RUSH: These klutzes think they can get away with this. They think that they can present some sort of a phony continuing resolution budget for all of next year, after this show ends yesterday? They think they can actually get this by me just because they submit this after we go off the air yesterday? What a
bunch of — (interruption) No, I’m not talking about the Republicans. I’m talking about Dingy Harry and the Democrats. Man, oh, man, apparently, despite all of their talk, the Democrats don’t care about optics. They do virtually nothing for all of this past year. They don’t pass a budget, specifically and on purpose they don’t pass a budget because it’s an election year, and they don’t want people to know who they are and what they stand for because they would have been shellacked even greater had they done so, had they put together a budget as required by law prior to the election. So they put it off; they don’t do anything, and they come back in what technically is an unlawful session of Congress.
Congress is over. The new Congress is who should be dealing with this. They come back with this technically unlawful lame duck, and they try to cram all of this stuff, all their pet projects. Ten percent, which I guess is what their take has always been, 10% of $1.13 trillion of this continuing resolution is earmarks, and a survey, an examination has shown that 99% of the earmarks are all Democrat earmarks. Now, we warned everybody this was gonna happen. This was the purpose of the lame duck, for these guys to come back between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and try to ram all this stuff in, and they’ve done it even worse. Now they’re trying to make next year’s budget theirs. They didn’t do a budget. They lost. Folks, even Mike McConnell got ticked off about this. Well, that’s what Obama called him, Mike McConnell, the Senate minority leader. It really takes a lot to get Mitch McConnell upset, and this has even ticked him off. No matter what how they spin this they can come off as only duplicitous and desperate, which is of course what they are.
Great to have you here, Rush Limbaugh, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network, the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. Great to have you here with us.
Make no mistake. We cannot separate the effort here at this tax bill compromise, which is now a spending bill, and the Democrats’ continuing resolution. They’re all tied to the same strategery and the same strategery is for the Democrats to continue to enact legislation as though they were reelected in November, when they weren’t. Now, this is serious stuff here, folks, and this is classic. It is exactly who they are. Imagine, folks, imagine buying a house, and the weekend before closing the current owner starts a remodeling project, making changes that you don’t want. That would not be allowed. That would not be permitted. That’s as close to an analogy I can come up with here. We have a new owner, Tea Party Republican scheduled to move in in January, and Dingy Harry mucking up the house that he still owns out of spite. Republicans ought to just shut down every project in the Senate and refuse to move in with Dingy Harry’s remodeling ideas, just stop it, just shut it down. This is an abomination; it is outrageous; it is antithetical to exactly what the American people voted for in November. This is a giant finger in everybody’s face, a slap in the face.
The Democrats have thrown optics out the window. This is who they are and they’re telling us plain as day precisely who they are. There is a way to deal with vindictive bullies and it isn’t to stand aside while they complete their rampage, and it isn’t to use the same old, ‘Well, you know, bipartisanship, we’ll be bigger than they are.’ This is the ultimate cramdown. This Congress has been foreclosed on, and now this foreclosed-on Congress is knocking down the walls. I mean they’re doing everything they can to destroy everything you voted for and to set up what you voted for being impossible to happen with this outrageous continuing resolution. I mean what they are doing, they’re trying to cram everything that they wanted in this, the DREAM Act, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ all of these things that nobody wants they’re trying to cram it all in with this continuing resolution. The Republicans are ticked off. They’re up to speed about it. They understand what’s going on.
This is not a lame duck. This is an insane duck Democrat Congress, and it’s time to shut ’em down. I’ve had reports, Kit Bond, Voinovich, Bob Bennett, Susan Collins may vote for this clusterbus bill. It is a clusterbus. Omnibus my rear end, it’s a clusterbus bill. This is why the Limbaugh rule exists. Always vote for the most conservative Republican. The RINOs are liberals too cowardly to accurately label themselves, clever enough to know which political party makes them the most electable in their districts. This just ticks me off here, folks. And frankly it has also ticked off some of the Republicans. I remember how peopled laughed when we worried about all the damage they could do during a lame duck Congress. (interruption) What are you laughing at in there? I remember being laughed at. I remember when I tried to tell people this is what they were going to do, ‘Ah Rush, come on, they know they lost. They’re gonna want to get home for Christmas.’ I think more and more people do understand exactly who these people are.
