Oct 1, 2009
By Greg Lewis
Media Matters
Following Drudge's lead, Rush takes Michelle Obama out of context.Like a broken record, Rush got today's show started with the latest Drudge-special. This time, Drudge posted a headline taking Michelle Obama out of context, and Rush ran with it:
LIMBAUGH: As you know, President Obama is heading off to Copenhagen tomorrow to make a final pitch for the Olympics in Chicago in 2016. His wife, Michelle-my-belle, already there, conducting big-time meetings. She said the most audacious thing, which I'm going to analyze in greater detail in just a moment. She said it is a sacrifice for her to fly over there and make a pitch for the Olympics, that it is a sacrifice for her husband to fly over there to make a pitch for the Olympics, but that they are doing it for the kids.
The full quote, in context, shows that Michelle Obama was actually praising the "sacrifice" of those "working for years to bring this bid" to Chicago:
MICHELLE OBAMA: It does something to a kid when they can feel that energy and power up close and personal. And for some kids in our communities and our city, around the nation, around the world, they can never dream of being that close to such power and opportunity. So that's what excites me most about bringing the Games to Chicago - the impact that it can have on the lives of our young people, and on our entire community.
And I know that's what all of you have been working for for these past few months. As much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or Oprah or the President to come for these few days, so many of you in this room have been working for years to bring this bid home, and you have put together a phenomenal set of ideas that, no matter what the outcome is, we should be proud of as a city.
Rush made an act of all this by saying that Michelle Obama was talking about her "sacrifice" while American soldiers "are being shot at and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan because of inaction and indecision and probably apathy on the part of President Obama." ...
After the break, Rush went on to repeat the Heritage Foundation's speculation of how Democrats would pass health care reform in the next week, as he did yesterday. It was basically a conspiracy theory [speculating] that Democrats would piggyback health care reform as an amendment on a "TARP bonus bill" -- a trick, Limbaugh said, to get around the "fact" that nobody wants what they're concocting.
Rush continued to expose this top-secret Democratic plan to pass health care reform against the will of the people, comparing the strategy to the Boland Amendment in the 1980s, which was attached to appropriations bills and prohibited financial aide to Contras in Nicaragua.
After denying his Obama-Nazi comparisons in recent weeks, Rush again compares Obama's policies to Nazis and Hitler
Then Rush took a caller, who criticized Rep. Grayson for invoking the Holocaust in his remarks, because the health care crisis isn't actually anything close to what happened in the Holocaust. Rush repeated his false claim that Nancy Pelosi was calling half the country Nazis.
Anyway, from here, Rush took to criticizing Grayson -- an "order of fries short of a happy meal" -- for comparing "anything in this country to the Holocaust," which brought Rush to address all the recent Nazi-invoking he himself as entertained in recent months:
LIMBAUGH: The guy is obviously not all there. To compare anything in this country to the Holocaust -- of course, that is what -- you know, when I endeavored to intellectually and properly explain the similarities between the national socialism of Germany and Hit -- and Obama's health care plan, then they said, "I -- well, you can't do that, Hitler, six million people were killed, you can't compare --" No, no, no, no, I'm not, I'm not.
We find this interesting, seeing as it was only recently that Rush was denying making any of these types of comparisons between Obama and Nazis. And today, he just made all of those comparisons he was denying again:
LIMBAUGH: A lot of stuff happened before the Holocaust, and just because the Holocaust happened doesn't mean we have to ignore everything else Hitler was about. And just as Obama's doing, Hitler -- well, even prior to Hitler -- German socialists attempted to remake and order their country using health care as the springboard and the foundation. Same thing that's happening here. Hitler was a man of the left. Nazi is simply the term for the national socialists of Germany. They're far more in common, the national socialists and their domestic policies -- short of the Holocaust -- they're far more in common with what Obama's doing than with anybody on the right.
Rush added: "If there is a Holocaust in this country, it is abortion," and also claimed that nobody is dying in this country because of a lack of health insurance.
