Comment:

For many days lately we've been having discussions about the alleged lies and distortions found at certain media sites - media sites claiming to be news organizations bringing us "the truth."  IMO, all news organizations twist and distort to a certain extent; some way more than  others, in pursuit - if I may us that term - of their own personal social or political agenda.

For many days we've also been discussing certain commentators of the news and their alleged lies and distortions that go beyond commentary. One prominent commentator - a self-described Conservative and self-described American Patriot with a dedicated following of millions of Americans - is Rush Limbaugh.

Some say, Rush Limbaugh gives opinions. Excellent opinions. Many, many say, Rush only speaks the absolute truth.  Some worship and believe, as Gospel, every word he says.  However, a few others say, Rush is a windbag who manufactures and twists the truth, lies about the truth and, specifically, will say anything he can that is negative about Barack Obama, regardless of whether it is true or not.

A few say, Rush Limbaugh is a rabble-rouser, dedicated to blaming Barack Obama and Liberals and Democrats for all that is wrong in our country and our world.  What do you think about the veracity of Rush Limbaugh?

Below is a brief news item concerning Rush Limbaugh's veracity.  Actually, about his gullibility and his dedication to make any accusation he can against Barack Obama, even when - in this case - it is totally untrue.

But if one hates Barack Obama, why bother to tell the truth?  Or, dear members, are you the type of people who DO care about the truth?  Or do you care whether the truth is something that concerns Rush Limbaugh?

Just curious how you may feel about this one accusation Rush has spread around.

by Claudine Zap

Color me unsurprised.  The guy is a professional liar whose fans prefer lies over uncomfortable and complicated truths.

The "felt true" argument only further demonstrates that Limbaugh is all about believing anything that confirms what he and his listeners want to believe.

Knate, do you know if this article is from a newspaper or just blogs?

Darn, Kevin, I am not sure.  I got it second-hand so I'll need to check.

But there are links in the post.

As for whether Limbaugh is all about believeing anything that confirms what he and his listeners want to believe - you know how I feel about that - but I also think many more people than Rush Limbaugh and his listeners - IMO, many people of all political positions - do this, consciously or not.

Some of us are more skeptical than others but, I think, any of us can be punked (or scammed).

(That's not an excuse for Rush Limbaugh; just an observation. IMO)

Sure, anyone can be punked. Maybe this article is a punking.

But because a person can be punked, anyone with a radio show, newspaper, columnb, etc. who wants to maintain some credibility double checks before they go with the story.

And it just "felt right" is not a credible double check. 

I don't think Limbaugh cared if it was true or not. His tactic is to throw %#&!*% out there, let his moron dittoheads repeat it, and then it takes on an air of reality in the right-wing fantasy world along with the idea that Iraq had WMD but snuck them into Syria, Obama is a secret Muslim, Obama is a socialist, etc.

I agree, Kevin...

It just "felt right" is not a credible double check.  That's plain sloppiness at best and, at its worst, a willingness to spread %$#& as an agenda, regardless of the truth.

BTW, just offering my opinion there, Knate, because I know you weren't defending him.

Greetings all (Knate lovev the new avatar... so relaxing ) ....just popping in to say "hi" and catch up on the latest dirt.

I think this thread would be more appropriatly entitled... "The hoax that Rush got caught-up in. 

This didn't originate with Rush... why call him the liar? and the plural "lies" doesn't even exist here....

Just one more way to fan the flames of hate toward the opposition. One 10 minute commentary on a hoax piece over the span of his 20+years on radio doesn't make him a "liar".

Show me the "lies"

Rush it Right ....more times than he's not. At least he didn't pull a Dan Blather and go making this up on his own and forging "news".

Obama-mantra... can't beat'em... don't play with 'em. Yeah that's about the same here.

In Freedom of speech.

When I said he was a liar and if I used the plural "lies," it was not just this one lie, it was because he is a liar who traffics in lies.

In this case, Limbaugh who has made a fortune because people swallow the lies he tells because they want to believe them and their only "fact check" is that it "feels right", has himself swallowed a lie that he wanted to believe because his only fact check was that it "felt right."

I'd say it serves him right because he was really made to loook like a fool, but he already has looked like a fool countless times and people who think foolishness is wisdom make that a profitable foolishness.

Dear AW,

I titled the thread that way purposely, not to express my opinion, but to have a controversial title that would invite people to react and comment. I title threads controversially all the time.

It is certainly appropriate to say, as you are saying, it is a "Hoax" that Rush Limbaugh was caught up in.

