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Aug. 16, 2011 - Rush Limbaugh Program
34:24
August 16, 2011, Tuesday, Hour #3
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Now, I'm just saying it's very strange, Mr. Snirdley, that we know so little about a guy who's written two autobiographies.
We don't, it really is strange.
You know, play that soundbite, all these Democrats talking about holding America hostage, middle-class tax cuts.
Obama has hijacked the middle class, period.
Got the middle class in a chokehold.
The middle class is struggling in this country purely because Obama is president.
You know, everybody knows it.
Everybody knows it.
Great to have you back.
Rush Limbaugh at 800-282-2882, the fastest three hours in media.
Happy to have you here, my friends.
I thought about this Wisconsin recall today.
The AP has a very discreet, by the way, AP story today.
Wisconsin Democrats sought Tuesday to hold the ground they gained in last week's recall elections by fending off Republican attempts to oust two senators who fled the state in opposition to Governor Scott Walker's proposal curbing public employee collective bargaining rights.
What a?
That's exactly how you would describe this if you were a PR firm for the Democrat Party, which the AP is.
I'm going to read that to you again, Scott Bauer, by the way, the reporter here for AP.
Wisconsin Democrats sought Tuesday to hold the ground they gained in last week's recall.
Now, if I'm not mistaken, the Republicans won four out of six of those races right last week in the recall right.
um help me out here it is I know it didn't change the balance of power they had a they had a net pickup of one seat and they want to hold the ground they gained Democrats needed to win at least three of six recalls last week targeting Republicans.
They only captured two.
That means the best they can manage in Tuesday's elections is to keep the ground they gained, which left the Senate in Republican control by a narrow 1716 margin.
A pair of Republican wins Tuesday would leave the Senate in the same partisan split as it was before the recalls.
See how this works.
If the Republicans win, it means a return to the bad old days of a partisan split, even though it means the legislature would continue to be in GOP control like it was before.
Nothing would change, but it would be that partisan split now apparently, if the Democrats had won in the recalls and had taken over THE Senate, that would not produce a partisan split.
Even though that would have given Wisconsin a divided government with Democrats controlling the Senate, Republicans controlling the House, and the governor's mansion.
So you see how partisanship works.
Partisanship only works when the Republicans are in the majority.
There's never partisanship when the Democrats are in the majority.
Now, on the ballot were Senators Bob Works of Pleasant Prairie and Jim Holperin of Count Over.
Holperin's the first state-level elected official in U.S. history to have faced two recall attempts.
He sounds like a wonderful guy.
Holperin has spent at least $319,000 and combined with spending from outside groups and his Tea Party Republican opponent, Kem Simek, total spending is estimated to be at least $4.5 million.
Again, note how artfully this is written by AP, acting as a PR firm.
Doesn't it sound like the Republicans are vastly outspending the Democrats with all of their outside money here?
In fact, it's probably the opposite.
And I thought maybe I shouldn't mention this.
The recall elections today, since I didn't mention the Republican recall race last week until it was over.
However, unlike that one, for some reason, the mainstream media seemed to be trying to bury the news about today's vote.
Did you know it was going on?
Well, you had forgotten it.
I've not seen, and I have been paying close attention, I've not seen a word about it on any of the cable nets.
They seem to be trying to bury the news about today's vote.
This AP article is not being carried by very many outlets.
This article is, in fact, from Yahoo News Singapore.
This is not even from Yahoo News America.
This is from Yahoo News Singapore.
It did not know, it did not make it into Yahoo's normal U.S. listing.
So we'll keep a sharp eye.
This is two more recall races going on.
These on Democrats in Wisconsin today who fled the state.
Los Angeles Times, Obama's Gallup numbers show 12 states in play in 2012.
The ratings, which aggregate Gallup polling done from January through June, came out just as Gallup was releasing its latest tracking poll showing Obama's approval nationwide at 39.
Oh, speaking of which, I think we got Wolf Blitzer on this.
Let me dig through the soundbite roster here.
Let's see.
Let's see.
Bear with me here, ladies and gentlemen, as no help is forthcoming.
Here we go.
Audio soundbite number 22.
No.
Audio Soundbite 23.
We'll do that first.
The classic montage, March 13th, 2006 on CNN.
It's 4 p.m. here in Washington.
You're getting the first look right now at our brand new poll.
The president's job approval rating has taken a downward turn again, falling to only 36%.
This represents his lowest rating ever in the CNN USA Today, Gallipol.
