May 31, 2011

Rush Limbaugh is 6 minutes into his show without mentioning Weiner.

It's all about the economy, people. The man is not distracted. Not yet, anyway.

I'll keep you updated.

UPDATE #1: 9 minutes into the show, Rush brings up the top Drudge story about "Teen Gangs Unleashed on Boston Beach." Something about green energy in the UK. Wait times in emergency rooms. But all of this is tied into Obama-economics. "Listen to some of these headlines at Drudge." Now, I don't think Drudge has picked up the Weiner Hacker Incident. But it's hard — really hard — to believe that Rush hasn't heard about it. Does he go entirely by Drudge? If he brings up "Woman Takes Attacker's Penis To Police" — a Drudge headline — then we will know. He's seriously Drudge-dependent.

UPDATE #2: After the break, 20 minutes into the show: Have you noticed how much better Sarah Palin looks in a helmet than Michael Dukakis? Then on to more talk about the economy — specifically the real estate market. Still no Weiner.

UPDATE #3: 40 minutes into the show, still no Weiner. Rush goes to the break with the teaser that he's got lots of sound bites about Sarah Palin... and then on to your phone calls. So, apparently, he's got no monologue about Weiner. My theory: He wants to make a show of not being distracted by the Weiner story, and it will come up in the context of a phone call. Deniability. Mr. Snerdley imposed this caller on him, he'll say. I predict an excellent caller laying out the story, with Rush acting exasperated by the distraction, but then doing a great job talking about it.

UPDATE #4. My lord! I'm live-blogging the Rush Limbaugh show! 50 minutes into the show, he's taken the first call, and it was about real estate woes.

UPDATE #5: An hour and a half into the show, still no Weiner. He's talking about Sarah Palin, comparing her bus tour to the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour," which, he tells us, was "an experimental movie." He's playing clips of MSM folk talking about how it's hard for them to follow the tour. But why should Sarah Palin "give them anything" — after the way they've treated her? A nice clip of Sarah saying she's owes mainstream media nothing, and let them do their "investigative work" if they want to know where to find her.

UPDATE #6: Beginning the third hour, Rush says he's just hearing about this "I guess we're calling it 'Weinergate.'" Weiner's story, he says, "seems like it's hard to swallow."

UPDATE #7: "Somebody tell me why it's a big deal... some bulging package to a babe in Seattle...." Now, he's saying he got some email before the show about it. "Who in the world has time" to write about this? Is it that people "are captivated by the Twitter thing?"

UPDATE #8: He's indulging in some double entendre: "Is he giving his constituents the shaft?" He makes a reference to how Republicans are treated: "All I know is that Larry Craig was drummed out of Congress for tapping his foot." Back to the double entendre: "I had my hands full before we even got to the Weiner story."

106 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Maybe the show is a rerun.

Original Mike said...

What's up with Weiner?

I like to think I have a life. I tend to stay off the Internets on the weekend.

Anyways, don't bother to answer my question. I'm sure I'll find out. And I couldn't resist the opportunity to say: "What's up with Weiner?"

Sprezzatura said...

Listening live.

I always assumed (probably incorrectly) that Althouse's use of the podcasts allowed her to bypass all the annoying commercials. But, today she'll need to suffer like the rest of us.

Maybe she'll end the day w/ a new mortgage, some gold, pajamas, a Heritage Foundation membership, and so on.

Anonymous said...

MSNBC Today: "U.S. single-family home prices dropped into double-dip territory in March as the housing market remained bogged down by inventory and weak demand, a closely watched survey released Tuesday showed."

Barack Obama has opposed allowing bankruptcy judges to settle these claims in their proceedings ... protecting banks from haircuts at the expense of homeowners.

So Barack Obama deserves much criticism for putting the interests of very rich New York millionaires in New York ahead of average American voters.

He is deliberately keeping the economy down and purposely devaluing the net wealth of Americans so that his rich donors on Wall Street can continue to rape the United States taxpayer through TARP and other schemes.

