Never one to let facts or reality get in the way, Rush Limbaugh is claiming that Obama is going to kill Bob Woodward with a death panel.
Here is partial audio from Media Matters:
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LIMBAUGH: I don’t know, folks. I don’t know. I’m just not sure that what we’re dealing with here is a “you’re gonna have a dead horse in your bed tomorrow morning” kind of threat. I don’t think that’s what we’re dealing with. I do think the White House is gonna take care of Woodward with a death panel down the road. That’s how they’re gonna deal with this. We’ll never know. Woodward’s gonna get sick and the death panel will come in there and that will be that.
death panel, just handle that with death panel. So, you know, you can go either way on this. And, by the way, I do not doubt that the White House has threatened reporters. I don’t doubt that. I think one of the most prescient things that Woodward said was in explaining — and he thinks he was threatened. And Lanny Davis is raising his hand (paraphrasing), “Hey, was I threatened, too, and I have ‘poof.’ I have ‘poof’ that I was threatened.” And then Robert B. Reichhhhhhhhhh is saying (paraphrasing), “If they were threatened, it’s outrageous.”
…
I’ve read Sperling’s e-mail. That’s the e-mail that contains the “you’ll regret this.” And the way I read it, Sperling is telling Woodward you’re gonna regret this ’cause you’re wrong. You’re gonna regret it as a journalist. But Woodward is taking it as a threat, so that’s how we’re gonna deal with it. Well, “you’ll regret this” in “Chicagospeak” means that you’re gonna have a dead horse bleeding in your bed tomorrow morning or some morning, that’s “Chicagospeak.” But Sperling… I don’t know. Look, the conventional wisdom is that it’s a threat. That’s what everybody’s going with. To me, here’s the story.This is the story to me. Who is Woodward? Woodward is the reason that 99% of these so-called journalists got into the business. And they are throwing him overboard in favor of Obama. That’s the story. The guy who is the Walter Cronkite today. In the journalist circles, Woodward is it. Woodward, Bernstein are the reason people — Woodward primarily, are the reason people went into journalism. That and 60 Minutes. ‘Cause 60 Minutes you got to destroy people while on TV. But Woodward, he destroyed a president. That’s another reason to go into journalism. And they’re throwing him overboard.
I mean, for the most part, the Drive-Bys are siding with Obama. They’re siding with the White House. That, to me, is the big story out of all this. So that’s the umbrella. There’s a lot of stuff underneath that that we’ll get to on today’s program.
Now keep in mind, I’m not sure that Woodward was actually threatened, but he thinks he was, and that’s what counts. If he was offended, that’s all that matters. We’ve learned that.
He thinks he was threatened, and that’s the key, and he’s telling everybody he was. Lanny Davis has proof that he was threatened. I don’t doubt the White House did it. I mean, that’s how this type of president and regime operates. I have no doubt they threaten reporters every day.
Except for the pillars of the right wing Obama hate media (Limbaugh, Beck, Breitbart, and Drudge) the rest of the media has abandoned Woodward’s threat story. The only people who see a threat in that email exchange are those who make their money by pushing anti-Obama rhetoric. Limbaugh doesn’t care if it is true or not. He is going use Woodward’s story to spin the tale of Obama the evil dictator in order to give his audience what they want.
Here is what is really going on here. Bob Woodward saw some easy money to be made by pandering to rubes on the right, so he concocted the email threat that never was. Woodward soon ran it into a problem though, because it turns out that most of the con men/women who get rich by separating conservative fools from their money didn’t appreciate him muscling in on their turf.
The only outlets still running with Woodward’s version of the story are the people who see a chance use Woodward’s tall tale to fuel their own anti-Obama fantasies.
I do think that Rush Limbaugh might actually be on to something. Since neither one of them exist, a death panel would be the perfect fate for Woodward and his imaginary threat.
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
