This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by bogus death threats
By Greg Lewis

After two hours of Nazi comparisons, falsehoods, and heated rhetoric, Rush began hour three by ... defending his diet. He was set off by a New York Daily News article which suggested his diet wouldn't work in the long-term, and then read a Time piece arguing that exercise “won't make you thin.” After declining to offer specifics as to what he's eating, Rush let slip that his lunch today was herbed salmon on a bed of lettuce, and dinner will be “pizza chicken.” Scintillating stuff. Rush said he was living testament that Time was correct, and lamented the “hacks” and “idiots” criticizing his diet.

But then it was back to more of the same content Rush has been pushing all day on his program. Rush said that the message from the Democrat Party [sic] today is that lobbyists, Nazis, a conservative group from Connecticut, and Rush himself were behind all the populist uprisings against health care reform. Rush said that if you are looking for Astroturf, look at the top of Joe Biden's head.

Then Rush continued his discussion of the White House's “snitch website.” Remember when the Pentagon, under Bush, compiled a list of terrorists and the civil libertarians went nuts? asked Rush. Well where are they now to complain about what the White House is doing? Rush went on to note that Robert Gibbs addressed this topic during the White House press briefing today. Gibbs explained that “nobody is collecting names.” But that wasn't good enough for our dear host. Rush claimed that Gibbs' response revealed that he didn't even “know” about the “snitch website” (you know, the “snitch website” that exists only in the twisted minds of the conspiratorial right).

Next, Rush read extensively from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Daniel Henninger, headlined “Why Obama May Fail.” Rush said that the people who need to read this are moderates in the conservative movement like Colin Powell and David Brooks.

After the break, Rush complained some more about the coverage of his diet, declaring that it is evidence that journalism in this country is a “disgrace.” Rush said that he could come up with a cure for cancer, and the media would report on it as being bad for drug companies and doctors.

Then Rush went back to the town hall discussion, playing an audio clip from a meeting with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in which a protester yelled that Hoyer is a “liar.” Rush described the protester in the clip as having “slice[d] and dice[d]” Hoyer. So now calling someone a “liar” counts as “slicing and dicing”? Well that's good to know. Rush - you're a liar. Consider yourself sliced and diced like the lettuce under your salmon. Then Rush took a caller who had just been to a town hall for Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), and noted that Kirkpatrick was holding one-on-one meetings. Rush noted that the one-on-one meetings are a new strategy for Democrats to deal with the unruly mobs.

Rush proceeded to read a post from RedState, which reported Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) scheduled a “last minute” town hall event. “This is what's happening,” explained Rush, “Obama has mobilized union thugs to go out and also attend these town meetings to intimidate the genuine citizens out there who are upset about this.” The implication here, we guess, is that “union thugs” aren't “genuine citizens.” He added:

LIMBAUGH: Those are paid act -- paid activists are going to be showing up. And that's why -- so the Democrats are going to get brave now. They're going to have protection there. The mob's showing up. The real, genuine mob is showing up to defend these Democrats from the unruly Nazis that are showing up to protest the health care bill.

The next caller on The Rush Limbaugh Show said that these “sleazebags” were going to pass health care reform regardless of how their constituents feel about it, and asked what they would do to fix it. Rush said they would throw them out for office, but went on to explain that we wasn't as resigned to defeat as the caller was. Rush also explained that Obama will settle for any sort of reform that will allow him to say he reformed health care -- he's just building a monument to himself. Rush accused Democrats of “changing the argument” by talking about Nazis, swastikas, and talk show hosts -- changing the argument means that you're losing.

After another break, Rush gave another pep talk on the purity, goodness, and overall wonderfulness of conservatism, which can never, ever, ever do anything wrong. It was his usual rant about how conservatism isn't dead, and that the conservative movement needs real conservative leaders to expose the left for what they are.

Then Rush mentioned that Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) has claimed that he has received death threats over the health care bill, but Rush was skeptical: “I, frankly, don't believe this. I don't believe these guys' lives are being threatened.” Then he went back to attacking Think Progress -- “a website that we know lies and makes things up” -- citing a post there about Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) being “physically assaulted at a local event.” Rush said that there was a pattern developing here, and that it was all BS. What we think is BS. is that Rush was flat-out denying what Think Progress said, even though it were citing Roll Call.

After some more audio bites from various town meetings, Rush took a caller who said that her representative's staffers “lied” to her when they said the representative wasn't in town yet, even though he had just had a meeting with the local newspaper. Rush wondered if the representative's office was covering for him being with a girl, like Mark Sanford.

One more break and Rush returned with an article reporting on a study finding that women eat less when dining with men. Rush called it BS and made a comment about women being picky eaters.

Then Rush returned to a recent favorite pastime of his: proving the “babes” at CNN's Your Money are wrong about the economy. He cited a report that Deutsche Bank is predicting a drop in New York home prices, which Rush claimed contradicted CNN's “economic babes” Heidi Collins and Christina Romans suggesting last week that the recession was over.

The last caller of today's program said he was one of many disenfranchised Democrats who are frustrated that they trusted the party's leaders for years, and now they are really disappointed. Rush said the country is being led by the most radical regime in its history, and we'll find out if all Democrats really want this in the 2010 election.

And so another Limbaugh Wire has come to an end. Feel free to ready yourself for another edition of “Open Line Friday” tomorrow by taking a gander at the Limbaugh Wire archives.

Simon Maloy, Zachary Aronow, and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: This is what's happening. Obama has mobilized union thugs to go out and also attend these town meetings to intimidate the genuine citizens out there who are upset about this.

CALLER: Well, this was no town hall meeting. She didn't want that.

LIMBAUGH: Those are paid act -- paid activists are going to be showing up. And that's why -- so the Democrats are going to get brave now. They're going to have protection there. The mob's showing up. The real, genuine mob is showing up to defend these Democrats from the unruly Nazis that are showing up to protest the health care bill.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: There's another series of lies -- I think they're lies -- that the Democrats are using out there to change the argument, hype up this business on the town halls. Representative Brad Miller (D-NC) will not be hosting any town hall events this month. He's making himself available for one-on-one constituent meetings. One of the reasons is his offices have received threatening phone calls, at least one direct threat against his life. I, frankly, don't believe this. I don't believe these guys' lives are being threatened.

Freshman Democrat lawmaker physically assaulted at local event by activists. This is from thinkprogress.org, a website that we know lies and makes things up. Mary Katharine Ham exposed them last night and today in a piece, in a blog piece at the Weekly Standard. I don't believe -- there's a pattern developing here. A pattern -- “These precious, these wonderful, these imperialist members of Congress, working so hard to make our lives better, why, they're being threatened, their lives are being threatened, they're being assaulted by these unruly mobs.” It's all BS.