On his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh unveiled his brand new conspiracy theory that environmentalists were secretly behind the oil rig explosion that has spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. He reasoned, “What better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants than by blowing up a rig?”
Here is the audio courtesy of Media Matters:
Limbaugh laid out his conspiracy theory, “Now lest we forget, ladies and gentlemen, the carbon tax bill, cap and trade, that was scheduled to be announced on Earth Day, I remember that, then it was postponed for a couple of days later, after Earth Day…This bill the cap and trade bill was criticized by hard core environmentalist wackos because it supposedly allowed more offshore drilling and nuclear plants, nuclear plant investment, so since they’re sending swat teams down there folks, since they’re sending swat teams to inspect the other rigs, what better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants than by blowing up a rig? I’m just noting the timing here.”
Of course, the part of Rush’s conspiracy theory that makes no sense is why any environmentalists would want to destroy the very environment that they are trying to save by blowing up an oil rig and spewing 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the Gulf? Wouldn’t this be a violation of everything that the environmental movement stands for? I don’t think that anything can be read into the timing of the explosion, because as Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) pointed out today, there have been 509 oil fires in the Gulf since 2006.
Instead of being a left wing conspiracy, maybe this incident shows that we need to look at the environmental dangers of offshore drilling a little more before we agree to expand it. President Obama announced today that swat teams were being sent to the Gulf to help investigate the cause of the explosion. Anything could have caused this explosion, but I think that it is absurd that Limbaugh would blame the very people who love the environment for destroying it. Rush’s conspiracy theory is not logical, but he will say anything to blame the left and protect the interests of right wing corporate America.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
How many American’s know that HALIBURTON was the company working on the platform when it went BOOM?
Not many because the media is too lazy or stupid or both to distinguish between the owner of the oil lease – BP and the owner of the platform Transocean Ltd. and the HALIBURTON crew working to pump concrete into the well head to separate the oil from the natural gas!
Are you as mad as hell yet? How much longer are you going to put up with being manipulated by corporate media and PR departments? Call your local paper and ask them why their stories have not linked HALIBURTON to this catastrophe?
TOOL.
he has absolutely no sense of logic. or he just follows his own circular logic and draws so many circles that it’s impossible to draw a conclusion. i feel like he just sits on his thumbs and grins b/c he’s one of those who’s so crazy he’s smart. or something. i dunno. but he’s a douche, so it doesn’t really matter.
“Of course, the part of Rush’s conspiracy theory that makes no sense is why any environmentalists would want to destroy the very environment that they are trying to save by blowing up an oil rig and spewing 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the Gulf?”
Are you serious??? I know you are aware that Eco-terrorist groups like ELF, who has been attacking the Alaska pipeline for years now, attack without any further regard for the consequenses. They hold true to a mantra that “The ends justify the means” and with that, nothing is out of bounds or off limits.
I’m not saying that I’m convinced that this was the work of environmental groups but I am concerned as to why The president sent SWAT teams to investigate the cause of the accident and also why Homeland Security Director Napolitano is leading this operation. If this truly is an accident gone wrong, then I have to say there are much mor qualified people to take the lead in investigating this incident.
@This Guy, They are probably more about this being a foreign attack than any environmental group.
I dont understand whats wrong with Rush. he has been lying faster than Sarah palin lately with conspiracy’s that make no sense.
This rig is the most advanced that we have and the most environmentally friendly
Why dont the republicans tell him to stuff it? he is losing more and more credibility every day.
Well, so are they come to think of it
The delusional, drug-addled blame shifter strikes again.
Yeah, Enviromentalists would never cause harm to their own environment. Yeah right. Like the time they blew up a a hummer dealership, and caused more harm to the environment in one day than all of those hummers would have caused in their lifetime on the road. By the way if they don’t cause harm to their world, why do most of them drive cars, fly in planes, eat food delivered in trucks, and use plastics? There are some good people who care about taking care of our environment, but these environmentalists are whack jobs, plain and simple
@fred d, That’s it, go straight for the conspiracy theory and ignore any logical explanations like an accident or that maybe just maybe BP was cutting corners to increase profits, no it has to be the environmentalists because they are all crazy, according to the equally crazy right wing. If it was an environmental group they would have taken responsibility for it. They always do, so no, Rush is wrong. It was not an environmental group. It was probably just an accident.
