RUSH: I’m going to violate one of my rules here. One of my rules is that when I am discussed in the Drive-By Media, when I’m talked about, when I am slandered or libeled or misrepresented, I have always come down on the side of ignoring it rather than discussing it because discussing it amplifies it and makes it even bigger than it already is.

But that is a moot point because in this circumstance, they’re already making it bigger than it should have ever been, and it’s chock-full of misrepresentations and lies. And so rather than sit here and ignore this and allow people to draw whatever conclusion they do, I am gonna deal with this head on. And what this is is this supposed allegation that I am somehow in favor of secession, that I am in favor of a civil war, that I have predicted a civil war, that I have suggested that maybe it would just be better if we divided the country.

I have not said this. I have acknowledged that I have seen other people say it. I have not mentioned their names since they obviously do not want to step forward and own it. But they know who they are. They are bloggers. They are prominent bloggers. There are two or three of them who have numerous times suggested that secession may be in our future because we don’t have anything in common anymore. The things that divide us have no overlap. All I’ve done is simply repeat what I have read. You know, I always take great pains to protect people’s privacy and their identity, even though they’re writing under their own names and saying so, I have not mentioned any names ’cause I know how volatile the subject is.

But I do a three-hour radio program. That’s a lot of content that exists here. And there are many, many days where that content yearns to be discussed. So I do. Now, one of the reasons that I usually do not mention these kind of things is because there’s a theory. “Oh, wow. Limbaugh must really be upset. Now he’s talking about it. It musta really hit a home run. Limbaugh must really be in favor.” No, it’s not that at all. It’s just I’m sick and tired of being lied about and misrepresented when the people doing it know, they know I am not in favor of secession. They cannot find a single quote of mine where I’m in favor of it.

So let’s go to the audio sound bites. I’ll show you what I mean. We put together a montage here from last Wednesday and Thursday, and I’m not gonna mention the names of the doofuses in this montage, but here is how it sounded elsewhere in the media last Wednesday and Thursday.

CHARLIE SYKES: Rush Limbaugh, now he’s denying that he was actually in favor of secession. But he’s playing with fire.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT: Rush Limbaugh talking about secession.

JONAH GOLDBERG: Rush Limbaugh trial ballooning Civil War or a secession.

CHRISTINA GREER: They’re calling for military action, we’ve seen Rush Limbaugh do this.

RUSH: No, you haven’t.

CHUCK TODD: Rush Limbaugh, the Godfather of this sort of political rhetoric introduced it and then said, “Oh, I was just talking about it.”

GERALDO RIVERA: Secession is treason. Rush Limbaugh, that talk is reckless, it’s irresponsible.

RUSH: It is reckless and irresponsible. I never suggested it. I’m simply telling you what other people are saying. And, no, I’m not gonna quote these other people. But they know who they are. You know, I find it fascinating when this kind of stuff happens, this is by no means the first time I have been accused of saying something where I have simply been repeating what I’ve seen other people say. And they do not step forward and raise their hands and say “I said it. I’m the one that said it.” They’re out there hiding. But they know who they are.

Okay. So that’s one montage. Then Thursday night on Fox, this is The Story with Martha MacCallum. She had Geraldo, the grim reaper, showed up. When Geraldo shows up, somebody’s going to die or has died. And she was talking to Geraldo about my comments that the United States may be heading toward secession. So to set things up, here she is introducing and playing an audio clip of mine.

MACCALLUM: Even Rush Limbaugh warning that he thinks we might be headed in a dangerous direction, an actual separation of the states.

RUSH ARCHIVE: I actually think that we’re trending toward secession. Can’t go on this way. There cannot be a peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs. We can’t be in this dire a conflict without something giving somewhere along the way.

MACCALLUM: That’s a profound and challenging statement for our nation right now.

RUSH: Well, it’s a profound and challenging statement because all kinds of people are talking about it, and, by the way, have been writing about it for a number of multiple weeks. This is not anything that’s actually even new. I actually think we might be trending toward it. I said that because I’m reading about it. I’m reading people who, by the way, I’ve quoted before on this program and who I respect. They’re out there saying it. They’re out there suggesting. And, by the way, when they say it, they don’t just say it. They back it up with their own theories of why.

And I’m fascinated, when they write it on their blog, nobody writes about it, nobody, “Hey, did you see what was said on the such-and-such blog?” No, no. They wait ’til I repeat it and then somehow claim it originated with me. So after she set that up, she then went to the grim reaper, Geraldo Rivera, for his reaction.

RIVERA: Talk of secession is treason, Martha. Rush Limbaugh is a powerhouse broadcaster. He’s one in a zillion, they come along once a generation, but that talk is reckless, it’s irresponsible. We are one nation, indivisible. I had to laugh, Rush goes on to say that people where he is have no idea what people in New York are thinking, and they’re so different they’re like a different species. Half of New York lives in Florida where Rush Limbaugh lives. It’s preposterous. Leaders who accentuate the differences and exacerbate the divide, are themselves as responsible.

RUSH: I didn’t accentuate or exacerbate it at all. I didn’t originate it. It’s something that’s out there and being discussed by others. Now, here’s Martha MacCallum reacting to the grim reaper.

MACCALLUM: That’s a strong charge, and it is, as I said, it’s a discussion that I think is being had in a lot of places. There’s a piece by the Claremont Institute recently called The Separation which talks about this. I mean, nobody wants this to be the case and I’m sure Rush doesn’t want secession to be where the country is headed.

RUSH: Of course not. But see? She’s wanting to quote a place that talked about it. The Separation. That’s from the Claremont Institute. The Claremont Institute is a very highly reputed conservative think tank and library. I mean, it is a library of conservative philosophy and thought. And they are discussing it there. So Martha did something that nobody else in the media did. She went out and actually listened to this program, and she found an audio sound bite of me that is appropriate to use and fits based on what all had been discussed on our program.

