RUSH: I want you to hear these sound bites. The media is going nuts over the Herman Cain ad. First, here is a montage from yesterday and last night, and the reaction, the State-Run Media hyperventilating over Herman Cain’s smoking ad. It tells you so much about how insane our society has become about smoking and political correctness. There is a humorless doom-and-gloomism out there, and if you drag on cigarette, if you show a picture of somebody dragging on — I mean Hollywood is famous, everybody in every movie it seems smokes. Have you noticed? You can’t watch a Hollywood movie without somebody picking up a cigarette a number of times throughout the movie. And you never hear Chris Matthews and the rest of the media elite going nuts over that. But here’s Herman Cain and his ad. Listen to this montage.
MATTHEWS: A strange ad, with smoking in it!
BEHAR: Are they going for the pro-emphysema vote here?
KING: To celebrate smoking at the end of a video I find reprehensible.
PHILLIPS: Is it cool, weird, or just inappropriate?
RUSH: Jeez!
BLITZER: He survived stage 4 colon cancer. Anyone promoting smoking, not necessarily a good idea.
HUME: What do you get out of having some miscellaneous middle-aged guy smoking a cigarette and saying you’re the right candidate?
GOLDBERG: You’re not allowed to show people smoking.
JANSING: At the end, heÂ’s smoking!
RUSH: They just can’t believe it. That was John King, “To celebrate smoking at the end of a video I find reprehensible.” Can you imagine how uptight these people’s lives are? Can you imagine what it’s like to be these people? I just think about how tightly wound and uptight these people are. Folks, I’m telling you this is who they are, this is a great illustration of how you have this holier-than-thou, superior bunch of people who are willing to condemn everything that you do that they disapprove of. There’s no freedom. There’s no living your life on your own. You’re gonna be harassed if these people find out about it.
And then there’s Obama. He doesn’t know how much he helped us with this comment of his yesterday. (paraphrasing) “Yeah, what the Republicans are saying, if they win, you’re on your own.” Damn right we’re on our own. Hallelujah! That’s exactly what we want to be is on our own. And he’s out there trying to warn people, “If the Republicans win they’re basically saying you’re on your own.” Exactly right we’re on our own. We want to be on our own. We do much better for ourselves than you do, you dolt, look what you’ve done. I love it.
Anyway, there’s one more sound bite on this smoking business. It’s from the Cain campaign. This was yesterday on Fox, Megyn Kelly talking to Herman Cain’s chief of staff Mark Block about the ad, and she asked him what the message behind the ad was.
BLOCK: The message behind the ad was to our supporters that we’re on a roll, we are excited about whatÂ’s happening. There was so subliminal message. In fact, I personally would encourage people not to smoke, it’s just that I’m a smoker, and as a lot of the people on the staff said, “Just let Block be Block.” That’s what it was all about.
RUSH: Mark Block is the guy’s name, just let Block be Block. I smoke, what the hell, none of your business. It was an ad. There’s no secondhand smoke in an ad. If you want to talk about influencing the kids then let’s talk movies and let’s talk rock music, and let’s talk music videos, and if you want to talk about influencing the kids, that’s all just a crock.
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RUSH: Laura in Babylon, New York, welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. It’s a pleasure to talk to the voice of reason, even though you’re more dangerous than Al-Qaeda.
RUSH: The Big Voice of reason. Yes, thank you.
CALLER: And that’s why I’m so pleased to talk to you. Maybe you can help me, enlighten me. I’m a little confused because of the reaction to the Cain political campaign ad.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: The left’s response seems puzzling to me, and I hope you could help me out. Why aren’t they hailing the campaign manager as a hero? Is he not doing what he wants with his own body by having a cigarette? Isn’t he exercising —
RUSH: No, no, no, no.
CALLER: — his right to smoke?
RUSH: That’s clever on your part but that’s not how it works.
CALLER: Why?