@This Guy, “why Homeland Security Director Napolitano is leading this operation.”
Because the Coast Guard is part of Homeland Security.
Scuze me, but the only thing more ridiculous than Rush’s drivel is to dignify it with an attempted logical rebuttal. Rush is obviously not serious about this — this is his usual right-wing paranoid schtick. The only proper response is derision.
His theory isn’t illogical. It’s probably not real but it is plausible. If it were true maybe the environmentalists didn’t know that such a spill would occur. Or maybe they did and reasoned one horrible spill like this will prevent many more in the future.
Not one person posting here can definitively conclude whether it was an accident or sabotage by any group of people. This is why they are investigating and sent out teams to check other platforms.
Concluding it was an accident without knowing any real facts is ignorant.
If he’s such a douche why do you feel compelled to acknowledge him by so stating?
Bush did it in retailiation for Katrina.
@Egypt Steve,
You must be one of the democrats that looks at the world through rose colored glasses. All’s well as long as I don’t read too much. Well, think about this: Obama was very opposed to drilling, and tried his best to force cap and trade on us at the behest of the people that gave him the Nobel Peace Prize, that are the people behind the Bilderbergers. Global warming backfired and was proven a hoax. Probably most of the glacial melt was due to the periodic warming (such as tectonic plates and volcanic eruption). At any rate it wasn’t purely a result of human abuse. Well, BO owes the NPP organization bigtime. Funny how within months after announcing resumption of oil exploration there is an explosion on an oil rig, something that RARELY happens. Cap and Trade is now viable again.
Wake up America! I don’t think most of you are informed of the reality of the world and the hatred within the world of the power we have as a country. There are many groups and individuals within our own country that would love to cripple our oil industry, along with other countries. You need to educate yourselves. What Rush is saying could very well be the case. Please open your minds. It is pure and simple ignorance to dismiss that this oil explosion could have ‘ONLY’ been an accident. If you know anything about these oil rigs they have many failsafe systems! If’s a question of who blew this rig up!
@Rvrctyrdnk, I have never been a “conspiricy theory” person……BUT, my gut is screaming that it just cannot be a coincidence that we have the worst coal mining explosion in decades and the worst oil rig explosion (possibly in history) as we approach cap and trade legislation and just after Obama begrudgingly “caves” toward drilling. Is anyone looking into this?
@James,
Of course it’s illogical not only in theory but in practice. And of course we can prove it was an accident and not sabotage.
Every person on that rig is identified and accounted for before they can land there. The rig was 52 miles out at sea…there is no way to get on the rig except by helicopter or boat with assistance from the bridge.
Or did you imagine the environmentalists had a submarine? And the technology to cause a blowout at the sea floor without destroying the blowout preventer?
Good lord, you wing nuts are stupid.
@Acamerica, It turns out that this rig in particular did not have as many as it could have.
@James,
Yes, it’s also plausible that a butterfly flapping its wing outside my living room window will generate an air movement that eventually grows so strong it causes a hurricane half way across the world.
Oh wait, it’s also possible that by staring at Russia out my kitchen window will suddenly bestow upon me incredible foreign policy knowledge.
And since you can’t prove definitively that the hurricane wasn’t caused by my little butterfly, then to claim it was just mother nature would be totally ignorant.
Seriously, go back and lift some more weights before you come back to this intellectual gym again. Get the hell out of here with your weak sauce.
@Acamerica,
Um, okay…so we need to keep our minds open to a conspiracy theory because according to you, it’s simple ignorance to dismiss the explosion as accident only…but then you end your dumb rant with the only question is who blew this rig up.
So those who don’t believe the explosion was some conspiracy/sabotage needs to keep an open mind or be labeled ignorant, but you can say with certainty that someone blew it up and…what, NOT be ignorant?
