Bonanza: Top bid on Rush’s letter from Reid approaching a cool mil; Update: Bidding reaches $1.2 $2 million
posted at 6:44 pm on October 18, 2007 by Allahpundit
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With 18 hours to go it stands at $851,100, which, given Limbaugh’s promise to match the final amount, means the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation is looking at about $2 million when the smoke clears. Ebay requires identity verification for bids over $15,000 and doubtless they’re scrutinizing this particular auction extra closely so I can only assume the bids are all legitimate. But if they are, how to explain this afternoon’s action?
y***t’s bid at 13:01:48 PDT leapfrogged r***c’s by more than $100,000. That’s explainable if you assume Y’s looking to be generous by donating as much as possible. What’s less explainable is why he then starts bidding against himself in $25,000 increments starting at 13:05:55 PDT; two minutes later he’s doubled the top bid to $500,000. If he wanted to be that generous, why didn’t he just top r***c with a $500,000 bid at 13:01? At first glance I thought maybe Ebay’s software limits you to a certain amount if you’re bidding against yourself, which would account for the $25,000 increments. Not so, though: notice that his last bid in the series goes from $400,000 directly to half a million. (There’s a huge jump in d***r’s bids, too, but the timestamps are screwy there so I’m not sure if he was bidding against himself at the time.) Exit question: Could the latest bids be a hoax to drive the numbers up by a pair of judgment-proof lefties willing to risk a lawsuit to break Limbaugh’s heart?
Update: I guess the answer to that question is, if it was a hoax, would they really have arbitrarily stopped at $851,100? Why not lay down for an even million?
Update: From a commenter, here’s the probable explanation for the incremental bidding:
[T]here’s nothing strange about y***t’s multiple bids between 13:01 and 13:07. At 13:01, y***t probably bid $500,000. Since r***c’s previous bid was probably $249,900 (or something like that), Ebay’s software automatically sets the current highest bidder (at 13:01) to y***t, with a bid of $250,000. Then, someone else (maybe d***r) comes along at 13:05, and bids $274,900. Ebay’s software automatically makes the highest bidder y***t, with a current bid of $275,000. Then, d***r probably made a second bid at 13:06 of $299,900, pushing y***t’s current bid to $300,000. And so forth. ie. when you enter a bid, you just enter the highest price you’re willing to pay, and Ebay’s software automatically gives the highest bidder the lowest price possible.
Update: Come on. Is someone seriously prepared to lay out $1.2 million for this thing?
Update: Five minutes later, it’s over $2 million.
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Sure, Rush can easily afford several $million. But what about, say $15 million, a third of a year’s salary? All it takes is two players, possibly fronting for some very deep pockets, out to embarrass him.
petefrt on October 19, 2007 at 8:09 AM
I’m sorry, I thought this was a thread on the $2.1M for Harry Reids letter, not a “hooking up” one.
rightside on October 19, 2007 at 8:10 AM
Back on topic though, I am guessing between $4-5 million at the close.
rightside on October 19, 2007 at 8:11 AM
Hey at this rate, the Dems can start auctioning off letters of their own and set up a charity for kids who’s parents are too stupid to buy them health insurance, even though they can afford it.
reaganaut on October 19, 2007 at 8:39 AM
That would never work. It would mean Dems would have to use their own money!
Darksean on October 19, 2007 at 8:43 AM
The socialist left will say “no one should have that kind of money to spend on something like this! We must do something about it!”
jed58 on October 19, 2007 at 8:56 AM
The included Halliburton attache case is a deviously delicious touch.
It’s no great accomplishment to make Harry Reid look like a fool, but this is an absolute masterstroke.
Pablo on October 19, 2007 at 9:07 AM
For the rest of time it should be brought up what Hitlary would do as a senator to a private citizen. What would she do/have done as President?
jed58 on October 19, 2007 at 9:10 AM
Rush is a genius. All bidders have to be pre-approved by him.
jaime on October 19, 2007 at 9:19 AM
Rush is a genius!
