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From: [e-mail] (John Switzer)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,alt.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Summary Tue 1/19/93
Summary: Unofficial Summary for Tuesday, Jan. 19, 1993
Keywords: Unofficial Summary Rush Limbaugh
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 21 Jan 93 16:16:33 GMT
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Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show

for Tuesday, January 19, 1993

by John Switzer

NOTE: This is being posted to both alt.fan.rush-limbaugh and
alt.rush-limbaugh and thus you may see it twice if your sysadm
aliases the two newsgroups together. Since most sites don't
support both groups, this double-posting appears to be
unavoidable, however, if anyone has any ideas on how to avoid it,
please let me know. Thanks - [e-mail].

This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1993 by John Switzer.
All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on
CompuServe, GEnie, and the Internet, and archived on GEnie (NPC
Roundtable) and Internet (cathouse.aiss.uiuc.edu).  Distribution
to other electronic forums and bulletin boards is highly
encouraged. Spelling and other corrections gratefully received.

Please read the standard disclaimer which was included with the
first summary for this month. In particular, please note that
this summary is not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or
the EIB network, nor do I have any connection with them other
than as a daily listener.

******************************************************************

January 19, 1993

LIMBAUGH WATCH

January 19, 1993 - It's now 78 days after Bill Clinton's election
and Rush is still on the air with 546 radio affiliates (with 14
million listeners weekly) and 206 TV affiliates (with a 3.6
rating). His book has been on the NY Times hardback non-fiction
best-seller list for 17 consecutive weeks and is currently number
one on the list.

MORNING UPDATE

Rush received a new book catalog in the mail recently, and as he
was leafing through it he found an interesting listing: "Tales of
a New America" by Robert B. Reich, Clinton's Labor Secretary. The
book's description is "the neo-liberal economist dissects four
vampires of pop politics: foreigners, triumphant individualism,
the benevolent community, and rot at the top." Reich claims that
these things cloud political debate, waste opportunities, and
thwart adaptation.

Rush thought this sounded interesting, and so he looked at how
much it cost: the publisher's price was $19.95, but the sale
price was a meager $3.95. Rush was astounded - how can this be
when Reich will soon be one of Washington's major movers and
shakers? Rush thus started looking at other books to see what
they cost.

Also at $3.95 is "The Secret Language of Dolphins," but "Goats
and Goatkeeping" is $7.95. So dolphin language is worth one
Reich, while goats are twice as valuable. "Arafat - In the Eye of
the Beholder" is $7.95, too, which means it is worth one
goatkeeping book, but two books by Reich. Finally, "Mushrooms and
other Fungi" costs $9.95.

Rush accurately makes his point, if not the mathematics, by
saying, "In other words, folks, it takes 10 Reich books to reach
the value of Fungi and Arafat. Maybe this catalog knows
something?"

FIRST HOUR

<<Much thanks to KFI of Los Angeles who provided me the first six
minutes of today's show because Santa Barbara's EIB affiliate,
KTMS, decided they would rather play a number of commercials,
including that classic PSA from the American Podiatry
Association, "What is a Podiatrist?">>

Items

o       Today's show will feature calls only from Clinton voters.
Rush wants to find out how these voters think about their vote
now, which is an especially timely thing to do since the press
seems to be feeling jilted and is responding by being highly
critical toward Clinton. The general public, though, seems to be
far less disappointed and angry at Clinton, and Rush is therefore
interested in seeing if this proves true in today's show.

Also, though, an ABC News poll was taken about what the people
are thinking about Clinton. The poll at first seems to be good
news for him, but actually it seems to show that people want
Clinton to deliver on specific issues fairly quickly. In short,
the voters want a thing called "change."

Rush therefore begs his regular callers to take a day off today
and leave the phone lines open for Clinton callers. Rush notes
that Bo Snerdley does not appear happy, so people evidently
haven't figured this out yet.

o       Rush is changing his plans for what he is going to do
during tomorrow's Inauguration. Tomorrow Algore will be sworn in
at 11:45 a.m. EST, and Clinton will follow at noon. Hopefully,
Clinton won't add anything to the oath, and with any luck Hillary
won't jump in with any "me, toos!"

Thus, Clinton is scheduled to deliver his inauguration speech at
12:15 p.m. However, Clinton's speech is supposed to last only 20
minutes, but since Clinton has yet to make a speech that short,
the "experts" are predicting that Clinton won't keep to the
schedule this time either.

Rush comments that EIB's original plan was to provide live,
line-by-line commentary during the speech; however, it's now been
decided that EIB will record the inaugural address, and then
replay it with commentary during the second hour. EIB is assuming
that most people listening to Rush's show would prefer to listen
to Rush instead of Clinton, which is why Rush made this decision.

Also, Rush didn't think it would be proper to interrupt Clinton's
speech while it is ongoing; this would degrade the office of the
Presidency, and thus Rush will wait until the speech is over.
EIB, however, will still beat all other commentators in producing
in-depth commentary about Clinton's address.

o       Rush received a note from "Chuck Heston," who was the
debut interviewee in the first edition of the Limbaugh Letter.
Heston praises Rush's "awesome" assent in the broadcasting
industry, and offers to help Rush in his battle against the
"Green Puritans" who seem to think the Earth is a fragile thing.

Heston has found a perfect quote that beautifully restates Rush's
own opinion about how the Earth is far too robust and powerful
for man to destroy it; the quote comes from Michael Crichton's
"Jurassic Park," and Heston even offered to record it for Rush's
use.

