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Jan. 23, 2007 - Rush Limbaugh Program
36:29
January 23, 2007, Tuesday, Hour #1
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Time Text
Welcome to today's edition of the Rush 24-7 podcast.
Well, you know, Snardley, I still can't find anything on that.
Uh PMS NBC all over the um place the last half hour.
With the uh story that Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, in his opening argument has really come down hard on Cheney, that Cheney was responsible for the leak to Libby and told Libby to destroy a piece of paper or some such thing.
And I mean I mean getting this sporadically, it's it's being treated as a bombshell.
And of course, everybody said, Well, well, wait a minute.
If Cheney did this leak, we all thought it was Armitage.
If Cheney really did this, why wasn't he uh indicted?
You know, why at least why isn't he at least an unindicted co-conspirator?
Anyway, greetings, my friends, and welcome.
It is the uh Rush Limbaugh program, this the Excellence in Broadcasting Network, happy to have you with I'm a little horse.
Uh, ladies and gentlemen, up very, very, very late uh last night.
And uh I I just very and I'm a little hoarse because of that, so bear with me.
Um we have lots of stuff to do on the program today.
Present State of the Union is tonight.
We get audio sound bites about that.
General Petraeus has been testifying all morning today about the um the surge in Iraq, and it is most revealing.
It is it is incredible, particularly when you listen to him and then look at the it seems the rising tide of opposition uh from the Democrats on this committee and even some Republicans.
Uh we will go through that.
We've Al Qaeda uh and and uh Amon Al-Zawahiri mocked President Bush's plan to send twenty-one thousand more troops to Iraq and said, just send the entire army.
Why don't you send the entire army?
You're gonna lose whoever you send, so why don't you send the whole army?
We'll beat you no matter how many you send.
Uh we have that uh audio soundbite coming up, as well as the fact that uh I wonder if this would change a Democrat's attitude about anything, mimicking the hijackers who executed the September 11th attacks, insurgents reportedly tied to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil.
Lieutenant General Michael Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently testified that documents captured by coalition forces during a raid of his safe house, believed to house Iraqi members of Al-Qaeda six months ago, revealed that uh Al Qaeda in Iraq was planning terrorist operations in the United States.
Several sources told ABC News the plot may have involved uh moving between ten and twenty suspects believed to be affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq into the United States with student visas, the identical method used by the 9-11 uh Al-Qaeda terrorists.
Uh there were 19 of them.
Uh for the Democrats, probably another reason we should leave.
Oh no, they're coming at let's get out.
Uh, it's amazing.
Let's let's get to uh General Petraeus first.
This is this is uh uh really interesting.
I'm watching his testimony this morning.
It was tough to find it's on C-SPAN 3, and the networks jipped it now and then.
Uh that didn't they didn't go wall to wall with it.
Uh his t strong and compelling stuff that he said.
Uh it was uh he got a question from uh from McCain uh uh basically um uh responded responded to the question by saying in a congressional resolution of disapproval will not have a beneficial effect on the troops.
And then Lieberman pushed a similar line of questioning, uh, this time on the effect of a Senate resolution would have on our enemies.
And uh uh well, you just have to hear this.
Here's here's here's Lieberman's question.
I want I want to ask you what effect would Senate passage of a resolution of disapproval of this new way ahead that you uh embrace.
What effect would it have on our enemies in Iran?
This is a test of wills at the end of the day, and in that regard, speaking purely as a military commander, if confirmed, albeit one who frankly does understand enormously and treasures the value of Free and open debate, free speech, who has put himself in harm's way uh to protect those great features of our democracy.
Nonetheless, having said that, uh a commander uh in such an endeavor would obviously like to the enemy to feel that there's no hope.
And a resolution, the Senate passed resolution of disapproval for this uh new strategy to wreck would give the enemy um some encouragement, some feeling that that some clear expression that the American people were divided.
That's correct, sir.
Do you understand the impact of this, ladies and gentlemen?
Lieberman basically asked a question to which uh Petraeus' answer was, yeah, you do this resolution.