If people wish to call Rush a liar, that is their right of Free Speech.  If people wish to say Rush tells the truth, that is also their right of Free Speech.  If people want only one side to be expressed here, they aren't going to find it in this group.

There are people here who have opinions on all sides - and they express those opinions in every thread we have.  That is what every thread is about: For people to express their own, independent opinions.

Well, it seems we all percieve information rather biased:

http://economicsofcontempt.blogspot.com/2008/09/is-there-liberal-media-bias.html

Some people just happen to have such a far out standpoint that their perception also goes into the "far side"!

May all of you have a nice week!

Bente,  Have a wonderful week....

Bente,

The article you link to, asking the question "Is There a Liberal Bias in the News Media" is an excellent article.

Fox News Wallace: Limbaugh ‘Very Nice, Very Sweet,’ and ‘Vulnerable’

November 2, 2009

(ChattahBox)—Fox News Chris Wallace, took on his critics on Sunday, claiming he acts as a mouthpiece for Republicans, by conducting a feel-good love fest interview with hate talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. Wallace, putting on display his “fair and balanced” interview skills, asked a series of softball questions, allowing the controversial Limbaugh to hurl 30-minutes worth of outrageous and largely unchallenged attacks against President Obama.

After the interview, Wallace, acting like a giddy schoolboy with a crush, described Limbaugh, the daily purveyor of hate and bigotry, as “very nice, very sweet,” and “vulnerable.”

During Wallace’s sycophantic interview, Limbaugh repeated his race-baiting smear that President Obama was a “man-child,” attacking Obama, as “narcissistic,” who went to honor our fallen soldiers at Dover for a photo-op, and stating, “I also don’t think he cares” about Afghanistan, the soldiers and their families.

Limbaugh also likened health care reform to the “biggest snatch of freedom and liberty,” claiming Obama and his “radical leadership” is destroying the country’s economy “on purpose.” The hate talk radio host also derided Obama as a one-term President, who poses a “threat to liberty and freedom,” because of health care and cap and trade legislation, which Limbaugh described, as a “global warming fiasco track.”

Limbaugh also claimed that former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, who quit in the middle of her first term of office, is ready to become President of the United States right now.

Limbaugh’s humility was also on full display, as he likened himself to Paul Revere warning his radio listeners about Obama’s “threat to liberty and freedom.” When asked if Obama’s election has helped his ratings, Limbaugh responded: “It’s my talent that draws the crowd. The news is incidental to it.” Good to know. Of course his drawing a crowd, couldn’t have anything to do with race-baiting, fear mongering and hate mongering could it?

David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama said of Limbaugh’s attacks on Face the Nation: “He’s marketing the outrageous. And he does very well with it. But as I said, he’s an entertainer. We’ll let Mr. Limbaugh fulminate, but I think the American people are well-served and believe they’re well-served,” Axelrod said. “We’ve got bigger responsibilities, [and] we’re going to discharge those responsibilities.”

Regarding Limbaugh’s criticism of Obama’s visit to Dover: “The President of United States went to Dover to represent the American people and pay his respect to the families who had made so much of a sacrifice to those brave service people who made the ultimate sacrifice. It was the appropriate thing to do, and I think most Americans appreciate that,” said Axelrod to host Bob Schieffer.

Responding to Limbaugh’s personal attacks describing the President, as narcissistic and immature Axelrod said, “I think it’s a surreal day when you’re getting lectures on humility from Rush Limbaugh.”

Read experts of the “surreal” interview below:

(cont.)

WALLACE: This week it will be one year since Barack Obama was elected president. In that time, what has he done for and to the country?

LIMBAUGH: I think it’s all to. I don’t think there’s any for. I’m — Chris, I’m — I’m really, really worried. We’ve never seen this kind of radical leadership at such a high level of power in the –in the country. [...] I believe that the economy is under siege, is being destroyed. Anybody with any economic literacy would not do one thing this administration’s done to try to revitalize the private sector. They’re destroying it. And I have to think that it may be on purpose, because this is just outrageous, what is happening — a denial of liberty, an attack on freedom.”

WALLACE: You have now taken to calling Mr. Obama the man-child president.

LIMBAUGH: Right.

WALLACE: What does that mean?

LIMBAUGH: Just — he’s (inaudible) he’s a child. I think he’s –he’s got a — a five-minute career. He was in the Senate for 150 days. He was a community organizer in Chicago for however number of years. He really has no experience running anything. He’s very young. I think he’s got an out-of-this-world ego. He’s very narcissistic. [...]

