{"id":37320,"date":"2011-01-13T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T00:10:02","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T00:10:02","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T00:10:02","slug":"thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RUSH: We\u2019d like to welcome back to the program today Mr. Bo Snerdley, who has been on an extended vacation since just before Christmas, arrived back home yesterday, has been overseas in the Philippines. I even got a note from him while there talking about the Filipinos. At any rate, Snerdley says that over the weekend he was minding his own business, he\u2019s just on vacation over there, and by happenstance turns on the television and American cable news networks are available in the Philippines. He\u2019s in Manila and all of a sudden he starts seeing Rush Limbaugh here, Rush Limbaugh there, he said, ‘What the hell is this?\u2019 So he starts tuning in and he says, ‘My gosh, I\u2019m on vacation, Limbaugh\u2019s responsible for a shooting?\u2019 <\/p>\n

So he wanted me to know that around the world — (laughing) geesh! And then on the flight home, what leg was this? From Tokyo-to-Detroit nonstop. So he\u2019s on a Tokyo-to-Detroit flight and the couple behind him are cursing me during the flight. He hears these people cursing me for hijacking American politics. Is that what they said? Hijacking American politics. And at the next natural opportunity he stood up, either to get some exercise, go to bathroom or whatever and just stared at them for a while. You didn\u2019t say anything to them, right? Didn\u2019t want to cause a scene, but heard two people on the flight say that Rush Limbaugh hijacked American politics. <\/p>\n

Greetings. 800-282-2882 if you want to be on the program, e-mail address ElRushbo@eibnet.com. <\/p>\n

I honestly thought about opening the program today, go out and find a medicine man to open the program, much as they opened the pep rally last night, and it was a pep rally. I think even Obama was a little bit put off by the behavior of that crowd last night. There are a lot of questions out there. They had two members of the regime quoting the Bible. They didn\u2019t have preachers, priests, rabbis. They had Big Sis and Eric Holder quoting from the Bible, and I\u2019m thinking this is not gonna play well with the Democrat base. And, of course, the Muslim brothers might be scratching their heads over that. The medicine man starts out the first ten minutes telling us who he is, and the creator doing his stuff from the north portal, the south portal, the right portal, the left portal. Kathryn and I were looking at each other, we were fully expecting a memorial, and it started out like a pep rally. <\/p>\n

In fact, before the thing started — there were cameras inside the room — somebody was just laughing and yukking it up with some people, and Kathryn pointed, ‘How can anybody sit there and be laughing? You got families of the dead and the wounded sitting there. Who is this guy?\u2019 It turned out to be the president of the university. He finally went to the podium to get the whole thing kicked off. Anyway, folks, I want you to listen to a couple sound bites here. I was thinking, ‘Where was Reverend Wright?\u2019 I mean he could read from the Bible just as well as Holder and Big Sis. The memorial\/pep rally was on Wednesday and you think this coulda been done a little earlier? You think they coulda done this memorial a little earlier than last night? I do, too. Well, obviously primetime, but they coulda done primetime Monday, like I say were up against a football game, the BCS, they coulda done it Tuesday night. <\/p>\n

Before I offer any opinion, and by the way, I want to tell you right now, I\u2019m going to reserve my opinion of Obama\u2019s speech itself for later on during the program because we have serious news out there, Snerdley, that is being ignored about this country, the unemployment number skyrocketing, food prices are about to skyrocket. We have no change whatsoever happening economically. We had a speech last night where essentially the people of this country were commanded to change the way we are behaving because of events like this. I know he gave lip service to the notion that we didn\u2019t have anything to do with this, but he didn\u2019t specifically say it. We\u2019ll get into it here in due course. I know people question my ability to do this each and every day, but I am host. I always trust my instincts. So here, last night, MSNBC Hardball, Chris Matthews and the senior political editor of the Huffing and Puffington Post, Howard Fineman, have this exchange.<\/p>\n

MATTHEWS: Will Fox, for example, or Rush Limbaugh say, you know, he was okay last night. Is that the scorecard he\u2019s looking for, that the other side of him politically get to the side where he was nonpartisan?<\/p>\n

