From Think Progess

Breaking Free From Rush

Last week, President Obama met with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss his economic recovery program, despite the GOP's apparent reluctance to compromise on the package. Obama told GOP members at the meeting that they need to stop listening to hate radio host Rush Limbaugh if Congress is to accomplish anything. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Obama told Republican leaders. His scolding of the far right came days after Limbaugh notoriously declared, "I hope he fails," referring to Obama. Limbaugh fired back yesterday, stating, "I think Obama wants me to fail." The verbal tit-for-tat between Obama and Limbaugh carries a more significant meaning than what appears on the surface. In this time of crisis, the country needs a strong economic recovery package to be quickly shuttled through Congress and onto Obama's desk. Given that Limbaugh carries tremendous sway over congressional GOP, will they break away from him on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act? Or will they continue to partake in Limbaugh's brand of "reflexive obstructionism?"

HOPING FOR FAILURE: Limbaugh's recent comment saying that he hopes Obama fails as president is deeply hypocritical. Conservatives long claimed that any criticism of President Bush's policies was evidence that liberals "want[ed] Bush to fail." For example, during the debate over Iraq, perhaps the most frequent right-wing talking point was that liberals wanted to "surrender." This straw man argument, of course, had no basis in reality. Yet today, with a progressive at the country's helm, Limbaugh is perfectly content saying that he wants the President to fail at reviving the economy. The comment also underscores just how radical Limbaugh is. Even fellow conservative talk radio host Bill Bennett hinted at disagreement, stating, "The locution 'I want him to fail' is not what you say the first week the man's been inaugurated." Limbaugh also remarked last week, "We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president."

FOLLOWING RUSH: Nevertheless, despite his radical and hateful views, Limbaugh has held considerable influence on the actions of the congressional GOP. His role in pulling the GOP away from immigration reform in 2007 was undeniable. His rants on the Fairness Doctrine culminated in legislation from Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN). Last year, when Limbaugh infamously referred to U.S. soldiers in Iraq who were critical of the war as "phony soldiers," the congressional GOP rushed to his defense. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), for example, introduced a resolution "commending Rush Hudson Limbaugh III for his ongoing public support of American troops serving both here and abroad." Furthermore, GOP members have long boasted about their close relationship with Rush. "I mean, there's nothing particularly inflammatory about anything Rush Limbaugh says," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in 2002. In 1994, former House speaker Newt Gingrich made Limbaugh an honorary member of the 104th Congress.

GOP OBSTRUCTIONISM: In recent weeks, Limbaugh has been mounting a fight against Obama's ambitious recovery package. "Obama's plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR's New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule," he said last week. The question going forward is whether congressional conservatives will work with Obama to pass a strong recovery package or continue to buckle under Limbaugh's demands. Thus far, the signs are discouraging. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) -- who said this week that he will not vote for the recovery as it stands -- and Limbaugh have been marching in lockstep in harping on the inclusion of family planning funding in the legislation. Several other prominent conservatives are buckling to their right-wing base in publicly opposing the recovery. Limbaugh has also made Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner his punching bag in recent weeks, upping the pressure around the controversy over Geithner's taxes. Yesterday, Geithner was confirmed by a 60-34 Senate vote. "[C]onservative talk radio rallied a flood of calls to Capitol Hill on Monday opposing his nomination. A majority of Senate Republicans heeded those calls," observes Politico.

ECONOMY -- CONSERVATIVES PEDDLE MYTH THAT STIMULUS SPENDS $275,000 FOR EVERY JOB CREATED: Over the past few weeks, conservatives  have been staking out their opposition the economic recovery package by peddling a variety of myths. One favorite is that taxpayers will be forced to pay $275,000 for every job created by the plan. "All told, the plan would spend a whopping $275,000 in taxpayer dollars for every new job it aims to create, saddling each and every household with $6,700 in additional debt," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said. "It is more than likely the private sector could have created more than one job for $275,000," according to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). Nobel laureate Paul Krugman addressed this "bogus talking point" yesterday in his New York Times column, saying that it "involves taking the cost of a plan that will extend over several years, creating millions of jobs each year, and dividing it by the jobs created in just one of those years," Krugman wrote. Time's Joe Klein called the number "phony-baloney propaganda," while economist Dean Baker noted that "the media have been typically derelict in simply reporting this number without making any assessment to evaluate it." And as Center for American Progress Action Fund senior fellow and budget expert Scott Lilly pointed out, the actual cost per job is closer to $50,000, without taking into account the "substantial number of additional jobs [created] beyond 2012."

