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July 21, 2011 - Rush Limbaugh Program
35:39
July 21, 2011, Thursday, Hour #2
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My gosh, folks, we are being played like fiddles in just the six minutes that we've been away.
The absolute BS that has crossed the wires.
No, I've got it all here for you.
They try to, the New York Times sent out a news alert.
Obama and Boehner close to major budget deal.
Congressional leaders are told.
New York Times news alert, Obama and Boehner close to major budget deal.
Then CNBC says White House denies deal.
And then Boehner tweeted back, no deal.
Says the Senate ought to pass cut cap and balance.
So somebody tells the New York Times that Obama and Boehner are close to a deal.
Breaking news, actually, it was at 1238.
Obama and Boehner close to major budget deal.
And then Jay Carney denied it.
And then Boehner denied it.
But what happened in the process is that the market surged and then dropped, or it dropped, period.
Yeah, Carney.
Well, no, what happened?
The market surged at the New York Times printed the headline.
Obama and Boehner close to major budget deal.
The market went up 100 points instantly.
Then Carney denied it and the market plunged.
And then CNBC says there's nothing to it.
And then Boehner says there's nothing to it.
But somebody told the New York Times, if they just decided to do it on their own, that Obama and Boehner were close to a deal.
So hold on tight, folks.
This is the kind of stuff that happens when everybody's starting to get real nervous, when everybody starts trying to use the media to influence what they want to happen.
Somebody called the New York Times and said that Obama and Boehner were close to a major, major deal.
And I just want to remind that, gosh, I guess I'll say this, I'm blew in the face.
Any deal that carries Obama through the election and gives him a life.
Remember, John Boehner is Obama's lifeline.
That's when Obama looks at Boehner, he sees you're my ticket to re-election.
All he's got to do is get Boehner to cave.
But it turns out there's no story backing this up because there is no story yet.
The market's been dancing up 100 and plunging when Carney denies it.
So buckle yourselves in because this just indication here that things are starting to get real nervous.
And I didn't know better.
I think they're nervous in the White House.
Obama is willing to cave.
He's now changed his mind on a short-term deal.
And prior to yesterday, the day before, that was out of the question.
And now the news is that he's open for a deal.
Anyway, welcome back, Rush Limbaugh, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network.
Happy to have you.
We're in Los Angeles today.
Have to attend a funeral tomorrow.
This is one we will not and cannot miss.
So Mark Stein will be here doing the program tomorrow.
We'll be back home at the EIB Southern Command on Monday and get back to a standard state of normalcy as far as the program is concerned.
Again, no Ditto Cam while we're in Los Angeles on this trip, but I have been assured by our video and IT experts, our engineers, and we're going to have a Ditto Cam up and running for our next trip out here, which will be early on in August, shortly after our 23rd anniversary, which comes up on August 1st.
Where do we leave off in the previous hour?
I know exactly where we left off.
I had his bogus Reuters story on unemployment.
Jobless claims rise above expectations.
That is a clear indication of what Reuters thinks of you, that you're stupid.
When you write rise above expectations, it of course sounds like a good thing.
Everybody wants to exceed expectations.
New claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
Government reports showed today pointing to a labor market struggling to regain momentum after job growth faltered in the last two months.
And by the way, I am beginning to think maybe the labor market must be racist, keep being so mean to Obama.
The labor market is, yeah, the labor market's steadfastly refusing to get any better.
It's got to be racism.
The labor market must be racist.
Poor old Obama doing everything he can, boohoo.
And yet, new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected.
Economist poll by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 410,000.
However, they went up to 418,000.
By the way, the prior week's figure was revised up to 408,000 from 405.
So whatever the number is this week, add 3 to 10,000 to it next week for the real number.
And yet, here's Reuters, Reuters and AP talking about all the momentum that was built up that is now being sacrificed.
The AP version, more people sought unemployment benefits last week.
That's almost written to sound good.
More people applied for unemployment benefits last week.
Evidence that layoffs are rising and the job market is weak.
Consumers have pulled back on spending this year, besieged by high unemployment, stagnant wages, and high gas prices.
That has slowed growth.
Racist saboteurs, I tell you, folks.
Racist saboteurs in the labor market.
