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Nov. 13, 2013 - Rush Limbaugh Program
32:11
November 13, 2013, Wednesday, Hour #3
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Here we go, folks.
Yes, we are the fastest three hours in media and probably the most fun and without question the most worthwhile.
Three hours in media.
Rush Limbaugh from the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies.
Half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair.
Fair for who?
The liberals to neither listen or call.
800-282-2882, if you want to be on the program.
Eric Erickson, who head honcho at redstate.com, used to be a commentator at CNN and wised up and went to Fox, just posted the following.
He's also on our Blowtorch affiliate in Atlanta, WSB.
The Republicans are walking into a trap and they don't even realize it.
They are about to consider in the House of Representatives legislation by Congressman Fred Upton that would allow people to keep their insurance plans.
This is what happens.
I'm editorializing here.
Get back to Eric in a minute.
First place, Fred Upton is the Republican who was all for getting rid of the incandescent light bulb and moving to the compact fluorescent because of environmental climate change issues.
Fred Upton, he's in tight with the House leadership.
And of course, this is so typical.
Everybody is now getting their plans canceled.
Yeah, yeah, what my plan cancel.
I like my plan.
And the Republicans, oh, well, hey, you know what?
We think you should keep it.
This is the way the Republicans think.
They'll come up with a piece of legislation with the proper message that they think will convince people that they're not mean and that they hear them and so forth.
So Upton's got this plan.
An actual piece of legislation that would allow people to keep their insurance plans.
But there's a problem.
It is widely acknowledged that Congressman Upton's legislation is more PR or messaging than substance.
He's just trying to relate to people.
Just trying to send the message from the Republicans to the people in the country.
We hear you.
We also think you've been treated rotten.
We're good people too.
Please like us.
But he doesn't really mean for this to have any substance to it, according to Eric.
His legislation doesn't have anything in it that can force insurance companies to keep current plans.
It's just a piece of legislation that supports the notion of you keeping your plan.
The problem is, and the trap is, that there is a plan that does this over in the Senate.
Senator Mary Babyfat Landrew has written legislation in the Senate that the Democrats love.
And her legislation is substantive, and it mandates that insurance companies have to keep people on their present insurance.
Now, I must pause here because the insurance companies are in a no-win on this.
They can't.
But if the mandate passes, they have to and they have to lose money doing it.
Snirdly's right, because the key of this is Dingy Harry.
Okay, so here's Mary Landrew.
Stay on point.
Mary Landrew has legislation in the Senate that the Democrats love.
It mandates that these evil, mean, rotten insurance companies continue to offer you your plan.
And it creates this impression that it's the insurance companies that did this, not Obamacare.
Because she's trying to inoculate the Democrats from any negative fallout here.
And the Republicans are going to fall right into this, and here's how.
Now, the Republicans supposedly oppose mandates, right?
We don't like government mandates.
We like freedom.
We Republicans are against the government forcing private businesses and individuals into contracts they don't want.
That's why we opposed Obamacare.
We don't like the idea that you can be told that you have to buy something.
Fred Upton has proposed this thing with no teeth in it.
But if it passes, here's what's going to happen: the House, because a lot of Democrats will support Fred Upton's meaningless provision, Democrats will see to it that this bill passes and it'll go to the Senate.
And there won't be a conference committee.
Harry Reid will simply throw out Upton's plan and substitute Landrew's plan for it and send it back to the House.
Where you're saying, well, Russia Republicans have voted down.
No, they're what new one coming back.
Right?
No, here's the way it works: Upton's legislation has no teeth in it.
It's just a PR message, but the Democrats will see to it that it passes and it gets sent to the Senate, where it's real.
Dingy Harry says this bill doesn't have any teeth in it, throws it out and substitutes the Landrew plan.
The Landria plan with mandates in it that supposedly Republicans hate will be sent back to Republicans.
And then it's the same.
This is the trap and this is the trick.
The House Republicans will be forced to either vote for it or be characterized as siding with the insurance companies against the people.
That is the trick.
Fred Upton trying to send a message of solidarity to the people being screwed by Obamacare is going to have his meaningless, toothless bill thrown out by Harry Reid.
Landrew's bill, which mandates it, will then be sent back to the House, and the Republicans will be forced with either voting for it or opposing it.
And if they oppose it, here comes the media, and here come the Democrats talking about how the Republicans continue to side with big insurance over the people.
