Sarah Palin: Clarence Thomas 2008

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I have always disliked Rush but I have bolded areas I agree with or find interesting. Anyone who thinks discussing Bristol Palin's pregnancy might want to pay attention to how terribly this can backfire.

RUSH: Snerdley, you lost the bet. You lost the bet Friday. You lost the bet Saturday and Sunday. It's even worse than what I predicted it would be. It is ten times worse than what I predicted it would be. I told you I predicted that they would get all over Sarah Palin for giving birth to a Down syndrome baby. It's worse. They're getting on her for flying on an airplane when she was pregnant. This is the greatest example of Drive-By Media I could give you, short of the definition. The Drive-By Media, running around wildly ruining people's lives while we have to come along at the tail end of it and clean up the mess. Happy to do it, by the way. Greetings, my friends, Rush Limbaugh, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network and the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. Great to be with you. Telephone number is, 800-282-2882. The e-mail address is, ElRushbo@eibnet.com.

Let me tell you how to think of this. Sarah Palin is Clarence Thomas 2008. Back when Clarence Thomas was nominated to the United States Supreme Court, the liberal civil rights coalitions and the Drive-By Media mobilized against Clarence Thomas for one reason: He was profoundly qualified, but he showed blacks, minorities, and every American that you could become something in this country. You could become great. You can reach your wildest dreams on your own. You don't have to follow the liberal civil rights prescriptions to do it. You don't have to go through affirmative action. You don't have to do all the things liberals say you have to do to succeed. One black individual could totally upset the civil rights coalition applecart, and that is why they tried to destroy Clarence Thomas's life. What is happening to Sarah Palin is no different, and it is no less, and it is going to take all of our support and vigilance constantly to beat this back because she represents a bigger threat to a broader coalition of the Democrat Party and the media than Clarence Thomas does. This woman proves that feminism is not about women. This woman proves that feminism is nothing more than sheer, ultra-liberalism and that feminism is simply a mask for yet one of the many tentacles of liberalism out there.

This woman is eminently qualified. She is far more qualified than Barack Obama. If Joe Biden's plagiarism and other knocks against him disqualify him to be president in 1988, and again in 2008, then why all of a sudden is he qualified to be vice president in 2008? This attempt to destroy Sarah Palin's family, this attempt to destroy Sarah Palin's daughter has gone beyond the pale. I know that there are conflicting thoughts, conflicting opinions on who really is behind this. Some people think that Obama has a stealth campaign encouraging the bloggers to do this. That may be the case, I don't know. But these bloggers and the American left today are totally capable of this on their own. They don't need any guidance. This is who they are. Frankly, I hope they keep it up. This is rallying heartland America, this is rallying the Republican base, this is rallying a bunch of voters, a mess of voters; a slew of voters. This is rallying millions of voters who were tepid at best to the McCain campaign. This is coalescing millions voters. The Democrats are trying to say that this is just about picking off angry Hillary voters. That is so shortsighted as to be embarrassingly wrong. This is about rallying the Republican base. This is about expanding the Republican base. This is about coalescing the Republican base around the McCain campaign.

As far as experience is concerned, this woman runs a state, Sarah Palin, that produces 20% of America's energy. She is the steward of that state's production of energy. Sarah Palin has been brought to this ticket for a host of reasons, among them that she might pick off some female voters, but she also fits the "drill here, drill now" mode that has become the official Republican Party position on this. She fills so many bills. She can wear skirts, she's got nice-looking ankles, and I'm not trying to be funny. This irritates the American left; it irritates the media; it irritates the Democrat Party that she is exactly what they have always said a woman should be. If they were honest about feminism, they, too, would be embracing and celebrating Sarah Palin. But they're not honest. They are not about women. They are not about feminists. Well, they are about feminists, liberal feminists. It is about liberalism. It is about the Beltway class ruling. It is about the Beltway class reacquiring its power. The Beltway class is made up of elected Democrats, the Drive-By Media, think tank people on the left, and career government employees also on the left. During the course of the program today we have plenty of audio sound bites. We're going to be discussing this, all of it in great detail. We'll be taking your phone calls on this, but I want you to listen to one sound bite very quickly here. This is Barack Obama on March 29th, 2008. He was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and it was a town meeting and he said this about his two daughters.

OBAMA: Look, I've got two daughters, nine years old and six years old. I'm going to teach them first of all about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. Now, so -- it doesn't make sense to not give them information.

RUSH: He doesn't want them punished with a baby. May I share with you Sarah Palin's statement: "We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates." Yes, it was true in the case of Chelsea Clinton. By the way, Mike, change of plan here, grab Jeff Greenfield, number 16, last night on the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric said, "Speaking of the vetting process, I understand that the McCain campaign found out that Sarah's 17-year-old daughter was pregnant during the vetting process. Was that a tough conversation?"

GREENFIELD: The one question that occurs to me is, if 17-year-old Chelsea Clinton had become pregnant while living in the White House, would the reaction on the part of the Family Research Council and other very conservative Republicans been the same? Maybe it would have been, but it's a question worth asking.

