Seeing as how he had been the bane of the liberal media’s existence for the last 24 hours plus as he’s supposedly the real president, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh was in an ebullient mood for his Friday show. He said that he was supposedly “the new villain in Washington D.C.” ahead of a possible government shutdown that was portrayed as if the world was “end[ing] even before climate change kills us all.”
There’s a lot of fun quotes to digest, so lets start moments into the show when Limbaugh declared (click “expand”):
So here we go, folks, three hours of broadcast excellence hosted by me, the new villain in Washington, D.C. Wait ’til you hear the media montage that we have put together. This is all my fault. I made the mistake of taking Trump seriously and then broadcasting it and now everybody’s in trouble because of me. You think they were mad at me with Donovan McNabb or with Michael J. Fox. That’s nothing compared! Everybody — I tell you what, these people are acting like life as we know it is about to end even before climate change kills us all. This is stunning to watch....Trump will not compromise and because Trump will not engage in normal behavior for Washington, D.C., because Trump is causing a government shutdown at Christmas, where Christmas employees may not get paid and so forth. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this.
Limbaugh noted moments later that “[t]here is legitimate panic over this” even though, knowing much the liberal media hate President Trump, one “would think these people would be happy because they’re telling us that....Donald Trump is destroying himself” and ending “life as they know it.” He added that the liberal media hyperbole has tried to lead viewers to believe that Trump has become “totally dependent on me and Fox News.”
As for the hysteria over government workers, Limbaugh set the record straight (which he’d later back-up with sound from CBS’s Major Garrett on CBS This Morning) (click “expand”):
They’re not gonna be shunted out of their jobs because they’re not working at the moment, and this thing isn’t gonna go on very long if it happens at all and everybody’s gonna be back to work. There’s nothing detrimental to anybody that has ever happened after a government shutdown. Nobody’s been ruined, nobody’s been destroyed, nobody’s ever lost their job. Nobody ever lost their Thanksgiving turkey, nobody ever lost Christmas presents. It’s never happened...They look like deer in headlights in their press conferences yesterday and today...Trump got people to do things that everybody in the swamp said was impossible, surprised them all.
Limbaugh also mocked Democrats for “thinking that they’re dealing with an immature little child” even though “he has more power than they do, so they have to publicly acknowledge that he’s President, but privately think he’s the biggest dolt on the face of the earth and he outsmarts them and outmaneuvers them.”
Rush then aired a supercut of liberal media types obsessing over him (click “expand”):
NINA TURNER: Does he serve the American people, or does he serve Rush Limbaugh?
BRIAN STELTER: ...Rush Limbaugh challenging the president to do something and then what did Trump do this afternoon? He sent a message to Limbaugh, reassuring him, “Yes, I will shut down the government.”
CHUCK TODD: Did he not realize Rush Limbaugh took him seriously and literally?
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: We’re less than 18 hours away from a government shutdown — seemingly thanks, in part, to Rush Limbaugh.
ELEANOR CLIFT: He’s paying attention to, uh, Rush Limbaugh.
BILL KRISTOL: ...listening to Rush Limbaugh. This is a moment of just, “Are you kidding me?”
ALI VELSHI: If it wasn’t obvious that Trump was controlled by these right-wing factions, Rush Limbaugh made it clear.
SAM STEIN: He hears Rush Limbaugh yell at him over the radio.
ELI STOKOLS: ....the pressure that he responds to. It’s not people in Congress trying to explain that system to him. It’s Rush Limbaugh.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Rush Limbaugh accused the president of caving.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Rush Limbaugh calling the play. [BREAK] listening to Rush Limbaugh [BREAK] Is Rush Limbaugh the chicken or the egg here?
HOWARD FINEMAN: ...lectured to by the likes of Rush Limbaugh.
ARI MELBER: ...Rush Limbaugh of all people!
JOAN WALSH: The President of the United States cares more about the policy wisdom of Rush Limbaugh than General Mattis.
Limbaugh reacted by bursting into laughter and threw in a clip from Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern (MA) decrying a “Rush Limbog” and border wall supporters. The talk show host responded: “By the way, Congressman McGovern, the ‘small segment of society [that] supports his border wall?’ I think it was enough to get him elected President, sir.”
Republican Senator Bob Corker (TN) had lashed out at like he’s uneducated on the notion of free speech by blasting American living under the “tyranny of talk radio” hosts Limbaugh (and presumably Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity).
