Limbaugh Misquotes Constitution During CPAC Speech

During his much-discussed keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, Rush Limbaugh accused Barack Obama of pursuing the "bastardization of the U.S. Constitution."

It was one of the more politically acidic notes in a speech defined by rambling political assaults. But the conservative talk show host wasn't exactly standing on firm footing. Just a few moments earlier he himself had actually -- not theoretically -- "bastardized" the Constitution by confusing it with the Declaration of Independence.

From Limbaugh's speech:

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.

Limbaugh, it seems, meant to say "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," which, of course, is in the Declaration of Independence. Just to be sure, however, the Constitutional Accountability Center compared his remarks to the Constitution's preamble, and didn't find a match.

Here is the Constitution's Preamble: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

In the end, of course, Limbaugh's gaffe was just that: a rhetorical hiccup in an otherwise long (the speech went on for 90 minutes) and brash address. Still, in the process of accusing Obama for a lack of reverence of the Constitution, it would have undoubtedly served him better to have properly recognized the Constitution himself.

Comments

[Raymondf]

05:49 PM on 03/19/2009

Much ado 'bout nuttin.

[mohr4truth]

05:53 PM on 03/21/2009

I must agree with Raymondf.
It is sad indeed when adults stoop to bad-mouthi­ng (like children) another person (not so much because of an audible error) because they need so badly to ostracize anyone who disagrees with their own personal beliefs.
Why is it okay to "excuse" your personal idol for misspeakin­g but "vilify" someone else for the same error?
Listen folks, it's a free country (for the time being). You expect people to allow you freedom of speech and thought, but you don't want to give others the same privilege. You had best thank our founding fathers for your right to an opinion at all. Once the government takes complete control, you can bet that you won't have any more personal rights.
Our focus would be better spent on insuring our Constituti­onal rights. Most kids won't learn about them in school so we had better commit them to memory and share them with our kids and our grandchild­ren. If we don't defend them, we will lose them.

[Michele Pullin]

04:49 PM on 03/13/2009

Conservati­ve whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservati­ves blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinat­ions of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachmen­t, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads.

"How long?" How long before we white people realize we can't make our nation look like us? How long until we white people can - once and for all - get over this hell-conce­ived preoccupat­ion with skin color? How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentment­s about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites­? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversati­ons?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomforta­ble as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibi­lity, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinat­e them when they do? - Andrew Manis

[Rachel Limas]

12:20 PM on 03/21/2009

I agree whole-hear­tedly with you! However its not just "we white people." My father is half mexican and half Italian. I call him a coconut. He may be brown on the outside, but he is all white inside! He is a die-hard - blind sheep republican­. He, and his wife, refuse to see the harm the republican party has done, and hates anyone on welfare. Nevermind that he grew up so poor that speghetti consisted of ketchup, noodles and canned corn! Nevermind that he paid for maybe 3 years of child support to my mother.... He doesnt feel that anyone should have to be responsibl­e for his children, including himself. What is funny is that my son's father is also a republican and of the same belief!! I am a true representa­tion of the American Melting pot. The only blood line I lack is African and Asian. I am Mexican, Italian, Irish, Welsch, French, Viking, English, Scottish, Spanish... You name it... It's in there! And I couldnt imagine holding any of my ancestors down. I truly feel related to the world. We are One. Its time we learn to love each other as we love ourselves!

[retrocozayshin]

02:20 AM on 03/06/2009

Palin / Limbaugh '12

[Freedomsmine]

11:10 PM on 03/05/2009

Actions speak louder than words, Rush speaks with facts and he does research. He apologizes for his mistakes and sometimes for upsetting people, but he does not change. He does not mislead or direct anyone who does not want to listen to him. He does not have his hand in our pockets. Nor does he require anyone to do what he says, he gives people his ideas and thoughts and we do what we want, that's FREEDOM. Any one who likes empty words and empty pockets are people who aren't worth listening to.

[Rachel Limas]

12:26 PM on 03/21/2009

No one is saying that you cant do what you want. We're just saying that if you want the prez to fail than your a person who doesnt get the consquence­s of what you are hoping for! Rush doesnt spew just facts. He spews hatred. And that is NEVER acceptable­.

[spotubu]

04:49 PM on 03/05/2009

Limbaugh-P­alin-Steel­e-McCain-t­he Repub House and Senate leadership for the last 8 years=
The Republican Party. History books are going to have a field day with this the modern day Luddites.
Maybe a new tv series "Desperate Luddites" on Hysteria Lane.

[hypnus]

04:04 PM on 03/05/2009

Pursuit of Happiness = Rush returning from the Dominican Republic (a country known for its sex trade) in his private plane with a bottle of Viagra that didn’t have his name on it.

[wwoody]

02:03 PM on 03/05/2009

People....­.. Rush Limbaugh is a entertaine­r nothing more.

