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RUSH: I also got an e-mail. I’ve had a couple like this. Actually, more than a couple. This one is the most succinct. This guy lives in Boston.


Dear Rush:
Why aren’t the Republicans screaming from the rooftops every day about Obama’s middle class tax increases? Rush, my take-home pay has dropped $300 a month due to tax increases, inflation hitting everywhere, especially in my utilities, heating bills going through the roof, food. Everybody I know is getting hit. Everybody I know is getting hit the same way. Why aren’t the Republicans talking about this? Why aren’t the Beltway Republicans? Every day they ought to be talking about this and building momentum for 2014.

How many of you are described in this e-mail? Frustration, your take-home pay is way down because there are some tax increases, the payroll tax cut, which vanished, and inflation, utilities, price of day-to-day things going up. See, I think this is happening all over the place, but the media isn’t doing any stories, and I think that explains why the Republicans aren’t. The Republicans are in a purely reactionary mode right now. I mean, whatever the Democrats and the media decide is gonna be the narrative of the day is what the Republicans get in on. I sense there’s still shell shock. I’m just guessing; I haven’t talked to any of ’em. I’m just guessing. It’s only February. You know, Obama was immaculated not even two weeks ago. And they’re figuring they’re not gonna start hammering the guy right now, just got started. We got four more years of this.

I don’t think they’re so much in the game, plus they’re focused on the sequester. And speaking of that, the Drive-Bys are getting panicked by the day on this. I’ve got a story here from Reuters: “Even Brief Spending Cuts Could Hit US Economy Hard.” It’s a story that’s filled with massive amounts of misleading information, incorrect information. It’s designed to frighten and instill fear as it mischaracterizes the sequester and what it means and how big it is. But what’s going on here is this ongoing attempt every day, multiple times a day, that anytime any serious spending cut point is made or discussion ratchets up, they move into gear and they start sending shock waves of fear through everybody over the concept of spending cuts, doesn’t matter how big or how small. And that’s what this story is.

originalThe headline basically says it: “Even Brief Spending Cuts Could Hit US Economy Hard.” You see, this all fits in with the idea that all prosperity comes from Washington. That the American dream has its route through Washington. If you don’t go through Washington, if you don’t deal with Washington, you don’t interact with Washington, you’re not participating in the American dream. You don’t have a chance. And if there is anything that happens that is going to in any way harm or shrink or make smaller the size of government, then, oh, no, that means a direct hit on the economy. A direct hit on the prosperity of the country, on the prosperity of the American people. It’s really insidious how this has taken hold. But they’re doing everything they can to poison the minds of the low-information crowd about the sequester, about spending cuts.

You can’t find anywhere in the media that the sequester was Obama’s idea. You can’t. The whole concept of the sequester was Obama’s and the Democrats’. It was their idea. It was their proposal. And now they’re acting like it was forced on them by these mean Republicans who only want to hurt people. Who only want to take things away from them, only want to harm prosperity by punishing our beloved government and taking things away from it, and that’s where we find ourselves. So the Republicans, they’re not out talking about your costs of living going up, your taxes going up. I think they’re still in shell shock. I think they’re still in a reactionary or responsive mode, and they get up every day and they try to ascertain, “Okay, where we gonna get hit today?” and they prepare a defense for it, or try.

So they get up, “Okay, we gonna get hit on immigration today? We gonna get hit on guns today? Are we gonna get hit on the sequester today? Are we gonna get hit on gay rights today? Are we gonna get hit on the War on Women today?” That’s their mind-set. What are we gonna get creamed with today? The idea of getting up and going to a bank of microphones and taking it to Obama, “Oh, no, we can’t do that. Why, that would anger the moderates and the independents.” They’re not in the mind-set yet, folks, of being critical of Obama has any kind of a positive upside.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: From the Reuters News Service. Headline: “Analysis: –” It’s not even a news, they admit this is analysis. This is Reuters commentary, opinion. “Analysis: Even Brief Spending Cuts Could Hit US Economy Hard — The US economy could take a big hit from automatic government spending cuts even if Congress only leaves them in place for a month or two.” This is the sequester. You’re supposed to oppose it. You’re supposed to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