Rush, of course, can't refuse an offer to have "Moses" record
something for EIB's use, and thus will soon call Heston to
arrange this. Rush adds that Dixy Lee Ray's second book is due
out soon; it will be published by a conservative publishing
house, so it may be hard to find. However, Ray's book is a
fascinating tome and it dispels many of the myths promulgated by
the environmental wackos.

o       William Raspberry has a great column in today's
Washington Post; Raspberry reflects on a paper that Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote for the Winter, 1993 edition of the
American Scholar. Raspberry's column gave Rush a tingle because
it shows that conservatives are making some headway.

o       Rush has more information about the Animal Ball for
"furless vegetarians" which will be held this week in Washington.
He promises to present this knowledge during an Animal Rights
Update today.

o       Today's NY Times has a piece about how the baby boomers
are now coming into power. The article quotes Fran Liebowitz who,
as she watched all of Sunday's Inaugural hubbub, "found myself
out of my mind on a new plane of fury" as she watched the "ring-
a-ding-ding" bell-ringing ceremony. Liebowitz tried to think of
what she could call all of these people who really think ringing
bells is going to achieve something of substance, and she came up
with the term "religious left."

Rush wishes he had coined this term because it is perfect - all
of these guys on the left - the animal rights wackos, militant
environmentalists, etc. - are descendents of the New Age
movement, which is indeed a religion. Liebowitz added that
Clinton is a President "who believes in a place called `Wish.'"
Rush promises more about this later.

*BREAK*

Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" has become
the Clinton administration's theme song, which many think is
appropriate. However, Amy Pagnazi's column today is titled "Don't
stop thinking about tomorrow - yesterday is gone." She points out
that all of this attention to the anti-war protest songs and
other 60s stuff is ridiculous because it's part of a past age.

Rush agrees completely and applauds Pagnazi for her insight. He
digresses a bit to add that every news show yesterday juxtaposed
shots of Clinton's celebrations with footage of the Iraqi
bombing. His TV show, of course, was the first to do this.

Returning to the subject of the Clinton theme song, Rush thinks
if any Fleetwood Mac song is used, it should be their "Sweet
Little Lies" which has the refrain "tell me lies, tell me sweet
little lies" ad nauseam. Rush plays the song and reveals that it
will be the theme for his Broken Promises Update.

Update  Carol Moseley-Braun         (Theme from the Jeffersons,
"Moving on Up")

Rush first points out that Zoe Baird, who, on the advice of a
lawyer, broke the law by hiring illegal aliens, is undergoing
confirmation hearings today. Senator Joe Biden has been the
toughest on Baird, while Orrin Hatch has been pretty kind. This
is not that strange since it is liberals who don't like Baird,
who has followed the politically incorrect path of being a
corporate lawyer, as opposed to working for Legal Aid offices.

Returning to the update, Rush says that EIB's cameras are just
waiting for Moseley-Braun's insightful questions of this nominee.
"I want to hear the penetrating, searing, thoughtfully posed
questions of our newest member of this committee."

*BREAK*

Phone   Bobbie from Murrietta, CA

Bobbie voted for Clinton, but she lives in a "house divided" -
her husband and five-year-old son are Republicans, while she and
her eight-year-old daughter are Democrats. Rush comments that
this sounds like a great family. Bobbie says that she is angry
with Rush, though, because she wishes he would be an American
first and Republican second.

She is trying to raise her children to believe that America is a
large country that can accommodate a lot of different ideas, and
thus people have to get along together and accept each others'
ideas. Rush says that he epitomizes ideas and uniqueness, and he
never refuses anyone their right to be who they want to be as
long as this is within the bounds of the law.

Bobbie, however, thinks Rush seems to be living for Clinton's
failure, and she is angry about this because this is a bad
example for her children. Rush points out that he doesn't live
for Clinton's failure, but fears it." Bobbie, however, jumps
right in with "I think you are living for it - you revel in it -
you just can't wait! What kind of attitude is this? Can't you be
responsible?"

Rush finally gets a word in and says that he wants America to be
the greatest nation it can be, which is why he wants Clinton to
be a successful President. However, he does not think that the
definition of a great American includes supporting mediocrity or
inferiority.

"Excuse me," Bobbie interrupts, "but this man has not been in
office even five minutes, and it's almost like you're setting up
- you know what, I don't want my son to listen to your program,
and my daughter when she listens to you gets completely angry.
Instead of unifying our nation, you want to divide it, you want
to destroy it - if you can't win, you don't want to play!"

Rush points out that he is the one who is having a good time,
while Bobbie is the one who's angry and upset, even though her
guy won. "You're having a good time," retorts Bobbie, "because
you're making money off of making fun of and hoping on the
failure of President Clinton." Rush points out that his show was
a success long before Clinton won the White House.

Bobbie, though, is fearful that Rush's show is successful because
all he does is make fun of people and say "get a job, you
homeless person." Rush points out that telling the homeless to
get a job is the best advice one can give them. Bobbie says that
these people have problems, and Rush agrees - about 75% of the
homeless are mentally disturbed but the recipes being put forth
to "help" them really won't do a thing to improve their lot. The
homeless are simply being used by an advocacy network which
doesn't care one whit about them, but only about getting more
money from the government.

Bobbie says that Rush thinks he knows everything and even misuses
God's name by saying "talent on loan from God." She tells Rush
"the ego in you is raging, it's out of control, and I don't think
that's a good example for our children in America. You talk about
family values, I believe strongly in family values - tolerance
and acceptance."

Bobbie wants her children to have heart-felt beliefs and to stand
fast in them, but this doesn't mean tearing down others who have
competing values, nor does it mean playing "Born Free" with
gunshots. "What does that mentality mean?" Bobbie asks. "That
mentality frightens me, Mr. Limbaugh, it frightens me!"

