plans -- is that a screw-up?

Did Obama screw up in everything he's done to try to reignite the U.S. economy? Ten to 17 percent unemployment -- is that a screw-up?

No. No, all of this is on purpose. Everything I've just gone through is on purpose. Including 17 percent unemployment.

Rush had some problems with this list, even leaving aside the comments about Fort Hood. Saying it's a “screw-up” to give KSM a “show trial with full constitutional rights”? That sentence refutes itself; it can't be both a show trial and a trial with “full constitutional rights.” He suggests Obama is personally responsible for the White House party crashers. And he points to TARP as one of Obama's screw ups -- even though it was passed under the Bush administration.

All of this was just a build-up to Limbaugh's oft-used conclusion that Obama is trying to remake this country because Obama thinks it's immoral, “colonialistic,” etc. And how Obama is using “Alinskyite” methods to destroy the country so the he can remake it into something else. Or whatever.

Rush disagrees that there is a “moral entitlement to health care”

After the commercial, Rush debated a caller who described himself as a lifelong listener, but a Democrat who didn't agree with him on health care. The caller supported reform and paying for other people's health care because people are already paying for the uninsured indirectly. Rush disagreed, because he personally opts out of the insurance system. Rush lamented that health care costs as much as it does because of liberals and HMOs, and fifty years ago people used to just pay for costs out of pocket, and that it was affordable.

Rush also contested the notion that there should be a “moral entitlement to health care.” He said that he doesn't look at it that way: “I think I have to pay for what I get.”

Following another break, Rush made another point based on the previous call, blaming people on Medicaid and Medicare for high health care costs:

LIMBAUGH: And here's something else to think about, and here's something from the guy from Kalamazoo didn't bring up. I mean -- how much less, how much less would my hospital bill have been if the people on Medicaid and Medicare were actually paying their way? My costs were what they are because people like me are subsidizing -- and a lot of you too -- the Medicare/Medicaid system, people who aren't paying for their health care and those with no insurance who just don't pay. That would be the illegal aliens, in one. So it would have cost even less. Nobody's talking about doing anything.

Limbaugh: “The Democrat Party treats Americans worse than it treats foreign terror suspects. The Democrat Party is at war with the American people”

Then Rush talked about Democrats retiring from the Senate and other posts -- Chris Dodd, Byron Dorgan, Bill Ritter, etc -- and said that they were all retiring because Obama is destroying his party “exactly as I predicted.” Rush also floated a conspiracy theory that “somebody” in the Democratic Party was telling these people to retire. Rush also had “no doubt” that Republicans would win the now-open Connecticut Senate race. He continued:

LIMBAUGH: I don't think the Democrat Party has the slightest idea -- they may think they do, but they dont have the slightest idea the genuine outrage that exists out there. The Democrat Party is at war with the American people. The Democrat Party treats Americans worse than it treats foreign terror suspects. The Democrat Party is at war with the American people.

Rush added that Obama was a “wrecking ball” who is seeking to destroy the health care and energy industries, the private sector, and his own party, all for himself and his ego.

Limbaugh on Michael Steele: “There needs to be a confidence infusion, or get the guy out of Washington, for crying out loud”

The final hour began with Limbaugh pulling his material from the American Thinker, arguing that liberals have destroyed people's desire for the pursuit of happiness in states that they run. He also lambasted GOP chairman Michael Steele for his lack of confidence going into the midterm elections:

LIMBAUGH: Tell me I didn't see this. I saw that Michael Steele doesn't know if Republicans can win back the House? Does he actually -- did he say that? Good grief. If the leader of the Republican National Committee is not confident of something like that at this time in history, then something needs to happen. There needs to be a confidence infusion, or get the guy out of Washington, for crying out loud.

After running through a series of articles in his Stack of Stuff, Limbaugh took a caller who brought up a John Fund-pushed report that Democrats will pass a “universal voter registration” bill that will nefariously register everyone to vote. Rush said he hadn't heard about this, but said that it generally fits into the Democrats-steal-elections narrative he often touts.

Rush resurrects death panel smear

Another conversation with a different caller gave way to Rush resurrecting the death panel smear:

LIMBAUGH: The death panels. Let's not even call them death panels. There are going to be bureaucratic panels. In the Senate bill it's set up, the Health and Human Services Secretary appoints whoever gonna run the health exchange and these various panels, and somebody's gonna write guidelines to suggest who gets treated and who doesn't based on age, other risks, and health factors and so forth, and cost.

CALLER: Yes.

LIMBAUGH: And of course, there you're going to have some people not get treated simply because some bureaucrat says “Eh, not a good investment here.”

CALLER: Yes. We'll have do-not-fly lists, and do-not-treat lists.