The president's poll numbers are pretty bad, pretty awful right now, rock bottom as far as the CNN USA Today Gallipol.
The president's a rock problem and his new low point in the polls.
His approval and policies now are at new lows.
The president's job approval number in this new CNN USA Today Gallup poll, rock bottom, the lowest it's ever been.
It's 5 p.m. here in Washington, where President Bush takes a beating in our latest poll.
His approval rating at a low ed.
Our latest CNN USA Today Gallup poll just out in the past hour shows the president at an all-time low.
His job approval rating at a new low.
That's rock bottom as far as our poll is concerned.
It's 7 p.m. here in Washington.
The war in Iraq comes home to roost for President Bush.
Our latest poll numbers showing his approval rating at a new low.
Also, President Bush hits a new low in the polls.
Now back to our lead story.
President Bush's approval rating now at an all-time low.
As we noted, a new CNN USA Today Gallup poll shows his job approval rating at a new low.
President Bush's approval rating at a new low, 36%.
That's Wolf Blitzer on March 13, 2006.
Here's Wolf Blitzer yesterday, last night, on the Situation Room.
President Obama may be feeling a bit uneasy right now after seeing a new round of poll numbers.
The latest Gallup poll, the tracking poll, he's down around, what, 40%, some say 39, 40, 41% over a week-long period.
Not very good numbers.
His lowest so far.
How's he doing when he looks at these poll numbers?
39% job approval, 40% job approval.
That's pretty low.
You're not even sure what the number is.
That's it.
That's all that he said about it.
Well, I don't know for the whole show, but that's actually a montage of Wolf Blitzer talking about Obama's new poll numbers.
But the numbers, 39.
The Gallup number is 39.
But Wolf here, the latest Gallup poll tracking poll down around what?
40?
Some say 39, 40, 41.
Some say.
Oh, the wolf, we love you.
You know that.
They don't even bother anymore, folks, to mask it.
They don't even make an effort.
Anyway, the LA Times story says that the new Gallup numbers put 12 states in play in 2012 that really weren't thought to be in play.
But the poll numbers have descended to such a day.
You've got an Obama advisor out there saying that there won't be an unemployment rate anywhere near 8% either, which the historic impact of that is that no president's ever been re-elected with unemployment higher than 8% or 8.1%.
For the Boston Herald, Evergreen Solar Incorporated, the Marlborough Clean Energy Company that received millions in state subsidies to build an ill-fated Bay State factory, is filed for bankruptcy.
Evergreen, which closed its taxpayer-supported Devons factory in March and cut 800 jobs, has been trying to rework its debt for months.
The company announced it's seeking a reorganization of bankruptcy court in Delaware, has also reached a deal with certain note holders to restructure its debt and sell off certain assets.
Company also said that it'll lay off another 65 jobs in the United States, Europe, mostly through the shutdown of its Midland, Michigan manufacturing facility.
Now, that would leave Evergreen with about 68 workers, according to a headcount listed in the bankruptcy filing.
Now, Evergreen, and this was Obama's future, folks.
Clean, renewable, green energy.
All those new jobs, all those new opportunities, all that new energy independence.
Evergreen secured a $58 million financial aid package from the Duval Patrick administration in Massachusetts to help build the $450 million factory.
The state's been trying to recoup about $4 million in cash from the company, the once promising poster child of the governor's clean energy economic agenda.
Okay, that's story one in the category.
Here is yet another.
Last year, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced that the city had won a coveted $20 million federal grant to invest in weatherization.
The unglamorous work of insulating crawl spaces and attics had emerged as a silver bullet in a bleak economy, able to create jobs and shrink carbon footprints.
And the announcement came with great fanfare.
McGinn had joined Vice President Joe Bitemee in the White House to make the announcement.
It came on the eve of Earth Day.
It had heady goals, creating 2,000 living-wage jobs in Seattle and retrofitting 2,000 homes in poorer neighborhoods.
But cue the tears.
More than a year later, Seattle's numbers are lackluster.
As of last week, only three homes had been retrofitted.
Just 14 new jobs have emerged from the program, and many of the jobs are administrative, not the entry-level pathways once dreamed of for low-income workers.
This from the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
So even when the government tries to create jobs by destroying other private sector jobs in process, of course, they do a lousy job of it.
And what kind of foolhardiness was this anyway?
Weatherization of attics and crawl spaces.
Entry-level jobs.
Green energy.
This is tomfoolery.
It's a waste of money.
It's a waste of time.
And folks, it's just plain unintelligent.