Rush continued to lament how Democrats are circling the wagons for Grayson, but Republicans threw Rep. Joe Wilson under the bus. After another break, Rush read what Nancy Pelosi said about Grayson, and Rush opined that he didn't think Grayson should apologize, encouraging him to keep "telling it how it is." Rush went on to read Politico articles about Sarah Palin's book and speech requests and gloating about her popularity while mocking the lack of liberal media stars.
Rush calls elements of Michelle Obama's speech a "pure racial statement"
Hour two began with Rush claiming that Michelle Obama was going to Copenhagen to "bribe" the Olympic committee to choose Chicago for the 2016 Olympics. Rush also asserted -- based on nothing, as usual -- that Tony Rezko would profit from the sale of property to Chicago for the Olympics, as would many people in the Chicago political machine and the Obama White House.
From there, Rush further examined Michelle Obama's speech in Copenhagen, which he took out of context and criticized in the first hour. He read the "sacrifice" quote again, but delved further into the content of her speech. For example, Rush read this excerpt:
MICHELLE OBAMA: This bid also means a lot to me personally because, as First Lady, as many of you know, I've made it a priority to bridge the gap between the White House and communities across D.C. and across the country. I've spent much of my first nine months trying to open the doors to the White House to kids who might not otherwise see themselves having access to these institutions, because that's where I came from - communities like that where kids never dreamed that they could set foot in the White House, let alone live there.
Rush called that a "pure racial statement," and refuted the First Lady's claim that people in the District of Columbia don't have "access" to institutions like the White House by arguing that "[a]nybody can go to Washington and get a tour of the White House any day." He continued:
LIMBAUGH: Anybody can go to Washington and tour any monument or memorial any day. Nobody is stopping anybody from doing this. There are White House tours. If you know, you can call your congressman and you can get some sort of access to a White House tour. There's a number of things you can do. Nobody's denied access to the institutions, for crying out loud.
Michelle Obama wasn't saying the problem with D.C. residents is that they literally lack access to tours of the White House; she expressed herself clearly when she said many of the city's residents "never dreamed that they could set foot in the White House, let alone live there."
Rush continued, saying that he thought Michelle needed a "dictionary lesson" and said she is a woman who is not proud of her country unless she's getting what she wants form it. Rush added that Michelle has no awareness, sensitivity, or ability to relate, and is self-centered and arrogant.
After the break, Rush brought up former Clinton aide Betsey Wright -- who, according to Rush, was in charge of "bimbo eruptions" -- who was recently arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle contraband into a prison. Rush sarcastically took credit for Wright's arrest on behalf of the vast right wing conspiracy, again mocking Bill Clinton's comments from over the weekend.
The next caller on the show was offended that Obama would want the Olympics in a city where there is so much murder and violence. Coming back from the next break, Rush mocked the Tokyo governor who warned that the 2016 Olympics could be the last because of global warming.
The next caller thanked Rush for allowing the caller "Susan" to vent on yesterday's show. Rush took this opportunity to again talk up "Susan" and also criticized Hollywood "liberals" for defending Roman Polanski. This discussion continued as Rush took the next string of callers. Rush at one point criticized Whoopi Goldberg for saying she didn't believe Polanski's crime wasn't "rape-rape." Rush later noted Goldberg's defense of her comments. (To clarify, we're not defending Polanski or Goldberg. We're just recapping what Rush talked about on his show.)
Rush concluded the hour by describing how the leftists in the media circle the wagon for people like Polanski and Goldberg. Rush claimed that Dan Rather "makes up" a whole story about Bush in the National Guard, and he got an award because "these people" are protecting their industry.
Rush got the final hour going by discussing Obama's speech at a Democratic Governors Association fundraiser. Before he got to the content, Rush described how liberals are hilarious and fun when they're out of power, but dangerous when they're in power. Then Rush falsely stated that only 4% of the stimulus has been spent so far. In fact, more than 17 percent has been spent.
