Apology And Agreement

Last week I wrote about Rush Limbaugh’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Although there are some other topics I need to address, I can’t go on in good faith until I correct my errors.

I didn’t start actually taking notes until a couple minutes into his speech. I told you I was an amateur reporter, and it shows. The truth is, I misquoted Rush. And for that I must apologize.

Yes, I now join the esteemed company of Republicans who went crawling back to Rush to apologize for their transgressions against the Big Boss of the GOP. I guess I know how it feels now for Michael Steele, Phil Ginrey, Mark Sanford and all the others.

If I am going to pick on Rush, it should be for what he said, not for what I thought he said.

I wrote that Rush liked to make liberals “defend Stalin”. Maybe my hearing is going, along with my short term memory. Days later I got a copy of the transcript of Rush’s speech and learned the true context.

He was joking about his security. He said, “In fact, I would like to introduce to you my security chief, a man who runs all of my security. His name is Joseph Stalin. I am safe from any liberal attack, in public, because they would be afraid of offending Stalin.”

My aging ears heard something like defending, rather than offending. So let’s set the record straight. We liberals are “afraid of offending Stalin”, not that we defend him.

I also wrote he said, “Stop thinking you’re a minority”. What he really said was, “But the main thing to do here is stop thinking that we are a minority.”

“Same difference", you say? I just want to be accurate.

And now it’s time for some even more painful honesty. I agree with something Rush said in the first minutes of his speech.

He said, “We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. “

Now, now, I know he botched it when he said that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was written in the Constitution. Just because the CPAC folks were about to give him a Defender of the Constitution Award, doesn’t mean poor Rush has to KNOW anything about the Constitution.

Besides, he was about to make a broader point, the one he and I share. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, wherever those notions come from, are in trouble.

“We conservatives think all three are under assault.”

Right on, Rush! I’m with you there, buddy. I must be a conservative too! Woo hoo! So, why did you support and defend Bush and Cheney while they ravaged our Constitution? Oh I forgot. You’re only an entertainer.

Since I have the transcript of the speech, I feel I must make amends to Rush and plug a couple more of his enlightening statements.

His very next sentence was, “We don't want to tell anybody how to live.”

Oh, really? That’s news to me. I guess they only want to tell people how NOT to live. Big difference, eh?

I’ll tell you one more, just to give you the flavor of the event. In defense of his wanting Obama to fail, he rallied the crowd with this lie.

“Did the Democrats want the war on Iraq to fail?”

“Yes!” The conservatives roared with one great voice.

“They certainly did,” Rush affirmed. Never mind many Democrats not only voted to let Bush start the war, they voted to fund it for years.

Lucky for Rush they don’t tax lies.