RUSH: Rahm Emanuel’s apology apparently has been accepted. The early news was that it was not accepted, right? But The Politico has a story from Ben Smith and an update: ‘Emanuel met yesterday with six disability advocates. He sincerely apologized again for using the R-word, promising to sign an online pledge to end the use of the word.’ Now, get this. ‘Emanuel also promised to examine congressional legislation that would remove the word from federal law.’ Now, what kind of F-ing nonsense is this? I’m just quoting Emanuel here, folks. (laughing) The Drive-Bys are trying to goad Sarah Palin into denouncing me, just like she denounced Rahm Emanuel. But Sarah Palin knows I’m quoting Emanuel in all this. They’re trying anything to get Sarah Palin. From Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington, to everybody else at MSNBC and Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg, oh, they’re all trying to get Sarah Palin to denounce me just as she did Rahm, and if she doesn’t do it she’s a hypocrite, they’re saying. She knows that I do this kind of thing. Sarah Palin is a lifelong listener to this program.
I have never told you people this. It was in our Sarah Palin interview in the Limbaugh Letter. But one of the years I’m out at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic a guy comes up to me and says, ‘My daughter is a huge fan, would you sign a book for me?’ and it was a copy of my book and it was to Sarah Palin,
long before she was governor of Alaska. I’ve had a couple chats with her, one on the air here and one for the Limbaugh Letter, the most widely read political newsletter in the country. So they’re trying to goad her into denouncing me like they did Emanuel, but she knows that all I’m doing is quoting Emanuel and highlighting that it’s these people who say this kind of stuff. Now, as for Emanuel promising to examine congressional legislation that would remove the word from federal law because he used the term ‘retarded’ as an insult — and, remember, he was calling his own party members this. He was calling liberal activists the R-word. The Drive-Bys also can’t believe that I came to Emanuel’s defense yesterday. They just do not get it.
Twenty-plus years and they don’t get it. They thought I was coming to his defense yesterday when I said, ‘What’s wrong with calling a bunch of retards a bunch of retards?’ And the retards he’s talking about are the liberal activists. (laughing) Folks, I can’t tell you — and I’m not going to use the word anymore — I cannot tell you what fun this is. I look at this, if I could just know women like I know liberal media people, how my life would change. How it would have been different, because I know everything. There’s not one question I cannot answer about these people. There’s not one behavioral mode that I cannot not predict. I just know ’em. So because Rahm Emanuel used the R-word as an insult, he’s now going to decree that it must be stricken from the country’s legislation over the past 200 years? I mean he’s promised to examine congressional legislation that would remove the word from federal law? What an arrogance of power and what a waste of money and time. And that is assuming that this is anything more than just an empty promise, which is highly likely.
For the record, I looked it up here, we did a check, the R-word, or a variation of it, appears nine times in the Senate version of the health care reform bill. Did you know that? And we all know who wrote that bill, don’t we? Democrats. The Republicans were shut out of the process. So the R-word is used nine times in the Senate health care bill. So maybe that fact will kill it once and for all. You can’t pass that bill, you got the R-word in there, the president’s chief of staff just apologized for using it. So if the R-word is to be the new N-word, maybe Mr. Emanuel’s time could be better spent getting the term expunged from his boss’s two autobiographies. We checked into this, too. From Dreams from My Father, page 73: ‘The old white man sat down, retarded now, or senile, and when I looked again he was a small black girl, her feet barely reaching the pedals.’ From The Audacity of Hope, page 22: ‘At times during his first campaign, [Bill Clinton’s] gestures toward disaffected Reagan Democrats could seem clumsy and transparent (whatever happened to Sister Souljah?) or frighteningly coldhearted (allowing the execution of a mentally retarded death row inmate to go forward on the eve of an important primary).’
‘Luckily there has been no complaint about Mr. Emanuel’s use of the F-word.’ Is this not amazing? Is that not amazing? When you stop and think of all of this, he said F-ing. No big deal there. Ha! That’s not a problem. (interruption) Well, I don’t know. Snerdley is asking me how many words are we going to have to ban before this is — I don’t know but we’re certainly headed that way.
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RUSH: Rahm Emanuel — we told you this yesterday, but Rahm — is going to have to get hold of Eric Holder in the Justice Department and change the way they are advertising for jobs over there.