It's unconscionable what he is doing to American families and it's good that Rush is keeping his eye on the ball.

Rep. Weiner will self-destruct all on his own without Rush needing to push him off a cliff.

After all, I'm sure Chris Hanson will catch up to Rep. Anthony "Check Out My" Weiner soon enough.

Man's a pervert and perverts can't stop themselves.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43222187/

The Crack Emcee said...

Tg,

Maybe the show is a rerun.

I've got him on - it's real.

traditionalguy said...

Mike...Weiner took some bad viagra and he is way over the four hour limit. He has been sending tweets begging for help disguised as a hacking victim, but so far the right wing blogs are having no mercy on the little guy.

Scott M said...

Probably waiting for the fruition of Breitbart's cryptic "We have more".

windbag said...

I wondered why Drudge didn't pick it up. My guess is that they're onto something and are sandbagging until they can slam-dunk the punk.

Fred4Pres said...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/too_many_coincidences_in_weiner_Rl8bBPw5CL5TqdO9aUe4sI

Fred4Pres said...

The biggest problem for Weiner and his defenders on the left is not bloggers from the right. It’s the details of “#weinergate” can be understood by millions of ordinary people in 140 characters or less

Titus said...

Carson Beach in South Boston has a parking lot that is notorious for gay sex.

Think New Kids on The Block types.

I did some of my best work there when I was younger.

Ann Althouse said...

"I always assumed (probably incorrectly) that Althouse's use of the podcasts allowed her to bypass all the annoying commercials. But, today she'll need to suffer like the rest of us."

When you're a member of Rush 24/7 and listen (and watch) on line live, you get those parody songs when the commercials are running. It's still annoying, but... it's not commercials.

Ann Althouse said...

Like, right now, they're playing an old parody making fun of Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle?!

Anonymous said...

"My guess is that they're onto something and are sandbagging until they can slam-dunk the punk."

They have the logs.

They're just waiting for Weiner to make his move and commit to a lie on the record.

Then the fucking hammer drops.

MadisonMan said...

@Original Mike, same. Especially a weekend that includes as beautiful a day as yesterday. Perfect for brat-eating.

Ann Althouse said...

But it's true that as a member, if you wait for the podcast (available mid-afternoon), you get the show skipping the commercials and skipping the filler parodies and music. That means that each hour is about 35 minutes long. Listen

traditionalguy said...

Has he blamed global warming yet, or as it is now called Weiner Change. It was probably "Big Oil' and 'Big Coal" that set him up like they did Saint AlGore.

James said...

Its not in his "stack of stuff." If Drudge doesn't touch the story; Rush isn't likely to talk about it.

Weiner must be happy because by tonight the media will move on to the debt limit vote and Sarah Palin.

Anonymous said...

"Has he blamed global warming yet."

Not quiet yet, but we have had this oddly familiar statement:

Democrat Anthony Weiner (wagging finger): "I did not send that obscene pornography to that student, Ms. Lewinsky. And I need to get back to work for the American people."

Fred4Pres said...

It was probably "Big Oil' and 'Big Coal" that set him up like they did Saint AlGore.

Those massage oils and lubricants had to come from somewhere.

Hagar said...

Why does anyone care about this "Weinergate"?

Anthony Weiner is like Dennis Kucinich, except that Kucinich is cute and lovable and Weiner isn't. Neither have any influence on anything that matters.

bloggybee said...

Is there really a reason for Limbaugh to get on top of this story?

I think many in the MSM want to watch but don't want to touch this...

bloggybee said...

"I think many in the MSM want to watch but don't want to touch this..."

Make that media in general...

edutcher said...

Rush's website has a pretty eclectic batch of articles from which he draws his material. I imagine Drudge may be one source, but I never got the impression he was tied to it.

traditionalguy said...

Maybe the show is a rerun.

Holiday weekend, possible, but there's a slew of new economic data out today and Friday.

All of it bad BTW.

Ann Althouse said...

Like, right now, they're playing an old parody making fun of Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle?!

