RUSH: We’re gonna go back to the Grooveyard of Forgotten Favorites and we are going to have another Gorbasm today, because the Drive-By Media is, in fact, having one. It’s the 25th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall, and the Drive-By Media is out celebrating Mikhail Gorbachev as though he let it happen, as though Gorbachev made it happen.
You know, I met Gorbachev. It was at George H. W. Bush’s 80th birthday, and it was at Reliant Stadium in Houston. It was a big celebration and I didn’t go to the celebration on the field. There was a pre-bash in the bowels of the stadium in there and I showed up for that. Gorbachev was there with that bald-headed interpreter that’s been following him around for 30 years. James Baker was there. Well, everybody was there. And this bald-headed guy with Gorbachev kept looking at me, and I said, “This guy can’t know who I am.” I mean, this is Mikhail Gorbachev. These guys don’t speak English. He has no idea, but he kept looking at me.
So finally I went up to James Baker and said, “I’d like to meet Gorbachev.” I happened to be wearing the exact same color gray suit that Gorbachev was wearing. It was uncanny. So he took me over and introduced me, and he introduced me to the interpreter, and I heard the interpreter explain to Gorbachev who I was. I heard (doing impression), “Limbaugh, Ruskie Limbaugh” or something like that. And Gorbachev smiled and cocked his head, looked at me, and we posed for a picture. And when we posted the picture at RushLimbaugh.com the birthmark that was on Gorbachev’s forehead had gone from his to mine. It ended up on my forehead. You should see it. We put it up there at RushLimbaugh.com.
Anyway, that was the big birthday bash. I left early. I didn’t want to stay for the whole thing, but I got out to the airport and I had to wait for it to end anyway because George W. Bush was there, he was president, and if the president’s there they ground all airplane traffic over the city of Houston while the president’s there. So I had to wait ’til the party was over to leave. So I should have stayed. I thought I was leaving early to get out of there.
Anyway, for those of you too young to know, I will explain what a Gorbasm is at that point in time when we get to it.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Now, ladies and gentlemen, for those of you too young to have remembered or to those of you who weren’t paying attention back in the 1980s, let me give you a little history lesson. During the 1980s, the Al-Qaeda of the day was the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent the ChiComs. But the Soviet Union was the enemy of the United States, acknowledged enemy of the United States.
Soviet communism was expanding. Every Soviet leader — Gorbachev, Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov were doing their best to expand communist beachheads all over the world. Nicaragua, Cuba, you name it. They were literally trying to expand everywhere. The Democrat Party did not see the Soviet Union as much of an enemy. They didn’t see the Soviet Union as much of a threat. They saw the Soviet Union as a great attempt, actually, at equality and fairness in governing a society.
Ronald Reagan got elected in 1980 on three premises, the first of which was rebuilding the US military that had become dilapidated under Jimmy Carter. The second was revitalizing a US economy which had become moribund under Jimmy Carter and the Democrats. And the third leg of the Reagan stool was defeating Soviet communism and taking them seriously. He was elected in two landslide elections to do it.
He made no bones about it. And any effort by the Soviets to expand in Nicaragua, didn’t matter how big or how small, Reagan opposed it at every turn. This angered the Democrat Party to no end, and the Democrat Party and the media were running around constantly portraying Ronald Reagan as the greatest danger to world peace, not Mikhail Gorbachev or not Brezhnev. For the first five years of the Reagan administration, he refused to meet with a Soviet leader. To the media and the Democrat Party, that was dangerous. “You gotta meet with them. You gotta have dialogue. You gotta talk, nuclear weapons, nuclear warheads all over the place and nuclear arms race and you won’t talk.”
And Reagan said, “They keep dying on me. They’re not staying in office long enough to have a meeting.” That made ’em mad. That made the Democrats and the media mad. Reagan believed the Soviet Union would implode because of its own immorality. He believed that communism would ultimately implode on itself, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to urge it along and help that along. But if you weren’t around to remember, it was really acrimonious. The media and the Democrat Party hated Ronald Reagan. They despised Reagan because he was an unabashed conservative.
They despised Reagan because he believed in smaller government. All of the precepts of conservatism, he personified them, he epitomized them, and he was better than anybody at explaining them and selling them. He was better than anybody at creating positive, uplifting attitudes, courageous inspiring attitudes in millions and millions of people. The Democrat Party had nobody that could do this. And Reagan thus was presented as a constant threat.
Reagan was characterized as deranged, asleep half the time, finger dangerously poised on the nuclear trigger and he would wipe out the world in a moment’s notice. It was dangerous, it was horrible, and all of this anti-Soviet talk was unnecessary. It was provocative. It was destabilizing. All it was gonna do is make the Soviets mad. The Democrat Party and the media thought it was impossible to defeat the Soviet Union; they were too big; they were too powerful; and they didn’t want the Soviet Union defeated.
