RUSH: Let me review the Democrat debate last night, ladies and gentlemen. I just want to recap this, go over the highlights that were uttered at the debate last night. Are you with me on this? Here we go. “It’s time to leave Iraq. We should have never gone to Iraq. Terror plots in this country are happening because we went to Iraq. Had I known then what I know now I wouldn’t have voted to go to Iraq. If I had a vote, I wouldn’t have voted to go to the Iraq. I’m sorry I voted to go to Iraq, it was a mistake,” except Mrs. Clinton probably won’t admit that. Some Democrats who voted we had to go to Iraq should admit they’re sorry, too. “I support the troops, not their mission. The troops shouldn’t be funded because I support the troops and we need a change. If Bush didn’t put the troops in Iraq, we’d have more resources for social programs here. That’s badly needed money. If Bush didn’t put our troops in Iraq, we could address the real issues facing humanity like Darfur. America is no longer respected in the world. I’m going to reach out to our friends and allies and restore America’s standing in the world.”
We’re just recapping what was said in the debate last night, the big Democrat debate.
“Everybody hates us, and with good reason, and that reason is named Bush. The war on terror is an exaggeration; it’s a bumper sticker; it’s a fear tactic that’s been blown out of proportion. We should be in Afghanistan, not Iraq. Hurricane Katrina shows how bad Bush is, never forget that. I’m going to give you universal health care. I’m going to give prosperity for all. I’m going to give hope. I’m going to do this by raising taxes on the wealthy. In fact, I’m going to accomplish everything by raising taxes on the wealthy! The middle class has been screwed and I’m going to fix that by taxing the wealthy. Gas prices are too high. It’s a conspiracy between Big Oil and the Bush administration. I’m going to make Big Oil accountable to the middle class. They’ve been screwing us all these years, and I’m going to tax them. I’m going to tax the profits of Big Oil. I’m going to make ’em invest in renewable fuel. Bush hates science. I love science and no embryonic stem cell will be untouched when I’m in office. Alberto Gonzales must go. The wealthy must pay for health care for all, and I’ll tax ’em into meeting their responsibility. There are too many uninsured, especially the children, and I’m going to fix that by taxing the wealthy. Big Pharma, Big Drug, has gotten away with murder, and I’m going to tax ’em to make ’em pay. Bush is friends with Big Pharma; that’s why they’ve gotten way with hurting and killing people. The wealthy must pay for education for all. They haven’t been doing it thus far and I’m going to fix that. The wealthy have seen their incomes rise. We’ve had a great economy for the wealthy and the rich during the Bush administration, while the rest of America suffers. I’m going to fix that by taxing the wealthy. The income gap is growing between the wealthy and the rest of us. I’m going to fix that, and I’m going to tax the rich. Sure, I’m wealthy, but not the kind of wealthy I’m talking about because I
I have to laugh every time I hear that phrase.
Am I recapping this pretty well, the Democrat debate? They’re not “in the shadows.” They’re in the spotlight.
“Well, we can’t deport everybody,” the Democrats said last night in the debate. “Evil Republicans want to deport everybody and we can’t do that. Bush has ignored global warming. It’s hot right now as a result. Global warming has to be addressed right now instead of ignored as it has been under Bush, who sucks. Global warming is the number one threat facing humanity. I’ve seen the results of global warming, and I’m going to fix it.”
That’s a recap of last night’s Democrat debate. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I must be honest. I must admit this in order to maintain credibility with you and offer full disclosure. I didn’t see it. I did not watch the Democrat debate last night. For those of you who did, am I right? Am I pretty close to what was said by the Democrats in the debate last night? I have a sound bite roster here, but I didn’t cheat. I just looked to see who we have. I saw a couple things, but I didn’t watch it and I didn’t have to watch it to know what they were going to say. There’s nothing new. I don’t know how I coulda missed anything, but if I did, it would be the exception to the rule. I’m going to tell you, if I’m right about this — and I know I am — the Democrats are so weak and out of touch in a post-9/11 world, I wouldn’t even allow them on this program as
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RUSH: I want you to hear Jack Murtha, ladies and gentlemen — this is yesterday on Stephanopoulos’ show — talking about the “homegrown” terror plot. Stephanopoulos says, “Hey, Congressman Murtha, you believe that these homegrown terrorist plots are being inspired by the US work in Iraq right now, eh?”
