Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show for Wednesday, June 1, 1994 by John Switzer This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1994 by John Switzer. All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on CompuServe and the Internet, and archived on CompuServe (DL9 of the ISSUES forum) and Internet (grind.isca.uiowa.edu). The /pub/jrs directory at ftp.netcom.com contains the summaries for the past 30 days. Distribution to other electronic forums and bulletin boards is highly encouraged. Spelling and other corrections gratefully received. Please note the following disclaimer when reading and using this summary: 1. These summaries are unofficial summaries and are not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or EIB, and should not be considered a 100% accurate representation of each show. I have no connection to Rush Limbaugh or EIB other than as a daily listener. 2. Because this summary is not a word-by-word transcript, it is inevitable that I may not accurately portray Rush's beliefs or supporting points. My choice of words may also distort the points presented by Rush and his callers. A good rule of thumb is "If something sounds reasonable and intelligent, it belongs to Rush; if something sounds weird or wrong, it probably belongs to me." 3. The format of this summary is as follows: o BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS - since I haven't been able to keep up with the indexing of these summaries, I've decided to briefly summarize the major topics of each day's show in this relatively brief paragraph. It will also appear in the table of contents for each month, hopefully making it easy to find shows about specific topics. o NEWS - refers to what I consider to be pertinent news items of the day, as reported by the newspapers, radio, or TV news media. This news may or may not also be reported by Rush during his show; however, I like to use this feature to keep a perspective on current events as they happen. o LIMBAUGH WATCH - this feature keeps a close watch of Rush's popularity and will notify you of the moment of his broadcasting demise, which liberals are certain is imminent, now that Bill Clinton is President. o LEST WE FORGET - Highlights from the Rush Limbaugh show that aired two years ago. o MORNING UPDATE - this is Rush's syndicated morning update which is separate from his regular show. o Items - these are the short bits of news or other items of interest that Rush himself discusses. o Phone - this indicates a phone call. o Update - this is one of Rush's many updates, and indicates which song Rush is playing. Note, though, that I may not use the "official" title of the song, and sometimes will use the most recognizable line of lyrics as the title. Any other text is part of Rush's monologue. 4. Anything that appears in "double quotes" may or may not be a direct quote of Rush, his sources, or his callers. Use the context of the quoted statement to determine the meaning. My editorial comments are enclosed in double angled brackets (<<>>). 5. Although I strive for accuracy at all times, because of the length of each show (3 hours a day, 5 days a week), I cannot check facts, figures, or names. In particular, the names of people, places, and things may be spelled incorrectly. 6. A note is needed on Rush's sense of humor, which can run the gamut from sardonic and sarcastic to rude and crude. Trying to convey the spirit of spoken humor into the written word is a daunting task, and I may not always be successful. Therefore, I use the following conventions to identify Rush's humor: a) a lead-in such as "Rush jokes" or "Rush injects some humor by saying; b) using words such as "according to Rush," "supposedly," "allegedly" as in "The police supposedly called the theft of 500 panties `unmentionable.'" c) putting editorial comments within double brackets as in <>. Above all, use your knowledge of Rush and his show, and the context of the remarks to determine if humor is present. DISCLAIMER: This unofficial summary is intended for regular listeners of Rush's show and is not intended to replace or supplant Rush's show, as if that were possible. If you find that you cannot regularly listen to Rush's show, check with your local station to see if they replay the show later at night. My local station, for example, replays the show most nights at 8pm. You can also use most VCRs to record from the radio - simply connect an audio cable from the AUDIO IN jack at the back of your VCR to the AUDIO OUT or auxiliary speaker jack at the back of your radio. Then switch your VCR over to LINE mode (see the VCR's documentation for details) and record. ****************************************************************** June 1, 1994 BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS: sexual harassment a way of life in Russian businesses; details on federal indictments against Dan Rostenkowski; Rostenkwoski will become the posterchild for the term limits movement; words to "Dan Rostenkowski limited edition postage stamp" commercial; members of House enjoy the franking privilege, yet still insisted on creating a House Post Office; defenses of Rostenkowski just don't wash; Democrats voted to whitewash any investigations into House Post Office; Mary Matalin gives first-person account of Rush's wedding; Clinton is perfecting the politics of lashing out against Republicans with his claims that Republicans are messengers of hate and fear; Clinton's foreign policy is such a failure in part