By Greg Lewis

Rush said ACORN will help “rig” elections in 2010 for Democrats

Rush wasted no time getting things started today:

LIMBAUGH: Barack Obama may indeed, right before our very eyes, be destroying the Democrat Party. In fact, the whole Democrat Party might be committing suicide, and the only thing that might be able to save 'em is if ACORN can rig enough elections in November of 2010.

Setting the stage for a falsehood about Section 1233 of America's Affordable Health Choices Act that he would repeat numerous times throughout today's show, Rush described an exchange from the town hall event with Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) today in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania:

LIMBAUGH: A woman read from the bill -- a woman read from the bill about what's going to happen to senior citizens when they reach a certain age and it's no longer worth the investment to keep them alive. And she's reading from the bill, the House bill, and Specter says, “Well, that's just not true. I mean, that's a malicious rumor. Next question.” She was reading from the bill!

Next, Rush read from a recent Rasmussen poll, which found that support for congressional health care reform hit a “new low,” with 42 percent in favor. The same poll also found that single payer, which Rush called a "euphemism" for “socialized medicine,” was only favored by 32 percent of likely voters. Noting the Democratic support for single payer in the poll, Rush said Democratic leaders have to “lie” about the fact that they want single payer.

Then Rush said Carlos Watson on MSNBC said that socialism “is the new N word.” Rush said that this proves his prediction that any criticism of Obama would be called racism and claimed that the GOP is afraid of criticizing Obama on health care because they are afraid of being labeled “racist.”

Rush said that Obama has not put forth a health care plan. Continuing on the “racism” theme, Rush said the House proposal is not Skip Gates' plan, and then added that it's “probably” Rev. Jeremiah Wright's plan. Then Rush discussed Chuck Norris' column at Townhall.com, exclaiming that Norris had actually read the bill. After reading the column, Rush asked what business it is of the government's to come into your home and tell you if you're raising your kid right. He described this scenario:

LIMBAUGH: And any of you fathers out there who've ever had the dreaded knock from social services on your front door, because you were thought to be a predator just because you're a man and you got your kids taken away from you -- not that hard to believe that this kind of thing would happen. But the idea that they want to do this? Look it, the whole point -- the whole point of state-run health care, as I've been trying to point out, is not health care; it is the regulation and control of every aspect of life.

Then Rush went back to the Specter town hall, and the audience member who invoked Section 1233 in the House bill. Rush again cited Charles Lane at The Washington Post, and falsely claimed Lane concluded that Section 1233 "mandates" end-of-life counseling sessions with government officials.

Rush said “state-controlled media” want a “hurricane” to distract from health care

After the break, Rush made this observation about the tropical depression in the Atlantic Ocean:

LIMBAUGH: There is a tropical depression out there, way, way, way out there. And the state-controlled media is just praying this thing becomes a hurricane, so that they can report on it and distract and ignore -- distract attention, ignore the problems President Obama's having with health care. But I've looked at the tracking models and curves north, as least as of now. And they don't even have it becoming a hurricane. They're just wishing and hoping; everybody wishing and hoping for a storm to come along, wreak some havoc somewhere to distract everybody.

Then Rush responded to Mort Kondracke saying that the Republican leadership is “afraid of Rush Limbaugh”:

LIMBAUGH: I think it's a classic example -- you know, I -- of inside the Beltway-itis. The -- somehow the -- no matter how smart you are, no matter how brilliant you are, no matter how often you are right, there's something about living, working, and breathing inside the Beltway that makes you have a perspective -- or unable to have a perspective identical to people who are living and working outside that place every day, in various parts of the country.

Rush added that Charles Krauthammer, who was also on the Fox News All-Stars panel with Kondracke, was “essentially agreeing.” After another break, Rush was still on the topic of these two pundits and wondered if the Specter town hall was “civil enough” for them. Rush said this debate is not an “academic exercise,” but is instead about “saving” the United States as it was founded from the most leftist leadership the country has ever had.

Rush continued to mislead on claim that there is euthanasia in the House bill

Rush then described a hypothetical: If this were his health care plan, he would be out there holding meetings defending it and doing whatever he needed to convince those who disagree that they're wrong about it, which isn't what members of Congress are doing right now.