RUSH: Now, somebody has just now brought up Chelsea Clinton. Now, keep in mind Chelsea Clinton was off-limits all during the Clinton presidency and the Drive-Bys bent over forward, grabbed the ankles, said, "Okay Clinton, whatever you want." Let's not forget that Algore's teenaged son, Albert Gore III, was picked up for reckless driving right before the Democrat convention of 2000. There was nothing but sympathy for Algore III from the Drive-By Media, and I don't recall the Family Research Council making a big deal out of Albert Gore III. I don't recall the Drive-Bys criticizing Algore for the way he had raised his son. I just remember it being a big sympathy play. So there's clearly a double standard going on here. You want to talk about Chelsea Clinton and what if she had gotten pregnant while living in the White House? Well, we could say, how do we know? How do we know she didn't? Since he's brought it up, hey, Jeff, why don't you ask the Clintons if she used birth control during the White House years and her college years or abstinence? Why don't you ask them all these personal questions? Why don't you start making all these personal assumptions about the Clinton kid and the Gore kids and what about Biden's kids? This story hasn't been reported since August 24th, Biden's kid in a shady hedge fund deal, and the Drive-Bys are totally uninterested in it. You know the drill. You know what's going on. This is an all-out effort to destroy a 17-year-old child.

Now, a lot of people are also asking this question: Why did she accept this nomination from John McCain knowing that she has a 17-year-old daughter who just got pregnant, is five months pregnant, and has a very young Down syndrome infant? Why did she accept? Let me tell you why, folks, I'll be very honest with you. This is something that the Drive-By Media, the Beltway class could never understand. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd -- I'll guarantee this is true, I don't know, I've never met her, never talked to her, but I'll lay you this is the truth. Sarah Palin would never put the burden on her 17-year-old daughter of passing up a vice presidential nomination because she got pregnant. She would not make her daughter the excuse that she had to turn this down. That would be a lifelong burden her 17-year-old daughter would carry. Sarah Palin is not going to put her daughter through that. I'll tell you, this is just despicable. It is just despicable, what we have become in this country, to destroy a 17-year-old girl in the hopes of destroying her mother and her father. The Drive-By Media leads the charge, carrying the water for the Democrat Party.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: As I said, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if Obama and his campaign are personally behind these bloggers. Some people say they found evidence that they're fake blogs, supposedly right-wing blogs criticizing Sarah Palin actually created by left-wingers that are tied to the Obama campaign. One thing I do know is that Obama's political theory since he's been a street organizer in Chicago has been to clear the field -- not play the field, not level the field, but to clear it -- and it is obvious they're trying to shame. They're trying to force McCain into getting rid of Sarah Palin. I want you take a look at it a different way. How long is it going to be before Obama has to replace Biden? You wait 'til she makes her speech tomorrow night.

Here's the thing about Sarah Palin. I went out and I played golf up in Connecticut with some friends over the weekend. I had to cancel a couple weeks ago, couldn't go, so I made it up this past weekend. A lot of these guys on the golf course, very conservative, never heard of her and were worried. (grumbling) "Well, how do we...?" Two thumbs up. This is a woman whose life stacks up against Obama's and Biden's with five gold stars. This is not just a woman who's conservative. This woman has lived an American life. This woman's story has no holes. This woman can describe, with pride, everything she has done in her life, and she has hundreds of people who will vouch for it. Obama cannot say that. Obama has to put together a video at his convention with lots of holes in it. His life in Hawaii, his life in Indonesia, his life in Chicago. He didn't see anything about Jeremiah Wright who, by the way, is back now? Did you hear what Jeremiah Wright said over the weekend?

Let me just read the quote to you. "This ordinary boy, Obama, just might be the first president in the history of the United States to have a black woman sleeping at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue legally." Jeremiah Wright is back on the scene. So this woman's story is just quintessentially American, and Obama cannot tell this kind of a story about his achievements, about his accomplishments. Obama has to hide the people who could vouch for what his life has really been. Biden represents the past. He does not represent the future and hope and so forth. So the real question is: How long is it going to be before Obama gets rid of Biden? Before he realizes he has made a big mistake? And, by the way, what was Obama doing when he was the age of Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter? We have his own books to tell us, ladies and gentlemen.

When he was 17 years old, Obama was "doing blow, getting high, and getting drunk," and he has written about it! When we hear about Obama's life journey, these are considered growing experiences and obstacles he overcame, part of a greater story. And it was this Shaheen guy in New Hampshire during the early Democrat primary that speculated, "Well, maybe Obama was selling the drugs as well as using them." It was the Democrats that tried to sully him up, and this Shaheen guy said, "Don't think the Republicans aren't going to use that. I'm just getting it out there now so we make sure we nominate the right person." He meant Hillary. This is Barack Obama himself. I'm going to play the audio here, but I'm going to read you a quote from his first autobiography: Dreams from My Father.