And the Republicans won't want that said about them, and so they will pass it.
And then the Democrats and Obama via Mary Landrew and Harry Reid and Fred Upton will get their bill mandating that you get to keep your policy.
And as far as you are concerned, Obama and the Democrats are heroes because they have seen to it that those evil Republicans and insurance companies have once again been shafted as they tried to shaft you.
And so in one fell swoop, the Democrats will have the Republicans on record saving Landrieu's re-election to Louisiana by casting her as the one who saved Americans' health care plans.
And also getting on record as really being in favor of fixing Obamacare with the use of mandates.
That's what.
That's what the trap is.
All because the Republicans are defensive and have no confidence.
They ought to be nowhere near trying to fix this.
This is why I said the other day, I'm sorry to say it again, that this thing is starting to implode now.
These very Republicans were the ones who said, don't oppose it, Mr. Cruz.
Don't defund it, Mr. Cruz.
Don't delay it, Mr. Cruz.
Let it implode and let it collapse and let it be the end of liberalism.
And here come the Republicans wanting, well, not wanting, being tricked into saving it.
They ought to be doing nothing that helps the Democrats here.
But Mr. Limbaugh, then they're going to be testigated as enjoying people's pain.
The Democrats are causing people's pain.
Obama is causing people's pain, not the Republicans.
But the Republicans are going to unwittingly maneuver themselves into a position where they are acknowledging that they're the cause of the pain, and they want to be the solution by agreeing with the notion that the insurance companies are the problem, not Obama, and the insurance companies should be mandated to reinstating your policy that you're losing.
And then what if Obama, on top of that, decides to give people some money and call it a subsidy for their pain and suffering during all this?
So this is, I knew I was going to kill you with this.
I knew I was going to kill you.
This is, we snatch defeat from the jaws of victory every time.
And it's all because of a lack of confidence and a defensive posture.
We sit up there, we think we're hated, we think we're despised, and we'll take any opportunity we have to tell people, no, you're wrong about us.
We do agree.
We think it's a horrible thing that you're losing your policy, and we're going to go on record saying so.
And in doing that, they're going to end up stepping into a trap.
So that's, again, a post at redstate.com by Eric Erickson.
And I have to, folks, I mean, I wish it weren't the case.
Yes, yes, there's polling data out there.
It's in the stack here.
Obama's approval numbers now everywhere in the 30s, everywhere.
There ought to be the Republicans ought to be nowhere near trying to help Obama save his bacon.
But they don't think that's what they're doing.
I'm convinced if they do this, they really think, you know, they, you talk about trauma and the need for therapy.
I really think that the Republicans have been genuinely psychologically traumatized by decades of media criticism that they're racist, sexist.
They care only about the rich.
They hate women.
And I think they're just obsessed with taking every opportunity that comes their way to try to prove to people they're not what the Democrats say.
Now, there may even be, in addition to that, which I wholeheartedly believe, by the way, but there may also be some establishment.
Look, folks, I hate to say this, but when Ted Cruz and the boys were doing everything they can to oppose this and stop it and prevent this, there's all kinds of Republicans that campaigned on their promise to repeal it and never lifted a finger to actually do it.
There's a lot of established Republicans who they're envisioning being in power someday with this bill in place and in charge of the money.
Maybe I don't know, but it may well be that they're not falling into a trap.
This may be a strategy to save Obama.
Who the hell knows?
But this is the ruling class inside the Beltway establishment, both parties.
But in this case, I'd have to come down on the fact that the Republicans are unwittingly preparing to save Obamacare.
I really can't bring myself to believe that they actually want to.
But reality is reality.
You know, it is what it is.
And what is that the Republicans appear to want to salvage this somehow if they can make people like them in the process?
So, sorry to hit you with this, but it's brewing out there.
So what's the solution?
Well, if somebody gets the Fred Upton the leadership, we just stand up.
Don't propose.
Just don't, don't, you don't need to.
Table a damn bill and don't send anything to the Senate and leave Landrew and Harry Reid hanging by themselves.
Do not send them anything that they can toss out and substitute their own bill.
Just you don't, you know, call a press conference, Congressman Upton, and go tell people what you think.
But don't propose some kind of meaningless legislation that can be tossed out.
I know.
I know that 18 Democrat Senate seats on the hook, Obama's on the hook.