They thought we should peacefully coexist, have an interchange and interexchange of ideas, and that there could be cultural exchanges, and we had a lot to learn from them. They could learn something from us. But the Soviet Union was established. It was there, it was legitimate, and it had no business being talked about the way Reagan talked about it. And then all of these old Soviet leaders began to die off, and they got a new one, and he was younger than any Soviet leader had ever been.
His name was Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. The American media and the Democrat Party immediately fell in love with Mikhail Gorbachev, and it was hoped and thought that Mikhail Gorbachev was actually going to save the world from Ronald Reagan. Reagan was a dangerous cowboy. Reagan was undisciplined. Reagan was uneducated; he was a dunce. Tip O’Neill called him “an amiable dunce,” but he was still a dunce.
But Gorbachev? Now, Gorbachev, there was a man in whom we could place our total trust. Gorbachev came along and proposed a couple things called perestroika and glasnost, in the interests of saving time. What those things were is simple attempts by Gorbachev to institute a little bit of freedom amongst the Soviet people while maintaining an iron fist gripping on them and communism. What happened was American culture began to infiltrate the Iron Curtain.
Something as simple as reruns of the Dallas TV series put the lie to what the Soviet leadership told their population about America, and then Levis jeans and so much of pop culture began to undermine the Soviet leadership. They began to lose control of the population. So they tried to institute glasnost (a little openness) and perestroika, which was designed actually to fool the American media into thinking that the Soviet Union was engaging in “reform.”
That made Gorbachev all the more popular.
Gorbachev became even more beloved. He was instituting necessary “reforms.” He was not gonna give up communism. Communism was not a bad thing, and still isn’t to these people. Communism was a great thing. It just hasn’t had enough money yet, hasn’t had enough people try it, but it’s eminently fair. Everybody’s equal, everybody’s the same, and the rich had everything taking away from them. It’s eminently fair.
Gorbachev came along and made it look like he was gonna be the guy that could finally sit down, have a meeting with the United States, and convince Reagan not to blow up the world. And a meeting was scheduled in Washington, DC. Gorbachev was to come to United States and actually have a meeting with Reagan, at which time Gorbachev would tell Reagan how it was gonna be, at which time Mikhail Gorbachev would save the world from Ronald Reagan.
How that panned out, when we get back.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Ronald Reagan referred to the Soviet as “the evil empire.” That angered the American media and the Democrat Party like you can’t believe. Reagan went into the radio studio one day to record a Saturday morning presidential address, and before recording he joked, “The bombing begins in five minutes.” That was leaked out, and the press and the Democrat Party went bonkers thinking Reagan was on the verge of losing it and was literally gonna bomb the Soviet Union!
You didn’t joke about the Soviet Union. You didn’t joke about nuclear weapons. It was horrible. So when Gorbachev and the birthmark — which grew as the Soviet Union expanded. You could see that birthmark grow. You could see Maine, see the East Coast, see Florida! As the Soviets’ expansion and infiltration of the US culture grew, so did the Gorbachev birthmark.
(playing of the Imperial March)
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, the trip to Washington was announced!
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev — with his lovely and gracious wife, Raissa — would come and, by the way, show Nancy Reagan a thing or two about china. I’m talking about plates, dinner service china. Nancy Reagan had nothing on Raissa Gorbachev. So finally, at Andrews Air Force Base, there is a gathered throng awaiting the arrival of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.
State Department luminaries, administration figures, media, and members of the public who could get in were all waiting as the leader of the evil empire arrived on American soil to save the world from the evil finger of Ronald Reagan. And then they saw it! The Ilyushin Il-62 jetliner on final approach at Andrews Air Force Base — the technology to build that plane, by the way, stolen from Boeing. It landed.
The Ilyushin Il-62 jetliner carrying Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev and the communist leadership began to taxi near where the throngs were gathered to hail the arrival of the savior of the planet Earth, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev! And I’m not exaggerating this. This is exactly how it was portrayed in the American media. The plane kept taxiing and getting closer and closer — and as it got closer and closer, the anticipation in the crowd began to build in places visible to the naked eye.
You could see that building and building anticipation becoming harder and harder to contain. The level of excitement and the hope for the savior of the world was now only yards away. Finally, the Ilyushin Il-62 Soviet jetliner, technology stolen from Boeing, pulled to a stop in front of a gathered throng. For the longest time, the door did not open. This led to further anticipation on the part of the crowd, all of whom were deeply invested in saving the planet from the United States of America.
Even Laura Dern was there, fresh from an appearance on Phil Donahue’s show in which she broke down in tears, claiming people didn’t know what it was like to grow up with a threat like nuclear weapons. She forgot that her parents and grandparents had served in World War II and a number of other things, but never mind. The door finally opened, and the stairs were rolled up. And still, no sign of Gorbachev.