"I spent the last two years of high school in a daze, locking away the questions that life seemed insistent posing. I kept playing basketball, attended classes sparingly, drank beer heavily, tried drugs enthusiastically. I discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van or in the dorm room with some brother you met down at the gym." That's Barack Obama in his own book, Dreams from My Father, at age 17, the same age as Bristol Palin, and here is more. Quote: "[A]nd if the high didn't solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through all the hypocrisy and bull [bleep] cheap moralism." Barack Obama, from Dreams from My Father, describing what he was doing at age 17 when Sarah Palin's daughter got pregnant with her boyfriend. And of course the exact opposite.

Sarah Palin's daughter is not seeking the presidency, Sarah Palin, is. Also, by the way, you may have forgotten this, ladies and gentlemen, but I, your host, El Rushbo, had not forgotten this. Remember when David Shuster of DNCTV earlier this year accused Hillary Clinton of "pimping" Chelsea Clinton? It was actually more a compliment about Hillary than it was Chelsea. But David Shuster was suspended for two weeks for making that comment, that Hillary Clinton was "pimping" Chelsea by virtue of the way that she was using Chelsea on the campaign trail. So no criticism -- none whatsoever of the Clintons of Democrats and so forth -- is permitted in the Drive-By Media. This is an all-out effort to destroy Sarah Palin just as they made an all-out effort to destroy Clarence Thomas.

But the rest of America has heard about this. The rest of America is dismissing it. Every parent with a child has thought about this, worries about this, and has hoped it never happens to their family. They do not appreciate political hacks trying to make hay out of it. It is a tradition that Americans understand that families are not part of political campaigns. The smart Democrats, if there are any -- and I think there probably are a couple -- don't want to debate this But the problem is, the wackos run their party now. If we're gonna open up a public airing about family, who do you think has the most to lose in that public airing? Who would you say, Dawn, has the most to lose? Obama has the most to lose about the public airing of personal family issues.

Obama had better be careful. He doesn't want to open that door. Hello, unknown brothers? Hello, unknown sisters? Hello, unknown half-brothers living on $12 a year in a hut? Hello unwed mother? Hello, Jeremiah Wright. Hello, Father Pfleger. Hello, Calypso Louie Farrakhan. Hello, all these things that went into making Obama who he is that he has not wanted to discuss or talk about. Let's not forget Algore III right before the Democrat convention, DUI. There was total sympathy for Algore and his son. What you have here, folks, very simple. The Beltway class is rebelling against a non-domesticated conservative who might pose a threat to their coronation of Obama and the return of Camelot on the Potomac. This is the Beltway class rebelling against a non-domesticated conservative.

Sarah Palin is exactly what the liberals have been saying a woman should be. She gets a job. She rises to the top. She outshines her husband. She has babies. She has somebody take care of the babies. She takes care of the state. She does it all! We always kept hearing about feminism was for the woman who wants it all. She's got it! And they despise her. They hate her guts. They are willing to try to destroy her daughter, try to destroy her husband, and try to destroy her in the process. I hope they keep it up -- and have done so many times. They're so out of touch. They've demonstrated how out of touch they are with heartland America, the people who make this country work. This is the Wellstone memorial times ten what's going on here, folks. It's the Wellstone memorial times ten, and if they keep it up, that little, bitty bounce of one point that Obama got on CNN? The Obama camp's going to find himself way behind inside a couple weeks and not know what to do about it.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here's another way to explain what's really going on here, ladies and gentlemen. The Beltway class, the Drive-By Media, elected Democrats, think tank liberals, career appointees in various bureaucracies, they see how popular the pick of Sarah Palin is with Republicans outside of Washington, with evangelicals, with people of conservative values, and there are a lot of them out there, and they're in the heartland of America. There is nothing more dangerous to entrenched Washington power than a populist conservative who hasn't adapted to Washington's creature comforts. Now, the irony here to me, ladies and gentlemen, is that Obama is running change, but he's promising only more power and money for Washington. If you want reform, if you want something really new, you've got it in Sarah Palin. Her record, her history of taking on a corrupt Republican machine in Alaska shows that she's probably the more authentic change agent, if that's what you're after. If she succeeds as a national candidate, she could help McCain win. Even if she loses, she's going to emerge as a major GOP figure in national politics for years to come. This is also why the Drive-Bys and the political classes are so eager to destroy her, not just discredit her, but to destroy her. It's vicious; it is mean, because they know the stakes. They have been blindsided. They had no idea what was coming. They still don't. As though they think they do.

Now, this morning on Fox, about 11:30 Eastern time, Bill Kristol was telling a story that a McCain staffer had shared with him. The McCain staffer had talked to Sarah Palin and had warned her of the intense scrutiny that she would be under. The McCain staffer told her to expect them to really come after her, no-holds-barred. She thanked the McCain staffer for the advice and then asked this question: Do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? The answer is lipstick. So I think, ladies and gentlemen, Sarah Palin is probably going to be the best person to defend Sarah Palin. I don't think she's intimidated by any of this. I don't think she's frightened by it.

END TRANSCRIPT

[Teacher Mark 53]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

[rebeccajo 14]

Erm.....I wouldn't call Rush Limbaugh non-biased when it comes to comparing the Thomas scenario to the Palin nomination.

