 Rush Limbaugh and Barack Obama on Limbaugh’s website |
In what many see as a foreboding sign about what Congress and President Barack Obama will try to do with the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” Democrats are continuing their attacks on talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh over his opposition to what he has described as “Obama’s Porkulus Bill.”
Radio and television ads are being launched by MoveOn.org and other organizations condemning Limbaugh’s opinion that such government spending is wrong, and then linking Republican lawmakers to Limbaugh through their opposition to Obama’s massive $1 trillion “stimulus” plan.
Limbaugh responded immediately to the campaign, explaining he’s being used “to distract from the polls (Rasmussen) showing falling support for the Porkulus bill.”
“Laughing Out Loud here,” Limbaugh continued, “I am being Alinskied. Alinky’s Rules for Radicals, Number 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy,” Limbaugh said.
“Senate Republicans need to understand this is NOT about me. It is about them, about intimidating them, especially after the show of unity in House. It is about the 2010 and 2012 elections. This is an opportunity for Republicans to redefine themselves after a few years of wandering aimlessly looking for a ‘brand’ and identity.”
The script of the ads is here:
NARRATOR: Listen to what Rush Limbaugh said about President Obama’s agenda and his jobs package.
LIMBAUGH: I HOPE HE FAILS!
NARRATOR: The Obama jobs bill overwhelmingly passed the House…. But not one Republican voted yes. Every Republican member of the House chose to take Rush Limbaugh’s advice. Every Republican voted with Limbaugh….and against creating 4 million new American jobs. We can understand why an extreme partisan like Rush Limbaugh wants President Obama’s jobs program to fail….but the members of Congress elected to represent the citizens in their districts?… that’s another matter. Now the Obama plan goes to the Senate…. And the question is: Will our Senator, _____ , side with Rush Limbaugh too…
LIMBAUGH: I HOPE HE FAILS!
NARRATOR: OR will he reject the partisanship and failed economic policies of the past, and stand up for the people of _____
On his show, “Radioequalizer” Brian Maloney talked with Limbaugh.
Maloney said such attacks “are invigorating our base … Tens of millions of us identify with you. … Of course you want his policies to fail, they’re outrageous.”
Responded Limbaugh, “Obama’s the ‘messiah.’ Obama’s ‘change.’ There’s a slavish blind support for this. … They’re supporting a cult, a demagogue.”
The interview is linked here, and also embedded here:
In a readers’ forum at National Journal, the sentiment was put into words, “We are all rush Limbaugh now. … Obama and his socialism MUST fail. God bless America, and thanks Rush!”
“On a personal note, I wish him [Obama] and his family well, but not his political agenda,” said another.
“You know Obama does NOT know what he is doing when he goes after Limbaugh, a radio personality, rather than the GOP. Like him or not, Rush has a right to state his opinion and as long as people tune into his daily radio broadcast, he can talk.
I would further suggest that if Obama attempts to force passage of a ‘Fairness Doctrine’ it will turn him into a lame duck president,” added another.
Politico.com said the ads also were being supported by Americans United for Change.
 Rush Limbaugh |
WND reported earlier when a petition by the Democratic National Congressional Committee critical of Limbaugh backfired as supporters of the talk radio icon pummeled the party website with their own views.
Hundreds signed the petition, which is introduced with the request to “Stand strong against Rush Limbaugh’s Attacks – sign our petition, telling Rush what you think of his attacks on President Obama.”
“Why [are] the public servants of the people that were elected by the people attacking a private citizen? Who is next – me?” said one post. “This is all the more reason TO LISTEN to RUSH LIMBAUGH. I HOPE OBAMA’S POLICIES FAIL TOO.”
Another contributor wrote: “I also hope this president fails, along with the current Congress. Many of the policies in the making are socialist. Creating a class of Americans dependent on the government is weakening this country and making it vulnerable to attack. We need fewer taxes, fewer regulations, and a lot less government intervention. I support Rush Limbaugh and his right to free speech. He loves this country and wants to keep it strong and a force for good. You seem to want the exact opposite.”
The petition cited Limbaugh’s recent statement that he hopes Obama fails, but many commenters on the Democrat website point out the radio host has explained he was taken out of context.
“Not that any of you Dems care but this is the rest of what Rush said,” said one contributor.
“We’re going to have to wait to see what he does. Now if he turns out to be a Reagan, if he adds Reagan to his recipe of FDR and Lincoln – and if he does cut some taxes – if he does not eliminate the Bush tax cuts, I would call that success. So yes, I would hope he would succeed if he acts like Reagan. But if he’s going to do FDR – if he’s going to do The New New Deal all over, which we will call here The Raw Deal – why would I want him to succeed? Look, he’s my president. The fact that he is historic is irrelevant to me now. It matters not at all. If he is going to implement a far-left agenda… Look, I think it’s already decided: a $2 trillion in stimulus? The growth of government? I think the intent here is to create as many dependant Americans as possible looking to government for their hope and salvation. If he gets nationalized health care, I mean, it’s over, Sean. We’re never going to roll that back. That’s the end of America as we have known it, because that’s then going to set the stage for everything being government owned, operated, or provided. Why would I want that to succeed? I don’t believe in that. I know that’s not how this country is going to be great in the future; it’s not what made this country great. So I shamelessly say, ‘No! I want him to fail.’ If his agenda is a far-left collectivism – some people say socialism – as a conservative heartfelt, deeply, why would I want socialism to succeed?”
“I want Obama to fail because his agenda is 100 percent at odds with God’s. Pretending it is not simply makes a mockery of God’s straightforward Commandments,” he wrote.
“So you will not see me joining in the ritual of affirming Obama and his mission in public or private prayer this week – or any other week. Instead, I uphold the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:14: ‘Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ And I take warning from Isaiah 9:16: ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed,'” said Farah.
Paul Ibrahim of NorthStarWriters.com cited Obama’s warning to congressional Republicans that “you can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done” in suggesting the president has become the “driving force” behind a new “systematic” plan to “intimidate and demonize Obama’s opponents.”
On Obama’s agenda, according to his White House website, is the goal to “encourage diversity in media ownership.”
Obama elaborates on the site that his aim is to “encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum.”
The plan apparently aligns with longstanding Democratic suggestions to resurrect the so-called “Fairness Doctrine.”
The policy was abandoned in 1987 as both unneeded and unconstitutional under President Reagan when there were 75 radio talk shows in the U.S. Reagan opposed the policy because it required broadcast TV and radio programs to air “opposing views” on political issues, which had the practical effect of virtually eliminating opinion programs.
Since abandonment of the Fairness Doctrine, the number of radio talk shows has risen to more than 3,000.
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