WALLACE: Let’s talk about a couple of the big issues the president is dealing with now — first of all, Afghanistan. You suggest that he is taking all of this time to decide what to do in Afghanistan to keep his left-wing base on board for health care reform.

LIMBAUGH: Well, it’s partly that, but I also don’t think he cares much about it. I think once…

WALLACE: Well, come on.

LIMBAUGH: No, I — no, see, this is — I know this is going to sound controversial, but I don’t think he cares that — if he –Chris, if he cared about — we’ve got soldiers and their families worrying about what we’re going to do. [...]

WALLACE: But you say you don’t know that he really cares. Do you at least give him credit for going to Dover, Delaware to honor the remains of soldiers, dead soldiers, who came back from Afghanistan?

LIMBAUGH: You know, see, the politically correct thing to say here would be, Oh, yes, I am very impressed that President Obama decided to go show his concern for the remains, troops who’ve given their lives for freedom in this country. It was a photo op. It was a photo op precisely because he’s having big-time trouble on this whole Afghanistan dithering situation. [...]

WALLACE: You have made no secret of the fact you oppose the public option, government-run health insurance to compete with private insurers. With tens of millions of Americans still uninsured, do you think that the government has any moral obligation to find some way to cover them?

LIMBAUGH: [...] This is about stealing one-sixth of the U.S. private sector and putting it under the control of federal government. And when they get this health care bill, if they do, that’s the easiest, fastest way for them to be able to regulate every aspect of human behavior, because it will all have some related cost to health care — what you drive, what you eat, where you live, what you do. And there’ll be penalties for violating regulations. It’s going to be the biggest snatch of freedom and liberty that has yet occurred in this country.”

WALLACE: Finally, some politics. You predict a possible blood bath for Democrats in 2010.

LIMBAUGH: I really do. I know that there is an eruption waiting to happen at the ballot box. I know that a majority of the people in this country are opposed to every single major agenda item that Obama has proposed and is trying to get passed. [...]

And it’s going to be bigger than anybody thinks, especially –especially — if health care gets passed, and if they get cap and trade, and they start going down this global warming fiasco track and get something passed on that. There will be a revolt at the polls.

WALLACE: If he does win, how is Rush Limbaugh going to handle seven more years of Barack Obama?

LIMBAUGH: You know, I’m glad you asked me that, because one of the questions I always get is, Rush, isn’t Obama — aren’t these Democrats in power good for your business? The way I go about my business, I’m out to get the highest ratings I get every day. I’m going to attract the largest audience I can regardless the news. It’s my — it’s my talent that draws the crowd. The news is incidental to it. No. I’m worried, seriously worried, about the future of the country.” [...]

I mean, it’s really –it’s really intense when — you know, I love this country. To have this kind of passion, and my — you know, I want — Paul Revere. I want as many people to hear what I think the problems are…”

Does Rush Limbaugh plan to take his show of hate and bigotry on the road, saddled on a horse? That would be quite the sight.

Think Progress has the entire transcript.

Rush Limbaugh's Race Obsession


Jonathan Chait:: In Limbaugh's World, Racism Is Everywhere - It's Just Directed At White People

(The New Republic)  Jonathan Chait is a senior editor of The New Republic



The saga of Rush Limbaugh and his failed attempt to acquire a piece of the St. Louis Rams may be the quintessential postmodern American racial incident. When word first leaked of Limbaugh's potential ownership, a couple of sportswriters, joined by a handful of cable news talking heads, repeated what turned out to be totally unsubstantiated quotes by Limbaugh praising slavery and James Earl Ray. (Documented outrageous Limbaugh-isms were available but generally ignored.)

This called for an enraged response from conservatives, who rallied to protest a grave racial injustice on par with the trial of the Scottsboro Boys, or possibly even the campaign against Clarence Thomas. Imagine--Rush Limbaugh, as pure an acolyte of Martin Luther King's ideals as can be found, accused of racism! Limbaugh defended his "belief in a colorblind society where every individual is treated as a precious human being without regard to his race." National Review heatedly editorialized, "Baseless accusations of racism are modern Democrats' McCarthyism"--temporarily forgetting, in the emotion of the moment, the NR editorial line on McCarthy, which lauds the long-deceased demagogue as a cold-war hero.

Now, it is certainly true that liberals have an unattractive tendency to casually impugn their foes as bigots. The Democratic primary's war of attrition between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama devolved into a tedious donnybrook of accusations of sexism and racism. If Clinton had won, her supporters would no doubt have spent the last nine months discovering sexist motives among her critics. Since Obama prevailed, though, liberals have busily studied the opposition for signs of racism. "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man," says Jimmy Carter. Buffoonish GOP Congressman Joe Wilson "clearly did not like being lectured and even rebuked by the brainy black president presiding over the majestic chamber," asserts Maureen Dowd.