RUSH: The only people who get to do with their body what they want are women who are gonna have abortions. A woman who’s not gonna have an abortion doesn’t have the freedom to do with her body whatever she wants.
CALLER: So a man who wants to have a cigarette does not have a freedom of choice?
RUSH: Absolutely right. Absolutely right. You heard the evidence. Everybody on the left is having a cow. It’s despicable. It’s reprehensible. You heard ’em.
CALLER: As I was holding I also — correct me if I’m wrong, Rush, but doesn’t our fearless leader smoke?
RUSH: Well, there’s conflicting news —
CALLER: Conflicting news with the Obama administration.
RUSH: Well, there are reports that he’s quit, and then there are reports that something happened and Michelle yelled at him and he started again, sneaks out behind the White House. Another reports says, no, he’s really quit for good. Don’t really know, other than he did. One thing, Herman Cain’s getting a lot of mileage out of this. He got a lot more mileage out of this than what the ad cost ’em. That’s not too dumb.
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RUSH: All right, I have that ad. I have the Herman Cain smoking ad. If you are a child 26 years of age or younger, turn off your radio. John King of CNN, you, too, if you’re listening, turn off your radio. This is despicable, this is unacceptable, this is Mark Block, chief of staff for Herman Cain.
BLOCK: Mark Block here. Since January I’ve had the privilege of being the chief of staff to Herman Cain and the chief operating officer of the Friends of Herman Cain. Tomorrow is one day closer to the White House. I really believe that Herman Cain will put “united” back in the United States of America, and if I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be here. We’ve run a campaign like nobody’s ever seen, but then America’s never seen a candidate like Herman Cain. We need you to get involved, because, together, we can do this. We can take this country back.
RUSH: And he’s smoking in that ad, and I just wanted to courageously air that ad, complete with Mark Block smoking, just to be the renegade that I am. If you’re a child 26 years of age or under and you had to hear this, I’m sorry, but sometimes life can be tough. Mark Block risking his life for Herman Cain’s election.
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RUSH: Jean in West Palm Beach, Florida, across the bridge. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello.
CALLER: Thank you. It’s wonderful to speak with you, Rush.
RUSH: Thank you very much.
CALLER: I really enjoyed your remarks to a previous caller about paying back those student loans. Been there, down that, and it’s worth it. Congratulations to them.
RUSH: Thank you. I know. Exactly right.
CALLER: Your remarks to them were very valuable to all of us. I feel silly with my little remark because it’s just about the smoker commercial for Herman Cain.
RUSH: Yes?
CALLER: I have to chuckle when I saw all the chatter because when I saw it, my gut reaction was, “You know, there’s a guy who’s comfortable in his own skin,” and the guy with the cigarette just kind of reminded me of the Marlboro man and I thought, “Well, you know, if I was a union worker, I’d kinda sit back and feel a little comfortable thinking a little more about this Herman Cain and take another look at him.” So that was my reaction, and I thought the little smile at the end just kind of was the frosting on the cake. So…
RUSH: I want to find this sound bite again, the montage with all the media people who were going bonkers here over the fact that there was smoking in the ad. Here, listen to this again. This is a montage of media people reacting to the Herman Cain smoking ad.
MATTHEWS: A strange ad, with smoking in it!
BEHAR: Are they going from the pro-emphysema vote here?
KING: To celebrate smoking at the end of a video I find reprehensible.
PHILLIPS: Is it cool, weird, or just inappropriate?
BLITZER: He survived stage 4 colon cancer. Anyone promoting smoking, not necessarily a good idea.
HUME: What you get out of having some miscellaneous middle-aged guy smoking a cigarette and saying you’re the right candidate?
GOLDBERG: You’re not allowed to show people smoking.
JANSING: At the end, heÂ’s smoking!
RUSH: It’s as though it’s a crime! Some great injustice has been perpetrated here? It’s just mind-boggling to me. What a bunch of wusses this country’s become.
