Rush Advances Attacks On NEA, Latest Breitbart Target Of Conservative Witch Hunt

http://mediamatters.org/items/200909210027 Rush runs with latest Breitbart target in the Obama administration By Greg Lewis Rush started off the week asking how that "hope and change" is working out for you, referring to an AP article about the House moving to extend unemployment benefits. But he quickly skipped to the right-wing blog story du jour: the Andrew Breitbart-spearheaded exposé of the National Endowments of the Arts supposedly coordinating with the White House to spread propaganda. Rush explained the story so far concerning the NEA, going over how the now-former NEA director of communications, Yosi Sergant, was accused of using the NEA for propaganda purposes. Rush explained that Sergant has been reassigned and cited a George Will column about the controversy. Rush bemoaned the "politicization" of the NEA and claimed it was being turned into an Obama campaign. Rush then explained that the audio released today by Breitbart shows that the White House was involved through Buffy Wicks, who works under senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Rush claimed they were trying to cover up the fact that the White House was involved in using the NEA to spread Obama propaganda. Rush even threw in supposed "ties" to ACORN into the mix and claimed that what Wicks did was a "huge violation of the law" (although he didn't specify which law...). Rush called the whole story "pretty damning." Then Rush spent the next several minutes recounting an anecdote from his weekend in Washington, D.C., to see the Redskins-Rams game. Turns out he (innocuously) ended up crashing the wedding reception of a Hillary staffer taking place in his hotel. After another break, Rush used a brief segment to play some audio from the newly released tapes of the Buffy Wicks conference call. Rush declared what happened, "not kosher." After another commercial time-out, Rush was back with more audio from the Wicks tapes, as well as audio of George Will talking about the NEA controversy on This Week a few Sundays ago. Rush went on to compare the NEA story to the hidden camera tapes of "pimps and hos" at ACORN offices. Rush said to imagine if this had happened under the Bush administration. Rush said Obama is gobbling up the private sector "like Pac Man on steroids" Next, Rush read an AP article about Obama's speech in Troy, New York, today, singling out this line from the article: During his remarks, Obama plans to decry a U.S. economy that relies on explosive growth in some areas that mask long-term weaknesses. Rush said the translation of this was that market forces don't work, and that Obama wants a top-down command and control government. Rush added that Obama is gobbling up the private sector as quickly as he can -- "like Pac Man on steroids." Rush on foreign policy: "We're not going to take a stand" on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, or elsewhere, under Obama Rush then pivoted to foreign policy, declaring that Obama's decision to slash our nuclear arsenal was "dangerous" and expressed his desire for this plan to fail. Then Rush read a Washington Post article headlined, "Changes have Obama Rethinking [Afghanistan] War Strategy." Rush said that it's Obama, not Afghanistan, that's changed, and if Obama doesn't want to win, it "would come as a surprise" because Obama said he doesn't like the word "victory." Rush went on to mention how Obama "purged" his criticism of the surge in Iraq during last year's campaign, and Rush explained that if we pulled out of Afghanistan, it would become a terrorist state, and he implied that a nuclear war could break out between India and Pakistan as a result. Rush then ranted about how the U.S., under Obama, is refusing to "take a stand" on foreign policy issues: LIMBAUGH: We're not going to take a stand on Iraq under this guy. We're not going to take a stand in Afghanistan, apparently. We're not going to make a stand in Iran, not Poland, not Czech -- Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, not Latin America. Where are we going to take a stand? We're under assault everywhere. We're siding with our enemies. Where are we going to take a stand, or we're not going to take a stand? You know why? We are willingly relinquishing our superpower status. Yeah, that's old-fashioned, it's unproductive to global cooperation 'cause we need to cooperate globally on the climate, on the swine flu, on bank regulations, and executive compensations. And that's what the agenda of this administration is. Rush: "[K]nocking down the United States from its position of number one has been a left-wing project for generations ... and this is something Obama believes as well" One more break for the hour, and Rush read an article from the ever-reliable Pravda about former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reportedly having said that the United States no longer intends to be the world's number one country. Rush fumed over this, tying it inevitably back to Obama: LIMBAUGH: Now, folks, knocking down the United States from its position of number one has been a left-wing project for generations. It is an explicit Democrat governing policy whenever they're in office. They hate -- they hate a powerful America. They do whatever they can to weaken us by any means necessary. We are the problem in the world, from global warming to executive compensation, to banking and financial regulations. And make no mistake, this is who they are. They don't like us being supreme. We are immoral and we are unjust and this is something Obama believes as well. It -- I think it totally explains the ideology behind what Obama's doing internationally, and domestically, for that matter. It's all purposeful. All of this is purposeful. Rush said this made him sick and recounted running into a few Marines at the Redskins game yesterday who were about to be deployed overseas. Rush said they all volunteered to defend and protect their country, but that, according to Rush, they complained, that "here we have the commander in chief and his administration doing what they can to knock us off the perch that these guys have signed up, volunteered, and trained for to defend." Rush added: "It's sickening." Rush started off the second hour by teasing his appearance on Jay