And they say he can't be elected, but it doesn't matter.
These 12 to 14 Democrats who, it is said, are prepared if something's not done by Friday to join Republican fixes for this.
Why would you throw that out?
I can't answer the question.
You're asking me again for 25 years.
You've been asking me, why do the Republicans do X?
I do not know.
The Republicans need to adopt Harry Reid's attitude of two or three weeks ago.
Remember when Harry Reid said, why would I want to do that?
When asked about making sure that places that treat kids with cancer stay open.
Why would I want to do that?
The Republicans need to say, why would I want to do that?
Why would I want to preserve Obamacare?
I don't know why the Republicans want to make Obamacare work.
I don't know.
Unless they so hate the Tea Party, unless they just despise the Tea Party, that they do something like this out of spite.
I do not have explanation for you.
Here's Arnie in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Hi, Arnie.
I'm glad he waited.
Yeah, thank you, Rosh, and a pleasure to talk to you.
Thank you, sir.
I'm a physician, and a first quick comment is: it's a shame that they're playing politics with our health care.
Going forward, the point that I was calling you about is: okay, let's say they suspend the individual mandate.
How do they reconcile the pre-existing clause?
Okay, for example, you had a health care policy that went away, but while that policy was enforced, well, let's say it developed diabetes, hypertension, whatever the case may be.
Okay, you're ready to go.
By everything I'm supposed to have.
Your policy goes away.
The policy, according to their simplistic thinking, okay, we'll just reinstate.
Well, now you have a pre-existing condition that they have to compensate for in terms of premiums, costs, so on and so forth.
That would necessarily have to void out a major keystone of the Obamacare construct.
I'm not sure that I'm following you, but what's confusing me is the pre-existing condition clause that you're talking about.
Right now.
Because hasn't that been funneled off into a separate high-risk pool?
Naturally, but previously, okay, let's say you applied for health insurance and you had a history of hypertension.
You would be rated or you might have a condition, for example, that your pre-existing condition may not be covered for a period of six to twelve months.
Right.
Okay.
Okay.
And now, because of all the formulaic permutations that this stupid plan has, you would now have to cover this, and your premium, your new premium, would have to naturally absorb the cost.
OK, well, why didn't it what what what what I'm losing you is in an existing policy that's been canceled.
Why isn't the pre-existing coverage just automatically reinstated?
Speaking theoretically, why isn't the pre-existing coverage automatically reinstated if that was part of your policy that was canceled?
The problem is, it wasn't pre-existing when you originally had the policy.
This is a problem that developed.
You got older, you developed a condition that when you're changing your policy.
Now they've got to go through the waiting period all over again, right?
Exactly.
Okay.
And that cost necessarily has to be passed through.
So it's not like we can just blink our eyes and we can reinstitute what we had before.
Well, the Democrats are trying to make people think that's all we got to do.
And by the way, Fred Upton, I just read, has said he likes the Mary Landrew plan, by the way.
Yeah, but last I checked, insurance companies aren't in the business of losing money or going out of business.
Well, they are now, whether they know it or not.
Well, they know it, and they're obviously making their adjustments accordingly.
That's why you're getting these 40, 50% increases in your coverage policies, you know, zero deductible going to $10,000 deductible and so on and so forth.
So suffice it to say, you know, as the simplistic thinkers only want to look at the first layer of the onion, the meat is actually in the depth of the onion.
So the point that you're making, Arnie, if I understand is that they can't automatically reinstate a pre-existing coverage aspect of your policy even if you had it when it was canceled.
I can't see how they would do that, or I can't see why they would want it.
Well, what if they just mandate, what if Obama just tells the insurance companies, that's what you've got to do?
It's the financials.
Who cares about the one thing, this regime doesn't care about the financials of anything.
Well, as long as they keep printing money, yeah, everything's wonderful.
So there is a lot of things.
They don't even care about the law in many respects.
It's a Washington Examiner story that says Upton is open to the idea of supporting the Landrew plan.
It's unbelievable.
Literally unbelievable.
Yes, Serena, Bob, we're back.
It's a DC Examiner has a story.
Fred Upton is open to supporting the Landrew plan.
Now, the Landrew Plan, I don't want to go to this, I'm getting, this ticks me off.
I cannot tell you.
The Landrew Plan is command and control.
It's central planning for the government.