Economists have attributed much of the slowdown to temporary factors like a spike in gas prices this spring.
Manufacturing output also declined after Japan's earthquake disrupted global supply.
That was five months ago.
For March was five months ago.
Isn't it time to find another excuse for this?
Five months ago.
Many economists expect growth to pick up later this year as those factors fade.
And when have they ever been right about this?
Gets even worse, folks.
Dr. Keith Ablow, a well-known psychiatrist, member of the Fox News medical A team, posted a piece here in 99 weeks of unemployment compensation causes major depression.
This administration's policies are making some of my patients sicker, writes Dr. Ablow.
Social and economic policies have psychological consequences, so very apparent in the case of the federal government extending unemployment benefits to up to 99 weeks.
In my practice alone, several individuals have found it much harder to overcome symptoms of major depression and anxiety because they can't rationalize giving up their unemployment checks and taking jobs that would pay them less, sometimes far less, than what they were used to earning.
Now, how long, ladies and gentlemen, you would know this.
You've been listening since the beginning of time here.
How long have I, El Rushbo, a doctor of democracy, been railing against endless unemployment benefits because it does harm the individual.
It strikes at the very heart of an individual's dignity and self-worth.
It incentivizes joblessness.
Never-ending unemployment benefits is an incentive to stay unemployed.
And then the more depressed you get, the less inclined or inspired or motivated you are to go out and find a job because you're not even fit for an interview.
So all of this promotes dependency on the state.
Exactly what Obama wants is they try to recreate Europe.
Exactly what liberals want, the erosion of the individual, the erosion of dignity and self-sufficiency.
So now we've got a psychiatrist, Dr. Keith Ablow, who agrees.
99 weeks of unemployment is unhealthy.
There is nothing compassionate about it.
And yet it's all done in the name of compassion.
In fact, you know, the destruction of the country has all happened in the name of compassion.
Oh, dead serious.
All of these failed social policies have as their primary reason compassion.
Compassion for the downtrodden.
Compassion for the put upon.
Compassion for the offended.
Compassion for the thirsty.
Compassion for the hungry.
Compassion for the fat.
Compassion for the thin.
Compassion for whatever victim group we can create.
And of course, to show our compassion, what do we do?
We throw money and programs, and all we do is disincentivize self-reliance, which is something that this country was built on.
So once again, here, 99 weeks of unemployment, compensation, major depression results.
Liberalism, that is, government is the problem, not the solution.
Quick time out.
We'll be back.
Your phone calls and lots of other stuff straight ahead as we continue.
Broadcast excellence from Los Angeles.
Well, you say it's the one.
I guess we're about to find out if it's the one.
Ha!
How are you?
Welcome back, Rushlin Baud.
New York Times, ladies and gentlemen, not backing off.
It's a story.
A Wall Street Journal update.
Both parties say they are not close to a budget deal.
New York Times about 40 minutes ago said that Boehner and Obama are close to a deal.
A market spiked up about 100 points.
Then Boehner denied it.
Then Mr. Claire Shipman, the White House press secretary, he denied it.
Then Boehner said, nope.
Want to pass cut cap and pass whatever it is in the balance in the Senate?
Everybody went, whew.
Everybody is waiting for the Republicans to cave here.
I hate to say it, but everybody's waiting for that.
So New York Times, oh, everybody got all excited.
See, folks, they want us nervous now because a nervous herd is easier to stampede.
Go look at your average cowboy movie, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.
A nervous herd, much easier to stampede.
And we are about to be stampeded.
When the left can't win with persuasion, when they can't win with dirty tricks, they'll just go all the full out with a stampede.
In this case, a media stampede.
By the way, the Politico is currently claiming that President Obama and Boehner are making a last-ditch effort to strike a grand bargain on slashing the deficit and raising the debt ceiling days after that idea appeared to be dead.
Grand bargain, I guess, means a big long thing, which would carry Obama through his reelection.
That's how I am.
This is not.
This is the stampede.
This is the media stampede that they're now eagerly hoping that people like me will tell you about this and you'll get deflated and depressed.
Boehner is denying it.
Jay Carney is denying it.
But the Politico and the New York Times are insisting that a grand bargain is imminent.
Grand bargain.