Just a bunch of underlings, flight attendants, support staff gathering at the top of the stairs and walking down. It was noted that Reagan was not there. And then all at once, there he was! Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev had arrived, standing atop the stairs just outside the front door of the Ilyushin Il-62 Soviet jetliner, the technology to build it stolen from Boeing. He waved and the crowd could barely contain itself!
Screams of delight, shouts of sheer and pure joy emanating from the hundreds and hundreds gathered to witness the arrival of the man who was going to save the world from Ronaldus Magnus. And then he took off the hat, and there it was! The birthmark! Instantly the crowd went nuts, began screaming and squealing with delight and uncontrolled passion — sheer joy, the likes of which had not been experienced outside a Soviet jetliner ever!
Shouts from the crowd could be heard. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! He’s here! He has come! Oh, my God, we’re saved! Gorbachev is here! Ohhhhh!” And the first public Gorbasm ever to happen on record was witnessed. Gorbachev then walked down the stairs, got in the Soviet ZiL limousine (four miles to the gallon, just a piece of junk car), and drove off to the Soviet embassy to keep spying on the American people.
He got some sleep, had the meeting, and Reagan had his way with him.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: The reason Gorbachev’s back in the news today is because Gorbachev is accusing America of “giving in to triumphalism” after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the communist bloc, and he says that we’re on the brink of “a brand-new Cold War, and that would be horrible.” In fact, Gorbachev says, “We’re not even on the brink. Some are even saying the new Cold War has already begun.”
This was at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall — which, by the way, is being understandably completely mischaracterized by the American media. There are stories today that the Berlin Wall came down not because of any pressure by the United States or Reagan, but rather because of idiotic bureaucrat bureaucratic decisions in East Germany. I kid you not.
The reason for this is — and don’t doubt me, folks.
Communism cannot be seen to have failed. It cannot be seen to have been weak. Communism was given up by Gorbachev. You must understand. The Cold War, the first Cold War ended because Gorbachev ended it. Gorbachev was the visionary. Gorbachev was the savior. That never changed. Gorbachev has been accusing the US of “triumphalism” every time the Republicans win appear election.
You can go back and look. Every time. If it’s the presidency, if it’s a midterm election like this, whenever the Republicans win an election, Mikhail Gorbachev — who is no different than your modern-day Obama Democrat today — runs around and starts wringing his hands and talking about triumphalism, meaning, it’s not nice to gloat when you win.
And this notion of triumphalism, meaning like your big deal when you win? That’s not good for the world. That leads to destabilization. That leads to the idea there’s only one superpower, and that’s not good. That destabilizes the world — because in Gorbachev’s world, there were no good guys, except him and the KGB. The United States was not the good guys.
It’s true even to this day. We’re on the brink of a new Cold War. Why? ‘Cause Obama just lost, the Republicans just won, and that leads to triumphalism. Yes. It’s so predictable. Everybody on the left — I don’t care who they are on the left, if it’s former communist leaders, if it’s Democrats in this country — when the Republicans win, it is always the end of the world, and such is the case today.
Here’s patty in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, as we head back to the phones. Great to have you, Patty. I’m glad you waited. Hello.
CALLER: Oh, Rush, thank you so much for taking my call.
RUSH: You bet.
CALLER: It’s such an honor to speak with you.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: The reason I’m calling is I received a letter today from my insurance company, from my health care, and starting January of 2015, my premium will be going up $511.02 quarterly.
RUSH: $2,000 a year.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: President Obama said your premium’s gonna go down $2,500 a year. Remember that?
CALLER: Yes, I remember that, but I didn’t believe anything Obama said, Rush.
RUSH: Good.
CALLER: Rush, I just hope and pray that the Republicans understand that this election is truly about them stopping this madness. This is insanity, what’s happening to America.
RUSH: Let me just tell you that there are a lot of pressures being applied to the Republicans by, well, some in the conservative media, some conservative think tanks, some Republicans. But it’s not just about that. I mean, that’s hard to deny, and so because it’s hard to deny, what’s happening is that other things are being included. So they will begrudgingly agree that the election was about stopping Obama.
“But it also means they want us to work together, it also means they want Washington to work, it also means they want a spirit of cooperation with liberals. It also means Y, Y, Z, whatever.” They do this, they attach these mythical meanings as a justification for whatever they intend to do in the future. So we’re just gonna have to wait and see. You know, I don’t want to negatively characterize anything until it’s time.
CALLER: Right. Right. Right. And, Rush, we need another President Ronald Reagan.
RUSH: Well, yeah, but that’s gonna be hard.
