RUSH: Lance Armstrong. What to make of this? You know, I\u2019ll tell you, ladies and gentlemen. You know me. I think if you wait long enough, you will detect politics in everything. Now, let\u2019s do a quick comparison. When Roger Clemens was accused of doping, the sports media turned on him (snaps) like that. He was guilty. He lied to Congress. They needed to throw him away, and throw away the key at the same time. They were just enraged. I\u2019ll never forget it. I thought Clemens was this beloved sports figure, but when this happened, the media turned on Clemens.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/Armstrong585.jpg\")
\nIt\u2019ll be interesting to watch the media deal with Lance Armstrong and how they react to this — and it won\u2019t take long. In fact, we got a lot of sound bites from CBS This Morning today. In fact, let\u2019s play those. Let\u2019s get those out of the way. It was Charlie Rose talking to Bicycling magazine editor-in-chief Peter Flax about Lance Armstrong dropping his challenge against charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll tell you, Lance Armstrong is a hero to millions of people. He wasn\u2019t supposed to survive testicular cancer. His percentage chances were in the single digits. He got involved with the doctors, he learned everything he could about it, he overcame that, and goes on to win seven Tours de France and a number of other championships. He has passed over 500 tests of urine, blood, other bodily fluids (“precious” and otherwise). Some of these tests have been random when he didn\u2019t know they were going to happen.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s passed every test.<\/p>\n
And here comes this agency. They say it\u2019s not a government agency; it\u2019s just a private sector nonprofit. But I\u2019m not sure that it doesn\u2019t have ties to the government. And they have been after Lance Armstrong and practically every other winner of the Tour de France and other bicycling events. In Armstrong\u2019s case, I think since 1999 they have been after him, and yesterday Armstrong finally said (paraphrased), “I\u2019m not gonna go to arbitration. I\u2019m not fighting anymore. To hell with it!”<\/p>\n
So the immediate question is, “What does that say? What is the most natural conclusion?” And, sadly, the most natural conclusion is, “He\u2019s guilty. He\u2019s gonna stop fighting it.” The next phase of the Armstrong battle with this agency was to go to arbitration. And that\u2019s what he\u2019s not going to do. He said, “Look, I\u2019m tired. I\u2019m tired of putting my family through this. I\u2019m tired of putting myself through this. I don\u2019t know what more I can do.” He claims they\u2019ve got no evidence.<\/p>\n
They are pursuing him even in retirement, and so many people think it\u2019s a witch hunt.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll tell you, folks, let me go out a little bit on a limb here. If you look at what\u2019s going on at Penn State University, we had the story couple of weeks ago about how the entire university might lose its accreditation <\/a>over what happened with Sandusky<\/a> and the football program. If it loses its accreditation, it may as well close up shop. There\u2019s no reason to exist, if an education from Penn State is said to be worthless. Now, the Louis Freeh report at Penn State indicted everybody from Joe Paterno, to Spanier, to every underling in the president\u2019s office, to the football coaching staff and so forth.<\/p>\n Prior to this, they had that statue of Paterno at the stadium and there was nobody — there was nobody — with a more impeccable reputation for integrity than Joe Paterno. And now Paterno passes away, and whatever reputation he had, if it\u2019s not in tatters, it\u2019s seriously questioned. Paterno, politically, was a very conservative guy. I never told anybody this, but after each of my books came out, I received requests for autographed copies from Coach Paterno. I never met him; I never spoke to him.<\/p>\n But I remember the first book I autographed (chuckles), I couldn\u2019t believe that Coach Paterno wanted my autograph, wanted to read my book. I just said, “It\u2019s an honor to sign this to you,” blah, blah, blah. For all of his career, and for a few months after his death, he was impeccable. Now it\u2019s gone. His reputation is in tatters, finished. Louis Freeh, with… (interruption) Well, no, he can\u2019t fight back. Of course that\u2019s true, but even when he was alive he was doing his best to fight back.<\/p>\n And I don\u2019t want anybody to misunderstand.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not trying to say he didn\u2019t do anything here.<\/p>\n This whole Sandusky thing is sordid and, in itself, it\u2019s despicable. But they\u2019re trying to make it out like Paterno was Sandusky, and that I don\u2019t believe. So you have this great, impeccable reputation now totally destroyed. Not partially, totally destroyed. Somebody worth looking up to: Gone. I do believe that there are forces that want to tear down such people. We see it every day. I mean, part and parcel of the purpose of the United States media is to build people up.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve heard this yourself.<\/p>\n “Build people up, and then eventually tear \u2019em down.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s why, ladies and gentlemen, if I may inject myself personally here (something I rarely do), it is why I have studiously (and I\u2019ve made the point to you many times) avoided any opportunity to let the media have anything to do with my success. The media didn\u2019t make me, meaning: You don\u2019t listen to this program because, way back long ago, the media said, “Wow, this is a great show! This is a funny guy. You know what? You need to listen.”