One last-ditch effort, the Politico says, to make this happen.
Back to the phones.
We're going to go to Santa Monica, just up the road.
This is Ed.
Great to have you on the program.
Welcome to the EIB Network.
Hi.
Hey, Rush.
It's an honor to speak with you.
Thank you very much, sir.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, but yeah, you know, out here in L.A., they're cutting back on smoking everywhere, making it illegal around schools or any public areas, even in your own home sometimes.
Right, yeah.
How long is it till this flag controversy, you can't wear a lapel pin or display the flag in front of your house for fear of passing off secondhand conservatism to the liberals in the neighborhood?
I think there's no question about it.
We mentioned this at the top of the program.
Another survey has come out, folks, if you're just joining us.
You know, on the eve of the 4th of July, Harvard put out a study that said 4th of July parades tend to convert little kids to Republicans.
Long-lasting effects.
There's another three-university, three-scholar survey out today, which claims that exposure to the American flag influences people to be Republicans and conservatives and to vote that way.
I immediately suggested that everybody go out and put a flag up in your house, right in your front yard, you know, get a little flag lapel pin and put a flag decal on your car and your bumper because we really ticks off the left.
And I said jokingly, but I don't doubt it might happen.
Now that the flag is said by scholars to be biased, how long will it be before some Democrat proposes to the Federal Election Commission that you cannot use the flag in a campaign commercial?
Don't be surprised if this happens.
Sophia in Hyde Park, New York, you're next on the EIB network.
Hello.
Hi, Rash.
Thank you for taking my call.
I had a thought about the flag story.
I don't think, well, I don't think that liberals are afraid of people becoming conservative when they celebrate the 4th of July or look at the flag.
I think they're more afraid about how the 4th of July and the flag makes people feel.
It makes people feel patriotic and devoted.
And liberals would rather you be devoted to government instead of your country.
Right.
That's true.
And they do look at it as two.
Well, they want the two to be synonymous.
Government and country to be the same thing, of course, with a liberal-dominated government.
But, you know, you make a good point.
Nevertheless, regardless what the impact is, they are going to be bothered by this.
And stop and think of that.
You have news that the American flag is prone to bias people toward conservatism.
The left, they're going to have to take steps about it.
They know that they're in the minority, and they know that they govern against the will of the majority, and it enrages them.
It's no different than the left trying to ban nativity scenes or anything else that they claim is offensive.
Cheryl and Scambia, Michigan.
Hi, glad you waited.
You're next on the program.
Hello.
Hi.
How are you, Rush?
Good.
Thank you.
I have a comment to make about how this wonderful, I call it the Frank Dodd Lame Duck Banking Regulation is ruining this economy.
And I have a first-hand example to give you that I think would be very much interest to people in my situation, like retirees.
Okay, fire away.
Okay.
I inherited a home from my dad when he passed away, which, of course, we couldn't sell on the market.
So I turned it into an investment home, took out a home equity loan, refurbished the whole thing, and now I'm renting it.
The home equity loan expires this month.
So I applied for a 15-year mortgage, and everything was going fine.
I got approved for the mortgage.
Everything was proceeding the way it should be.
I was told once it gets final approval by underwriting, the next step is the closing date.
So the other day I get a call from my mortgage consultant, and she's got bad news for me.
Apparently, about two weeks ago, there was an amendment to this regulation through Freddie Mac that prohibits any use of retirement assets to purchase a home.
What?
Yes, sir.
So all the retenes out there, people who are thinking about possibly buying investment homes.
There is a prohibition against any use of retirement assets to purchase a home.
Absolutely.
To purchase a second home, this is considered an investment home.
Okay, it's not our primary home.
I got, like I say, I got it from my dad when he passed away.
We couldn't sell it on the market, so we're renting it.
Ah, gotta look into this.
If I understand you correctly, I'm not familiar with this amendment.
So I need to inform myself.
None of this makes sense to me.
I don't doubt you were told this at all.
My friends, it appears there's a reason why the New York Times is sticking with its story that Boehner and Obama are on the brink of a deal.
It's because they might be.
Somebody has leaked something to the New York Times that convinces them that they're onto something here.
And I just got an email from the chief of staff to a member of Congress with this note.