He was the original choice for Health Czar.

"Wait times in emergency rooms."

PS Anybody looks better in a helmet than Dukakis.

bloggybee said...

"""""
"I think many in the MSM(media in general) want to watch but don't want to touch this..."
"""""

Right at this very moment, Anthony Weiner is the #2 Google Trend...

http://i55.tinypic.com/qzi1z6.jpg

http://www.google.com/trends

Fred4Pres said...

Tick tock.

It would have been better for Weiner if wienergate was acknowledged over the holiday weekend (when people were preoccupied with grilling wieners--because they cannot afford the price of steaks this year). Now the story will get traction this week.

Hagar said...

I think it is funnier that the Palins left their tourbus in front of the hotel at Gettysburg for the "press" to watch while they snuck out the back and went on their way to the next stop - wherever that might be.

rhhardin said...

Weiner is high on amusement but not on material effect.

Hard to predict.

The choice would be heavily weighted towards mocking the media coverage of something, which there hasn't been much of.

rhhardin said...

Like, right now, they're playing an old parody making fun of Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle?!

Those are fill intended for stations that don't have all the commercial slots occupied; they go out on the dittocam feed too. They're unrelated to the show. In fact they're a little tedious to listen to, once you've been through the cycle a few times.

ricpic said...

Drudge is a great source but the notion that Rush is Drudge dependent is laughable. He often takes off on stories from The American Thinker and from the Heritage Foundation sites and is completely open about his debt to those sites.

Dustin said...

Live blog the whole show!

I never listen. It's interesting.

Fred4Pres said...

There is no rush for Rush on this one. Let Weiner make his wiener an object of ridicule.

Fred4Pres said...

Jonah is rising to the occasion.

Leland said...

Except for the fact he scripts his shows with his staff; I do wonder if his top of the third hour monologue will be, "Over at the Althouse blog, I'm being hounded about not covering this Weener, Weiner, Twit, twitter, whatever, peckerhead Democrat Congressman trying to deny..."

Sayyid said...

"They have the logs.

They're just waiting for Weiner to make his move and commit to a lie on the record.

Then the fucking hammer drops."

I figure they are waiting to spring it during the election. Don't want to blow it too early.

"Is there really a reason for Limbaugh to get on top of this story?"

It's not the size, it's how you use it. And Rush is the master debater when it comes to this kind of affair.

Lincolntf said...

Tuned him in. Curious to hear his take (if he gives it). By the by, my local radio stations recently reshuffled their syndicated shows, giving me access to Dennis Miller from 10-1 weekdays. I don't think I even knew he had a show. Anyway, it's a good show, worth checking out.
(Yes, you have to be able to deal with his inflated language, which I've always found to be greatly amusing. He's not a language snob, but he plays one very cleverly.)

Dustin said...

"you get those parody songs when the commercials are running."

That must get pretty old.

I'd rather they just play music. Or even commercials.

The podcast option sounds great, though.

Scott M said...

And Rush is the master debater when it comes to this kind of affair.

"Ah, but the servant waits while the master baits."

Sorry...figured it was a propos. Hard to blog Madeline Kahn's expression so it looses a lot in translation.

Fred4Pres said...

Weiner needs to just talk honestly about it.

ricpic said...

Dennis Miller is always doing riffs that are supposed to astound with their brilliance but give me a pain after a very short while.

Scott M said...

Dennis Miller is always doing riffs that are supposed to astound with their brilliance but give me a pain after a very short while.

His show is excellent and takes on a somewhat greater emphasis when you realize that Miller admits to being quite liberal, politically, back around his SNL days.

Original Mike said...

Parody songs?

No wonder I could not locate Spatula City.

Lincolntf said...

ricpic, I hear you. One has to build up a resistance to it. He is being sardonic/sarcastic/self-deprecating most of the time, and the lingo makes for an interesting contrast.

CharlesVegas said...

I use the dittocam to listen to Rush. When he goes to a break, the screen shows a generic EIB image. I hit the mute button. When he comes back, hit unmute.