Leno's show on Thursday, then moved on to the story that Obama asked New York Gov. David Paterson not to run for re-election next year. Rush wondered if somebody would tell Obama not to run, because there wasn't "much difference" between the two. Rush read from an article reporting that Obama's political team was worried Paterson's unpopularity could drag down other New York Democrats. Rush wondered if this logic could also apply to Obama in 2012. Rush came up with a scenario where former President Clinton would ask Obama not to run so that Hillary could. Rush said if he were Paterson, he would tell Obama to come up with a better stimulus to help his state. Rush also claimed that Obama has done a lot to "damage" Paterson's career -- almost as much as Paterson himself. Rush also made a point during the monologue to point out which politicians he was talking about were "black Democrats" and which ones weren't. Rush: "Remember, the enemies of America are friends of Obama's" After the break, Rush took a caller who explained why he thought Obama doesn't know how to properly negotiate on foreign policy issues. Rush said the caller was looking at this in the wrong way: LIMBAUGH: I'm gonna be blunt with you. See, you are expressing the outrage of anybody who would look at the contents, the context, and the substance of what Obama's saying, and you're doing so on the basis of the benefit of the doubt that he actually wants to win in Afghanistan. He doesn't! That he actually wants to do something about the Iranian nuclear program -- he doesn't. CALLER: They told us he did. LIMBAUGH: He does want to make nice with the Russians. He wants to make nice with Chavez. Remember, the enemies of America are friends of Obama's. The caller went on to suggest that Obama was putting our troops at risk by helping the enemy's morale. Rush responded: LIMBAUGH: I don't -- I don't -- look it, I can't -- this is one thing I can't get into Obama's head on. I -- you know, I can't get my arms around the fact that we might have a president who wants us to become dominated by all these foreign powers that don't like us. I can't -- I may be naïve; it may just be who he is. But that's -- I can't get my arms around that. Rush continued to rant about how Obama is slashing the nation's nuclear arsenal and changing its focus on missile defense in Europe, which Rush decried as putting the Poles and Czechs at risk. Rush also referred to former national security adviser under Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski, who reportedly said that the U.S. should forcibly stop Israeli jets flying over Iraq to reach Iran. Rush said he hasn't gotten to the point where he thinks Obama "wants us to lose," but noted that Obama was already destroying the economy and the private sector. Then Rush went on to explain Marshall McLuhan's famous quote: "The medium is the message." Rush said that the fact that Obama is on television all the time was the message. Rush said it was "Orwellian" how Obama wanted you to associate television with him. Rush continued on this theme after another break, explaining that the media blitz by Obama is to get out the message that "Obamacare" is good. Rush said Obama is not responding to criticism -- but when he does respond to criticism, "he lies." Rush went on to cite a Rasmussen poll of the uninsured, highlighting how 42 percent of them said they "don't want" Obama's plan. That was pretty sneaky of Rush, seeing how even Rasmussen reported on the poll with this headline: "Among the Uninsured, 58% Favor President's Health Care Plan." Anyway, the next caller on the program was "flabbergasted" by the way nobody was playing clips of Obama endorsing ACORN. Rush obliged. First, he played the clip of Obama on yesterday's This Week, saying that he didn't think the ACORN issue was the biggest issue facing our country. Rush called this "BS." "Barack Obama is ACORN," said Rush. Next, Rush played the type of clip the caller was referring to, of Obama praising ACORN. The next caller told his story about getting pneumonia and having to go to the emergency room because he didn't have insurance. He said things turned out well for him because Medicaid "kicked in" and paid for his three-month hospital stay and treatment. The caller didn't want Obama to overhaul the system because he was "living proof" that the system worked. Rush didn't respond to the caller's praise of a government-run health care program, and instead talked about Michelle Obama's speech last week about health care, in which she told a story about her then-newborn daughter Sasha getting meningitis, and saying that the first thing she thought about was insurance. Rush repeated how he didn't believe the first lady's story. Rush called story that 45k people die because of lack of health insurance "all BS" Then Rush mentioned a story we linked to last week in rebuttal to Rush's claim that "no one dies in the gutter in this nation," which was about a study linking 45,000 U.S. deaths to lack of insurance. Rush had this to say about the story: LIMBAUGH: [T]his story that 45,000 people die because of no health insurance.Washington Times did a story on this -- I think it was late last week -- and it says BS. It's like, there were 3 million homeless and there never were. It just -- it's all BS. They just make up these numbers, 45,000 people die because they don't have health insurance? After the break, Rush read from a Washington Times post criticizing the study. Rush said the study was "no different" than the scandal going on with the NEA he talked about earlier in his show. Hour three began with producer Bo Snerdley, the "official Obama criticizer," pretty much repeating all of Rush's points today, that Obama is tanking the economy and weakening the country in the eyes of our enemies. Snerdley went on to translate his comments for the "EIB brothers and sisters in the 'hood." Next, Rush read from a post at the American Thinker about the recent string of Newsweek cover stories. Rush mentioned a recent one about racist babies -- the one he was obsessed with last week -- and the magazine's latest: "The Case for Killing Granny." Rush lamented how Newsweekwas not just trying to change the way we think, but also trying to change our culture. Rush declared that this was "scary," "sick," and "insidious" stuff. After