RUSH: The Petraeus Report is coming out next week. The Democrats are not waiting for the Petraeus Report. In fact, they’re not even going to call it the Petraeus Report. They’re calling it the ‘Bush Report.’ Dingy Harry and Nancy Pelosi are calling it the ‘Bush Report’ in an effort to discredit it. You know, I guess a couple weeks ago I detected — and I was certain that I was right about this — that there had been some adults somewhere in the Democrat Party who realized that they’d gone too far off the cliff with this defeat business and were so invested in it, who (with the surge working) were trying to get themselves back on dry land. But I guess the smart people, the adults lost out because this party is going over the cliff again. They are doing everything they can to make sure that the truthful news out of Iraq about the success of the surge is perceived as a bunch of lies. In fact, Chuck Schumer said something yesterday that is just beyond the pale here, folks. Play 15. This is what Schumer said.
SCHUMER: Let me be clear.
RUSH: Yeah!
SCHUMER: The violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge —
RUSH: See?
SCHUMER: — not because of the surge.
RUSH: Right.
SCHUMER: The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from Al-Qaeda said to these tribes, ‘We have to fight Al-Qaeda ourselves.’ It wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.
RUSH: This is outrageous! This is outrageous. This is Senator Schumer again saying the US military is incompetent, doing everything he can to lie through his teeth to suggest the surge is not working. Furthermore, has he forgotten that we have not forgotten that the original complaint that these people offered was that we didn’t know how to get these warring tribes together, the Shi’ites and the Sunni? We didn’t know how to do that. We had no idea about these so-called cultural-religious differences throughout the country of Iraq. Well I guess somehow the incompetent US military has pulled off both things that the Democrats say can’t be done! Now, this is just outrageous. This is Chuck Schumer, ladies and gentlemen, who wants to be considered the spokesman for the Democrat Party on so many issues. Well, he owns this one, and the rest of his party is going to own defeat on this. They are just… I’m still stunned by it. Now, here’s a story. This is the Washington Times: ‘Democrats Already Dismissing the Iraq War Report.’ In fact, they’re causing report after report to be issued before the Petraeus Report comes out next week, and every one of the reports that they’re causing to be released — that they are in charge of, of course — are going to paint an entirely different picture of what they think the Petraeus Report is going to say, in an effort to discredit it.
‘Congressional Democrats are trying to undermine U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ credibility before he delivers a report on the Iraq war next week, saying the general is a mouthpiece for President Bush and his findings can’t be trusted.’ They unanimously voted to confirm this guy! Every damn Democrat in the Senate voted to confirm this guy, and then they funded the mission. You know, it is said that people are not paying attention to all this stuff right now. I hope to hell that that’s not true. What these Democrats are doing, folks, is treasonous! There’s no other way to describe this. Look it up in the dictionary. There is no other way to describe this, what you just heard Chuck Schumer say. Now they’re trying to discredit the commanding general, who is not political! The report that is going to be issued by Petraeus next week, as written by Congress, the law requiring this report, says that it shall be presented ‘by the president.’ There’s nothing unusual about the White House presenting the report. The Democrats and the Drive-Bys are trying to make it look like Bush is taking over and writing the report because Petraeus is going to write something Bush doesn’t want.
It’s all a crock, folks. It’s as big a lie as the Democrat Party has ever told. Now, in the midst of battle, in the midst of success, for a major political party in this country to come out and openly admit that they are doing everything they can to discredit the credibility, the character, the honor of the commanding general — for whom they all voted, and whose efforts they funded! They voted to fund his efforts. This is worse than shameless. I don’t know that there is a word in the dictionary to describe these people other than poltroons. But that doesn’t cover it, even, because that doesn’t get to their motivations here. The top Democrats — Dingy Harry of Nevada, Nancy Pelosi of California — refer the general’s briefing as the ‘Bush report.’ Dick Durbin, when asked about the upcoming report from General Petraeus, said, ‘You mean the Bush report?’ Pelosi said, ‘We will see what the Bush report will be at the end of next week,’ Mrs. Pelosi said. ‘The facts are self-evident that the progress is not being made. They might want to find one or two places where there has been progress but the plural of anecdote is not data.’
