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Shutdown: Drive-By Media Misinforms Low-Information Voters, Emboldens Democrats


RUSH: Well, the government shutdown continues, and the media is continuing to have a field day with it all, and, as discussed yesterday, the media is really the problem here, folks.  I mean, the Democrats are who they are, and we know that.  Obama's who he is, and we know that.  Harry Reid is who he is, and we know that.  Pelosi's who she is, and we know that.  And we've known this for years. 

There's really not a whole lot to be told anymore about them; everybody knows.  Well, maybe, I mean the low-information crowd.  The low-information crowd, by the way, is tweeting Washington.  I have a story right here in the Stack of Stuff.  It's an AP story, their technology division. "Stop Being So Stupid, Voters Tweet to Congress."  They don't understand why a compromise is so elusive.  "The roiling debate over the US government shutdown is extending to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram." 

By the way, wait 'til you hear, we've got some audio sound bites coming up, Rick Pitino, well-known college basketball coach. Pitino is at the University of Louisville, and it's amazing to listen to him describe recruiting trips.  He said these are exceptional high school basketball players.  He's trying to recruit them to play college basketball at Louisville, and he goes out to recruit 'em and he can't get 'em off the computer, the iPhone or whatever. He has to talk to their parents 'cause all they're doing is social media. That's all they care about. That's all they're doing.  And wait 'til you hear it.  It's coming up in the audio sound bites. 

So, "The roiling debate over the US government shutdown is extending to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram," which is a photo site, "as fed-up Americans turn to social media to register their disgust with federal lawmakers for shutting down the government.
Those posting pulled no punches, calling members of Congress 'immature,' 'stupid' and 'idiots' who need to 'grow up.' ... But, mostly, tweeters said they couldn't understand why a compromise between the two sides seemed so elusive."  The low-information crowd weighing in on this.  And there's a reason for that. 

If you're Harry Reid, if you're Nancy Pelosi, if you're Barack Obama, if you're Steny Hoyer, if you're Charlie Rangel, if you are any Democrat and you know that no matter what you say about the Republicans is gonna be repeated and amplified, and if you know that no matter what you do you will never be criticized, and you will never be held to account, are you not going to have blazing confidence to just launch whatever you want to launch and say whatever you want to say and do whatever you want to do?  Because the group that exists ostensibly as the arbiters, the umpires, if you will, are all on one side, and when they're on your side, I mean, move this to playing a game of any kind, softball, baseball. 

If the umpires are on your side you're going to get every call and you're gonna benefit from even cheating.  You'll be allowed to cheat and it won't be called.  In the case of baseball your opponents will be called out on strikes that are 10 feet outside the strike zone, what are you gonna do?  You're not gonna be interested in compromise.  You're not gonna be interested in anything other than a total slam dunk.  These poor low-information voters want to know why there isn't any compromise, because that's not what's even on the table.  Compromise here isn't even on the table.  What's at stake is the Republican Party disowning the Tea Party and basically disowning itself, and until that happens, this kind of pressure is gonna keep on. 

Look at, as an example, the story at the World War II memorial.  The White House and the Department of Interior rejected a request from Representative Steven Palazzo's office who asked that World War II vets be allowed to visit the World War II memorial in Washington.  Palazzo is a Mississippi Republican.  "He helped the veterans commit an act of civil disobedience against the Park Service Tuesday, when the heroes stormed through barricades around the closed memorial." He asked for it to be opened up, and the regime refused. 

Palazzo is a Gulf War Marine veteran.  He's participated in all five of the Honor Flights, which is World War II vets being brought to Washington to visit their memorial.  These people are 70, 80-plus years old.  Some of them, it's a trip of a lifetime for 'em.  Some of them have never seen it, never been to the memorial.  They've had plans underway, and what happened yesterday was some of these people said just to hell with these barricades and took 'em down and went to see the memorial anyway. 

But the point is, that when permission was asked of the regime, "Could you be a little compassionate here?" 