CALLER: I know. I know. But every time I hear him say, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” I still to this day get goosebumps.
RUSH: And Gorbachev tore it down.
CALLER: Yes, he did.
RUSH: That’s the bottom line. He tore it down. We confronted him and he tore it down. The Democrats couldn’t have been more wrong about that. I remember when I lived in Sacramento, Jeane Kirkpatrick, who was a Reaganite came to town. She was the one that coined the phrase the “San Francisco Democrats” after their 1984 convention in San Francisco. She came to give a lecture at the University of California Davis, which was just down the road from Sacramento.
I had some friends at UC Davis, some professors. So as a powerful, influential member of the local media, I was invited. I went down there, and she came. Jeane Kirkpatrick came, and she was typical Reaganite. She was confrontational in a humorous way with this collection of students. She knew these were UC Davis students.
That meant they were radical leftist students, and they believed the United States was the focus of evil in the world. They believed the United States was the problem. They believed it. I mean, they literally believed that Gorbachev was the anti-Reagan. I cannot emphasize that enough for those of you that were not old enough then or were not paying attention.
Gorbachev was genuinely thought to be savior. Every time he and Reagan got together, Reykjavik in Iceland, didn’t matter when, I mean, there literally were Gorbasms. It’s why I invented the term. It’s what they were having. She came in, and in the first five minutes of her lecture, she just laid it out for ’em. She said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to understand one thing. The only difference between Mikhail Gorbachev and previous Soviet leaders is that he is alive.”
And the place erupted with boos and catcalls and hollers and hisses as these young UC Davis students heard the last thing they wanted to hear. They wanted Gorbachev portrayed as angelic and brilliant. ‘Cause Gorbachev was gonna end the nuclear threat, and they were literally scared to death that Reagan was gonna set the world on fire, just to beat the Soviet Union. They were made to believe that by other Democrats in the media and their professors.
Also at UC Davis, there was a debate that I likewise was invited to attend. William F. Buckley and Thomas Sowell were debating a couple leftist professors, UC Davis. And Buckley and Sowell just skunked these people. The student body was just deflating in front of my eyes as I watched this. It was the greatest, greatest thing. One UC Davis leftist stood up and started talking about Thomas Jefferson out of the blue.
And Buckley interrupted him. “I didn’t ask you about Thomas Jefferson. You don’t know what you’re talking about Thomas Jefferson. The nature of my question was,” blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And the guy started again fumbling around and answering some other question, and Buckley just refused to allow it, made him stay on point.
The students thought Buckley was being rude and impolite. It was just great. It was fabulous. Those were great days because back then there was no fear of the Democrats. There was no fear of the media. Well, there was, but not from the top. You know, Reagan just laughed at ’em, and frustrated the heck out of them. He had the confidence of having won two landslides.
That’s why I said earlier that confidence is so crucial to attitude. I mean, there’s nothing better. I don’t care what endeavor you are engaged in, if you can somehow manage to go about it confidently, changes everything. And back then, our side had that confidence, because it came from on high. It’s always is gonna be one of the most frustrating things to me is that after those eight years, it didn’t take long, the American people thought it was safe to go back and vote for Democrats.
Now, it was a little bit more involved than just that. I mean, there was the four years after Reagan, which, you know, “Read my lips: no new taxes,” and still got new taxes. Clinton and Gore came along, talked about the worst economy in the last 50 years as the effort to revise the unbridled greatness of the eighties was in full swing. I mean, they were every day and every waking hour doing their best to tell people that the economy of the eighties was fraudulent and phony and didn’t really happen, and it was a lesson in how you can make people think that what they lived through didn’t happen.
We still face that prospect now. Here we won this big election. We won one in 2010, and already Hillary Clinton’s anointed as the next president. Have you noticed already in the media? “Well, yeah, we won big, Rush, but you wait, 2016, presidential turnout, we don’t have a prayer. The Democrats, the demographics, the youth vote, and the minority vote that show up in a presidential year that don’t show up in a midterm.” It’s amazing the defeatism that some people just glom onto, already have us losing 2016 because Hillary can’t be beat and because Democrats don’t lose in presidential races.
After this, that’s how intense the Democrats and the media wage the battle, to dispirit you even in the moment of triumph. And, by the way, triumphalism as Gorbachev describes, triumphalism is simply when it becomes clear that the United States is a superpower and is the lone superpower, that’s when Gorbachev starts piping up about triumphalism, ’cause he hates it.
He’s the guy that presided over the dissolution and the breakup. He was the guy in power when the Soviet Union was defeated. And instead what the media does is try to cast as Gorbachev was the visionary and knew that the Soviet Union, as it existed at the time, couldn’t survive, and he’s the one that brought freedom and peace to the world. And he did it in the nick of time, right before Reagan hit that red button to launch the nukes.