‘Democrats Newly Willing to Compromise on Iraq,’ is a story in the New York Times. There are still some of them that don’t like what’s going on in their name from the leadership, but it’s not that big a story, actually. It’s not that big a deal. They’re willing to compromise on a withdrawal date. This is John Warner’s idea, which is some compromise: a withdrawal date, start date for withdrawal, and a deadline for completion. Well, how brilliant is that? They can’t put a deadline on this and yet they’re saying, ‘Well, if we go along with Senator Warner’s idea we might be able to get ourselves off the hook on this.’ The bottom line is that this is… (sigh) Some of you who are older than I are going to have to tell me if this is unprecedented. I remember Vietnam, and I remember the roiled circumstances in the country there. I don’t recall a situation where — with a Democrat in the White House, LBJ — you had Republicans actively working to undermine the whole thing, certainly not in the midst of successful operations, and certainly not against an enemy. This war in Iraq is against an actual US enemy. These are people that attacked us on 9/11. You listen to what Chuck Schumer said. You read what these people are trying to do, all these reports coming out between now and Petraeus, designed to suggest that what Petraeus reports that Bush replays is just a bunch of lies. When you examine their motivation, yeah, just throw the country under the bus. To hell with just throwing Larry Craig under the bus! The Democrats are throwing the whole country under the bus. If they’re driving it, they’d be glad to throw the whole country under the bus. This naked, irrational, desperate move for power at all costs is just as unseemly as anything I can recall in politics. That includes much of the Clinton years, although I might have to revise and extend those remarks as I consult my memory further.
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RUSH: A quick question here, ladies and gentlemen. Isn’t it sort of like questioning General Petraeus’ patriotism, that old saw, to suggest that he’s just a lackey; the report’s just going to be tailored to what Bush wants; the report has no credibility whatsoever; a man who has been recognized by even the Democrats who voted for him as perhaps the most qualified general for this particular position and command in recent American military history. Just stunning.
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RUSH: Bernie in Indianapolis, where the NFL season kicks off tonight, by the way, the team defending the Super Bowl champion, the Indianapolis Colts, and the team the NFL thinks will be the next champion, the New Orleans Saints, kick off at 8:30. Bernie, welcome to the program.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush. I appreciate this. I’ve been listening to you for years, from one road warrior to a radio warrior. I thank you for everything I’ve listened to and everything you’ve done.
RUSH: Well, thank you, sir.
CALLER: I’ve just got to say, after hearing what you have just told me about Schumer being an ex-Vietnam vet, I have got to tell everyone who ever has had a brother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle, who has died for this country in every war prior to Iraq should listen and say, ‘How can this man discredit and dishonor and disrespect everything those people have done prior to Iraq to cover his butt, his family’s butt, and everybody else’s, and gave them a good life?’ That is so appalling. And about Pelosi, and about Murtha, I mean where are these people coming from?
RUSH: They are Democrats.
CALLER: How can they possibly say–
RUSH: Bernie, they are Democrats. That’s the simplest way to explain this to people.
CALLER: Appalling.
RUSH: They are Democrats, and this is what Democrats have become. It’s the simplest way to explain it. I probably can’t possibly be as outraged by it as you are, but I’m plenty angry about it, and I don’t know why there is not a nationwide outrage on the part of people wanting Senator Schumer to have to be made accountable for this statement. I mean, it’s just beyond the pale. I don’t know how to describe the depth of rage that I feel about this.
CALLER: It’s despicable. It really is, and the fact that people hear these things and yet they still don’t really listen. All they do is they listen to other people telling them things that absolutely make no sense, but to protect this country from all of these terrorist acts and everything else that’s going on right now, I mean, my God, how blind can this country be? It’s ridiculous.
RUSH: I was talking to some people about this yesterday, Bernie. I don’t think that there is that much apathy in the country. I think far more people than you know, when they hear what Senator Schumer said, are in fact as outraged by it as you are. Now, he said this on the floor of the Senate. Grab the bite again. This is on the floor of the Senate. Now, if you’re not watching C-SPAN2, and I don’t think too many of you are, if you’re not watching C-SPAN2, the Drive-Bys are not going to play this, I haven’t seen this much in the Drive-By Media. We found it, we’re playing it. The Drive-Bys are going to cover the guy by not playing anything like this, but we have it, and here it is again.
SCHUMER: Let me be clear. The violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from Al-Qaeda said to these tribes, ‘We have to fight Al-Qaeda ourselves.’ It wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.
RUSH: Yes, only a temporary peace. The US military was incompetent, couldn’t protect these tribes from Al-Qaeda, so the tribes finally said, ‘Well, to hell with you, US military, you can’t protect us. We’re going to protect ourselves.’ It’s absurd. It’s patently absurd on its face. So much is wrong with this, but the context in which it’s said is just as important as what was said. The Democrats are doing everything they can, folks, to discredit the coming Petraeus report next week. Now, I want to remind you once again, they’re calling it the Bush report, the Democrats are, because what they’re trying to do is discredit Petraeus, saying he’s just a puppet. This is an assault on his character and his credibility as well by saying he’s just going to roll over for Bush and Bush is going to write whatever he wants to write.