"No, can't, it's a National Park. It's closed, sorry. The vets can't come in." 

If you know that the media is gonna blame the Republicans for that, if you're Barack Obama or Harry Reid or Pelosi and you think that you might be criticized for flat-out just being mean and inconsiderate, you wouldn't mistreat these World War II veterans this way.  You wouldn't have the guts to.  You'd go out of your way to make it look like you were the ones making it possible for them to realize their dreams.  Instead, the Democrat Party is proud and happy to stand up as the obstacles and then shift the blame to the Republicans, knowing full well that's what the media's gonna do.  If you've got that kind of support, if you've got this kind of rigged game backing you up, what in the world would you ever compromise for?  Why should you?  Why would you?

There is no news media.  There's simply a bunch of people on television and in newspapers who are ranking members of the Democrat Party.  Look at how many of 'em leave their jobs and go work for Obama.  Look at how many of 'em leave the job with Obama and go to the media and the revolving door.  Meanwhile, the low-information crowd, they believe the media is an objective arbiter, and therefore they believe everything the media says. 

There's an example today. The Republicans released two pictures of the negotiating table.  One half of it was totally empty.  Every chair that was to be occupied by a Democrat was empty.  The Republicans released the picture in an attempt to show they were there, to try to negotiate with somebody over this silly shutdown, to try to talk with the Democrats about it, to try to come to an agreement.  Let me read to you a caption to this picture from the website Gawker.  "Just in case anyone forgot that the entire GOP leadership is comprised of white men."  That's the caption.  No reference to the fact Democrats didn't show up. No reference to the fact that the Democrats are not there. No reference to the fact that the Democrats are stonewalling any negotiation, any attempt at compromise. 

No. What Gawker told its readers is and reminded 'em is, "Just in case anyone forgot, look at this picture.  The entire GOP leadership is comprised of white men."  Now, if you're a Democrat, you know the media's gonna do that.  Why show up and negotiate?  Why give an inch on anything?  It's not even a matter of giving an inch.  Why even play fair?  All of this is such a stacked deck.  It's all such a stacked game. 

It's in the midst of this game that the Republicans -- God bless 'em -- nevertheless try to get treated fairly by behaving a little like what they think the media wants them to do.  I just think that it's a point here that always needs to be remembered, and that's the mind-set of the low-information voter. It's why, despite the fact that they're low-information, it's important to keep track.  This is how it is they're coming to be informed.  Now, the question then becomes, "How do you battle this? How do you deal with it?" 

And, you know, there are stock answers.  "Well, just do what you do. Do what you think is right, and whatever you do, don't play to it."  But that's tough to do.  I don't know that anybody has the answer to the stacked deck, the rigged game.  Do you know the answer, Mr. Snerdley?  But clearly this is... (interruption) Well, yeah, you go on offense, but what they're gonna tell you is, "Well, no matter what we do, we won't be covered -- and if we are covered, it will be lied about. We will be misrepresented."

By the way, on this Gawker thing, a slight mistake.  That was not actually the caption.  That was the first comment.  This thing printed out weird.  It's the first comment (which is just as good) on the Gawker website with the empty negotiating table, all Republicans and no Democrats. One of the comments posted by a reader of the website was, "Just in case anyone forgot, the entire GOP leadership is comprised of white men." 

So Gawker didn't even have to say it; their readers conclude it. But why?  Do they not know that the Congressional Black Caucasians have had to complain and whine at Obama for the lack of diversity in his administration?  No, they don't know that. The people that read this stupid little website haven't the slightest idea what's really going on.  Most of the team in this country who get their news from the media have no idea what's really going on in the country. 

You know, we're beating our heads up against the wall about, and that's why the ongoing effort to try to explain to people just who the media is and what they are, what Obama and Pelosi are. The rejoinder always is, "Well, if you can't deal with the way the media is, get out of the game. If you're gonna be a big baby about it, then just get out of the game."  All the while, of course, the media denies that they play this role.  They deny there's any liberal bias. They deny that there's any alliance with the Democrat Party. 

