RUSH: If you happen to live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado, and even parts of Indiana, Barack Obama wants the coal industry in which you work to go bankrupt. He intends to bankrupt it. He also intends to cause skyrocketing energy prices. He made these comments earlier in the year with an editorial board meeting that was recorded, the San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle says they reported it. They put it on their website. The newspaper story they did on this did not comment on any of this. You get the point, though, people voting for Obama, I don’t think they care anything about it. I don’t think that the substance of who he is is relevant, otherwise he wouldn’t be above 30%.
He’s a symbol of something to a lot of people, and he’s a blank slate and they are making of Obama whatever they want him to be. If he wins this, there is going to be some severe buyer’s remorse, and we see these guys in the media, they’re covering their rear end because if this guy goes far left, they don’t want any blame for it, ‘We didn’t know. We didn’t know who Obama was, only written two books, aspirational (sic) speeches, don’t know much about him, don’t know who his heroes are, don’t know who his mentors are, we don’t know anything about him,’ after they’ve pushed him all of this time. Here is Obama, this is in January of this year in an editorial board meeting with the San Francisco Chronicle.
RUSH: He’s gonna bankrupt ’em, he’s got a cap-and-trade program, Algore, this is to save the planet. He’s going to bankrupt ’em, by definition, they will bankrupt. But that’s not, by itself, the single most damaging aspect of what he said. This is.
OBAMA: When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know, under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.
RUSH: So folks, he wants to bankrupt the coal industry. Now, I’ve never seen a presidential candidate actually admit that he wants to destroy elements of the US economy. He did, he said it, and now he wants skyrocketing gas prices. You remember when gasoline spiked up to four bucks? The only thing Obama said about it, ‘The only thing that bothers me is how quickly we got it up there.’ But he didn’t do one damn thing to lower gasoline prices. He didn’t care that they were that high. His only stated concern was that they got up there so quickly. Here he is, same interview with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board, January 2008.
OBAMA: Regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money, they will pass that money on to consumers. If you can’t persuade the American people that, yes, there’s going to be some increase in electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term because of combinations of more efficient energy usage and changing lightbulbs and more efficient appliances, but also technology improving how we can produce clean energy, that the economy will benefit. If we can’t make that argument persuasively enough, you — you can — you can be Lyndon Johnson, you can be the master of Washington, you’re not gonna get that done.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Now, this thing that just surfaced yesterday from the San Francisco Chronicle all the way back in January, I have to think — just using my own common sense, I have to think — this matters. But, of course, it’s nowhere to be found in the Drive-By Media! You cannot find this in the Drive-By Media. They are suppressing it. They’re not talking about it. But those of you in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania and Ohio (there’s even some mining in Colorado), and a lot of other states, and Indiana — people that are affected by the coal mining industry — here again: January of this year, Barack Obama to the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board.
OBAMA: What I’ve said is that we would put a, uh, cap-and-trade system in place that is more — that is as aggressive if not more aggressive than anybody else’s out there. So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that, uh, greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
RUSH: He’s promising that the coal industry will be ‘bankrupted’ because they’re not going to be able to operate. This is the point you have to understand, they’re not going to be able to operate under his plan if it ever comes to fruition. The only way they could operate is if they just spend crazy amounts of money, which they won’t do because it would bankrupt them. So he essentially wants to shut down the coal business; and he’s also very much in favor of skyrocketing electricity rates.
OBAMA: When I was asked earlier about, uh, the issue of coal, uh, you know, under my plan, uh, of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.
RUSH: So prices, energy prices in general will ‘necessarily skyrocket’ — necessarily skyrocket! — because of his plans. Now, let’s go back to an early Obama campaign ad touting his support for coal.
OBAMA: I’m Barack Obama, and I approved this message.
MAN: (sappy music) Barack originates from Chicago but he came to southern Illinois and seen the devastation and the loss of the jobs in this coal industry. Washington, DC, is not listening to us. Barack understands this.
ANNOUNCER: In Illinois and the US Senate, Barack Obama helped lead the fight for clean coal, to protect our environment, and save good-paying American jobs.
MAN: He’s figured it out. It takes trust and each other to get the job done.