FINEMAN: That\u2019s a very good question, and I think you\u2019re right, I think in his mind — I\u2019m guessing here — the president is playing as much to the right here. He would like everyone to say from Fox to MSNBC and everybody, you know, all around the spectrum that he served a civic —<\/p>\n

MATTHEWS: Yeah.<\/p>\n

FINEMAN: — important civic healing function tonight, and that\u2019s it. And that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

RUSH: So apparently Matthews and Fineman are of the opinion that I will be the ultimate arbiter of Obama\u2019s speech. That if I can say positive things about it, then okay, it will have been of the right tone with the right message. Now, Fox loved it. The Fox All Stars when this was over were slobbering over the speech. It was predictable. And they were slobbering over it for the predictable reasons. It was smart; it was articulate; it was oratorical; it was all the things the educated ruling class wants their members to be and sound like. Later on on Hardball, this is before Obama\u2019s speech, Matthews, New York Magazine columnist John Heilemann had this exchange about Obama\u2019s speech and me.<\/p>\n

MATTHEWS: Who\u2019s to decide what has a political overtone? Rush Limbaugh? Will he score the president tomorrow? <\/p>\n

FINEMAN: I think that\u2019s why it\u2019s very difficult. Everyone\u2019s gonna score the president tomorrow. But, look, this thing that happened last Saturday, I think many people hoped that this would bring a moment where everyone would pause and reflect, and instead what\u2019s happened over the course of the day since then is everything that\u2019s bad about our political culture has speeded up, and the first opportunity was to attack one side, and then the other side attacked the attacks, and it\u2019s become this — it\u2019s become everything that you hoped it wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Oh, come on. It was everything we knew it would be. It became everything we knew it would be, and that is attacking talk radio, attacking Sarah Palin. We knew. It was utterly predictable. I tell you, the reason why they waited as long to do this was they were waiting for polling data. The polling data shows the American people do not associate political rhetoric with anything that happened in this incident. That\u2019s what they were waiting on. If the polling data had been different the speech would have been different, but because the polling data says the American people don\u2019t associate political give and take, the political rhetoric in the media with what happened here, that pretty much dictated how the speech had to go. So they had to wait for the polling data to come in. That\u2019s why they waited — I have no doubt — plus, plus, my friends, they needed time to print those T-shirts to give away at the rally. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: I\u2019m not making it up. They were waiting on the T-shirt to be printed and the logo to be designed, and you\u2019ll notice that the logo has one color: Blue. Blue states. I kid… Well, you want my observations; I\u2019m sharing with you my observations. But I know they had to wait on the T-shirts to get printed and a logo designer to finish his work. That\u2019s one reason, along with the polling data, this thing was moved last night. Okay, here\u2019s stream of consciousness election. The thing starts and the medicine man and the Native American thing. Were any of the victims Native Americans? I didn\u2019t know. ‘What is this?\u2019 I said, and the medicine man spends ten minutes telling us who he is, because he said ‘that\u2019s what is standard,\u2019 and I\u2019m thinking, ‘This is not about you.\u2019 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about any of the elected officials here. It\u2019s not about the college president. It\u2019s not about the students cheering. The people about whom this memorial was were ignored for a large block of time at the beginning of this. It was Arizona Governor Brewer who got this thing on track, talking about the victims and who they were. The president has gotten glowing reviews from practically every corner, but he didn\u2019t shut down the primary theme that has been occupying America since Saturday, and that is that conservative media was responsible for this. He started talking about ‘civility\u2019 in general. Kirsten Powers has a column in The Daily Beast today, and she\u2019s got a good point here. <\/p>\n

‘When the president did lay blame, it was on Americans in general. Among the many odd assertions he made: suggesting that ‘what a tragedy like this requires\u2019 is that ‘we align our values with our actions.\u2019 We were told to ‘expand our moral imaginations.” What does this have to do with anything? Nothing. They had a lone gunman, mentally disturbed. We have to figure out how he got the gun since he couldn\u2019t afford it. We have to figure out why, since everybody knew he was such a menace, he was able to run as free as he was around that town. The questions are obvious. The answers are not that complicated here, but the notion that we Americans somehow need to improve ourselves? We need to get better at the way we talk with each other?<\/p>\n

