RUSH: CNN and their polling unit, Opinion Research, interviewed one thousand Americans. ‘More Americans have doubts about Obama’s birth story than do support the mosque.’ I’m just reporting it. It’s a CNN poll. Twenty-seven percent of Americans believe that Imam Obama was probably not born in the United States. Twenty-nine percent support building the Ground Zero mosque, and Erick 
Erickson at Red State said: Look, if we’re going to call the 27% who believe that Obama was not born in the US fringe kooks then can’t we also call the people who support building a mosque at Ground Zero a fringe group? Because the percentages are roughly the same, 27 versus 29%. ‘If you add to the 27% who think Obama was not born in the United States the 29% who think he was born in the United States, but are not definitely sure and more Americans have doubts about Barack Obama’s birth story than support the mosque.’ In CNN’s own data. We’re just adding it up here, folks. We’re not endorsing anything. We didn’t take the poll. We didn’t ask a single question. We’re simply reporting what CNN found.
By the way, I must remind you that we, the US, approved Israel’s raid on Syria. That would have been the Bush administration. That’s highly unlikely to happen today. I doubt that this regime would approve an Israeli raid into Iran somewhere. So as Mr. Erickson at Red State points out: ‘Therein lies the great problem for the Democrats and why Barack Obama has locked in a Democratic disaster come November. In essence, the Democrats have lost the ability to connect with normal people at a moral level.’ The fringe is who supports Democrats, and it’s a sizable number. ‘Seventy percent of independents –‘ they’re all worried about the independents out there and whether or not I’m driving them away. I, El Rushbo, the titular head of the Republican Party, am driving independents away. ‘Seventy percent of independents oppose the Ground Zero mosque. The Democrats are screaming at the top of their lungs that we should all be talking about the economy because they know they are getting crushed on the mosque issue with independents. Think about that — the Democrats would rather get beaten up over the economy than over the mosque.’ They would rather have that be the topic than the mosque issue. You stew over that while we take a brief time-out.
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RUSH: You know what? The liberals are undoubtedly in panic. I mean, if 70% of independents oppose the mosque then it would appear that I, El Rushbo, am the titular leader of independents, too. Not just the titular leader of the Republican Party. Can you imagine the panic if that ever took hold, that I am the leader of the independents, and the independents…? Heh-heh-heh. The independents are taking their marching orders from the EIB Network? We gotta work to solidify that.
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RUSH: This is John, Cincinnati. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. Mega Queen City dittos to you.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: I’ve been a listener for many, many years. I’m only 28, though, but I’ve been listening for a long time and my question has to do with the mosque that is being talked about at Ground Zero.
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: When I first heard about it, which was maybe a month or two ago, and I heard about it on the Glenn Beck show, and my first reaction was outrage, it was, you know, how can they do this.
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: Don’t they realize what they’re saying, that kind of reaction. Then I realized that was an emotional reaction. And I think that, you know, most of the conservative reaction to it is an emotional one.
RUSH: Hm-hm.
CALLER: So my question for you is what legal basis would we have to say, no, you can’t build that there.
RUSH: There isn’t. The only legal basis is local, and that would be if the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided, no, this is a landmark building, you can’t build it. But they have said, no, it’s not landmarked, it’s the only thing down there that isn’t landmarked and then it would be local zoning laws which have been waved, so there is no legal reason not to build it.
CALLER: So do you necessarily oppose it, or are you just commenting on Obama’s reaction to it?
RUSH: I totally oppose it. You think I do what I do because of what Obama does? It just happens to be working out that I disagree with everything he says.
CALLER: I mean, I oppose it too on an emotional basis but, you know, logically I can’t oppose it.
RUSH: Of course I can oppose it. Of course we can oppose it on logical grounds. What do you mean we can’t oppose it on logical grounds?
CALLER: I guess, me as being a Christian, if a Christian church were being built there I would not oppose that.
RUSH: Wait a second. Wait a second. Were you listening to the program yesterday?
CALLER: Unfortunately I was not.
RUSH: That’s too bad. When’s the last time you did listen to the program?
CALLER: No, I listen to you almost every lunch break. I’m definitely a follower of you —
RUSH: It just so happens —
CALLER: — what you say is very important.
RUSH: Ahem. Excuse me. It just so happens there was a Greek Orthodox Church right across the street from Ground Zero. They have been refused permission to rebuild.
