Rush Denies Oil Spill Is A Crisis; Blames Oil Spill Crisis On Obama

By Christine Schwen

Rush opened today's show by continuing to blame President Obama for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (which Rush suggested would clean itself). According to Limbaugh, Obama isn't doing anything about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; instead he's just running around “posing,” calling the spill a crisis, and blaming BP. “A crisis,” Rush added, “is the playground of the tyrant.” Later, he added that if the Obama administration is a successful with the oil slick as they were creating jobs, then we're all screwed. Rush then focused in on the Environmental Protection Agency, asking what EPA administrator Lisa Jackson has been doing to fix the oil spill this whole time. He proceeded to list her hour-by-hour schedule for the five days following the spill as proof that she did not care about it. He punctuated his point by claiming that the Obama administration did nothing, and that Bush and FEMA did more in 2005 to respond to Hurricane Katrina (again, Rush, Obama responded immediately). Rush added that Earth Day mattered more to Jackson than the oil spill, because the Obama administration is all about transforming the country, not solving problems. Rush then informed his listeners that the real problem is that we don't have a Republican in the White House. A Republican, he explained, would be able to handle the crisis, because they have so much executive experience and thus could handle a catastrophe like this in their sleep. Rush also briefly touched on what he called the other Obama “failure” this week: The aborted bombing in Times Square. Rush announced that the administration and “state-run media” are “desperate to pin it on a teabagger.”

Rush continued his coverage of the oil spill in hour two, comparing Obama's criticisms of Katrina with the fact that, in Rush's mind, Obama failed to respond to the oil spill for 12 days (unfortunately for Rush, repeating that claim does not make it less false). Katrina, Rush added, showed the problems created when the government is run by leftists. Rush also talked about how Obama is “demonizing BP” rather than actually responding to the spill. In the midst of his falsehood-laden criticism of Obama's allegedly belated handling of the oil spill crisis, Rush reminded his listeners that, because salt water can eradicate oil, the spill can clean itself. However, the reason Obama has not responded to the spill, Rush stated, is because he wants to fundamentally transform the country, which he can do by demonizing BP rather than assisting the people affected by the spill. Confused yet?

Rush also touched on Obama's commencement speech at the University of Michigan. Noting that Obama encouraged people to listen to views that “may make your blood boil” in order to become effective citizens, Rush commented that Obama is “as closed-minded a president as we've ever had,” and that people who listen to his show always hear opposing views. Then, after playing a clip of Obama decrying comparing your government to “murderous regimes,” Rush crowed: “It's getting to him, it's getting to him!” Rush then added that the left can't beat conservatives in the arena of ideas, so they have to use “Chicago thuggery” and crises instead. Rush also briefly discussed immigration reform, stating that people calling for amnesty are only interested in getting votes, and adding people to the welfare rolls. Finally -- just before the end of the show -- Rush promoted and expanded Glenn Beck's cap and trade conspiracy theory, saying that Goldman Sachs was “bailed out” to save the “global warming hoax,” and then denied spreading the conspiracy theory he came up with last week, that the “environmental whackos” may have blown up the rig. Rush insisted that his theory was just an “on-air think piece” and was taken out of context.

Highlights from today's Rush Limbaugh Show:

Limbaugh on Obama response to oil spill: “A crisis is the playground of a tyrant”

Limbaugh: “Some” people are saying that “the sea will take care of” the oil spill

Limbaugh: “I'm not trying to minimize [the oil spill] here,” but “sea water is pretty tough stuff ... oil has a tough time surviving.”

Limbaugh: “Bill Ayers ought to be the left-wing co-head of the commission” to study Times Square bomb

Limbaugh: “Hurricane Katrina illustrated exactly what happens when you have a community totally run by leftists”

Limbaugh: “The left cannot win anything via policy, the left's ideas are not representative of a majority of thought in this country”