The sequester, to remind you again, for those of you that don’t know, back a year and a half ago during a controversial debate on raising the debt limit, part of the deal struck was the next time the debt limit comes up for discussion when we’re about to blow through it the next time, if we don’t come to an agreement, then there are automatic $500 billion cuts in defense, and $500 billion cuts in Medicare, or Medicaid, one of the two. And this is supposed to be so onerous to both parties, they would never let it happen. They’ll strike a deal first, they’ll compromise. Bipartisanship will reign, it will rule the day, because Republicans love the military, because they’re a bunch of hawks, they love the military killing people.

The Democrats love Medicare and Medicaid ’cause they love people and they love helping people, and they don’t want to have to stop helping people. And the Republicans don’t want to stop the military killing people. And so, since neither party wants that pain, they’ll come to a deal. It was Obama’s idea, by the way. The sequester was the idea of Barack Obama, the president. It was his idea. Now, he’s running around acting like this sequester was forced on him, and the Democrats are running around acting like there’s some dastardly Republican trick. And furthermore, if it happens, it’s not just $500 billion, it’s the whole budget that is gonna go up in flames.

Every bit of social and benefit spending is going up in flames, like the story says here. A big hit will happen from automatic spending cuts, even if it’s only for a month. And it’s all a pack of lies. Here’s the number, the way to understand this. Over the next ten years the baseline, current services baseline, guarantees federal spending of over $44.7 trillion over the next ten years. The current services baseline guarantees that. If the sequester happens, instead of $44.7 trillion, we’ll spend $43.8 trillion. A rounding error. This is over ten years, not in one year, over ten years. It’s nothing. It’s like every other budget cut in Washington. It’s not a budget cut. It’s a reduction in the rate of growth. How in the world can you call $43 trillion in new spending over ten years big hits to the budget? Big hits to spending?

But it always happens no matter what the budget item is. No matter what the discussion or the debate is, this is what the Democrats say, and they’ve even revived now school lunch. You know what, they have revived that. Republicans will cut the school lunch program and other school benefits for kids. The school breakfast program will probably be cut in the sequester. They’re adding all these horror stories. And it’s all bogus. We’re not cutting anything.

This country wouldn’t know the difference in spending $44.7 or $43.8 trillion over ten years. We wouldn’t know the difference. You wouldn’t even be able to find the difference. You wouldn’t be able to find the people who did not get the $900 billion that we’re talking about here in this sequester. So given that, let’s go to the audio sound bites, shall we? We’ll start here on Capitol Hill today. House Progressive Caucus, Jan Schakowsky, Democrat, Illinois, with a press conference to talk about a plan to cancel the sequester.

SCHAKOWSKY: It’s time that we take off just the green eye shade and look at the people behind the cuts that have been made: $600 million of cuts to community health centers, $500 million in cuts to the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program.

RUSH: See?

SCHAKOWSKY: That’s talking about taking food out of the mouths of babies.

RUSH: See?

SCHAKOWSKY: I would say Mitch McConnell is a bully!

RUSH: See? There is no such cut in the sequester. (impression) “There are $600 million of cuts to community health centers, $500 million in cuts to the Women, Infants, and Children…” Even if there are, do you realize it pales in comparison to the billions that’s being spent? Look, let me calm down. I realize my passion can be off-putting to some young women. I know it sounds scary. I know it sounds threatening. So let me dial it back. We’re spending multiple billions of dollars on WIC and nutrition programs and community health programs.

For God’s sake, how much money we spending on health care? She comes here and says now there will be $600 million in cuts, $500 million in cuts. You know, I’ve got no reason to lie to you. It really serves no purpose for me to lie. Nobody gains anything by that, and I’m not lying to you. These cuts are inconsequential, and I’m not even sure that the cuts in these particular things are actually what happen in the sequester, but even if they did, it would be a good thing! We’re spending more than we need to be in all of these programs.