Tedious, but not as bad as hearing the Al-Gore-kills-a-cow parody for the 5000th time.

William said...

Ms. Althouse displays an unseemly eagerness to hear Rush Limbaugh discuss Rep. Weiner's penis. Weiner's penis is not an exclamation point but a parenthesis.

J said...

Ann A. following orders from her mob boss El Rushbo.

yawn.


It's unlikely RushBo knows GDP from pcp. He should stick to what he knows, like .....the life and times of JW Gacy

traditionalguy said...

El Rushbo probably has enough serious stuff not to turn his show over to Weinergate. Rush also has a habit of telling the Dems how to get out of their traps. I hope he silently leaves Weiner to twist in the wind on his own petard.

deborah said...

It's like we're the French Resistance huddling around a radio.

(I'm following Althouse, not actually listening.)

Sprezzatura said...

Eventually Weinergate will reach a resolution. Either the right will be right, or the left will.

When that resolution occurs there may still be some holdouts on the losing side. Those folks will be unpersuaded by things like logic, facts, and reality.

So the important question is: What will we call these folks?

Will they be 'weinerers' or is it enough to simply call them 'weiners'?

Sprezzatura said...

"El Rushbo probably has enough serious stuff not to turn his show over to Weinergate. "

Maybe he's not a hypocrite.

If cons say that the libs are are unnecessarily blowing up con scandals, wouldn't they look silly if they took this exact tact w/ lib scandals (or still developing potential scandals, such as Weinergate)?

Maybe Rush thinks this stuff isn't noteworthy, regardless of the potential political benefit?

Time will tell.

Sprezzatura said...

or tack

Lincolntf said...

pbandj, the question will be:
"How much depravity will the Dems tolerate in order to keep their favorite attack poodle?"

Ann Althouse said...

"Live blog the whole show! I never listen. It's interesting."

It's 3 hours... The text of the whole show is up -- free -- on this website later in the day.

deborah said...

@ Lincoln: something north of Barney Frank.

coketown said...

I guess the economy does make Weiner's wiener seem rather small.

KCFleming said...

Just an aside, but when Rep. Weiner jumps into a swimming pool, does he shrivel to about 2 foot tall, or does he disappear completely?

KCFleming said...

Weiner proves that not every ruler is 12 inches.

Mitch H. said...

Maybe he just thinks this weiner crap is crap? 'Cause it is. "A nation longs to care about stupid crap again"-class crap.

J said...

It's like we're the French Resistance huddling around a radio.

GOP/TP/A-house, the Resistance?? Heh heh. Wrong side, schwester. You're the nazi-sympathizers, listening to Rushbo, the wannabe Fuhrer.

Original Mike said...

Is there any corraboration that it's Anthony's wiener in the photo?

Scott M said...

Said Johnson has not been reached for comment. I'm assuming he's gone all turtle for the time-being.

Toad Trend said...

@Pogo

LOL. I think it stunning that if it proves to be his member behind those squeezers, what a punchline he'll become...'Weiner's wiener leads to dis-memberment in the house'. Or something like that.


BTW how is the better half doing???

CharlesVegas said...

Rush on it now!

The Crack Emcee said...

There - he's on it now.

Toad Trend said...

@Original

Cue the Porky's references....

I call Godwin's law on the unhinged troll.

James said...

Rush just mentioned Anthony Weiner.

Kensington said...

Maybe Rush is still trying to figure out how to work into one of his endless live reads for Lifelock.

Or, God forbid, he's vulnerable to his own "Rush exposes himself" scandal and doesn't want to talk about somebody else's.

I love Rush, but the live commercials woven into the monologs annoy the Hell out of me.

cochise20001 said...

2:08............start of the third hour.

KCFleming said...

@Don't Tread 2012:

Thx for asking.
She's well, save for the persistent headache. Apparently carotid dissection can cause head pain that lasts for months.

Unknown said...