Conservatives resent such attacks upon their motives. And justifiably so. Remember when characters like Jerry Falwell and The Wall Street Journal editorial page accused President Clinton of covering up a connection to cocaine smugglers in Arkansas? Conservatives fling deranged accusations at all Democratic presidents, without regard for race, gender, or creed.

An accusation of racism is a tricky thing. No consensus exists as to what actually constitutes racism anyway. Is it a hatred for all minorities? Opposition to formal legal equality? Support for public policies that have disparate racial impacts? Debates over whether so-and-so is racist usually boil down to the accuser and the accused having different definitions of the term.

(cont.)

This is true even of indisputable racists. Last fall, a local Republican group in California sent out a newsletter with a fake Obama dollar bill, labeled "food stamps" and decorated with fried chicken and watermelon. The group's president denied being a racist and, in her defense, pointed out that she had once supported Alan Keyes for president. A few weeks ago, Georgia restaurant owner Patrick Lanzo displayed a roadside sign reading, OBAMAS [sic] PLAN FOR HEALTH CARE: %#&!*% RIG IT. Lanzo insisted, according to a news report, that "he's not a racist." More recently, Louisiana justice of the peace Keith Bardwell refused to marry an interracial couple. "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell argued, "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom." You heard the man: These are such close black friends he allows them to use his bathroom.

So whether Limbaugh is "racist" is a near-meaningless question. Suffice it to say that he's intensely race-conscious and constantly plays upon white racial paranoia. In Limbaugh's world, racism is everywhere--it's just directed at white people. Earlier this year in Belleville, Illinois, two kids who happened to be black beat up a kid who happened to be white in what witnesses and police say was a non-racial dispute over seating in a school bus. Apparently, the color-blind analysis of that incident is the following:

Obama's America, white kids getting beat up on school buses now. You put your kids on a school bus, you expect safety but in Obama's America the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering, "Yay, right on, right on, right on, right on," and, of course, everybody says the white kid deserved it, he was born a racist, he's white.

Limbaugh has repeatedly cast Obama's agenda in racial terms. ("Obama's entire economic program is reparations.") Before Obama's election, some reporters found an undercurrent of fear among certain white voters that the election of a black president would usher in a wave of revenge against white America for its history of slavery and discrimination. Limbaugh has stoked those fears:

The days of them not having any power are over, and they are angry. And they want to use their power as a means of retribution. That's what Obama's about, gang. He's angry, he's gonna cut this country down to size, he's gonna make it pay for all the multicultural mistakes that it has made, its mistreatment of minorities.

As the blogger Conor Friedersdorf has detailed, Limbaugh hurls charges of racism promiscuously. Obama? "[T]he greatest living example of a reverseracist." Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates? "[A]n angry racist." Sonia Sotomayor? "She's a bigot. She's a racist."

When I attended college just after the height of the political-correctness fad, I was exposed to the exotic but widely accepted theory that racial minorities could not, by definition, be guilty of racism. Limbaugh has formulated a sort of mirror-image philosophy: Conservatives can't be racist. "Racism in this country," he has announced, "is the exclusive province of the left."

The victimology of the leftist is bad enough--he is beset by racism. But the persecution complex of the conservative has managed to top that. The conservative is a double victim--of false accusations of racism and of racism itself. Limbaugh moans, "Frankly, the biggest problem I face in the current climate of political correctness is that I'm color-blind about it." Poor Limbaugh--he tries so hard to avoid race, but it just keeps finding him.

What this indicates though is that anyway in the public eye, anyone in the news business, anyway in the pseudopolitcal opinion business, anyone in the pseudopolitcal enterainment business, ought to CHECK THEIR FACTS.  Really we all should, but...

If Rush had double checked everything before he blabbed, he wouldn't be accused of Lieing or whatever. 

Blogs are not facts.  Blogs may contain facts, but need to be double checked.

If it's true it's not a lie.  Maybe there was a 'Rush' to publish.  Beck has the biggest and most accurate fact-check of anyone in broadcasting.  One of the reasons that he is so successful and so on point.

Much better than Olbermann or Larry King.