Well, we love free speech here, and we defend it, open debate, this sort of thing, but you do this resolution and you are giving hope to the enemy.
You're extending hope to the enemy.
You know something, folks?
As I listened to Lieberman today, I couldn't help but compare him to these Republicans who are now wandering off the reservation for whatever their reasons.
I mean, we can discuss that cowardice, fear, uh principle, whatever, whatever their their reasoning is.
But you know, if these Republicans weren't wandering off the reservation, I wonder uh it's probably a long shot.
Lieberman wouldn't change parties, but it would be a little bit easier for Lieberman to come full board uh uh on our side of things here if if there weren't Republicans wandering all over the place.
Uh by the way, Petraeus was being praised by everybody here, including Senator Kennedy.
Uh but if you you have to listen to what he what he said, he's saying that he believes we can win, but he needs the additional troops with a new strategy to win.
And he's saying a congressional resolution of disapproval would send a harmful message to the troops and a hopeful message to our enemies.
You know, McCain asked if uh asked him if if we s if we send uh Petraeus over there, we send you over there, sir, but don't send you any additional troops.
Can you get your job done?
He said, No, sir, I can't.
I need the additional troops.
And so we're uh we're gonna have this uh resolution.
We're probably gonna get this resolution.
We're gonna get the troops and have the resolution sent, and it's gonna uh uh demoralize the troops according to Petraeus and give hope uh to the enemy.
Uh and this is a guy has uh unimpeachable integrity on uh on both sides of the aisle.
So to the left, I mean, we simply say here, give Petraeus and give victory a chance.
Are you so committed to American defeat here that you won't even allow Petraeus the opportunity to win?
I mean, look at they are invested in defeat, and they're really feeling their oats here.
Got the State of the Union coming up tonight.
When this news gets broadcast about Patrick Fitzgerald opening argument today about Cheney, uh this this it's gonna be a feeding frenzy.
You're gonna see headlines, maybe they're out there already.
Bush fighting for political life, not just a rock.
Bush fighting for survival in Washington.
The last two years of his administration going into the State of the Union tonight.
Uh by the way, as far as the State of Union is concerned, uh, tax increases on your health benefits, ladies and gentlemen.
Have you heard about this?
Yes, here it's here's how it's gonna work.
The average benefit, and a hundred and fifty million Americans have health insurance through their employers.
And right now that's a benefit.
That's that's uh it's income that's not taxed.
You don't see it, but it it that's what it costs the employer to pay you, and so you're not taxed on it.
And I knew that I've been predicting, I can't tell you.
I just didn't know a Republican would come up with the idea, but I've been predicting this for the longest time.
Here's the deal.
Average American uh health care plan, 150 million of you uh uh uh supposedly have your health care paid by your employer, which is it's being paid by you, you just never see it.
Bottom line is 11,500.
The tax will be on employee benefits over fifteen thousand dollars.
And there are some of those.
The average is eleven thousand five hundred.
So, for example, if it costs your employer seventeen thousand dollars for your health care plan, you will pay a tax on two thousand dollars, every dollar above the fifth.
Now, oh it's not a bad, Rush.
You know what happened with Social Security when it started out versus where it is.
You know what happened to the income tax when it started out ver versus where it is.
It won't be long before that 15,000 is down to 10.
And then down to eight.
Once they start increasing taxes, folks, I told you two weeks ago we are probably living at a moment where our taxes will never ever be lower than what they are.
In addition to that, the president is going to propose a 20% reduction in the use of gasoline.
How's this going to happen?
Well, they're going to raise the cafe standards.
We went through that in the 90s with Clinton.
And it raised the cafe standards and uh promote conservation and uh alternative fuels uh and and the like.
No mention of the speed limit.
Gosh, I hope I don't do that.
And by the way, um there's no I can't find it.
I haven't seen the text of the whole thing.
I can't find any added impetus to start drilling for our own oil.
Uh Democrats want to prevent that wherever and whenever they can, while claiming that they want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Quick timeout.
We'll be back.
Your phone calls are coming up as well as the audio sound bites and lots of other stuff in these stacks.
Sit tight.
