Jan 22
This is part one of a two part interview. Part two will be aired on Thursday January 22.
In this segment, Rush talks to Sean about Obama, his lack of known substance, worship by the MSM and more.
Rush points out that Obama is our president but we don’t have to like his policies. It’s a fascinating interview and well worth watching.
Thanks to Land of Da Free for the video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YcwI4NlKA&hl=en&fs=1]
See the second part of the interview the following night HERE.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:11 am
sean i love your show i love rush the interview was a excellant can’t wait for 2 part we all have to keep an eye on this administration and as a conservative american we have to stand strong and fight for whats right keep up the great work you do for us thanks sean and rush grace montgomery ny
January 25th, 2009 at 4:24 am
I think Hannity and Limbaugh are doing their jobs as PR men for the business-class of wealthy elites by drumming up fears of anything resembling Socialism. Socialism is the latest hobgoblin conjured up by conservatives to manipulate public opinion through fear, as they have always done. The so-called “Liberal Media” conspiracy that Hannity and O’Reilly are always referring to is another hobgoblin. It’s a tactic conservatives of the establishment use, like identifying themselves with working class people, and calling themselves “mavericks.” If they want white votes in the racist South, they drum up fear of Blacks, if they want more military spending, they drum up fear of the Soviets, if they want to go to war and take away civil rights, they drum up fear of terrorists. It’s the oldest trick in their playbook. Their aim now is to protect Capitalism, now that it is shown to have failed everyone but the rich, whose interests they represent.
Limbaugh’s statement that if Obama “does not eliminate the Bush tax cuts, I would call that a success.” and “I would hope he would succeed if he acts like Reagan” makes it crystal clear whose interests he represents. The Bush tax cuts most benefit the rich, and Reagan’s “trickle down economics” should be obvious by now to be a total disaster for everyone BUT the rich, and these are the policies that have led to the great disparity in wealth distribution we have today:
“As of 2001, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 33.4% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 51%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 84%, leaving only 16% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth, the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 39.7%.” – Prof. William Domhoff, http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
If you’re worried about redistribution of wealth, it’s because the propaganda and disinformation campaign of the wealthy, who dominate all major media outlets, has been successful in causing you to confuse your own interests with those of themselves – the rich CEOs of mass media networks, like Rupert Murdoch, who controls Fox News, and so also Sean Hannity (see the documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism to see how much his personal opinion shapes how and what gets covered on his network).
America’s economic system has always been mixed – not purely Capitalist, not purely Socialist. Take for example the Military – your healthcare, education, and housing are all provided for by the State! What’s not Socialist about that? and why isn’t everyone else entitled to similar benefits?
I’ll tell you why – because the loyalty of someone who will kill and die on command is more valuable and expensive than that of the average wage-slave. And with American business interests dependent on the use of force in foreign countries, that loyalty is a key part of the Corporate Empire’s operating costs.
With the rich getting richer and growing more powerful over the years, their influence on government has completely overpowered that of “the People”, at a great loss to Democracy. The government has always primarily served the interests of the rich, however, and this is why I believe Capitalism is inimical to government “By, For, and Of the People”, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, and “Justice for All.” In fact, I think these very ideals are most expressive of a Democratic or Libertarian Socialism.
Not only is Capitalism inherently expoitative of humans, it’s exploitative of every living thing. It lays claim to the sun, the water, the air, your body, and even the thoughts in your head, and turns them into commodities in service of Capital. No one is “born free” or has a “right to life” in a capitalist system, because everything required for life is already the private property of someone else! …and they call this “the Land of the Free”! Where everyone must make themselves “marketable” and find someone to sell the hours of their life to, because the alternative is starvation, or imprisonment! “You’d better learn to love money, and be willing to jump through flaming hoops to get it, because the wealthy and propertied make the rules, and there’s no free rides here… even the animals! If you don’t serve some marketable purpose, you’re roadkill!” Everyone must find their place in the great machine, or be crushed under its wheels.
Capitalism is dependent on Slavery. Look at the history of the Labor Movement – the Capitalist Way was to pay the workers as little as possible, work them as long and as hard as they would go (in factories that would maim and poison them), and when they dared to strike and demand fair treatment, the police and military were sent in to beat them, shoot them, and/or lock them up in jail. It was only when the movement grew so strong (at the loss of many lives) that it threatened the foundations of the capitalist system, and reforms were introduced – like the minimum wage, the 8-hour day, sick days, weekends, holidays off, etc. – to save Capitalism.
The Great Depression, the greatest example of Capitalism’s inherent flaws, was another time when great reforms were introduced in order to stabilise the system. Those reforms (and as Rush pointed out – WWII – because capitalist profiteers know that war is good for the economy) – saved Capitalism.
Now Obama is here, hailed as a modern day FDR, to save Capitalism all over again. The miserly conservatives who don’t want to share any of their outrageous wealth complain of Socialism, but really, there’s no need to fear. He’s only here to restore the balance, to make the majority comfortable enough again to stave off popular rebellion and save the death of capitalism for another day. I think this is the real reason people praise Obama so blindly – because the hope he inspires is the hope of postponing the chaos of a revolution, or the dystopia of corporate-christian fascism foreshadowed by the Bush-ites. But capitalism will fail, eventually, and personally I hope it is sooner rather than later.