the break, Rush took a caller who was a physician. The caller brought up Michelle Obama's story about her daughter's case of meningitis and agreed with Rush that insurance wasn't the first thing she thought about. Rush complained that Obama never says anything good about the fact that the U.S. has the best health care in the world. Inspired by the caller, Rush challenged his audience to come up with one major government program that cost less than what they said it would and resulted in a surplus of savings. Rush went on to rant about how there is no evidence health care reform will meet those goals. The next caller asked why the mainstream media didn't report on the stories Rush and Sean Hannity report on -- all they have to do is listen. Rush said it was obvious they don't listen, because if they did, they would "hear the truth." Instead, Rush said that reporting on him is always taken from Media Matters (hey, that's us!) and blogs, which take him "out of context." Rush went on to say that he has to be discredited by the left because they can't engage in open debate or be honest about what they believe. After another break, Rush examined some of Obama's media blitz on the weekend's Sunday shows, starting off with Obama's interview on This Week. He played an audio clip of host George Stephanopoulos asking Obama if he considered individual mandates for health care a tax increase. Rush found it entertaining that a journalist actually brought a dictionary to an interview with the president. Rush also aired a clip of Obama's interview on CBS' Face the Nation, in which Obama said he didn't mind insurance companies making a profit. Rush claimed Obama actually believed the opposite. One more break and Rush closed out his show with a 25-year old New York Times article about former Democratic Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm proclaiming that the elderly have a "duty to die." Rush compared it to the Newsweek "killing granny" cover story, saying that when liberals propose something, they don't stop. Then Rush took a caller who explained how she unwittingly took part in an ACORN project -- by hosting a foreign exchange teacher. She said it was a great experience, but was concerned when she found out later it was affiliated with ACORN. Rush called ACORN insidious and likened them to a virus and cockroaches. Rush warned the caller that if ACORN is involved, stay away from it. The final caller asked why the media weren't reporting on press secretary Robert Gibbs' statement that Obama is willing to be a one-term president if it means he can get health care reform passed. Rush noted that he reported on it. Zachary Aronow and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire. Highlights Outrageous comments LIMBAUGH: We're not going to take a stand on Iraq under this guy. We're not going to take a stand in Afghanistan, apparently. We're not going to make a stand in Iran, not Poland, not Czech -- Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, not Latin America. Where are we going to take a stand? We're under assault everywhere. We're siding with our enemies. Where are we going to take a stand, or we're not going to take a stand? You know why? We are willingly relinquishing our superpower status. Yeah, that's old-fashioned, it's unproductive to global cooperation 'cause we need to cooperate globally on the climate, on the swine flu, on bank regulations, and executive compensations. And that's what the agenda of this administration is. [...] LIMBAUGH: Now, folks, knocking down the United States from its position of number one has been a left-wing project for generations. It is an explicit Democrat governing policy whenever they're in office. They hate -- they hate a powerful America. They do whatever they can to weaken us by any means necessary. We are the problem in the world, from global warming to executive compensation, to banking and financial regulations. And make no mistake, this is who they are. They don't like us being supreme. We are immoral and we are unjust and this is something Obama believes as well. It -- I think it totally explains the ideology behind what Obama's doing internationally, and domestically, for that matter. It's all purposeful. All of this is purposeful. [...] LIMBAUGH: And here we have the commander in chief and his administration doing what they can to knock us off the perch that these guys have signed up, volunteered, and trained for to defend. It's sickening. [...] LIMBAUGH: I think you're looking at this from the wrong perspective and the wrong context. And I'm gonna -- CALLER: OK. LIMBAUGH: I'm gonna be blunt with you. See, you are expressing the outrage of anybody who would look at the contents, the context, and the substance of what Obama's saying, and you're doing so on the basis of the benefit of the doubt that he actually wants to win in Afghanistan. He doesn't! That he actually wants to do something about the Iranian nuclear program -- he doesn't. CALLER: They told us he did. LIMBAUGH: He does want to make nice with the Russians. He wants to make nice with Chavez. Remember, the enemies of America are friends of Obama's. [...] CALLER: I mean, I think he's putting our troops at risk, too, by -- LIMBAUGH: Well, of course. CALLER: -- the morale issue of the enemy, giving the enemy the impression that we possibly are going to lose and we need to do this, and that's the next step we need to take. That's [inaudible] our troops. LIMBAUGH: I don't -- I don't -- look it, I can't -- this is one thing I can't get into Obama's head on. I -- you know, I can't get my arms around the fact that we might have a president who wants us to become dominated by all these foreign powers that don't like us. I can't -- I may be naïve; it may just be who he is. But that's -- I can't get my arms around that. [...] LIMBAUGH: And I've got a story somewhere -- I can't find it. I thought I printed it out, but it must not have -- 45,000, this story that 45,000 people die because of no health insurance. Washington Times did a story on this -- I think it was late last week -- and it says BS. It's like, there were 3 million homeless and there never were. It just -- it's all BS. They just make up these numbers, 45,000 people die because they don't have health insurance?

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