Quote of the day

And while we are on the subject that includes Rush Limbaugh, how bout we at least read a portion of what Rush had to say about Colin Powell telling the American people to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh…

So General Powell, let me explain something. The fact is Republicans did not listen to me. They listened to you. They have not been listening to me for years. The Republican Party nominated your ideal candidate. They nominated your guy, a moderate, who’s willing to buy into an endless array of liberal causes, from global warming — there’s an AP story out today that says we are cooling this year, and by the way, record lows in Denver, we have record lows in Montana. We actually have a story on global warming from the AP today, and in the last couple paragraphs it says — Rachel, you’ll love this, because I know you think Algore is a genius — it says here that this cooling perfectly illustrates how the world is warming. Folks, we got more problems than you can possibly imagine. That’s just lunacy. That is just insanity. And that’s modern journalism. We’re freezing our butts off. We have our fifth cold front that went through here, and we normally haven’t had the first one yet. Five cold fronts! Cold for us, but I mean look it, weather is weather. Record lows in Denver. And all of this freezing cold points out how the world is so rapidly warming, it perfectly illustrates it, the guy says.

He quotes a scientist here that says species are going extinct like never before, and I’ve got a story about 70 brand-new species discovered in the Mekong Delta. We can’t trust anything that we see in the media anymore. It’s all agenda oriented, and it’s all oriented toward the agenda of Washingtonians. As long as you are a Republican, but you buy into an endless array of liberal causes, global warming to amnesty for illegals, and somebody who has the same fetish for compromising principles that you do, then they are going to love you. Then you turn around and you stab this person in the back by endorsing the most liberal Democrat candidate ever nominated days before the election, General Powell? You want to lecture me about how the Republican Party needs to stop listening to me when they are not? They are listening to you. I also have to question something here. How can he say he’s a Republican? He gets the perfect Republican nominee, exactly the kind of candidate he wants, it’s McCain, and then he sabotages McCain a few weeks before the election by endorsing Obama. How can you even claim to be a Republican, General Powell? When have you ever stuck your neck out for Republicans and conservatives? Never. I mean sabotage George W. Bush with the Armitage leak and Scooter Libby, that’s just one thing, but Ronald Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 all helped advance General Powell’s career.
Now, there are exceptional military men and women throughout our nation who could have served as national security advisor or chairman of the chief joints of staff, to quote Rita X, many ex-military people who could have been the secretary of state. Hell, Hillary can do it, anybody can do it. I’m sure you did a good job, General Powell, certainly nothing exceptional, you’re no George Marshall. But I can’t think of a single occasion where Secretary Powell stepped up to the plate for the Republican Party or the conservative movement. I think of many times when he has not done so or even worse. I’ve noticed on the one hand General Powell claims to stand above politics as a big claim to fame. Yet, on the other hand, he jumps in from time to time, but only to attack the conservative base of the Republican Party. When’s the last time, the first time, when is any time he has let loose or criticized a liberal Democrat on any issue? Now, here’s the problem. General Powell, and folks, this problem I think is systemic in the Republican Party in Washington. People like General Powell seek to ingratiate themselves with the people who despise the Republican Party and despise the conservative movement. They’re out there preaching moderation all along the way, when instead you should be preaching principle.

Principle is what got you where you are. Moderation is what keeps you where you are with this great reputation, great image but no substance, no principles, no core belief. If somebody had to tell you who Colin Powell is, what would they say? What does he stand for? What does General Powell stand for? What does John McCain stand for? You don’t know. There aren’t any core beliefs you can go rat-tat-tat down the list and say, yep, this is who they are. Was Abraham Lincoln great because he saw compromise during the Civil War or was he great because he insisted on total and complete victory? Great people take stands on principle, not moderation. Some of us think that individual liberty, limited constitutional government, and increased support for the military by civilians are principles worth defending. Maybe General Powell can enlighten us, since he’s failed to do that so far on the great liberal or moderate Democrat principles that seem to intrigue him. What is it about Obama that intrigued him? What are these principles? Or was it the way Obama speaks?

General Powell says we need to reach out to Hispanic, blacks, and Asians. Well, how do we do that? What kind of message does he suggest? I never hear the “how” to do it. I just hear we need to do it. And in my mind, we already have the blueprint for how to do it. We have done it successfully. We abandoned the blueprint. It’s called individual freedom, liberty, and not seeing them as Hispanics and not seeing them as Asians and not seeing them as blacks or minorities, but rather seeing them as Americans, human beings. Liberals look at people and groupify them and then think of them with contempt. I mean are all black people identical thinkers, if we understand what one of them thinks we know how to get to all of them, is that true? Same thing with Asians? Same thing with Hispanics? General Powell has no vision. He is not in touch with the public in any meaningful way. He’s a Washingtonian. He’s not in touch with the public. He lives in a bubble so he doesn’t have to expose himself to contrary arguments. He just has to accept accolades from the people he treasures and values most, his buddies and the media. He doesn’t add anything to the public discussion. What has he added to the public discussion? What has he done to advance a principle? He is constantly peddling his identity and his reputation rather than anything substantive or insightful.

I’m sure he’s a delightful person with his friends and I’m sure he’s charitable with his time and his money, but he has no idea what he’s talking about when he presumes to dictate how Republicans and conservatives should build a governing majority. One of the things he said is he resents Sarah Palin because she kept talking about small towns. He said nobody lives in small towns and that’s why they’re small. “I’m from the Bronx. Something wrong with my values?” he asked. What is this hatred for conservatives and small town people and Sarah Palin? It’s because they are effective. They represent challenges to the Washingtonians’ control of the Republican Party. I know a lot of people that are from the Bronx, General Powell, and if you think the values there in the Bronx today reflect the ones you grew up with, take a trip back and see if the street corners and the activities there are the same as when you were growing up, General Powell. Quick time-out. I spent more time on this than I intended to because we got other things to do.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Let me get this straight. The guy who has supported the Republican candidate for president should be thrown out of the party. That would be me. But the guy who bolted and sabotaged the Republican nominee by endorsing the Democrat candidate should stay in and be part of the team that determines what the Republican Party is going to be. The turncoat, General Powell, is the one who the party is gonna listen to? McCain’s a moderate. I supported McCain. Powell, who wants a moderate, did not support McCain. It’s unreal. It’s just incredible. Look, I’m trying to be a little humble here, but it’s hard when you got all this other stuff going on and Republicans out there now continue to trash me. It’s flattering; it is amazing. At the same time, it’s mind-boggling how I get under their skin. What I’m learning now, folks, it really doesn’t matter about party. It’s not getting under Republicans’ skin now. It’s getting under the skin of Washingtonians. It’s getting under the skin of the Big Government people. These are liberals. There’s no such thing as a moderate Republican. A moderate Republican is a liberal. General Powell, says, “I’m a fiscal conservative; I don’t like the social stuff.” What’s wrong with the social side? It’s abortion. But it’s more than that, it’s Washingtonianism.

Keemo on December 16, 2008 at 7:48 AM