Whatever Happened to Bipartisianship and the free exchange of Ideals?

Excerpts from The Rush Limbaugh Show!

RUSH: Somebody sent me an e-mail picture supposedly of Ann Coulter on an airplane, but the picture is taken, like, from a flight attendant looking down at people seated in coach.  I don't think it's Ann Coulter because I don't think she flies coach, but it might be. It looks like it could be.  She's wearing a mask, a surgical mask to keep germs away and so forth.  That sounds like Ann Coulter. 

But can you believe the gift NBC gave Ann Coulter by banning her from the Today Show today? The first news of this came that she was banned for life. Some stupid NBC exec let the cat out of the bag and said, "We just don't want anybody who doesn't like Obama. We don't want a critic of Obama. This is not the time for it. This is not what the audience wants."  Her book is not a critique of Obama! It is a critique of the liberal Drive-By Media and how liberalism has destroyed a bunch of our culture ! This appearance was booked, I don't know how long ago, on the Today Show, and then they banned her from all cable outlets, PMSNBC, CNBC, banned her for life! What a gift. What an absolute gift! So CBS, Harry Smith booked her today, and it was no contest. Harry tried to stand up to her, but it was no contest.  She knows the material; he doesn't.  He is part of what she is an expert on and doesn't understand it.  It was hilarious. What? No, Mr. Snerdley, the media don't see themselves be Stalinist.

Anyway, we're going to have her on the program to talk about it whenever she gets back.  I want her to come in and do it live, not on the phone.  She's up in New York doing all these appearances.  I have my copy of the book.  It's typical Ann Coulter.  It's just amazing.


RUSH: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to rewrite House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi's proposals are so draconian," basically she's going to get rid of all of the rules that the Gingrich House came up with.  "Pelosi's rule changes -- which may be voted on today -- will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich's 'Contract with America.'"  If she gets her way, Republicans will not be able to offer alternative bills. Republicans will not be able to offer amendments to Democrat bills.  They will not even be offered the guarantee of open debate accessible by motions to recommit for any piece of legislation during the entire 111th Congress.  Nancy Pelosi is effectively going to shut 'em out.  This is from Nancy Pelosi, by the way, who after the 2006 victories was talking about the new bipartisanship, the new transparency, the new openness and all this sort of stuff.  Now the Stalinist tactics are coming into play, and it will be interesting to see how the Republicans deal with this.  I know they wrote a letter and they signed it, they asked her not to do this and so forth, they protested it and so forth. 

I was just watching a little bit of C-SPAN, the volume was down, I'm reading the closed-captioning -- I probably shouldn't mention this because I don't know what Boehner was talking about.  Boehner was up there giving his speech as a Republican leader prior to Pelosi being sworn in and he said something, I don't know who he was talking about, but what I did read in the closed-captioning was that he, "crossed the aisle and worked together for the American people," and the whole place stood up and applauded.  Now, if Boehner said that and the Democrats stood up and applauded, something's wrong.  I don't know who he's talking about.  I'm sorry, I didn't catch all of it.  I don't know who it was that was being applauded for standing up and reaching across the aisle. I don't know if it was McCain, I have no idea.  If you want to get depressed, I will admit, there are reasons to get depressed and angry out there, there's no question about it, but elections have consequences, and depression isn't going to accomplish anything, folks.  Action is.  And the next set of elections is 2010. 

Story #8: Obama Took Big Money from Richardson's Rubin

RUSH: From ABC News: "President-elect Barack Obama took big money from a man at the center of a federal probe that has forced one of Obama's top Cabinet picks to withdraw.  Financial records show the Obama campaign got more than $30,000 from California financier David Rubin, the target of an investigation into donations and possible 'pay-to-play' deals involving New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama's [former] pick for commerce secretary.  ...  "David Rubin Attended Exclusive Hollywood Fundraiser for Obama [he] sat at Table 17 -- one table away from Leonardo DiCaprio, 'Survivor' producer David Katzenberg and comedian Chris Rock."  So, humph! "In early September -- two weeks before Rubin attended Obama's Beverly Hills fundraiser -- a group of Alabamans sued Rubin's firm," and this we reported to you in December; that's when it came to light, "and others over multi-billion dollar bond deals. The suit alleged [that Rubin's company] CDR was part of a conspiracy which defrauded citizens and with bribery and corruption."  So this guy was at Obama fundraisers and giving money to Bill Richardson.  I said earlier, "When I'm watching the Senate get sworn in, it's like the bank opening the vaults to the thieves and welcoming them in."