The president said that didn\u2019t matter, that that wasn\u2019t a factor. Most of his speech was about how we gotta get better dealing with each other, that we have to somehow step it up — and yet he tried to say in his own way that that had nothing to do with it. He said, ‘We\u2019ll never really know what happened here. Rhetoric didn\u2019t cause this,\u2019 and yet we\u2019ve all gotta improve our rhetoric. We\u2019ve all gotta step it up. I know the target audience is gonna eat that stuff up. You could see people in the crowd crying over the notion we all just have to get along and so forth, but I live in Literalville. I live in Realville watching this, and I\u2019m thinking, ‘This is not solving anything.\u2019 The president himself is responsible for some of the disunity that exists in the country, and he didn\u2019t talk about improving himself. <\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t talking about trying to improve the way he\u2019s dealing with people and things and so forth. He got plenty of incendiary rhetoric on his side. So I watched it with… (sigh) You know, I couldn\u2019t get past the fact that this was not a memorial. That was a heavy weight over my, the crowd reaction as though it was a pep rally or a political event. The White House is saying, according to the White House transcript, that Obama\u2019s remarks were interrupted by applause no less than 53 times. Now, that\u2019s not standard fare for a memorial. You go back and look at the Bush 9\/11 memorial, you can go back and look at Reagan. Reagan spoke for four and a half minutes after challenger. Clinton spoke for nine minutes after Oklahoma City. <\/p>\n

This thing went on for 35 minutes or so, and it clearly had a political element and political overtones and objectives to it. I just find a lot of contradictions in this. The one part of the speech… I\u2019ve talked to a lot of people. The one part of the speech that particularly moved people was when President Obama was talking about the nine-year-old little girl who was snuffed out and how we all have a duty to live up to that little girl\u2019s expectations, her nine-year-old dreams and expectations of the greatness of America. I think the greatness of America exists. There was a theme here that we\u2019re failing, a theme here that society is somehow not altogether what it should be, that the American experiment is not working out all that well and we gotta step it up here.<\/p>\n

When nobody but one lone, deranged gunman — not American society, not American culture — had anything to do with this. But I knew that line was gonna work with a lot of people because it\u2019s about a child and it\u2019s about dreams, and it\u2019s about not letting go what she wants this country to be. She was growing into this country; let\u2019s make sure we live up to what she expected. I think we have done that. So to me there was a very subtle, but there was a constant theme running through this that there are severe deficiencies throughout the country, severe problems, deficiencies, shortcomings, throughout our culture, as evidenced by this event Saturday in Tucson. When the thing started, I said, ‘Is this…?\u2019 (sigh)<\/p>\n

Now some people gonna jump down my throat on this. I mean, you are tuning in to hear what I thought of this, and when the university president started singing the accolades of the University of Arizona, I said, ‘Wha…? Are they taking advantage of this occasion to do a PR shot for the University of Arizona?\u2019 It didn\u2019t happen at the University of Arizona. It happened at a Safeway. They shoulda brought somebody in from Safeway talk about what a great store Safeway is, what a great chain it is and that this kind of thing doesn\u2019t happen there all the time. I don\u2019t know, \u2019cause I was expecting a memorial, you have to understand, and I did have a little trepidation that what we might get was the Wellstone Memorial Two.<\/p>\n

When this thing started I said, ‘Oh, no. Don\u2019t tell me they\u2019re gonna do it again.\u2019 (interruption) I heard the report from Brewer was booed, too, but I can\u2019t hear well enough to know. So I don\u2019t know if she was booed or not. It\u2019s been reported. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if she was booed, given the universe of people in that area. It\u2019s a university town, Tucson, for people to get in and the president of the United States coming, obviously you\u2019re gonna have people in there who might be politically opposed to the governor for the immigration business and problems that are going on out there. But whether she was booed or not, I can\u2019t say. Even if she was, it\u2019s not surprising. But I just… Again, I was expecting a solemn memorial — and to the president\u2019s credit, I actually think he was, too. I looked over when they shot…<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry. When the camera trained over to show us the president and the First Lady and the assorted dignitaries, when the medicine man was doing his thing, some people were looking at the floor during that, and at other points — even when the president was speaking and making solemn points and references and telling stories about the dead and the injured — the applause that came up as though they were applause lines even appeared to unsettle the president a little bit. So, you know, I was expecting a very solemn service. This is a genuine tragedy, and the families of all involved are sitting there in the front row. When the camera showed them, these people, they are in pain. They are crying, they are seeking some explanation from leaders, and they find themselves in the midst of a pep rally. <\/p>\n