You’re an idiot, dude. And to not see that you’re an idiot on the first time is to make us idiots.
I think we have to consider the possibilty of sabotage here. Of course, as I read through the liberal fascist rants by the “Marxist/Leninist” sheeple on this “May Day”, I get even more suspicious.
The money to be made by these globalists associated with “cap and trade” through the Chicago Carbon Exchange – “CCX” (Obama, Franklin Raines, Goldman Sachs) , the European Exchange – “GIM” ( Al Gore, George Soros /Tides foundation, and old Goldman Sachs execs) is certainly well worth it to them to spill a little oil along the Gulf. Hell, the states affected are all conservaitve and RED.
Why also the delay by Chairman Maobama, aka the Manchurian / Kenyan Candidate!, in moving to control this situation.
Forget about Halliburton and BP oil! Look to the “enemy within” and these globalist profiteers beyond.
America needs to open its eyes to these possibilities.
@Rod Landreneau,
You know, I remember when people were saying Bush was behind 9-11 and I was horrified. I get the same feeling listening to people claim Obama is the “Manchurian/Kenyan” candidate — an “enemy within”.
You have to be nuts to believe that. Just nuts.
@Beverly, — who are you, one of the Beverly Hillbillies? the one point I didn’t make in my post was that even though Rush obviously does not believe this hoohah, he has become rich by selling his shit-sandwiches to yahoos throughout the provinces, who eagerly swallow and regurgitate them. Case in point: one beverly.
@Jason Easley, If you were going to pick a rig, whitch would you pick, one with safe gaourds or….. one without !!!!
@km,
Your logic is the same logic people used to suggest that Bush was behind 9-11; after all, he got everything he wanted, including taking away major Constitutional rights, after 9-11.
However, there is a difference between bad things happening and being used for political gain and politicians orchestrating said bad things.
The leap is not small.
I would suggest that you ponder how the last 40 years of massive deregulation brought about not only the mining disaster, but also the oil rig failure (see many posts here on this subject- the Bush appointed regulators of rigs too busy doing cocaine with oil companies to regulate them, etc) along with the collapse of Wall Street, our housing market, etc.
Believe it or not, these failures were brought about by a lack of regulation and oversight in each instance.
Democrats stand for regulation and it used to be that Republicans agreed that we needed some reasonable amount of regulation and oversight. In the last 10 years, they’ve gone nuts and deregulated everything they could get their hands on..which made them and their buddies very rich.
Profit is not always safe, my friend, hence profit is not the only value Americans believe in.
@Rod Landreneau,
Yes, because the 9/11 Truthers are crazy, left-wing conspiracy theorists, but let’s all of us keep our minds open about “Chairman Maobama, the enemy within.”
I guess we should also keep an open mind then that Bush & Co. let Katrina hit the gulf region and then purposely delayed response b/c 1) Bush and his Admin are all racists and hate black people, or 2) there was money to be made by some of his friends in construction, in disaster relief, in competing fishing industry business.
You’re an idiot.
And the continued drivel about “manchurian candidate” and “birtherism” makes you a racist. When a logical person peels all the layers down to the bottom, the only reason to hang on to such lunacy is the deeply unsettling, rampaging anger in your heart that a black man runs this country now.
So not only are you an idiot, you’re also a racist.
An idiotic racist or a racist idiot. Take your pick.
@Rod Landreneau,
Sabotage…really?
Why don’t you explain to us exactly how that would work on a rig 52 miles out at sea?
Be specific.
Submarine!
@acamerica,
Unmanned, Or gps guilded? Make a brain storm list. Dropped on a fishing line. Corporate competition, accident, stupidity, fatigue, Who has what to gain? We all just lost a hell of a lot.
Who can get this thing capped? Where are the engeneers with the plan? Work together rather than calling each other whackos, wankers or idiots. I hope the public could get information useful to contribute to the possibliliy of helping rather than accepting $8.00 per gallon gas. Possibly from Exonn… Take a toke and write back.
