By Kate Conway

Rush opened “Open Line Friday!” by declaring that the most important news of the day was not Rep. Bart Stupak's decision not to seek reelection, nor Justice John Paul Stevens' announcement that he will retire at the end of this term. But before he got to whatever the “important” news was, Rush found time to suggest that there was an attempt to cover up the Stupak announcement and that President Obama will want to get a “radical, wild-haired liberal” to take Stevens' place. His important news? A Wall Street Journal article on health insurance in Massachusetts. Reading extensively from the article, Rush claimed that the nation will follow in Massachusetts' footsteps: insurance companies will be forced to stop selling policies and this will allow Obama to institute the single-payer system he's been hoping for all along.

Despite the apparent importance of this news, Rush talked about the topic for a mere 15 minutes, before spending a large chunk of the next hour (as well as portions of the subsequent two hours) opining on Stupak's retirement. He speculated that because Stupak said the tea parties had nothing to do with his decision, the tea parties must actually have everything to do with it. Rush suggested that Stupak must have been promised some sort of job to retire, and then accused him of betraying both his district and his country and of lying to the entire nation. He criticized Stupak's reasons for his decision -- wanting to start a new career and to spend more time with his wife -- then said that the real reason Stupak is retiring is the midterm elections, which are going to be an “electoral bloodbath” for Democrats.

Later in the show, Rush spent some time rehashing an American Thinker blog post that calls cap and trade “another Obama landmine.” The post -- and Rush -- said that buried in the cap and trade legislation that passed the House is a sinister provision that requires homes to meet standards of energy-efficiency before they are sold. What will actually happen, Rush claimed, is that you will be forced to spend lots of money to upgrade appliances and change various systems in your home. Eventually, you will have to register your homes just like you do your car. This is more proof for Rush that everything Obama does is designed to do the opposite of what it promises, just like health care reform.

Here are a few highlights from the show:

Limbaugh: Stupak basically flipped off Obama, Pelosi and Hoyer with his retirement announcement

Limbaugh says Obama will “probably want to get some radical, wild-haired liberal” to replace Justice Stevens

Limbaugh: “Basically, America is a crime in Obama's view”