RUSH: The State-Controlled Media is getting worried, ladies and gentlemen. Listen to this from this morning on MSNBC.
WATSON: Kennedy’s passing, Rush Limbaugh and some other conservatives worried out loud, very bluntly that Democrats would use that to try and pass the health care bill that they oppose, that Rush Limbaugh and others opposed. Do you think that Kennedy’s legacy, the positive memory, the fond feelings that he had even across the aisle ultimately will help President Obama pass this health care bill or —
GUTHRIE: I think it might have an affect early on in terms of changing the tone, not necessarily substance, but the White House has to walk a line here, too, the line of taste. They cannot be seen as exploiting the death of Ted Kennedy for some political gain even if it was the cause of his life.
RUSH: They’ve already crossed the line. Savannah Guthrie, the White House correspondent for NBC Obama. They have to walk a line here, a line of taste. They cannot be seen as exploiting the death of Ted Kennedy for political gain? For crying out loud, they crossed that line before he died. They certainly crossed the line yesterday. They can’t walk that back. And now they’re worried. State-Controlled Media is worried that the Democrats going to be seen as being in bad taste. Let me tell you something. Do you remember the Wellstone Memorial? That was a frat party compared to what’s going to happen here. This is going to be — it was accurately described by somebody, I forget who, I like to credit people who come up with things. I don’t remember who said this, I read it somewhere on the Internet — the Wellstone Memorial on steroids. This is going to be something to see. They’re not going to be able to control themselves. They’re going to turn this into the biggest political rally you’ve ever seen. They can’t help themselves. They’re leftists.
They don’t want to cross the line of taste? They already have. In fact, like I said yesterday, they have crossed the line by naming this health care abomination after Ted Kennedy. I delivered a eulogy yesterday that Ted Kennedy ought to be remembered for the way he struggled to live, the way he fought to live. And you and I both know that once we get Obamacare, the average 76- or 77-year-old that comes down with a brain tumor is not going to get the care that would extend his life by 12 to 15 months. It ain’t going to happen unless that person is independently wealthy and can pay for it himself, it isn’t going to happen. And so to put Ted Kennedy’s name on this health care bill is a disservice to him, because he had Tedcare, everybody ought to get Tedcare. That ought to be the model. This is the United States of America. But, no, that’s not what it’s going to be, folks. Let’s go back to the audio sound bites. State-Run Media, undecided on the way I dealt with the Kennedy death yesterday. This is ABC World News Now this morning. The coanchor Jeremy Hubbard said this.
HUBBARD: Some conservatives are lashing out at Democrats in the wake of Kennedy’s death. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is accusing the left of exploiting Kennedy and his legacy to push through health care reform.
RUSH: You know, Jake Tapper on his blog got it right. Jake didn’t write it. Somebody on the staff wrote it, don’t remember the byline, but they had a piece at Jake Tapper’s blog yesterday basically repeating what I had said about how Kennedy is being dishonored by putting his name on this abomination. And so I guess somebody at ABC read their own website and said that I am accusing the left of exploiting Kennedy’s death. This morning on Joe Scarborough’s show, Joe Scarborough and Patrick Gavin of The Politico had this discussion.
SCARBOROUGH: Rush Limbaugh showed great restraint, saying that he felt uncomfortable saying anything negative about Senator Kennedy.
GAVIN: The only thing that Rush Limbaugh said was that, yes, Ted Kennedy was a lion and we were his prey; but, you know, for the day and for Rush Limbaugh I think that was actually pretty tame.
RUSH: You know, I knew, I knew, this is why I did that eulogy in the first half hour, I knew that they were all going to be listening yesterday because I knew they were hoping that I would step in it big time and use some inappropriate line. Believe me, I had plenty. But I did practice restraint. I have one of the best lines, I can’t say it, I came up with it, I’ve told a bunch of people and everybody just laughs uproariously, and, ‘Don’t you dare say it!’ I did. I told the broadcast engineer, if I happen to say the line, hit the delay button so that you won’t hear it. But I’m going to listen to this again. This is funny, listen to these guys because I just know that they were just waiting to see what I would say.
SCARBOROUGH: Rush Limbaugh showed great restraint, saying that he felt uncomfortable saying anything negative about Senator Kennedy.
GAVIN: The only thing that Rush Limbaugh said was that, yes, Ted Kennedy was a lion and we were his prey; but, you know, for the day and for Rush Limbaugh I think that was actually pretty tame.
RUSH: These guys are not commenting on my great eulogy. I am the one guy — this is why you listen — I am the one guy who could take the death of Ted Kennedy and turn it into a negative reason for health care reform. His lifetime cause, we’re told — and it was — and here the left using his passing to try to get it passed, name it after him or whatever, and I, with a monologue, and a eulogy of Ted Kennedy, gave the best reason for not doing this particular health care reform. And naturally they don’t comment on that. I said some really wonderful things about Ted Kennedy yesterday and his end-of-life struggle. So, now they’re grading at MSNBC my predictions. They’re grading my See, I Told You So’s. One of the predictions I made a year ago, shortly after Ted Kennedy was diagnosed, I said they’re gonna name the health care bill after him, they are going to say that they are doing everything they can to get it done for Teddy. They’re gonna make it a sympathetic ploy and they’re going to try to make it impossible for people to vote against it in the Senate. I made that prediction a year ago, predicted it again back in April, and so at MSNBC we have Dylan Ratigan, the host in the morning and the hapless co-host Contessa Brewer discussing this.
BREWER: Rush Limbaugh giving himself a little pat on the back for predicting that politicians would use the death of Ted Kennedy to spur on support for health care reform.
RATIGAN: By the way, that’s an obvious prediction. I don’t criticize Rush Limbaugh for making it, other than that he’s capable of better.
BREWER: He got a lot of criticism for being insensitive —
RATIGAN: Of course.
BREWER: — about it.
RATIGAN: It’s also so obvious.
BREWER: Anyway, now we have Senator Robert Byrd who is calling for the health care reform legislation actually to be named in Kennedy’s honor and there you heard Rush Limbaugh saying, ‘See, told you so.’
RUSH: See, they have to say, ‘Limbaugh was right but, gosh, it was so easy, anybody could have made this prediction. He was right. It’s not any big deal. This is no great thing. He shouldn’t be gloating.’ They were upset that I was gloating over being right about the prediction. Speaking of Robert Byrd, I wonder, does President Obama think that Senator Byrd should stop using up health care services now and just start taking a pain pill? I mean he doesn’t know where he is half the time. He’s been in the hospital, he’s been terribly ill, just got out of the hospital. I wonder if Obama thinks that Byrd ought to just take the pain pill and, you know, loop out here for the remaining days. Here’s the prediction again. This is March 6th this year, me, on this show.
RUSH ARCHIVE: If they get national health care, folks, the country as you and I have known it is over. But the failing health of Senator Kennedy, as I told you way back when, the driving force here. The failing health of Senator Kennedy is already being used as an inspirational effort or technique to get national health care on the fast track. Before it’s all over it will be called the Ted Kennedy memorial health care bill.
RUSH: Right on cue yesterday, Byrd, Pelosi, a bunch of them came up and said we ought to do that. Of course, I caught hell for that prediction back in March.