You can’t just think that this was an accident because the left media is reporting it as so. Why was a SWAT TEAM sent out to investigate this then, also engineer’s who work on these rigs have reported that this type of acccident doesn’t happen anymore with the type of equipment they have now with all of the failsafe’s. Are you going to ignore this information as well? Don’t you think that it might be important to know the ‘true’ cause whatever it may be to help insure that this wouldn’t happen again if it was? It does matter knowing, it is better to investigate any of these possibilities instead of being ignorant. You can’t believe the liberal media or the government any longer. Maybe you ought to listen to the Fox News Channel more often.
@Lars Olfen, lol hey while were at it bush sent help to new Orleans faster than obama sent help to the gulf that’s funny but where are the people holding the signs “OBAMA WHY HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN US”
@acamerica,
oooh, fox. the same channel that reported that bristol palin is trigg’s momma? hmm… come to think of it, they might have gotten that one right…
sadly, the national enquirer reports more news than fox. and yeah. i’ve listened to fox. my bf’s dad seems to love it for some reason. the most truth you get from them is half-truths.
but of course, by your logic, the mining disaster in WV shouldn’t have happened either with all those illustrious MSHA protocols in place. oh wait. no. profits are more important than human safety these days.
…i really need to stop writing comments at 4 AM…
@Lars Olfen,
public service. just in case someone’s forgotten.
The oil rig fire was intentional. Bank on it.
Even if it is sabotage however unlikely, isn’t that one the of hazards a company should account for … I don’t see how that changes anything. Is BP only expected to protect from natural disaster? Regardless of the cause … it did happen. There’s always a reason for everything. If a disaster is possible and we do not have the means to predict the scale of it nor the means to stop it should we risk it? Now we’ll see if a company really does have the means to control the disaster as their documented claim states. It doesn’t look like it so far.
@srjones,
Democrats stand for regulation? Are you kidding? It was the democrats who blocked legislation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2004 and 2005. We all know what happened to the housing market in 2008, and what that has done to our economy. That was a direct result of democrats’ not standing for regulation, even though they turned around in 2008 and blamed Bush (but the media won’t tell you that). The democrats stand for regulation only when it makes political sense for them. The republicans are no different.
It is highly unlikely that the oil rig explosion was caused by eco-terrorists; this was much bigger than a bunch of college hippies. It is much less likely that the explosion was an accident; read the reports from the survivors. 11 workers disappeared without a trace before the explosion (no one can recall where they were before the explosion). Those 11 “workers” were nowhere near the rig at the time of the explosion.
Russia and China stand to make tremendous gains from this incident, and both countries have drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Some time ago Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer/exporter of oil. Anyone who thinks Russia is a friend to the US is an idiot. So why not blow up a US oil rig right before Earth Day, right after Obama proposes new off-shore drilling, and right before summer when US oil demand increases the most? Oh, yes. Russia stands to make a killing off this one.
Limbaugh doesn’t give a crap whether or not any of the nonsense that he spews is factually accurate. All he cares about is whether he can sell it to his listeners. In this particular case, only the most vacuous, ardent Limbaugh-philes could possibly believe any of this crap, and so look for Rush to invoke his standard escape mechanism — he’ll insist that he was only joking, and f*ck you if you can’t take a joke.
This is what happens when you see the world through sh*t-colored glasses, an affliction facing Rush since he spends so much time with his head up his ass.
I don’t care who blew it up or why it blew up, the fact is it blew up, it is stupid to keep drilling in the ocean for oil. Anyone who supports ocean drilling is simply not forward thinking and unable to think at all.
@Rvrctyrdnk, there are over 20 lawsuits filed in Louisiana Courts (so far) naming Halliburton as co-defendants. That is where they will take their lumps. In the wallet.