Rush is glad that Bobbie has had a chance to vent her anger, but
he points out that he has been extremely positive about a great
many things in this country, and when he gets negative it's about
things which need to be changed. The animal rights movement is
based on total stupidity, and it's dangerous when more and more
people accept this stupidity and end up devaluing human life.

Bobbie understands that, but she thinks that the best way to make
change is by changing people's hearts, but this can't be done by
"instilling them with negativity, hatred, and tearing them down."
She points out that she doesn't teach her son to make fun of
people. Rush says that even if he makes fun of animal rights
activists, it's because they deserve it. Plus, people have to
learn to be able to laugh at themselves in this country, instead
of being so uptight and just waiting for someone to give them the
slightest offense.

Bobbie thinks this is just an excuse - Rush goes to one extreme
by ridiculing people, but when he's criticized he says "lighten
up." "That's your escape hatch, Rush," she states, "that's how
you get out of it." Rush points out that this is a guiding
philosophy in his life.

Bobbie, though, doesn't think Rush can change people by
encouraging people to be intolerant, and she thinks since Clinton
is going to be President, the country should have some respect
for him. Rush points out that he is not intolerant, and that
Bobbie is a victim of some cliched thoughts.

Bobbie gets her ire up even more at Rush's use of the term
"victim." "Don't call me a victim," she demands. "Victim is not
in my vocabulary." Rush says that Bobbie is certainly acting like
a victim - she is portraying herself and her family as "Rush
Limbaugh victims."

Bobbie doesn't think members of her family are victims because
they have the freedom to turn Rush's show off. Rush says that
Bobbie obviously doesn't, otherwise she wouldn't be so irate.
Bobbie says that she doesn't listen to Rush's show, but her
husband tells her what goes on each day. Rush says that this is
even worse - Bobbie is irate beyond measure at him but hasn't
even listened herself.

Bobbie then says that she "has" to listen to Rush once a week
when she drives her car through Los Angeles to help out with her
husband's business. Rush asks what Bobbie does for a living, and
she replies that she's a stay-at-home mom who also helps her
husband in his data processing medical business. She says that
Clinton's health reforms might very well change their business.

Rush asks if Bobbie is worried about this, and she says that she
isn't - if Clinton puts through changes that are for the good of
the nation, then she and her husband will work through them. Rush
says that he fears many businesses will not be able to survive
Clinton's administration.

"How do you think Clinton got to the White House?" Bobbie asks.
Rush says that Clinton got to the White House by having four out
of ten American voters vote for him. He also got there because he
was the last guy standing in a field of Democratic hopefuls. "I
don't think so, no," Bobbie says. Rush adds that Clinton was
elected because most people voted against Bush not for Clinton.

Bobbie admits that she disagrees with Clinton on some things, but
she voted for change. "I am a Democrat," she says, "but nobody
owns my vote. I voted across the board." Rush notes that the
Republicans don't own his vote either - he's a conservative
before being a Republican, and he's a conservative because he
believes in the freedom of the individual. This is in conflict
with the basic philosophies that guide many of the Democrats in
Congress, "who, mark my words," Rush states, "will be Clinton's
biggest enemy, not me."

Rush thanks Bobbie for calling, and then turns to Bo to say "I
said let's get people who voted for Clinton, not people who hate
this show." He points out that this call proves that he and his
show do tolerate and welcome callers with opposing and even
antagonistic views.

*BREAK*

Phone   Chris from Valparaiso, IN

Chris says that although she doesn't agree with everything
Clinton says, she still thinks Clinton was the better choice
between Bush and Clinton. In particular, Clinton's campaign was
far better than Bush's campaign. Rush says that this is a good
point - no matter what Clinton does, Clinton voters can still
take refuge in the belief that Clinton is better than the
alternative.

Chris also thinks people are overreacting to Clinton's supposed
broken promises since he hasn't even taken office yet. Clinton
should be allowed to become President and then decide the issues,
without being held to any preconceived notions. Rush points out
that this is what the campaign was supposed to do - let the
people know what Clinton would do once he is President.

Chris admits she really didn't vote for Clinton as much as she
voted against Bush and his pro-life views; however, to her this
is not just an abortion issue because she thinks pro-lifers want
to put a woman's body into the public sector, and this is not the
proper mindset for a public official. Rush says that this is not
what the pro-life movement is all about, and he'll address this
in part during the next hour. However, the basic cornerstone of
the pro-life movement is about preserving the sanctity of life.

Chris, though, thinks that if pro-lifers have their way, women
will end up dying in back-alley abortion clinics. Rush points out
that Clinton's new Surgeon General has said that she wants
unwanted babies to be aborted, and if this is not putting women's
bodies in the public sector, then what is?

Rush finds it interesting that Chris thinks Clinton should not be
held accountable for what he says before he takes office. Chris
is willing to give Clinton a wide berth because she voted more
against Bush than she did for Clinton. This is what Rush thought
was going on, and he promises to talk more about all this during
the second hour.

*BREAK*

Rush comments that the show is not going as he had planned. He
wanted to hear people talk about Clinton, but instead there have
been callers who seem more interested in venting their hatred for
him. Rush, however, will continue on with this because he thinks
he is providing a public service.

For example, Bobbie from Murrietta has probably been posing a
major traffic threat for the past four years; she has probably
been getting madder and madder each time she listens to his show
while in traffic. She might have been swerving all over the road
because of her anger. Now, though, she has vented, and she has
also help others get their anger off their chests.