MURTHA: Absolutely. George, they were inspired by them all over the world! Our presence in Iraq, our occupation of Iraq, uh, gives these people the inspiration. Now, uh, we didn’t have this kind of a problem before. They came from Afghanistan. But now we even have it in the United States. So I’m absolutely convinced that this is the kind of thing that inspires these people to take on the United States.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, we did have 9/11 before we went into Iraq.
MURTHA: Yeah, we had 9/11, but that came from Afghanistan. There was no — there was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq. [sic] We don’t even know how many Al-Qaeda in Iraq right now. For instance, we think a couple thousand —
RUSH: It doesn’t matter!
MURTHA: — Al-Qaeda. They’ll get rid of Al-Qaeda. Our presence in Iraq is inspiring them to recruit people all over the world. So this is the problem that we have.
RUSH: This is precisely the point that I was making (brilliantly so, I might add) before the break at the bottom of the hour. This is dangerous! This is as dangerous — and, frankly, stupid; there’s no other word for this — as Edwards is running around saying that the war on terror is nothing more than a Bush “bumper sticker” to justify going into Iraq. 9/11 happened before we went into Iraq, they were here. The whole point about this JFK terror plot is you’ve got homegrown terrorists, or people who have fled through our open borders and they are plotting all kinds of terrorist activities — and Murtha and the Democrats want you to believe that it’s only because we’re in Iraq, even though when presented with the question, “Well, hey, 9/11 happened.”
“Well, they came from Afghanistan.”
Well, who cares where they came from? They came here before we went into Iraq — and his point is that it’s only because we’re in Iraq that they’re plotting these threats now. Folks, these people cannot be trusted. They simply cannot be. This is Bush Derangement Syndrome. That’s exactly what this is. They have Bush on the brain. It’s like syphilis in their brains. (I do not have to define that for Rio Lindans. They know what syphilis is.) They might have trouble with “gongorrhea.” My health teacher in high school, junior high, called it “gongorrhea.” We couldn’t stop smirking. He didn’t know why. But it’s like this Bush Derangement Syndrome has just gotten them so off the reservation, incapable of rational thought. This is last night in the debate. Let’s go Barack Obama. Scott Spradling of WMUR-TV in New Hampshire, one of the cosponsors of this big debate said, “It’s been nearly six years since 9/11, Senator Obama. Since that time we’ve not suffered any terrorist attacks on US soil but just yesterday the FBI arrested three men for a terror plot at JFK. Could it be the Bush administration’s effort to thwart terror at home has been a success?”
OBAMA: No. Look, all of us are glad that we haven’t had a terrorist attack since 9/11, and I think there are some things that the Bush administration has done well. But the fact of the matter is — is that we live in a more dangerous world, not a less dangerous world, at — partly as a consequence of this president’s actions. Uh, primarily because of this war in Iraq, uh, a war that I think should have never been authorized or waged. Uh, what we’ve seen is a distraction from, uh, the battle to deal with Al-Qaeda but — uh, in Afghanistan. Uh, we have created an entire new recruitment network, uh, in Iraq.
RUSH: These guys… Somebody ought to ask, “I guess we should stop fighting crime in your neighborhood, then, senator, because the attempt to nail down crime in your neighborhood is just going to make ’em mad and they’re going to start recruiting out there from people outside Chicago to bring ’em in?” I play this for you for two reasons. I knew this was what was said. I knew it, and I didn’t watch it.
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RUSH: This sound bite from Obama: No, of course we’re not safer, because we’re at greater risk. We’re at greater danger because of what Bush has done — and here’s Edwards, hanging onto his bumper sticker slogan. Wolf Blitzer last night said to the Breck Girl, “Let me let you clarify what you said the other day,” Breck Girl. “You said that the war on terror is a ‘bumper sticker, not a plan.’ With the news yesterday, this alleged plot at JFK, which could have done supposedly horrendous damage, caused an incredible number of casualties, do you believe the US is not at war with terrorists?”
EDWARDS: I reject this bumper sticker war — and that’s exactly what it is, is a bumper sticker. As president of the United States I would do absolutely everything to find terrorists where they are, to stop them before they can do harm to us, before they can do harm to America or to its allies. Every tool available — military, alliances, intelligence — I will use. But what this “global war on terror” bumper sticker — political slogan, that’s all it is, all it’s ever been — was intended to do was for George Bush to use it to justify everything he does: the ongoing war in Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, spying on Americans, torture. None of those things are okay. They are not the United States of America.