So, anyway, forget the media now.  Here we have a real live story: World War II vets being denied the opportunity -- by the Democrat president and his party -- to visit the World War II memorial. Do the old game: "If this were a Republican president doing this, what do you think the news headlines would be?"  We know the answer to that. The Obama administration knew about the World War II veterans is request.  They rejected it.  It's not that the administration didn't know what the Park Service was doing here. 

They knew about it.  They rejected the request! 

By the way, will they cancel the Army-Navy football games this weekend?  Doesn't Obama...? (interruption) Who said that it would be an apocalypse?  McCain said that if they canceled the football games it would be an apocalypse?  You gotta be kidding me.  That's what the apocalypse is, if they cancel the Army and Navy football games?  I can just hear it.  "That's the apocalypse. If they do that, they cross the red line!" Really.  What about all these military bases?

Isn't that where Obama goes to play golf? Doesn't he play golf all these military bases? Who's holding who hostage?  Could it not the be said that the regime is holding World War II veterans hostage, not letting them attend their own memorial?  People who want to go to the Grand Canyon, basically a hole in the ground? People can't go to the bottom of the hole in the ground because of the so-called government shutdown. 

"Honor Flight to World War II Memorial in Jeopardy Due to Shutdown."  This from Toledo, NorthwestOhio.com.  "Locally in the Glass City, we can see the affects of the government shutdown at our museums, monuments, and national parks. ... Yet, for a group of World War II veterans visiting the national memorial in Washington DC, an all expense paid trip which is called an 'Honor Flight,' the shutdown was not stopping them from seeing the tribute that was inspired by them."

These are World War II heroes that are nearing the end of their lives, and they were told if they tried to visit the memorial erected in their honor, that they'd been arrested.  The trip is scheduled for October the 9th.  This government shutdown if you ask me, is not going far enough.  The wrong things are still open.  They're shutting down the wrong stuff in this shutdown. 


RUSH:  Now, I had a note here that's got a good point.  We don't get a fair shake in the Drive-Bys, there's no question.  It's not even a question of getting a fair shake, folks.  There's not even a chance of it.  But despite that, you stopped amnesty in 2007. Despite the media, the Democrat Party, and the president of the United States at the time, you stopped amnesty in 2007. It's one of the reasons why you're hated, by the way. 

In 1993 and '94 and '95, despite the media (and they're all in love for everything Clinton), you stopped Hillarycare.  Despite the fact the media was totally opposed to everything you stood for, you stopped Hillarycare.  Just recently, I think the case could be made that you stopped boots-on-the-ground military action in Syria, despite the fact that the media and the Democrat Party are all-in in favor of Obama and whatever he wants. 

I would point out in 2010, the Tea Party bubbles up from the veritable ground and it is made up of people with no formal political involvement at all.  Many had never even been to a town hall meeting.  All they had ever done was vote.  They organized, and in 2010 -- despite the media being in love with Barack Obama, and despite the Republican Party being scared to death of its shadow at the time -- you won for the Republicans the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterms.

I would even say that we are here today discussing and in the middle of this shutdown because a lot of you provided a lot of wind at the back of Ted Cruz, who was almost alone in opposing what the media wanted, what Obama wanted, what the Democrat Party wanted -- and, for all intents and purposes, what the Republican Party wanted.  You gave a lot of wind, meaning you had his back.  I think that we are in the midst of this shutdown over your refusal to simply accept the full implementation of Obamacare. 

So my point is that you've got more power than you think.  The media doesn't win every time, which is one of the reasons that there is to be positive about things. 


RUSH: We have montage from yesterday and last night of Piers Morgan, Tom Ridge, former Governor Jon Huntsman, Rick Larson, Democrat, Washington, Christiane Amanpour, Andrew Neil from the BBC, Brian Williams of NBC talking about how the world sees America in the midst of the government shutdown.

MORGAN:  The rest of the world's looking at this, frankly, pretty aghast at what they're seeing.