It mandates how insurance companies do business, tells them what they can and can't do.
This is not what the GOP does.
You remember, I'll give you an example.
Remember when Reagan was going to go to the cemetery in Germany where some SS soldiers were buried?
And Ellie Wiesel made an appeal to Reagan.
He said, Mr. President, this is not your place.
Reagan ended up going for other reasons.
This is not your place.
This is not what the GOP should be doing, not endorsing command and central plan and control over the private sector.
But I guess the tug and the pull to be seen on the side of the little guy by the Republicans is so strong.
Folks, there's just no explaining it.
It's...
I'm telling you, it's post-traumatic stress disorder.
It's some kind of psychosis that's causing these guys to think the way they do.
Or worse, they hate the Tea Party and they'll do anything to cause the Tea Party to abandon them.
They'll do anything to tick off their base.
Could well be that, too.
Upton, I'm sure, doesn't like the base anyway, because they gave him all kinds of trouble over the light bulb business.
And it was Boehner that saved his bacon because there were massive calls to remove Upton or not give Upton a chairmanship he was in line for because of that light bulb fiasco.
Anyway, Mike in Washington, Indiana.
Hi, glad you called, sir.
Great to have you here.
Thank you, Rush.
Long time listener, first time caller.
I own an insurance agency in Indiana, and I thought I had some input that might assist.
One of the problems with Obamacare that no one has looked at it yet is that this is an HMO product, a health maintenance organization, where they're going to assign me a doctor in a hospital, maybe in my community, perhaps not.
The issue with that is that as I'm approaching 60 years of age, my concern is that, you know, as I'm paying into Social Security and into Medicare, I understand the government's insurable interest in keeping me alive.
But at a point where I'm no longer able to function, they lose an insurable interest, and I'm concerned about my health care being rationed.
Oh, well, you're entirely correct in assuming and worried and concerned that your health care is going to be rationed because it is, and the rationing is going to start very soon.
The other thought I have to help those listeners that you have is what I'm going to do.
I've lost my health insurance effect of January 1.
My doctor's retiring January 1.
So the only solution that I can come to after 35 years in the insurance business is that I'm going to purchase a short-term health policy that will grant me coverage for six months' time.
Now, it will not cover pre-existing conditions, but it will insure me for conditions I don't currently have or an auto accident.
For the young listeners.
You have to renew it every six months.
Is that what you would do?
Well, you can pay it monthly or every six months.
You can renew it one time.
Your listeners can simply go to various insurance carriers and shop for their own plan.
So you're going to self-insure.
Exactly.
I'm going to self-insure.
My premium is going to drop from $21,000 a year to approximately $5,000.
And I'll use my premium savings to pay those other out-of-pocket expenses.
Now, wait, why is your premium going to drop from $21,000 to $5,000?
Well, I'm currently under the Indiana Comprehensive Health Plan, that is the pool in Indiana that is being discontinued, effective 11 due to Obamacare.
Okay, but you've got to go buy something that's replacing that, and you say you're going to buy a short-term six-month policy.
It is, and the short-term policy for my wife and I is approximately $400 a month.
It won't cover pre-X, but I can't go to the Obama site because it's not secure, and I can't risk having my identity stolen, even if it is an HMO product.
Your young listeners don't need to go to the Obamacare website.
They just simply need to go buy a check plan.
This is that I tried to talk about this yesterday, but it's such a foreign concept.
Of course, people can buy their own insurance.
You can buy a replacement policy.
It depends on what price you can find for it.
But most people are not conditioned.
It's sad.
Yeah, I know.
You have to shop and then you have to write the check.
And that's what people, when healthcare, you have to pay for the policy.
Now, most people are used to paying copays and dealing with deductibles, but they think somebody else is paying the freight in the policy.
Yes, I do understand.
Oh, Snerdley is saying, I don't understand because he says that the average American, particularly the low-information American, won't know where to go to shop for the pod.
Where is the insurance company?
Where do you go to do this?
Okay, fine.
Maybe that's true.
Even if they know that, my point is it's not something they think they should have to do.
Everybody's been conditioned that healthcare is given to you, provided for you.
You pay a little.
You pay your copay.
You've got a deductible.
But you do not write a check for your policy.
The boss does.
Now, the people have individual policies do this, but they are the minority.
So his solution is self-insured.