CALLER: On what grounds?
RUSH: No grounds. They are just not being allowed to rebuild it. They’re not going to allow something that looks like a church to be built. If they want to build something that looks like a warehouse, a couple or three blocks away they’ll let ’em do that, but they will not let ’em rebuild the church where it was, right across the street.
CALLER: Well, I guess they should follow that same thinking for the mosque.
RUSH: No. They’ve been trying for two years and they’ve finally just thrown up their hands.
CALLER: Oh, okay.
RUSH: Because the mosque — you know, you talk about emotion, this mosque is entirely political. Have you ever stopped to wonder why it is that every leftist, every socialist, every person in this country who has a problem with this country is for that mosque being built? Have you ever asked yourself why it is they are so hell-bent on the mosque being built?
CALLER: I’m not sure.
RUSH: Well, you should. You think that they’re really concerned about religious liberty and property rights? When’s the last time you ever heard a liberal talk about property rights in the sense that anybody has any? Let me tell you something, this is pure politics. The people that want that mosque built want to stuff it down the throats of Americans. The people that want the mosque built at Ground Zero want to say (raspberry) to Americans. That’s all it is. And I’m talking about the Americans who support it. I’m not even talking about the Muslims and the Islamists because I’ll bet you that a lot of Muslims don’t want it there ’cause they know the problems it’s gonna cause them. Another caller silenced into absolute incapability because of the piercing logic and the reasoning of the host. Ah, ah, ah, ah. Who’s next?
Mary Ann, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush. And it’s such a pleasure to speak with you. I respect you so much, and I thank you for the job that you do.
RUSH: Thank you very much.
CALLER: Yesterday I believe it was a gentleman that called and said this is an opportunity for America to show our tolerance and —
RUSH: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CALLER: Right. Now, when does America ever get the chance to say ‘no’ to anything? When do we, since we are a Christian nation, we were founded on Christian values.
RUSH: Wait a second. But that’s even accepting a premise. When did it get started we have to demonstrate our goodness?
CALLER: Exactly.
RUSH: I mean who the hell said that we dropped our goodness?
CALLER: Exactly.
RUSH: The American left says we’re no longer good. Who are they?
CALLER: Exactly.
RUSH: Who are we to have to prove ourselves? We’re the beacon of freedom, hope, and liberty in the world. We liberate people. We bail people out financially. Where is it written that all of a sudden we’re the ones that have to prove to everybody who we are?
CALLER: Absolutely. And I have to say because of this, if they build that mosque at that site, I will not attend any Broadway shows; I will not go to a ball game; I will not go to New York City. I can’t. And that’s the only way I can show support for all the brave men and women who defend our country and all of those families that have lost loved ones there. It’s an insult and it’s the only way that it can be looked at, and as you said, it is intentional, and I don’t know when this country is going to wake up to that fact.
RUSH: They have. Seventy percent of the people oppose this.
CALLER: How do they keep getting away with it, then?
RUSH: Well, they haven’t gotten away with it yet.
CALLER: Well, I’m praying that they don’t. I will not go to New York City.
RUSH: You’re in Wilkes-Barre?
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: Well, the governor probably didn’t want you there anyway.
CALLER: Yeah, probably, but I can only say I don’t know what else I can do to show that I do not support it in any way, shape, or form and I’m appalled that they would even think of doing this.
RUSH: Thanks for the call, Mary Ann.
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RUSH: ‘Church Destroyed at Ground Zero Is Still at Square One.’ This is the Greek Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas is its name. It ‘loses deal for new property.’ This is the same Mayor Bloomberg and the same Port Authority who says we have to go out of our way to prove that we are ‘tolerant.’ Why are we not tolerant of the Greek Orthodox bunch that want to rebuild their church there? Why is not Mayor Bloomberg told the Port Authority to be tolerant? They made a deal with these people for land to rebuild the church. It’s been rescinded only because they want to rebuild a church and not something that looks like a warehouse. Let’s go to the audio sound bites. We have a few here. This is about the mosque. There is a recurring theme popping up in the State-Controlled Media about the mosque, and that is it’s a distraction. The mosque is just a distraction. The Republicans are using it as a distraction. Maybe so, because we’ve now figured out the Democrats would rather talk about how they’ve destroyed the economy than they would rather talk about Obama’s support for the mosque.