So the comments prior to this were Thursday night. On Friday, she played a clip. Now, imagine if the rest of the media cared about getting things right. She wouldn’t be the only one to have found this.

MACCALLUM: This is Rush Limbaugh because last night Geraldo sort of went after him for talking about the secession statement. I just want to play this real quick for everybody at home.

RUSH ARCHIVE: I simply referenced what I have seen other people say about how we are incompatible as currently divided, and that secession is something that people are speculating about. I am not advocating it, have not advocated it, never have advocated it, and probably wouldn’t.

MACCALLUM: I just wanted to square the circle on that and make sure that we gave Rush his due by playing that part of it.

RUSH: So thank you, Martha, for the deep digging into the archives of the program to find something that was readily available for anybody that wanted to find it. Now, I don’t expect this to change anything. What’s gonna happen is that these same critics, “Ah-ha! See! We got him. We caught Rush. Rush… You know Rush knows he’s caught ’cause he’s trying to change what he said.”

They’re totally distort the whole thing again because I represent the opposition. I am the opposition. If you somehow come along and damage my credibility, then they think they’ve damaged the credibility of the entire opposition and so forth, which is why all of this stuff happens.

There’s one more. I think I have one more, maybe two, maybe three. (shuffling paper) Ah, maybe couple more. This is from Sunday morning on Meet the Depressed during the roundtable, had a discussion about people on the right talking about secession, and the moderator and F. Chuck Todd. He’s talking to the Hoover Institute senior fellow Lanhee Chen, who said this.

CHEN: Rush Limbaugh — the godfather of this sort of political rhetoric that we’re dealing with these days — also introduced it and then said, “Oh, I was just talking…”

RUSH: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Stop. The godfather of what? (interruption) “The godfather of this political rhetoric that we are talking about these days”? The Godfather of this political…? All right. Well, here. Cue it back up to the top. I promise I won’t interrupt the sound bite again. Here we go.

CHEN: Rush Limbaugh, the godfather of this sort of political rhetoric —

RUSH: Godfather? What the hell?

CHEN: — also introduced it and said, “Oh, I was just talking about it. Talk about secession and the like is nonsense and it’s dangerous. You talk about going against federalism, going against the notion that you should ask the judiciary to be activist in overturning the will of the people. I mean, these are the kinds of things, Chuck, growing up in the Republican Party to me, would have been fundamentally offensive but you’ve got a bunch of people out there making this crazy argument, essentially to politically appease one man and to politically appease the electorate instead of explaining to them, “Hey, look, here’s the reason why this is madness.”

RUSH: Why what is madness? I’m not sure I know what Lanhee Chen is talking about here. I always thought the Hoover Institute was a conservative place. But it seems that they’re getting rid of all the conservative thinking out there and the replacing it with a bunch of RINO-type thinking. At least that’s what it seems to me. At any rate, this is… You know, the same people who lied about Russian collusion and Trump stealing the election in 2016, are the same people lying about me now.

So that’s that. I just wanted to set the record straight. I know it’s not going to set anything straight. It’s going to accomplish the exact opposite. But what matters to me is you people in the audience and you understanding what’s what — and what I mean when I say what I mean. I am a preeminent communicator. I don’t leave anybody no doubt as to what I mean when I say anything.

I’m perhaps the most direct communicator. I do not speak in riddles at all — and, believe me, if I were in favor of secession, you would have no doubt about it. You wouldn’t doubt it for a minute. I just… (sigh) The divisions in this country that exist are largely because of people on the left anyway.

So if there is anybody out there moving toward a drifting apart or a division of people in this country, it’s people on the left. It isn’t us.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s Jim in Astoria, Oregon. Jim, great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Oh, mega dittos, Rush. Yesterday was my birthday and today I get my present.

RUSH: Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

CALLER: You know, there are 60 million people praying for you and your family, and me especially.

RUSH: I really appreciate that, too, more than you know.

CALLER: But what I wanted to say was back in April 2017, California was entering articles of secession into their legislatures. So I don’t understand what’s the big deal if anyone did say secession.

RUSH: Yes, you do. And, you know what? The reason I wanted to take your call — we bumped you up in the order — is because I just found this story in one of the recent breaks. And here it is. It’s actually… This is a Web page. It’s from November 10, 2016. This is just a week after the election, so a week after Trump won — one week, seven days.

“California Secession Plan Gains Momentum After Trump Win — Californians made it abundantly clear Tuesday night that they didn’t want to see Republican Donald Trump in the White House, overwhelmingly voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Now, disappointed with Trump’s victory, they are seeking another way out. A group of secessionists is taking advantage of post-election discontent to push for ‘Calexit’, the new name for the prospect of California seceding from the U.S.

“It is modeled after ‘Brexit,’ Britain’s historic decision to leave the European Union. Discussion of the idea exploded Wednesday on Twitter,” and nowhere to be found was Geraldo Rivera calling it traitorous. Nowhere to be found was Geraldo Rivera suggesting that it was treasonous. Right here in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers, from the state of California.

The headline: “California Secession Plan Gains Momentum After Trump Win.” There wasn’t a single complaint. There wasn’t any righteous handwringing. There wasn’t any, “Oh, my God. This is outrageous. California needs to be so ashamed of themselves. California, this is treasonous. California, this is outrageous! How dare you suggest such a thing. This…”

There was none of that, and New York has talked about secession as well off and on for decades. I guess it’s cute when New York does it. I guess it’s cute when California does it. Right here: November 10th, 2016. The election wasn’t even a week old, ladies and gentlemen. So Jim in Astoria, Oregon, great memory. I’m glad you called.