Then Rush was back to Section 1233, which he said was about euthanasia. He aired audio of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) saying that it is a “ridiculous accusation,” but Rush continued to assert that he was correct about this, and Schultz was wrong. Rush went back to the June health care “infomercial” on ABC, when, according to Rush, President Obama said he would tell an audience member's mother to “take the pain pill” instead of getting a pacemaker. Despite the fact that Obama was talking about decisions being made "between doctors and patients," Rush asserted that Obama will determine who lives and dies, and who gets health care and who doesn't.

After another break, Rush took a caller who said the health care debate is showing who the true conservatives are in the Republican Party. Rush talked about his “I hope Obama fails” remark, and how GOP leaders were critical of Rush when he first said this, but now Newt Gingrinch, for one, says he “misread” how radical Obama is. Then Rush played a new Paul Shanklin parody, to the tune of Randy Newman's “Short People,” of Obama singing how he thinks old people “have no reason to live” and need to die.

Rush imagines ACORN or union member using “political jujitsu” at Obama town hall by wearing a Klan uniform or carrying a swastika

Rush began the second hour by opining that Obama was starting his “managed” town hall meeting in New Hampshire, and that the “unruly mob” there won't stop applauding him. Then Rush got creative about what could happen at the town hall:

LIMBAUGH: I just want to make an observation, because I know the tactics of ACORN and AFL-CIO and other union people. If, in the next hour, or however long this town meeting takes, if somebody breaks up the meeting, interrupts it, wearing a Klan uniform or carrying a swastika sign, it will be an ACORN person or a union person, using political jujitsu to try to make it look like opponents of Obama's health care plan are these radicals that have been described by the state-controlled media at various -- I'm not predicting it. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if it does, know full well that it is not a genuine opponent of Obama's plan that will do this.

Rush then launched into a monologue about how this is no longer about health care anymore, but it is a campaign. Rush explained how he thought Democrats have failed to communicate their plan effectively and persuade people who they claim are misinformed. Also, this failure to communicate shows just how “deeply flawed” their plan is, and that Democrats are showing their true colors at town halls: they are rude and filled with contempt for constituents.

Rush continued to claim that you will “lose” your private insurance under House bill

After describing the “effervescence” that has been “bubbling” for a long time, and is now at the point where liberty and freedom are under target by Obama, Rush again claimed that Page 16 of the House bill says you won't be able to keep your private insurance.

Rush then aired an audio clip of Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) saying that his experiences at recent town halls reminded him of when he tried to pass civil rights legislation in the '60s, when people in the KKK were running around causing trouble. Rush extrapolated from this statement that Dingell was comparing town hall protester Mike Sola to the KKK.

After the break, Rush continued to assert that Page 16 will cause you to lose your coverage “eventually,” and that Obama wants this to happen so that it eventually leads to single-payer health care. Then Rush took a caller who described himself as a listener and member of the “loyal opposition” since 1988, who told Rush that he has seen swastikas, hammers, and sickles on signs at tea parties and rallies before the elections, and he said that America and the GOP are changing, and that it's a nightmare to Rush. Rush promised to continue this conversation after the commercial break.

Before returning to the caller, Rush made a few observations about Obama's town hall in New Hampshire taking place at the same time. Rush said it was “unbelievable” that Obama explained his plan as being what members of Congress have. Rush said it was all “very unimpressive” and noted that there is no Section 1233 for Congress.

Then Rush returned to the previous caller, who told Rush he doesn't think there is as big of a grassroots conservative movement out there as Rush thinks there is. Rush said that he was initially responding to the caller in the “Mort Kondracke way,” letting the caller make a fool of himself. But Rush then said the caller has “no idea” of the groundswell in opposition to Obama's agenda, adding:

LIMBAUGH: [Y]ou got your head in the sand. You're being blind if you don't want to admit what you really see. It's not all made up; it's not all fabricated. There is genuine opposition to this, because this is not what the American people voted for. This is not what they want.

Rush continued to argue that his opposition is not about Obama, it's about people thinking freedom, prosperity, and opportunity are being threatened; Obama is “just the leader of this movement.” Rush concluded his rant by declaring that when conservatives “take it on the chin,” so does America.

