RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, in mere moments I am going to demonstrate to you my love and devotion to this program, to this country, and to you, ’cause I’m going to comment on a seeming insignificant, small, little news item that will forever seal any opportunity I have to be involved in the National Football League. But we are at a crossroads, and as I said there are a lot of teachable moments in the Stack of Stuff today. For example, there’s a Thomas Friedman column in the New York Times today called ‘Too Many Hamburgers.’ Friedman’s over in China visiting the ChiComs at some World Economic Forum, and Friedman has been writing how much he admires the ChiComs, and he’s admiring the authoritarianism they have to get things done. Now, this column is a little bit of a walk-back from that. He said, well, I really don’t think authoritarianism is good, but it’s amazing what can be done. And then there’s one little pull quote. He’s lamenting how the ChiComs are able to build things, the rest of the world is able to build things and we somehow lost the ability to build things and to make things happen and woe is us, and it’s our system, something wrong with our system.
And the pull quote, the paragraph here that I want to comment on in this piece is this: ‘Because we have recently begun to find ourselves so unable to get things done, we tend to look with a certain over-idealistic yearning when it comes to China. We see what they have done and project onto them something we miss, fearfully miss, in ourselves — that ‘can-do,’ ‘get-it-done,’ ‘everyone-pull-together,’ ‘whatever-it-takes’ attitude that built our highways, dams and put a man on the moon.’ We’ve lost that. And Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times, is just devastated about it. He’s in China, he sees the ChiComs building all these bullet trains and wonderful buildings going up in nine months and all this wonderful stuff, and he just is beside himself. And he wonders why we can’t get it done.
I know he’s in China, but let me help you, Mr. Friedman. One of the reasons we stopped making stuff, Mr. Friedman, is because people like you have been telling us that our manufacturing has been destroying the planet with global warming, number one. It is people like you, Mr. Friedman, who have shut down American progress. You want to get rid of oil, which is the fuel of the engine of freedom and growth and democracy. You’ve been telling us the earth is too hot, it’s too flat, it’s too crowded, and that we’re to blame for it, and you want cut back on Americans’ freedom and ability to manufacture and do things. You want to raise our taxes, you want to limit our activity.
But beyond all that, Mr. Friedman: ‘We tend to look with a certain over-idealistic yearning when it comes to China. We see what they have done and project onto them something we miss, fearfully miss, in ourselves — that ‘can-do,’ ‘get-it-done,’ ‘everyone-pull-together,’ ‘whatever-it-takes’ attitude that built our highways.’ Mr. Friedman, has it ever stopped and occurred to you that we have a president who doesn’t believe in any of that, that you voted for and that you support? Mr. Friedman, does it occur to you that we have a president that went to some UN meeting recently and said the days of the United States leading the world economy are over? Does this ring a bell with you, Mr. Friedman? Mr. Friedman it’s people like you, it is the American left that’s shut this country down. The ChiComs, forget their authoritarianism, they’re not burdened with 15 years of regulations to build a nuclear power plant. They’re not burdened with the permit process, going through the animal rights wackos, the environmentalist wackos, and every other wacko leftist group in order to build a freaking sidewalk somewhere.
The amount of money it takes just to grease the skids of the corrupt politicians and everybody else you gotta go through just to get something built in this country is a great disincentive to people to do it. The American left and liberalism is seeing to it. ‘But, Rush, but, Rush, haven’t you said we successfully exported American liberalism?’ Yes, we have. But not even the ChiComs punish themselves the way the American left punishes this country. The difference is the ChiComs don’t hate their country. The ChiComs hate us. The ChiComs love their country. Our leftists hate us as well and love the ChiComs, and Mr. Friedman here proves it. Why can’t we get anything done? If you get Obama and the Democrats out of the way, and you get their stupid taxes out of the way, then you get out of the way and take a look at all the progress. Mr. Friedman, look at the American corporations, small and large, sitting on this unbelievable pile of cash. They’re willing to spend it. They’re willing to invest it if they are going to be allowed to keep the fruits of their labors, if they’re allowed to grow and expand and profit from it. But if they’re going to be punished by virtue of their investment, they’re gonna sit on it, Mr. Friedman.