"On May 27, 1994, Limbaugh married Marta Fitzgerald, a 35-year-old aerobics instructor. They were married at the house of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who officiated. They were separated on June 11, 2004.[92] Limbaugh announced on the air, "Marta has consented to my request for a divorce, and we have mutually agreed to seek an amicable separation. As I said, it's a personal matter and I want to keep it that way. I don't intend to say any more about this on the air." The divorce was finalized in December 2004."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

I am far from a fan, but Jonathon Freedland (big Obamaite and left wing) makes similar points in the UK Guardian (aa left-leaning paper)

Who knows if Palin will bring victory or defeat? But the culture wars are back

Some exerpts:

But Democrats who make these points risk doing the Republicans' work for them, falling into the wearily familiar trap of sounding like condescending coastal elitists, who look down their noses at ordinary Americans like the Palins. The blue-collar Republican base is already wild for the governor: every time they see a New York talking head say how absurd her candidacy is, they'll like her even more.

What no one can know is whether that cost will be outweighed by the gains Palin brings, galvanising a socially conservative base that had been previously lukewarm towards McCain. What we can know already is that this election will share a depressing feature with the contests of the past 40 years: that America will plunge again into the never-ending culture wars.

For Palin cannot help but polarise the electorate. Everything that liberal, blue-state America can't stand about her makes conservative, red-state America swoon. It's not just about "Jesus babies and guns," as Rush Limbaugh pithily put it. Palin also wants "intelligent design" - creationism - taught in school. When she was mayor of the small town of Wasilla, "she asked the library how she could go about banning books," according to a local official quoted by Time. Palin was worried about "inappropriate" language. "The librarian was aghast" - and was later threatened with the sack.

In his stirring speech last week, Obama urged America not to "make a big election about small things". Yet here we are, discussing not Sarah Palin's record or programme but Jesus, guns, and as one feminist blogger put it yesterday, "the uterine activity of her family". This is a setback for women, especially in a year that seemed to promise a breakthrough, but it is also a setback for America itself.

Obama made his name four years ago with a speech that called for an end to the civil war of red against blue. In 2008, he urged a different kind of election, one that would match the gravity of the hour. But the naming of Sarah Palin, and the reaction it has provoked, has dashed that hope. Americans are, once again, fighting over the questions that politics can never really settle - faith, sexuality - and pushing aside the ones that it can. And which it must.

Full article is here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20...tions2008.palin

Erm.....I wouldn't call Rush Limbaugh non-biased when it comes to comparing the Thomas scenario to the Palin nomination.

I'm not saying he's not - but a lot of people listen to him and he knows how to rally the troops

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Robin,

Don't you think you're playing up to this nonsense with your generalizations on who is perpetuating all of this? When did Andrew Sullivan become 'the voice of left wing bloggers?' I think everyone needs to be careful about painting with a broad brush, rushing to judgment, putting their foot in ther mouth, etc.. If Andrew Sullivan said something out of line, then criticize him for it along with whoever else says something that is out of line about Bristol Palin's pregnancy.

Edited September 3, 2008 by Jabberwocky

[GaryC 7]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

Did you read any of it? Whether you like it or not he is saying things that a large portion of America is thinking. All this Palin bashing is going to backfire on the dems. And trying to use her daughter like this will without any doubt backfire.

[HAL 9000 96]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

Did you read any of it? Whether you like it or not he is saying things that a large portion of America is thinking. All this Palin bashing is going to backfire on the dems. And trying to use her daughter like this will without any doubt backfire.

You mean it will backfire on the press and a few blog sites. Probably not.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

In his stirring speech last week, Obama urged America not to "make a big election about small things". Yet here we are, discussing not Sarah Palin's record or programme but Jesus, guns, and as one feminist blogger put it yesterday, "the uterine activity of her family". This is a setback for women, especially in a year that seemed to promise a breakthrough, but it is also a setback for America itself.

I agree with that, but you have to ask yourself - who is steering the political discourse in this country? We are, IMO. We can read all the gossip, listen to faux news, etc. or we can listen to those who really have something to say - give credence to arguments that are worthy of our attention. Whining about all this ####### only perpetuates it further, unless it's direct criticism aimed at a specific person or news source for stepping out of line. This is all so petty including the aimless complaining about it.

[HAL 9000 96]

In his stirring speech last week, Obama urged America not to "make a big election about small things". Yet here we are, discussing not Sarah Palin's record or programme but Jesus, guns, and as one feminist blogger put it yesterday, "the uterine activity of her family". This is a setback for women, especially in a year that seemed to promise a breakthrough, but it is also a setback for America itself.

I agree with that, but you have to ask yourself - who is steering the political discourse in this country? We are, IMO. We can read all the gossip, listen to faux news, etc. or we can listen to those who really have something to say - give credence to arguments that are worthy of our attention. Whining about all this ####### only perpetuates it further, unless it's direct criticism aimed at a specific person or news source for stepping out of line. This is all so petty including the aimless complaining about it.

Hence it really should make you think whose agenda this silliness really looks to be playing to.

