Rush Limbaugh: Duct tape Daschle! Host sticks it to Senate minority leader over domestic defense

As Americans rush to buy emergency supplies in the war on terror, radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has a unique suggestion for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle – have him duct taped.

"The best way to protect ourselves would be to duct tape Daschle's mouth," Limbaugh said on yesterday's broadcast.

The suggestion comes in the wake of a statement by the South Dakota Democrat regarding the Bush administration's handling of domestic security.

"As I look at the threats presented to this country," said Daschle, "the threat posed by bin Laden and al-Qaida, the threat posed by North Korea, our lack of real coordination with regard to homeland defense, and this new admonition that people ought to go out and buy duct tape as a response falls far short I think of anyone's expectations. It ought to be ... reconsidered. We have to do better than duct tape as our response to homeland defense."

"You know these are the guys that voted against homeland security. These are the guys that held it up for a whole year, right? And they're talking about how it's in a state of disorganization and a state of disarray.

"The very fact of the matter is that we do need duct tape. We need duct tape and I'll tell you where we need it. We need it on Tom Daschle's mouth. That's what we all need to do.

"You people out there buying duct tape, what you ought to do is whatever you're not using to tape up your windows or whatever, send the rest of it to Daschle. Send your duct tape to Daschle ... and say 'Look, the way you use this is you cut off about a four-inch strip, attach it to one side of your mouth, stretch it across your mouth and attach the other end to the other end of the mouth, and therefore you have been protected. So is the country.'"

Daschle had previously attacked talk radio, saying "Rush Limbaugh and all of the Rush Limbaugh wannabes have a very shrill edge." He charged that threats on Democratic officials and their families "go up dramatically when Rush Limbaugh attacks" them.

Senate anti-minority Minority Leader Tommy Daschle Wednesday took some timeout from his busy day blocking hispanics from the bench, resuming his duct tape-gate offensive which observers observe may have already yielded decisive results.
"The administration has to do better, they have to do a lot more than tell people that the responsibility is now on their shoulders!" screamed an angry Tommy yesterday.
Tommy, convinced he's finally landed a political winner, something that'll, um, stick, says he's on, um, a roll -- that is, so long as he doesn't, um, stretch the duct tape-gate thingy too far.
"If there's one adhesive that'll keep fractious Democrats glued together, it's duct tape-gate," a top Democrat Senate aid told me, adding "it keeps our party from cutting itself into strips. And -- the cotton mesh, the so-called 'backbone' of duct tape-gate, gives our party both strength and suppleness."
"The duct tape-gate theme lets us tightly wrap ourselves in the mantle of homeland security and stuff," said another aid.
At a press briefing, Tommy blasted the White House, chiding Bush for being short on specifics, asking "what good does it do to tell people to run out and buy duct tape without specifics, Mr. Bush?"
"What grade tape, Mr. Bush?" Tommy demanded. "Forty pound (40-lb)? Twenty-pound (20-lb)? And how thick? Sixty millimeter (60 millimeter)? Fifty-one millimeters (51 millimeter)? And what color, Mr. Bush? Yellow? Red? Black? Blue? White? And what brand tape? Memorex? Maxell? Sony? Or RCA?"
Daschle: "And why the fixation with duct tape, anyway? What's wrong with trying other tape -- aluminum foil-backed tape, for example? Or clear plastic tape? What about all-weather tape? Masking tape? And what kind of knife or scissor should you use to cut the tape? Stainless steel? Pocket knife? Or fixed blade? Kitchen knife? Or pruning knife?"
Daschle added that, besides, he doesn't think Bush has made his case that sealing windows and doors in a biological or chemical attack makes you any safer than keeping doors and windows wide open.
"Where's the evidence, Mr. Bush? Where's the proof that keeping those windows open poses an imminent threat?"
America, apparently heeding Tommy's advice to forget the duct tape, rushed to clear store shelves of the stuff as fast as they can, jacking up sales of duct tape, plastic sheeting and other emergency supplies across the country.
So, the ironic twist here is that Tommy Daschle, far from being irrelevant, is, in a negative sort of way, very relevant, indeed: If Daschle tells Americans to do such and such, people will scramble to do the very opposite.
But here's the baffling part: People stocked up on water without needing detailed instructions from FEMA on what brand name water they should buy or what constitutes a 3-day supply; stocked up on food without needing detailed instructions from FEMA on what kind of canned goods (Sardines or tuna? Soup or vegetables? Refried beans or pasta?) they should buy; stocked up on batteries without needing detailed instructions from Sec. Ridge on whether Duracell is better than Eveready better than Energizer etc.; stocked up on, well, you get the picture.
Anyway, that's...
My two cents...
"JohnHuang2"

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.