RUSH: Vernon, New Jersey, John, hello, great to have you on the EIB Network.
CALLER: Vernon Township Sussex County, New Jersey, dittos. Home of the great Chris Christie.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: It’s a great honor to speak to you, Maha Rushie. I was just wondering last night if you or any of your staff picked up the Chris Matthews ‘Hardboiled’ show where he called for the nationalization of the oil companies.
RUSH: We did. I didn’t. Paid staff came across it.
CALLER: I found that just absolutely outrageous.
RUSH: It is. It’s really — John, thanks for the call. I appreciate it. It really is. You know, Chris Matthews at one time, many years ago, guest hosted this program. Chris Matthews has… I don’t know what’s happened. I know that he was chief of staff for Tip O’Neill and I know he’s always been a full-fledged Democrat, but he’s never been a radical. Something has happened. Brain cells have been scrambled up there for some reason. Because this is not the Chris Matthews that I’ve always known, and the stuff I hear this guy saying the past year, he’s not the Chris Matthews that I’ve always known. (interruption) Well, I don’t know, Snerdley. Snerdley, may have a point. He thinks that I have pushed Matthews over the edge, along with a lot of other liberals in the media. Here is what Matthews said last night. He’s basically asking for a dictator. He basically wants Obama to do a Hugo Chavez.
MATTHEWS: Why doesn’t the president go in there and nationalize that industry and get this done for the people?
WOMAN: Well…
MATTHEWS (interrupting): There’s a national interest in this not just a BP interest! We’re letting BP fix a national problem. In China it’s a more brutal society, but they execute people for this.
MAN: (nervous laughter)
MATTHEWS: Major industrial leaders that commit crimes like this —
WOMAN: Well…
MATTHEWS (shouting): — failure like this! This is a serious, serious problem. Everybody says capitalism is great; unbridled free enterprise is great. Look at it!
WOMAN: Lenny?
MATTHEWS: This is great, isn’t it?
RUSH: Frankly, folks, this is… It’s not normal. This is delusional, deranged, or whatever. Execute the CEO? Nationalize the oil company? What did he say? ‘Unbridled free enterprise is great,’ sarcastically. I don’t know where there is any unbridled free market capitalism going on. The oil industry is one of the most regulated industries in the world and in this country — and, Chris, it was the Obama regime which gave this particular rig a safety award! Really. I once said that I think I’m the reason that the mainstream media has become so partisan and been public now to who they are, and apparently it’s true in Matthews’ case. He wants executions now like in China. How about just suicides, Chris, like in Japan? Would that work?