RUSH: I have to make one more comment about Joplin. I’m reading some of the postmortems in the media, some snarky pieces, but the coverage has actually been over-the-top good in pretty much all of the media. Andrew Malcolm, a blogger at the LA Times, had just a perfectly, perfectly snarky piece aimed at the critics, not at me. It was so well done in his blog yesterday. Can you imagine Limbaugh talking about freedom? How ridiculous in this day and age, who does he think he is, you know, that kind stuff. (lauging) It was aimed at the typical LA Times reader. (laughing)
But somebody said I went in there to promote myself. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Rush Limbaugh. I have become too famous in order to live the life I’d like to live. I don’t need to promote myself. I really don’t need to do that. Meaning there’s a whole bunch of stuff I could do and places I could go if I had some anonymity, but I don’t. I’ve become too famous. (interruption) Well, it’s not that I have anything in mind. (laughing) Dawn said, “Where do you want to go?” It’s not that I’ve got anyplace in mind or anything like this. I’m not complaining about it, don’t misunderstand. I’m just saying that the idea that I went in there to promote myself? (laughing) (interruption) What? Who? Oh, yeah, yeah, Obama said he’d like to walk out of the — don’t compare me to Obama. I’m not talking about in that context. I’m talking about the context these snarky little creeps who say that I went in there to promote myself. I’m Rush Limbaugh, those days are over. I don’t have to do that. Others still do and it irritates them. But I don’t.
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RUSH: This is Joey in Austin, Texas. Joey, thanks for waiting. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.
CALLER: Mega dittos to the South Boston Barbecue Society and what an honor it is to speak to you.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: I’m a young man but I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this occasion. Now, having gone through Joplin recently with my wife — unfortunately we missed you by just a week — I’ve been listening to the remarks made about Joplin. In yesterday’s show you kind of made remarks that there weren’t any other than local political people there, that there weren’t any major politicians; and that sparked a thought experiment in me which is what would have happened had someone say like the president showed up to Joplin for this event. I think it’s a good analogy for private versus public, what you get. If the people of Joplin had got the president then they would have had to pay for his flight, they would have had to pay for all of his security, paid to have his teleprompter set up, probably waited for him — and the only thing he would have brought would have been gifts of higher taxes, wealth distribution, problems for small businesses, and a message that they should have waited for the federal government to rebuild their town rather than build themselves. However — and I’m making some assumptions here but being a listener they’re educated assumptions — when Rush Limbaugh came to town, I would assume that you paid for your own flight, you didn’t need a teleprompter, and you came bearing a truckload of free gifts. That’s the difference between what you get from the private sector versus the public.
RUSH: Now, this is a fascinating way to look at this. You’re right of course: I paid for my own flight, but I always do. I did bring a truckload of tea, and you know what else we did? I do want to make a point, ’cause it was funny the way it happened. Kathryn loaded some money, cash — as Al Sharpton would say (impression), “Cash money! We put some cash money” in some envelopes, ’cause we felt bad. We’re going in there with about 3,000 cases of Two If By Tea, and there are vendors out there selling hot dogs and other beverages. So we went in and we gave each vendor an envelope of “cash money,” and Kathryn went around and she said the reaction was hilarious. They didn’t want to take it.
“What is this?” They didn’t believe it. They thought this was weird. “No, I don’t want to get anywhere near this,” and finally they understood and they took it, some of them. Some did, I think most of them did, but we didn’t want the truckload of tea to cost any of these other people any money. And I remember I got a note from a guy in Tulsa who said, “You’re crazy. I mean, probably more vendors showed up there than otherwise would have because you were there.” So, maybe so. They estimated a crowd at 35,000. It looked larger than that to me, but I think if the people of Joplin would have appreciated it just as much if Obama it showed up. He has been in there. I think he did go. He stopped in, Obama, Joplin a week after the tornado hit when he got back from Europe. But, Joey, it’s a nice thought and I appreciate it. I love the thinking, but Obama would not have brought any gifts.
CALLER: Not gifts that he paid for. I mean, he has a tendency to “regift” something that you already own, from my understanding.
RUSH: (laughing) From your understanding?
CALLER: (laughing)
RUSH: He tends to “regift things.” (laughing) You’re exactly right. He hands ’em out as his own. (laughing) I appreciate it, Joey.
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