Thus, by allowing Bobbie on the show, Rush may have helped out
millions across America - dogs may not get beaten so often now,
and perhaps some husbands may even be treated a little more
kindly. Rush is proud and pleased that he can provide such a
sterling service to America.

*BREAK*

SECOND HOUR

Rush has decided to extend an "olive branch of hope and good
will" by dedicating this next update to Bobbie of Murrietta and
her family.

Update  Animal Rights         (Andy Williams, "Born Free" with
gratuitous sound effects)

Rush explains that his Animal Rights Update is not to encourage
cruel treatment towards animals, but rather to point out the
hypocrisy that resides in the animal rights movement.
Furthermore, these people pose a great danger to all Americans'
economic and political freedoms, not to mention that out-and-out
stupidity guides their philosophies.

The fact that this bunch has a home in the new administration is
a reason to be alarmed since they think "a boy is a frog is a
tree." These people actually think that there is no difference
between a boy and a tree. If anything, they think mankind is
worse than a tree because man is not part of nature and only
destroys nature. This is the source of their desire to
drastically change modern man's standard of living.

On Sunday, the religious left took "swift action" to condemn
Aretha Franklin for wearing a mink coat on stage; her entourage
of fur-bearing women was also condemned. Oprah Winfrey was
singled out for criticism because she was swaddled in the "skins
of dead animals." James Carville is also persona non grata
because each buffet table at a party in his honor included not
only an alligator's skull as a centerpiece, but dishes of spicy
alligator sausage. Furthermore, the chefs gaily flapped the
alligator jaws at diners when they approached.

Stephen Simons of PETA, a charity which uses a minuscule amount
of donated funds to actually help the animals they claim to love
so much, said that the Lincoln Memorial "incident" was the first
indication the group had that Aretha Franklin is a "fur wearer."
Simons also said that exotic meats such as those served at
Carville's party "are a little extreme, a little beyond
defensible by taste or culture."

In contrast, PETA will be holding the only vegetarian event of
the Inauguration - the Animals Ball will be held in honor of Kim
Basinger, Alec Baldwin, Christie Brinkley, and other animal
rights activists. The cocktail servers and bartenders will be
wearing only aprons, a statement intended to convey "we'd rather
go naked than wear fur." A new dance craze, the Socks Hop, will
be held in honor of the First Cat.

Rush points out that this is what these people think is
important, but should America really be worrying about what
Aretha Franklin is wearing? Carville, at least, hasn't
capitulated totally to the left - when asked about this, he
replied "eating alligators is better than being eaten by them. If
it makes the PC people mad, then it makes me happy. Tell them to
meet me at the Palm for a steak." Rush agrees with Carville on
this totally.

Rush continues on to environmental activists - these people are
the same basic bunch of leftists. They share a basic philosophy
of anti-capitalism and anti-private property and think that there
must be a centralized authority doling out benefits before
America will ever be made "fair." Each of their causes is just
the vehicle that's being driven to the same socialist
destination.

What makes these people dangerous is that they think they have a
home in the Clinton administration. Marilyn Bergman, Streisand's
song-writer, runs the Hollywood Women's Political Committee and
helped write Sunday's inaugural gala. Bergman noted that she and
many other PC celebrities are forsaking their customary
limousines to do their part not to consume the hated and evil
fossil fuels.

Rush points out that these people flew in on private jets, which
"burn about a gazillion times more fossil fuel than a limousine
being driven around Washington." This is blatant hypocrisy, but
Bergman makes statements like this because it proves she "cares";
the logic and sense of what she says don't matter - all that
matters is that what she says sounds good.

When meaning is attached to what these people say, their idiocy
becomes exposed for one and all. This is what Rush does, and
people get angry at him because they don't want to learn the
truth about themselves and what they are doing. They don't want
to be told that their phoniness serves only one purpose - making
themselves feel good.

Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger also attended a party at the
National Museum of American Art, and Baldwin said that Basinger
had educated him about animal rights. He added that the two of
them even watched tapes of animal torture together. "Kim says `a
nation is only as strong as it treats its animals.' She's quoting
Gandhi, I think," stated Baldwin.

Rush asks Bobbie and everyone else who thinks he's intolerant to
focus a bit on what people like Baldwin are really saying. Human
life is being subordinated to that of animals. However, when
Baldwin was asked if he was wearing leather shoes, and he softly
replied "yeah."

The piece de resistance of all this was provided by Dan Matthews
of PETA, who said that PETA's founder, Ingrid Newkirk, was
invited by members of Clinton's transition team to "discuss these
issues." Thus, Clinton's people have asked for a meeting with a
woman who undoubtedly also thinks that a nation is defined by how
it treats its animals. Rush wonders how many Clinton supporters
really thought that animal rights was a deciding issue in the
election.

*BREAK*

Rush turns to William Raspberry's column which is about declining
standards in today's society. Rush has talked about this in many
ways - abortion, Kevorkian's push for euthanasia,
multiculturalism, drug legalization, and the overall decline of
people's ability to say that something is wrong.

It's absurd to think that the country should accept an
illegitimacy rate that is five times higher than it was 30 years
ago; in 1960, the nation had a 5% illegitimacy rate, while today
it is 25%. In the black community, the rate is even higher - 60%.
This is only one result of declining standards which have allowed
people to think that kids are just going to have sex and so
schools should pass out condoms. Yet, when someone tries to do
something about the real problem, they are accused of imposing
their morality on everyone else.

One of the reasons this has happened is because liberals have
come to control America's institution, and if you dare criticize
them, you are accused of being a hate-monger, racist, and bigot.
These people think that freedom means they can do whatever they
want to, but this is not what freedom means.