Rush, you need to know that Speaker Boehner has called a special meeting at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning of the full Republican conference.
These are usually called when they have a deal to float to the full conference.
And it says here, despite what Boehner is saying in person, now, this is a person I know, chief of staff to a Republican member of Congress.
It says that Boehner has called a special meeting at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning of the full Republican conference.
It means all the members.
And the chief of staff here says that these are usually called, these meetings, when they have a deal to run by or float to the full conference.
That's apparently the New York Times has received a leak.
I think it's all starting to line up now, folks.
As a lot of people feared that this is the way this was going to happen.
In fact, the Hill.com has this.
Speaker Boehner said today he has prepared his members to compromise on the debt ceiling and that a majority of House Republicans could support a potential deal with Democrats.
In a news conference at the Capitol, Boehner pressed anew for the Republicans' cut cap and balance plan, but also pushed back against conservatives in his caucus who were unwilling to move beyond it.
Speaker was asked to respond to comments from Jim Jordan, Republican Ohio chairman of Conservative Republican Study Committee, who described cut cap and balance as the compromise, and he signed a pledge opposing other alternatives to raising the debt ceiling.
Boehner said, I'm sure that we've got some members who aren't willing to compromise, but I don't believe there's anywhere close to a majority.
This doesn't sound good.
I just have to tell you.
Doesn't sound good.
I don't know what else to tell you about.
I can offer further opinion, playing us for saps all along.
But this has been the fear.
This is why we're getting a program every day with the thought that the Republicans are nervous.
They're very nervous.
And so the New York Times puts this story out, backed up by the Politico, that a grand deal, one last effort at a grand bargain is being made.
And I get this note from a Republican member of Congress chief of staff that the special meeting has been called at 9 o'clock in the morning of the full Republican conference.
And this, according to the email I have, usually means that Speaker has a deal to run by the whole conference, despite what he's saying publicly.
As always, my friends, once the floodgates open on stuff like this, get ready for it.
It's going to start cascading in all afternoon now.
And for those of us on the left coast all morning, it's going to continue the rest of the morning.
It's going to start cascading in now, as the denials will not carry much weight.
Back to the phones, Lisa in Akron, Ohio.
Welcome to the EIB Network.
Great to have you here.
Well, hello, Rush.
It's a great thrill to speak to you, and I will be quick.
I have called John Boehner's office, and I am going down my directory of Republican women serving in Congress.
They need to have a press conference and defend Alan West against Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
I mentioned, yeah, I understand that this is something traditionally Republicans don't do.
Well, it's time to speak up, Rush.
I'm done.
I'm done with the Democrats.
I'm done with their bullying.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I can't stand this anymore.
What she is getting away with is unforgivable.
And Colonel West deserves better from his own party.
Well, the problem that Colonel West has in terms of his own party is he's a conservative.
And they're not crazy.
The Republican Party leadership, especially the establishment gang inside the Beltway, they're just not crazy about conservatives.
Conservatives are a bunch of nuts.
Well, Rush, I guarantee you that some of the Republican leadership in Washington looks at Alan West as a kook.
Just like they would look at me as a kook.
And me too, and I consider that a compliment anymore.
I wear that badge with pride, Rush.
And I just, it's time to stand up to these people.
It's time to put aside this politeness and move ahead and start defending the people who are telling the truth.
And I started with Marcia Blackburn, and I'm going down my list.
And I'm also calling the Republican congressman from Florida saying, you know, you people need to get on this and defend one of your own.
And so that's all I have to say.
I want to thank you for your time.
And I just appreciate everything you do, Rush.
I've done a lot of things.
No, you're more walking about.
You're doing a Lord's work out there.
As long as you're making phone calls, might as well pass along your thoughts on this latest rumor about a grand bargain being on the verge of being stuck.
Well, I almost had a heart attack when I heard you speak of that because I was just on the phone with Speaker Boehner's office, and he said, Well, we're really not getting very many calls about Congressman West because we are really talking about the budget here.
To which I replied, cut, cap, and balance, and nothing else.
So I've done my part.
I'm making my phone calls.
I drive my friends crazy.
And so there you go, Rush.
I hope you have a good day and thank you for your time.