This is on Morning Joe today on MessNBC. Mika Brzezinski was talking to the former White House Communications Director Anita Dunn. Now, if you’ve forgotten, Anita Dunn went to the National Cathedral and said she really admired Mao because Mao knew how to get what he wanted. Mao Tse-tung knew how to get things done. She is no longer at the White House. But her husband, Bob Bauer, is. Mika Brzezinski asked her this question: ‘The mosque comments that the president made, obviously couldn’t really avoid ’em at the event he was at.’ Yes, he could have. He’d didn’t have to say anything about it, Mika. In fact, many of the attendees at the Iftar dinner were a little shocked that he brought it up. They weren’t demanding he say anything about it. At any rate, ‘they must have known there was going to be this reaction, even opportunism on the part of some on the extreme right…’ Yeah, 70% of the American people are opportunistic, extreme right-wingers. And here’s what the former White House communications director said.
DUNN: (stammering) When you have these arguments being whipped up by people who seek to divide in this country, that a president has to step forward and call on the country to repudiate the intolerance that, frankly, is fueling this fight right now.
RUSH: Hmm.
DUNN: The race to the bottom in the Republican Party this year, you know, whether it is around revisiting the 14th Amendment, whether it’s around immigration or whether it is around this now, the race to the bottom means, you know, 2012 could be, you know — could be very, very depressing to watch. It’s almost like the party decided to update itself as the know-nothing version 2.0s.
RUSH: Uhhh, 2012 could be depressing to watch? That’s the year Obama runs for reelection, right? Because this is 2010, and there are elections this year. This is a former White House communications director. Of course you 70%, you are intolerant. The people who blew up the World Trade Center are not intolerant. We have to learn how to relate and understand them. Ms. Dunn, I have to tell you, the most intolerant, demagogic, divisive president we’ve ever had is Barack Obama, Barack Hoover Obama. If there’s anybody dividing this country, it’s Barack Hoover Obama. I mean, for crying out loud, 70% of the independents, that’s most of them that voted for Obama, have now fled and are now being led by me. Who woulda thought? It’s the Democrat Party that is the party of intolerance. It’s the president who’s intolerant and divisive. So Mark Halperin, a guest panelist, said to Ms. Dunn, ‘Isn’t the fundamental problem right now the president is refusing to take a position as Senator Reid has? Where does the president stand on what Americans really care about? We’re all for freedom of expression, we’re all for freedom of speech, but where does the president stand on what he thinks ought to happen with this mosque?’
DUNN: There’s a broader issue here, which is about religious intolerance. And when you have a political party going down the road of religious intolerance, which is what is happening right now, I think the Republican Party as solidifying its reputation for intolerance in this year for — for any — for almost any kind of difference in American society is going down a very dangerous long-term road and they might see some short-term things although I think the American people are better than that.
RUSH: Wait a minute. Who’s divisive here and who’s intolerant? Where’s Obama’s tolerance, where is your tolerance, Ms. Dunn, where is the media’s tolerance for the vast majority of the people who live in this country? The vast majority of the people in this country are against that mosque being built there. They’re not saying they’re against mosques. They’re not saying they’re against mosques. They’re just against it being built there. There’s all kinds of space, there are over a hundred mosques throughout New York City. Muslims don’t even live in that part of town. It’s a commercially zoned district. That’s pure provocation. The intolerance here is being exhibited by the regime on virtually every issue, governing against the will of the American people. That, to me, is intolerant, in a representative republic, Ms. Dunn. Pat Buchanan was also on the panel and said, ‘What about tolerance for the views of thousands of families of those who died on 9/11, the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who were saying, ‘Please, you got a right to move the mosque there, but don’t do it, doesn’t belong there,’ what about tolerance for the vast majority of Americans and their opinions?’
DUNN: It’s two blocks from — from the site. It’s — it’s a site that, you know, it’s a center that is supposed to be about promoting interfaith and — and really reaching out, which is in many ways what I think, you know, President Bush back in those horrible days —
BRZEZINSKI: Right.
DUNN: — of 2001 really tried to promote, and I think that, you know, how many blocks —
BRZEZINSKI: Yep.
DUNN: — is okay? Is nine blocks okay? Is ten? I mean I don’t know where you go with this argument.
