Take back the country. One dead liberal at a time.

Rush Limbaugh gave a roaring and invigorating speech yesterday. Calling, numerously, on his creed that Obama wants socialism and to destroy capitalism. He called for caonservatives to "take back" America and defended his remarks desiring Obama to fail with more asinine assertions.

"We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are, because we make the mistake of assuming that people know. What they know is largely incorrect, based on the way we're portrayed in pop culture, in the drive-by media, by the Democrat party," the conservative talk show host told a mostly young crowd of energized supporters.

"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. We believe that the preamble of the Constitution contains an inarguable truth, that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, freedom -- and the pursuit of happiness," he said, pausing several times for enthusiastic applause.

Really? Then why the attempts to mar the constitution by injecting religious dogma into its foundations? Why has he defended Bush's curtailing the law of the United States by issuing warrant-less wiretaps on American civilians? Also, why is he citing the Declaration of Independence while talking about the Constitution?

Limbaugh used his self-described "first national address," which ran more than an hour longer than his allotted 20 minutes, to accuse President Obama of inspiring fear in Americans in order to push a liberal agenda of "big government."

"He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day, because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers, which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated. Doesn't matter. They'll have control of it when it's all over. And that's what they want," Limbaugh said.

What the the fuck has Rush been smoking? What has been the GOP modus operandi for the entire Bush administration? Fear mongering. Fear mongering over bogeymen and that they are coming for you in the night. Obama, on the other hand, is talking realistically about a very real disaster that is unfolding right in front of our eyes: economic collapse. Is it fear mongering to tell a frostbite victim that they may very well lose an extremity, or is it simply addressing the realities of a dire situation? Apparently, Rush can't distinguish the two, so he simply goes into rhetoric attack mode.

Limbaugh praised Obama as one of the most gifted politicians he has seen, but said, "It just breaks my heart that he does not use these extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be. He's doing just the opposite."

Yeah, really. What an asshole Obama is. Trying to inspire people to volunteer to help their communities, to conserve resources, to fix their failing infrastructure and strengthen the country as a whole. What a bunch of bullshit. Why doesn't he inspire us to be the best that we can be, like Bush did. Y'know, where he tells us to go out and shop till we drop so the terrorists don't win. Or maybe Rudy Giuliani who openly mocked (to much applause) community organizers that take active roles in trying to better their community.

Limbaugh's rollicking speech came the day after Obama supporters put out a political ad implying that the conservative radio host has become the de facto head of the Republican Party in the absence of a clear GOP leader.

The ad argues that the Republican leadership in Congress is following Limbaugh's lead in opposing the Obama administration's stimulus package.

"So who are Republican leaders listening to?" the announcer asks, before the 30-second ad cuts abruptly to footage of Limbaugh saying, "I want him [Obama] to fail."

It was paid for by Americans United for Change and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, two groups that supported Obama during the election and are advocating for his agenda.

Limbaugh doesn't speak for all Republicans or conservatives. Copies of the American Conservative magazine with the headline "How radio wrecks the right" were distributed to CPAC attendees, Preston said.

"There is some criticism of Rush Limbaugh. Some people think he is a reactionary," Preston said.

Well, no shit. All he does is piss and moan about how liberals are destroying everything. Even when a matter is clearly the fault of the GOP, Rush will still spin it as created by liberal agendas and ideals. It's like during the very beginning of Obama's term, Limbaugh constantly deduced that falling stock prices was because of Obama. Yeah, because it's not like we were in a recession with dozens of banks falling, a housing bubble run amok collapsing, and record high unemployment continuing to escalate. None of that mattered. It's all because of Obama.

Limbaugh defended his remark about wanting Obama to fail, comparing it to his desire to see the Arizona Cardinals "fail" in this year's Super Bowl game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"This notion that I want the president to fail, folks, this shows you a sign of the problem we've got," he said.

"What is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?" he said, bringing the crowd once again to its feet.

"Did the Democrats want the war in Iraq to fail? Well, they certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail, they proclaimed it a failure."
- Source

Except that's not at all how it was. Those of us on the left didn't want Iraq to fail, we feared that it would. We feared that the monetary and human life costs would not be worth the outcome and that it would only further destabilize the region. Guess who the fuck was right? I'll give you a hint: Cheney said we would be greeted as liberators.

Those on the Left wanted Hans Blix and the UN to finish their assessment. The Right wanted to go rushing on in the Iraq and kick some ass. Hans Blix was prematurely pulled from Iraq, not allowed to finish his inquiry, and troops were soon dispatched. The notion that anyone on the Left wanted Iraq to fail simply isn't true. Instead, that was the tagline used by Rush Limbaugh to demonize liberals as hating our troops and despising America. He uses his own twisted logic to justify further twisted logic.

If this really is the path of the GOP - by listening to the sheer amount of GOP senators that go onto and then harp the words of Hannity and Limbaugh, I can only deduce that it is - then the nation should brace for even more instances like the shooting death of Arkansas DNC Chairman, Bill Gwatney.

The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, about four hours after a shooting at the party's headquarters, police said.

Chairman Bill Gwatney died at 3:59 Wednesday afternoon after a gunman entered his Little Rock office and shot him several times in the upper body, Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.
- Source

It was never clearly concluded what the motivation was, as the shooter was later killed by police after a high speed chase.

