Limbaugh Responds to Obama

National Review ^ | 1/24/09 | Byron York

[JRochelle]

According to an account in the New York Post, President Barack Obama yesterday told Republican leaders, "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." With George W. Bush now off the stage, it may be that Obama and some of his fellow Democrats view Limbaugh, and not John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, or any other elected official, as the true leader of the Republican opposition. This morning I asked Rush for his thoughts on all this, and here is his response:

There are two things going on here. One prong of the Great Unifier's plan is to isolate elected Republicans from their voters and supporters by making the argument about me and not about his plan. He is hoping that these Republicans will also publicly denounce me and thus marginalize me. And who knows? Are ideological and philosophical ties enough to keep the GOP loyal to their voters? Meanwhile, the effort to foist all blame for this mess on the private sector continues unabated when most of the blame for this current debacle can be laid at the feet of the Congress and a couple of former presidents. And there is a strategic reason for this.

Secondly, here is a combo quote from the meeting:

"If we don't get this done we (the Democrats) could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can't let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That's how things don't get done in this town."

To make the argument about me instead of his plan makes sense from his perspective. Obama's plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR's New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule, and it would also simultaneously seriously damage any hope of future tax cuts. It would allow a majority of American voters to guarantee no taxes for themselves going forward. It would burden the private sector and put the public sector in permanent and firm control of the economy. Put simply, I believe his stimulus is aimed at re-establishing "eternal" power for the Democrat Party rather than stimulating the economy because anyone with a brain knows this is NOT how you stimulate the economy. If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is that much less time debating the merits of this TRILLION dollar debacle.

Obama was angry that Merrill Lynch used $1.2 million of TARP money to remodel an executive suite. Excuse me, but didn't Merrill have to hire a decorator and contractor? Didn't they have to buy the new furnishings? What's the difference in that and Merrill loaning that money to a decorator, contractor and goods supplier to remodel Warren Buffet's office? Either way, stimulus in the private sector occurs. Are we really at the point where the bad PR of Merrill getting a redecorated office in the process is reason to smear them? How much money will the Obamas spend redecorating the White House residence? Whose money will be spent? I have no problem with the Obamas redoing the place. It is tradition. 600 private jets flown by rich Democrats flew into the Inauguration. That's fine but the auto execs using theirs is a crime? In both instances, the people on those jets arrived in Washington wanting something from Washington, not just good will.

If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is that much less time debating the merits of the trillion dollar debacle.

One more thing, Byron. Your publication and website have documented Obama's ties to the teachings of Saul Alinksy while he was community organizing in Chicago. Here is Rule 13 of Alinksy's Rules for Radicals:

"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."

[tapatio]

Bookmark

[Miss Didi]

Speaking of...up on Drudge now:



NYT: Rahn Emanuel 'second most powerful man in country'...

[nfldgirl]

That was Maureen Dowd....heard a recording the other day of her recounting that...she was goo-goo-gaa-gaa over bambi...sickening to be sure...this from the witch who so dissed President Bush for 8 years....she’s nothing but a pig—with or without lipstick.

[Girlene]

WOW! Obama's hissy fit goes global. That's a great article from the Telegraph! A little taste from the article Barack Obama picks a fight with Rush Limbaugh as bipartisan spirit crumbles

"Barack Obama is on a collision course with his critics after picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, America's most influential conservative commentator.

Mr Obama has told Republicans in Washington to stop listening to the right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh, risking a new culture war with conservative voters.

His exhortation came as he enraged other Republicans by reversing George W Bush's ban on funding international aid to charities that perform or provide information about abortions.

After less than a week in office, Mr Obama's presidency is already encountering the very partisan bickering he had pledged to stamp out during his first 100 days.

He faces mounting criticism over his $825 billion economic stimulus plan, from Republican leaders who say the legislation has been drawn up without the input which Mr Obama had promised to allow them.

The president responded with a clear signal that he is prepared to ram the bill through without the bipartisan consensus he promised to construct, telling Republican leaders from the House of Representatives: "I won. I'm the president."

He then told them to break free of the confrontational mindset epitomised by Mr Limbaugh, the highest paid talk show host in America. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Mr Obama said.