The next caller said liberal politicians claim that provisions in the House bill, like “mandatory counseling,” are innocent, but they will actually lead to things like euthanasia. Rush wanted to use this call to make a point, that if he were Specter or Dingell at a town hall and had gotten this question, he would spend as much time as he could to “disabuse” the caller of the notion. But instead, they respond to remarks like these by calling them a “vicious rumor” and moving on.

The final caller of the hour wondered if single-payer health care would lead to a scenario where trial lawyers wouldn't be able to sue anybody, since the government would run health care. Rush said he used to think this way, but the whole thing is a “sop to trial lawyers and union bosses.” Rush said the real “unintended consequences” of the plan would be the “absolute revolts” when families are told: “Here's the pain pill.”

Rush “flat out stunned” by “pathetic nature” of Obama town hall

Rush began the third hour of his program by declaring that he was “flat out stunned” by the “pathetic nature” of Obama's town hall in New Hampshire today. Rush said that Obama was not responsive to anything in the current debate and requested that the president point to a page of his plan that Rush reminded us doesn't exist for every claim he makes about it.

Then Rush said that after the stimulus bill, Obama saying “trust me” doesn't work anymore, adding that he is “so out of touch, it's unbelievable.” Then Rush played a clip from the town hall where Obama asserts he did not say he was a “single-payer supporter.” Rush argued that this was contradicted by Obama's previous remarks in 2007 and 2003 on single-payer, and he went on to play the relevant audio.

The next audio bite from today's town hall that Rush played featured Obama saying that he hopes people will disagree over things that are real, not wild misrepresentations and boogeymen that just aren't real. Rush defended the “wild misrepresentations” and said that people were showing up at town hall events with the House bill and asking about it.

Another audio bite from the town hall featured Obama explaining that he wanted to set up a menu of options for health insurance similar to what members of Congress have, because it would help keep the private insurers honest. Rush said this comment was “unreal” and “beyond pathetic” because there is “no plan anywhere” that does this. Rush went on to call Obama “amateurish” and “incoherent,” and said Obama is like a “little 13-year-old” who is “running for high school class president.”

After the break, Rush aired another bite from the town hall, in which Obama responded to the rumor of “death panels” that would pull the plug on grandma, and Obama went on to explain how the provision in the House bill would allow Medicare to reimburse seniors for consultations about end-of-life care. Obama clarified in the clip that he is not in favor of “death panels.” Rush made particular note that Obama's answer was in response to a “13-year-old girl” who asked about people outside the town hall with “mean signs.” Rush also commented that Obama's answer shows that he's in trouble and knows it. To rebut Obama's “death panel” remarks, Rush again played the misleading audio bite from the June health care “infomercial” on ABC.

Then Rush briefly highlighted another remark from the town hall, in which Obama said that UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, but the Post Office is having problems. Rush admitted that this clip lacked context, and promised his audience he would find the context “in hopes of having it make sense.”

Rush said Democrats have “given us their worst,” and in return, “we are giving them our best”

After another break, Rush noted that MSNBC was covering Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D-MO) town hall, and that people were standing up and reading from the bills as they asked her questions. Rush said it was fabulous to see Americans standing up to Congress and “not being intimidated by Obama's goons.” Rush said that the Obama administration and the Democrat Party [sic] have “given us their worst,” and in return, “we are giving them our best.”

Then Rush found the context for Obama's remarks on FedEx and UPS. Rush said Obama was saying the public option in health care will not put private insurance out of business, and that insurers can compete with the government. Obama then used FedEx and UPS competing successfully with the Post Office to illustrate that point. Rush decided to make the analogy “worthwhile”: If Obama wanted government-run overnight delivery, he'd be demonizing UPS and FedEx the way he demonizes private insurance. Rush summed up his feelings on Obama's town hall today:

LIMBAUGH: They're at the point now where they're literally grabbing globs of excrement, throwing it up against the wall, and hoping some of it sticks. That's what this has become. That's how much they have lost control of this.

The next caller on the program asked if people who didn't “fit statistics” would receive life-saving treatment from the government if health care reform passes. This led to Rush ranting about how the Democrat Party [sic] and the mainstream media used to have a “monopoly” on what they reported and didn't report, but they have since lost control of that monopoly. And now, the “guys in the state-run media” are floundering, too, because they are “not succeeding” in shaping public opinion, and it bugs them to no end.