The Dumbest Things Rush Limbaugh Has Ever Said
By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com

 
Famous Quotes About Life
 "The phony soldiers." --on U.S. service members who support withdrawal from Iraq (Source)

"He discusses his service in Iraq, the wounds he suffered there, and he says to me in this ad, 'Until you have the guts to call me a 'phony soldier' to my face, stop telling lies about my service.' You know, this is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media in a TV ad to walk into as many people as he can walk into." --denouncing an ad by VoteVets.org featuring Iraq war veteran Brian McGough by likening him to a suicide bomber.

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." --on an ad by Michael J. Fox endorsing Claire McCaskill for Senate for supporting embryonic stem cell research.

"And don't forget, Sherrod Brown is black. There's a racial component here, too. And now, the newspaper that I'm reading all this from is The New York Times, and they, of course, don't mention that." --on the 2006 Ohio Senate primary race involving then-Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is white...

"This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation...I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You ever heard of the need to blow some steam off?" --on the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal

"Too many whites are getting away with drug use...Too many whites are getting away with drug sales...The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them, and send them up the river, too." --in 1995

"I am addicted to prescription pain medication." --in 2003

"Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society."

"We're not sexists, we're chauvinists -- we're male chauvinist pigs, and we're happy to be because we think that's what men were destined to be. We think that's what women want."

"She comes to me when she wants to be fed. And after I feed her -- guess what -- she's off to wherever she wants to be in the house, until the next time she gets hungry. She's smart enough to know she can't feed herself. She's actually a very smart cat. She gets loved. She gets adoration. She gets petted. She gets fed. And she doesn't have to do anything for it, which is why I say this cat's taught me more about women, than anything my whole life." --on his cat

"She sounds like a screeching ex-wife." --on Sen. Hillary Clinton

"I've been racking my brain. I've been trying to figure out how Bob Dole's luggage got on my airplane...I told the doctor, I said, 'Look, I'm worried about the next election.' ... A misunderstanding." --after he was detained by custom officials for possessing Viagra with a prescription made out in someone else's name

"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."

"They oughtta change Black History Month to Black Progress Month and start measuring it."

"Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it."

"Sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well." --on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, while working as a commentator on ESPN

"The only way to reduce the number of nuclear weapons is to use them."

"There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492."

"I know these people like I know every square inch of my glorious naked body." --on Democrats

~Compiled by Daniel Kurtzman

It’s my — it’s my talent that draws the crowd. The news is incidental to it. ~Rush

And there it is from the mouth of Limbaugh himself. 

Nobody who's profession is to discuss "news" goes on the air or goes to press without substantiating the information they are about to disseminate.  Not that R.L. can even remotely be considered a journalist nor does he doesn't pretend to be (surely), but in the legitimate broadcasting world it is a rule even among "talk show" hosts to get "information" right. 

There is no excuse whatsoever for Limbaugh - or anyone - to have taken this "hoax" to the air and report is as a fact.  None.

"it felt true"  ?  WTF?

:::barf:::

I guess my political correctness threshold level is different than some. Those Rush quotes don't really bother me. Even the ones he probably didn't say like the NAACP quote. I hear those types of things in normal conversation all the time. If I thought they were bad enough I'd probably take the time to see which ones are legitimate. Fortunately in this country, you have a perfect right to be offended.

In 1992, on his now-defunct TV show, Limbaugh expressed his ire when Spike Lee urged that black schoolchildren get off from school to see his film Malcolm X: "Spike, if you're going to do that, let's complete the education experience. You should tell them that they should loot the theater, and then blow it up on their way out."

In a similar vein, here is Limbaugh's mocking take on the NAACP, a group with a 90-year commitment to nonviolence: "The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."

When Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL) was in the U.S. Senate, the first black woman ever elected to that body, Limbaugh would play the "Movin' On Up" theme song from TV's Jeffersons when he mentioned her. Limbaugh sometimes still uses mock dialect -- substituting "ax" for "ask"-- when discussing black leaders.

Such quotes and antics -- many compiled by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) for our 1995 book -- offer a whiff of Limbaugh's racial sensibility. So does his claim that racism in America "is fueled primarily by the rantings and ravings" of people like Jesse Jackson. Or his ugly reference two years ago to the father of Madonna's first child, a Latino, as "a gang member-type guy" -- an individual with no gang background.

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting.org

President Barack Obama doesn’t care about the war in Afghanistan, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said on "Fox News Sunday."

“I don’t think he cares much about it,” said Limbaugh about the eight-year war,

Fox had an exclusive interview with Limbaugh in the midst of an ongoing spat between the network and the Obama administration.

This week, Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base to salute the remains of Americans killed in Afghanistan. And Limbaugh said the trip was a media event, organized to distract the public from the ongoing debate within the administration over the war in Afghanistan.