the oil spill was not a democratic spill or a republican spill….it was an american disaster….why unlike other countries we do not compel the bps to have the sonic emergency shut off? i believe we should drill but we should drill safe as possible, also why did our gov fail to have in stock these booms which enable oil to burn off? seems like we failed there also….why did it take all this time to get to work? why did the white house not send help, instead they sent lawyers to the scene first, i know if i was in a car accident id rater see medical, police or fire help not lawyers…..no i do not believe it was a plot…but can you imagine if pres bush was still president? he would be the target…not bp, not transocean, not halliburton….bush…..and yes bush failed to stock the booms and failed to make the bps have the sonic shut offs but when 9-11 came bush was in off ice for 8 months i believe we are in month 17 of obamas….why mr president no booms….why mr president no sonic shutoffs….were you too busy shoving the health bill down peoples throats….mr president do you listen to we the people at all? this summer gas prices will skyrocket…oh thats right thats what you want…..higher oil prices so we the people will be forced to conserve….that i turn will lead to a rise in the inflation, more lost jobs and further erosions of the american dream
I’m no fan of Rush, and there are many things to disagree with him on, but this is just IDIOTIC. Really, almost every time I read one of these stories about some “absurd” thing Limbaugh said it reflects more upon the person writing the story than it does Limbaugh.
Obama sent SWAT teams down there (THIS IS AN ESTABLISHED FACT), why would he do that? For the hell of it? No, because they thought there was some possibility that SWAT teams would be helpful. When would SWAT teams be helpful? If there was some group of people engaged in sabotage or misbehavior. In which case, Limbaugh’s speculation was simply THE ONLY LOGICAL CONCLUSION ONE CAN DRAW FROM THE PRESENCE OF SWAT TEAMS.
Either that, or Obama DID NOT think there was any need for SWAT teams and simply sent them for show. This would actually be the more negative interpretation, as it would mean Obama is a vain superficial person who would do something like deploying SWAT teams simply as a show. If Limbaugh really hated Obama, he would have gone with this explanation, but he took the more positive approach, and assumed there was some reasonable motivation for the presence of SWAT teams.
In other words, GROW A BRAIN. YOU ARE MAKING LIBERALS LOOK BAD.
@, YES, YOU CAN BANK ON IT…EXCEPT THEY OWN THE BANKS NOW TOO..LOL
You forgot to blame the Terrorists for the explosion.
Like Rush said, “It’s just the timing”. What Rush is doing is just making talk. He really doesn’t believe that environmentalists had anything to do with it. He’s just talking. Which is similar to saying that: “It was an act of God”. Then it doesn’t make any sense why God would want to destroy the very environment that he created.
Seriously people, Rush does not believe it was environmentalists. He’s just noting the timing. Obama wants to open off shore areas that have been closed to drilling and he also wants to expand Nuclear Power. Your all just lucky this disaster happened 50 miles off shore and not at a New Nuclear Plan that just opened 1 miles from your home.
From the timing of this accident, I would bet that God did have a hand in this. The old man is telling you that Nuclear Energy is not safe at any distance. Obama doesn’t know what he is talking about. Like Palin said “What does he know about Nuclear Energy”. My guess is: “Not a fucking thing”.
@DeeVee, hope he got some legal viagra for his honeymoon this time but i think he may be back to his oxycotin ways again paranoid? think so
@This Guy, George Soros. Stands to make big money off of this.
@KT, How will Soros make big money off this? He is already filthy rich and none of his money is invested in oil. Could you expand on your statement?
Easy.
* Ban on drilling in US will force companies to drill else where. Most likely place… of the cost of Brazil (Reuters)
* Soros is a major steak holder in Brazils oil company Petrobras.
Follow the money….
Also the Obama admin gave 20 billion (million?) dollars to Petrobras….
Hmm….
@Shiva: And ist not about the money for Soros… its about control.
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Leave The Oil In The Soil
Leave the oil in the soil,
the land and oceans we did spoil,
from pollution we must recoil,
we cannot continue to despoil,
and mix toxins to moil and roil,
for our water will start to boil,
then we’ll lose all our topsoil,
and all our dreams will uncoil,
while politics continues to embroil,
in a mortal economic turmoil,
the corporate takeover we must foil,
or we’ll be buried in the subsoil,
like a gargoyle with a trefoil,
we’ll wait through Nature’s toil,
as She turns us all into oil.
Leave the oil in the soil,
or from us, Nature will recoil.
Where should we get the oil so you can drive your car to work?