CALLER: It’s ridiculous — and I might add, I come from a long line of nonsmokers, so I just (laughing) had to chuckle when I saw it — and that grin at the end I thought I was looking at Magnum there for a second, it was funny.
RUSH: Well, I’m glad you called. I really appreciate it, Jean. Thanks much.
CALLER: Mmm-hmm. Thank you.
RUSH: You bet.
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RUSH: Here’s Victor in Atlanta. You’re next on the Rush Limbaugh program. Hello, sir.
CALLER: Hey, Rush. Sorry if I talk too fast. I’m a little excited being on your show.
RUSH: I understand. You know, I used to be excited to be on this show, too.
CALLER: Well, I appreciate you having me. I have a message for James Carville. You know, I am an American, and I’m of Mexican descent, first generation American — and not only that, I’m a Tea Party conservative, and I’m embarrassed if they think that Romney is the only choice we have. My first two guys are Cain and Perry; and I am a little more partial to Cain because I want somebody who has the business acumen and has the fortitude to go forward and say, “Hey, you know what? I may not have all the Washington experience that all these other guys have,” and Cain said it best: Look where that’s gotten us. It’s working out great, isn’t it?
RUSH: (laughing)
CALLER: So I mean having Cain — and I’ll tell you this, Rush, I’m a student of history. I love and adore Ronald Reagan, and when I look back at some of Ronald Reagan’s speeches and then I look at Herman Cain, I see a connect there that Herman has with people, and he enjoys the connect and he enjoys being in front of people. He enjoys talking with people. Ronald Reagan did, too. You know, the Democrats back then — including the Republican establishment — they went after Ronald Reagan. They called him, “Oh, he’s an actor running for president! Oh, what’s he gonna do?”
RUSH: That’s exactly right.
CALLER: “He’s got this radical tax plan.” Well, you know what? Herman Cain, yeah, maybe he’s a businessman and they like to call him “pizza boy,” but here’s a man who worked for the department of Navy on radar systems, targeting systems, and then he took businesses and turned them around.
RUSH: Yeah, but he wasn’t “down for the struggle.”
CALLER: (laughing)
RUSH: His dad worked three jobs instead of getting in the back of the bus.
CALLER: (laughing) Yeah. Exactly and his dad didn’t get a chip on his shoulder. You know, my biggest influence and the person I adore so much is my father. My father came here from Mexico, couldn’t speak a word of English, but he came here on a student visa, he learned the English language. He went to school. He worked two, three, four jobs. I mean it’s amazing to hear the story that he tells me — and this man, he retired CEO of a major company here in Atlanta. Now, if my father can come here from Mexico and not know English and you’re born here and you’re gonna tell me you can’t make it in this country? Well, there’s a problem.
RUSH: Damn right. Damn right.
CALLER: The government didn’t make this country great. The people did. We, the people. You know, 9-9-9 —
RUSH: Well, I wish I could let you keep going, but I can’t, but you are great.
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RUSH: All right, Matt in California, hello and welcome to EIB Network.
CALLER: Hey, Rush. Thanks for taking my call. We’ve been listening to you since the days of KFBK.
RUSH: Sacramento, my adopted hometown. Great to have you on the program, sir.
CALLER: Yes. I just wanted to bring up, I remember seeing on the campaign trail Obama had a guy called the “body man” who kept his BlackBerry and —
RUSH: That would be Reggie Love. Reggie Looooove is the “body man,” yeah.
CALLER: And he also had the job of carrying his cigarette for him.
RUSH: That’s exactly right! We elected a smoker! These sanctimonious, holier-than-thou media types are going crazy over Herman Cain’s ad, and we elected a smoker! They say he quit. They “say” he quit. Doesn’t matter. He was smoking when we elected him, and the media didn’t have a problem with it now. “Oh, so sorry! He was doing everything he can to quit. It’s so hard, it’s so terribly hard!