Limbaugh took that nonsense to the woodshed leading into another supercut on media panic over the shutdown (click “expand”):
Now, Bob Corker, outgoing senator from Tennessee, Republican, said that Trump is suffering from the “tyranny of talk radio,” and he mentioned me and Sean Hannity. The “tyranny of talk radio”? Stop and think about that. The “tyranny of talk radio.” Forget “talk” radio. The “tyranny of … radio.” This is a U.S. senator! The “tyranny of talk radio.” Anyway, here we go. I’m looking at clock. I’ve got four minutes here. I’ve got… Okay, first up, I want to show you some meltdown samples and let you hear them. We have a montage here. Democrats and Drive-By Media people saying that Trump is plunging the country into “chaos.”
Taking aim at CNN’s Don Lemon in particular, Limbaugh nuked him by giving him a reality check about how this impasse will end:
Some people are gonna be happy, some people not. This is not chaos! This is Washington working! This is the government working! This is you not getting your way each and every day! You didn’t win the election, Don! Elections have consequences! There’s no chaos except on your side because you’re losing your system. You’re losing control of what you’ve always been able to count on. You’re realizing you actually don’t run things, and that’s why there’s chaos.
Later alluding to the January shutdown, Limbaugh noted: “There was a shutdown. Three days. We’re all still here, aren’t we? We’re all still breathing. We’re all still eating. Climate change hasn’t killed us.”
To see the relevant transcript from December 21's Rush Limbaugh Show, click “expand.”
The Rush Limbaugh Show
December 21, 2018RUSH LIMBAUGH: So here we go, folks, three hours of broadcast excellence hosted by me, the new villain in Washington, D.C. Wait ’til you hear the media montage that we have put together. This is all my fault. I made the mistake of taking Trump seriously and then broadcasting it and now everybody’s in trouble because of me. You think they were mad at me with Donovan McNabb or with Michael J. Fox. That’s nothing compared! Everybody — I tell you what, these people are acting like life as we know it is about to end even before climate change kills us all. This is stunning to watch! All because Mad Dog Mattis is leaving, now there is nothing holding Washington together, because Trump will not compromise and because Trump will not engage in normal behavior for Washington, D.C., because Trump is causing a government shutdown at Christmas, where Christmas employees may not get paid and so forth. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this.
It is so illustrative. It is such a teachable moment (if people are only paying attention) to find out exactly how that town works and what is demanded in that town and the fealty and loyalty to systems and so forth.
(....)
But, man, there is panic. There is legitimate panic over this. You would think these people would be happy because they’re telling us that, in effect, Donald Trump is destroying himself and Donald Trump is destroying his support base. They ought to support that! They’re acting like Donald Trump is going to destroy life as they know it, and that’s why they’re panicked. They ought to be celebrating if Trump is making this many mistakes, if he is doing this many things wrong. I mean, these people ought to realize if this is true, Trump’s imploding and he’s gonna be gone before very long and they’ll be able to pick up the pieces and put it all back together again. But they’re treating it as though a secretary of defense resigning is the end of the can you be, it’s the end of foreign policy, it’s the end of sanity — and now there’s no “adult supervision” left around Trump and he’s totally dependent on me and Fox News.
We’ve got audio sound bites here to demonstrate some of this, show you some of the things I’m talking about terms of the media meltdown. In fact, let me just get this out of the way. Grab audio sound bite No. 3. This is the montage we put together of the media. You see, now, you have to understand: They thought that they had Trump. They thought that there was no way the House was gonna vote to add $5 billion for a wall or for border security. They thought it wasn’t gonna happen. Chuck and Nancy are out there telling everybody it isn’t gonna happen.
(....)
It’s a measly $5 billion. What Trump did — and I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say this. What Trump has done here is tactically really smart, and no one is gonna say it because no one’s gonna have the courage to say it (especially in the Beltway) because of the reaction they would get. But Donald Trump blindsided the swamp yesterday. He put the Democrats in the position here that they can’t… You know what their only retort to this is? “I can’t believe that 400,000 federal workers are going to miss their paychecks at Christmas and not have a fun holiday season. It’s so heartless and it’s so mean!” That’s their only comeback to this. They cannot talk about the issue. They do not talk about the substance of illegal immigration, border security, the wall. They don’t want to go there. It’s the same thing, the shutdown: Blame the Republicans for “having no heart or cold heart, unwilling to care about the suffering.” Most of these people we’re talking about are on Christmas break anyway!
They’re not gonna be shunted out of their jobs because they’re not working at the moment, and this thing isn’t gonna go on very long if it happens at all and everybody’s gonna be back to work. There’s nothing detrimental to anybody that has ever happened after a government shutdown. Nobody’s been ruined, nobody’s been destroyed, nobody’s ever lost their job. Nobody ever lost their Thanksgiving turkey, nobody ever lost Christmas presents. It’s never happened!