So, I don\u2019t know. It had me a little uncomfortable. My mouth was open. <\/p>\n

Kathryn and I were looking at each other with our mouths wide open in a state of shock and surprise. So I bet the first 15 or 20 minutes of this. But at any rate, the reviews have come in from all over the country, and it was a grand-slam home run. As I say, the Fox All Stars loved it. It was… Yeah, it was the best that\u2019s ever been! In fact, folks, depending on who you listen to in the post-speech analysis, we may as well just forget the 2012 election. We may as well just start counting up the ballots right now and assuming Obama\u2019s gonna win in a landslide because of that last night. Forget about all the rest. Obama reminded everybody why he cannot be beaten, blah, blah, blah, blah. Let\u2019s just go ahead and admit we got foregone conclusion that there\u2019s not a soul out there that can beat Obama. <\/p>\n

This was the extent of the analysis in many places last night, and, as usual, way over the top. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: The president, if he really meant what he was talking about with all of this, could have easily named names. He is the president of the United States. He could have said how ridiculous it is for individuals like Sarah Palin or anybody else he chose to name to be accused of having anything to do with this, that it is not helping our politics. But he is vague about it, and it\u2019s left to the individual to interpret whatever the president meant, which is exactly what he intended. He had to be very careful to walk the fine line because it\u2019s his side that\u2019s been engaging in all this. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but we were all minding our business on Saturday. We weren\u2019t in Tucson. We didn\u2019t know this guy. This guy didn\u2019t listen to us. He didn\u2019t go to Sarah Palin\u2019s blog. All of a sudden it\u2019s all our fault. Who starts this? Obama\u2019s side started this. This is the thing. But there was a moral equivalence established last night. Everybody\u2019s guilty. The whole country\u2019s guilty. We must do a better job. No, no, no. I don\u2019t accept that. I don\u2019t like the way this country is talked about by this president. Even in an attempt to unite people and make us feel that we all need to step up and somehow improve our civility and our dialogue, when at the same time that didn\u2019t have anything to do with this, by his own admission. Our dialogue, our lack of civility, the way we talk to each other, he said it had nothing to do with this, and yet we\u2019ve gotta step up and improve. Not him. No way. Audio sound bites. This one, folks, I just knew it. Before it happened, I knew something like this was going to be part of the presentation.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: Right after we went to visit, a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues from Congress were in the room, Gabby opened her eyes for the first time. (applause) Gabby opened her eyes for the first time. Gabby opened her eyes. Gabby opened her eyes.<\/p>\n

RUSH: This is what makes this program so — I deserve combat pay. You know, I really do. Yesterday was Wednesday. She opened her eyes on Sunday. We have the doctor saying so, because they were keeping her in an induced coma and she would come in and out of the coma, I guess. Now, the doctor made it a point to say today that she voluntarily opened her eyes for the first time yesterday. Now, clearly, folks, the impression sought here is that the president and Mrs. Obama arrive on Chariot One, they head to the hospital, they go into the room of Gabrielle Giffords, they do whatever they do, they lay on hands, what have you. The president and the first lady then leave and in walk some of her friends, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kirsten Gillibrand, Pelosi and others. Well, there was one other, I forget, there\u2019s four of them, four female members of Congress, friends of hers. And after Obama and Michelle have left, the congresswomen walk in and it\u2019s at that point that she opens her eyes. And her husband has given Obama permission to announce this to the world during the memorial service. Why not — (interruption) I know. I\u2019m gonna let it go. I\u2019m gonna let it go. I think it explains itself. Yeah, you are, Snerdley. Don\u2019t goad me. Let me trust and follow my instincts here. Moving on here. This is a portion of the president\u2019s lecture on civility.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay to blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do, it\u2019s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we\u2019re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Right. I mean like stop calling people bitter clingers, as the president did in San Francisco, people that cling to their guns and cling to their religion. And stop telling people if they bring a knife to the fight, we\u2019re gonna bring a gun. You mean to stop telling people, ‘Get in their face, I want you to be angry.\u2019 Is that what the president meant when he was saying we\u2019ve gotta start talking to each other in a way that heals? And punish your enemies, he told Hispanics, punish your enemies when they don\u2019t do it right. And also, ladies and gentlemen, again, we were lectured on civility, but we were also told that whatever his opinion of our lack of civility is had no role in the event. So why are we being lectured on it? I mean he openly said that we can\u2019t — and I\u2019m sure there were probably memorial services at the Daily Kos and the Democrat Underground when he said it. He said political rhetoric had no role here, had no impact. I forget his exact words, but it did not contribute to the cause of the event, and yet we get a lecture on improving our civility. He\u2019s trying to help us heal. That is the point, we don\u2019t need to heal. The people that need to heal are the victims of the shooting. They are the ones who need the healing. And I don\u2019t know how helpful it is in the process of trying to help them heal to sit there and get the whole country worked up and say we\u2019re all in a unified way responsible here. Well we must be if we\u2019ve gotta improve ourselves and the way we dialogue with each other. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: This is the bite that I\u2019ve been referring to. This is the president saying that ‘lack of civility\u2019 did not cause the shooting while really saying that it did cause the shooting but making sure nobody can say he said a lack of civility caused the shooting.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: This tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should. Let\u2019s make sure it\u2019s worthy of those we have lost. (applause) Let\u2019s make sure it\u2019s not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away in the next news cycle —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Hmmm.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: — as has been discussed in recent days. <\/p>\n