“It was a photo-op precisely because he’s having big time trouble on this Afghanistan dithering situation,” he said.

Under President George W Bush, media was banned from the receiving ceremonies. Critics say that Bush refused to allow photos in order to hide the human cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Limbaugh said that the previous administration did not take photos with the fallen returning home from war because they did not want to “use” military families.

“I have the benefit of knowing George Bush a little bit and I’ve seen him cry talking about missions that he’s ordered,” Limbaugh said.

“It was a photo-op precisely because he’s having big time trouble on this Afghanistan dithering situation,”

How %#&!*% cruel and disrespectful to our fallen troops and their families for that %#&!*% asshole to demean ANY President paying his respects, and of course there would be photos taken.  Limbaugh makes me sick, I really don't know how people stomach listening to his crap - I can't even bear to read it..

Dearest Katii,

I am with you on this.

His arrogance and disrespect for our military who have given their lives - and continue to give their lives - and Limbaugh's disrespect for their families and loved ones - make me seethe.

When he speaks this way, it becomes obvious, IMO, that Rush Limbaugh is no Conservative who gives a crap about anyone except himself.  He is a person who exploits and distorts and twists for his own ego gratification and for money.  Rush Limbaugh is slime.

"In a similar vein, here is Limbaugh's mocking take on the NAACP, a group with a 90-year commitment to nonviolence: "The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies." "

Katii,

Did Rush actually say this?

Divide and rule, a sound motto. Unite and lead, a better one.

~  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Katii- I'm with you on this one.  I gave up on him years ago and don't know why people listen.  I guess it helps them to dealw ith their own anger- he expresses it for them.

Dan, it was reported first in the Flush Rush Quarterly, January 1993 - you'd have to ask them for their source, which was probably Limbaugh

I think it is funny if Limbaugh or his supporters complain and claim that people take his quotes out of context or make them up.  Limbaugh doesn't appear to hesitate for a second before he runs with any fake quote or intentional distortion. 

I would never intentionally misquote someone, but I laugh when Limbaugh whines that it has happened to him.  Shut your gob, jackass, you've made millions doing the same to other people.

I think it is funny if Limbaugh or his supporters complain and claim that people take his quotes out of context or make them up.  Limbaugh doesn't appear to hesitate for a second before he runs with any fake quote or intentional distortion.

So true, Kevin.

As to the 'respectful photo-op' taken by BHObama and using a flag-draped coffin as a prop:  The White House asked the families of 18 KIA if BHObama could use their coffins in pictures.

17 refused the request.

Definitely a photo-op by a cynical President.

This post was modified from its original form on 04 Nov, 14:04

Rush Blames Newt Gingrich, "Party Bosses" For NY-23 Mess

Wed, Nov 4, 2009

Rush: "[L]osing New Jersey is like Stalin being defeated in Moscow," "like Castro being defeated in Cuba"

By Greg Lewis

Rush began the program today by saying he was looking through exit polls and election analysis, but couldn't find how many votes President Obama had created or saved in New Jersey or Virginia. Then he explained:

    LIMBAUGH: Let me tell you something, folks, losing New Jersey is like Stalin being defeated in Moscow. It's like Castro being defeated in Cuba. It's like Reagan winning 100 percent of the vote in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It's like Hu Jintao being thrown out by the street sweepers of Beijing. It's like Kim Jil -- Kim Il-Sung -- or Kim Jong-Il, the little potbellied guy over there in North Korea being eaten by dogs. I mean, it is just that you cannot overstate. It -- Virginia is big too, but New Jersey! New Jersey, the bluest of blue states!

Rush proceeded to make a huge deal about Obama losing the "bluest of blue states" and said Obama inherited two blue states that are now turning red. Ultimately, Rush explained, this means that the Democratic Party is in trouble because it is being led by a "radical" and its "extreme leaders" in Congress are defying the public. Rush said that if you combine the New Jersey and Virginia races, you have a "blowout."

Promising to talk about NY-23 shortly, Rush said that the worst has yet to come for Democrats, who were pushing health care, cap and trade, and soon, amnesty. Rush said that exit polls show that health care wasn't a high priority and that 40 percent of voters thought the election was about Obama.
Rush declared last night's election "Obama's Waterloo"

Rush said that Obama's policies were not intended to reverse the course on the economy, and this has put several blue states into play. Rush went on to declare that last night was Obama's Waterloo. Then he talked up a war in the Democrat Party [sic], reading a Byron York post about progressives challenging Democrats in Congress who vote against health care reform. Rush said that Obama's radical policies were unraveling the party.