Anyway, Rush eventually got to Obama's speech and played a sound bite of Obama saying that he was putting Americans back to work with the stimulus. Rush denied that we're putting Americans back to work, and claimed the unemployment numbers were "great news" for Obama because he's "purposefully" destroying the private sector.
Then Rush briefly talked about the latest round of diplomatic talks with Iran, and brought up a 2006 article describing how Iran's nuclear negotiator "duped the West." He then discussed Roman Polanski some more, comparing the controversy to a scene in Blazing Saddles.
Rush on Jimmy Carter and other Dems: "I have had it with race-baiters"
After the break, Rush aired part of an interview Jimmy Carter did for CNN recently, in which the "National Hemorrhoid" -- Rush's pet name for the former president -- claimed that his comments about criticism of the President being racist were taken out of context. Rush played Jimmy Carter's interview on NBC's Nightly News last week, when Carter made his original remarks, and declared Carter's denial was "full of crap."
Then Rush, who has participated in his own fair share of race-baiting, said that he has "had it with race baiters":
LIMBAUGH: Because frankly, I, ladies and gentlemen, as a conservative, as a man, as a Republican, as a citizen, and as your host, I have had it with race-baiters. In 21 years, I have had my fill of it. And I rarely have my fill of anything, but I have had my fill of this -- this race crap.
Turning analysis of this so-called health care reform or health insurance reform or the porkulus bill or cap-and-trade, or whatever the focus groups say they should call it, has nothing to do with the president's color or origin. Nancy Pelosi is not black. Harry Reid is not black. George Soros is not black. Max Baucus is not black. Steny Hoyer is not black. George Soros is still not black. Barney Frank is not black. Chris Dodd is not black. Jay Rockefeller is not black. Chuck Schumer would be black if it would give him more face time on TV, but even he is not black.
Rush continued:
LIMBAUGH: The only black-and-white here -- and I want you to listen to me very carefully -- the only black and white here is that all of these so-called reforms have nothing to do with reform and everything to do with liberals seizing more control of your lives.
[...]
What's black and white is that health care's not about anything it claims to be. This has nothing whatsoever to do with race.
Rush suggests headline describing Obama's Afghanistan policy: "Obama tells Afghanistan to shove it until after Obamacare passes"
Then Rush described an exchange between CBS correspondent Chip Reid and Robert Gibbs at a recent press briefing. Reid asked what the timeframe for making a decision on Afghanistan was, and Gibbs responded by saying that Obama would take the time necessary to get the policy right. Rush responded by suggesting a headline for this story:
LIMBAUGH: So the headline today after the press secretary's statement was "Obama to take weeks to study Afghan strategy." Now, if we had real journalists and real news editors, you know what the headline would be? "Obama tells Afghanistan to shove it until after Obamacare passes."
Next, Rush took a caller who was really "appalled" by the idea of a Chicago-hosted Olympics, and was hoping that the city's bid would fail. The caller went on to request that Rush do a "no-Obama" hour of his show. Rush couldn't make any promises, but told the caller he would likely be "giddy" for tomorrow's edition of "Open Line Friday."
The next caller wanted to turn up the heat on Obama. The caller talked about the left's criticism of Bush for not going to New Orleans after Katrina, and asked where Obama is now regarding American Samoa after the tsunami that struck there. (Since Rush didn't, we'll point out Obama did release a statement on the tragedy and declared it a "major disaster," thereby permitting "the U.S. to provide the support needed for a swift and aggressive response.") Rush told the caller that this is a perfect illustration of the idea that Obama can do no wrong.
Before he closed out his program, Rush mentioned Michelle Malkin's "definitive piece" about the Obama White House's connections to the Chicago Olympics. Then Rush aired two clips of Charlie Gibson hosting ABC World News side-by-side -- one was reporting on the recession in 1982, the other from June of this year. Rush claimed the more recent bite was less pessimistic than the way Gibson covered Reagan's recession in 1982.
Zachary Aronow and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.