RUSH: Mmm-hmm.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: Their death helps usher in more civility in our public discourse. Let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy. It did not. But rather, because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation in a way that would make them proud.<\/p>\n

RUSH: This is why you need me, as translator. What do you think that said, Snerdley? What did he say there? What you come away with was: Hey, a lack of civility did not cause this tragedy. ‘A simple lack of civility did not cause this tragedy. It did not. But more civil and honest discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation.\u2019 So it didn\u2019t but it did, and the only way we\u2019re gonna move forward is you people stop criticizing me — and we do it so as to make the victims proud. We do it in the name of the victims. Of course it\u2019s calculated. It took the time to write it. Now, here\u2019s Obama along the same lines.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: None of us can no exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped these shots from being fired — <\/p>\n

RUSH: But we do.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: — or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

RUSH: But we do. See, this is the thing. We may not want to face up to it, but we do. We know with certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired. That\u2019s if this guy would have been properly institutionalized. That\u2019s if the process of determining who\u2019s qualified to own a gun would have been followed. This guy had no business having a gun. ‘[O]r what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of…\u2019? The Sheriff\u2019s Department knew. A number of people have been interacting with this guy for years. They\u2019ve had that note that she sent him on which he wrote ‘Die, bitch.\u2019 They have known since 2007 of this guy\u2019s feelings for Gabrielle Giffords. <\/p>\n

This is not a shock to people. This is not a surprise to people who knew this guy. We most definitely can know. The challenge is to act on what we know, and the reason we don\u2019t act on what we know because this kind of person is a victim. It\u2019s just unfortunate and unfair that society has created this kind of person. So it\u2019s almost like we have to deal with this. It\u2019s kind of like the judge in New Jersey when the homeless, stinking guy was in the library, and they wouldn\u2019t let us kick him out of the library because we made him homeless. We\u2019re the reason he stinks. We have got to subject ourselves to this poor man because we created the circumstances in which he lives. We made him. <\/p>\n

Well, as far as the left is concerned, this guy exists because America\u2019s unjust, immoral, and unfair, and it\u2019s a violation of rights to keep people as obviously deranged and insane as this guy is, institutionalized. It\u2019s a violation of his rights. So we know who we\u2019re dealing with. We\u2019ve had people say that he was kicked outta school. There were people afraid this guy would show up with a gun. It is not unknown who he was. It\u2019s not unknown what he might do. It\u2019s not unknown what he was capable of. There was none of this that was actually a surprise, other than the date and the time and the event. But the fact that it was likely to happen with this guy?<\/p>\n