After the break, Rush read a blog post by Markos Moulitsas over at Daily Kos going through "lessons" of the election results. Rush observed that the post sounded a lot like conservatives who are angry at the Republican Party. Since the media are always touting a civil war in the Republican Party, Rush wondered if Moulitsas' post indicated a civil war in the Democratic Party.
Rush blamed Newt Gingrich and others for NY-23 mess

Rush then got to the race in NY-23, where the conservative-backed candidate Doug Hoffman was defeated by Democrat Bill Owens. Rush touted the results of the race as sending the right message -- that Republican Party bosses like Newt Gingrich screwed the whole thing up by putting up Dede Scozzafava as a candidate. Rush claimed that if the party had gotten behind Hoffman from the beginning, he would have won, "no doubt about that."

Rush said that the huge story of NY-23 was the shambles the Republican Party made of it by putting up such a horrendous candidate. Rush likened this to the GOP telling Republican voters in the district: "Screw you." What did not lose in NY-23, said Rush, was conservatism. What lost was Republican ineptitude.

(cont.)

Following another break, Rush said that NY-23 should silence the third party people out there, since it was being "mistakenly" looked at as a third party race. Rush contrasted the lack of a primary in NY-23 to the GOP primary in NJ, where Chris Christie defeated the more conservative candidate Steve Lonegan, then the party backed Christie. But there was no primary in NY-23.

Rush then took a look at the exit polling conducted yesterday, but cautioned that he doesn't trust exit polls since the 2004 election when early exit polls pointed to a Kerry victory. So it was natural that he didn't trust the exit polls given by CNN that said Obama wasn't a big factor in the Virginia election.

Then Rush got distracted by the reports that Obama would not travel to Germany for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Rush said that this was "unprecedented" and started rambling about Obama's lack of respect for freedom...and Ronald Reagan:

    LIMBAUGH: An American president not showing up at a citadel of freedom and extolling the virtues of what happened there? I mean, hell, he should go even if he wants to praise Gorbachev for making it happen. I think -- you know, Reagan is there. Reagan is there in spirit. Reagan is there every -- "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." I think one of the reasons Obama may not want to go is 'cause I think he probably fears he'd be upstaged by the memory of Ronald Reagan.

Rush taunted that JFK and even Jimmy Carter would have gone. But not Barack Obama!

Then Rush got back to the race in Virginia. He continued to express his blanket distrust of exit polls, pointing out that they always say exactly what Democrats want them to say. After a commercial time-out, Rush took a caller who said the real lesson of NY-23 was that the "self-anointed" party leaders will not tolerate an average person standing up to run for office. Rush took this opportunity to talk about himself (which is something he claimed he "never likes" to do). Rush noted that the media are saying the race is a big loss for himself and Sarah Palin. The next caller talked about the election for county executive in Westchester County.

Rush said new Obama documentary at risk of "anal poisoning"

Rush kicked off Hour 2 with an idea for Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel on how to get Obama to come to a Berlin Wall event: tell him it's an emergency meeting of the International Olympic Organizing Council to reconsider the location of the 2016 Olympics.

Then Rush said Obama is "not a narcissist," but informed us that Obama watched a documentary about himself last night as the election returns were coming in. Rush said this documentary, "By the People," was so fawning that it could get "anal poisoning." He then spent several minutes criticizing Obama for watching that instead of the election returns.

Next, Rush read a CBS post about David Axelrod saying that Obama alone can't create bipartisanship. Rush took this to mean that the lack of bipartisanship was now his own fault. But Rush pointed out that Obama won't meet with Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. John Boehner, or Secretary Robert Gates.

Digging further through his stack of stuff, Rush highlighted an AP report about the defeat of the Maine marriage equality ballot measure. Rush called the report an example of the "chickification" of the news and said it distorted the same-sex marriage issue.

Then Rush rambled on some more about the meaning of yesterday's elections. He replayed some of his "predictions" from yesterday of how the media would react and clips from various media figures proving his predictions right. Rush was ecstatic at his own genius, and the man who just 30 minutes before had said he doesn't like making his show about himself, made his show about himself. And the man who couldn't get over the fact that Obama watched a documentary about himself, listened to several audio clips of himself (some of them multiple times) as the program carried on.

Anyway, Rush eventually got around to looking at a Wall Street Journal article about California's attempts to balance its budget. Rush warned that the politicians there were destroying the state. Then Rush took a caller who said the NY-23 race reminded her of the way the liberal media picked Sen. John McCain as the GOP candidate last year. Rush said the dirty little secret of that race was how the "smart thinkers" in the GOP picked the wrong candidate.