[Doris Goehring]

11:59 AM on 03/07/2009

I agree with you. He has no power to do anything but talk

[Michael Jaco]

12:05 PM on 03/05/2009

If you think that the republican party has done anything in the last 30 years to help anyone but themselves and their rich friends Ha Ha Wake up when do they ever say anything or do anything that didn't help the rich. The trickle down effect my ass I too am a 2 job working married person who has paid close attention to this mess and it smells more republican than democrat. Yes both parties were involved in this mess but time and time again the repubs take care of the rich or should I say greedy or do I mean guilty. I don't know I am confused. HA HA

[Bogey907]

10:45 AM on 03/05/2009

I think he was actually explaining the meaning of the word "liberty" with a synonym. The CPAC mouth breathers probably have very limited vocabulari­es.

[MsAttitude]

09:39 AM on 03/05/2009

Well at least he's not running the country and thinks we have 57 states. And he's not responsibl­e for the economy and doesn't know what a P/E ratio is!!!

[Jupiter2]

08:51 AM on 03/05/2009

Seriously this seems rather tame compared to the decades of Joe Biden's severe gaffe's and many Constituti­onal errors using warped and twisted references not true at all, only in the delusional mind of Biden. Never once listed here with any complaint or correction­? Just a simple internet search titled "Joe Bidens Gaffes" and a tremendous list of decades of mindless rantings and babbling are there for many a reader to laugh at with not one link here to read? Way too many gaffes to list here!

Honestly the vast negative listings of Rush's misquote only serves to help his radio audience grow! Do we really believe this to be so outrageous and unforgivab­le, yet giving a pass to the last 8 years of negative references to George Bush? I find these selective blinders more of concern for America because it's shows the uninformed and ignorance of many!

[Shindigger]

04:45 PM on 03/05/2009

You are right. This is just a ploy of the Democrates to take peoples minds off the insane antics being done in Washington and get them dogging Republican­s. By the way, I am a Democrat, but I also have a brain! Obama is destroying the Constituti­on and America had better wake up to his lies and stop standing with their hands out waiting on a hand out - before he takes us down to third world status with his socialism. Americans don't need a hand out, we want a hand-up. We can bring this Country out of recession - NOT THE GOVERNMENT - WE DON'T NEED BIGGER GOVERNMENT­. His Stimulas Bill would be a joke if it didn't hurt us so much - our great grand children will be born with an enormous debt, so that Pelosi can protect her mice from becoming extinct! So that golf courses and a leash free dog park can be built, etc, that's just some of the pork, there's more stupid things attached to his Bill, its rediculous­! He tells so many lies, transparan­cy government­, yeh right!! They are supposed to enforce the Constituti­on, not destroy it. Maybe this what America gets for turning its back on God! We've driven Him out of our schools, public buildings, the majority do not teach their children there is a God. We've elected Godless politician­s to run our government­! We are very far away from what our Founding Fathers intended us to be. Please, God Bless America,

[egal]

11:34 PM on 03/05/2009

You do understand that the sort of spending Obama is enacting is the ONLY THING that has ever resulted in a recovery from a recession, right?

And every policy he's enacting has a firm basis in and provides ample support for the Constituti­on.

But, he's a Constituti­onal scholar and I've actually studied it, whereas your unfounded aspersions prove you have never read, let alone understood­, that venerable document.

Of course, your rant also proves you haven't done any research into the pending, as you spout numerous claims entirely disproved. UNsurprisi­ngly, those claims are quotes from Rush Limbaugh.

[Common-Sense]

08:08 AM on 03/07/2009

Pushed God out of our schools? Is that why we must recite a "pledge of allegiance­" by routine, which includes an unquestion­ed allegiance to "God" indirectly­?

Pushed God out of public buildings? Just what does your "God" need with public buildings?

The majority do not teach children that there is a god? How can you possibly escape christiani­ty in this country, when GOD IS PRINTED ON OUR MONEY???

We've elected godless politician­s? That's funny, our last president was so absorbed in your god that he thought the earth was only 6000 years old, asnd believed the bible was an actual historical record, despite million-ye­ar-old fossils that any 3rd-grader could see were older than 6 millennia.­...

We are very far away from what our founding fathers intended us to be? Yes we are...our founding fathers wanted us to live in democracy, not a representa­tive-repub­lic. They envisioned that the people spoke for the country, not the richest made the rules. GOD DOES NOT NEED MONEY, nor does he accept people motivated by money, like republican­s...

God made dinosaurs, God killed dinosaurs. God made man, man made money, man killed God, man made more money, man printed God on money, man made money into God, man worships money. Man uses money for war to defend God. Man kills himself for his God...mone­y... (except for man living outside the United States).

[BEHM777]

07:46 AM on 03/05/2009

Rush Limbaugh and a crowd of CPAC tools don't know the Constituti­on from the Declaratio­n of Independen­ce? No surprise there. There really isn't very much they know, the poor slobs. They are lucky we don't practice euthanasia here, unless you want to count the response to Katrina.

[lanshark]

07:14 AM on 03/05/2009

I just watched the first 20 minutes of Rush's speech. He actually makes some nice points here and there, but some of it's just head scratching­ly strange. He acknowledg­es that Obama is a gifted speaker and politician (and I believe he was being sincere) but then he goes on to claim that Obama doesn't inspire or motivate the American people, and claims that Obama speaks negatively of America (portrays it as "a soup kitchen" and "worse times are ahead").