You know, all these uh at the at the uh General Preus hearing today, all of these pro-resolution senators, all these pro-resolution people are insisting that their resolution of disapproval will not demoralize the troops, nor will it encourage the enemy.
No, of course not.
No, no, no, don't that's not the purpose of our resolution.
Our resolution won't do that.
Won't hurt the war effort.
We still support the troops.
We are, we are.
We want to win, we want to win.
And they do.
They do, but but but but but we we're not gonna give the enemy any hope.
They're protesting too much.
They know what they're doing is wrong.
They know what they're doing is ill-timed.
Herefore uh, you know, as we make one push for victory, and I'll tell you something else.
The Lieberman line of questioning is really agitated him because it's flushing them out.
You know, that I mean, Lieberman the on the Democrat side especially, the only guy who asked, What is this resolution gonna hurt your effort?
Uh you know, that that's that's you're not supposed to question these people.
And Lieberman's doing it.
And I'll tell you, he's he's going to be savaged on these kook fringe blogs like you can't believe.
Here's the Here's the Cheney story.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald used his opening statement in the CIA leak trial today to allege that Vice President Cheney's chief of staff lied and destroyed a note showing Cheney's early involvement.
Fitzgerald said that Cheney told his staff, Scooter Libby, in 2003, that uh Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, and Libby spread that information to reporters.
When the information got out, it triggered a federal investigation.
When the FBI grand jury asked about what the defendant did, Fitzgerald said, he made up a story.
Fitzgerald alleged that Libby in September 03 destroyed a Cheney note just before Libby's first FBI interview when he said he learned about Wilson from reporters, not the vice president.
Uh Fitzgerald told the jurors that uh that clearly was a lie.
Uh because Libby had already been discussing the matter inside and outside the White House.
You can't learn something on Thursday that you're giving out on Monday, Fitzgerald said.
Libby says he didn't lie, but was simply bogged down by national security issues, couldn't remember details.
I still remain confused over this.
There was no crime.
Fitzgerald did not charge anybody in this leak.
This is a process crime.
Now he's alleging in an opening statement that Cheney's deeply involved, but Cheney's not indicted.
He's not even an unindicted co-conspirator.
So what goes on here?
Okay.
I don't he says there's a note that uh Libby destroyed and so forth, but it was Armitage that was the leaker.
And this was known a week after Fitzgerald took the case.
And it was also known that she was not covert, otherwise that he could have charged Armitage or whoever with it with a Crime for this.
So while no crime was committed, we got Libby accused now of destroying a note that Cheney was more deeply involved in this than anybody knows, but he's not indicted.
He's just being savaged in an opening statement by Patrick Fitzgerald.
We, of course, will keep a sharp eye on this.
Uh let's see.
To the phones will start with Greg in Worcester, Ohio.
Greg, thanks for waiting and welcome to the program.
Hey, how are you doing, Ross?
Hey, never better, sir.
Thank you.
I want to say, Rush, I want to ask you a question here.
Yeah.
Why do you push so hard for this New World Order agenda when they send people to Iraq to die by the by the hundreds, it seems like every day, and all these Iraqis that suffered and lost their lives for this war that's unjust.
And will you stand with me and take a stance and join the resistance manifesto against this war?
No.
I will not.
No, I I am not going to join you in the defeat of the United States of America.
I'm not going to join you in your distortion of what is happening in Iraq.
If you're so concerned about death, will you join me in banning the automobile?
If you're so concerned with death, will you join me in holding uh doctors accountable for poor writing?
Faulty prescriptions lead to 7,000 deaths a year.
If you are so concerned about death, will you join me and ban emergency rooms where many, many people die every day?
You, sir, are an embarrassment to me.
You are an embarrassment to the country.
You have a brain, but you don't even use it.
It's a sponge for a bunch of anti-American garbage and guilt that you soak up and then you spew it back, making yourself feel important and big and better and smarter than everybody else.
When the truth is, if people like you ever end up in control of the country, we are finished.
You will give it away in order to make yourself feel good that you are against death.
Three thousand Americans died in two hours on September the eleventh.