[rebeccajo 14]

"In his stirring speech last week, Obama urged America not to "make a big election about small things". Yet here we are, discussing not Sarah Palin's record or programme but Jesus, guns, and as one feminist blogger put it yesterday, "the uterine activity of her family". This is a setback for women, especially in a year that seemed to promise a breakthrough, but it is also a setback for America itself."

Boy, ain't that the truth.

Unfortunately, it's the reason HRC never really stood a chance. And it's the same reason Sarah Palin is a household name in less than 24 hours.

America just ain't ready yet for a woman to be in charge. You can want to believe it is; you can believe that you as a citizen personally could accept it; you can even go to meetings where people rally for it and dream about it. But it just isn't time yet, folks. Look at the comments from illustrious VJ members when the news hit the airwaves - comments about her legs, her 'hotness'. Kind of telling, don't you think? I haven't seen a thread yet where anybody admits to supporting Obama because they've got the hots for dark skinned men. Or supporting McCain because they think grey looks distinguished on a man.

America is only 200 years old and has always been run by men. The UK is milleniums old and ladies have steered that boat off and on again many times without catastrophic ruin. It's my belief that we need a few more generations (mine included) to die off before we will ever become as enlightened as Europe.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a woman reach the pinnacle of DC power. But I would like to see her do it without riding the coattails of a man. Whether it be her husband or her President.

[symbiosis 0]

I have always disliked Rush but I have bolded areas I agree with or find interesting. Anyone who thinks discussing Bristol Palin's pregnancy might want to pay attention to how terribly this can backfire.

RUSH: Snerdley, you lost the bet. You lost the bet Friday. You lost the bet Saturday and Sunday. It's even worse than what I predicted it would be. It is ten times worse than what I predicted it would be. I told you I predicted that they would get all over Sarah Palin for giving birth to a Down syndrome baby. It's worse. They're getting on her for flying on an airplane when she was pregnant. This is the greatest example of Drive-By Media I could give you, short of the definition. The Drive-By Media, running around wildly ruining people's lives while we have to come along at the tail end of it and clean up the mess. Happy to do it, by the way. Greetings, my friends, Rush Limbaugh, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network and the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. Great to be with you. Telephone number is, 800-282-2882. The e-mail address is, ElRushbo@eibnet.com.

Let me tell you how to think of this. Sarah Palin is Clarence Thomas 2008. Back when Clarence Thomas was nominated to the United States Supreme Court, the liberal civil rights coalitions and the Drive-By Media mobilized against Clarence Thomas for one reason: He was profoundly qualified, but he showed blacks, minorities, and every American that you could become something in this country. You could become great. You can reach your wildest dreams on your own. You don't have to follow the liberal civil rights prescriptions to do it. You don't have to go through affirmative action. You don't have to do all the things liberals say you have to do to succeed. One black individual could totally upset the civil rights coalition applecart, and that is why they tried to destroy Clarence Thomas's life. What is happening to Sarah Palin is no different, and it is no less, and it is going to take all of our support and vigilance constantly to beat this back because she represents a bigger threat to a broader coalition of the Democrat Party and the media than Clarence Thomas does. This woman proves that feminism is not about women. This woman proves that feminism is nothing more than sheer, ultra-liberalism and that feminism is simply a mask for yet one of the many tentacles of liberalism out there.

This woman is eminently qualified. She is far more qualified than Barack Obama. If Joe Biden's plagiarism and other knocks against him disqualify him to be president in 1988, and again in 2008, then why all of a sudden is he qualified to be vice president in 2008? This attempt to destroy Sarah Palin's family, this attempt to destroy Sarah Palin's daughter has gone beyond the pale. I know that there are conflicting thoughts, conflicting opinions on who really is behind this. Some people think that Obama has a stealth campaign encouraging the bloggers to do this. That may be the case, I don't know. But these bloggers and the American left today are totally capable of this on their own. They don't need any guidance. This is who they are. Frankly, I hope they keep it up. This is rallying heartland America, this is rallying the Republican base, this is rallying a bunch of voters, a mess of voters; a slew of voters. This is rallying millions of voters who were tepid at best to the McCain campaign. This is coalescing millions voters. The Democrats are trying to say that this is just about picking off angry Hillary voters. That is so shortsighted as to be embarrassingly wrong. This is about rallying the Republican base. This is about expanding the Republican base. This is about coalescing the Republican base around the McCain campaign.

As far as experience is concerned, this woman runs a state, Sarah Palin, that produces 20% of America's energy. She is the steward of that state's production of energy. Sarah Palin has been brought to this ticket for a host of reasons, among them that she might pick off some female voters, but she also fits the "drill here, drill now" mode that has become the official Republican Party position on this. She fills so many bills. She can wear skirts, she's got nice-looking ankles, and I'm not trying to be funny. This irritates the American left; it irritates the media; it irritates the Democrat Party that she is exactly what they have always said a woman should be. If they were honest about feminism, they, too, would be embracing and celebrating Sarah Palin. But they're not honest. They are not about women. They are not about feminists. Well, they are about feminists, liberal feminists. It is about liberalism. It is about the Beltway class ruling. It is about the Beltway class reacquiring its power. The Beltway class is made up of elected Democrats, the Drive-By Media, think tank people on the left, and career government employees also on the left. During the course of the program today we have plenty of audio sound bites. We're going to be discussing this, all of it in great detail. We'll be taking your phone calls on this, but I want you to listen to one sound bite very quickly here. This is Barack Obama on March 29th, 2008. He was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and it was a town meeting and he said this about his two daughters.