RUSH: It’s a 100% lie. It’s a campaign ad that’s a 100% lie based on what we know now. The coal industry is going to necessarily be bankrupted. Skyrocketing electricity rates will happen necessarily. He’s running ads out there telling coal workers that he’s going to protect our jobs: $200 million for clean coal. Here’s Biden by the… Well, we don’t have time to squeeze Biden in but Biden you’ll recall back on September 17th during a rope line visit, he’s shaking hands with people, there’s an environmentalist wacko in the line, Carolyn Auwater, and she says, ‘Wind and solar are flourishing here in Ohio so why are you supporting clean coal?’ and old Biden goes, ‘We’re not supporting clean coal! We don’t want clean coal. Let the Chinese build clean coal.’ The Obama campaign has done its best to hide its intent from everybody.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Sarah Palin today, on the campaign trail and yesterday, asked too: Why is the audiotape of Obama promising happy to bankrupt the coal industry just now surfacing? Who knows, folks? The San Francisco Chronicle people are really on the defensive today. They’ve got stories out by Carla Marinucci, ‘We didn’t suppress anything! It was there. We put it on the website.’ They didn’t highlight it. I guess it didn’t strike the editors when Obama talks about bankrupting the coal industry. I guess the people in that meeting, it didn’t strike them as anything strange. They’re in San Francisco, environmentalist wackos. They probably hate coal. But can you imagine if that tape — and I’m tired of playing this game. I’m tired of the ‘if’ game. We’re all going to pay for this. It’s one thing to try to focus here on the San Francisco Chronicle and why or whether they suppressed the tape, but that’s to miss the point.
The point is Obama said it. The news is Obama said it. That’s what has to get out there. It’s too late. You can berate the Chronicle all you want. I’ll tell you this, though: If that tape had come out before any of these debates, whew! Can you imagine? I dare say the race in some of these states would have Obama trailing and playing catch-up. Now, I am not going to start assigning motives to the Chronicle ’cause they got the article up there defending their usage of this, ‘We put it up! It was on the website,’ blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But there’s too much of this going on. The LA Times has a damning videotape of Obama applauding a Jew-hater with some of his Marxist anti-American friends in 2003 and they won’t air that. There’s just been too much of this going on, and as such the American people are making the most uninformed decision they have ever made — at least in the era of modern media.
Back in the old days before there was television and radio, it was harder for campaigns to get their message out and it was all over the place. But since the advent of modern media, I think it’s easy to say that this is probably the most uninformed electorate about a particular presidential candidate than we’ve ever had, and you can prove this to yourself by walking around and talking to people who plan on voting for this guy. They don’t know diddly-squat. When you tell them, not only do they not know, they think you’re making it up and they don’t care. Because he’s purely symbolic to all of them. All right, here’s Biden. Now, this is on the rope line. Remember, now, I just played for you an ad earlier in the campaign of Obama touting that he’s gonna save the coal industry. That ad came out after he told the Chronicle in January that he wanted to ‘bankrupt’ the coal industry.
By the way, if you are listening to this program (and I am sure you are) in western Pennsylvania and Ohio and West Virginia, and Colorado, I’m not just throwing this phrase around lightly: bankrupt your industry. He wants you out of work. ‘No, Rush, no! He didn’t say that.’ Folks, when you want to bankrupt an industry, you put it out of business, and when something goes out of business… Why do I feel like I’m in the first grade here? When somebody goes out of business, there aren’t any jobs in that business. Not in business. Bankrupt the coal business. ‘Oh, he’s not going to do that, Rush.’ He said it! He said it happily. He said it firmly. And he followed it up with excitement over skyrocketing electricity rates as a result. So not only… I mean, we’re all going to end up as Aunt Zetutu or whatever her name is. We’re all going to be an Aunt Zeituni if the guy gets his way. So here’s the timeline. January: I want to bankrupt the coal industry; I love skyrocketing electricity prices. He runs an ad: I’m going to save the coal industry. Too many jobs will be lost. I’m here for the little guy. Biden on the campaign trail, a rope line, September 17th, gets a question: ‘Wind and solar flourishing here in Ohio, so why are you supporting coal?’
BIDEN: We’re not supporting clean coal! Guess what? China’s building two every week, two dirty coal plants. And it’s polluting the United States! It’s causing people to die! The first guy to introduce a global warming bill was me, 22 years ago. The first guy to support solar energy is me, 26 years ago. Came out of Delaware. But guess what? China’s going to burn 300 years of bad coal, once we figure out how to clean their coal up because it’s going to ruin your lungs and there’s nothing we can do about it. No coal plants here in America, build ’em, if they’re going to build them over there, make ’em clean, because they’re killing you!