Remember? The Obama Justice Department is advertising for civil rights trial attorneys encouraging applicants who suffer from ‘mental retardation’ and ‘mental illness.’ Here’s the listing itself: ‘The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralyses, convulsive disorder, mental retardation, mental illness, severe distortion of limbs and/or spine.’ In other words, the Obama Justice Department says, ‘If you’re just like us, we want you.’ So, Rahm, you’re going to have to get in there, buddy, and change some of the verbiage in the job listings at the Obama Justice Department. Here it was yesterday. This is what I said, proving: Do I know these people or do I know these people?
RUSH ARCHIVE: I’ve been here 20-plus years. You’ve got to know that I know that that’s a pejorative comment. It’s the reason I kept repeating is to never let people forget that it was Rahm Emanuel who said it. It’s like Harry Reid and ‘the Negro dialect.’ I kept talking about that. ‘Yeah, he’s light-skinned and doesn’t speak with a Negro dialect except when he wants to,’ and sure enough the next day I caught grief as though I had originated the comment! That’s the way the press works.
RUSH: That’s right. It’s a classical press schtick and that’s all it is, and Tony Blankley had it right. All of this feigned outrage. It’s fake. All this fake outrage, they know exactly what I was doing. They just can’t help themselves. They are on a search-and-destroy mission where I’m concerned. So, State-Run Media coins a new term here, this is a little montage. It’s now the R-word.
DIANE SAWYER: (music) …what mental health experts call ‘the R-word.’
WOLF BLITZER: (music) ‘The R-word.’
BILL WEIR: There are defenders of ‘the R-word.’
ANDREA MITCHELL: …for using ‘the R-word.’
KEITH OLBERMANN: …using that ‘R-word.’
WENDELL GOLER: ‘…the R-word…’
STEVE DOOCY: ‘…the R-word…’
RACHEL MADDOW: (music) …why Sarah Palin is not calling for Rush Limbaugh to be fired after he repeatedly and unapologetically used ‘the R-word.’
RUSH: See? Even before I went on the schtick, I told the Drive-Bys what I was doing: ‘I’m merely reminding everybody. I’m not quoting Rahm Emanuel. I’m just quoting him. I’m just quoting Rahm Emanuel.’ I went on for a full hour. I told ’em what I was doing and still they fall for it and still they run their schtick. Here’s Margaret Carlson last night on MSNBC, question: ‘Can Palin really get away with not calling Limbaugh out now?
CARLSON: I’m going to go out on a limb here.
MAN: Mmmph?
CARLSON: I think because it’s a matter of the heart for her — I don’t think she wears this on her sleeve the way she kind of faked being offended about David Letterman’s remark about Bristol. I don’t know how it will come about, but I bet Rush Limbaugh quickly apologizes himself, knowing that she will have to treat him the same way. Actually his words were so offensive…
MAN: Mmm-humphy.
CARLSON: The word ‘retard’ is worse than the word ‘retarded.’ It is a real insult, and these feelings that family members have are so tender for the people in their family, and there are a thousand sleights that these kids receive in a lifetime and the parents never stop trying to make up for it.
RUSH: Next question: ‘If you’re right, what happens to Limbaugh’s power in the sense of the rankings in the Republican Party and the conservative movement?’
CARLSON: Certainly Rush Limbaugh and some other talk show hosts literally run the Republican Party now. They are the kingmakers. They are… They have more followers than any other faction in the party. Doesn’t Rush Limbaugh claim a hundred million listeners? So certainly he is a public figure of the sort Sarah Palin had in mind when she called out Rahm Emanuel.
RUSH: It’s not 100 million listeners yet, Margaret, but soon. I’m just wondering if the change of life has not hit her particularly hard, ladies and gentlemen. These two sound bites are just… (laughing) And the question: ‘What’s going to happen to Limbaugh’s rankings in the conservative movement?’ (laughing) We have Andrea Mitchell (NBC News, Washington) on the Today Show today said this…
MITCHELL: Rush Limbaugh apparently used the R-word on his radio show Wednesday repeatedly. So far, no comment from Palin about that.
RUSH: (laughing) Oh, folks! Oh, Lord, thank you for my enemies. Thank you for my enemies. Thank you for such predictable stupidity from my enemies. ‘Rush Limbaugh…’ Reportedly! (laughing) Reportedly, ‘apparently… So far no comment from Palin.’ (laughing) And of course Zsa Zsa got in on this as well, Arianna Huffington. So there’s a couple more sound bites.
