Rush cashes in on Democrat demonizing

By Joe Kovacs


Rush Limbaugh

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Rush Limbaugh, the most listened to radio host in America, says recent efforts by the White House and Democrats to demonize him are actually helping his show in financial success and personal popularity.

“Revenues at the EIB Network in the first quarter of 2009 are up 13 and a half percent over first quarter revenues of 2008,” Limbaugh announced this afternoon, “and at our revenue baseline, that is not an insignificant percentage or amount represented by it.”

He also noted his staff had just finished an analysis of Arbitron listening data for the first few months of this year, and said the cumulative audience, meaning “total bodies” listening, was up 32 percent.

“Now when you’re starting at baseline of 20 to 22 million, 32 percent is a significant number,” Limbaugh said.

The conservative icon also said the McClatchy Company, the publisher which owns the Sacramento Bee among other newspapers, just conducted a national poll finding about a third of Americans have a highly favorable opinion of him.

“That makes me one of the most popular Americans in the country,” Limbaugh said.

“If I have an approval rating above a third, that makes me higher than Congress, that makes me higher than lawyers, that puts me with a higher approval rate than Hollywood. Also my approval number of 33 percent is higher than Obama’s numbers are going to be when his presidency is over in 2012. If my approval number is 33 percent, that’s higher than Vice President Biden’s I.Q.”

The poll indicated 46 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Limbaugh, and 33 percent saying it’s a “very unfavorable” opinion of him.

The survey also shows Obama’s approval rating still high, though it fell four points to 65 percent, down from 69 percent a month ago.

Ironically, an MSNBC interactive poll with more than 100,000 participants currently shows 60 percent of Americans giving Obama a failing grade of “F.”

As WND reported last week, amid reports the broadcaster was being targeted by prominent Democrats working in conjunction with the White House, Limbaugh invited President Barack Obama on his show for a face-to-face debate about policies important to America’s future.

“If you take me out,” Limbaugh said addressing Obama directly, “if you can wipe me out in a debate and prove to the rest of America that what I say is senseless and wrong, do you realize you will own the United States of America? You will have no opposition.”

The White House rejected the offer.

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The debate challenge came after Obama said, in an attack on the radio host, Congress wouldn’t get anything done “listening to Limbaugh.” The dispute grew because Limbaugh said he wanted Obama to “fail.”

Limbaugh explained his statement on the Sean Hannity show on the Fox News Channel.

“Do you want him to succeed?” Hannity asked.

“I am hearing many Republicans say that very thing. ‘Well, we want him to succeed,’ and prominent Republicans! ‘Yes, we want him to succeed.’ They have laid down. They have totally. They’re drinking the Kool-Aid, too. They have no guts to stand up for what their beliefs are because they’re afraid of criticism. They’re afraid of being called racists. They’re afraid of not having gotten with the program,” Limbaugh said.

“Now success can be defined two ways. I said earlier, ‘I don’t know about this guy.’ I really don’t. I’ve got my suspicions and they’re pretty close to convictions, but 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 … 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,” Limbaugh said.

“But if he’s going to do FDR – if he’s going to do The 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 dependent 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,” he continued.

“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?”

This afternoon on his radio show, Limbaugh said he didn’t mind the ongoing attacks and media coverage.

“They are spreading my message to new areas and pockets of America,” he explained. “I’m happy that it’s being heard by an increasingly large percentage of Americans.”

Joe Kovacs

Executive News Editor Joe Kovacs is the author of the new best-selling book, "Reaching God Speed: Unlocking the Secret Broadcast Revealing the Mystery of Everything." His previous books include "Shocked by the Bible 2: Connecting the Dots in Scripture to Reveal the Truth They Don't Want You to Know," a follow-up to his No. 1 best-seller "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told" as well as "The Divine Secret: The Awesome and Untold Truth about Your Phenomenal Destiny." He is an award-winning journalist of more than 30 years in American TV, radio and the internet, and is also a former editor at the Budapest Business Journal in Europe. Read more of Joe Kovacs's articles here.