Buzzy on October 19, 2007 at 9:31 AM
This is a very historical document. Sitting senators, some running for the president, attacking a private citizen, falsely. The signers are legitimate, no mistake of its authenticity. In years to come it will be all but priceless. If Hillary’s elected, that signature alone will be invaluable. I predicted 1.5 mil., I think now 3 mil. or more.
The best part? The left is looking like the fools they are.
right2bright on October 19, 2007 at 9:32 AM
Look for a quick speaking tour by Rush to raise the cash match.
Semper fi.
profitsbeard on October 19, 2007 at 9:43 AM
Let’s thank Harry Reid for supporting the troops by making a complete ass out of himself. The law of averages say that democrats have to do something to help our troops and they finally have. Many thanks to the moronic talking cadaver from Nevada. When you acknowledge trash like this as your leader, all hope is lost.
volsense on October 19, 2007 at 10:02 AM
Well, of course. Why didn’t I think of that. :)
Even if the bidding goes ballistic, he can raise it with a special speaking tour. May be bonus PR for him too.
petefrt on October 19, 2007 at 10:29 AM
This person is selling a copy of the Rush letter. They also put in their title description the option of going to Rush’s site and DL for free. Three are experienced ebayers and one is a newbie bidding for the copy.
ttevolla on October 19, 2007 at 10:30 AM
the conspiracy theorists here are so silly. Like I’m reading comments on a DailyKos blog.
Come on.
And what’s with the questions about who would want this letter? and who has this kind of money?
Are you kidding me? For some this is NOT alot of money, and I think this IS an important piece of history.
Showing how pathetic our elected leaders can be. If I were Hillary, I’d bid millions just to get this and burn it.
bridgetown on October 19, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Pure genius…! And He’s killing several birds (some of them sh!tbirds) with one stone…, AND adding insult to injury by doing this wonderfully witty and charitable thing… I think the folks at Clearchannel deserve a lot of credit too. After all, they went along with it and handed him the letter. Way to go, Guys…!
Rugged Individual on October 19, 2007 at 10:48 AM
Can’t you get a copy just by printing it out of Adobe from e-bay? If you go to Rush’s e-bay sale page and click on the different pages of the letter, each comes up in Adobe.
jaime on October 19, 2007 at 10:52 AM
I DL’d my copies from eBay.
ttevolla on October 19, 2007 at 11:03 AM
I wouldn’t be surprised if a Democratic ideologue with super-deep pockets is trying to put the hurt on Rush AND get the letter back where it can’t do any more damage. At this point, this is the only face-saving card that can be played to redeem this disaster for the Dems isn’t it?
smellthecoffee on October 19, 2007 at 11:20 AM
RUSH will never get hurt no matter how high the bids go. He can make this thing last till election time ‘08. How you ask? He can make weekly or monthly payments to the Fund like he said he would and get the mileage from this and rub it in those libs faces over and over till the whole country really knows what tools they really are. I would like to say more but don’t want to get banned. LOL
Imagine a daily or weekly update payment and advertise it all the time about the LETTER from dingy and the dimocrats. Gotta love3 Rush and his brillance.
bones47 on October 19, 2007 at 11:46 AM
It’s like a real life version of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon.
“A MILLION DOLLARS FOR A RABBIT! AAAAAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
GogglesPisano on October 19, 2007 at 11:51 AM
Rush was great on H & C last night. I wonder if the MSM will cover the latest developments of the “phony soldiers saga”. Rush hit a grand slam with this, and Harry Reid looks even more foolish than usual.
chief on October 19, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Yeah, 2.2 million is alot of scratch,
but you do get free shipping, so that’s nice.
omnipotent on October 19, 2007 at 12:19 PM
This is the Superbowl of Talk Radio!