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RUSH: By the way, Margaret Carlson? You know, I didn’t know Margaret Carlson was still around. I honestly didn’t. She’d been wrong for so long I just assumed she’d be hired by the Obama administration like a lot of journalists have been. I think it’s like 17 or 18 journalists have been hired by the Obama administration, and Andrea Mitchell (NBC News, Washington). Andrea, you better be careful because washed up reporters get sent over to MSNBC. Sorry, she’s already there. She does have her own show at one o’clock. Okay, now back to the R-word sound bites. Where did we leave off? Oh, yeah, Zsa Zsa. Here is Arianna Huffington and this is this morning on MSNBC.
HUFFINGTON: Sarah Palin is being absolutely ludicrous. This is like the extreme of political correctness. Rahm apologized. It’s a complete nonissue. This is absolutely manufactured indignation and the sooner we stop talking about it the better. Sarah Palin suddenly waking up and discovering that Rahm Emanuel used a word that Rush Limbaugh has used consistently but she has nothing to say about that.
RUSH: I have not ‘used it consistently.’ (laughing) I’m merely quoting Rahm Emanuel yesterday. And, by the way, I don’t have any manufactured indignation. I’m laughing about all this! In case you people don’t understand… Guess what? Guess what else the libs are just roiled about, proving that there’s a new generation of libs that’s populating the media as well as the old generation. I said on Gretchen Carlson’s show yesterday, ‘I love the women’s movement especially walking behind it.’ Folks, I’ve only been using that line since 1986. I’ve only been using it since 1986! I’ve been using it for over 22 years. Yet there are some libs in the media heard it for the first time. This is why you gotta keep repeating things, folks, even if you get bored with them. And they hear things I haven’t said repeatedly and they make up things I haven’t said and they get angry. They have no sense of humor. I mean, everybody, even in Sacramento when I said it first. That was an ad-lib line in a debate with a mayor of Davis, California, on a TV station in Sacramento. I came up with it just in the heat of the moment and everybody laughed. Even the mayor started laughing on the show! Nobody got mad about it back then. But, look, we’re so wound tight with political correctness now. All right, let’s go back. Let’s go back. Here is, again, MSNBC trying their best to turn this into Sarah Palin versus Rush Limbaugh.
REPORTER: Someone who supported Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, went on a tirade. I want to play what he said. As you know, Ken, people are asking if Sarah Palin’s going to call out Rush for these remarks. Let’s play it.
RUSH ARCHIVE: Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards ‘retards.’ … I think the big news is that he’s out there calling Obama’s number one supporters ‘F-ing retards.’ There’s going to be a Retard Summit at the White House.
REPORTER: Has Sarah Palin commented on Rush’s words there that he said on his radio show yesterday, Ken?
VOGEL: We haven’t heard that yet but, uh, she clearly is very active on Facebook, so wouldn’t be surprised to hear from her soon.
REPORTER: We’ll see if it turns from, uh, as the headline says ‘Palin vs. Limbaugh’ or if it will say ‘Palin vs. Emanuel.’
RUSH: That’s the Politico correspondent Ken Vogel: Palin vs. Limbaugh. Sarah Palin knows how this program works. She knows that we were making fun of Rahm Emanuel and highlighting that it’s people like Emanuel who do say these things. They hardly ever get called on it. If it hadn’t been for Sarah Palin… And this comment was made last August. Now, we’re not through here, folks. Yesterday afternoon in Washington, at the White House, deputy press secretary Bill Burton held the daily press briefing, and the Fox News correspondent, Major Garrett, says, ‘Why bring in this large a group of people here to Rahm Emanuel? Is there something the administration’s trying to get across to this larger group of interested parties on this issue of the R-word as a result of what was published about what Rahm Emanuel said year?’
BURTON: This is something that happened in August. It’s something that Rahm Emanuel has apologized for. It’s, ummm… issue of, uhhh… you know, issues of derogatory comments that make fun of one group or pit one against the other, ummm, don’t do anything to further our political discourse, and for that, Rahm Emanuel apologized and, uh, we’re — we’re looking to move forward here.
GARRETT: Did the president ask him to apologize?
BURTON: I don’t know what conversations, uh, Rahm Emanuel had with the president.
RUSH: Now, they’re saying this is a nonissue. It’s a nonissue now. Zsa Zsa says it’s a nonissue. (Huffington impression) ‘Rahm has apoleee-gized. Rush Leeembaugh says it consistently.’ If it’s a nonissue, why did he apologize all over the place and why did they arrange an R-word Summit for Rahm Emanuel to apologize? I feel like an idiot. The R-word Summit. Barney Frank attacked me on the House floor yesterday. Here is a portion of what he said.