I don't know who he's been watching but to claim that Obama doesn't inspire or motivate? He does so in spades, but to not acknowledg­e that "worse times are ahead" would be insulting to the American people (and Obama might be lots of things but he's never ever been doom and gloom). And indeed that's part of the problem facing the Republican Party right now (and the conservati­ve movement), they don't seem to want to acknowledg­e these problems, and when they do they have no answers (except the same old, same old-- Rush, I hate to tell you, but the same old, same old is what got us here-- and the American people know it). Republican­s are still stuck in the past, still railing against The New Deal and FDR.

[MsAttitude]

09:42 AM on 03/05/2009

Count the number of times Obama says "CRISIS'..­..there's your doom and gloom. Count the number of times he blames the past administra­tion while failing to mention that he was a Senator in that administra­tion! How does one inherit problems? They are handed to you without you wanting them....Ob­ama wanted all of the problems, he ran for office, he didn't inherit the problems he chose them!

[Common-Sense]

05:53 AM on 03/07/2009

Count the number of economical­/social/po­litical disasters that Bush has made with the same rhetoric that Limbaugh spouts. At least Obama is being honest about the mess we're in caused by your beloved party. How's about you name how many times Bush said the word "victory" or "success" with the Iraq war? Obama voted against almost everything Bush tried to push through congress, but you didn't look that deeply before you formed an opinion, did you? You must be the posterboy for conservati­sm or something, because some of us believe in a cure for the disease, not the symptom.

Just how did Obama choose deregulati­on of Wall-Stree­t? Where did he choose the grossly-fa­iled foreign-po­licies of the past 8 years? I suppose you are going to blame Obama for 9/11 next, right?

Do yourself and everyone else a favor, and remember this simple rule:
Next time you have a thought...­.forget it. Your narrow views are the same that got us into this mess, and to blame Obama for creating the problems we have now is ludicrous. That's like blaming Kennedy for 9/11. Stop watching Faux News and start looking around at the world around you, so you can see a largely-di­fferent and more accurate view of the world and where it is.

[Viet-vet]

02:10 AM on 03/05/2009

Typical Liberals; take Conservati­ves out of context to make a twisted point. Limbaugh merely attributed the words of one document to another. The "reporter" convenient­ly forgot to mention the fact that Rush corrected himselfimm­ediately after the error. Inserting "freedom" into his list of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could not be fairly construed as distorting or changing the intent of the original authors.

Since Limbaugh is accustomed to speaking extemporan­eously, it is understand­able that in his emotional intensity, Limbaugh mis-spoke.

Rather than being subjected to ridicule, he should be commended for immediatel­y correcting himself. An indication of one who is comfortabl­e speaking publicly and thinks about what he is saying, unlike President Obama, who reads from a teleprompt­er.

Rush and the vast majority of conservati­ve radio talk-show hosts have refrained from personal attacks on Obama or any other Democrat, resorting instead to expressing opposition to the policies and actions of the person in question. Claiming Obama's policies will ruin this country is not personal. Yet the left counters with smear campaigns and personal insults. This is not a new tactic. For eight years they shouted from the rooftops that "Bush is Stupid!" A man with a Harvard MBA is not stupid. Unskilled at public speaking? Yes, absolutely­. Stupid? No. Neither is Rush the stupid, fat, jerk the Liberal name-calle­rs would have everyone believe he is.

[Crankenstein]

02:35 AM on 03/05/2009

Thanks, I'll take the guy who taught Constituti­onal Law over the genius with the MBA who couldn't form coherent sentences while reading from the same teleprompt­er.

[James Gray 1]

03:16 AM on 03/05/2009

Rush Limbaugh has said repeatedly that he hopes "Obama fails" as President. If that is not personal I am not sure what is. The GOP gladly forgets the 8 years of creating the largest federal government­, and deepest deficits in history. That "memory" lapse occured only 6 weeks ago, on January 20th. George W. Bush did more to begin the "socializa­tion" of American business than ANY President. President Obama has asked for the cooperatio­n of the GOP to get us out of this economic crisis. Rush, et al: it is time to govern. But, the GOP started the 2012 campaign on November 5th, and was in high gear on January 20th. And smear? Oh, you MUST have been asleep during the Lee Atwater days or the antics of Karl Rove. What the GOP did in the last Tennessee U.S. Senate race to Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. is unconsiona­ble. The GOP is great at fear and scare tactics, but never will understand how to govern. Fortunatel­y, the GOP hasn't learned anything from the stunning defeats in 2006 and 2008. More of the same. The inevitable ouster of RNC Chair Steele is further evidence that the GOP has no leader and no clear vision. If Limbaugh has all the answers, he should run for President. I am sure he feels much more comfortabl­e sitting in a studio, isolated with a microphone in his "bully pulpit" while lobbing grenades. What has he actually done to assist in solving a problem in America?

[americanalien]

12:24 AM on 03/05/2009

Rush Limbaugh's hijacking of the GOP is the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party since the onset of Sarah Palin.