RUSH: You idiot! How in the world did we discover the threat? How in the world was it uncovered, Breck Girl? These people will tear down everything that’s been set in place to thwart plots just as this one was thwarted. I realize these people are speaking to their base and their base is a bunch of flathead numskulls, but still you would think running for president you want to have some thing that you say sound intelligent. “I’ll fight the terrorists wherever they are, I’ll fight ’em wherever they are.” Well, how you gonna know where they are, Breck Girl? Why, except Iraq! We’re not going to fight ’em in Iraq — no, no! — because there aren’t any really terrorists there. We’re making all that up. That’s just a “civil war.” There aren’t any terrorists in Iraq. No, no, no! The real terrorists there are in Afghanistan. The real terrorists are there. He’ll go wherever they are? Where’s the evidence? Where is the evidence that these people are going to do what they’re claiming? He’ll “use intelligence”? They just got through discrediting all that. Spying on Americans? Abu Ghraib? We just had three soldiers that were captured, that were kidnapped, and we have found evidence that they have been murdered, that they are dead, one of them.
Now, remember, we were all told that if we had to straightened up and fly right after Abu Ghraib, and granted these people at Gitmo the provisions of the Geneva Conventions: “We have to do that because when our soldiers get captured, we will demand the same kind of treatment!” That’s sophistry, too. We’re dealing with a bunch of savages, a bunch of barbarians who are not interested in playing by any rules and yet these… I don’t know. This is upsetting, and I’ll tell you what really is upsetting to me. These people are who they are, and we know who they are, and none of this is a mistake. What’s happening here is the Democrats are feeling so emboldened over their election victory in November that they’re no longer hiding who they really are. They are sitting ducks, and the Republican Party is tearing itself apart over immigration. The Republican Party has been given a goldmine here. This is just the rarest opportunity to blow these people out of the water. I’m talking politically. They’re so focused on self-immolation that they’re passing up this tremendous opportunity, but we’re not going to pass it up. We will do that which the conservative movement in this country is known for, and that’s lead.
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RUSH: To the phones. We go to Churchill Tennessee to start with John. Thank you for waiting, sir, and welcome.
CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush, from east Tennessee.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: Last night we found out what the Democrats think “rich” is. They asked the question, and Obama said $250,000 is where he starts with the new taxes that are going to come.
RUSH: Right. Now, let’s take that $250,000 annual income and let’s go New York City with it and let’s assume you’re a good liberal, and you and your wife combined — you and your spouse, partner, whatever, combined — make the Obama number for being rich, in New York City. You have tuition for the preschool, then you’ve got tuition for kindergarten. You have tuition for private schools, then you’ve got college, then you’ve got your rent, then you’ve got taxes in New York. $250,000! At least they’re moving up. Back in 1984, during the debate between Mondull and Ronaldus Magnus, “rich” back then — when Mondull promised to raise taxes — was $60,000. Do you remember that?
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Now, tell me we don’t have a growing economy, and don’t tell me it’s inflation because there hasn’t been much. So at least they’re moving up. But that’s absurd. It is flat-out absurd. That’s not “rich.”
CALLER: Rush? Rush?
RUSH: Yes? Yes?
CALLER: What I couldn’t understand is they never asked the follow-up on question on what that would do for job creation, since that amount ofincome is about pretty much what people who own smaller businesses generate, you know? What happens to job creation?
RUSH: Oh, come on here, John! You’re a regular listener to this program. You know damn well that question is not going to be asked.
CALLER: Well, I was just hoping for hope.
RUSH: Well, you’re hoping. Who you got there? You got CNN. You got a New Hampshire TV station. What do you think, that they’re going to ask questions to embarrass these people on tax policy? Do you know whenever tax increases are mentioned by liberal Democrats, presidential candidates or whatever, there’s glee! There is (clapping). There’s applause! They’re not going to do anything to discredit that. There’s nobody on that panel that was going to ask that question, and you know that. I’m surprised at you.
CALLER: Well, Hillary piped in and said she wants to do something about the Alternative Minimum Tax, and I was thinking during her eight years as co-president, didn’t they have at least four or five chances to index it to inflation or get rid of it?