Johnson's relatives could offer no insight. A sister said he normally voted Democratic.
- Source

Except that turns out to be absolute bullshit.

Is there any chance political passion played a role? It is far too early to say. But, for the record, we obtained Johnson's voting record in White County. He was a regular voter, casting ballots 13 times since November 2000. He voted Republican more often than not in primary balloting. He voted Republican in 2002 and 2004 primaries and the 2008 presidential primary. He voted in the Democratic primary and Democratic runoff primary in 2006. There was no record of a vote in this year's May primary on either side.
- Source

Voting in Democratic Primaries doesn't mean the guy was a "mixed voter." Limbaugh and many in the GOP (as well some for the DNC, such as pinhead extraordinaire Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos) have called for voting in opposition primaries to beef up votes for the weaker candidate. However, it seems that we will never know exactly. what the motivation was, but it does seem odd that he stormed into the DNC headquarters and shot Gwatney for no apparent reason.

Then there is the more direct and clearly motivated attack on the Tennessee Unitarian Church.

It was a simple plan, he wrote, borne out of hopelessness but rooted in patriotism.

“The future looks bleak,” the ex-soldier lamented. “I’m absolutely fed up! So I thought I’d do something good for this country — kill Democrats ‘til (sic) the cops kill me.”

With what he believed to be his last pen strokes, Jim David Adkisson urged other suicidal soldiers against the “liberalism that’s destroying America” to leave their own trail of carnage behind.

“I’d like to encourage other like-minded people to do what I’ve done,” Adkisson wrote. “If life ain’t worth living anymore, don’t just kill yourself. Do something for your country before you go. Go kill liberals.”

[...]

n his manifesto, Adkisson deemed his rampage part “political protest” and part “symbolic killing.”

“This was a hate crime,” he wrote. “Liberals are a pest like termites, millions of them … the only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is kill them in the streets, kill them where they gather.”
- Source

Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

[...]

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.
- Source

So, what exactly do the nation's favorite mainstream conservative casters say that could spur such attacks?

“My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building.”

Vester: You say you’d rather not talk to liberals at all?

Coulter: I think a baseball bat is the most effective way these days.

So for those of you who haven’t read any of my five best-selling books: Liberals are driven by Satan and lie constantly.

“I’d say something about John Edwards, but if you use the word ‘faggot’, you have to go to rehab.”

“We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens’ creme brulee. … That’s just a joke, for you in the media.”

“Patriotic Americans don’t have to become dangerous psychotics like liberals, but they could at least act like men. “

“I don’t know if he’s [Bill Clinton] gay. But [former Vice President] Al Gore — total fag.”

They say there's a word of truth behind every joke. The fact that Coulter thinks beating our political leaders and those with differing points of view is "funny" shows how much of a fucking lunatic she is. But why stop there, there's plenty more to choose from.

Ruch Limbaugh:

“They are 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?” [To a caller who said black people need to be heard.]

“…If you want to know what America used to be — and a lot of people wish it still were — then you listen to Strom Thurmond.”

“I tell people don’t kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus — living fossils — so we will never forget what these people stood for.”

“Because we are sympathetic, we are compassionate people, we have responded by letting our government literally feed these people to the point of obesity. At least here in America, didn’t teach them how to fish, we gave them the fish. Didn’t teach them how to butcher a — slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter. The real bloat here, as we know, is in — is in government.”

You have to slaughter cows to get butter?

Pat Robertson (founder of the Christian Coalition with over 1.7 million members)

“How can there be peace when drunkards, drug dealers, communists, atheists, New Age worshippers of Satan, secular humanists, oppressive dictators, greedy money changers, revolutionary assassins, adulterers, and homosexuals are on top?”

“When lawlessness is abroad in the land, the same thing will happen here that happened in Nazi Germany. Many of those people involved with Adolph Hitler were Satanists, many of them were homosexuals–the two things seem to go together.”

“Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.”

“Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up.” [Speaking about bombing the State Department]

Michael Savage:

“I can guarantee you [liberals], you wouldn’t be in business too long. I can guarantee you you’d be arrested for sedition within six months of my taking power. I’d have you people licking lead paint, what you did to this country.”

“Carl Levin and Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, The New Yorker, CBS have destroyed the war effort against terror. And if, God forbid, a suitcase bomb goes off you’ll know who to blame. I’m — hey I’m not going to mince words, there’s no grey zone here. It’s black and white, it’s them versus us and the enemy within on their side.”

“My fear is that if the Democrats win [in the November midterm elections], and I’m afraid that they might, you’re going to see America melt down faster that you could ever imagine. It will happen overnight, and it could lead to the breakup of the United States of America, the way the Soviet Union broke up.”

Bill O'Reilly:

“Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you’re a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they’re undermining everything and they don’t care, couldn’t care less.”

“Americans will respect your beliefs if you just keep them private.“

“You want to have two guys making out in front of your 4-year-old? It’s OK with them. A guy smoking a joint, blowing the smoke into your little kid’s face? OK with them. And I’m not exaggerating here. This is exactly what the secular movement stands for.”

“Conservative people tend to see the world in black and white terms, good and evil. Liberals see grays. In any talk format, you have to pound home a strong point of view. If you’re not providing controversy and excitement, people won’t listen, or watch.”