BTW I wonder what Huma's Saudi Muslim family thinks of this incident.

rhhardin said...

Probably Rush decided it doesn't go anywhere.

J said...

call it on Debbie, shewolf of the Ahouse SS, Tread-trash.

The unhinged of Ahouse are hoping for some anti-semitic phunn--ie Weiner-bashing-- from RushBo. RushBo is a bit...smarter than that now, however, after Al Franken wiped the floor with him. Not that Al's perfect. But he did jack Limbozo

Scott M said...

I'm still curious, J. Why the insatiable need call people names?

Rich B said...

Rush is just screwing with the transcribers at Media Matters.

Rich B said...

J

C'mon. Unclench those fists and wipe the spittle off your chin. We're all friends here.

Original Mike said...

@Pogo: I was teluctant to ask. That's great news.

Dustin said...

"rhhardin said...

Probably Rush decided it doesn't go anywhere."

Other than the accusations of hacking and the refusal to directly deny it's Weiner in the photo or even ask Twitter to investigate the hacking, this is a boring little story.

I mean, the other interesting thing is the MSM hack nonsense, but we've been down this road 100 times.

Anyway, has Weiner directly denied he sent the twitter message? I've only seen his intermediaries suggest otherwise, with weasel words and changing descriptions. Weiner seems anxious to not have the truth come out, regardless of what it is.

MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...

Ever the showman, Rush suspected his listenership was going to spike today. So he waited until the third hour to reveal that he's simply to busy saving the country to be bothered by Weinergate.

That's why he's the top dog in radio.

traditionalguy said...

When Weinergate is finally over, the paranoids who refuse to accept the evidence should be called Waggers.

Fred4Pres said...

Ace breaks his own embargo.

deborah said...

No, Jack, schwester is your baby mama, remember? Toddle along now, buckaroo.

deborah said...

Old Redd Foxx joke:

Judge: Didn't you see his tamale wagon?

Defendant: No your honor, his fly was closed.

Fred4Pres said...

Sen. Chuck Schumer, who served as Weiner's political mentor, gave his protege a vote of confidence in the court of public opinion.
"I don't know the details. But I know him to be a person of integrity and I am virtually certain he had nothing to do with this," Schumer said.

Bruce Hayden said...

I listened to the Palin stuff on the way down from the airport this morning. And thought that it was great.

I will say that one thing is clear from that - George Will has lost all credibility as a conservative. He suggested that no one in the country would trust Palin with nuclear weapons, but failed to explain why any one would trust Obama with such.

The media is having a real melt down with Palin and how she is playing them, and esp. how she doesn't keep them informed about her travel plans, but apparently is going right around them. She said essentially that they are reporters, and that as part of their job, they should probably try doing some leg work. Humorous.

deborah said...

Bless her pea-pickin' heart. At least it keeps J from getting run over in traffic.

Anonymous said...

Professor Althouse,

If you weren't a complete dipshit you would ask yourself why Drudge isn't running his protege's story.

WHY ISN'T DRUDGE RUNNING THE STORY?

/filed under the dog that didn't bark

William said...

"Virtually certain"--does that phrase indicate the subtlety of a weasel or the naivete of the elephant in the room.....@Thanks to Fred4pres for the the Ace of Spades link. As scandals go this is far from the most sordid but easily one of the funniest to ever afflict a figure in public life. The MSM coverage of this event is about what one expects. It will be interesting to see what the late night comics make of this scandal. That's where most Americans get their news anyway. A penis scandal involving Rep. Weiner is something that comes along once in a comic writer's lifetime. If they gloss over this, it will be patently obvious, and they will they lose the trust of the American public.

Carol said...

Well...Kaus is covering it anyway.

Brian Brown said...

27183 said...
Professor Althouse,

If you weren't a complete dipshit you would ask yourself why Drudge isn't running his protege's story.


I love this.

Now Drudge is some legitimate news source.

I could bog this server down with examples of Drudge being referred to as a right wing smear machine, etc by the left.

Saint Croix said...