BRZEZINSKI: And — and — and Anita, they have, like, other things there that a lot of people have issues with, like peep shows.
RUSH: There are in fact peep shows there, which makes you wonder why Muslims would want to be there. Greg Gutfeld wants to open a gay bar right next door. What do you think the odds of that happening are, if this mosque goes up? Anyway, that’s just a sample. I mean they’re running for the hills. They’re in panic, and they’re doing what they always do. When they’re on the losing end of something, it’s us, it is us, we who are intolerant, bigoted, racist, homophobic. In fact, that’s the one thing they haven’t said yet, which leads me to believe they haven’t pulled Obama’s teleprompter out. Normally on something like this they would call us racist. They haven’t called us racist yet. That’s probably the next shoe to drop.
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RUSH: Okay, now, let me see if I understand this right. We have to get out of Iraq to show our sensitivity and to stop creating more terrorists. We have to close Guantanamo Bay out of sensitivity to terrorists and terrorist nations around the world. But we can’t say no to building a victory monument at Ground Zero, which is what this mosque is. They want to build a victory monument. And we can’t say ‘no’ to that because somehow we’ve gotta preserve our values? This ‘our values’ rationally, I heard that all during the Iraq war, we gotta get out of there, we gotta close Gitmo, we gotta stop torture, we gotta get back and show the world real American values. I’m sorry. Values as defined by the Democrat Party and the American left are not American values.
The real question here — and once again this is about not accepting their premise — the real question is why do people who don’t like this country want that mosque there? What is so important about having it there, to them? They’re the ones who need to be asked the question, not us. The pure logic in not having that mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero — and that mosque location, by the way, is Ground Zero — is a no-brainer. It’s a victory monument. No Muslims live down there. There’s not a shortage of mosques in New York City. It’s not as though they have no place to go to worship. The real question is why the people on the American left want it there. Why are the people on the American left so hell-bent on once again doing something to poke their thumb in the eye of the country? That’s the real question. They’re the ones who ought to be questioned. And when they come and tell us, ‘religious freedom,’ don’t tell me about religious freedom. Check and see what happens to a pro-life group protesting an abortion clinic if you want to talk about religious freedom. And don’t tell me about property rights ’cause they couldn’t care less about property rights. A kangaroo rat has more right to property than somebody who owns it in Bakersfield, California.
So when I hear the left talking about religious tolerance — who is it that hates the Christian right? Who is it that despises, makes fun of, impugns the Christian right? Who is out there making fun of Christianity and Catholics all over the place? Who is it? It’s the American left. You mean to tell me they have religious tolerance? They don’t have any tolerance for what they don’t agree with. Who are the architects of political correctness, which is nothing more than speech censorship? And property rights, don’t make me laugh. Property rights? These are the people that supported the Supreme Court decision to take away a person’s home in the Kelo case in Connecticut to give it to some developers. Property rights? We’re supposed to sit here and believe that the Democrat Party, the American left, all of a sudden believe in religious tolerance and freedom? Ever try to build a nativity scene somewhere in your town? Guess who comes out and tells you you can’t? You want to give a prayer at high school graduation, guess who’s going to pop up and say you can’t? They’re at leftists, they’re all Democrats, and these people want to tell us about religious tolerance, they want to lecture us about it? These are the people that have a respect for property rights?
This is just too much to believe. The real question is why do they want it there? Why are they so insistent that it be there, for what purpose? Why will a mosque being built on Ground Zero make them happy? How many of them are Muslims? And don’t tell me, preserving American values. These are the people that are trying to destroy American values, time-honored and tested traditions, institutions that have defined this country for ages. They’re the ones trying to tear it down. This is why I laugh at all of this. Every avenue they are seeking to explain, they’re not even on that avenue. Religious freedom and tolerance? Property rights, American values? They don’t like the Constitution, for crying out loud, because it doesn’t empower the state with enough control over the American people. There was a cross out in the Mojave Desert. The left went so far as to steal it. It was a monument to soldiers that fought in World War I. We can’t have a cross in the Mojave Desert. We can’t have that. Somehow all that religious tolerance gets transferred to Ground Zero.
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RUSH: ‘In 1999, national park employee Frank Buono, represented by the ACLU, filed a complaint saying the cross was unconstitutional because it represented just one faith — Christianity. A judge ordered that it be covered with a wooden box until the matter was resolved.’ Religious tolerance, right, from the American left. They dare lecture us.