This is the story on it all from The Hill: ‘Senate Democrats have filed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill –‘ It’s almost 2,000 pages, and the actual legislation hasn’t been spelled out. It’s just a blueprint. Nobody wants anybody to read this. They just want it voted on up or down. ‘Senate Democrats have filed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government through fiscal year 2011.’ That’s all of next year. That’s through September 30th. This is the Democrats saying (raspberry) you, we don’t care who you voted for, we’re gonna do the budget. Sorry, guys, you punted. You refused to do a budget because you didn’t want to stand for reelection. Well, this is what they woulda done had they had the guts and the courage to do a budget before the election, and they would have been shellacked even more.
‘The 1,924-page bill includes funding to implement the sweeping healthcare reform bill Congress passed earlier this year as well as additional funds for Internal Revenue Service agents,’ and these IRS agents undoubtedly more of the health care reform enforcers. You can bet that there will not be another significant bill introduced in Congress for the rest of time that doesn’t throw more money at health care reform. ‘The package drew a swift rebuke from Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. ‘The attempt by Democrat leadership to rush through a nearly 2,000-page spending bill in the final days of the lame-duck session ignores the clear will expressed by the voters this past election,’ Thune said in a statement. ‘This bill is loaded up with pork projects and should not get a vote. Congress should listen to the American people and stop this reckless spending.” This is why I said last week, do the same thing to the tax bill, just dump it, just forget it, it’s no longer a tax bill. It’s not a tax cut anyway. Wait for the cavalry. Wait ’til next January. That’s what the Democrats know. That’s what Obama knows. That’s why they’re all trying to get this done now. They’re trying to get this done now while they still have a chance with Democrat majorities everywhere.
‘Thune has called for a short-term funding measure free of earmarks to keep the government operating beyond Dec. 18, when the current continuing resolution expires.’ Get one written through February and then go from there. But this omnibus package must be rammed through to keep the incoming Congress from setting the budget for almost half of their two-year term. That’s what this is. This is Dingy Harry and the Democrats basically saying, ‘Yeah, we know you won the election, but screw you and screw the American people. We’re gonna have a budget written and we’re gonna force you into approving it that has our objectives and our ideals, which are grow the government, expand the size of government, limit and take away even more of your freedom because you people are a bunch of idiots and dolts as evidenced by the fact that you defeated us.’ So there is anger, recrimination, payback, all these things. This is a budget aimed at the American people as well as the Republican Party, which basically tells us to go to hell. This is the Democrat Party saying, ‘Go to hell, people. This is what happens when you don’t elect us. We don’t care about you, and we never have cared about you. We care about us. We don’t care this country is being destroyed by us. That’s our intention all along. That’s how we get ultimate power.’
‘Despite strong opposition from Thune and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), several Senate Republicans are considering voting for the bill. ‘That’s my intention,’ said retiring Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah). Of course he would. He’s ticked off, too. He was sent packing. ‘Bennett said earmarks in the bill might give some of his GOP colleagues reason to hesitate but wouldn’t affect his vote. ‘It will be tough for some, but not for me,’ he said.’ Because I lost. So screw you! You send me packing, fine, here’s what it’s gonna cost you. This is a spite budget. This is a budget that’s got nothing to do with what’s good for this country. This is just spite. Mr. Bennett is only too happy to punish the voters who showed him the door. He’s making it plain.
‘GOP Sens. Kit Bond (Mo.),’ also on the way out, ‘George Voinovich (Ohio) and Susan Collins (Maine) also told The Hill on Tuesday they would consider voting for the omnibus but want to review it before making a final decision.’ Yeah, yada yada yada want to review it. Can’t read it if they put it right in front of you. Here’s what we’ve learned from Pelosi and Reid and Obama. Ms. Collins, you are not allowed to review the bill until it’s passed. You’re not allowed to see what’s in it until it’s passed. That’s the new standard. Nancy Pelosi, ‘You gotta pass the health care bill before we know what’s in it.’ Same thing here. But still you have to wonder who was able to write these 2,000 pages in just one week. You have to also wonder how anybody would even have the time to read it. According to other reports, this monstrosity has more than 6,000 earmarks. There are reportedly at least $8 billion — actually I think it’s more than that now, $8 billion worth of earmarks, it includes at least a billion dollars in additional spending for Obamacare.
So who are the greedy people now? Where’s the concern for the deficit? I told you yesterday, the greed in this country resides on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC. That’s where the greed is. Remember, my friends, remember how they laughed when we were worried about all the damage that could be done by a lame-duck Congress? How many trillions is this lame-duck session gonna cost us so far, and not just measured in money. If this thing actually gets rammed through and passes, do you realize the new Congress that was elected has nothing to say about anything fiscal next year? Nothing, ’cause this handles it all. How much more destruction can these people do to the country in their final days?