OBAMA: Look, I've got two daughters, nine years old and six years old. I'm going to teach them first of all about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. Now, so -- it doesn't make sense to not give them information.

RUSH: He doesn't want them punished with a baby. May I share with you Sarah Palin's statement: "We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates." Yes, it was true in the case of Chelsea Clinton. By the way, Mike, change of plan here, grab Jeff Greenfield, number 16, last night on the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric said, "Speaking of the vetting process, I understand that the McCain campaign found out that Sarah's 17-year-old daughter was pregnant during the vetting process. Was that a tough conversation?"

GREENFIELD: The one question that occurs to me is, if 17-year-old Chelsea Clinton had become pregnant while living in the White House, would the reaction on the part of the Family Research Council and other very conservative Republicans been the same? Maybe it would have been, but it's a question worth asking.

RUSH: Now, somebody has just now brought up Chelsea Clinton. Now, keep in mind Chelsea Clinton was off-limits all during the Clinton presidency and the Drive-Bys bent over forward, grabbed the ankles, said, "Okay Clinton, whatever you want." Let's not forget that Algore's teenaged son, Albert Gore III, was picked up for reckless driving right before the Democrat convention of 2000. There was nothing but sympathy for Algore III from the Drive-By Media, and I don't recall the Family Research Council making a big deal out of Albert Gore III. I don't recall the Drive-Bys criticizing Algore for the way he had raised his son. I just remember it being a big sympathy play. So there's clearly a double standard going on here. You want to talk about Chelsea Clinton and what if she had gotten pregnant while living in the White House? Well, we could say, how do we know? How do we know she didn't? Since he's brought it up, hey, Jeff, why don't you ask the Clintons if she used birth control during the White House years and her college years or abstinence? Why don't you ask them all these personal questions? Why don't you start making all these personal assumptions about the Clinton kid and the Gore kids and what about Biden's kids? This story hasn't been reported since August 24th, Biden's kid in a shady hedge fund deal, and the Drive-Bys are totally uninterested in it. You know the drill. You know what's going on. This is an all-out effort to destroy a 17-year-old child.

Now, a lot of people are also asking this question: Why did she accept this nomination from John McCain knowing that she has a 17-year-old daughter who just got pregnant, is five months pregnant, and has a very young Down syndrome infant? Why did she accept? Let me tell you why, folks, I'll be very honest with you. This is something that the Drive-By Media, the Beltway class could never understand. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd -- I'll guarantee this is true, I don't know, I've never met her, never talked to her, but I'll lay you this is the truth. Sarah Palin would never put the burden on her 17-year-old daughter of passing up a vice presidential nomination because she got pregnant. She would not make her daughter the excuse that she had to turn this down. That would be a lifelong burden her 17-year-old daughter would carry. Sarah Palin is not going to put her daughter through that. I'll tell you, this is just despicable. It is just despicable, what we have become in this country, to destroy a 17-year-old girl in the hopes of destroying her mother and her father. The Drive-By Media leads the charge, carrying the water for the Democrat Party.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: As I said, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if Obama and his campaign are personally behind these bloggers. Some people say they found evidence that they're fake blogs, supposedly right-wing blogs criticizing Sarah Palin actually created by left-wingers that are tied to the Obama campaign. One thing I do know is that Obama's political theory since he's been a street organizer in Chicago has been to clear the field -- not play the field, not level the field, but to clear it -- and it is obvious they're trying to shame. They're trying to force McCain into getting rid of Sarah Palin. I want you take a look at it a different way. How long is it going to be before Obama has to replace Biden? You wait 'til she makes her speech tomorrow night.

Here's the thing about Sarah Palin. I went out and I played golf up in Connecticut with some friends over the weekend. I had to cancel a couple weeks ago, couldn't go, so I made it up this past weekend. A lot of these guys on the golf course, very conservative, never heard of her and were worried. (grumbling) "Well, how do we...?" Two thumbs up. This is a woman whose life stacks up against Obama's and Biden's with five gold stars. This is not just a woman who's conservative. This woman has lived an American life. This woman's story has no holes. This woman can describe, with pride, everything she has done in her life, and she has hundreds of people who will vouch for it. Obama cannot say that. Obama has to put together a video at his convention with lots of holes in it. His life in Hawaii, his life in Indonesia, his life in Chicago. He didn't see anything about Jeremiah Wright who, by the way, is back now? Did you hear what Jeremiah Wright said over the weekend?