because it's being run for domestic consumption; Clinton White House thinks its problems with public are communications problems, not the result of people disliking the policies; Marine guard ends up saluting Presidential golf bag in Porkchopper incident; Washington, DC jury pool won't be one sympathetic to Congress and federal government; Republicans seem afraid to be blunt about matters and to take the initiative; Democrats knew about House Post Office scandal nine months before it went public; Republicans are not pointing out that the rich are paying their fair share now, thanks to the elimination of tax shelters in 1986; those in Washington find it easy to justify their theft and corruption on the basis of how they are doing important work for the people; if Paula Jones's story is true, then Clinton is a sick man; while Clinton might not have been suited to fighting in military, many others in that position still served their country with distinction and honor; Vietnam War vets encountered enemy that other veterans never faced: protesting Americans; words to "A Whole New World"; Mary Matalin and Bill Clinton share the same birthday; DC tourist, asked what else he could want after meeting the President, replies "George Bush"; Pope John Paul intends to discuss abortion with President Clinton; D-Day historian says he wants a mature President, one who made a name for himself before entering the White House; letter to editor by Col. Robert Grady sarcastically agrees with Clinton that his generation - the WWII generation - didn't know sacrifice; Nearly half of NYC mail doesn't arrive on time; farmer's property confiscated because he allegedly killed a rat that was endangered; Army Corps of Engineers admitted it harassed a man without any cause; train surfer killed in NYC; Supreme Court decides not to hear Cobb County's case asking to be allowed to post Ten Commandments in the county courthouse; Rep. Dick Armey's plan to reform Congress; liberals are attacking tobacco companies as part of their agenda to tell people how they should be living their lives; what can conservatives do to make their voices heard?; system that allowed Rostenkowski's abuses should also be investigated; Republicans must do more than expect scandal to win election victories for them; words to the "Rush Rap"; Post Office not run on taxpayer money; Clinton health care plan is in trouble not because Rostenkowski was indicted but because people don't like it; Rush and EIB are antidote to the sourness of Washington under Clinton. LIMBAUGH WATCH June 1, 1994 - It's now day 498 (day 517 for the rich and the dead) of "America Held Hostage" (aka the "Raw Deal") and 575 days after Bill Clinton's election, but Rush is still on the air with 640 radio affiliates (with more than 22 million listeners weekly world-wide), 234 TV affiliates (with a national rating of 3.7), and a newsletter with over 440,000 subscribers. His first book was on the NY Times hardback non-fiction best- seller list for 54 consecutive weeks, with 2.6 million copies sold, but fell off the list after Simon and Schuster stopped printing it. The paperback version of "The Way Things Ought To Be" was on the NY Times paperback non-fiction best-seller list for 28 weeks. Rush's second book, "See, I Told You So," was on the NY Times best-seller list for 16 weeks and has sold over 2.25 million copies. LEST WE FORGET The following are from the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, June 3, 1992: o Ed Rollins, former campaign manager for Ronald Reagan, announced he would be joining Perot's campaign. The NY Post reported that Perot offered $5 million to Rollins, as well as another $5 million to Hamilton Jordan, who ran Jimmy Carter's campaign. Mike from Memphis, TN noted that he voted for Pat Buchanan in the primaries because he didn't know if he could support George Bush anymore. It seemed to Mike that anytime a new problem came up, Bush wanted to throw money at it, and Mike, a strong Ronald Reagan fan, had to wonder if Perot's hiring of Ed Rollins meant he should support Perot. o The California primary was the big political news, and Rush enjoyed the spectacle of Republican Tom Campbell, whose political ads portrayed him as a conservative, delivering a victory speech in the Republican Senate primary race when only 1% of the vote had come in. Campbell, who was fiscally conservative but to the left of center on everything else, was a bit premature, though, as a true conservative, Bruce Herschensohn, won the race, earning the right to face Rep. Barbara Boxer in the November election. o USA Today claimed that Rep. Robert Dornan (R-CA) could be in the "fight of his life" against a NOW-sponsored pro-choice Republican woman. Rush checked with the news services on CompuServe, though, and found out that Dornan won his race easily, 60 to 40%. o Dr. Jonathan Mann of the International AIDS Center at Harvard University's School of Public Health claimed AIDS was spreading faster than the attempts to treat and stop it. He stated "our main conclusion is that the AIDS epidemic is heading out of control - that little more than 10 years after the discovery of AIDS, that the global vulnerability, the world's vulnerability to the further spread of AIDS, is actually increasing not decreasing." Mann also claimed that AIDS would "permeate" every country by the year 2000 because governments and international organizations lacked "effective means to control it." o The Earth Summit was in full swing, and EIB had its