Rush has talked about this a lot, and it scares many people who
think Rush is trying to single them out for some sort of
punishment. In reality Rush only wants to see some kind of
standards maintained in society. He believes that he as a human
being has a responsibility to society, both now and in the
future. Many others, though, think that there is only the here
and now; the future is not important to them, yet what if past
generations had thought that way?

Parents are deeply concerned about their children's future, so
why shouldn't society do the same? This is the crux of the
culture war going on today. So many people think that the problem
with declining standards is that people don't have enough
freedom, but this is wrong. Rush promises more about this after
the break.

*BREAK*

In his column today, William Raspberry quotes the paper written
by Senator Moynihan for the American Scholar: "We keep the level
of punishment more or less constant in our society by redefining
deviancy." In other words, this means that standards are being
lowered so as to avoid "punishing" more people.

An example of this are those who insist that the Catholic Church
change its doctrine to redefine the concept of sin so that
whatever these people are doing is now considered acceptable
behavior. The Church, of course, says that its beliefs are the
standard and refuses to reshape its standards to accommodate the
whims of the moment.

Society, though, is doing just that. Raspberry gives the example
of the national attitude towards unwed parenthood. During the
Johnson administration Moynihan wrote that he feared that a
continuing breakdown of the family in black communities would
lead to social disaster; at the time about one-fifth of black
births were out of wedlock, while only one in forty white births
were so.

Today, though, one-fifth of white babies and two-thirds of black
babies are born to unmarried mothers. "Yet much of the talk
today," writes Raspberry, "is about the irrelevancy of the Ozzie
and Harriet model, and the ascendancy of alternative life-styles,
as if the thing lamented by Moynihan is a health smorgasbord of
new choices."

Rush says that this is what he means when he refers to how the
dominant media culture laughs at and impugns traditional family
values - instead of these "alternate lifestyles" being seen as a
problem, they are praised as healthy alternatives. Other examples
given by Raspberry are deinstitutionalization of mental patients,
lowered expectations for school performance, and the growing
acceptance of criminal violence.

"The 1929 St. Valentine's Day massacre merits two entries in the
Worldbook Encyclopedia," writes Raspberry. Seven gangsters were
killed by four rival gunmen and this was so horrible and so
unique that it became an icon for horrible crime for decades.
Now, though, this sort of thing happens every day in this
country. Most of the time these crimes aren't even widely
reported.

Standards have been lowered and deviancy has been raised. This is
why the biggest problems in schools 40 years ago - tardiness,
truancy, etc. - pale behind the criminal violence and drug use
that goes on in schools today. America has lowered standards
because liberals have convinced the country that it's bad to
teach that anything can be wrong.

Liberalism thinks it has to teach kids to get along with one
another, and so it teaches them anal sex. However, the Ten
Commandments are a forbidden subject. "We are," says Moynihan,
"getting used to a lot of behavior that is not good for us." Rush
agrees and refers to Chris from Valparaiso who thinks that the
pro-life movement is about forcing women to become slaves of the
state.

This is not what pro-lifers want at all; what they are concerned
about is that killing is becoming so common-place in today's
society that it can happen without conscience. This is now
starting to happen at both ends of the age scale - Kevorkian is
praising himself for killing people who aren't even terminally
ill, while unborn babies are being slaughtered at the rate of 1.5
million a year.

People are rightfully afraid that once society allows itself to
determine who can live and die according to convenience, killing
will be subordinated to all sorts of things that sound good, such
as "choice." Human life will soon be judged according to whether
it's convenient for society. This is the direction society is
headed in now.

Rush, though, is glad that William Raspberry and Daniel Moynihan
are giving voice to the same fears he's had for so long, and
they're doing so in the pages of the Washington Post.

*BREAK*

Phone   James from Penn State University, PA

James is a first-year medical student who voted for Clinton
because he believes the nation needs national health care. He
doesn't want his future patients to end up not getting the care
they need because they can't afford it. Also, although James is
pro-life he doesn't think the government should ban abortion.

Rush points out that Clinton is fervently pro-choice, although he
was pro-life until he decided to run for the Presidency. This is
true of Algore, too. However, Rush has to wonder if James
realizes that if national health care is implemented, he'll
probably never make enough money to pay off his student loans.

James doesn't think that Clinton wants a government-based
approach, but rather an employer-based approach. Rush says that
there is no difference between these two plans - when the
government makes a business do something, it's the same as if the
government were doing it itself.

James, though, doesn't think that this is so because the
government-mandated aspects of Clinton's plan affect only
unemployed people, and since there will always be more employed
people than unemployed, taxes won't go up that much. Rush says
that people will still end up with less money because they will
be paying for other people's health care.

When the government comes along and tells a business what to do,
it's the consumer/patient who gets the shaft. This is a form of
taxation no matter how you look at it. James, though, says that
since employers will still supply their workers' health care,
taxes won't go up that much.

Rush points out, though, that businesses get their money from the
consumer, and if they have to pay more for health care, the
consumer is the one who's reaching into their wallet. James,
though, thinks that competition will increase under Clinton's
plan, thereby reducing costs.

Rush wonders where James is learning this, and he replies he read
it in a medical magazine. What he doesn't want to see is a
continuation of the private market approach in which not everyone
gets covered. Rush asks what guarantee the employer-based
approach will have to ensure that everyone will indeed get health
care.

James admits this is a disadvantage of the employer-based program
- "not everyone gets covered." Rush points out, though, that
Clinton's is a "pay or play" plan; a company is paying for its
workers' health care one way or another - either by buying the
insurance itself or by paying taxes to the government.