You have forgotten who did it.
You have forgotten that they want to continue doing it, or you don't believe it, or you think we're to blame for it, or what have you.
But I'm not going to join you in any move that would ensure the defeat of the United States military and this country.
The Twana in Atlanta, your next.
Welcome to the EIB network.
What the hell is going on?
Are you being attacked out there?
I'm here.
Where are you?
I'm in Atlanta.
Are you in the men's room at Hartsfeld?
The noise out there was incredible.
Sorry.
Anyway, can you hear me now?
Yeah, I hear you now, but yeah, I don't even want to know what was going on.
It might be scene.
Yes.
Well, my point is, in light of what the president plans to talk about tonight and adding yet another element of government growth, you know, Rush, I've been a card-carrying Republican since Reagan, and I am completely bamboozled by this guy.
I don't know where he stands on the conservative issues.
And and to be honest with you, i i let's just say that the minority in in the Congress and the Senate comes up with a plan to try to win in 08.
It seems to me they're gonna have Bush to overcome.
I'm so irritated by this.
Uh I'm uh having trouble if if the minority in the Congress and the Senate come up with a plan to try to win in 08.
You mean the the the the elective office or some piece of legislation?
No, if they if they try to take back the Senate and the con and the House of Representatives in 08, they're you know, their Republican base is still having to look at what Bush is doing to increase government.
Uh have you noticed a trend out there, though, Twana?
Have you seen what's happening in California to Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Do you know how seductive liberalism is?
Here's Arnold Schwarzenegger giving away the count giving away the state, giving away the f of the farm.
Health care benefits and insurance for children of illegals, paid for with tax increases called loans.
Of course, the Democrats out there applauding this.
Uh it liberalism is is seductive as it can be.
When you're in government, your job is to spend money.
And when you have unlimited amounts of it to throw around, uh uh it it it it's a temptation, I guess, that that some can't resist.
Uh but this this business of taxing benefits, uh, I'm surprised it's taken this long uh to do it.
It is an income, and you are not being taxed on it, and we aren't.
Uh if if uh in in uh there are a lot of other circumstances where this kind of thing does result in independent contractors and so forth having to pay tax on it.
It's it's treated as income.
Uh like for example, a gift, you can the maximum you can gift anybody in a 12-month period, I think is now $12,000.
May go to 13,000 this year.
Anything above that, you pay a tax on.
You got an exemption of so much for your life, but if you surpass that, the tax rate on gifts over that's 49%, something like that.
It's it's it's so there there's there's precedent for this.
I'm just surprised that it's uh it's taken this long.
As far as the effect on on uh Republicans uh and their electoral chances in 08.
Uh it's not just the president who is wandered off the reservation on some of these things.
Back in just a second.
Thank you.
Uh this I know.
It's uh Rush Limbaugh, the EIB network America's real anchor man here on the radio.
A real radio announcer here at 800-282-2882.
Do you people know that this is national no name calling week?
It is.
It is National No Name Calling Week.
It's an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name calling of all kinds and providing scrubles with the tools and inspiration to launch an ongoing dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.
It it's January 22nd through the 26th.
National No Name Calling Week.
That means Democrats are going to be hard pressed to respond to President Bush's State of the Union address tonight.
They uh gonna violate national no name calling week.
And of course, if the Libs abided by this, we get a week off from being called Nazis racists, bigots, homophobes, and the like.
Sexists as well.
Here is Matt.
He's on the phone from Wiesbaden, Germany.
Uh Matt, welcome to the program.
Nice to have you with us, sir.
Uh thanks for taking my call, Russ.
You bet.
Uh Rush, I'm a member of the military, and uh I have to go along with uh I I totally agree with General Petraeus that uh that if the resolution uh against the president's uh the even though it's a non-binding resolution against the president's decision to send more troops to Iraq, uh that I believe that would help our enemies.
I was wondering if anybody would possibly propose in the Senate a resolution that we actually defeat our enemies as opposed to one that that hog ties the president.
You know, there that is an excellent point.
Where's the resolution where is the resolution's Godspeed, U.S. troops in your new mission?