(....)
They look like deer in headlights in their press conferences yesterday and today, and Schumer is out there (impression), “This is not my shutdown! This is his shutdown! He knew this was gonna happen! It’s his shutdown.” No, it’s yours. It was very simple to avoid this. $5 billion? Come on! We’re talking a continuing resolution that’s got trillions of dollars in it. $5 billion? But it’s border security, and they won’t do it. Trump got people to do things that everybody in the swamp said was impossible, surprised them all.
(....)
It’s chump change to the Nth degree. They’re saying, by the way — and you’re gonna hear it in a moment — that Trump folded, that Trump caved to the pressure of conservative media voices. I say that Trump has been playing these people from the start. Starting in an Oval Office meeting with Chuck and Nancy. Starting with… In fact, no. Even before that. Right after the election, the day after the midterm elections Trump is out there saying…
In another example of what I call Trump pacing, he’s out there saying, “I think I can work with Chuck and Nancy. I think we’re gonna be able to get along. I think we’re gonna be able to come up with legislation maybe even on the wall,” he said. “I think they want to get things done. I think we’re gonna be able to work together.” It’s what he always does. He acts conciliatory. He acts open; extends the hand of welcome, friendship, and apparent cooperation. But during that meeting with Chuck and Nancy in the Oval Office he told them what he was gonna do.
“I’m gonna own the shutdown. I’m not gonna just shut the government down. I’m gonna own it. I’ll be happy to own it. We’re talking border security.” They’re look at him like he’s an idiot, like he doesn’t mean it like he’s just posturing or else he’s a total blithering idiot, doesn’t know what he’s doing, trying to suppress their laughter, what have you. Like every other arrogant bully, they think they’re dealing with a neophyte idiot who doesn’t know the ways of the world, doesn’t know the way to behave in their world.
So they act mockingly tolerant, thinking that they’re dealing with an immature little child. But he has more power than they do. So they have to publicly acknowledge that he’s president, but privately think he’s the biggest dolt on the face of the earth and he outsmarts them and outmaneuvers them. We read that Trump has achieved very little legislatively, which, by the way, is the definition for success in the swamp. The gold standard is, “How much legislation have you got. How much legislation have you passed? How much legislation has your name on it?”
(....)
LIMBAUGH: Here’s the montage, folks, just to show you. This is the… Do we have time? Yeah, we do. This is the Drive-By Media. As I say, they’ve been mad at me in the past, and they have attempted to impugn me and destroy me and all that. But those were over surface things like Michael J. Fox or Donovan McNabb. This is substance. This! This is… They’re just beside themselves. Listen to this:
NINA TURNER: Does he serve the American people, or does he serve Rush Limbaugh?
BRIAN STELTER: … Rush Limbaugh challenging the president to do something and then what did Trump do this afternoon? He sent a message to Limbaugh, reassuring him, “Yes, I will shut down the government.”
CHUCK TODD: (newsroom noise) Did he not realize Rush Limbaugh took him seriously and literally?
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: We’re less than 18 hours away from a government shutdown — seemingly thanks, in part, to Rush Limbaugh.
ELEANOR CLIFT: He’s paying attention to, uh, Rush Limbaugh.
BILL KRISTOL: … listening to Rush Limbaugh. This is a moment of just, “Are you kidding me?”
ALI VELSHI: If it wasn’t obvious that Trump was controlled by these right-wing factions, Rush Limbaugh made it clear.
SAM STEIN: He hears Rush Limbaugh yell at him over the radio.
ELI STOKOLS: … the pressure that he responds to. It’s not people in Congress trying to explain that system to him. It’s Rush Limbaugh.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Rush Limbaugh accused the president of caving.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: …Rush Limbaugh calling the play. … listening to Rush Limbaugh. Is Rush Limbaugh (sputtering) the chicken or the egg here?
HOWARD FINEMAN: … lectured to by the likes of Rush Limbaugh.
ARI MELBER: …Rush Limbaugh of all people!
JOAN WALSH: The president of the United States cares more about the policy wisdom of Rush Limbaugh than General Mattis.
RUSH: Ha! (laughing) Do you believe this? Ahh, I wish my parents were still alive. They would not… They would not believe it. Here’s “Baghdad Jim” McGovern, Democrat from… Wait a minute. No, this is not “Baghdad Jim.” Sorry. This is different, Jim McGovern, Democrat, Massachusetts, that is last night on the floor of the House.