own correspondent, Dr. Dixy Lee Ray, in Rio de Janeiro to make sure the country got the truth about this attempt to con the industrialized nations out of their money. Secretary General Maurice Strong started the money grab rolling by claiming that $625 billion a year would be needed for 10 years to clean up the planet. The socialist Prime Minister of Norway insisted that the Earth Summit agenda include both a report written in the 70s by socialist Willy Brandt as well as a report she wrote in 1987 based on Brandt's work. This was only one indication that the Earth Summit was based on socialism, and that its recommendations were blatantly socialist in nature. Secretary General Strong, a Canadian oil millionaire living in Switzerland, stated that industrialization was wrong; Dr. Ray noted that Strong came to this conclusion conveniently after he used industrialization to make his millions in oil. In his opening remarks Strong stated that "the environment, and all of the natural resources of the planet, and all of the life support systems continue to deteriorate, while climate changes and ozone depletion become immediate and acute." Strong also said that "the problems we face are that the patterns of production and consumption in the industrialized world continue to undermine the Earth's life support system." The Investors Daily newspaper had a story about carbon dioxide which showed that the United States created more carbon dioxide as a nation than any other country; however, Poland by itself created three-fourths the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the US. Poland and China also topped the list of the world's worst polluting nations. South Africa was third, followed by India, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, and Canada. The United States was ninth, barely above the global average. o Jeff from Warrensburg, MO noted that the ACLU sent a letter to the local school board warning them that they could no longer mention the name of God or of Christ in their commencement, baccalaureate, or other services. The ACLU basically blackmailed the school, warning that any mention of God would result in an ACLU-sponsored lawsuit. Jeff wondered why the ACLU was spending so much money to take God out of schools. ******** MORNING UPDATE <> "Well, comrades," Rush states, "sexual harassment is in the news again." A 62-year-old chief physician at a municipal clinic repeatedly grabbed and groped a 35-year-old female physician, warning her that she'd be fired if she refused his advances. The woman believed the man because he had already fired two previous women for precisely that reason. However, although the woman had witnesses and tapes of the incidents, her complaints were ignored by city administrators. Furthermore, an advertisement in a big city newspaper advertised for a secretary who could type, operate a computer, and speak German. However, the woman also had to be between the ages of 18 and 25, be five-foot seven inches tall, and have long hair; the winning applicant would be selected by a "contest." Other ads were even more brazen, advertising for women who were "without inhibitions." These things, though, are not occurring in America, but in Russia. The NY Times reports that Russian businessmen see no problem with such behavior, claiming that women in Russia "view their bodies as a way of furthering their careers" and that this is just the way things are. One businessman even fires any woman working for him who gets married. Rush thinks it's clear why all this is happening - Vladimir Posner left Russia so he could come to America, and together with Phil Donahue, tell Americans what they must do to become good people. "Vlad, head back to Russia," Rush pleads. "Save them, and please - take Phil with you!" <> FIRST HOUR Tony starts off the show by recounting how Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, yesterday handed down a indictment on Rep. Dan Rostenkowski; the indictment, which ran to 49 pages, included 17 felony counts, including five counts of mail and wire fraud, one count of obstruction of justice, six counts of concealing a material fact, four counts of embezzlement, and one count of conspiracy. Tony notes that "concealing a material fact" basically means a cover-up. The fifth count in the indictment is especially interesting as it deals with Rostenkowski's ability to use federal funds in new and ingenuous ways. In particular, Rostenkowski leased and bought vehicles, at taxpayer expense, allegedly for use as "mobile district offices." This is basically auto theft, although more done in a more gentile manner than most auto thieves, and it was done by a man in charge of determining how the taxpayers' money should be spent. Members of the House are permitted to lease an official vehicle for use as a mobile district office, so that in itself isn't illegal, and the idea of a mobile district office does make sense for those districts that encompass hundreds of square miles. Rostenkowski, though, represents a very small urban area, Chicago, in which a fixed office would not be a major handicap for either him or his constituents. However, between January, 1986 and December, 1992, "defendant Rostenkowski" and his family obtained personal ownership and title of seven vehicles from Wilshore Motor Sales. The congressman's congressional account at this auto dealer was billed for more than $100,000, but the only payment ever made against this debt was one check for $5,294 drawn on the account