Then Rush aired audio of Obama today discussing his “snitch website,” as Rush describes it. In the bite, Obama rebutted media claims that flag@whitehouse.gov is being used to compile an “enemies list.” Rush said that Obama was admitting that the snitch website exists, but that it's not a snitch website. Rush concluded the program with a caller who detailed her Iraq veteran son's unfortunate experience with the VA's treatment of his torn ACL. Afterwards, Rush said he has heard VA horror stories, and has toured Walter Reed, but he has not heard “this kind of horror story” before.

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

Highlights

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Barack Obama may indeed, right before our very eyes, be destroying the Democrat Party. In fact, the whole Democrat Party might be committing suicide, and the only thing that might be able to save 'em is if ACORN can rig enough elections in November of 2010.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: What the hell business is it of anybody in the government to come into your home and tell you whether you're raising your kid right or not, or to test to see if you're raising your kid right or not? I know you -- “Rush, that can't be in the bill. It just can't be there. Just -- Rush, it can't be there.” This is who statists, authoritarians are.

And any of you fathers out there who've ever had the dreaded knock from social services on your front door, because you were thought to be a predator just because you're a man and you got your kids taken away from you -- not that hard to believe that this kind of thing would happen. But the idea that they want to do this? Look it, the whole point -- the whole point of state-run health care, as I've been trying to point out, is not health care; it is the regulation and control of every aspect of life.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: There is a tropical depression out there, way, way, way out there. And the state-controlled media is just praying this thing becomes a hurricane, so that they can report on it and distract and ignore -- distract attention, ignore the problems President Obama's having with health care. But I've looked at the tracking models and curves north, as least as of now. And they don't even have it becoming a hurricane. They're just wishing and hoping; everybody wishing and hoping for a storm to come along, wreak some havoc somewhere to distract everybody.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I just want to make an observation, because I know the tactics of ACORN and AFL-CIO and other union people. If, in the next hour, or however long this town meeting takes, if somebody breaks up the meeting, interrupts it, wearing a Klan uniform or carrying a swastika sign, it will be an ACORN person or a union person, using political jujitsu to try to make it look like opponents of Obama's health care plan are these radicals that have been described by the state-controlled media at various -- I'm not predicting it. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if it does, know full well that it is not a genuine opponent of Obama's plan that will do this.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: There is a groundswell of opposition to Obama's agenda. He is plummeting in the polls. In the Rasmussen poll, his approval just today went below 50 percent. Every time he gets up and speaks about health care, the numbers in support of Obama's health care plan plummet. I don't know what you would call it when Obama has to dispatch his union thugs to town hall meetings to rough up participants who don't want the plan.

I -- you may not want to call it a groundswell; you may not want to call it a ground -- a grassroots movement, but I mean, you're just -- you got your head in the sand. You're being blind if you don't want to admit what you really see. It's not all made up; it's not all fabricated. There is genuine opposition to this, because this is not what the American people voted for. This is not what they want.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: They're at the point now where they're literally grabbing globs of excrement, throwing it up against the wall, and hoping some of it sticks. That's what this has become. That's how much they have lost control of this.

Enemies list

LIMBAUGH: Now I've gotten a lot of email since Fox News 6 o'clock show last night, Special Report with Bret Baier, the Fox all-stars. I was dumped on last night by Mort Kondracke, and Charles Krauthammer happened to agree.

And I had a lot of people email me about this, asking what I was going to do about it. My first instinct was to ignore it. But I've rethought that, and I do have some comments about it, and I think it's a classic example -- you know, I -- of inside the Beltway-itis. The -- somehow the -- no matter how smart you are, no matter how brilliant you are, no matter how often you are right, there's something about living, working, and breathing inside the Beltway that makes you have a perspective -- or unable to have a perspective identical to people who are living and working outside that place every day, in various parts of the country.

America's Truth Rejector

LIMBAUGH: A woman read from the bill -- a woman read from the bill about what's going to happen to senior citizens when they reach a certain age and it's no longer worth the investment to keep them alive. And she's reading from the bill, the House bill, and Specter says, “Well, that's just not true. I mean, that's a malicious rumor. Next question.” She was reading from the bill!