The Regime Targets US Business

RUSH: From St. Louis, St. Louis Business Journal: ‘US Steel Corp. is the latest publicly traded company to announce a first-quarter charge as a result of changes under the recently passed health-care reform law. US Steel, which owns a mill in Granite City, Ill., said Wednesday it will record a charge of $27 million in the quarter to adjust deferred tax assets related to Medicare Part D subsidies offered to retirees.’ This is a perfect opportunity for me to explain again, because I’m still getting e-mail from people, ‘Rush, we don’t have regimes in America, it doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t feel right.’ I know, folks, I know. But we have a regime here. And by regime, I’m talking about authoritarian. So this is a great example. US Steel joins John Deere, Caterpillar, AT&T, Verizon. We’re up now to over $14 billion in hits to the bottom line, corporations have had to take because they found this tax change, and the law says, it’s very clear, the law says that you must take the charge in the quarter of the year that the legislation is signed into law, not when it’s implemented, but when it’s signed into law.

They’re following the law. If they don’t follow the law, the SEC is gonna come after ’em. So what happened? They followed the law, and they get a letter, essentially a subpoena from Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak, who is Waxman’s second in command on that committee. They are instructed to show up before the committee sometime in April, not just bring themselves, they gotta bring their books because Waxman says this is crazy, everybody knows health insurance is going to lower costs. So here’s what happens. You follow the law to the letter of the law, you do exactly what the law says or else the SEC comes after you, and after you do what the law says, the regime comes and gets you and asks for your head on a platter before their committee. This is why this is a regime. This is intimidation like you can’t believe. It’s a golden opportunity for these CEOs, too. Who was it? Was it Big Oil I think at one point got so fed up with all this. I think the guy from Shell, yes. It was a congressional committee, House committee, Maxine Waters was on it and Maxine Waters totally slipped up and said, ‘What we want to do is social–‘ and she caught herself. I think we even have this in our archives.

She started fumbling around, the people in the camera shot started laughing, and then she said, ‘If you don’t do what we want, we’re just going to nationalize your companies.’ She said it. So these guys and the Shell Oil Company guy just read her the riot — not about that, but read the riot act to Congress, ‘If you want to know why prices are up take a look at you, take a look at yourself.’ I mean read them the riot act, and that’s what these CEOs have a chance to do. And all they have to do is tell the truth. ‘The law is the law, Mr. Waxman, and your health care law is the law, and it says X, it’s going to force us to do this, which we did, and now we’ve been called up here by you, and you want to see our books. Well, take a look.’ It’s a golden opportunity. I really hope they don’t cave. I really, really don’t.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: All right, here you go. This is May 22nd, 2008, the House Judiciary Committee task force looking into competition in the oil industry. This is Maxine Waters.

WATERS: And guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be all about socialize — uh, uh —

RUSH: Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, oh.

WATERS: — will be about —

RUSH: Uh, oh.

WATERS: — basically —

RUSH: Oh.

WATERS: — taking over —

RUSH: Uh.

WATERS: — and the government —

RUSH: (gasping)

WATERS: — running all of your companies.

RUSH: (gasping) Maxine Waters, May 22nd, 2008, four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline. Back before you know it.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I want to go back to Maxine Waters and I want to play for you what precipitated her comment. Now, again, this is May 22nd, 2008, we’re at or near 150 bucks a barrel for oil. That meant four-dollar gasoline, four-dollar-a-gallon. Everybody was just fit to be tied. And Maxine Waters asked the Shell Oil Company president, John Hofmeister, the following question: ‘Can you guarantee the American people that the price of oil will go down if oil companies are allowed to drill wherever they want to off US shores?’ And this is what he said, and this is a lesson for all these guys that have been summoned by Henry Waxman to take not only their books, they’ve been told to bring all their e-mails, to explain why they’re taking all these charges. This is how they should respond to Waxman or whoever else is up there.

HOFMEISTER: I can guarantee to the American people, because of the inaction of the United States Congress, ever increasing prices unless the demand comes down, and the five dollars will look like a very low price in the years to come if we are prohibited from finding new reserves, new opportunities to increase supplies.

RUSH: He just hit her right between the eyes, and that’s when she responded with…

WATERS: And guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be all about socialize — uh, uh —

RUSH: Uh oh.

WATERS: — will be about —

RUSH: Oh, no.

WATERS: — basically taking over —

RUSH: Ahhh.

WATERS: — and the government running all of your companies.

RUSH: She means it. If she had the druthers and the power she’d do it. She means it.