MCGOVERN: The American people chose a different course. They don’t want a government that reacts only to the wants of the president’s ever shrinking base, the small segment of society who actually supports his offensive border wall. If the president’s most senior advisors are Fox & Friends and Rush Limbog (sic), maybe we shouldn’t be surprised where we find ourselves here today.
RUSH: “Rush Limbog.” You hear that? “Rush Limbog.” By the way, Congressman McGovern, the “small segment of society [that] supports his border wall”? I think it was enough to get him elected president, sir.
(....)
LIMBAUGH: McConnell has met with Trump at the White House this morning and so far, appears to be — appears to be — standing with Trump. Now, Bob Corker, outgoing senator from Tennessee, Republican, said that Trump is suffering from the “tyranny of talk radio,” and he mentioned me and Sean Hannity. The “tyranny of talk radio”? Stop and think about that. The “tyranny of talk radio.” Forget “talk” radio. The “tyranny of … radio.” This is a U.S. senator! The “tyranny of talk radio.” Anyway, here we go. I’m looking at clock. I’ve got four minutes here. I’ve got… Okay, first up, I want to show you some meltdown samples and let you hear them. We have a montage here. Democrats and Drive-By Media people saying that Trump is plunging the country into “chaos.”
WOLF BLITZER: (melodramatic music) President Trump throws the nation’s capital into chaos!
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: (melodramatic music) Chaos in the capital!
HODA KOTB: (melodramatic music) Chaos in Washington!
CECILIA VEGA: (melodramatic music) Chaos in Washington!
CHUCK SCHUMER: (haltingly) President Trump is plunging the country into chaos!
JIM ACOSTA: (outdoor noise) … much of this city in chaos!
LEON PANETTA: This country right now is going through a steady diet of chaos!
ALI VELSHI: … an administration and a president in chaos! Total chaos!
JIM SCIUTTO: The word of the day at the White House: Chaos!
PAMELA BROWN: … chaos on Capitol Hill!
CHRIS CUOMO: … all kinds of chaos!
RACHEL MADDOW: …ever-erupting chaos!
CHARLIE DENT: … disorder and dysfunction, constant chaos!
DON LEMON: If you’re worried tonight (dramatic pause), you should be. Chaos in Washington. No one knows what’s next.
LIMBAUGH: That was The Smartest Man in Washington. It was Don Lemon there at the end. “If you’re worried tonight, you should be. Chaos in Washington. No one knows what’s next.” Yes, we do. We know what’s gonna happen, Don. This is gonna end. Some people are gonna be happy, some people not. This is not chaos! This is Washington working! This is the government working! This is you not getting your way each and every day! You didn’t win the election, Don! Elections have consequences! There’s no chaos except on your side because you’re losing your system. You’re losing control of what you’ve always been able to count on. You’re realizing you actually don’t run things, and that’s why there’s chaos. A.B. Stoddard last night on Fox, Special Report with Bret Baier. Now, A.B., I need to tell you, she’s worked at a bunch of stuff. She’s worked at TheHill.com. She’s worked at… Well, everywhere. And her reputation is she right down the middle. She’s a straight shooter. You — When you listen to A.B. Stoddard or when you read A.B. Stoddard, you don’t know whether she’s a left-winger, right-winger. You don’t know any. That’s how good she is. Well, she had a meltdown on Bret Baier’s Special Report last night.
STODDARD: The nation’s fourth graders know this is no way to run a lemonade stand. This is completely irresponsible. The markets are rattling on the prospect of a shutdown. The president time and again is contemptuous of process and of compromise. He doesn’t have 60 votes. He must compromise. He was all for a DACA deal. He refused to take it. He took four positions on the Goodlatte bill.
BAIER: I get it. I get it.
STODDARD: He refuses to do the hard work.
BAIER: If he listens to the Mark Meadows and the Jim Jordans and the other people on the House floor —
STODDARD: They don’t know what they’re talking about! This is political malpractice. They’re wrong!
LIMBAUGH: (impression) “They don’t know what they’re taking about.” Members of Congress don’t know what they’re talking about. “Political malpractice! He refuses to compromise with us.” I guess there goes the end of A.B. Stoddard being seen as a centrist down the middle who you don’t know who she is. (sputtering) “He doesn’t have 60 votes he has to compromise it’s like last year he was offered a DACA deal. He refused to take it.” Yeah. There was a shutdown. Three days. We’re all still here, aren’t we? We’re all still breathing. We’re all still eating. Climate change hasn’t killed us.