There were plenty of people in positions of power who had enough information to know that they got a walking time bomb here. So once again, ‘None of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious…\u2019 That part\u2019s true. We don\u2019t know what it was that at that instant caused this guy to go nuts. ‘None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped…\u2019 Sure we do! If he\u2019s not there he can\u2019t pull the trigger. It\u2019s not hard to admit that. ‘[A]nd what might have stopped these shots from being fired or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man\u2019s mind\u2019? We most certainly knew in this guy\u2019s case. Now, this one I might have trouble translating for you. I might have to go to even a different kind of expert, one that could explain this to me.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of such violence in the future. (applause) But what we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, it\u2019s too late. It happened, and it continues today. The media continues to assault Sarah Palin to this day, on this very day. So, ‘We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order lessen the prospects of such violence\u2019? What old assumptions? Challenge what old assumptions? The assumption that the left lives and dies by is that right-wingers, and what they say, are responsible for this. ‘What we can\u2019t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other\u2019? Sorry. It\u2019s already happened. So I guess also what this could mean is chip away at the Second Amendment. The Constitution\u2019s the old assumption. That\u2019s also possible. Keep a sharp eye on that. We\u2019re gonna go to the phones to Texas. This is Mark. Great to have you on the EIB Network, sir. Hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yes, dittos, Rush. Listen, I was absolutely sickened by what I saw from President Obama last night. The applause immediately began to… It seemed to be totally out of place. It was more of a political pep rally, as you stated — and I have to disagree with you about one thing. I don\u2019t think Obama was particularly perturbed by it. I think he might have been surprised but once it started I think he began to relish it if not revel in it. When he talked about ‘Gabby\u2019 opening her eyes and the applause began to go, he repeated it four times. Four times! I\u2019m surprised —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, look, all this was about him.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, it was.<\/p>\n

RUSH: And as far as the college president was concerned, it was all about him. As far as the medicine man was concerned, it was all about him. And that\u2019s the thing, I guess, that really grated on me is everybody participating in this thing last night thought it was about them and not the families, not the victims.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Absolutely. I\u2019m surprised he didn\u2019t go so far as to say, ‘And Gabby looked up at me and winked.\u2019 I mean, he was reveling in this opportunity that he was given. I was extremely upset and he could have easily — after the first set of applause when he took the platform he could have easily — said, ‘Folks, this is a memorial and we want to first of all memorize those that tragically lost their lives.\u2019 <\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, look, I agree with you. He coulda. He coulda waved off the applause, there\u2019s no question. But had he done that, somebody might have fainted. You realize that\u2019s the only thing that didn\u2019t happen last night.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: To the phones we go. This is Iona, Spring Park, Minnesota, thank you for waiting, and welcome to the EIB Network.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Thanks so much for listening to my thoughts today, Rush. So glad to talk with you.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Thank you very much.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, I think that that get-together was the first sanctioned People\u2019s State Mega Church Service. They had a course there, they had an orchestra playing fanfare for the common man, and it was pretty pathetic. There was no dignity. It was not a good thing.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, wait a minute. They had a medicine man, now. They had a man of the cloth there. <\/p>\n

CALLER: I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n

RUSH: I admitted they had government officials reading from the Bible. They had Eric Holder reading from Isaiah. They had Janet Napolitano reading from the Department of Homeland Security manual. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s your problem. I\u2019m just trying to be civil.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (giggles) I know, and you\u2019re doing so well. <\/p>\n

RUSH: (chuckles)<\/p>\n

RUSH: I don\u2019t know. It just was really pathetic. I was very sad to see it. All I thought about was Reagan. When something happened like this, Reagan would sit at the Oval Office. He would —<\/p>\n

RUSH: You know, really we\u2019re gonna have to stop thinking like this. The era of Reagan is over. <\/p>\n

CALLER: (giggles)<\/p>\n

RUSH: We\u2019re really going to have stop thinking this way. It\u2019s not advancing the cause. <\/p>\n

CALLER: Ha, ha, ha!<\/p>\n

RUSH: It\u2019s long ago, and to keep bringing up Reagan and the Challenger and so forth? We live in different times now with different challenges, and I don\u2019t think it serves any purpose here to bring up Reagan. I really don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Oh, okay. We\u2019ll forget the dignity of the office and how people were clapping there inappropriately. And Obama looked like —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, now, wait a minute, I have another view on that. <\/p>\n