of one of Rostenkowski's daughters. Thus, Rostenkowski paid $5,000 for seven cars, with the taxpayer picking up the rest of the tab. In fact, between February, 1987 and December, 1992, the taxpayer was billed a total of $73,000 in 70 monthly payments by Wilshore. Rostenkowski yesterday told the American public that he hadn't done anything wrong, and Tony admits it's admirable that Rostenkowski is willing to fight for his honor. However, it is difficult to imagine how Rostenkowski can explain this particular "gentile auto theft," much less the remaining indictments. Tony notes that Rostenkowski will be facing two "courts" right now - a federal court in DC and the court of public opinion, and it doesn't look good that his lawyer, Bob Bennett, was trying to "cut a deal" with federal prosecutors. The fact that a lawyer was willing to make a plea bargain basically means he was talking about his client serving a little jail time in exchange for the elimination of the majority of indictments; after such a jail term, of course, Rostenkowski could start collecting his federal pension of over $100,000 a year. The people have therefore probably decided that Rostenkowski is guilty, given that his own lawyer was trying to cop a plea that meant jail time. The federal indictment also alleges that Rostenkowski used taxpayers money to finance his own personal staff, with 14 "ghost" employees on the federal payroll who didn't perform any federal functions. One employee was paid from May, 1977 to November, 1986, receiving a total of $20,000; this employee's function was allegedly to take photographs of Rostenkowski and his associates, family, and friends at events such as his daughters' weddings and parties at Rostenkowski's Wisconsin summer home. Tony notes that a couple of years ago, Dan Rostenkowski gave a feverish and impassioned speech in favor of a congressional pay raise, arguing that members of Congress had to get more pay because it was simply impossible for them to maintain a home in Washington and a home in their home districts, and serve their constituents, without going broke. Yet somehow Rostenkowski managed to count his pennies well enough to afford not only homes in Chicago and Washington, but a summer home in Wisconsin at which he threw lavish parties for friends, associates, and lobbyists. Another employee was employed for four months in 1991, receiving $3600 for "personal services," such as engraving gift items and mounting items on plaques. A third employee, Rostenkowski's godson, was employed in 1976 for one month and received $1500 for mowing the grass at Rostenkowski's summer home. Tony thinks stuff like this is why Rostenkowski will become the posterboy for the term limits movement and will therefore end up doing more for congressional reform than anyone else in history. There are a lot of members of Congress wringing their hands about these indictments, not just because they feel sorry for Rostenkowski, but because they know that "there for the grace of God and the federal prosecutors go I." Rostenkowski's trial threatens to bring down "the good ship of Congressional Corruption," and Tony believes this will be only the opening salvo against members of Congress who are living the good life at the expense of the people, people who have to abide by rules and laws that Congress never imposes on itself. *BREAK* To put listeners in a Rostenkowski-type mood, Tony plays a current EIB favorite: <> Attention, stamp collectors! The Capitol Hill Post Office announces a must-have stamp for your collection - the Dan Rostenkowski limited edition postage stamp. This special stamp is available for a limited time only, and it features Dan Rostenkowski at his best - surrounded by reporters, refusing to answer any questions. <> Euugggh! There's no way you could get me to lick that thing. <> No need to worry about that! The Dan Rostenkowski limited edition stamp has no glue on it; it won't stick to anything and nothing will stick to it! <> How do I get one?!? <> Simply go to the Capitol Hill Post Office, cash a constituent's check, and the stamp is absolutely free, no questions asked! <> Super! <> And while you're there, you can vote on which Bill Clinton you'd like to see on the new Presidential stamp: the old, likable campaigning Bill Clinton or the new promise-breaking, misleading, and occasionally confrontational Bill Clinton. <> We're not sure which one we hate more! <> The new limited edition Dan Rostenkowski postage stamp. Another fine service from the Capitol Hill Post Office. ******** Tony notes that Rostenkowski, as a member of Congress, enjoys the franking privilege which allows him to mail stuff for free. Yet he still acquired nearly $81,2000 worth of stamps from the House Post Office; what was he using these stamps for, given that he had free mailing privileges? Rostenkowski, though, seems to have enjoyed not just grand auto theft but petty graft, given that over the years he turned over at least $21,000 worth of these stamp vouchers into cash, stealing from the American taxpayers a little at a time. A lot of people are saying that it's shame these charges are happening against such a "nice guy" as Rostenkowski, and Rostenkowski surely was a "nice guy" who kept close tabs with his Chicago district, making the rounds, shaking hands. Rostenkowski, of course, though, was also very adept at congressional strong- arming, making sure that less senior members of Congress marched in step with the Democratic leadership, and he wasn't