Ropera on October 19, 2007 at 12:20 PM
The Corner is reporting that Reid went to the Senate floor and asked people to vote for Rush’s letter
bnelson44 on October 19, 2007 at 12:31 PM
UPDATE: Here’s a raw transcript from the Senate:
REID: MADAM PRESIDENT, EARLY THIS MONTH I CAME TO THE FLOOR TO DISCUSS SOME COMMENTS MADE BY RUSH LIMBAUGH. FOLLOWING MY REMARKS, MORE THAN 40 OF MY SENATE COLLEAGUES AND I CO-SIGNED A LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN OF CLEAR CHANNEL, MARK MAY, TELLING HIM THAT WE WANTED HIM TO CONFER WITH RUSH LIMBAUGH REGARDING THE } STATEMENTS HE MADE. I’VE SINCE SPOKEN TO MARK MAY ABOUT THIS. MARK MAY, IN FACT, CALLED ME REGARDING THIS LETTER. THIS WEEK, RUSH LIMBAUGH PUT THE ORIGINAL COPY OF THAT LETTER UP FOR AUCTION ON E-BAY. MR. PRESIDENT, WE DIDN’T HAVE TIME, OR WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN EVERY SENATOR TO SIGN THAT LETTER. BUT HE PUT THE LETTER UP FOR AUCTION ON E-BAY AND I THINK VERY, VERY CONSTRUCTIVELY, LEFT THE PROCEEDS OF THAT IT GO TO THE MARINE CORPS LAW ENFORCEMENTS FOUNDATION. THAT PROVIDES SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE TO MARINES AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL WHOSE PARENTS FALL IN THE LINE OF DUTY. WHAT COULD BE A MORE WORTHWHILE CAUSE? I THINK IT’S REALLY GOOD THAT THIS MONEY ON E-BAY IS GOING TO BE RAISED FOR THIS PURPOSE. WHEN I SPOKE TO MARK MAYIC HE AND I THOUGHT THIS PROBABLY WOULDN’T MAKE MUCH MONEY, A LETTER WRITTEN BY DEMOCRATIC SENATORS COMPLAINING ABOUT SOMETHING. THIS MORNING, THE BID IS MORE THAN $2 MILLION FOR THIS. WE HAVE WATCHED IT DURING THE WEEK. IT KEEPS GOING UP-AND-UP AND UP. THERE’S ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LEFT ON IT. BUT IT CERTAINLY IS GOING TO BE MORE THAN $2 MILLION. NEVER DID WE THINK THAT THIS LETTER WOULD BRING MONEY OF THIS NATURE. AND, FOR THE CAUSE, MADAM PRESIDENT, IT IS EXTREMELY GOOD. NOW, EVERYONE KNOWS THAT RUSH LIMBAUGH AND I DON’T AGREE ON EVERYTHING IN LIFE AND MAYBE THAT IS KIND OF AN UNDERSTATEMENT. BUT WITHOUT QUALIFICATION MARK MAY, THE OWNER OF THE NETWORK THAT HAS RUSH LIMBAUGH AND RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOULD KNOW THAT THIS LETTER THAT THEY’RE AUCTIONING IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT RAISES MONEY FOR A WORTHWHILE CAUSE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE COULD DO MORE IMPORTANT THAN HELPING TO ENSURE THAT CHILDREN OF OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS AND POLICE OFFICERS WHO HAVE FALLEN IN THE LINE OF DUTY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN TO HAVE A GOOD EDUCATION. THINK OF THIS, MORE THAN $2 MILLION — THAT WILL REALLY HELP. THAT’S, AGAIN, AN UNDERSTATEMENT. THERE’S ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LEFT SO I WOULD ASK THOSE THAT ARE WANTING TO DO MORE, THAT THEY CAN GO TO HARRY REID LETTER AND IT WILL COME UP ON E-BAY. I ENCOURAGE ANYONE INTERESTED WITH THE MEANS TO CONSIDER CONTRIBUTING TO THIS WORTHWHILE CAUSE. I STRONGLY BELIEVE WHEN WE CAN PUT OUR DIFFERENCES ASIDE, EVEN HARRY REID AND RUSH LIMBAUGH, WE SHOULD DO THAT AND TRY TO ACCOMPLISH GOOD THINGS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THIS DOES THAT, MADAM PRESIDENT. MORE THAN $2 MILLION FOR A LETTER SIGNED BY THIS SENATOR AND MY FRIENDS.
bnelson44 on October 19, 2007 at 12:35 PM
Tomorrow’s Headline:
“America’s Smartest Woman” and 40 other Donks get chumped by a Drug Addict.