Thanks.
I relate, by the way, to driving your friends crazy.
I know we're on the end page.
Thanks a lot, Rush.
All right.
You bet.
Thank you.
Lisa, I appreciate it.
By the way, Reuters has a story here today, and it's probably an accurate story.
The Federal Reserve is actively preparing for the possibility the U.S. could default as a deadline for raising the debt ceiling looms.
And I think I've been saying this until we're blue in the face.
The country will only default if Obama chooses to.
There is plenty enough revenue currently coming into the U.S. Treasury to service our debt and pay the mandatory entitlements.
Now, Reuters is calling this a grand exclusive, the Fed planning for potential default.
I would certainly hope so.
And this is the second exclusive from Reuters about secret contingency plans, which, of course, been denied by officials at the Treasury Department.
But it would be irresponsible for the regime not to have a plan should this so-called default date actually come without a deal.
You would think that most governments would want to reassure the financial markets that they do have a plan.
This bunch doesn't care.
This bunch is not, they're not concerned about reassuring anybody.
They don't care a twit about this country.
It's obvious.
So why are they lying about something that should be good news?
And it's even more troubling if the regime will lie to us about something as important about going into default.
What else are they lying about?
Unemployment statistics, GDP, inflation?
You and I both know we're not getting the truth on inflation in terms of government reporting.
So of course they have a plan in case this default happens.
Just like the Pentagon's got war plans for every conceivable circumstance they can imagine.
Not that the plans are good or not, but they do have contingencies.
Reuters exclusive.
Okay, quick time out here, folks, as we resume from LA right after this.
Snerdly tells me that the phones are going nuts with people who refuse to go on the air.
People are calling Snerdly, and every other word happens to be an obscenity or a profanity, saying, if this happens, then blanket, blanket, blanket, and they hang up.
No, I don't want to go to the air.
And they hang up.
There's anger brewing out there.
Now, here's the latest on this from the National Journal.
This is a bunch that publishes the hotline each day.
This is a place that F. Chuck Todd used to work.
He ran the place.
National Journal confirms that the White House and congressional leaders are discussing $3 trillion deal by Dan Friedman and posted about 10 minutes ago.
The White House and House Republican leaders are discussing a grand deal, large deal to raise the debt ceiling that would include about $3 trillion in deficit cuts over 10 years, according to several congressional aides.
The aides who declined to be named because they weren't authorized to speak publicly said that the outline of the deal is broadly similar to a plan discussed previously by Obama and John Boehner, similar to that, and a gang of six proposal to cut about $3.7 trillion in a decade.
The major exception, according to the National Journal, the major exception is that the compromise between Boehner and Obama would not raise significant tax revenue.
The gang proposal, by contrast, would seek $1 trillion of its deficit cuts from new tax revenue.
So, again, your guess is as good as mine.
We're just floating all this by you as we get it.
But the latest, see, there is something going on.
The New York Times got a leak.
There's no question there's something going on.
Things are lining up here.
There is a grand deal coming.
Boehner's got a meeting at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.
He's talking to people about it.
He told theHill.com that he's got a majority of Republicans that he's willing to compromise.
He wants cut cap and balance.
He isn't going to get that, but he's holding out for it.
But the latest detail here is $3 trillion in deficit cuts over 10 years with no significant tax revenue, which means there is some.
I don't know what no significant tax revenue means.
And since we're talking about people who live and work in Washington and what they say, no significant tax revenue, there's no possible way of knowing what that means.
So we'll just wait for the leaks to continue, which they will.
The floodgates have opened now, folks, and we're on the verge of a deal.
And don't forget Ramadan, a key date in all this, August 1st.
Who's next?
Where are we going?
Darryl in Chicago.
Daryl, great to have you on the EIB network.
Hello.
Pleasure to talk to you, Russ.
Thank you, sir.
All right, I just wanted to let you know that if anything that they pass that Boehner comes out with that he wants to have us agree to has any tax increases in it whatsoever be it removing a deduction for the mortgage interest or anything anybody that votes for that on the Republican side will be primary.
I guarantee you, I know I will.
I've been talking to a lot of people and everybody says, if anybody does that breaks that pledge.
