This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the statist, fascist brownshirts of the left
By Simon Maloy

Afternoon, all. It's a fine day for Limbaugh Wiring, so let's get right to it.

Rush got things started talking about the story that just won't go away -- Miss California. Apparently there was a press conference with Donald Trump today, and Rush loved it, but he complained that the press has been more curious about Miss California's position on things than they ever have about Obama's.

Then Rush turned the program over to Matt Drudge for a while, reading from three stories that the Internet gossip had up on his website. The first was an Advertising Age article headlined “Obama Halves Chrysler's Planned Marketing Budget”. This is not an abstract argument, Rush warned; this is the government takeover of the automobile industry. This isn't the country we grew up in, said Rush, “this is fascism.” Then it was on to CBS News, which reported that "[a]t a time when the official unemployment rate is nearing double digits, and 6.35 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, the U.S. government is on a hiring binge." Rush said the government is going “nuts,” even though it has no money. They can't take over anything, Rush said, without printing more money. According to Rush, people think the $10 trillion deficits are temporary, but they're not -- we've never been here before.

Then it was on to The Wall Street Journal, which reported that “Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system.” Rush said the beverage industry will cave on this because everyone else is caving to the government, and there won't be a backlash from consumers -- there was no backlash to higher tobacco taxes, so why will there be one over higher Coke prices? Yes, Rush said, the rich will be “soaked,” but there isn't enough money in that to pay for Obama's budget. Nonetheless, Rush said, Obama's going to hold a few meetings, after which the media will proclaim the economic and health care problems fixed.

Leading into the first break, Rush noted that Oprah Winfrey spoke at the Duke University commencement, and told the graduates: “It's great to have a nice home. It's great to have nice homes! It's great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn't great is lying to you.” Rush interpreted this as Oprah calling Obama a “liar” because Obama wants to take people's private jets away.

After the break Rush returned to the Miss California stupidity, airing sound bytes of Trump and Miss California from the press conference today. Rush said that this press conference confirmed what he already knew -- that this controversy was about the entertainment media and their radical allies on the left trying to get rid of Miss California because of her views on gay marriage. Rush said that we're supposed to be tolerant of all the “perversion” and “godlessness” from the left, but when the right speaks out, the “Gestapo” and “brownshirts” come out.

Another break, and Rush was on to Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, airing a montage of media personalities commenting on Cheney's remarks from Sunday's Face the Nation, in which the former veep chose Rush over Powell in terms of who's the better Republican. Rush wondered why, if the Democrats keep saying that the GOP with Bush and Cheney and Rush at the helm committed suicide, Democrats and the media are so insistent that Cheney “shut up.” Rush added that he doesn't hear any Republicans telling Cheney to shut up. That's funny, because we had no trouble finding one (Rep. John Duncan Jr.) saying that “it would probably be better for us politically if [Cheney] wouldn't be so public.” The reason the media and the Democrats want Rush and Cheney and Miss California to go away and shut up, said Rush, is simple: “The left is out to destroy anybody who's -- they are fascists, statists, whatever you want to call them. They're not interested in debate; they are interested in ultimate power and silencing people who disagree with them. And the reason for that, folks, is fear. They're afraid of Dick Cheney. They are afraid of me.”

After praising Liz Cheney for “wip[ing] the floor” with the Morning Joe crew this morning, Rush aired audio of David Gergen saying on CNN last night that is was surprising that Cheney went after Powell like he did and that it seemed gratuitous. Rush asked himself what he was missing -- did not Powell endorse and vote for Barack Obama? Didn't the GOP nominate the exact type of moderate candidate Powell wanted? According to the drive-bys and David Gergen, said Rush, Republicans are supposed to let someone who voted for Obama tell them how to run their party. Rush didn't understand how it is that Republicans are making a mistake by letting go someone who endorsed and voted for a Democrat.

After one more break, Rush said he had to take it a step further, saying that in terms of who should lead the GOP, it's Powell who has to be asked if this is what he thought he was voting for when he voted for Obama. Who should lead the GOP, Rush wondered, given that Powell has never won anything politically, while Cheney was elected to the vice presidency and Congress. We assume, given that winning elected office is now apparently a prerequisite for determining the direction of the GOP, noted non-officeholder Rush Limbaugh will cease to offer advice to the party. Or maybe he'll run for elected office (shudder). Then Rush aired audio of Lawrence O'Donnell saying on MSNBC last night that Powell is a winner, and Rush is a loser, because every single position that Rush advocated was rejected by voters in the Republican primaries. Rush offered a bit of advice to MSNBC -- retask whatever movie channel they have to just run 24-hour video of Rush and Cheney and destroy the Republican Party.

One more sound byte before the hour ended, this one from Juan Williams, who said on Fox News that Powell is a much more “serious” Republican than Rush Limbaugh. Rush again asked what political argument has Powell ever won, and wondered why the guy who abandoned the Republican Party is the only one who can lead it. The truth, Rush said, is that “they” know that a Colin Powell-led GOP would lose every election it entered.

Highlights from Hour 1

LIMBAUGH: If the kooks in the counterculture left think that Miss California Carrie Prejean and her answer was so outrageous and it so offended all Americans, why, by all means prop her up and let her be an example for all the goofballs in the country. No, they have to shut her up. They have to destroy her. The left is out to destroy Dick Cheney. The left is out to destroy anybody who's -- they are fascists, statists, whatever you want to call them. They're not interested in debate; they are interested in ultimate power and silencing people who disagree with them. And the reason for that, folks, is fear. They're afraid of Dick Cheney. They are afraid of me.