It's a triumph of emotion over common sense.
It's pure, undiluted idiocy.
All of this green energy stuff.
These green companies are going bankrupt left and right.
Many of them are a sham from the get-go.
And a lot of them signed up there just because they hope to get state money or federal money or what have you.
Let's see.
Here's thehill.com.
Obama to automakers.
This is interesting.
The country's automakers should ditch their focus on SUVs and trucks in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, President Obama said on Monday.
President Obama, who, we all know, has had vast experience as the owner of an automobile company, a man who's worked the assembly line.
He's worked the showroom floor.
He's been in the design control center.
He knows everything there is about the automobile business.
Obama said you just can't make money on SUVs and trucks.
During a town hall forum in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, he said there's a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you got to understand the market.
People are going to try to save money.
So the man who is bankrupting the country, who is bankrupting business after business after business, said, you just can't make money on SUVs and trucks.
You've got to understand the market.
This has got to be the most painful joke in the history of the world.
Cookie, is this on tape?
Do I have this in the soundbite roster?
Just flash me a yes or no.
And if I do, I'll find it during the break.
This, this, you can't just make, well, okay, we don't have it.
I don't, I bet it's not on tape.
I'll bet if it was on tape, the tape's been erased.
It's been expunged.
It's been degaussed.
It's been burned.
You just can't make money on SUVs and trucks.
There's a place for SUVs and trucks.
The gas prices keep going.
You just, you've got to understand the market.
The owner of two new hearses, don't call them buses.
Those are hearses.
The guy who flies around on Air Force One.
The CEO of the Grim Reaper Bus Company made those buses.
Says, you just got to understand the market.
His favorite solar panel company just filed for bankruptcy.
And then there's his favorite car that he's never driven.
125 Chevrolet volts sold last month.
You just have to understand the market.
We have to understand the market.
And we are back.
Rush Limbaugh.
Talent on loan from God.
All right, here's Anthony in Topeka, Kansas.
Anthony, welcome.
Great to have you on the EIB network.
Hey, Rush.
First of all, I want to tell you, it's a privilege to be on your talk show.
One of some things that I want to bring to the table.
Why do you give Governor Perry such credit in such a short period of time?
He does have words of his E-Party, but I know on Friday I was listening to you, and I know you didn't want to talk about Ron Paul.
And I don't want to get into a Ron Paul debate, but all the straw polls, and it's like, well, a lot of radio and a lot of TV networks have actually been leaving him out, except Fox.
I just want to know basically what do you think about Perry and what does he bring as a 2012 candidate?
What difference?
He added a new dynamic.
He's sitting governor of a successful state.
They've got reasonable unemployment when compared to the rest of the country situation.
He is able to articulate conservatism and is not afraid to do so.
There's still a lot of unanswered questions about Rick Perry.
I've not endorsed anybody.
All I said was because of, you know, I've met him a couple of times.
I've heard him speak a lot of times.
And I just know if he got in, that he would add, you know, a boost to energy to the whole campaign.
And with Ron Paul, I mean, do you not think that he would do that?
The reason why I say that is because, I mean, a lot of people That are with the Tea Party.
The Tea Party's gotten big within the last, you know, here in Kansas, we're in Kansas, so within the last three years, I've seen it expand.
And everybody talked about it for the last three years.
But Ron Paul is like the father of the Tea Party.
You know what I mean?
Well, I know he wants to claim credit.
A Tea Party is like as many fathers because it's a big success.
Yeah, of course.
Ron Paul's not going to get the nomination.
Is it because do you think that is because of the money situation?
No.
Or do you think it's just a well, I mean, because he's one of the Shaw Paul's.
He's not a Republican.
He's not a Republican.
He's a libertarian.
The numbers aren't there to nominate somebody like Ron Paul.
I'm sorry.
It's not my problem.
Did you notice, by the way, our last caller from Topeka, did you notice how he was scared to bring up Ron Paul to me?
Not scared.
It's a little fearful.
A little fearful of bringing up Ron Paul.
I wonder why that was.
Well, he thought I was going to bite his head off.
I wasn't going to bite his head off.
I have not forgotten what I told people Friday.
I was, you know, when I was suffering the ravages of that virus.
Yeah, I remember.
I don't remember a whole lot of Friday.
I have to be honest with you.
And I don't remember anything of Saturday.
But, yeah, I said, I know exactly what I said.
I was because I was talking about the debate the night before, and I said, this guy, the whole party's going to end up looking nuts.
Or something like that.