Businesses don't have piles of money that they aren't using; this
money has to come from somewhere, and the where is the public's
pocket. This "pay or play" plan is just a slick way that Congress
can claim it's cutting taxes and/or spending; however, all
Congress is doing is insisting that businesses spend their own
money for congressional programs.

Also, since a business cannot pass on all costs to consumers, it
will have less money to hire people, give raises, expand the
business, and so forth. One way or another, these costs are
coming out of the hides of doctors, consumers, patients, etc.
Congress will praise itself for solving this problem but people
will still end up with less money.

The public thinks national health care means that they won't pay
a dime for it, but in reality they are the ones who will be
paying for it because they are the only ones who can. Rush bets
that some doctors are pulling their hair out because of James'
comments. James says that when he becomes a doctor he wants
everyone to have health care. Rush suggests a great way that
James can do this - "give your services away."

"What do you mean?" asks James. Rush says that James can just
open up a free clinic and treat people for free. "Ah, I'm not
going to do it that way," James says. "There's a better approach
to it. That's ridiculous!" Rush says that if James wants to get
paid, he's got to get paid by someone. James says that's true -
he wants to get paid by his "employer, by the health care
companies."

Rush asks James where these companies are going to get their
money, and James replies "some from the government and some from
insurance companies." Rush says that the government is not
supposed to be involved here, and James replies that the
government will be taking care of the unemployed.

*BREAK*

Phone   Scott from Walled Lake, MI

Scott gives "ottids" and Rush explains that this means Scott
loves the show but disagrees with almost everything Rush says.
Scott wonders if Rush's decision to delay his commentary on
Clinton's speech has anything to with how most of EIB's
affiliates probably will be carrying the speech instead of Rush's
show. Rush says that this is not the case - he is going to delay
his commentary because he doesn't want to be unfair to the new
President of the United States. Rush is willing to let Clinton
make his speech in peace, and then he'll skewer Clinton during
the second hour.

Scott accepts that and says that he loves Rush's show because it
allows him to sharpen his own arguments, and because Rush has fun
with the issues. He voted for Clinton and still thinks he made a
great decision. Scott admits he would have voted for almost any
Democrat because he thinks the nation needs a more liberal
Supreme Court.

Rush asks if Scott is worried about Clinton's flip-flops on his
promises about Haiti and such; does Scott think he can trust what
Clinton says? Scott says that he thinks Clinton will do a good
job on foreign policy and he's not worried about this; Scott cast
his vote for Clinton because he supports abortion rights,
minority rights, gay rights, and other social issues.

Rush holds Scott over the break.

*BREAK*

THIRD HOUR

Phone   Scott from Walled Lake, MI (continued)

Scott repeats that he voted for Clinton for social policy
reasons, including gay rights. Rush doubts that the ban on gays
in the military is going to end any time soon, and Scott says
that it is reasonable that Clinton takes his time in evaluating
this issue.

Rush finds it interesting that Scott is willing to cut Clinton
some slack on this, but this is understandable since Clinton was
Scott's choice. Scott adds that he thinks Clinton will
immediately address what he thinks are more important issues -
ending the Sullivan gag rule and allowing fetal tissue research,
for example. Rush bets that Clinton will end the gag rule
Thursday, if not sooner.

Scott also thinks Clinton will sign the Freedom of Choice Act,
but Rush is not so certain he'll get that chance any time soon.
Right now everyone is saying that this bill will sail through the
new Congress, but it may not turn out to be the slam-dunk
everyone thinks it is. The feminist pro-choice position is not
held by the majority of Americans as conventional wisdom states,
but time will tell on this.

Rush asks if Scott is bothered by Clinton's backtracking on the
Haitian issue, and Scott says that there is something
uncomfortable about this. However, Scott believes Bush was the
candidate in 1988 who was much more interested in campaigning
than in how he was going to govern. Clinton did some of this in
1992 - he said some things that sounded good, but now he's going
to come back toward the center while governing.

Rush asks about "change" - Clinton said he represented change,
yet he has shown very little real change. His inauguration is the
most ostentatious in years, and his cabinet is a bunch of the
same old special interests. Certainly Clinton can be cut some
slack since he isn't President yet, but he has already said a
number of things which don't seem to portend any real change.

Scott thinks this is an interesting strategy on Clinton's part -
as soon as he "got the job," he started lowering people's
expectations of him. Rush asks about the deficit, and Scott
thinks Clinton is moving toward Tsongas' policies. "That's fine
by me," Scott says, "because I like Paul Tax-on-gas better
anyway."

Rush points out that people condemned Bush for not following
through on specific promises, but now people are going out of
their way to make excuses for Clinton. Scott says that Clinton is
doing what he wants him to do - put liberals on the Court, sign
pro-choice legislation, and such.

Rush says that Scott would be a good caller after Clinton has
been in office for a while, because by then it will be known if
Clinton has achieved these goals. Rush asks if Scott is concerned
about Clinton's plans for an AIDS Czar, and he replies "not
really."

Rush thanks Scott for his call, and then notes that Clinton is
going to take the oath of office tomorrow. This will be a tough
thing for him to do since it involves swearing to uphold the
Constitution. Rush therefore thinks that since Clinton is so
interested in change, the people should relieve him from the
typical promises made during the oath. Instead, Clinton should
take the "Slick Willie Oath," which has "goals" instead of
promises. For example, Clinton could say "I will do my best to
uphold half the Constitution."

Phone   Richard from Long Meadow, MA

Richard gives "dittos from Massachusetts" but then says "just
kidding." Rush laughs and says "touche to you sir!" Richard
thinks his vote for Clinton was a wise one, and he states that he
did vote for Clinton, as opposed to voting against Bush, because
he thinks Clinton offers hope for the future.