Let me just read the quote to you. "This ordinary boy, Obama, just might be the first president in the history of the United States to have a black woman sleeping at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue legally." Jeremiah Wright is back on the scene. So this woman's story is just quintessentially American, and Obama cannot tell this kind of a story about his achievements, about his accomplishments. Obama has to hide the people who could vouch for what his life has really been. Biden represents the past. He does not represent the future and hope and so forth. So the real question is: How long is it going to be before Obama gets rid of Biden? Before he realizes he has made a big mistake? And, by the way, what was Obama doing when he was the age of Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter? We have his own books to tell us, ladies and gentlemen.

When he was 17 years old, Obama was "doing blow, getting high, and getting drunk," and he has written about it! When we hear about Obama's life journey, these are considered growing experiences and obstacles he overcame, part of a greater story. And it was this Shaheen guy in New Hampshire during the early Democrat primary that speculated, "Well, maybe Obama was selling the drugs as well as using them." It was the Democrats that tried to sully him up, and this Shaheen guy said, "Don't think the Republicans aren't going to use that. I'm just getting it out there now so we make sure we nominate the right person." He meant Hillary. This is Barack Obama himself. I'm going to play the audio here, but I'm going to read you a quote from his first autobiography: Dreams from My Father.

"I spent the last two years of high school in a daze, locking away the questions that life seemed insistent posing. I kept playing basketball, attended classes sparingly, drank beer heavily, tried drugs enthusiastically. I discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van or in the dorm room with some brother you met down at the gym." That's Barack Obama in his own book, Dreams from My Father, at age 17, the same age as Bristol Palin, and here is more. Quote: "[A]nd if the high didn't solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through all the hypocrisy and bull [bleep] cheap moralism." Barack Obama, from Dreams from My Father, describing what he was doing at age 17 when Sarah Palin's daughter got pregnant with her boyfriend. And of course the exact opposite.

Sarah Palin's daughter is not seeking the presidency, Sarah Palin, is. Also, by the way, you may have forgotten this, ladies and gentlemen, but I, your host, El Rushbo, had not forgotten this. Remember when David Shuster of DNCTV earlier this year accused Hillary Clinton of "pimping" Chelsea Clinton? It was actually more a compliment about Hillary than it was Chelsea. But David Shuster was suspended for two weeks for making that comment, that Hillary Clinton was "pimping" Chelsea by virtue of the way that she was using Chelsea on the campaign trail. So no criticism -- none whatsoever of the Clintons of Democrats and so forth -- is permitted in the Drive-By Media. This is an all-out effort to destroy Sarah Palin just as they made an all-out effort to destroy Clarence Thomas.

But the rest of America has heard about this. The rest of America is dismissing it. Every parent with a child has thought about this, worries about this, and has hoped it never happens to their family. They do not appreciate political hacks trying to make hay out of it. It is a tradition that Americans understand that families are not part of political campaigns. The smart Democrats, if there are any -- and I think there probably are a couple -- don't want to debate this But the problem is, the wackos run their party now. If we're gonna open up a public airing about family, who do you think has the most to lose in that public airing? Who would you say, Dawn, has the most to lose? Obama has the most to lose about the public airing of personal family issues.

Obama had better be careful. He doesn't want to open that door. Hello, unknown brothers? Hello, unknown sisters? Hello, unknown half-brothers living on $12 a year in a hut? Hello unwed mother? Hello, Jeremiah Wright. Hello, Father Pfleger. Hello, Calypso Louie Farrakhan. Hello, all these things that went into making Obama who he is that he has not wanted to discuss or talk about. Let's not forget Algore III right before the Democrat convention, DUI. There was total sympathy for Algore and his son. What you have here, folks, very simple. The Beltway class is rebelling against a non-domesticated conservative who might pose a threat to their coronation of Obama and the return of Camelot on the Potomac. This is the Beltway class rebelling against a non-domesticated conservative.

Sarah Palin is exactly what the liberals have been saying a woman should be. She gets a job. She rises to the top. She outshines her husband. She has babies. She has somebody take care of the babies. She takes care of the state. She does it all! We always kept hearing about feminism was for the woman who wants it all. She's got it! And they despise her. They hate her guts. They are willing to try to destroy her daughter, try to destroy her husband, and try to destroy her in the process. I hope they keep it up -- and have done so many times. They're so out of touch. They've demonstrated how out of touch they are with heartland America, the people who make this country work. This is the Wellstone memorial times ten what's going on here, folks. It's the Wellstone memorial times ten, and if they keep it up, that little, bitty bounce of one point that Obama got on CNN? The Obama camp's going to find himself way behind inside a couple weeks and not know what to do about it.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here's another way to explain what's really going on here, ladies and gentlemen. The Beltway class, the Drive-By Media, elected Democrats, think tank liberals, career appointees in various bureaucracies, they see how popular the pick of Sarah Palin is with Republicans outside of Washington, with evangelicals, with people of conservative values, and there are a lot of them out there, and they're in the heartland of America. There is nothing more dangerous to entrenched Washington power than a populist conservative who hasn't adapted to Washington's creature comforts. Now, the irony here to me, ladies and gentlemen, is that Obama is running change, but he's promising only more power and money for Washington. If you want reform, if you want something really new, you've got it in Sarah Palin. Her record, her history of taking on a corrupt Republican machine in Alaska shows that she's probably the more authentic change agent, if that's what you're after. If she succeeds as a national candidate, she could help McCain win. Even if she loses, she's going to emerge as a major GOP figure in national politics for years to come. This is also why the Drive-Bys and the political classes are so eager to destroy her, not just discredit her, but to destroy her. It's vicious; it is mean, because they know the stakes. They have been blindsided. They had no idea what was coming. They still don't. As though they think they do.