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RUSH: I’m fuming in here, folks. I am burning up. No, I’m livid. I am… I am just… I’m going to choose my words very carefully here on this Democrat maneuver. I’m a little angry at myself for being a little surprised. I shouldn’t be surprised because I predicted this. Not specifically, but these people don’t care about this country. This continuing resolution, this new budget, this is purely outta spite. These people — and we’re gonna get, if we open it up the phones, calls from liberals on this program would be happy as hell that we’re also mad about it. They don’t care about the country. They care about beating us. All they care about is beating us. We are their biggest enemy, and they’ll take the country down the tubes if that means beating us, and that’s exactly what this is all about.
They cannot be trusted with the stewardship of leading this country. No one in the Democrat Party. I don’t care who they are, no one — and you could throw some Republicans on that list as well. This is simply outrageous.
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Apparently a couple of things are going on here. The Democrat Party is determined to destroy our country as founded. Republicans are divided on the issue. How in the name of Sam Hill can you have any… Even Bob Bennett (as bitter as he must be) and Susan Collins (as out to lunch as she must be), how in the world can they side with technical lawlessness? Which is what this lame-duck Congress is. Imagine the Washington Post’s outrage if Tea Party candidates were already calling the shots without having been sworn in. Mr. Cuccinelli, the attorney general of Virginia, had a great question the other day regarding health care and the mandate that everybody buy health insurance. He said, ‘What would your reaction be if Congress passed a law mandating that everybody buy a gun?’
What do you think the national reaction to that would be? Well, there’s crime taking place everywhere. It’s just like, ‘Well, everybody’s engaging in health care.’ Well, everybody’s running up against crime. It happens every day. You never know when it’s gonna happen to you. So we in Congress are mandating that you buy a gun, or we will penalize you. If you don’t buy a gun we’re gonna hire 16,000 IRS agents to track you down and make sure you buy a gun. We’re gonna penalize you and fine you if you don’t. Do you think there will be any support for that? It’s the same principle, folks. Can the government force you to buy a gun? Universal reaction: ‘No way!’ But when you ask, ‘Can the government force you to buy health care?’
It’s ‘Well, let me think about that, Mr. Limbaugh. This could be a deeply intellectual proposition (sniffs), and let’s look at the market circumstances and the day-to-day transactions occurring in the health care field. Now, you see, Mr. Limbaugh, everybody is accessing health care (sniffs) and the health care industry at some point in their lives, practically on a daily basis, and if these people are going to access without paying for it, well, we have a problem.’ Okay, so on that basis since everybody’s accessing health care we’re gonna damn well make ’em buy an insurance policy. (New Castrati impression.) ‘That’s right, Mr. Limbaugh! That’s the only thing fair to keep everything economically on the up and up.’
All right, fine. Then Mr. New Castrati, we have people faced with criminal situations each and every day, many of them unarmed. They’re faced with it, and the economic impact of crime can’t be demanded. It’s an albatross. It costs people their lives. ‘So does the health care industry, Mr. Limbaugh.’ Fine, okay, fine. You want to make everybody buy health insurance, Mr. Castrati; we’re gonna pass a law says you have to buy a gun. ‘It’s not the same thing, Mr. Limbaugh. Guns kill.’ So do diseases. It’s a great question from attorney general Cuccinelli. But just imagine if the Washington Post… Let’s assume here (and this is not a bad analogy). Let’s assume that the Republicans in this lame duck session bring in the 63 new freshmen and they allow them to take part in the proceedings.
Now, they may not get to vote, obviously. They’re not official members of Congress. But they’re going to be. It’s just a matter of days. And they’re gonna be members of Congress. So they’re brought in, they’re allowed to study, they’re allowed to listen to the debate — and, in fact, they’re even allowed to attend committee meetings. Well, the same thing is happening here. A bunch of people that have been dis-elected, a bunch of people have been defeated, a bunch of people who aren’t gonna be in the next Congress are participating in legislation affecting this country next year. So imagine the Republicans bring in all the new Tea Party victors, 63 of them, and allow them to participate in the lame duck.
Can you imagine the outrage the Washington Post, the New York Times, and all the media would have over that? Imagine, imagine the conniption fit they would have if Tea Party candidates were already calling the shots. Look at this Washington Post headline: ‘Forget Tea Party Rhetoric — Pork Barrel Politics is Back.’ That’s from Dana Milbank, and it starts this way: ‘Dear Tea Party voter: You’ve been had.’ That is from Dana Milbank. Of course, he’s happy about it. He’s not worried about it. He is happy. He loves rubbing his hands. ‘Hey, you hicks! Hey, you throwbacks! Hey, you Neanderthals! Guess what? You’ve been had. My guys are running rings around you. While you’re not here, they’re working on budgets and spending bill. You think you won the election? Ha! You’re just a bunch of rubes.’