Now, the law that Congress passed requiring this report says that the president shall report to Congress. So that’s why the president is doing it. Petraeus is writing it, and has been writing it for the past month. This is not the kind of report you put together a couple days before it’s due. This is an ongoing process. These comments, in the context of trying to destroy the ability of the US military to win the war, destroy the ability of this general, who they all voted for to do his job and to have any credibility after doing his job, is just… This is no different than what they tried to do to judicial nominees, from Robert Bork to Clarence Thomas to you name it. They will destroy people’s lives, ladies and gentlemen. That’s the modern-day Democrat Party. They will destroy people’s lives, their character. They’ll do everything they can to ruin people in order to keep their agenda from being threatened and in order to advance their own sense of power.
Terry in St. Peters, Missouri, near St. Louis, welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Rush, God bless you. I’m a Vietnam vet, won a Bronze Star in Vietnam. I am unequivocally outraged. Keep using the treason word. That is the only thing that can describe these people. General Petraeus is an honorable man, he’s doing the job, and I have never — I’m 62 years old — I have never in my whole life seen anything to compare with this behavior, not even the Vietnam —
RUSH: I was going to ask. I remember Vietnam, I don’t remember it being like this in my life, I’m 56, and I don’t remember in my lifetime any political party being so opposed to its own country.
CALLER: I have never seen it. It’s breathtaking. I have written to Reid especially saying if it was in my power, I’d have him up on treason charges, and I intend to send the same things to Schumer, to Pelosi, and to every one of these people who are — I have never seen anybody work so hard to undermine the United States and not only that, to bring personal discredit upon honorable people. I lost friends, guys I used to play poker with in Vietnam —
RUSH: Listen, that’s not new.
CALLER: I know that.
RUSH: Now they’re doing it to military people. That’s what’s new about it.
CALLER: That is. And that’s what concerns me. This is the most fantastic country on the face of the earth, we do more, we give more, we work hard, and not only are they working to discredit us on the battlefield, but what they’re doing, trying to do economically to turn it into a socialist state, is entirely beyond the pale. I’m at a loss for words. You take it from here.
RUSH: All right. Well, I appreciate your call. I tell you, the thing that… well, it won’t help you understand it. I don’t really want to help you understand it, but an observation nevertheless is that the Democrats are looking at this as though it’s just a debate on some domestic policy like the Social Security reform act or some health care provision or some such thing. They’re looking at the war in Iraq, the war on terror as just a political issue. They’re treating it that way. I have to assume that they know exactly what they’re doing. I have to think that they know exactly that they trash the US military. I think the Democrat Party today is made up of so many radical leftists, it is supported by so many radical leftists. They are suffering from a derangement syndrome that can be traced back to the fact that they think they had the election stolen from them in 2000, and if there is any justice, if there is any semblance of justice and standard, traditional values remaining in this country, the Democrat Party today is in the midst of destroying itself, in terms of credibility with a majority of the American people.
I think they’re going in far worse and far more dangerous territory for them than McGovern took them. They are McGovernizing themselves. They’re trying to hearken back to what they consider to be their glory years of successfully getting us out of Vietnam, which was considered to be a loss and led to a genocide in southeast Asia. For some reason they hearken back, that’s a glory day, that’s one of their glory years. They’re hearkening back to it now. Folks, I’m promising you this. They are heading for a landslide defeat of magnitude proportions we haven’t seen in politics. I don’t know when, but it is going to happen. They can’t survive this.
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RUSH: Jeri in Anaheim in California, nice to have you. Glad you called.
CALLER: Hi, Rush.
RUSH: Hi.
CALLER: ‘Rush Babe on Board,’ here, and totally de-Democratized from several years ago.
RUSH: Congratulations.
CALLER: Thank you. I am absolutely furious today. I am shaking. I heard that sound bite yesterday, and I just can’t believe it. I have called the Capitol, tried to get through to Schumer’s office. Of course his line is busy and they won’t let you hold or anything, so they said, ‘Anybody else?’ and all I could think of was Pelosi, right? So I left a message with her because she’s from this state of California, letting her know that they need to call for his immediate apology for what he has said. You know, he’s not in the military; he’s not in Iraq; he doesn’t know anything; he doesn’t know what’s going on. All he knows is that he needs to do everything that he can to hurt our president and our military and our country.
RUSH: Right. For that reason, do you think he’s going to apologize?
CALLER: Well, of course not.
RUSH: Of course not.
CALLER: Please. He’s so hateful.
RUSH: That’s a good word to sum ’em all up.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: They are just hateful. They are enraged. You know, for people who get up every day trying to go through life and make the most of it, being as optimistic as they can, it’s hard to understand people who are as successful as Senator Schumer and so forth, how anybody can be so mad, so enraged all the time. Why would anybody want to be? Why would anybody want to think the things that the Democrat Party today thinks? Beyond me, folks. Beyond me.
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