This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the tyranny of universal preschool
By Simon Maloy

At the top of the hour, Lewis made good on Rush's threa-er, promise from yesterday and re-aired Limbaugh's monologue from Tuesday praising the Founding Fathers for having the foresight to pre-emptively justify Limbaugh's desire that Obama “fail.”

Back from the break, Lewis said Rush “hit on something” in that monologue. Listening to it for the second time left us feeling as though we'd been hit with something. Lewis continued, explaining that Rush's critics are operating under a false premise -- that patriotism is not defined as “slavish devotion to a nation state,” adding: “If that's what patriotism was, or to that particular leader, we would be honoring the Japanese and the Germans and the Russians and anybody because anybody can be patriotic to a country. Usually those countries require community service. Oh, I guess we're going down that road as well.”

Another break and finally -- FINALLY -- it's Stossel time. Lewis praised Stossel for providing “balance” to the mainstream media and rejoiced in their shared libertarian values. From there it was on to a serious discussion of how the stimulus package was presented to the American public in the fashion of a Viagra advertisement... “Economy have performance issues? Hard to achieve and maintain growth? Stimulus is right for you.” We had to put the headphones down for a while after that, and when we came back, things had not progressed appreciably.

Lewis brought up to Stossel recent comments by prominent “Democrats” criticizing Obama's economic policies, pointing to CNBC's Jim Cramer and Jack Welch, adding that he “didn't know” Welch “was a Democrat.” Perhaps the reason he didn't know that was because Welch “support[ed] Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and said he would work for $1 per year on a McCain task force to help the economy if asked to do so.”

On both sides of a commercial break, Lewis and Stossel took turns bashing universal preschool. Lewis called preschool the “last bastion of markets in education,” and Stossel said of universal pre-K: “It sounds so good. But they've done such a great job with K through 12, we should now give them another year?” According to Stossel: "[I]t's nonsense, and if it happens, it'll drive out all this good competition that exists now for preschool. Plus, taxpayers will have to pay not just for poor people's kids, they'll have to pay for your kids and my kids. And what a scam that would be." After the break, Lewis took it a step further, attacking universal pre-K by quoting Benjamin Disraeli: “Whenever is found what is called paternal government, there is found state education. It hasn't been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery.” Lewis added: “Boy, that sounds a little bit conspiratorial but that sure sounds like preschool, universal pre-care, or pre -- day care.”

Lewis and Stossel wrapped up the interview and the hour bashing mass transit and urban planning.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LEWIS: There's another false premise here and that is how you define patriotism in America. Patriotism is not some sort of slavish devotion to a nation state. If that's were -- if that's what patriotism was, or to that particular leader, we would be honoring the Japanese and the Germans and the Russians and anybody because anybody can be patriotic to a country. Usually those countries require community service.

Oh, I guess we're going down that road as well. No, no, no. Patriotism in America -- and this is why America was different; this is why it was called the American experiments -- was devotion to an ideal and the ideal -- the ideal is individual rights and liberty, not mob rule.

[...]

STOSSEL: I mean, they say, “Wait. What? Should we do nothing?” Well, look what's happened with something. Maybe it's time to give nothing a chance. If we'd let the free market operate and this had happened, people would be saying, “Look, this is just demonstration that the free market fails.” And what they're promising sounds like a Viagra ad -- stimulus. Economy have performance issues? Hard to achieve and maintain growth? Stimulus is right for you.

LEWIS: And you know -- and you know that size? Well, that's pretty good, too. Yeah, you've go to wonder --

STOSSEL: They should mention the side effects.

LEWIS: Yeah, exactly.

STOSSEL: The side effects may include hyperinflation, devaluation, horrible debt, growth of welfare state. Stimulus has never been proven successful, so it should not be used in the hopes of achieving actual growth.

[...]

LEWIS: This is a social, philosophical, political policy. I mean, we've got one last bastion of markets in education, and, frankly, it works pretty well and it's called preschool. If I want to send my child or your child to a school, I go out and find the best one I like. I give them money. They provide a service, and guess what? If I don't like it, I can withdraw my patronage.

The Obama administration, and certainly the Democrats in Congress, are -- and the National Education Association -- are hell-bent on expanding, quite frankly, union membership by now nationalizing the rest of education.

STOSSEL: Universal preschool: It sounds so good. But they've done such a great job with K through 12, we should now give them another year? And Obama said Tuesday that for every dollar we invest in this, it returns more than 10 in lower prison costs and increased productivity. And this is based on a study of a -- the Perry preschool where they studied 58 kids and had tremendous intervention. The teachers went to the parents' homes and the kids had low IQs to begin with, and from this they extrapolate that there will be high-quality government preschool. And of course it's nonsense, and if it happens, it'll drive out all this good competition that exists now for preschool. Plus, taxpayers will have to pay not just for poor people's kids, they'll have to pay for your kids and my kids. And what a scam that would be.

[...]

LEWIS: The British philosopher Disraeli, 1874, quote, “Whenever is found what is called paternal government, there is found state education. It hasn't been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery.”

Boy, that sounds a little bit conspiratorial but that sure sounds like preschool, universal pre-care, or pre -- day care.