RUSH: Of course! Of course! To fix health care and all these other things, to get rid of terrorism and so forth. Look, the solution for every one of these problems. I went through my recap. I did not watch the debate. They’re going to fix the AMT by raising taxes on “the rich.” Now we know the rich are $250,000 or above in Obama’s world.
CALLER: (snickers)
RUSH: That’s the solution: raise taxes on the rich. That’s how we’re going to get rid of the AMT. We’re going to fund health care for everybody raising taxes on the rich. We’re going to solve whatever it is by raising taxes on the rich.
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RUSH: Here’s Butch in Pittsburgh. Hi, Butch, I’m glad you called. Welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Greetings from Pittsburgh, Rush.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: You’re my shining light.
RUSH: Yeah? Well, I appreciate that very much.
CALLER: Mr. Snerdley asked me to get right to the point. I’d like to —
RUSH: I like the way you did that. (Laughing)
CALLER: Yes, sir. Wolf Blitzer last night at the Democratic debate asked a question to a couple of the candidates in reference of Bill Clinton in the next administration, should a Democrat be elected. Governor Bill Richardson states that he’d like to return the favor to the former president, and either have him appointed as Secretary-General of the United Nations or else a liaison in the Middle East. Hillary started to cackle like she just swallowed a feather or two, and then she stated that all the former presidents should be used in various positions, appointments or whatever.
RUSH: Well, Bill is well versed in various positions, and I think what Hillary wants to do is get him out of the country. If she is elected — and there’s an 80% chance that she will be — she’ll get him out of the country so he can horn-dog it over there without a whole lot of people knowing about it. I find the whole question just fascinating. Clinton has served his two terms, and asking all these other Democrats, “What role would you envision for former President Bill Clinton?” (Laughing.) Folks, if you ever doubted these people live in another world. They’re obsessed with Bill Clinton and the Clintons. That question, in fact, they even asked it of the Republicans. Chris Matthews asked that question of the Republicans, and he couldn’t understand why they all started laughing. They all said, “No.” He literally didn’t quite understand. By the way, Clinton did another commencement speech at Knox University and he told that same joke. He went out there, and he started talking about the Human Genome Project to identify our DNA trail and all that, and he told the story, (Clinton impression) “I met Limbaugh at a restaurant in New York the other night. All those horrible, hateful things he said about me over the years, I almost went up to him I said, ‘You know, we are 99.9% the same,’ but I couldn’t bring myself, because that poor man would run fleeing from the restaurant.”
There was no report on audience reaction to this.
Rick in Victorville, California, you’re next, sir. It’s nice to have you with us.
CALLER: It’s an honor to talk to you Rush.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: I tried calling many times. Hey, you made a statement a little bit earlier about inflation being nonexistent, and you being the oracle of education, I have some figures here that don’t quite jibe. So educate me.
RUSH: Well, the statement was in the context that the Democrats back in 1984 said that $60,000 was “rich.” That was the floor from which they were going to raise taxes on “the rich.” Barack Obama in the debate last night said that his tax increases on “the rich” would start at an annual income of $250,000. I said, “That’s not all inflation.” I said, “The Democrats are moving up. At least they’re going in the right direction in how they define rich, from $60,000 to $250,000. That’s all not inflation.” I’ll tell you, for much of the nineties, one of the biggest problems that really worried a lot of people in the financial markets was disinflation, because the price to produce a product oftentimes could not be met with a retail price showing enough of a profit to make the production costs worthwhile. There was a real disinflation. We’ve had inflation. We have it every year, but it’s been so slow all I’m saying is that $60,000 to $250,000 cannot be accounted for strictly by inflation.
CALLER: Okay. Well, I understand that, but I took it in a different context. I took it as though you meant nothing is really going up in price, when everything is going up in price dramatically.
RUSH: Oh, no. I did not mean to imply that. If I thought that, I would really be out of touch because then I wouldn’t be caring what things cost, and of course I do and I know. There’s inflation. I’m just saying it hasn’t been the inflation of the Jimmy Carter years. It hasn’t been double-digit. It’s not been something that would account for the Democrats deciding that $60,000 in ’84 was rich versus $250,000 today.
CALLER: Yeah, okay. Okay, well, I appreciate the education, my friend.
RUSH: Thank you for saying that, but I might have misstated this if a lot of people got the same idea you did, so I’m glad you called and offered me the chance to restate this in a clarified and revised standard.
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