<\/p>\n They weren\u2019t doing daily, weekly, positive profiles of me. You listen here because you found the program on your own or however you found it. You listen to it; you like it. It\u2019s a good show. It provides you whatever you want, and that\u2019s it. And because of that, the media can\u2019t tear it apart. But they try. It doesn\u2019t stop \u2019em from trying. (You know the drill.) If there was doping in cycling, he clearly wasn\u2019t the only one. Somebody won those Tour de France races, and there were witnesses that Lance Armstrong won \u2019em. They haven\u2019t found one bit of evidence he doped! It\u2019s just supposition. And you\u2019ve got people saying, “I have no question! I have no doubt that he doped!” There\u2019s no evidence of it. So here\u2019s somebody else that is in the process of being ripped to shreds that a lot of people admired and looked up to. Now, Armstrong is not conservative, at least as far as anybody knows.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not… I don\u2019t know that he\u2019s actively political in any way, but culturally he\u2019d be closer tied with the pop culture left than he would with anybody else. That doesn\u2019t matter; they\u2019re still after him. But then when he stops the fight, it\u2019s only natural to conclude that there must be something there. (interruption) Oh, it is. It is a “personal vendetta.” That\u2019s my point. If it\u2019s not personal, it\u2019s a professional vendetta against success, against achievement. Rip it down, tear it apart. It happens to people in our culture every day.<\/p>\n The media rips people apart after building them up.<\/p>\n It\u2019s how small people make themselves feel big.<\/p>\n It\u2019s how small, irrelevant people make themselves feel like they matter.<\/p>\n It\u2019s to disqualify achievements of others, or to criticize them, or to destroy them. It\u2019s the only way that these little people can build themselves back up or make themselves feel like they\u2019re something. But then, on the other hand, (sigh) Armstrong is dropping the fight. And the only natural conclusion is that he\u2019s guilty. This is what most people are concluding: He\u2019s guilty. But some are saying they don\u2019t care, that everybody else did it.<\/p>\n And since everybody else was doing it and he might have been doing it, it was all fair because everybody was doing it. You know, Floyd Landis and a couple other people that won the Tour de France were found to be doping, but they haven\u2019t found it on Armstrong. Let\u2019s get these audio sound bites. Peter Flax, Bicycling magazine editor-in-chief, was talking with Charlie Rose, who said, “Is there any doubt — any doubt, Peter — that he, in fact, used these doping products?”<\/p>\n RUSH: Now, here\u2019s this guy: “I\u2019m absolutely convinced he did dope.” I\u2019m absolutely convinced? Has anybody ever seen any evidence? Some of you have to help me out. I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s any evidence. I\u2019m not aware of it.<\/p>\n BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n RUSH: We have a guy in his truck in South Bend… Is it Kansas? South Bend, Kansas. This is Joe. Joe, I wanted to get you in here real quick. How are you, sir?<\/p>\n CALLER: Doing good. And you?<\/p>\n RUSH: Very well. Thank you.<\/p>\n CALLER: Yes. The reason I think he\u2019s being torn down is because he\u2019s an exceptional person. He did many things in his life that make him extremely exceptional. And to a liberal, you cannot be exceptional. You had to either steal it from somebody else or cheat to get there.<\/p>\n RUSH: Yeah. That\u2019s why I wanted to get old Joe in here, because he\u2019s singing my tune to a certain extent. It\u2019s like Obama now. “We\u2019re not a superpower. We never were! All we did was steal from the poor people around the world, and that\u2019s how we became a superpower. And the rich and the successful in America? Nah-nah-nah-nah! They just stole it from people. They had an unfair advantage or they got lucky or they cheated or something, and so we\u2019re gonna spread the wealth and we\u2019re gonna redistribute it.”<\/p>\n So the liberals do have a big problem with individual achievement.<\/p>\n This Armstrong business… Folks, we\u2019re told now that Lance Armstrong didn\u2019t win those seven Tours de France, and Penn State didn\u2019t win all those football games for ten years. The Soviet Union was never this good at rewriting history. They tried, but the Soviet Union was never this good. Armstrong has never been found guilty of anything. He gives up on proving a point after over 500 tests that prove his innocence. He\u2019s simply exhausted.<\/p>\n “What more do I have to do?”<\/p>\n Now, this agency, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (the USADA) is a taxpayer-funded nonprofit. They say it\u2019s not government, but it\u2019s taxpayer funded. So it\u2019s not simply cut-and-dried that it isn\u2019t a government organization. They call themselves “the anti-doping organization for the United States,” created by the Olympic Committee back in 2000. It\u2019s just an amazing thing. I saw it last night. Kathryn pointed it out to me last night. She admires Lance Armstrong for a host of incredible reasons. A lot of people do.<\/p>\n A lot of people don\u2019t want to believe this, and are sick and tired of this kind of behavior by government agencies.