His comments followed a blunt attack on him by Mr Limbaugh, who declared on air that he hoped Mr Obama would fail as president because otherwise it will usher in socialism.

With characteristic robustness, he said: "We are being told we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over and grab our ankles... because his father was black, because he's the first black president, we've got to accept this." [LOLOLOL]

After the euphoria of his inauguration, Mr Obama's team have been handed a cold dose of political reality. A series of controversial policy decisions, mistakes and unforeseen events has brought home the difficulty of bridging the divisions in Washington"..........

[curt9988]

My God, you and I think alike! That’s exactly what I’ve been telling my friends.

We got so giddy to elect the first bi-racial president that we forgot to ask ourselves if he would be a GOOD president.

[LucyJo]

That lack of logic shows up in the most surprising places these days.

[CatDancer]

“Four days in and he’s worried about the 2012 election? That’s the last thing he should be worried about now.”

---

No, it’s probably the first thing to him. Maybe I’m off-base or so old (near 70) that I see things a different way. But I think he will still be in campaign mode, the only one he knows, for the next four years. I think it’s possible he plans the worst for his “second term” That’s how he thinks. I’m hoping he doesn’t want to shock us too badly until that second term, which is when I think the boxcars will arrive, so to speak, for most of us here.

[LucyJo]

BTTT

[LucyJo]

~After 9-11 the whole world wasn’t American as they claimed. The whole world feared America. And rightly so.
Feared us, that is, until they saw our Left was with them. Equally anti-American.~

~Had we not been riven by the Left we may have never had to enter Iraq at all.~

~After the next major attack on our soil, unvoiced but true amid the accusations will be the reality that the blood of the dead is on the hands of the American Left.~

Can’t tell you the number of times I’ve said the same.

[TypeZoNegative]

[Dianna]

I completely agree that he is wrong about justifying Merrill’s spending of the money on redecorating.

Are you bothered enough by it to agree with Obama and encourage government oversight of private business funds?

Government does 10x worse every day of the week and it is beyond nauseating to listen to Obama talk about what a betrayal it was.

I'd prefer to make this return accusation and then smack Merrill Lynch in private.

[Cacique]

Ideas are more powerful than guns. If we don't let our people have guns, why should we let them have ideas?
-- Josef Stalin

[Liberty Valance]

Thank you for posting ALOHA RONNIE!

[bukkdems]

Nobody is taking on Obama properly. It’s been on FR before, but just Google “Obama Citibank”. He holds far more responsibility than GWB for the global crisis. His hands are bloody with sub-prime loans and Franklin Raines as an advisor. Rush needs to say this. All of us need to write this in letters to your local editors and blogs.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=Obama+citibank&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

And yet, the most bass-ackward interpretation for the cause will go down in history. “It was Bush’s deregulation.”

[Dianna]

Those are probably on Rhambo’s desk already.

So, what exactly is your objection here? You started out saying that Rush's "massive ego" was going to be his downfall. Now the story is, they can and will do anything they need to to bring him down.

And...what? And Rush should shut up because you think he's a blow hard? Or should Rush give in because he doesn't have a chance to beat them?

[gwilhelm56]

**Obama must think Rush owns the GOP.**

YO, MULLAH HUSSEIN ... if RUSH owned the GOP, you would have never gotten elected to Chicago DOG CATCHER, and John McLAME would have only gotten elected to JANITOR of the GOP Convention.

No matter how many votes you got, BARKY, PISSING OFF 20,000,000 PEOPLE is Not the Smartest thing you can do.. and that ... you just DID!!

[MHGinTN]

Rush’s ego is why Obammy will be able to exploit Rush to play off of for misdirection. If you disagree, fine, if you need further extrapolation, well, I don’t feel like arguing the topic after all the alinskyesque agitprops I’ve waltzed with over the CoLB issues of late. Have a nice evening.

[Osage Orange]

Totally disagree with you..........

I think you have it all wrong here........

fwiw-

[TypeZoNegative]

"Look what I found in my nose!"

[bray]

They need a villan or they could become one.

Pray for America, Our Troops and Ohbummer’s Guidance