RUSH: Your host in the news, ladies and gentlemen. Audio sound bite time. Grab number one, Friday. Let’s go back to Los Angeles, where local news can never get it right when they report on me — never, ever. I can’t recall the last time local news, particularly LA, got it right. This is Fox Eyewitness News 11 at noon, and they were talking about Dingy Harry’s eye injury and his decision not to run for reelection in 2016. The co-host is Lisa Breckenridge, not to confused with Britt McHenry. Steve Edwards was a co-host, as well as Marla Tellez, and they had a little chat.
BRECKENRIDGE: Both radio host Rush Limbaugh and the right-wing Breitbart are suggesting that Reid’s injuries are the result of a run in with the mob, beaten up by organized thugs. The mob hit rumors began within days after Reid’s accident at the beginning of the year.
TELLEZ: Hmm.
EDWARDS: Here’s Limbaugh’s comment, “I don’t believe for a minute that whatever happened to Harry Reid has anything to do with him on an a exercise machine…”
TELLEZ: Gosh.
EDWARDS: “… unless somebody repeatedly threw him into it.”
RUSH: (laughing) See, what they don’t get, that’s just funny. People are watching that, they’re laughing. They think that is a profoundly insulting thing to say and that people are profoundly offended by it, where most people are laughing. You’re out there in LA, you’re watching eyeball Fox News at noon on Channel 11, and one of the anchors says, “And here’s Limbaugh’s comment. Wow, can you believe this? ‘I don’t believe for a minute that whatever happened to Harry Reid’s anything to do with him on an exercise machine unless somebody repeatedly threw him into it.'”
They’re thinking, “How outrageous. This guy knows no limits. He’ll just insult anyone.” And most people are laughing themselves silly. But the thing is I never said the mob. I never said that the mob beat Harry Reid up. I only posited that an exercise machine didn’t. A lot of other people speculated that it was the mob, but it wasn’t me. But see, I become the stand-in for all of those who say things that insult the left. I’m just the natural collection point for all of it. Just throw it at Limbaugh, whether we know if he said it or not.
Now, this next one is kind of funny, I have to admit. Gretchen Carlson yesterday afternoon, Fox News Channel, she is speaking with Guy Benson, who is the political editor at Town Hall. They’re talking about me and — (laughing) the way they did this is funny — my recent criticism of the left, and particularly Harry Reid, for name-calling. There are two sound bites and the first one here is Gretchen Carlson introducing it and playing a clip of me.
CARLSON: Rush Limbaugh calling out the recent behavior of Senator Reid and other belligerent Democrats.
RUSH ARCHIVE: This juvenile, high school-like name-calling that we get from Debbie “Blabbermouth” Schultz and Dingy Harry, called Rubio a prune in tinsel, that’s what Debbie “Blabbermouth” Schultz called him. Mika Brzezinski called Rubio a boy. They call Rand Paul a woman hater.
RUSH: Now, I will admit that it is funny as hell that they’re playing a sound bite of me criticizing Dingy Harry for name-calling while I’m calling them names, Debbie “Blabbermouth” Schultz and Dingy Harry. I do have to admit that was funny, the way they did that. I have to Gretchen and her group kudos for that ’cause that was funny. So next up it was Guy Benson and his analysis of all this. Gretchen Carlson with a question.
CARLSON: Between Reid and Rush, in all due fairness, we should say that Rush Limbaugh has also had his fair share of calling people out with names. However, if we’re sticking to Harry Reid today, wow, I mean, is it because he’s outgoing that he’s now telling us how he really feels, all Republican presidential candidates are losers?
BENSON: Rush Limbaugh, we should point out again, has been known to say some things from time to time and to call some names. The difference is, when he approaches that line or even crosses the line, the country is subjected to a category five civility storm from the media. Everyone’s reaching for the smelling salts, “Oh, this is terrible,” gnashing of teeth.
RUSH: He’s exactly right. When I do it, it becomes a DEFCON 5. Limbaugh has insulted X, DEFCON 5 and it’s two days worth of media. Dingy Harry can lie about Mitt Romney not paying his taxes and call anybody coal. They never did cover Dingy Harry and his phony soldier attempt on me and how that ended up being a profound, total embarrassment for Harry Reid. And they didn’t spend any time at all on Harry Reid calling these Republican candidates losers and so forth. So Guy Benson’s right about that. But I just love the juxtaposition there. That’s a good bit there that they did.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here’s Jim in Dallas, Georgia. Great to have you, sir. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.
CALLER: Hey, Rush, how are you?
RUSH: Fine and dandy, sir. Thank you very much.
CALLER: I am so glad I got through and you got a chance to hear from me, because this is big.
RUSH: Okay.
CALLER: I got off the phone this morning, I can’t tell you with who, but I got off the phone this morning, someone told me that Harry Reid was indeed beat up by the mob. And not only that, the fight was broken up by none other than Brian Williams.
RUSH: (laughing)
CALLER: I thought you’d enjoy that, Rush.
RUSH: He’s been holding on for two and a half hours. No, two hours and 18 minutes, he’s been holding on to tell us this story. Who was it that told you this?
CALLER: I can’t tell you. It’s up to Harry Reid to prove me wrong.
RUSH: Okay. So you got a phone call —
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: — from somebody who knew that Harry Reid was beat up by the mob?
CALLER: Yep. And Brian Williams broke up the fight.
RUSH: Brian Williams broke up the fight. And you can’t tell us who.
CALLER: I’m sure Brian Williams will tell the story when he gets back on NBC.
RUSH: I’m surprised that he hasn’t told us already.