All these precious bullet trains, giant buildings and whatever the hell you think are great over in China are going to continue to be built elsewhere. We got a drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico on oil while we’re paying Brazil and the rest of the world to drill for oil everywhere but here. And you wonder why American manufacturing and can-doism has been shut down? You only have to look in the mirror, Mr. Friedman. And while you’re there, put a picture of Obama on your mirror so you see that, too, and then put a picture of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and Steny Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen and any other liberals in the House and Senate you want to put up there and you will find that they are the roadblocks, they are the obstacles. The American people are chomping at the bit, Mr. Friedman. It was not the government that built all these roads and bridges and highways. And, by the way, Mr. Friedman, didn’t we just spend a trillion dollars to build all these roads, bridges, and highways? Where is the work?
I’m so sick and tired of hearing how stupid Palin is. I’m so sick and tired of hearing how inexperienced and stupid Christine O’Donnell is and people like her. I’m just sick of it. Look at what a so-called objective media has done to Sarah Palin and her family. Look at who they’ve hired and paid to join them in totally trying to destroy the woman’s life and her family and her reputation, and now they’re doing it to Christine O’Donnell. And I don’t know about you, but I for one am sick of it. It is irrelevant. They’re telling us who they genuinely fear. If anybody’s reputation or life needs to be destroyed by virtue of their own crimes, quote, unquote, it is the American left. Sarah Palin’s done nothing to destroy this country. She only wants to build it up. The American left is seeking to change and alter this country forever. They need to be stopped, in the political sense, don’t misunderstand me.
The days where the American people and even the people of Delaware are going to be convinced that little Christine O’Donnell represents the epitome of evil on the planet? Come on, you people think you can sell that in this day and age? When the genuine evil of destruction, this country as founded, is happening every day on the networks, the news pages of newspapers and magazines owned by American liberals. We have to sit here and read garbage about why the ChiComs are running rings around us by people who support the very policies that are causing us to stagnate.
Now, this next item is gonna get me in trouble. I hope it doesn’t but it probably will because I know the knee-jerk reaction that’s going to happen. Let me state at the outset, you all know that I am a huge fan of the National Football League. It’s got its problems, a lot of people are giving it a bad name these days, people in it, but I’m a big fan of the NFL. I love the game. I love the strategy. I love the people who make the NFL what it is, basically the coaches and the players, they’re the ones who define and sustain this game and innovate in this game, and I love it. I love everything about it. I can go to a stadium every Sunday or I can spend ten hours in front of the TV watching all the games. I love it. And my favorite team’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New England Patriots are a close second. One of the people I admire most on the Pittsburgh Steelers is Hines Ward, number 86, who owns all the receiving records for the Pittsburgh Steelers, including Swann and Stallworth. He’s an exemplary human being, great member of the community, first ballot Hall of Famer, and yesterday he was sworn in as a member of Obama’s Asian-American advisory commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Now, Tuesday is the off day in the NFL, and Hines Ward was honored. Obama called him. Dan Rooney, the owner of the Steelers, big Obama supporter. Obama called Hines Ward and asked him to be on this commission. It’s like the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. This is a President Obama advisory commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders ’cause Hines Ward is half Korean and half black. He has a foundation to help people who have that kind of identity. That’s fine. That’s wonderful. I have no comment about Hines Ward being on the commission, Obama choosing him, Hines Ward going to DC, I have no problem with it. But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today — it’s a teachable moment, we’re talking about government, it’s too big, it’s too oppressive — and the story about Hines Ward joining Obama’s advisory commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific islanders, listen to this.