Then Rush argued with another caller over whether there was a "split" in the Republican Party. Rush concluded by saying that conservatives were on the ascendency and yesterday provided them with a great start. Rush claimed that Christie and McDonnell in the "last weeks" before the election went "pedal to the metal conservative" in their respective races.

After another break, Rush picked up an ABC News report that Democrats were now saying that Obama won't get a health care bill to sign until next year. Rush wondered if the purpose of this news was to "tame the crowd" at tomorrow's Michele Bachmann-led rally in D.C. But the problem with this, said Rush, is that we're dealing with Democrats who don't care what you think.

Rush picked this back up as the third hour began, saying he didn't think Sen. Harry Reid had the votes in the Senate, which is why he was pushing back the bill. Then Rush talked about reports that Reid had made a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman over his threatened filibuster of health care. Rush read a report denying that there was any such deal. Then he read extensively from a Heritage Foundation blog post about the "strong state of conservatism" with the intention of inspiring people.

(cont.)

Rush talked up Sarah Palin

Following the break, Rush touted another one of his brilliant "predictions" about the media's reaction to the elections. Then he read a Los Angeles Times article headlined, "GOP victories send message to Democrats." Next, a caller asked Rush how he thought Hoffman's defeat would affect Sarah Palin's intentions for the White House. Rush said he wasn't sure if Palin had intentions for the White House, although he said she was laying the groundwork for a possible run. Rush said of Palin's upcoming book: "[I]n her case, I think she actually wrote it." (Or maybe her ghostwriter did?)

Then Rush contested the media talking point that he and Palin handed victory to Owens in NY-23. Rush accused the media of doing everything they could to ignore the races in Virginia and New Jersey by focusing on him and Palin. Rush went on to talk up Sarah Palin some more. He said that, knowing what she thinks about the issues and what kind of person she is, he doesn't buy any of the media conventional wisdom about her. Rush said that liberals are afraid of her. Noting that he wasn't trying to endorse Palin or say she was perfect, he said that Palin was "one hell" of a strong woman whom the media and Democrats have tried to "literally" crucify.

After another break, Rush picked up the latest batch of school kids singing to Obama videos. He claimed that this sort of thing is "not random anymore." Then Rush took a caller who was fired up about tomorrow's Bachmann-led protest. Rush went on to claim that attacks on Sarah Palin were attacks on average people and said that people were trying to make Palin into a joke and harm her book sales. Rush also said that he was "very proud" that three of the most vocal, action-oriented Republicans -- Palin, Bachmann, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) -- were women.

Rush closed out the program with a few more callers.

The first caller said that Rush was a "gift from God" and told him her theory on why Obama wouldn't go to Berlin, which was that "man-child" Obama was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to speak at the Brandenburg Gate for his campaign rally, but wasn't allowed to. Rush agreed with the caller, since, after all, Obama is an immature man-child.

The final caller claimed that the vote in Virginia was in fact a vote against Obama. Rush agreed, adding that exit polls showed the economy being the number one issue, and the economy has everything to do with Obama because he's destroying it.

That's right.

  Hi Robert.

Hey Knate!

Obama has been President for less than a year. If he were to create a jobs program that put people back to work and by doing that caused the economy to grow...wouldn't he be a hero again? I don't think the time has come to judge Barack Obama.

As for Rush Limbaugh, he is a big wind bag. Any one of us could be on the radio and make more (or at least as much sense) as Limbaugh ever does. I don't mind criticism of ideas, but Rush has to take it one step further  and use name calling. If we could find some commentators who would talk about what we, as citizens, could do to improve and change what needs to be changed about our nation, maybe we could bypass the corruption in politics by doing this without the politicians. Instead, if you have noticed, we are always pitted against each other instead of being encouraged to work together.

Has it ever occurred to anyone else that our real enemies are the large corporations and the people who profit from them? There are equal numbers of them that own most of the influential politicians from each political party. We cannot unite on demanding policy reforms such as an end to all political lobbying and term limits for our Congress. WHY?? We are the people. At least, even if we fail, we should go down fighting!

Katii,

"Dan, it was reported first in the Flush Rush Quarterly, January 1993 - you'd have to ask them for their source, which was probably Limbaugh "

I have my doubts. What I would suggest it that you verify the quotes before assuming they are true. For me, the validity of most of those quotes wouldn't change my mind on much so I'm not going to spend the time, but it seems like you and a lot of others are basing your opinion on them. If you don't like Rush for other reasons that's fine but be careful of your sources.