LIMBAUGH: Exactly.

Zachary Pleat, Michael Burns, and Michael Timberlake contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: I just wanna tell you, what happened to me, the health care system in Hawaii has no resemblance -- zilch, zero, nada -- to Obamacare. There wasn't one bureaucrat between me and the doctors. There wasn't one insurance company. It was me dealing directly with the doctors. Me and my checkbook.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I wanted to say I'm just glad this happened before 2013 and Obama's health care went into effect because I might not have survived it. There might have been somebody who said, “You know what? We're not going to pay for Limbaugh to get treated here.” And remember, Obamacare requires you to have insurance or you get fined. And I don't have insurance, and I will get fined and go to jail before I buy it.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Real reform of the health care system would involve nothing like what we have done in the House and Senate. Real reform of the health care system would involve cost control, increasing access to health care, and you could -- it's not -- it would not be hard -- it would take some time, and it would take come commitment -- but if we could re-establish, like we have in every other commercial transaction in the country, where the customer, i.e. patient, pays based on the ability to afford. And yeah, there would be different kinds of health care, just as there are different grades of cars and hotels and so forth. Not everybody gets the best of everything in anything.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I'll put it to you this way: My expenses were less than the cheapest car that you will go out and buy today other than one of these little bubble cars, smart cars. What -- I -- it was five figures less than the average car. Yet for some reason, these people -- “That's -- why, it's immoral for people to have to pay for that!” I don't have insurance -- these people, “I'm sure he has insurance --” No. I pay cash for it. And it was less than the price of a car, and just as is the case with a car, you can finance your health care coverage. You don't have to come up with a whole lump sum.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Now, is giving Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the mastermind of 9-11, and his two henchmen, giving them a show trial with full constitutional rights in New York City -- is that a screw-up? Is giving the “fruit of kaboom” bomber, who isn't a citizen of this country, an attempted act of war, giving him full constitutional rights -- is that a screw-up? Multiple, unauthorized guests into the White House -- is that a screw-up? Fort Hood terror attack -- was that a screw-up? Being tougher on Israel than Iran -- is that a screw-up? Planning on sending 90 hardened terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to Yemen -- a screw-up? Is lifting an executive order giving Interpol immunity from American laws a screw-up? Is reneging on an unprompted, calculated campaign pledge to put Obamacare negotiations on C-SPAN eight different times -- is that a screw -up? Is creating two trillion-dollar slush funds while calling them TARP and job stimuus plans -- is that a screw-up? Did Obama screw up in everything he's done to try to reignite the U.S. economy? Ten to 17 percent unemployment -- is that a screw-up?

No. No, all of this is on purpose. Everything I've just gone through is on purpose. Including 17 percent unemployment.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: And here's something else to think about, and here's something from the guy from Kalamazoo didn't bring up. I mean -- how much less, how much less would my hospital bill have been if the people on Medicaid and Medicare were actually paying their way? My costs were what they are because people like me are subsidizing -- and a lot of you too -- the Medicare/Medicaid system, people who aren't paying for their health care and those with no insurance who just don't pay. That would be the illegal aliens, in one. So it would have cost even less. Nobody's talking about doing anything. There's not one element of any of these plans in the House or Senate that's going to reduce anybody's cost. Not one.

[...]

RUSH: I think we're gonna win in Connecticut, I have no doubt about it, and we're gonna win in Nevada. I think Reid's toast. I don't -- folks, I don't think the political class yet grasps the degree of anti-majority party incumbency they want to get rid of. I don't think the Democrat Party has the slightest idea -- they may think they do, but they dont have the slightest idea the genuine outrage that exists out there. The Democrat Party is at war with the American people. The Democrat Party treats Americans worse than it treats foreign terror suspects. The Democrat Party is at war with the American people.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Tell me I didn't see this. I saw that Michael Steele doesn't know if Republicans can win back the House? Does he actually -- did he say that? Good grief. If the leader of the Republican National Committee is not confident of something like that at this time in history, then something needs to happen. There needs to be a confidence infusion, or get the guy out of Washington, for crying out loud.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: The death panels. Let's not even call them death panels. There are going to be bureaucratic panels. In the Senate bill it's set up, the Health and Human Services Secretary appoints whoever gonna run the health exchange and these various panels, and somebody's gonna write guidelines to suggest who gets treated and who doesn't based on age, other risks, and health factors and so forth, and cost.

CALLER: Yes.

LIMBAUGH: And of course, there you're going to have some people not get treated simply because some bureaucrat says “Eh, not a good investment here.”

CALLER: Yes. We'll have do-not-fly lists, and do-not-treat lists.

LIMBAUGH: Exactly.