CALLER: (giggles)<\/p>\n

RUSH: I think the area\u2019s been so traumatized, and of course these are young students, fearful of life in general. They are soon to be graduating, and where are they graduating? They\u2019re graduating into an abyss created by George Bush. No jobs, no economy, no health care. Their football team didn\u2019t do all that well this year. The basketball team off to bad start. Any reason to cheer, you gotta understand it.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (giggles) I don\u2019t know what to do with you right now. I\u2019m not used to this. <\/p>\n

RUSH: (chuckling)<\/p>\n

CALLER: You are the man, and I\u2019m so glad that you are on the air here. (laughing)<\/p>\n

RUSH: (laughing) You can only bring up Reagan when you\u2019re praising Obama. <\/p>\n

CALLER: Ugh!<\/p>\n

RUSH: (laughing) Yeah.<\/p>\n

CALLER: The only time I get to talk to you and you\u2019re making me do these things! (laughing)<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, no, no, no, no. It\u2019s still ant opportunity not wasted.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughing) Well, I sure love you. I\u2019m so glad you have a wonderful wife, and I\u2019m glad that you are here speaking and unafraid.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Thank you very much. <\/p>\n

CALLER: I just —<\/p>\n

RUSH: I appreciate it.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Pete in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. You\u2019re next. Great to have you here on the Rush Limbaugh program.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yes, global warming dittos from 39 degrees in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Listen, I just wanted to say that last night watching the service, I felt like I was watching the opening ceremonies to the Olympics, with the music that came on. I was waiting for the parade of nations to come by.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Wait just a second, now. (laughing) Parade of nations. When was the sermon? Who gave the sermon?<\/p>\n

CALLER: No, this was at the very beginning, the introductory music, you know, some of the songs or the —<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, no, I understand, but you said during the sermon.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Oh, no, no, the ceremony, the memorial service.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Oh, service, service. Oh. Service. I thought, ‘What did I miss? There was a sermon last night?\u2019 I didn\u2019t know if you were talking about the medicine man or if you were talking about Obama or the university president or what.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, at least it should be called a memorial service while in fact it was Denver part two which was really the point of my call, which is the rhetoric that Obama uses does not match his actions. We heard about this bipartisanship that would come out when he became elected, and here he is again campaigning for that same message but yet not delivering in his actions.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah. I know. But, see, Democrats by definition are civil. You are not. Your existence is uncivil as a conservative. By the way, just to remind you, the White House has leaked the fact that the State of the Union speech will have as one of its many focuses, or foci, civility. So whereas last night the polling data said the American people do not associate right wing rhetoric with this event, so they couldn\u2019t go there. By the State of the Union show time, when he\u2019s talking about civility, let\u2019s see. I mean they\u2019re promising to open it up, civility in our discourse. We\u2019ll see how that goes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: We\u2019d like to welcome back to the program today Mr. Bo Snerdley, who has been on an extended vacation since just before Christmas, arrived back home yesterday, has been overseas in the Philippines. I even got a note from him while there talking about the Filipinos. At any rate, Snerdley says that over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"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":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: We\u2019d like to welcome back to the program today Mr. Bo Snerdley, who has been on an extended vacation since just before Christmas, arrived back home yesterday, has been overseas in the Philippines. I even got a note from him while there talking about the Filipinos. At any rate, Snerdley says that over the […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125106.Par.89380.ImageFile_579144921f2b2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"30 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125106.Par.89380.ImageFile_579144921f2b2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125106.Par.89380.ImageFile_579144921f2b2.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/\",\"name\":\"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-19T00:10:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-19T00:10:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: We\u2019d like to welcome back to the program today Mr. Bo Snerdley, who has been on an extended vacation since just before Christmas, arrived back home yesterday, has been overseas in the Philippines. I even got a note from him while there talking about the Filipinos. At any rate, Snerdley says that over the […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125106.Par.89380.ImageFile_579144921f2b2.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"30 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125106.Par.89380.ImageFile_579144921f2b2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125106.Par.89380.ImageFile_579144921f2b2.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/","name":"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2011-05-19T00:10:02+00:00","dateModified":"2011-05-19T00:10:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/13\/thoughts_on_the_arizona_pep_rally\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Thoughts on the Arizona Pep Rally"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37320\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}