‘The commission advises Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on ways to improve quality of life for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.’ Now, I’m sorry, but this is the United States of America and I don’t think we got quality of life questions or problems, and why does Obama need any advice on it? Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am again focusing here on the mind-set of liberalism, which is everybody’s incompetent, everybody is incapable. Nobody can handle their own quality of life. We need a government commission and even the president’s not qualified, and even the education secretary’s not qualified. We need a commission advising him. And of course everybody knows that Asian-Americans can’t live their own lives, and everybody knows Pacific Islanders can’t live their own lives. That’s why we need a commission, and Obama can’t tell ’em how to live their lives ’cause he needs a commission to tell him how to do it.
Now, this vision of America as a bunch of helpless people who can’t get anything done until a commission advises President Obama insults my intelligence. Nothing here against Hines Ward, don’t misunderstand this. This is a teachable moment. I’m relating this because I think it has practical relevance to the issues that are inspiring people to get involved in their country in this election. Here’s the next paragraph in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today: ‘The principal goal of the group, said chairwoman Daphne Kwok, is to ‘be the eyes and ears of the community, feeding information up to the government and translating it back down from the government to the community.” Now, can somebody explain to me how in real life that happens? Okay, let’s pick a couple of fictitious Pacific Islanders. This would be Hawaiians, Samoans, put ’em in a community, all right? And we’re just going to assume because they’re Pacific Islanders that somehow they’re clueless. They’re wandering around in some community here in America and they’re clueless. And so somebody has to listen to these two Pacific Islanders that we fictitiously created in their community, listen to ’em and then take what they say up to Obama and Arne Duncan and Gary Locke and translate it for ’em.
Okay, so the Pacific Islanders are saying, ‘Where are the jobs? Where do I go to find work in this country?’ Now, at the top of the government, they don’t understand that. Somebody has to translate that for ’em. Okay, so somebody’s gonna go tell Gary Locke and Arne Duncan and Obama that two Pacific Islanders somewhere in a community in America want jobs. And Obama’s gonna get this news, ‘Oh, oh, okay. That’s what they’re talking about? They want jobs. Fine.’ Then Obama’s gonna answer it, and then whoever has to take that back down to the Pacific Islanders and say, ‘This is what Obama said in response to your question, ‘Where are the jobs?” That’s how I’m translating — (interruption) I know. I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.
Then the next paragraph: ‘Daphne Kwok,’ who is the chairwoman of the commission, ‘said the five primary areas the commission will focus on are sustainable communities, educational opportunities, economic growth, healthy communities and civil rights.’ Okay, so these two Pacific Islanders that we’ve created here who want jobs, are then told, ‘No, no, no, your community, we first have to sustain your community and then give you educational opportunities. And then we’ll get to economic growth. And then may be after we get some economic growth, then we’ll make your community healthy. Then we’ll make sure that nobody is discriminating against you.’ And the two Pacific Islanders, ‘I just want a paycheck!’ So this is not about Hines Ward. I simply discovered this story reading about his being appointed to this commission.
This is liberalism. This is gobbledygook. But it’s all based on the assumption that nobody involved here can take care of themselves; that nobody involved here has the slightest idea what to do to get through the day unless somebody in government is having translated for them what the complaints are and then — I mean listen to this. ‘The principal goal of the group … is to ‘be the eyes and ears of the community, feeding information up to the government and translating it back down from the government to the community.” Now, you couple this with Tom Friedman, we can’t get anything done in America, we don’t have this can-do spirit. Folk, this is ridiculous. This is bureaucrat gobbledygook that is feel goodism. Hines Ward does more good with his foundation for Asian-American kids who don’t understand their identity. This is classically what is wrong with liberalism, the whole notion that nobody is competent, especially if you’re a minority. Asian-American, Pacific Islanders, huge minority and you are worthless until you dealing with us, the government. Only we at the government can translate you, for you, and then back to you.