We remember now why the structure that we have of government was put in place in the first place, that we haven't used it because we get comfortable before about, oh, we know this guy, he's okay, times are okay, but those times are over.
Anybody that does that is going to be primary.
I have a great feeling that's going to happen across the board.
On any Republicans that go for taxes.
Are you uh, are you an?
Are you an official TEA party guy?
Yeah, I consider myself a member of the TEA party.
Absolutely okay, all right.
So uh, I I think folks ought to listen to what you're saying.
I I think there are a number of people out there who um, considerable number of people who, if there is any kind of compromise that gives Obama anything he wants in this deal when he's on the verge of caving himself and collapsing.
There is going to be hell to pay for Republicans.
They'd better be very careful.
There's a reason they're nervous.
Uh, Look at it with secrecy.
What do we have?
Secrecy before Obamacare.
We had secrecy before the stimulus.
And now we got secrecy and mystery before this.
We're having to rely here on leaks.
And the purpose of the leak is to set the stage, set people up, no transparency whatsoever.
We have no idea.
In our own country, the United States of America, we have no idea what our elected representatives are actually talking about.
We do not know what the status of these things are.
We have to rely on news reports that we inherently instinctively distrust.
But why all the secrecy is my point.
If this is such a great deal, why not go?
Why isn't everybody, if it's a great deal, we're on the verge of a great deal, why isn't anybody out there calling a press conference saying, look at what we've just done for you.
Look at what we've just done for America.
Look at the great progress.
It works.
We have come to a deal.
It's great for the, why isn't that happening?
Why all the secrecy?
Well, the answer is obvious.
They know we're not going to like it.
And they're just assuming that things aren't going to change when it comes to the voters either.
They are assuming, folks, that here in July of 2011, whatever happens here will be long forgotten and trumped and superseded by whatever issues happen between now and the election, particularly the events of a campaign.
So they're counting on all this being forgotten.
Guarantee you.
Bill in San Antonio, Texas.
Hello, sir.
Great to have you on the program.
Bill in San Antonio, Texas.
Yes, Bill isn't there.
He's not there?
He's not there.
It says up there that he's been unemployed seven months and he's angry.
Not depressed.
He was going to say that he wanted to react to the story from Dr. Keith Ablo that he's been unemployed.
Well, but that story dealt with people that have been unemployed for over a year, up to 99 weeks that they end up being depressed.
He's been unemployed seven months.
He's still angry.
Hopefully, the reason he's no longer there is because he just got a call to go on a job interview.
Who's next?
Jeremy in Bow Bridge, wherever.
I don't know what LOA is.
Welcome to the program, sir.
Hello.
Hello, Mr. Lembaugh.
It's not here to talk to you.
I've been calling a lot, trying to get through, and this is the first time.
I just wanted to comment on the fact that from what I've seen, I know personally myself, but from what I've seen, there's a lot of Democrats leaving the Democrat Party.
Like, I want to get a t-shirt that says the party left me behind because I'm going to re-register as Republican as soon as I can.
And, you know, the economic policies they pushed through has left me in a serious bind.
And I'm a very big social liberal, but I can't deal with it.
It seems like Republicans are the only ones who actually know how to run the economy and get things right.
I was in high school when Bush was in office, and I was exposed to a lot of this, you know, like you say, the scrolls.
You know, I'm in Louisiana, so that makes things a little bit different.
There's more of a conservative lean down here, but you still have a number of them, the teachers out there with the liberal slant.
And I was exposed to a lot of that.
And it wasn't until when I started working here, I've been working since around 2006, and every day I listen to your program, and it's just like every day I'm getting more and more leaning towards the right, towards the right, until finally I got a.
I can't thank you.
Just look at me, folks, as the flag.
I just, just, you're listening to me.
You're looking at the American flag.
I know the phones are melting up on Capitol Hill, but if I didn't know that, this email that we just received, our office just received, would tell me.
We just received an email from Eric Cantor's office.
The email reads, Eric Cantor has not agreed to any deal and is not aware of any deal that is close.
Now, Eric Cantor is in the leadership.
Folk, this means the phones are melting Capitol Hill right now.
And Eric Cantor wants nowhere near what people are thinking is associated with this leak and this news.
We'll be back.
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