RUSH: All right, so we’re going to leave the coal industry to the ChiComs, and we’re going to make noises. Like the ChiComs are going to listen to us! ‘Hey! Hey, Hu Jintao! Clean up your coal,’ Biden will say. ‘Hey, buddy, old pal, clean up your coal. Stand up, Hu! Let everybody see you?’ Oh, oh, you don’t tell a communist stand up. Communists tell you to sit down. Sarah Palin yesterday on the campaign trail, this is in Marietta, Ohio.
PALIN: In the 11th hour, an audiotape surfaced that you’ve gotta hear. Ohio and West Virginia, you will appreciate this. Listen in. You’re going to hear Barack Obama talking about bankrupting the coal century. He explained… (booos) Now, a couple points on this, one is that the tape just now is surfacing, just a couple days before the election? He said that, sure, if the industry wants to build new coal-fired power plants, then they can go ahead and try, he says, but they can do it only in a way will ‘bankrupt the coal industry,’ and he’s comfortable letting that happen.
RUSH: Not just comfortable, Governor Palin, he’s excited about it. It’s part of the plan! It’s part of the plan. Folks, when can you last remember a presidential candidate saying he’s going to destroy an industry? I can’t remember it. I do remember various presidential candidates saying, ‘I want to close the Department of Energy or I’m going to close the Department of Education’ or whatever. I can recall that. ‘Let’s pare down the size of government.’ I have never, ever, heard a presidential candidate — who is leading in the polls — say he wants to bankrupt one of the foundation building blocks of the American economy! (interruption) Yeah, he could have picked the porn industry. That’s right. I’ve never heard a presidential candidate say he wants to shut down the porn industry. I’ve never heard that.
Not even the porn industry! Every industry in this country has been safe. Well, now, wait a second. You know, I’m wrong. Forgive me. For the past six years we have been hearing about how we’ve got to really harm Wal-Mart. We’ve gotta punish Big Drug. We have to punish Big Oil. We have to punish Big Energy. We have to punish Wal-Mart! Now, I know they didn’t say they want to bankrupt these industries, but they were on the enemies list. The Democrat Party has made it plain who their enemies are, and their enemies are those things that comprise the engine and the fuel of capitalism. They do want to shut down… I take it back. They do want to shut down talk radio. That industry they do want to shut down. They’ve made no bones about it. However, to shut down and bankrupt an entire industry and then to joyfully say that skyrocketing electricity prices will result? Here’s more from Sarah Palin yesterday in Marietta, Ohio.
PALIN: John McCain and I, we tell you, those of you who understand the need for energy independence, we will not let that happen to the coal industry. Instead, we’ll make clean coal a reality — and to help power the American economy with clean coal technology, we’re going to be looking to the hardworking people of Ohio and West Virginia and Pennsylvania! (cheers)
RUSH: Okay. Now, this Obama comment, ladies and gentlemen, about bankrupting the coal industry… This was not taken wildly out of context, by the way, as the Obama campaign is saying. His people are saying, ‘Ah, you took that wildly out of context.’ We did not. It was not taken wildly out of context. They try to get rid of any analysis of any comment that might harm him politically. The bankrupt comment, however, was totally consistent with everything he was saying. I read the transcript that was posted on the Chronicle website. By the way, when you listen to the whole meeting he had with the editorial board, it goes about an hour or close to it. Also his statement that under him energy, electricity prices will skyrocket. That’s his intention!
When Obama says that we in the United States are three or four percent of the world’s population, but we use 25% of its energy? He intends to drive the oil, the coal and gas industries out of business. He believes he can replace them with some yet-to-be-developed, yet-to-be-invented, widely practical replacement. He sees this as a way of bringing America’s economy and wealth in line with the rest of the world. It is his intention to reduce our national wealth, folks. Make no mistake here. This is why he’s wildly popular in the Third World. Obama brings a Third World mentality of socialism, spreading the wealth around, to this race — and that’s why he’s popular in Europe, popular in the Third World. ‘You have to destroy the rich. You have to destroy business. You have to remake the economy, remake it as the government deems fit,’ meaning him.
He’s out there saying, ‘We’re going to fundamentally change this country,’ and he means fundamentally change. He means the way we define the United States of America. He’s out there pandering to 47 million people who pay no federal income tax, but they do have the right to vote. He is telling these 47 million people who pay no income taxes that he’s going to deliver them free health care. He’s going to deliver them free college tuition. He’s going to deliver free loans. He is telling them he will take the money for that from other people and give it to them. This is the kind of politics that’s practiced in Venezuela. It is the kind of politics practiced in Cuba. It’s what led to Castro’s revolution. It’s the kind of stuff that goes on in Zimbabwe with Mugabe and Argentina and so forth.