<\/p>\n BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the second sound bite. It\u2019s Armen Keteyian on CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose. They\u2019re talking with the Bicycling magazine guy, Peter Flax, who in the previous sound bite we heard say he is “absolutely convinced” that Lance Armstrong doped. He\u2019s convinced of it, but he\u2019s also “the victim of a witch hunt.” How? I mean, if he did it and they\u2019re trying to track him down, what\u2019s the witch hunt? The witch hunt is if he didn\u2019t do it, and now he\u2019s into his retirement and they\u2019re still pursuing the guy. Armstrong says (paraphrased), “I\u2019ve had it. I\u2019ve had it. I\u2019ve taken 500 tests! I\u2019ve passed every test. They\u2019ve got no evidence. I\u2019ve had it with this.”<\/p>\n So Charlie Rose talks to Armen Keteyian. Armen Keteyian is the CBS chief investigative correspondent. He\u2019s on Gumbel\u2019s show on HBO (or was at one point) Real Sports. He\u2019s a sports investigative guy. Here\u2019s what he said…<\/p>\n ROSE: So if he loses all these titles, what happens?<\/p>\n KETEYIAN: If they just hand the jersey to whomever came in second, all those men are convicted dopers, people who have made financial settlements to get out of a doping case. I spent seven years watching it. Someone won those Tours de France. Lance Armstrong did. I saw it.<\/p>\n RUSH: Yeah, he did, and the other people have doped — and they\u2019ve proved it on the others. They\u2019re also talking about penalties. They want to take away his endorsement money. Retroactively! They want to get every dollar he was ever paid. He was on the US Postal Service Team. He was on the US Postal Service Team and, as such, the team was bankrolled by the Postal Service. But they want to go after his endorsements, prize money, everything! They want to strip Lance Armstrong of everything he\u2019s got.<\/p>\n (interruption)<\/p>\n Snerdley said, “Who did he make mad? Who the hell did he tick off?”<\/p>\n Sadly, it\u2019s a legitimate question. Speaking of this, I was reading Phil Mushnick today. Mushnick is a sports columnist the New York Post. He had a piece earlier this week on politics. He\u2019s an acknowledged Democrat, and he says he\u2019s finally become convinced of media bias. And his story was about David Plouffe, Obama\u2019s adviser, going all over the world making $100,000 a speech from little countries that can\u2019t afford it, advising them on the ins and outs of the US political process.<\/p>\n Mushnick said (paraphrased), “Why the hell is this not a big story? Why is the media not all over this?” Now, of all the things that are out there that would convince somebody in the media that his buddies are biased? But, nevertheless, he thinks it\u2019s a big story that the media isn\u2019t covering: The fact that one of Obama\u2019s chief advisers is out making a hundred grand a speech from little countries (that don\u2019t have the money to pay it in the first place) for advice on how to get into the American political system.<\/p>\n Cronyism.<\/p>\n He\u2019s got a point.<\/p>\n Anyway, I was reading Mushnick today. Mushnick\u2019s every Friday, Sunday, and Monday in the New York Post. He has a thing about Warren Sapp, the former defensive tackle, number 99, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp has filed for bankruptcy. One of Mushnick\u2019s big causes is the cultural rot that is taking place in sports, on television, and throughout our society. And he chronicles it. He also is a critic of various sports telecasts — ESPN, this sort of thing. But in discussing this Warren Sapp business, he says Warren Sapp filed for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n He\u2019s got alimony and child payments and so forth. And when it listed his assets, Warren Sapp has 240 pairs of Air Jordans. And I\u2019m thinking, “What do you need 240 pairs of Air Jordans for?” Then I think, “Well, you know, I collect stuff. So maybe it\u2019s a collection.” (Just a little side note.) But, yeah, they\u2019re gonna take everything away from Lance Armstrong, including all the money. That\u2019s their objective. A random act of journalism. By the way, Nike is standing by Armstrong. They\u2019re gonna keep Armstrong\u2019s endorsement contract. They did with Tiger Woods, as well. Nike loves guys with ‘tude. Nike loves the guys with attitude. They love \u2019em. They love the guys that skirt the edge.<\/p>\n They love those guys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" RUSH: Lance Armstrong. What to make of this? You know, I\u2019ll tell you, ladies and gentlemen. You know me. I think if you wait long enough, you will detect politics in everything. Now, let\u2019s do a quick comparison. When Roger Clemens was accused of doping, the sports media turned on him (snaps) like that. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![](\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/Armstrong.jpg\")
\nNow we have Lance Armstrong, somebody who is universally respected by people for overcoming incredible odds.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/CBSFlax.jpg\")
\nFLAX: I\u2019m absolutely convinced that he did, but I\u2019m also convinced that he is the victim of a witch hunt. And there\u2019s no justice possible here. The legacy is being shaped on Bicycling\u2019s Facebook page. Hundreds and hundreds of comments, and I\u2019d say 95% of them are pro-Lance people communicating their support for him. He is guilty, but in a lot of people\u2019s eyes, he\u2019s still an inspiration. He still won those Tours de France, and it\u2019ll take some time to see how this all plays out.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/CBSKeteyian.jpg\")
\nKETEYIAN: This process has become so politicized from — going back five years now. It\u2019s not a government agency; it\u2019s a private organization, a nonprofit organization that has a stake in this politically to prove that Lance Armstrong has been doping to send a message to other athletes. And I don\u2019t know, when you talk about a fair process and safe sport, how much this really adds to that.<\/p>\n