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RUSH: Norah O’Donnell, MSNBC again on Scarborough’s show today, she was queried about the Ground Zero mosque. Scarborough said to Norah O’Donnell, ‘Do you expect a lot of pressure coming from Democrats to the president to move in their direction and move the mosque?’
O’DONNELL: I think there’s a question about whether what President Obama said and Bloomberg said were at least the right thing to do, and when do we stop praising politicians for doing what is right just because it’s not politically expedient. I thought the reason everybody’s groaning all the time about our politicians is because they’re such hacks and nobody stands up for what’s right. Who cares about the — the concrete? Somebody’s gotta say that, you know, we’re not going to act like the people who stole freedom from Americans, the people who attacked America and killed 3,000 people.
RUSH: The libs are out there attacking Newt. Newt said it’s no different than placing a swastika next to a Holocaust museum. They’re having a cow out there over that. But here now, Norah O’Donnell has compared opposition to the mosque to killing 3,000 people. And all this courage with newfound concern for property rights, newfound concern for religious freedom and religious liberty. Everybody knows the left doesn’t really care about any of that. Zilch, zero, nada. And Roger Simon today in The Politico: ‘Obama, The One-Term President.’ Here’s how the piece starts. Now, don’t be suckered. This is a sarcasm piece. ‘Q: Will Barack Obama be a one-term president? A: Yes, he might last that long. Honest to goodness, the man just does not get it. He might be forced to pull a Palin and resign before his first term is over. He could go off and write his memoirs and build his presidential library. (Both would be half-size, of course.)
‘I am not saying Obama is not smart; he is as smart as a whip. I am just saying he does not understand what savvy first-term presidents need to understand: You have to stay on message, follow the polls, listen to your advisers (who are writing the message and taking the polls) and realize that when it comes to doing what is right versus doing what is expedient, you do what is expedient so that you can get reelected and do what is right in the second term. If at all possible. And it will help your legacy. And not endanger the election of others in your party. And not hurt the brand. Or upset people too much.’
What he’s doing here is praising Obama’s courage, and he’s comparing him to Lincoln. Lincoln got two terms by standing up and doing the right thing. A lot of people are misinterpreting Mr. Simon’s piece here. Now, Simon says Obama’s doing the right thing, he came out for the mosque. He’s not doing what typical presidents do; he’s not listening to the polls; he’s not doing what’s best for his party; he’s not doing what’s expedient; he’s doing what’s right. This is a piece that is praising Obama. Only a satirist, a good one like me can understand that. A lot of people have misunderstood this.
‘It is a controversy Obama could have ducked … but he finally decided he needed to lend his voice and the weight of the presidency to speaking out for what is right. So on Friday night, he said: ‘As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances.’ See what I mean about not getting it? John Feehery, a Republican consultant, told Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, ‘This is not a unifying decision on his part; he chose a side. I understand why he did this, but politically I think it’s a blunder.’ … The problem for Obama is that he appears to have taken seriously all the ‘change’ stuff he promised during his campaign. And he has been unable to make the transition from candidate to president. … It appears, however, that at least on this occasion, Obama does not care what the polls say.’
Now, the reason people are buying this, because a lot of people think the liberals live and die by polls. If you go against the polls you’re crazy. This is a piece by Roger Simon attempting to give a huge bunch of attaboys to Obama. There’s one problem, Mr. Simon. You don’t write that Obama changed his mind the next day at the first sign of trouble. Oh, yes. On Saturday, Obama went, oh, no, no, no, I didn’t mean that, no, no, I wasn’t inserting myself on a local issue, I was doing that. So Mr. Simon, if you’re gonna write about the courageous bravery of Barack Obama, compare him to Abraham Lincoln, doing the right thing, and he got two terms. Abraham Lincoln not listening to the polls or what have you. Don’t you think it would be fair to include the fact in your piece that Mr. Obama the very next day tried to take back his own words of courage that were uttered on Friday?
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RUSH: The ACLU has come out in favor of the mosque. ACLU praises the Muslim center and the mosque near Ground Zero,’ and we all know how the ACLU is always going around demanding free exercise of religion at Christmastime and so forth. I mean, they’re famous for this, right? Ha!