Godspeed, Mr. Pre.
Where where is the unity of purpose on this?
Where is the resolution demanding and supporting victory?
Of course, there have been a couple of rush, and I mean I I just I just returned from Iraq back in uh back in September.
Yeah.
And I can tell you that uh that the troops are we we see the I mean we get Armed Forces Network over there, we see bits and pieces from from Fox News Channel, from CNN, from MSNBC, uh, and and we the the troops are are a lot more informed than that uh everybody gets some credit for, and and we take all the criticism to heart.
We really do.
Yeah, no, I'm uh I was uh I mean I was stone.
I went to Afghanistan about two years ago next month, and uh uh uh all three cable news networks are in all the mess halls and uh rec rooms everywhere I went on every base.
Uh and and you know uh the the question I got from uh troops in Afghanistan at the time was well how come they're not talking about us, they're always whining and moaning about Iraq, because at the time Afghanistan had quieted down and there was no bad news there.
And that's uh that's what I told them.
But look, there were a couple resolutions here, Matt.
Uh they after 9-11, uh the Democrats demanded one additional one, uh showing that they were tough on crime and they're tough on terrorism, and they supported the war on terror and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
But as usual, they pull out.
The going gets tough, and they scram and they head for the tall grass, and they do engage in these resolutions now.
There's some Republicans joining them too, but it's the Democrats who got this started.
And it is I mean, if you're not gonna believe General Petraeus, who are you gonna believe?
And this guy is is universally praised on both sides of the aisle.
And he says this resolution is giving the enemy hope.
So why isn't there a resolution for victory?
Matt, are you still there by any chance?
Uh Yes, I am.
I want you are you listening on Armed Forces Radio or on the web?
Uh actually I'm listening on Armed Forces Radio, so I get my I get my one hour a day.
Oh, I appreciate that.
Now look, I want you to listen to the next call.
Because if you're infuriated by this resolution, listen to this next call.
In fact, you know what I'll do?
I'll put you on hold so you can listen to it on hold.
Do not get rid of Matt.
I want to be able to.
Are you listening to the program live right now or is it delayed on our program?
No, it's actually live right now.
We get we get the first hour in Germany, we get the first hour live.
Okay, they do it.
Well, okay, then you'll just keep a radio on and listen to what's coming next, okay?
Yes, sir.
Thank you much for the phone call.
I appreciate it.
God bless you and God speed.
Good thanks for your support, Rush.
You bet.
And now on to Sholow, Arizona, which is one of my all-time favorite names for a town.
I love Solo, Arizona.
This is Mike.
Welcome, sir.
It's great to have you on the program.
Megadetto's rush, and God bless the soldier who was just on.
I'm calling in regards to an article that's on the front front page of Fox News.com, and it's titled GIs Wanted Mats, but got insults instead.
Basically, what happened was some GIs requested some floor mats so that they could sleep on from a big company called Discount Mats out of out of Wisconsin.
And they got a response back from them after they requested these mats to sleep on, and the response was we do not ship APO to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would never ship to Iraq.
If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq.
Bargain suppliers discount mats.com.
Yes, I have that story right here.
I'm holding it in my nicotine, formerly nicotine staying finger.
Despicable.
Well, let's there's that let's do the rest of the story.
And I I I I I'm some I want to repeat this because I think some of you might not have really believed what you just heard.
But it is true.
An American GI assigned to one of the harshest posts in Iraq had a simple request last week for a Wisconsin mattress company.
Please send some floor mats to help ease the hardship of sleeping on the cold bug-infested ground.
What he got instead was a swift kick from the company's website, which not only refused the request, but then added insult to injury with the admonition if you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq.
Army Sergeant Jason Hess, who is stationed in Taji, Iraq, with the first Cavalry Division, not the all-American First Cavalry Amazon Battalion, this is the first cavalry division, said that he emailed his request to discountmates.com because he and his fellow soldiers sleep on the cold ground, which contains sand mites, sand flies, sand fleas, and other disease carriers.
In his email on January 16, 2007, he asked the web-based company, do you ship to APO military addresses?