We don’t have the money!

But that’s beside the point. The point is, if this is not spent, it’s inconsequential, but here we’re back to claiming Republicans want to starve kids. The Republicans are bullying children. They’re going to take food out of the mouths of babies. That’s not gonna happen. The babies are gonna be obese like everybody else in this country is. Okay, so that’s Jan Schakowsky. On C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on Tuesday, “Baghdad” Jim McDermott, Democrat from Washington, was the guest. During viewer calls, a caller from Georgia, New Jersey, said, “This system, it seems that it’s working on bribery. You know, lobbyists bribing the people. The system seems to be broken.”

MCDERMOTT: We have a lot of people who suddenly think it’s all about me, and it isn’t about me. It’s about we. If we don’t take care of one another and we say, “Everybody’s on their own,” then it will simply fall apart as a society, become a mob scene as it was in Paris. (snickering) If you go see Les Miserables, you can see what the country can become if you don’t have equity in the society.

RUSH: Oh, man. So now we face Les Miserables. We face the suffering of the post-French Revolution. With the sequester. With the sequester. It’s Barack Obama’s idea! It was his idea. The Democrats will never admit that. That’s my point, folks. There is no common ground with these people. There is no place to find bipartisanship. There’s no compromise. They will never agree to a penny less in anything. So now the Republicans, they’re gonna take food out of the mouths of babies, deny health care, and shut community health centers.

Everybody’s gonna end up in Les Miserables if the sequester happens. Up next was Barbara Lee from California, well-known communist — ah, socialist. Sorry. Is she still chairman of the Congressional Black Caucasians? (interruption) You don’t know? (interruption) Well, she recently was the chairman of Congressional Black Caucasians. Somebody else may be now, but she was on the floor of the House yesterday, and this was her turn to try to scare everybody about the sequester.

LEE: This Congress has already made unconscionable budget cuts to critical programs that many families and communities rely on. If budget sequestration were to take effect, communities of color would be disproportionately impacted, including more than 6500 individuals who immediately lose access to HIV treatment. We must reject these cuts.

RUSH: (sigh) Well, for 25 years I’ve been telling people that none of this is true and that’s clearly not the way to go about this, but she’s making all this up. There have not been any budget cuts under this Congress. There haven’t been any budget cuts period. Are you aware of the federal deficit going down or getting smaller? Are you aware of the budget getting smaller?

Are you aware of spending getting less? Where are these unconscionable budget cuts to critical programs the Republicans are making? Where are they? They don’t happen. Now 6500 individuals will lose access to HIV treatment because of the sequester? I don’t know. For 25 years, I’ve been telling you these people are lying through their teeth and none of that is true, and that doesn’t work. So, hell! I don’t know what to do.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I want to take you back to 1995 and a montage of Democrats in an audio sound bite. This is the budget fight in 1995. You just heard all these Democrats talk about all the horrors that are gonna happen with sequestration. I can’t play all of this but I can play enough for this for you to get an idea.

REP. THOMAS BARRETT: Republicans want to take apples and milk away from six-year-olds!

REP. LYNN WOOLSEY: Starving children is not the solution to balancing our budget!

REP. LITTLE DICK GEPHARDT: The Republicans are taking foooood out of the mouths of millions of needy and middle-class children!

SEN. DICK DURBIN: Stop declaring war on our kids!

SEN. TED KENNEDY: War on their children! War on their children!

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN. PAUL VOLKER: How can they be so mean-spirited?

REP. JOSE SERRANO: The mean-spirited Republicans…

SEN. PAUL WELLSTONE: It is mean-spirited! It is vicious!

REP. JERRY NADLER: These Draconian, mean-spirited, and immoral cuts in funding.

RUSH: All right, that’s enough. That’s the Democrats from 1995, and the same lies and they’re using the same misstatements and misrepresentations then as now. This time it’s about sequestration. In ’95 it was about a government shutdown.

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