‘Dear Tea Party voter: You’ve been had.’ The media is loving every minute of it. ‘Many Tea Party favorites, meanwhile, have discovered the appeal of Washington lobbyists’ cash and advice.’ So now the effort’s underway to say the Tea Party guys are no different than anybody else. They’re coming in, and they’re compromising their principles and going for the money and the parties with the lobbyists. Today’s media theme is: The Tea Party has already sold out. That’s Dana Milbank. The Tea Party’s already sold out while the Tea Party voter has been had. So an all-out effort is being made to discredit the Tea Party winners and the Tea Party voters. They’re not even there yet. Not even there yet. You idiots, you rubes.
And while all that’s going on, the Democrats are trying to pass a continuing resolution (i.e., a budget) that will determine this nation’s spending next year. Heritage Foundation has weighed in on this today, their Morning Bell: ‘Call Reid’s Bluff — Gallup released a poll this morning showing the American people dislike this 111th Congress more than any Congress ever.’ In fact, that’s good to point out. Congress’ approval, this Congress, is 13%. I can’t believe it’s that high, but it is. ‘Specifically, a full 83% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. Only 13% approve, the worst approval rating in more than 30 years of tracking congressional job performance.’ Call Reid’s bluff. There is no popular support for this Congress. There’s no popular support for Reid, no popular support in the country for Pelosi. Call their bluff.
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RUSH: You know what we ought to do is just shut this down. Just shut down the lame duck. Jim DeMint wants to have this New START Treaty read aloud on the floor of the Senate. Obama says this is a new low in putting political stunts ahead of national security. Right. To have the Senate voting on the START treaty, to ratify it, knowing what it says is a political stunt, says the White House. I’d call it a public service, especially when everything from stimulus to Obamacare to omnibus was never read by anybody. And, by the way, speaking of political stunts, what was Obama signing an executive order to close Gitmo? Still open. White House, Gibbs says, ‘Reading the START treaty, why, that’s wasting the Senate’s time.’ I’ll go you one better Gibbs. Let’s shut it down for the rest of the year. If you’re worried about wasting time, let’s just shut down all of Congress, everybody go home and have a Merry Christmas. The only way that’s gonna happen is people forget you. The only way anybody in this country’s gonna have a Merry Christmas is to forget about the Democrats and their attempts to destroy this country.
Now, the Heritage people want to know: ‘Why do Americans so despise this Congress? The reckless way it spends other people’s money, for starters. One would have thought that after getting ‘shellacked’ at the polls this November, Congress would have gotten the message.’ They did. See, this is where people on our side continue to — we think that losers understand that they lose. These people in their minds have never lost. They don’t lose. They’re not the losers. The media, the Democrats are not the losers. They’re writing stories today about how smart and crafty and technically funny they are. ‘Oh, yeah, you Tea Party people, you’re the ones that are losers. You’re the ones that have been had. Our guys are outsmarting you every day. We’re still running this government. We’re still gonna run the budget. You guys won, you’re celebrating. You didn’t win anything because you don’t know who you’re up against.’ And that’s true. Congress would have gotten the message, they did get the message, that’s why they’re doing what they’re doing.
‘Reid, with his $1.27 trillion omnibus spending bill. Defending the trillion dollar spending bill, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) told the USA Today: ‘Who among us believes we should base our spending recommendations for defense, homeland security, and veterans on whatever level was needed last year?’ This is a morally repugnant statement. Defense, homeland security, and veterans can all be funded at current levels for one month through a continuing resolution, and then the next Congress could adjust our defense needs. Inouye is attempting to hold the troops hostage? And for what? Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that among the 6,600 earmarks in the bill is $6 million for parkland acquisition in Hawaii. No wonder Americans hate this Congress.’ So the Heritage Foundation says let’s call Harry Reid’s bluff. Just shut it down. Just don’t go along with it. There’s no reason why this has to be voted on; there’s no reason why this has to move forward; there’s no reason why anybody has to accept this, just because they say so? They’re the ones that are despised; they’re the ones that have the low popularity; they’re the ones hardly anybody approves of. Why do what they want on their timeline, why?
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Harry Reid yesterday announced that in the dwindling days before Christmas he plans to pass the bipartisan tax bill, the New START Treaty, the DREAM Act, immigration, a lands bill, a bill to let gays serve openly in the military. He’s gonna keep Congress in session ’til January 4th to get all this done. And then he dropped the omnibus spending bill on top of all that. That’s what they want to get done in the next ten days.