Limbaugh Defends AIG From "Lynch Mob ... Ginned Up By Obama"

Anger at American International Group knows no party lines. But one top Republican isn't joining in. On Monday and Tuesday, Rush Limbaugh defended the insurance giant and their bonus payouts:

"A lynch mob is expanding: the peasants with their pitchforks surrounding the corporate headquarters of AIG, demanding heads. Death threats are pouring in. All of this being ginned up by the Obama administration."

When one of his own callers said he agreed with President Obama on this one, Limbaugh replied: "Let me ask you a question. ... You have a company -- let's take AIG out of this 'cause they're so emotionally charged. Let's say that the company being bailed out is the XYZ Widget Company. ... We need them to manufacture widgets and sell widgets and so forth. So why in the world -- or how do you get to the point where you're going to bail out the company, but you don't want the employees to get paid?"

The caller protested that the AIG employees were already getting paid plenty, and Limbaugh responded that the only thing stopping him from making just as much was himself:

LIMBAUGH: Do you know what? And I mean this from the bottom of my heart, Nathan -- the only person stopping you is you. There's 250 -- he hung up. Damn it, he hung up. Right?

Nathan, if you're -- there's $250,000 out there for you, Nathan. If you really want it, you really want to earn that kind of money, it's out there. Now, it's going to -- and don't -- I'm not being insulting -- it's going to take hard work.

Read the full transcript at Media Matters.

The AIG defense led MSNBC's Keith Olbermann to name Limbaugh, not for the first time, his "Worst Person In The World" Tuesday night. Watch:

Comments

[AngryLefty]

IT IS BAAAAALLLLLLOOOOONNNNN!

[IslandGyal]

I ask this with all sincerity; how can anyone with conscience be a republican? These are the biggest bunch of hypocrites you can come across, and don't care how inconsistent they are. What is incredulous is the amount of moronic people who follow them.

[Articulator]

What the average conservative doesnt understand is that they are getting used by the very wealthy. The very rich and powerful want to be able to plunder without any rules or regulations, they are in a position to make market competition irrelevant. They can use their power to fix their position without having to actually earn anything. This includes Rush who is a multimillionaire. When the conservatives jump to their causes, it gives them political clout and there are no checks and balances. The current state of the financial industry is their crowning achievement.

[Eris23Skidoo]

I wonder if Rush is purposefully distancing himself from the GOP so that they don't have to wear him like an albatross! That way they can act like populists while he serves the true agenda of the Masters of the Universe.

[toppermost]

hmm...

AIG must be in pharmaceuticals now...

[bigsuperb]

yeh, weight gainers

[HyperInfluential]

This is a huge mistake for Rush that deserves to spread as a viral meme. "Rush Limbaugh thinks you can earn 250k if you just work hard." This is news to his audience, who for years have relied on Rush to support their belief that the reason they don't earn 250k is that the Other (minorities, illegals, women, etc) has taken unfair advantage of the gullible liberal establishment to keep them down.

This new statement that anyone can earn 250k is a slap in the face to that worldview. Rush of all people should know that of COURSE they can't earn that much, not with Affirmative Action and the Feminazis taking all the good jobs! That's why there was no point in pursuing higher education, all the good jobs were just going to be taken by the Liberals, so they might as well settle down in their hometown with an entry-level job and just go with that.

Rush is the person who convinced Dittoheads ten years ago there was no point in trying to earn more, and now he's turning around and calling them lazy? Framed the right way, this could put a huge crack in his Dittohead phalanx.

[Eris23Skidoo]

You're forgetting that logical consistency is not important to Rush or his ditto's.

[HyperInfluential]

Yeah but it doesn't take logic to see that "Rush just called you lazy. Rush just said it's your fault, not the Others' fault that you're struggling." I'm sure that's why the caller hung up, he was stung at being told this harsh line when he was expecting to be consoled that he would have that much money if it weren't for Affirmative Action.

[DRaymond]

As someone familiar with the behind the scenes of radio talk shows let me assure you. The caller did not hang up. All radio call in shows are on a delay, usually 5 seconds. There is often a particular person whose whole job is to man the dump button. Usually the dump is covered by having the caller mysteriously be cut off or 'he hung up'. In most cases it is profanity that causes the dump, but in the case of a show like Rush's where the whole premise is how omniscient the host is the producer will also hit the dump button if the caller is making the host look stupid, which will then allow the host to finish making his point free of any contradicting voices.

[Eris23Skidoo]

I've experience that as a caller. I've totally been hung up on and then heard the host claim that it was sooooo unfortunate that I'd hung up because he would looooove to debate me on this; but since I'd hung up he would just have to finish his point before moving on to the next caller.

It's a pretty old trick.

[Skepticat]

It's going to be interesting to see if the dittoheads remain stuck on stupid - or if the faithful will begin to dimly realize that they have been conned for a long long time.

[Harold Goodman]

Dumbo doesn't realize that this country has but one president at a time and it sure as hell is not him

[learnsomething]

He acts like he was elected president.

[Howard Dean]

1.20.13

[nettyspagetti]

Here's is Rush's e-mail address for all interested parties, I don't know if it will do any good, but we could flood his server with [e-mail]

[EdwardEdwards]

Eat another helping of mac and cheese and you'll be a lynch mob.

[rj0q1b]

That is funny

[samilli3]

why is this not in the news? the Republicans have spoken...we need to hear it in the MSM

[bordway]

Another example of how out of touch with reality this windbag is.

[NPA]

GOP = Corporate Welfare!
The rich getting richer regardless of the rest of us peasants.

[SEDANMIK]

EVEN HIS OLD BOSS BUSH SAID IN CALGARY .......THAT HE LOVE HIS COUNTRY AND HE DOESN'T WANTED TO SEE OBAMA FAIL . ......HE LIKES OBAMA TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN BUILDING THIS COUNTRY . RUSH IT IS CLEAR AS CRYSTAL THAT YOU DON'T LOVE THIS COUNTRY ; YOU ONLY LOVE THE MILLION DOLLAR YOU ARE STEALING . JUDGEMENT DAY IS BY YOUR DOOR !!!!!!!!

[smittie]

WTF?

[Eris23Skidoo]

Bush was attempting to sound like he's above the fray. He wouldn't have made that comment if Obama hadn't recently mentioned that he did indeed inherit this mess.

[levelshot]

Proof limbuagh will defend his dittoheads eating their own fecal.

[Layman23]

HuffPost's Pick

What a friggin Idiot !