CONGRESS -- McCAIN VOTES AGAINST CONFIRMING GEITHNER AFTER SAYING HE WOULD SUPPORT HIM: Yesterday, the Senate confirmed former New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary with a vote of  60 to 34. Geithner was sworn in last night by President Obama, who said, "Tim's work and the work of the entire Treasury Department must begin at once." Thirty Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), voted against Geithner in their "first organized attempt to embarrass President Obama," noted Politico. McCain's vote, however, contradicts the position he took last week when CNN's Larry King asked him if he would vote for Geithner. "Yes. Most likely," he replied, adding that though he was "concerned about this tax issue and also the role that he played in the TARP," he believed that the president should "be able to appoint the president's team." Last week, McCain stepped in to help another one of Obama's nominees, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose confirmation had been delayed in a procedural move by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). "I think the message that the American people are sending us right now is that they want us to work together and get to work," said McCain.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS -- IS ADMINISTRATION CAVING TO THE RIGHT ON FAMILY PLANNING IN RECOVERY BILL?: At President Obama's behest, House Democrats are "nearly certain" to strike funding for family planning and programs battling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases from the economic stimulus package, according to press reports. "The principles of what he [Obama] thought should be in the package -- that wasn't part of that," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. Conservatives have been pushing the lie that progressives think birth control is the answer to the country's economic crisis, and Obama is "eager" to knock out this potential conservative attack line. Like less controversial measures to the bill, this funding allocation supports states and will promote a healthier, more productive workforce by providing women access to services to prevent unplanned pregnancies and promote maternal and infant health -- not abortion. No one would be forcing states to pay for family planning services. States can now cover low-income women if they get a state waiver, but approval can take a long time. Despite these bureaucratic hassles, 27 states have already "obtained federal approval to extend Medicaid eligibility for family planning services to individuals who would otherwise not be eligible." This bill would simply allow states to skip the administrative delays.

ECONOMY -- CONSERVATIVES PEDDLE MYTH THAT STIMULUS SPENDS $275,000 FOR EVERY JOB CREATED: Over the past few weeks, conservatives  have been staking out their opposition the economic recovery package by peddling a variety of myths. One favorite is that taxpayers will be forced to pay $275,000 for every job created by the plan. "All told, the plan would spend a whopping $275,000 in taxpayer dollars for every new job it aims to create, saddling each and every household with $6,700 in additional debt," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said. "It is more than likely the private sector could have created more than one job for $275,000," according to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). Nobel laureate Paul Krugman addressed this "bogus talking point" yesterday in his New York Times column, saying that it "involves taking the cost of a plan that will extend over several years, creating millions of jobs each year, and dividing it by the jobs created in just one of those years," Krugman wrote. Time's Joe Klein called the number "phony-baloney propaganda," while economist Dean Baker noted that "the media have been typically derelict in simply reporting this number without making any assessment to evaluate it." And as Center for American Progress Action Fund senior fellow and budget expert Scott Lilly pointed out, the actual cost per job is closer to $50,000, without taking into account the "substantial number of additional jobs [created] beyond 2012."