Story #9: Richardson Wanted Bunch of Convention Freebies

RUSH: Oh, I saw something else about Richardson last night on television.  One of the things he asked this outfit to do -- maybe not be CDR, but some outfit. He asked for some company to pick up his personal expenses at the Democrat National Convention.  Now, when you ask that, as opposed to it being offered, you're opening yourself up for quid pro quo. But the thing that hit me about that more than the possible political corruption -- and this, it's starting to irritate me more and more about people.  I know some people personally are this way.  Mr. Richardson, if you want to go to the Democrat convention, pay for it your damn self!  If you want to get a nice hotel, pay for it your damn self.  If your salary doesn't give you the opportunity, go to the DNC to do it; or don't go, or stay in a cheaper place or don't throw a big party for everybody.  What is this notion that people in politics are entitled to everybody else's money?  They're entitled to yours and ours to spend; they're entitled to lobbyists to party off of. 

This is a big personal bugaboo of mine -- and I know a lot of people whose active life philosophy is to get where you want with connections.  Scratch my back; I'll scratch yours.  Don't do it on the basis of achievement, don't do it on the basis of deserving it, do it on the basis of connections.  Ask somebody to pay your way here, pay your way there.  Use somebody else's money, even if you're a big corporate type. How about this guy that gets a $750 billion golden parachute, gets an apartment, gets access to the company plane? If you're given $750 billion, don't take the apartment and go get your own plane! Do you realize how many people in our culture -- at the top, the people that we elect to run our affairs, do you realize how many of them -- are frauds who think other people's money is theirs?  How do you think these people that make 150 grand a year in the Senate or the House live the way they do? 

You know, it's not the system that's corrupt.  It's corrupt people who think of themselves as royalty who have these expectations.  Remember Dan "Rosty" Rostenkowski? We found out that he's out to dinner every night with lobbyists and whoever, and they're paying the freight. Sigh... See, this is why I could never go into politics and while I'll never have a whole lot of friends in this world, is because I don't accept stuff like this without an immediate payback or compensation because I don't want to be obligated.  Now, if friends take me to dinner, it's a different thing. Friends are friends. I once worked for the Kansas City Royals, and I was in charge of special events -- you know, the little fireworks on the Fourth of July, the giveaway items and so forth -- and I had a fireworks guy call me up and offer me season tickets to the Steelers on the sly if I would hire his fireworks firm. I went right to my boss, and told him about it, and the boss said, "What are you going to do?"  I said, "You have to ask?  There's no way!" I'm amazed people think they can get away with this stuff, but the problem is the people we're talking about get away with it.  Richardson could get away with having somebody else pay his freight at the convention.  That just so offends me.  Go on vacation and say, "I think somebody else ought to pay for it." My gosh, and I call somebody to ask them to do it?  Talk about manners and class! This is off the charts, and this is who these people are.

Story #10: NYT: Drive-Bys in Dark on Richardson Shenanigans

RUSH: Look at this New York Times story on Bill Richardson: "In Santa Fe, Staying Can Also Be Such Sweet Sorrow."  This is a story about how the media had no idea that all this was happening until Richardson quit.  And they didn't have to work hard to dig up past Richardson shenanigans because it was all in the local Drive-By Media out there.

Story #11: Panetta Has Much More Experience Than Obama


RUSH: One other thing about Leon Panetta. We talked about him earlier and why he got the gig here but let me tell you something. I don't want to hear about these objections based on Panetta's "lack of experience" as a spy or as an intel guy to disqualify him.  There is not one Democrat looking at this logically who can object to Leon Panetta as head of the CIA.  If we can have a commander-in-chief with absolutely no experience, why can't someone lead the CIA who doesn't know a peephole from the ground?  We were told having no experience as a CEO, no experience as a governor, a mayor, that was somehow a plus. We could reject people like Sarah Palin, who is experienced. We can reject people like Roland Burris, who is experienced, but all of a sudden...? Compared to Barack Obama, Leon Panetta is a grizzled veteran here, folks.

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