I'm in the first cavalry division stationed in Iraq.
We're trying to order some mats, but we're looking for ships to APO first.
Same day he got this reply.com.
Now, discount mats.com is uh web-based company.
It's registered to an American Muslim of Pakistani descent.
His name is Faisal Katani.
Don't know if he wrote the email.
Uh email is not signed.
This is Bargain Suppliers Discount Mats.com.
Katani on Monday told Fox News the person responsible for the email had been fired.
The website, meanwhile, has been temporarily taken down.
Uh Hess emailed he has since found two Matt suppliers willing to ship to an APO address in Iraq and they'd have to go through uh bargain suppliers.
But this is uh uh it this is all too common in this country.
Uh with with uh renegades uh you know taking stabs.
That's why, you know, when I when when I uh mention that the left is not only sabotaging victory over this particular enemy, they are actually invested in defeat.
And I get emails and I get people you're really going a little far.
Do you really think they're Americans want us to lose?
Hell yes.
They're all over the place.
And they're all liberals.
And that means that most of them are probably Democrats.
They most certainly do.
And of course, these are the people that have flip-flopped all over the place in terms of elected Democrats.
These are the ones that couldn't wait to get on board for the first series of resolutions after 9-11.
They wanted to flex their muscles, and they wanted everybody to see how tough they were.
Because they know what their image is when it comes to national defense and the use of force since Vietnam.
They're doves.
They are reluctant doves that, hey, after 9-11, well, I really wanted to sure buddy how pumped up and tough they are.
But now the going gets a little tough, and so they want to back out.
And they just want to act like they never supported it in the first place.
I find it repugnant.
It has enraged me ever since this sort of thing began happening in this war.
It enraged me during Vietnam, by the way.
And they they seem they seem hellbent on recreating the exact same scenario as uh as happened in uh in a row in in Vietnam in Iraq.
Anyway, I gotta take a quick time out here, folks.
I'm looking for something that dovetails with this story, and it's got to be buried in the stack here somewhere.
I'll find it during the break.
We'll be back and continue.
Mike in Shallo, Arizona, thanks much for the call.
Sit tight, folks.
EIB and broadcast excellence right around the corner.
I feel so bad.
I feel so bad.
I played a trick on you people.
I'm and I must now apologize for it.
I only told you half the story about the tax increase on health care benefits.
And I did this on purpose to get your attention.
Judging by my email, it has worked.
Because I want you to listen.
I want you to know what the other half of this is.
I I don't like the fact that there's a tax increase in here, but uh I'm just I'm I'm just it's with the level of taxation we already face.
I'm just I'm I'm universally opposed to it.
It's nothing that we've got so much money being produced by the people of this country that they're just fraud and waste and redundancy all over this budget.
It's obscene.
But that aside, in addition to proposing a tax increase on health care benefits above $15,000 per employee.
The president is also going to propose a tax cut for those of you who purchase your own medical assurance, and he would finance that tax cut you're going to get by buying your own health insurance with an unprecedented tax on a portion of high-priced health care plans that workers receive from their employers.
The initiative, which the president briefly previewed in his radio address on uh Saturday, I guess it was, yeah, uh, has a dual purpose.
It would create a financial incentive for the estimated 46 million to 48 million Americans who lack health insurance to buy it, and it would rain in well, wait a second.
Now, see, the I thought they didn't have it because it was so expensive they couldn't afford it.
But see, they don't tell you that many of these uninsured or uninsured by choice.
They're young, they have no concept of illness, catastrophic or otherwise.
They don't plan on dying tomorrow.
They don't plan on being in a car wreck or any of that.
You know how the young people are.
And uh so they just they're they're they're running the risk that they're not gonna need it.
And they're looking at the actuarial tables and they're finding that taking the risk is pretty sound.
They're not the kind of people that spend every day in the doctor's office and then at the emergency room.
Um they're just and I don't know what percent, I think I I'll bet you close to half.
I think I read close to half of these 46 to 48 million estimated uninsured or underestimated or uninsured by choice uh on purpose.
The president said today the tax code unfairly penalizes People who do not get health insurance through their job.