CONGRESS -- McCAIN VOTES AGAINST CONFIRMING GEITHNER AFTER SAYING HE WOULD SUPPORT HIM: Yesterday, the Senate confirmed former New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary with a vote of  60 to 34. Geithner was sworn in last night by President Obama, who said, "Tim's work and the work of the entire Treasury Department must begin at once." Thirty Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), voted against Geithner in their "first organized attempt to embarrass President Obama," noted Politico. McCain's vote, however, contradicts the position he took last week when CNN's Larry King asked him if he would vote for Geithner. "Yes. Most likely," he replied, adding that though he was "concerned about this tax issue and also the role that he played in the TARP," he believed that the president should "be able to appoint the president's team." Last week, McCain stepped in to help another one of Obama's nominees, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose confirmation had been delayed in a procedural move by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). "I think the message that the American people are sending us right now is that they want us to work together and get to work," said McCain.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS -- IS ADMINISTRATION CAVING TO THE RIGHT ON FAMILY PLANNING IN RECOVERY BILL?: At President Obama's behest, House Democrats are "nearly certain" to strike funding for family planning and programs battling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases from the economic stimulus package, according to press reports. "The principles of what he [Obama] thought should be in the package -- that wasn't part of that," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. Conservatives have been pushing the lie that progressives think birth control is the answer to the country's economic crisis, and Obama is "eager" to knock out this potential conservative attack line. Like less controversial measures to the bill, this funding allocation supports states and will promote a healthier, more productive workforce by providing women access to services to prevent unplanned pregnancies and promote maternal and infant health -- not abortion. No one would be forcing states to pay for family planning services. States can now cover low-income women if they get a state waiver, but approval can take a long time. Despite these bureaucratic hassles, 27 states have already "obtained federal approval to extend Medicaid eligibility for family planning services to individuals who would otherwise not be eligible." This bill would simply allow states to skip the administrative delays.

Some of the nation's largest and most sturdy employers "announced plans yesterday to slash more than 55,000 jobs." The cuts "extended to companies that were once considered bright spots in the U.S. economy, such as construction equipment maker Caterpillar (20,000 jobs cut), pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (19,500), Sprint Nextel (8,000), Home Depot (7,000), Texas Instruments (3,400), and GM (2,000).

Roughly two-thirds of the spending and tax cuts in the House stimulus plan will "flow into the economy by the end of fiscal 2010, producing a 'noticeable impact on economic growth and employment,'" the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday in its "first cost estimate" of the plan. Citing the CBO, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the plan will help create jobs while making responsible investments for the future.

In "his first formal television interview as president," President Obama told the Arabic satellite TV network Al-Arabiya yesterday that his "job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy." "And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives," said Obama.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that employees "fired after cooperating in sexual harassment investigations may sue for retaliation." The case involved three women who participated in a Tennessee school system's internal investigation into the possible misconduct of an employee relations director. The three women were fired for speaking out; the perpetrator was not.

Yesterday, over 2,000 government employees involved in foreign policy issues "signed a letter delivered to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton...calling on the government to give equal benefits to same-sex partners." While the Bush administration resisted such efforts, "Clinton, during her confirmation hearings, indicated a greater willingness to explore the issue."

Late last week, the BBC refused to air an appeal from a charity group seeking to send aid to Gaza. The decision, which the BBC "defiantly reaffirmed" on Monday, has caused heated protests in Britain and spurred more than 11,000 complaints to the network. The appeal was created by some of Britain's most respected aid groups, including Oxfam and the Red Cross.

Detroit slammed President Obama's move yesterday toward approving of California's auto emissions standards, saying the regulations "would basically kill the industry." David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, warned, "It would have a devastating effect on everybody, and not just the domestics."

The White House was hit with an email "server outage" yesterday. The Washington Post explains, "Instead of BlackBerrys, everyone used cellphones" and the press office relied on a loudspeaker and photocopies to distribute releases. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs quipped, "I haven't had a less stressful day in five years."

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Karl Rove was subpoenaed a second time. The committee is seeking to learn about Rove's suspected role in U.S. attorney scandal. Rove's attorney commented, "It's generally agreed that former presidents retain executive privilege as to matters occurring during their term."

And finally: How do you spell "Barack Obama"? Well, it depends on which website you visit. The site gooseGrade.com released a study finding that at least 60 million web pages misspell Obama's first name. Roll Call took a look at federal lawmakers' websites at least five members have used "Barak," including Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) in a statement congratulating Obama on his election victory. At least four have used "Barrack."