RUSH: You’re kidding me? Obama has an official Thanksgiving proclamation? Obama has an official Thanksgiving proclamation? I’m gonna read George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation today. I’ve just been told that Obama has one, and here’s how his begins.
‘A beloved American tradition, Thanksgiving Day offers us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on the grace that has been extended to our people and our country. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe — who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years — in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago. This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation’s heritage,’ at their casinos and on their reservations. I added the last. He didn’t say casinos and reservations.
‘We also pause our normal pursuits on this day and join in a spirit of fellowship and gratitude for the year’s bounties and blessings.’ He also mentions Washington’s proclamation in passing. ‘Amidst the uncertainty of a fledgling experiment in democracy, President George Washington declared the first Thanksgiving in America, recounting the blessings of tranquility, union, and plenty that shined upon our young country.’ I am not making this up. The whole myth of the first Thanksgiving, Obama is cementing it in stone here. ‘This Thanksgiving Day we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans whose skill –‘ this has gotta be a parody. Somebody is toying with me. Somebody is seeing if they can get one past me. Somebody is trying to take advantage of me being not as focused on the day before Thanksgiving and falling for this prank, ’cause somebody has sent me supposedly the presidential Thanksgiving proclamation written by Obama and it actually says, ‘This Thanksgiving Day we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive and whose rich culture continues to add to our nation’s Heritage. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe — who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years –‘ So we were the invaders.
The Indians are minding their own business. We were incompetent idiots. We didn’t know how to feed ourselves. So they came along and showed us how, and that’s what Thanksgiving is all about. Now, he says nothing about the Constitution in his Thanksgiving proclamation, because he’s got a problem with it. He also says this: ‘This harvest season, we are also reminded of those experiencing the pangs of hunger or the hardship of economic insecurity. Let us return the kindness and generosity we have seen throughout the year by helping our fellow citizens weather the storms of our day,’ primarily brought on by me. Now, if that’s part of it then I’m gonna maybe think that this actually is Obama’s Thanksgiving Day proclamation. I thought I was being hoaxed. I really thought I was being scammed. I thought somebody was taking advantage of me here thinking I’m not all that here, not all that focused the day before Thanksgiving, trying to get a phony Obama Thanksgiving proclamation past me. But there it is, it’s from the WhiteHouse.gov website. (laughing)
Every cliche that is wrong about Thanksgiving shows up in his proclamation. The Pilgrims show up at Plymouth. The Indians had been there for thousands of years. We get off the boats. We don’t know how to feed ourselves. The Indians show us how. They shared their skill in agriculture, which helped the early colonists survive and whose rich culture continues to add to our nation’s Heritage. Is it possible he believes it? I don’t doubt that he believes it, and even if he doesn’t believe it, he wants everybody else to believe it. Obama believes that this nation is fatally flawed since its founding, even before its founding, so it stands to reason — you know, a lot of people did not hear the true story of Thanksgiving until I wrote it in my book in the early nineties. I can remember Snerdley and H.R. were stunned when they heard the first story of Thanksgiving, the real story, because we’d all been taught a variation of the Indians saved us. We had to draw pictures of it in school, that’s exactly right, art projects of the Indians saving us. So anyway, I have George Washington’s original proclamation here, and we’ll share that with you as the program unfolds.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: We’ll go to Moore, Oklahoma, with David. I’m glad you waited, sir. Welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush, and happy Thanksgiving to you and your entire family.
RUSH: Thank you very much, sir.
CALLER: I am the father of 11 Rush babies, and one thing that we love about you is the historical perspective that you provide and —
RUSH: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
CALLER: — for al the historical information you give us. Every Fourth of July we read your father’s story ‘The Americans Who Risked Everything’ and there’s never a dry eye and we love that. So we love you, Rus. Keep it up.
RUSH: Thank you very much. That would be the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: We study the Pilgrims intently in our home, and one of the things that you said this morning I took a big issue with. I think I understand where you’re coming from. The first Thanksgiving, as we understand it, that the Pilgrim fathers gave and held was not giving thanks to the Indians. It wasn’t giving thanks necessarily for the Indians. But it was giving thanks to God — and one of the benefits and blessings they saw as coming from him was the relationship they enjoyed with the Indians. And so when they held their feast, of course, they invited the Indians to join them —
RUSH: Right!
CALLER: — and they held it with them, and I think you may be reading too much into it by saying that Obama’s trying to perpetuate that entire myth, although I wouldn’t put it past him.
RUSH: No! I’m just reading what he wrote in there!
CALLER: Sure. Sure.
RUSH: He said that Thanksgiving is about the Indians saving us, with their agriculture and everything else. The true story of Thanksgiving is socialism failed. Of course we showed them gratitude! We shared our bounty with them, not because we didn’t know how to make it. It was because we first failed as socialists. Only when we turned capitalists did we have plenty. The Indians didn’t teach us capitalism.
CALLER: That’s true. That’s true.
RUSH: They did look at Massasoit… Bradford called Massasoit the protector of the Pilgrims and they did recognize that without his protection they might have been toast with the other tribes around, and Massasoit did show great courage in welcoming the Pilgrims. You know, he’d been burned before by a pirate named Black that had stolen away a lot of his tribes members, so for Massasoit to not come in immediately and attack the Pilgrims was a blessing from God, and they recognize that, and so they were thankful. But there also came a time when Massasoit was truly thankful for the Pilgrims, and they actually saved his life on more than one occasion —
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: — and he was grateful for them. So they enjoyed peaceful relations for 50 years.
RUSH: What have I said that you gives you the idea that I disagree with this. I mean, after all the Indians had to show the Pilgrims where the water sources were. They didn’t know any of that stuff.
CALLER: Sure.
RUSH: There had there to be mutual sharing. What did I say that gives you the…?
CALLER: Well, I think to imply that they weren’t thankful at all for the Indians or what the Indians had done for them or to say that the Indians did not protect them and weren’t in some ways (garbled).
RUSH: No! I didn’t say that. They clearly were because they shared the first feast with them. They shared all the bounty with them.
CALLER: Then we have no disagreement.
RUSH: It was free range turkey!
CALLER: You’re 99.7% rating is still intact, then.
RUSH: (laughing)
CALLER: (laughing)
RUSH: Look, I enjoy the scrutiny. I’m always interested to know how people hear what I say. Because I’m a professional communicator, and if I fail to communicate what I mean, I need to know that. So you’ve served a very valuable purpose here because I did not mean to imply that we steamrollered over these people.
CALLER: Well, and I know that much of what you say is also designed to provoke thought and to make people think, to be absurd sometimes and make people go to the limits of absurdity and look at their own beliefs.
RUSH: Well, that’s exactly right. We do illustrate absurdity by being absurd here. Those who forget that quickly can lose their minds.
CALLER: Well, God bless you and your family, Rush.
RUSH: Thank you David. Same to you. Where are you gonna be for Thanksgiving, at home or are you traveling?
CALLER: (silence)
RUSH: He hung up out there. (interruption) We did not steamroll the Indians. Not at Thanksgiving. That came later. We didn’t steamroll ’em at Thanksgiving.