It unwisely encourages workers to choose overly expensive gold-plated plans.
The result is that insurance premiums rise, and many Americans cannot afford the coverage that they need.
But the reason I wanted uh to do the reason I decided to do it is because this is a really robust and and and perhaps it it actually it's like Mitt Romney's plan in Massachusetts, where he's requiring everybody to have it and buy it.
They've got to have it like auto insurance.
And the incentive is if you buy your own, you'll end up shopping and you'll get better prices, and you maybe won't buy as much.
You won't go for these gold plated things so that you don't have to worry about it.
You'll just buy what you need, and this will introduce market forces into the health care system, which we've all agreed needs to be done decades ago.
And when you introduce market forces, you lower prices.
And for you people who choose not to go out and pay for your own insurance, welcome to tax increases because you're gonna get soaked.
You continue with these these gold-plated plans.
You're not gonna get soaked, actually, because the entire amount is not gonna be taxed.
It's it's uh every dollar over fifteen thousand dollars in your uh annually in your health care benefit package at work will be taxed.
Don't know what the rate is.
Uh so it's it's ultimately a an attempt here to introduce market forces and privatize as much of the health care system as possible or get it started, because that is the fix for this, just as it is with social security.
Now the Libs are gonna fight this tooth and nail.
Uh I don't care if it's no name-calling week or whatever.
They are gonna go bananas with this.
Oh, I know they're already saying it's dead on arrival, but after he does the speech night, when most Americans hear it for the first time, wait till you hear the response and wait till you hear the drive by us tonight and tomorrow.
They are gonna go bonkers.
The only way to fix health care rushes for government to pay it for everybody.
And for you and everybody else device to be dependent on government, because government cares, and government can do it, the Beth Mithra Limbaugh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So, debt on arrival, it's an attempt to introduce market forces.
Uh the thing I don't like about it, and it's a small part, and this was the trick, it's one of our guys proposing a tax increase.
I just I just way it can be spun, Bush proposes tax increase, period.
And it can be just like I did when I tricked you.
Again, I'm sorry for that, ladies and gentlemen.
It won't happen too many more times in the future.
We have uh audio soundbites here's more from General Preus talking to Vice President Lindsey Graham.
Graham says, I just want to associate myself with Senator Lieberman here.
No matter how well intentioned, a resolution being opposed to this new strategy is a vote of no confidence in you.
Um if you think it's Vietnam, if you really believe we're in Vietnam, you should cut off funding.
Not one other person should die in this cause.
Not one American should lose a limb.
No one should get hurt.
General, is this Vietnam?
Sir I Vietnam was Vietnam.
As a student of lessons of history and someone who did a dissertation that that focused on those.
Every case is unique, and Iraq is Iraq.
And then they had this exchange.
Who's the biggest winner?
Name some winners of a failed state in Iraq.
Well, certainly Al-Qaeda, uh, the Greater Al-Qaeda Network, uh, those who want states that embrace extremist ideologies, those states who wish the United States and perhaps uh the Western world ill.
Well, that's uh surprising.
Of course that's what happens if we lose.
Uh the biggest winner if we fail in Iraq.
Now, Hillary didn't take kindly, folks, uh, to having her integrity questioned here.
Beyond my statement of uh joining in the comments with Senator Collins and rejecting those of our other friends on the panel who think that statements of disapproval are somehow going to undermine our effort when I think they will send the clearest message.
We are gonna do everything we can to send a message to our government and the Iraqi government that they had better change because the enemy we are confronting is adaptable.
It is intelligent, it learns.
It got a hold of our military uniforms, went through those gates after having cleared all those police checkpoints, killed five of our Soldiers in a meeting talking about security in Iraq.
I disapprove of the policy.
I think it is a dead end.
But don't tell me I don't support the troops, and don't tell me I'm invested in defeat.
Well, I will, Senator, because you are back in just a second.
This is gonna get nasty.
Scooter Libby's lawyer opening statement.
I'm not taking the fall for Carl Roll.
That's what Libby lawyers said that Libby told uh Cheney.
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