FRANK: The Washington Times said Schumer and Frank have plans to ram through legislation that will produce universal voter r-r-registration — and they say it will be on the floor of the House in two weeks. It’s the lie repeated. Rush Limbaugh joined in. This begins with a totally fictional accusation by John Fund with no basis whatsoever repeated by the Washington Times and repeated by Rush Limbaugh. None of them having checked what we were talking about. None of them seeing if it was accurate. It begins with a lie from the editorial writer from the Wall Street Journal; it was then repeated by all of his right-wing colleagues.
RUSH: Now, let’s remember, the last time Barney said with ontological certitude that there’s no way Scott Brown’s swearing in will be delayed. (paraphrased) ‘There’s no way the certification will be delayed. There’s no provision in the law for it. There’s no way. That’s silly. You can’t be delayed. If he wins he wins, he’s sworn in.’ He’s been delayed being sworn in. So when Barney is speaking with this kind of certitude, folks, the evidence is maybe he doesn’t know what he’s talking about here and is trying to diffuse things.
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RUSH: Tom in Englewood, Florida, welcome to the EIB Network. Hello, sir.
CALLER: Glad to be here, Rush. I’m a longtime listener and a big fan of yours.
RUSH: Thank you very much, sir.
CALLER: When I was talking to Mr. Snerdley, I pointed out that it seems like every time you, or let’s say even Sarah Palin bring up an issue, you’re one voice, and there is like a thousand voices in the mainstream media that would love to just tear you or Sarah Palin down. It’s like a science fiction movie, you know, where they keep shooting these high pressure or atomic rockets into this big blob in space and the only thing that happens is it gets more powerful, and that’s what your voice and Sarah Palin’s voice are doing. Every time they attack you, the only thing they do — and like you say, thank God for my enemies — is make you stronger and make you increase your will.
RUSH: It’s amazing. They’ve been making this mistake for 20 years.
CALLER: Yeah, they don’t get it.
RUSH: I like this analogy to a sci-fi movie.
CALLER: Yeah. You know, I don’t know, I watched one, you know, I can’t even remember what it was, but they shoot their big powerful laser, whatever it is, into this giant blob and they get stronger.
RUSH: Yeah, they were shooting it with what it lived on.
CALLER: Yes, exactly, exactly.
RUSH: In my case, false criticism.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: I live on false criticism. I mean, it’s my favorite meal.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Do you remember the movie Mars Attacks?
CALLER: Yes, I do, with Jack Nicholson.
RUSH: Jack Nicholson and all these little Martian people coming around and they had them fooled into thinking they wanted peace and love and all that.
CALLER: Yeah, right.
RUSH: And they were firing everything they had at these little Martian people and their big ships and so forth. Finally what brought the Martians down was Slim Whitman music.
CALLER: (laughing) Yes. (laughing) I thought that was tremendous.
RUSH: Slim Whitman music caused the Martians’ heads to explode. So hopefully they won’t find the Slim Whitman equivalent to taking out Sarah Palin and me. Thanks, Tom, for the phone call. I appreciate it.
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RUSH: I just got an e-mail from another web subscriber, Thomas Morely, subject line: ‘I am offended. Dear Mr. Limbaugh: You just said you feel like an idiot, as if that were a bad thing. Mr. Limbaugh, I am a recovering idiot, and I’m totally offended.’ That’s Tom in St. Paul. Ah, gee, I didn’t know I was offending idiots by saying I felt like one having to say the R-word and so forth.
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RUSH: I just got a note from a friend who said, ‘Rush, it’s not just the R-word which needs to be banned or dropped. There’s a T-word associated with this, too: ‘Tard. It’s slang, and it’s in the Urban Dictionary.’ I’m just going to read the definition of ‘tard to you in the Urban Dictionary.: ‘Adjective used to describe ones so retarded they do not deserve the r-e.’ If Emanuel is going to start pulling the word from legislation… (interruption) That’s what it says, Snerdley! (laughing) It’s in the Urban Dictionary. I’m just — I’m trying to be helpful to the administration here because they want to pull the word and drop it from as much of the charted language that we have.
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RUSH: By the way, I forgot, there is another use of the word ‘tard other than the definition given in the Urban Dictionary. As in ‘I’m ‘tard and I need to go to bed.’ That’s the Southern dialect. No, that’s Hillary Clinton. She used it that way when she channeled a great black spiritual leader in the past: ‘I ain’t no waaaays ‘tard.’ So you gotta be careful when you use the word ‘tard out there. Make sure your audience knows which definition you mean.