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RUSH: I know what’s going to happen at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tomorrow. They’re gonna write how insensitive, cruel, mean-spirited and discriminatory I am. It’s just the opposite. I have more faith in these people to take care of themselves and make something of themselves than the administration. We need a commission to advise these people. Let me tell you what this really is. If you really want to know the principal goal of the group, let me translate. ‘Eyes and ears of the community,’ means to count the number of people who are qualified for some kind of federal grant, feed that information up to the government, translate it back down from the government. Remember, this is Alinsky rules, this is community organizing. What this commission is going to do is tell people what they have to do to get federal grants for their causes. This is all about scoring benefits. It’s all about scoring federal benefits, federal money. Yeah, they’re going to be the eyes and ears of the community, gonna feed information up to the government, ‘Here’s what we’re doing, here’s how we’re helping you.’ The government is going to say this is what you have to do, how many votes you gotta register, how many people you gotta turn out, and then what we’re gonna pay you to do it. That’s essentially what this means. It’s just a shame. All of this corruption is paraded here as compassion, but it’s all founded on the principle that these poor people cannot take care of themselves, that they’re just worthless and incompetent without Obama taking care of them.
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RUSH: You know, I got to thinking. Sometimes with liberalism we do need to have it translated for us. I am performing a public service here in translating what this Obama advisory commission on Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders is. It’s actually just a ‘get out the vote’ program, and it’s a way for these people to figure out how to get walking-around money. It’s Ward politics, good old-fashioned Hines Ward Chicago politics. It’s got the liberal Pledge of Allegiance in here. Eyes and ears of the community, sustainable communities, educational opportunities, economic growth, healthy communities, civil rights, it’s got the liberal leftist declaration of loyalty. It’s all there. The Obamaites, the American left, they see everything through the prism of race or gender. I mean they want to replace Larry Summers with a woman. There’s only one of the economic team left. That’s Geithner. Summers is going, ostensibly he wants to hold onto tenure. He’s gotta get back to Harvard to hold onto his tenure. They don’t even like him at Harvard, and now they’re talking about replacing him with a woman. Not a competent person with a business background, a woman. Not to say there isn’t a woman with a competent business background, but that’s not one of their concerns.
Besides, if you read the Woodward book, the generals aren’t running anything. Obama is. That’s the whole point of the book, and he’s running the economy. You know, I look at Richard Cohen and these guys writing all these columns, ‘Obama needs a staff shake-up.’ The staff is leaving ’cause they don’t want their names tied to this stuff in the history books. Two of the top women CEOs on everybody’s list to replace Larry Summers are Republicans: Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, and they’re seriously being suggested because they might beat Boxer and Jerry Brown.
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RUSH: Richard, Salt Lake City, welcome to the Rush Limbaugh program. Hello, sir.
CALLER: Hello Rush, dittos. I’ve been listening since the time of your sponsorship by Spatula City.
RUSH: Oh, yeah.
CALLER: Anyway, what I wanted to say is and congratulate you for is your brilliance in being able to take a few news items as you did with the Hines Ward story and show how there is so much government overkill that it has and is ruining our country. The Department of Education educates no one. The Department of Energy creates no energy. As a matter of fact, it stifles it.
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: And the Environmental Protection Agency protects kangaroo rats and salt marsh birds and so on without protecting the humans who live in the United States of America, and your being able to point that out and reinforce that is a blessing to our nation.
RUSH: Thank you very much.
CALLER: And I just thank you.
RUSH: Richard, thank you. I appreciate that. He’s got a good point here. And I know, folks, you people in Pittsburgh, just be warned, I am gonna get savaged in the Post-Gazette tomorrow, probably the Tribune Review, too. I’m gonna get creamed because the knee-jerk reaction to what I said is — I just set it up for them, even though they’re going to be entirely wrong when they rip me. But he’s a got a good point. We have Department of Education. We have the most expensive education system in the country, and yet we still need an advisory commission for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders to create educational opportunities? Is that not a school? A school is an educational opportunity. Life is an educational opportunity, is it not? But for some reason this group of people are incapable and incompetent unless there’s a commission reporting to Obama to help ’em out. It just insults me, insults me that this country dares look at people this way. Victimize ’em, group ’em, and then say that unless Obama’s teaching ’em how to get benefits and score money from the government, that they have no future, have no hope.