And what?
Oh, oh, yeah.
I told, yeah, I don't want to hear from you, Ron.
Paul, that's just because I was feeling lousy Friday, and I just wasn't up to it.
I'll talk to you, Ron Paul, people today.
I just wasn't up to it.
Yesterday.
Now, Ben Smith in the Politico today, yesterday, was Perry packing.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is a leading advocate of gun rights, likes to boast of having dispatched a coyote on a recent jog.
Do you know how that people?
Can you imagine?
Here's Rick Perry.
I'm saying you're a good reporter.
You go ask him yourself.
What did you do this morning, Governor?
Well, I was out in a jog and a coyote and I pulled out my six shooter and bang.
No more coyote.
Guys, oh my gosh, we may as well be back in the stagecoach days.
Texas Governor Rick Perry, leading advocate of gun rights, who likes to boast of having dispatched a coyote on a recent jog.
This is what I meant about adding dynamics campaign.
So I asked him during today's walking press conference at the Iowa State Fair whether he was armed.
I never comment on whether I'm carrying a handgun or not.
That's why it's called concealed.
You're a good reporter.
I'm saying you're a good reporter.
Try to find out.
Perry's appearance at the fair, where he challenged reporters on whether they were tough enough to walk with him, chomped on meat and a hard-boiled egg, and struck rugged poses, was a well-staged political triumph.
The word manly got thrown around a lot with varying degrees of irony in the press pack.
I was also an opportunity to explore Perry's politics.
Reporters are currently transcribing their long recordings of his free-flowing comments.
He was asked about the debt ceiling.
Said, if I was in Congress, I wouldn't have voted for it.
Not criticizing the deal specifically as much as the general principle the government shouldn't fritter the money away.
Of course, they're really ticked off at him about what he said about Bernanke.
Let me find that.
Oh, oh, folks, folks.
Audio sound 36 cookie found it.
The regime was unable to expunge this.
Listen to this.
What we said was: if we're going to help you, then you've also got to change your ways.
You can't just make money on SUVs and trucks.
There's a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you've got to understand the market.
People are going to be trying to save money.
This President Obama yesterday, Cannon Falls, Minnesota Town Hall, and he's talking about the automobile companies.
We're going to help you, but you got to change your ways.
I, Barack Obama, know more about your business than you ever will.
And I've never been in your business, but I know more about it.
You got to change your ways.
You can't just make money on SUVs and trucks.
That's what they're making money on.
That is precisely what they're making money on.
You got to understand the market.
This is a joke.
Barack Obama telling anybody you got to understand the market.
I can't believe the regime didn't do something about the tape.
Now, let me find this.
Well, I'll tell you what, I'm going to take a phone call.
I'm going to find it.
What Perry said about Bernanke.
Treasonous or some such thing.
Here's Josh in Pittsburgh.
Welcome, Josh.
Great to have you on the EIB network.
Hello.
Hey, Rush.
I'm in ninth grade, and I'm a very active Tea Party member.
I'm involved with some local congressmen.
And when I heard about Ryan Rhodes' comments to the president, I was very encouraged to see that I am not alone as a young Republican, when it seems that most people my age are very, very liberal and Democratic.
And it was nice to see that.
But then when I heard about the elder Republicans criticizing him, I was disgusted.
And it makes me wonder: do these Republicans want a future Republican Party or even a future country?
Josh, I'm happy.
I'm happy that you are on our team.
You say you're in the ninth grade?
I am.
Are you considered a freshman or are you still in middle school?
I am considered a freshman.
Okay, you're fresh in high school.
Well, you're so far ahead of the game, I can't tell you.
I'm proud of you.
And I want to tell you what's going on.
There's an interdecine battle in the Republican Party for who's going to run it.
And the establishment, for lack of a better word, and this is not Completely descriptive.
But you've got the Bush wing of the Republican Party.
And that would be Brad Blakeman and Dana Perino and Karl Rove.
And they want to run the party.
A perfectly legitimate desire.
Politics is about amassing power and using it.
They want to run the party.
They want to be in control of it.
The Tea Party is a threat to that.
The Tea Party is that there are other factions of the Republican Party as well.
Tea Party's just one.
The Bush people would prefer to have their own nominee.
I don't know who their candidate.
I think their candidate was Mitch Daniels.
I don't know who it is now.
But as I say, it's perfectly legitimate for them to see things the way they do and to want to amass political power.
Tea Party is not a professional political organization in the same sense that the establishment GOP is.