RIDGE:  Just think what we've projected to the rest of the world.

HUNTSMAN:  The whole world is watching this play out.

LARSON:  The rest of the world is looking at the United States.

AMANPOUR:  How is the world reacting to this?

NEIL:  The rest of the world thinks it's so incredible, they don't quite believe it.  We're used to dysfunctional governments in Italy or Greece or some banana republic.

WILLIAMS:  A good number of Americans probably wondered at one point today what must we look like to the rest of the world.

RUSH:  Right.  Who the hell today ran around or yesterday worrying about that?  By the way, your guys did this!  Look, the Republicans have nothing to do with the snafu yesterday at sign-up day, the shutdown, whatever, the Republicans have nothing to do with this, Brian.  This is an Obama production and Barack Obama is the guy who told us the rest of the world was gonna have profound respect and love for us when he was elected.  How can the world not look at us with great love and respect?  Obama's still running the show. 

What do the Republicans have to do with this?  You guys, the reason why you're looking bad is this snafu of sign-ups on this signature issue of Barack Obama's presidency.  Government shutdown, the world is looking.  Oh, how silly do we look.  It's a bunch of folderol.  It never, ever stops.  Here's Tina Brown.  I'm just playing you this because this is another highly valued, protected member of the media class, just another Democrat disguised as a journalist.  She's the editor of The Daily Beast.  She wouldn't know how to make a profit if her life depended on it. Nothing she's done has.  It doesn't matter, though, 'cause she's a good liberal, and she's pro-choice, and that's all that matters.  She hates Republicans, so she can't fail.  And she was on Anderson Cooper 279 last night.  And he said, "Tina," as though it matters, "Tina, what do you make of this?" 

BROWN:  Maybe Vladimir Putin can break the logjam here.  We need a mediator like him.  I mean, it is just incredible to me to watch these Republicans putting on their suicide vests and thinking this is gonna have some kind of outcome for America.  It is just absolutely preposterous, and what is the most depressing thing, really, is to see how John Boehner's job insecurity, his terror of losing his Speakership means that he's just become this, you know, rallier of these crazy people.

RUSH:  Well, say what you want, but I mean the low-information crowd, this is a goddess.  Suicide vests, terrorists.  The fact that she doesn't have one iota of understanding what she's talking about is irrelevant.  Suicide vests, John Boehner, terror of losing his Speakership, rallier of these crazy people.  And she wasn't through, by the way.

BROWN:  Everybody always keeps saying about Obama, he should get involved, be less aloof.  This is the one time when his aloofness suddenly looks, I think, much more statesman-like.  At the same time when you look at the other side, I mean, there's such a kind of joyous, raucous, you know, nihilism.

RUSH:  That's right, nihilism.  That's right, a lot of nihilism going on out there and we're really joyful in it.  I don't know about you, Snerdley, I am a joyful nihilist. (interruption) I don't know if the rodeo clown found another job.  I think he did.  In fact, the rodeo clown went and did another rodeo.  I think he did.  He's not been shut down, despite their best efforts. 


RUSH: Charlie Rangel was on Fox Business last night with Neil Cavuto, who said, "Hey, Charlie, if the Republicans still push trying to attach a health care proviso, delay, whatever you call it, even a key feature medical device tax, what have you, you're saying it'll always go nowhere with Democrats, which leads me to believe that unless they just drop it and make a clean continuing resolution, this government's gonna be shut down a long time?" 

RANGEL:  Not really, because the Republicans are taking a big gamble.  If for some reason this doesn't work, then Republicans will say, "See, I told you, it's right."  What we are depending on is just common sense. If you don't have health insurance and you have an opportunity to get it, your voices are going to be heard, not those people that already got insurance.  So the truth of the matter is that I wish that we wouldn't have the Republican Party being so reckless and committing political suicide.

RUSH:  What a crock.  If they're committing political suicide, you'd love it. You'd give 'em the gun, Charlie, and you know it. 



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