Rush is curious about this idea of how America now has hope
again. He saw Henry Winkler on TV the other night praising
Clinton for giving the country so much hope. Rush asks if the
country was really in the depths of hopelessness and despair
before Clinton was elected. He thus doesn't understand this
mindset that claims the country has hope again.

Richard doesn't think that the country was hopeless, but he does
think Clinton will be much like Reagan and make the country feel
good about itself. This is what is needed to lead the country out
of the recession.

Rush points out that Richard wants Clinton to make the country
feel good about itself, yet Clinton spent his entire campaign
trashing the country and talking about pain, suffering, and how
the nation had the worst economy in 50 years.

Richard thinks Clinton will use the government in a different way
than it was used before. Rush agrees totally on that - Clinton
will use the government to implement whatever he thinks need
should be done, but what can the government really do that people
can't do for themselves?

Richard says that Clinton can make the government into a watchdog
that will enforce regulations on corporations so that events like
the Rocky Mountain Nuclear Power Plant episode won't happen
again. Rush points out that these corporations are the ones who
are sponsoring all of the inaugural parties. They even sponsored
one for Ron Brown until it became big news, at which point they
backed off.

Richard doesn't have a problem with corporations becoming
involved with government and politics - although Clinton can take
their money, though, Richard doesn't want him and his
administration to make the same kind of side deals with business
that the Republicans did.

Rush wonders why corporations are giving money to Clinton then.
Richard says that one reason is publicity. Rush disagrees - the
corporations don't want to be identified as big political donors,
and besides, isn't Clinton supposed to be changing this sort of
influence? Rush knows that it is a political reality that
corporations will be involved with politics, but while
Republicans were condemned long and loud for this, Democrats are
coming up with all sorts of excuses for Clinton.

Richard says that he doesn't deny this happens, but he simply has
more faith and hope that the Democrats won't abuse corporate
support as he thinks Republicans did. Rush comments that he went
to dinner with a number of commentators last night, and one of
them asked why politics today doesn't have the same high quality
candidates that past generations have had.

Rush answered that politics is a career and a business, and one
of the reasons that the idealists of the past don't come along
much any more is because candidates get corrupted. When a
candidate has to walk around with his hand out all the time, he
has to pay back his contributors somehow. No business gives out
money simply because of idealism; it's all business.

This is where ethics comes into play - how does someone pay these
people back without compromising oneself? However, it's clear
that special interests are all over Clinton's administration
already - the inauguration festivities are just one example. Yet
people like Richard are exempting Clinton and the Democrats from
all this just because they think Democrats will somehow handle it
better.

*BREAK*

Rush thinks that it is obvious that a lot of partisanship is
governing people's attitudes toward Clinton now. It doesn't seem
that the facts seem to shake people loose from their positions -
even though Clinton has changed his mind several times, this
doesn't matter. The evidence shows that Clinton won't do what he
has said he will do, but people simply don't seem to care.

Rush bets that a number of executive orders will be signed on
Thursday to prove that Clinton is following through on his
promises, but Clinton has deviated from what he said he will do
on many issues already. This is why character matters - it allows
you to know whether someone will do what they say.

Phone   Jennifer from Clovis, CA

Jennifer becomes the first caller today to give "dittos" and she
says that she did vote for Clinton, but it was a mistake. She
voted via absentee ballot while out of state, and accidentally
pushed out the wrong hole for Clinton. She feels terrible about
this and asks Rush and the country to forgive her.

Rush asks her how she feels about this, and she replies that she
feels so bad that she is even using an assumed name right now.
She hates to think that she is "contributing to the wholesale
slaughter of human beings," but Rush tells her that she shouldn't
go that far with it. "Let's keep it in focus and perspective," he
says. "Come on now, Jennifer, or whatever your name is."

*BREAK*

Items

o       Rush comments that he received a copy of a Sacramento Bee
column that talks about how he put Sacramento on the map.
However, it also takes him to task for making Rio Linda a
national laughingstock.

o       Rush wants to expand on today's Morning Update about a
book catalog he received. This catalog offers Robert B. Reich's
book, "Tales of a New America," which "dissects a number of
vampires of pop politics" and shows how they "cloud the political
debate and waste opportunities."

This book was originally published at $19.95, but you can get it
via this catalog at only $3.95, a fact which stunned Rush. He
then started leafing through the catalog to see what the other
books are going for. A book on dolphin language was also selling
for $3.95, which made Rush wonder if this means the free market
thinks Reich's wisdom is worth that of the dolphins?

"Goats and Goatkeeping" is $7.95, which must mean that the wisdom
of goatkeeping is twice as valuable as Reich's. A book about
Yasser Arafat is also $7.95, and Rush isn't surprised that Arafat
has about the same value as goats. "Mushrooms and Other Fungi,"
though, is $9.95, which is almost three times what Reich is
worth.

Even "Weeds and Words," at $4.95, is more valuable than Reich.
The cruelest blow of all, however, is "Fiddler Crabs of the
World" which costs a whopping $39.95. Thus, it takes 10 Robert B.
Reich books to reach the worth of one book about fiddler crabs.
Rush suspects that the people who put out this catalog know
something.

Phone   Harrison from Pound Ridge, NY

Harrison gives "nega-dittos" but does admit that he is immensely
entertained by Rush's show in spite of disagreeing with him on
almost everything. Harrison voted for Clinton and is in fact
encouraged by how Clinton is proving himself to be a "moderate,
centrist Democrat, grounded in pragmatism, and bound to follow in
the finest tradition of Harry Truman."