This is just a grassroots organization made up of people like you and Ryan Rhodes.
And you are perfectly entitled to think that the Republican Party would support that young man rather than throw him under the bus.
That's what you wanted, right?
That's what you were hoping to hear instead of Republicans.
You know the Democrats are going to try to destroy the guy.
Why would the Republicans try to do it right now?
So it's a good lesson for you to learn.
Look at the age breakdown of the party right now.
The young bloods, the Ryan Rhodes, people like you, are all Tea Party conservative types.
The longer established Republican types are older, and they come from the professional GOP ranks, and they'll go to the grassroots when they need them.
But it's a business.
Tea Party represents a threat.
And I think this is one of the most educational things that can happen to somebody of your age watching all this is to learn as soon as you can that there is no singular one Republican Party.
You're just a freshman in high school and you only know of Ronald Reagan by virtue of what you know from history.
But I can tell you that Ronald Reagan, no matter how you define it, is the most successful Republican presidency in 100 years.
Back before he was nominated and elected in 1980, the Republican establishment did not like him.
He was too conservative.
He was too outside.
He was not part of the establishment.
They thought he was not properly educated.
He was an embarrassment to many of them.
But he won so big, they had to bite the bullet.
But they fought him every stage of the way.
1976, the primaries in Kansas City, and then in Detroit.
No, that was in Kansas City in 76.
In 1980, it was in Detroit.
And it was always during primary time, it's always bloody.
The thing that stands out about this is that Ryan Rhodes is a voter.
He's not a professional politician.
He is not part of any official political establishment.
So you are, I think, entitled to expect that somebody like him as a Republican voter, people ought to know that when November 2012 comes around, Ryan Rhodes is going to be voting Republican, no matter who the nominee is.
He's not going to be voting Obama.
He does not need to be thrown under the bus by his own party.
You're just exactly right about that.
Yeah.
And it would just be nice to see a unified party behind someone that the entire party can back.
And I think Rick Perry might represent that candidate, but I don't know.
Too soon to say.
The media hasn't finished with its anal exam of our people.
We still don't know who.
What if Sarah Palin gets in this thing?
What if Chris Christie decides to run?
It's still early, and it's still wide open.
And if Palin gets in, then that changes the Michelle Bachman position and a lot of other things.
If Palin gets in, the media may have a combined on-air hemorrhage, which will be fun to watch.
But if Palin gets, you've got Perry who can articulate conservatism with great flair and confidence, and Palin certainly can, and Michelle Bachman can, and Romney can when he wants to.
Santorum can.
I mean, it really is wide open.
And that's why I say this dynamic is expanding all the time.
So it's going to be exciting.
I'm glad.
How long have you been interested in this stuff?
My entire way through middle school, since the 08 elections, I started watching.
And I was very strongly against Obama then.
I was trying to talk to people in my school and do everything I could to try to see if this guy could not be elected because I knew he was going to destroy the country.
Yeah.
Well, you were right.
You were right.
You were so far ahead of the game.
I am flattered that you are a member of my audience.
Are you a member of my website by any chance?
No, I am not.
I didn't think you would be as a freshman in high school.
I'm going to make you a complimentary member of RushLimbaugh.com for a year.
And also put you on a subscriber list for the Limbaugh letter.
Great.
Yeah, you'll love it.
It's encyclopedic.
It matches your brain.
My website made for somebody just like you.
You hang on, Josh, and Mr. Snerdley will give you all the information that you are.
You use a computer, I assume, right?
I do.
What kind?
Well, right now I have a PC and an iPad.
Oh, cool.
Well, in your set, which one do you like the better?
I like my iPad much better.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I can understand that.
Okay.
Yeah, sure.
We'll throw in some two of my tea.
What do you like, raspberry or regular flavored?
I like raspberry.
Sugar or diet?
Sugar.
Good.
We'll take care of that too.
Snerdley, you'll get your address so we can send you the tea, and we'll get the information to you so you become a comp subscriber to rushlimbaugh.com.
And you know what?
You tonight will be able to read the transcript of your call and listen to yourself on the website.
Great.
Thank you so much.
Okay, Josh.
Thank you.
We'll take a brief time out, folks, and be right back.
By the way, folks, not only do unemployment benefits create jobs according to the regime, so do food stamps.
Obama ag Secretary Vilsack says that food stamps are a stimulus.
Unemployment and food stamps, a stimulus.
It's how you grow the economy.
We got lots more.
We're just out of time.
Be back in 21 hours, though.
Can't wait.
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