Its appeal… You know, the strange thing about this? This is what’s troubling to me. The appeal of this, ‘I’m going to take from these rich people; I’m going to give it to you. You’re finally going to have free health care, free car, free college tuition, free loans,’ generally the appeal works in countries that are very poor or have a large peasant class. So Obama knows this. So he has altered the message. The socialism is the same, but he speaks of helping the ‘middle class’ rather than the ‘poor.’ In Obama’s worldview, the middle class is equal to the poorest of the poor in the world. They are victims. They have been made poor by a selfish, greedy, rich class and it’s time to get even with those people. He speaks of ‘cutting’ middle class taxes. He’s not cutting any taxes of the middle class! Forty-seven million Americans are not paying income taxes.
What he’s really providing is massive welfare payments to the poor. Only now his welfare payments are going to go to the middle class, as well as the poor, and the reason for this… Now, brace yourselves. You can look around, ladies and gentlemen, and you can look anywhere you want to visit in your town, in your state, throughout this country. You find a place — a neighborhood, an area, or a single home, where the family lives on welfare — and you will see a destroyed family. You will see a destroyed section of town. You will see a destroyed section of the state. Wherever people live on welfare, their lives are destroyed. Thus, I am warning you, the purpose that Obama has in mind is to destroy the middle class. When you destroy the middle class and you convince them they’re better off on welfare, and that some magical guru is going to handle all their needs, then you control them, and then you own their votes. Forever.
That’s why Obama wants to bankrupt the coal industry. That is why his party speaks of eliminating 401(k)s. They don’t want you having financial independence at all. By the way, this is why taxes will be increased on people who earn under $120,000 and as little as $42,000 a year. He has already supported legislation that will do that. So your 401(k) will go. It will become property of the government at 3% interest adjusted for inflation. The coal industry, if you work there, is going to go bankrupt. The middle class is targeted here for welfare, a giant welfare state — and this, Obama says, is necessary to make sure that we are equal with the rest of the world. Remember: Liberals do not look at inequality and try to raise those at the bottom. They punish those at the top. They try to make more people poor, not more people rich and financially independent.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I checked the e-mail during the break. I don’t believe it. ‘Rush, did you really mean to say this, Obama wants to destroy the middle class?’ Yes! Folks, I wouldn’t be saying it if I didn’t mean it. It’s not even an opinion. There’s only one way Obama can achieve what he wants to achieve, and that’s to do that. Now, I don’t know how far these Democrats in Congress are going to go along with him, but I think many of them are just like him. They’re as far left as he is. We know they’re powermongers, pandering to 47 million people in this country who pay no federal income taxes. He wants to create a welfare state out of them. That’s what he’s calling tax cuts for them. There are no taxes to cut. They’re going to be given welfare payments. Check your neighborhood. Check your state. Check your town. Check the slum that his aunt lives in. When people are living in welfare, and on welfare, their lives are destroyed and they have no hope. As I say, this kind of appeal generally works when people make 12 bucks a year. But to a country where $50,000 is a mean salary, this kind of stuff usually doesn’t appeal. But it is apparently working.
So the question is whether enough people who will be punished by Obama and his policies understand all this, given all the free and paid media employed to lie to them and to confuse them. Look at George McGovern. Now, he was a liberal, he was very liberal. He wanted to increase taxes to pay for more welfare. He didn’t make any bones about it, but he never doubted the greatness of the country or our system. He didn’t claim to want to fundamentally change the country. He wanted to create jobs. He didn’t want to destroy them by bankrupting the coal industry. He was just wrong. Even today, McGovern is in ads urging his fellow Democrats to reject Obama’s efforts to eliminate the secret ballot in union elections. He is fearful of the fascism that that represents. But is anybody listening who should be listening? And let’s be clear about something else here, folks, before I have to go for this break. If Obama is coldheartedly prepared to bankrupt the coal industry, destroy tens of thousands of coal miner jobs, what do you think his plans are for steelworkers and for automobile workers, for all the assembly line workers and so forth? What do you think his plans are for you when they want to take your 401(k)? We’re talking a disaster. We’re talking a disaster for coal. Obama has been lying to people in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado. He has been lying to the people, he is still lying to them, and they think, many of them, too many of them think that he is their savior.
Related Links