Rush is totally stunned by this, and asks where the concern is
for Clinton's honor and honesty. Harrison says that this does
concern him, but he had greater concerns for these things
concerning George Bush.

Rush asks if "pragmatism" means that Harrison respects how
Clinton can change his mind on the issues. Harrison says that
this is indeed the case with the Haitian issue, although he is
somewhat troubled but not profoundly so.

Rush points out that today's Washington Post/ABC News poll shows
that the American people have high expectations of Clinton. For
example, 76% expect Clinton to work well with Congress to pass
needed laws, 75% expect substantial progress in improving
education, 68% expect substantial progress with environmental
problems, and 69% expect progress in controlling health care
costs. Rush asks if Harrison has any specific goals that he
expects Clinton to follow through on.

Harrison says that he certainly expects Clinton to come through
on a number of things, and in particular moderating the Supreme
Court "away from reactionary right-wing control." Rush asks who
Harrison is referring to, and he replies "Clarence Thomas. I just
think he is another knee-jerk, pro-life ideologue and there are
several like him on the Court already, although some of them have
turned out to be more moderate."

Rush points out that Reagan and Bush did not have any litmus
tests for their Supreme Court appointees; if this were not true,
Souter and Kennedy would not have been appointed. Harrison thinks
that Bush and Reagan were disappointed by Souter, who he
describes as a pragmatist who weighs each issue by its own
merits.

The Court, though, is only one area that Harrison hopes Clinton
can help out in. Rush asks about Mario Cuomo, and Harrison says
that he would be happy with Cuomo on the Court "because he's been
one of the finest governors in the United States."

Rush is again stunned by this opinion and points out that New
York is in a major fiscal crisis, the people are taxed to the
hilt, and businesses are leaving in droves. Harrison, though,
doesn't think Cuomo is to blame for this, and instead he points
his finger at Reagan and Bush.

Rush is astounded beyond belief. "I love you guys," he says. He
bets that Harrison thinks that New York City is also the fault of
Reagan and Bush, but Harrison refuses to go that far. Rush thanks
Harrison for calling and points out that his call gives more
evidence for how partisanship is controlling people's opinions
right now.

*BREAK*

Phone   Tom from Los Angeles, CA

Tom has worked for Harry Thomason for five years, and he thinks
Harry and his wife Linda Bloodworth-Thomason have had a lot to do
with getting Clinton elected. Tom says that the two Hollywood
producers have been working towards this goal for the past four
or five years, using their TV shows as a way to mold people's
opinions and minds.

Tom says that he voted for Clinton but thinks he's been "duped."
Rush remarks that if Tom wants to continue working for the
Thomasons or in Hollywood he had better watch his words. Tom
admits he is keeping a low profile and has even given a false
name to Bo.

Tom says that people should be warned as to how the Thomasons
have been using their shows, such as "Designing Women" and
"Evening Shade," to help Clinton. Rush says it's a bit ridiculous
to claim that the Thomasons have been engaged in some sort of
covert activity since they have been very open about their
support for Clinton, both during the primaries and the campaign.
Rush therefore doubts Tom's veracity; "we are not fools here,
sir," he says before concluding the call.

Phone   Susan from West Warwick, RI

Susan voted for Clinton because she was casting a vote against
the Republican party and their tilt towards the religious right;
Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan turned her and a lot of non-
Christians off. She thinks that these two men in particular made
her feel that because she was pro-choice that her values were not
as good as theirs.

Rush has heard this complaint before but thinks that Buchanan,
Robertson, et al are convenient whipping boys. He doesn't think
that the reason George Bush lost the election was because of
these men. Susan doesn't think they helped Bush either, but Rush
points out that Bush's popularity surged after the convention.

Rush thinks that what happened to Pat Buchanan is a great example
of how the media can recast a speech and then continually pummel
the people with their interpretation of it. It's sort of what
happened after the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings. Right
after the hearings, two-thirds of the American people believed
him instead of her; however, after a year of media re-
interpretations, Americans are now divided about half and half.

Returning to the Republican convention, Rush says that there was
no evidence in the polls at the time to indicate that Robertson
or Buchanan were the cause of Bush's fall. Susan says that she
voted for Reagan and will probably vote for Kemp if he runs in
1996; however, she voted against Bush because the Republican
party never did apologize for Buchanan or Robertson.

Rush asks how Susan feels about Clinton and she says that she is
very disappointed with him; he hasn't even taken office yet, but
he still has done enough to disappoint her greatly. Rush thanks
her for her call.

*BREAK*

Phone   Helen from Twin Falls, ID

Helen is a "great Clinton supporter" and thinks "all these issues
are terrific." She says that "me, as an American, I don't see why
I shouldn't be able to go out and play around without having to
take all these precautions so that I don't enjoy it as much and
so maybe I don't have a little crying baby around."

She also thinks that the "animals were here on Earth first and
all we did was come along and mess things up for them." She adds
that since the government is "supplying us with so many things
and helping us take care of our lives, why shouldn't we be
willing to give them most of our income?"

Rush "agrees" and plays along with Helen by suggesting that the
American people send Clinton all of their income, so that he can
do the right thing and send back to the people an appropriate
stipend.

Helen admits, though, that she didn't vote for Bill Clinton; "I
voted for Hillary and I really think that if Mr. Clinton thinks
he's going to run this country, he's in for a rude awakening."
Rush notes that Hillary has already moved into the West Wing,
which is "the left wing."

--
John Switzer               | Switzer's Suicide Prevention Tip of the Week:
                           |
Compuserve: 74076,1250     | Don't buy three Reba McEntire tapes and listen
Internet: [e-mail]   | to them all on the same cloudy afternoon.