Ann: "I want bulging penis."

Rush: "That Sarah Palin, she's a hottie. What a babe."

Ann: "I can't believe you're not talking about the bulging penis. It's newsworthy."

Rush: "Sarah Palin is awesome. Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin."

Ann: "Bulging penis!"

Rush: "Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin."

Ann: "Give me the bulging penis!"

Rush: "Okay, okay. 2 hours of foreplay. Then you get the bulging penis."

Ann: "You drive me crazy."

deborah said...

lol Actually, I think it was Weiner who Rush was teasing.

Anonymous said...

@Jay

Now Drudge is some legitimate news source.

I could bog this server down with examples of Drudge being referred to as a right wing smear machine, etc by the left.


That's the point numbnuts. Breitbart is Drudge's droolie, stooge, mentee....

If Drudge the right wing smear machine won't touch this story, it means he clearly thinks it's bullshit.

Apparently Drudge is smarter and more astute than Ann.

traditionalguy said...

I expect to hear that the Sour Kraut-hammer will do a frank piece on Weiner's bulge tweet proving that Palin will never run for anything in DC where only educated adults live.

deborah said...

Therein lies her biggest problem...people with big audiences: Kraut, Will, Noonan, Frum...

mariner said...

Rich B.,
We're all friends here.

Let's not go overboard with that peace, love and understanding shit.

Most of us are friends.

Peter Hoh said...

Larry Craig was hardly drummed out of office. Granted, he didn't run for re-election, but he served out his term.

Almost Ali said...

I think Rush is finding it impossible to connect the dots; willing female vs. Weiner.

Because such a scenario is next to impossible, and extraordinarily expensive.

Almost Ali said...

That means that each hour is about 35 minutes long.

A fair example of "extraordinarily expensive" applied to another venue.

Brian Brown said...

If Drudge the right wing smear machine won't touch this story, it means he clearly thinks it's bullshit.

Hysterical.

I love documenting the lies you silly, ignorant leftists have to tell yourselves in order to get through the day.

deborah said...

Weiner clams up; referring press to week-end statements:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/31/weiner.photo/index.html

Peter Hoh said...

Weiner is fortunate that his face wasn't in the photo (Chris Lee) and he didn't plead guilty to anything (Larry Craig). And if he can keep it from being a federal case (Bill Clinton) and no one turns up dead (Gary Condit) then he just might be able to get away with it. And whatever you do, don't pull a Spitzer and resign before you have to.

Weiner should call David Vitter to find out how it's done.

Brian Brown said...

f Drudge the right wing smear machine won't touch this story, it means he clearly thinks it's bullshit.

Really?
In a brief gaggle with reporters Tuesday, Weiner was asked directly if the photo was of him, but he refused to say.



Carry on, in your silly ignorance.

James said...

Bill O'Reilly just did a long segment on "Weinergate." Both Lis Wiehl and Kimberley Guilfoyle said they were "highly sceptical" of Weiner's account of what happened.

O'Reilly is calling for an immediate investigation by the FBI.

ken in tx said...

Well, maybe Rush is starting to slow down. For many years he cheered me up, because when I heard him on the radio, I thought, at least somebody is paying attention to this stuff. Nobody can be on top all the time. It's sort of like when Johnny Carson started having more guest hosts than himself. All good things come to an end.

Karl said...

Of course Rush didn't lead with the Weiner bit.

Force Jew-Fro's minders to listen to most of the show - and the seemingly endless life-number-sleep-lock promos. Wondering. Waiting. Fucking brilliant.

Rush is the TRUE "King of All Media."

Howard Stern? nah...hot lesbians - live in the studio - would work much better visually. Never got why I should get excited about that.

And - the June Bugs are here - a day early.


wv: comen. 'nuf said.

dick said...

I am wondering what affect this will have on who supports this dipshit for mayor, the office he wants to move to next. Will Bill and Hill be supporting him? How about Zero and Rahm or Boomie. Whatever position he runs for he will not get my vote and that is for sure.