BWAHAHAHAH !!!
franksalterego on October 19, 2007 at 12:38 PM
That is about the smartest thing Reid could do in this situation.
BadgerHawk on October 19, 2007 at 12:42 PM
Well 15 minutes left and its 2,100,100.00 looks like its going to go for that….
doriangrey on October 19, 2007 at 12:46 PM
I cannot believe he said this with a straight face.
I’m interested to see what Rush will say about Reid’s statement.
INC on October 19, 2007 at 12:49 PM
Mark May should tell Dingy and the Democraps that he will no longer communicate by the telephone and if they have something to say to him , mail a letter, signed of course!
abinitioadinfinitum on October 19, 2007 at 12:55 PM
And the bidding ends at………..US $2,100,100.00…Sold……..
doriangrey on October 19, 2007 at 1:00 PM
bettyc588 wins for 2.1 million
Kaptain Amerika on October 19, 2007 at 1:01 PM
No offense intended dude, it was meant purely as humor at your expense rather than hers. I’m happy to retract my comment.
infidel4life on October 19, 2007 at 1:01 PM
Apparently the winner’s ID is ‘bettyc588′.
dave_lantos on October 19, 2007 at 1:01 PM
I called it pretty close last night.
infidel4life on October 19, 2007 at 1:03 PM
Rush just said bettyc588 is named Betty Casey. Details later.
FishFearMe on October 19, 2007 at 1:08 PM
Betty C is a noted philanthropist, according to Rush.
FishFearMe on October 19, 2007 at 1:09 PM
You can sense Dingy Harry’s heart in the gut back pedaling, HaHa this is great, if only the every day middle of the road American knew the length the left went to try and silence a private citizen.
abinitioadinfinitum on October 19, 2007 at 1:10 PM
Strange. If the winner is this “Betty Casey”
Then she seems to have gone over to the darks side this year as evidenced by her donations to obama…
rbb on October 19, 2007 at 1:10 PM
Dingy Harry’s a$$hole is so tight right now, you couldn’t drive a strait pin in it with a jackhammer.
FishFearMe on October 19, 2007 at 1:11 PM
whoops. Betty casey link http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=MD&last=CASEY&first=BETTY
rbb on October 19, 2007 at 1:12 PM
Will she use it against Hillary or did Obama sign it also?
abinitioadinfinitum on October 19, 2007 at 1:13 PM
Maybe she was forced by a Chinese person to donate to Obama.
LOL
bridgetown on October 19, 2007 at 1:16 PM
What would you donate for a copy signed by Rush?
jed58 on October 19, 2007 at 1:31 PM
Looks like she went from the Right Side to the Dark Side.
Connie on October 19, 2007 at 2:02 PM
Reid is trying to save face now. Playing like he is in some
kind of control.
sonnyspats1 on October 19, 2007 at 7:12 PM
Betty Brown Casey of Maryland sure sounds like Betty B. Casey. Huh. And, yes, Obama signed it, too.
Jaibones on October 20, 2007 at 11:24 AM
And Reid has the stones to take credit for it.
what chutzpa
RobCon on October 20, 2007 at 12:56 PM
I heard his speech. He sounds like he’s on sedatives, oh, and he also sounds like he’s a pathological liar. The truth comes out naturally and easily, lies have to be thought through a bit more.
Mojave Mark on October 20, 2007 at 4:41 PM
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