Highlights
Outrageous comments
LIMBAUGH: With Democrats, you die before you're born. You don't even get a chance at health care if the Democrats are in charge. Remember -- life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. Life, Democrats? No way, look at the number of abortions they are for and responsible for.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: And then you've got this -- I mean, this guy Grayson, clearly, you know, an order of fries short of a happy meal. The guy is obviously not all there. To compare anything in this country to the Holocaust -- of course, that is what -- you know, when I endeavored to intellectually and properly explain the similarities between the national socialism of Germany and Hit -- and Obama's health care plan, then they said, "I -- well, you can't do that, Hitler, six million people were killed, you can't compare --" No, no, no, no, I'm not, I'm not. A lot of stuff happened before the Holocaust, and just because the Holocaust happened doesn't mean we have to ignore everything else Hitler was about. And just as Obama's doing, Hitler -- well, even prior to Hitler -- German socialists attempted to remake and order their country using health care as the springboard and the foundation. Same thing that's happening here. Hitler was a man of the left. Nazi is simply the term for the national socialists of Germany. They're far more in common, the national socialists and their domestic policies -- short of the Holocaust -- they're far more in common with what Obama's doing than with anybody on the right.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: "I've spent much of my first nine months trying to open the doors to the White House to kids who might not otherwise see themselves having access to these institutions"? 'Cause that's -- anybody can go to Washington and get a tour of the White House any day. Anybody can go to Washington and tour any monument or memorial any day. Nobody is stopping anybody from doing this. There are White House tours. If you know, you can call your congressman and you can get some sort of access to a White House tour. There's a number of things you can do. Nobody's denied access to the institutions, for crying out loud.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: Because frankly, I, ladies and gentlemen, as a conservative, as a man, as a Republican, as a citizen, and as your host, I have had it with race-baiters. In 21 years, I have had my fill of it. And I rarely have my fill of anything, but I have had my fill of this -- this race crap. Turning analysis of this so-called health care reform or health insurance reform or the porkulus bill or cap-and-trade, or whatever the focus groups say they should call it, has nothing to do with the president's color or origin. Nancy Pelosi is not black. Harry Reid is not black. George Soros is not black. Max Baucus is not black. Steny Hoyer is not black. George Soros is still not black. Barney Frank is not black. Chris Dodd is not black. Jay Rockefeller is not black. Chuck Schumer would be black if it would give him more face time on TV, but even he is not black.
The only black-and-white here -- and I want you to listen to me very carefully -- the only black and white here is that all of these so-called reforms have nothing to do with reform and everything to do with liberals seizing more control of your lives. That's the only black-and-white, and it is crystal clear. Health care's not about health care. Health insurance reform is not about health insurance reform. Cap-and-trade is not about saving the freaking climate, which is not endangered. Porkulus is not about creating jobs. TARP was not about bailing out the world financial system. None of this is what it's about -- that's what's black and white. What's black and white is that health care's not about anything it claims to be. This has nothing whatsoever to do with race.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: So the headline today after the press secretary's statement was "Obama to take weeks to study Afghan strategy." Now, if we had real journalists and real news editors, you know what the headline would be? "Obama tells Afghanistan to shove it until after Obamacare passes."
America's Truth Rejector
LIMBAUGH: As you know, President Obama is heading off to Copenhagen tomorrow to make a final pitch for the Olympics in Chicago in 2016. His wife, Michelle-my-belle, already there, conducting big-time meetings. She said the most audacious thing, which I'm going to analyze in greater detail in just a moment. She said it is a sacrifice for her to fly over there and make a pitch for the Olympics, that it is a sacrifice for her husband to fly over there to make a pitch for the Olympics, but that they are doing it for the kids. While American soldiers are being shot at and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan because of inaction and indecision and probably apathy on the part of President Obama, they have the audacity to say that they are making a huge sacrifice to go to Copenhagen when, in fact, they act like they're having a big party as they supposedly argue for the Olympics.
http://mediamatters.org/limbaughwire/2009/10/01
No comments:
Post a Comment