Now, this morning on Fox, about 11:30 Eastern time, Bill Kristol was telling a story that a McCain staffer had shared with him. The McCain staffer had talked to Sarah Palin and had warned her of the intense scrutiny that she would be under. The McCain staffer told her to expect them to really come after her, no-holds-barred. She thanked the McCain staffer for the advice and then asked this question: Do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? The answer is lipstick. So I think, ladies and gentlemen, Sarah Palin is probably going to be the best person to defend Sarah Palin. I don't think she's intimidated by any of this. I don't think she's frightened by it.

END TRANSCRIPT

Where I come from they have a word for this. It's called "bloviating"

[GaryC 7]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

Did you read any of it? Whether you like it or not he is saying things that a large portion of America is thinking. All this Palin bashing is going to backfire on the dems. And trying to use her daughter like this will without any doubt backfire.

You mean it will backfire on the press and a few blog sites. Probably not.

It will backfire on Obama and the dems. No doubt about it. Watch the polls over the next few weeks. This sort of thing entrenches the "elitist" persona that the liberals have gained.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Robin,

Don't you think you're playing up to this nonsense with your generalizations on who is perpetuating all of this? When did Andrew Sullivan become 'the voice of left wing bloggers?' I think everyone needs to be careful about painting with a broad brush, rushing to judgment, putting their foot in ther mouth, etc.. If Andrew Sullivan said something out of line, then criticize him for it along with whoever else says something that is out of line about Bristol Palin's pregnancy.

He's not. But he is an important and very respected journalist and media figure, as the former editor of the New Republic and writer for mainstream publications like Salon and the New York Times. That his actions can get me to agree with Rush Limbaugh is nothing short of incredible.

And of course you're right Steve - but if I, a card-carrying member of the liberal, coastal elite and someone who is committed to voting for Obama in this election, feels my own family personally attacked by some of this nonsense (and I know it's nonsense) how do you think someone in an important swing state like Ohio or Missouri feels who is presently lukewarm to him feels? If you don't think the way some people treat this stuff will rally the conservative base you may be surprised - they will milk it for all it's worth.

"In his stirring speech last week, Obama urged America not to "make a big election about small things". Yet here we are, discussing not Sarah Palin's record or programme but Jesus, guns, and as one feminist blogger put it yesterday, "the uterine activity of her family". This is a setback for women, especially in a year that seemed to promise a breakthrough, but it is also a setback for America itself."

Boy, ain't that the truth.

Unfortunately, it's the reason HRC never really stood a chance. And it's the same reason Sarah Palin is a household name in less than 24 hours.

America just ain't ready yet for a woman to be in charge. You can want to believe it is; you can believe that you as a citizen personally could accept it; you can even go to meetings where people rally for it and dream about it. But it just isn't time yet, folks. Look at the comments from illustrious VJ members when the news hit the airwaves - comments about her legs, her 'hotness'. Kind of telling, don't you think? I haven't seen a thread yet where anybody admits to supporting Obama because they've got the hots for dark skinned men. Or supporting McCain because they think grey looks distinguished on a man.

America is only 200 years old and has always been run by men. The UK is milleniums old and ladies have steered that boat off and on again many times without catastrophic ruin. It's my belief that we need a few more generations (mine included) to die off before we will ever become as enlightened as Europe.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a woman reach the pinnacle of DC power. But I would like to see her do it without riding the coattails of a man. Whether it be her husband or her President.

[rebeccajo 14]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

Did you read any of it? Whether you like it or not he is saying things that a large portion of America is thinking. All this Palin bashing is going to backfire on the dems. And trying to use her daughter like this will without any doubt backfire.

You mean it will backfire on the press and a few blog sites. Probably not.

It will backfire on Obama and the dems. No doubt about it. Watch the polls over the next few weeks. This sort of thing entrenches the "elitist" persona that the liberals have gained.

Oh, Gary, please. It won't backfire and you know it. American voters recognize it for what it is - just the usual political game. ####### for tat; nasty remark for nasty remark.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

More ravings from a deranged lunatic.

Did you read any of it? Whether you like it or not he is saying things that a large portion of America is thinking. All this Palin bashing is going to backfire on the dems. And trying to use her daughter like this will without any doubt backfire.

Gary, I realize 'bashing' is a favorite buzz word to use by those on the Right, but when you speak in generalities without specifically criticize just what exactly was said that you interpret as bashing of a candidate, then there's no real argument going on ....just people talking over each other.

Edited September 3, 2008 by Jabberwocky