Can you imagine if we had hotel insurance and people never had to pay for their hotel rooms?
They had to pay for the incidentals, but their insurance paid for the hotel room.
But if they raided the mini bar, they'd have to pay for that, maybe a deductible.
And imagine for 30 years, people never had to buy a hotel room, and all of a sudden that gets canceled, and they've now got to buy the room.
Can you imagine the culture shock?
Well, that's where we are with this.
But this has been since World War II that people have not been buying health care.
It's been given to them.
Even if it, this guy's case, even if it goes from 21 grand to five, that's still five.
They're not used in their minds paying.
They are paying it.
They just don't think so.
The same thing.
If they canceled deduction and withholding on federal taxes, and every three months people had to write the check, you'd have a revolt because then people would find out what it actually costs, what money they're losing, and they never see because of deduction.
And the Democrats, I think this has been very crafty, create this whole notion of health care as a benefit.
What's a benefit?
You even hear Obama talking about urging people, wherever you go, get a new job, make sure you got your benefits defined.
Benefit, what the hell is a benefit?
It's a freebie, people think.
Now, this guy's in the insurance business, so he knows where to go.
He's still paying $5,000.
I didn't ask him six months or for a year, but you always will pay less if you don't use an insurance company.
You'll always, go to the hospital, try this sometime.
No, don't try it because I don't want you to get sick.
But offer to pay the bill with your credit card instead of your insurance and look at the price difference.
You'd be amazed how much less it costs.
It might still be expensive.
Not saying it's not expensive, but you'd be amazed how much less it costs if you pay for it yourself.
Because the hospitals don't have to worry about the paperwork and the minutiae and the bureaucracy and all that crap.
It takes up everybody's day.
You pay for it, it's over with.
You leave the hospital, and you come back when you've got to get the mistake that the doctor made fixed.
Just kidding.
Couldn't help myself.
I'm worn out, folks.
No excuse.
Just kidding about the mistake the doctors make.
But you walk out after you paid for it, it's over with.
You're not going to have somebody come repossess your house.
You're not going to have an insurance company breathing down your back raise your premium ring.
You just pay for it and leave.
And they're through with it, too, until you get sick the next time.
And when you're paying for it yourself, it's amazing how much healthier you remain.
Guaranteed.
Get this.
This is even worse than Port St. Lucie and chicken McNuggets.
Smoking gun.
A Wisconsin man called 911 early Sunday morning and asked for assistance because his sex partner was snoring like a train in his bed.
A woman.
The woman was snoring like a train, and he called 911.
Benjamin Dougles, D-U-D-D-L-E-S-41, dialed the cops at 4:20 a.m. to say he wanted a female removed from his bed, adding he wasn't sure how she got into his apartment.
He then reported that he had let the woman into his home and she just went to sleep in his bed.
The woman was now snoring like a train and he wanted her out.
And the officer showed up at his Waukeshaw residence.
He revealed they drank together, they had relations, and she fell asleep.
And after repairing to his living room, Duddles returned to his bedroom and couldn't rouse her, so he called 911.
I just hope that Dudles or his lady friend had free birth control from Obamacare, or this could get even worse.
Can you imagine?
Ray in Providence, Rhode Island.
I've got 30 seconds, and you got a good point, and I wanted to get to you before we had to go on.
I'm talking about those with courage to speak out against Obamacare like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.
There's one person, the granddaddy, actually grandma of all public and outspoken Obamacare critics.
The first one going way back to the beginning is Sarah Palin.
in 2009 when no prominent Republican was publicly criticizing Obama.
And look how she got hammered.
But boy, if anybody deserves an apology and praise for being prescient, it's Sarah Palin.
Well, it's a good point.
She was the first to identify the death panels.
And you are absolutely right.
And that is why I, whenever these people are, I don't know if it's Cruz, if it's Mike Lee, if it's some conservative media, I always try to defend these people because the assault is not on just them.
It's on everything they believe and everybody who agrees with them.
But you are right.
She was the first to identify the death panels.
Mike Lee and Cruz were actually specifically trying to alert people, we should stop Obamacare because of this particular thing, losing your policy.
We got to go.
Rush, Rush.
Why is Fred Upton doing what he's doing?
Folks, try this.
Maybe the Republican leadership, at the end of the day, doesn't really oppose Obamacare.
Maybe they just don't oppose it.
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