afraid to break a few political kneecaps if he had to. Rostenkowski knew how the game was played in Washington. Another defense being made for Rostenkowski is that he's just an "old-style politician" who didn't change with the times. Tony, though, points out that it's not ever been an accepted practice, except in Chicago, for a politician to steal seven cars, put non-existent employees on the payroll, and use federal employees for personal uses. What Tony finds interesting about Rostenkowski is that there doesn't seem to have been any amount of graft that was too small or petty for him. While he was in charge of billions of the taxpayers' money, he was ripping off the taxpayers a buck at a time. It's also being said that Rostenkowski's exit is bad news for the Clinton health care plan, but if this is so, it's only because the health care plan was weak to begin with. The public doesn't want this plan, and the polls show this; to say that Rostenkowski was the only hope for this plan simply shows how weak the Clinton plan is right now. The country, Tony thinks, should proclaim a national day of honor for Eric Holder, who's decided that in spite of any pressure coming down on him from the White House and Congress that he would still pursue this case to the wall. Holder noted yesterday that congressmen have a sacred trust from the people, a trust which means not only being able to distinguish between honest behavior and graft, but to use the people's money wisely and not to jam programs and policies down their throats. Tony notes that the House Post Office was a den of iniquity, and Democrats, led by Tom and Heather Foley, covered this fact up for more than nine months. One story that Tony has heard from a member of Congress is that one day a son of a member of Congress showed up at the House Post Office high in cocaine and clad only in rubber bands; this son then proceeded to tell everyone that he was an airplane and ran around the office making airplane noises. It's thus no surprise that Democrats took all the records from the House Post Office, bundled them up and shipped them to the U.S. Attorney's Office, hoping to hide them from the Republicans and public. It's clear that the investigation of Dan Rostenkowski will implicate other Democrats and will highlight how these members of Congress seemed unable to understand a basic precept of civilization: though shalt not steal. *BREAK* Phone Mary Matalin from Washington, DC Tony welcomes Mary Matalin, former member of the Bush campaign and current host of "Equal Time" on CNBC to the show. Before getting to the political stuff, though, Tony asks Mary to give the EIB audience some juicy news about Rush's wedding, which she was fortunate to have attended. Mary says that the wedding was very romantic and bets Tony would have wept, as everyone else did, at how sweet and personal the ceremony was. Justice Clarence Thomas presided at the wedding, which was attended by Justice Thomas's wife Virginia, Bill Bennett and his wife Elaine, Mary and her husband James Carville, the mothers of the bride and groom, and, of course, Rush and his bride Marta. Mary thinks Rush and Marta wrote the ceremony themselves, and they did nothing but stare at each other throughout the ceremony, being the picture of the perfect couple. Everyone was crying and it was a very touching and personal wedding - even the men had tears in their eyes. Tony loves the idea that the "new sensitive man" is now defined as Justice Thomas, Rush, Bill Bennett, and James Carville, and he asks Mary to continue. Mary says that Rush didn't really cry, although he did seem a bit overtaken by the emotion. She notes, though, that contrary to what's been reported by the press, Marta Fitzgerald is not an "aerobics instructor"; she's very fit and probably does aerobics for that purpose, but she's an honors graduate in journalism and is extremely smart. Marta was wearing an off-the-shoulder, cream, lace dress that was absolutely beautiful, and the rings, which were picked out by Rush, undoubtedly under close supervision from Marta, were also gorgeous. Mary points out that the evening was totally non- political, which was surprising given the company at the wedding. Tony says he heard that the wedding was not politically correct, given that after dinner the men retired to the deck of Justice Thomas's home to smoke "big old stogies." Mary admits that this is true - after dinner, the men smoked some giant cigars that Rush brought while the women talked about babies. "It was pretty cool," Mary states. Tony wonders if this baby talk means Rush and Marta will be looking for any babies soon. Mary doubts that because, in addition to the fact that Marta already has two children, the two of them seem to have a lot of things they want to do first before worrying about that. Mary is glad that Rush and Marta were able to get married privately, without having to endure the distractions of the press, and both she and Tony promise they will not say one word about where the happy couple is honeymooning. Tony next asks Mary about the "politics of lashing out" being performed by Bill Clinton. Mary says that she was recently reviewing her newsclips of 1992 and was amazed at how many times Bill Clinton claimed that the Republicans were divisive. This reminded her of how after Republicans scored their ninth consecutive big election victory since November, 1992 (the election of Ron Lewis in Kentucky to a congressional seat that had been in Democratic hands for 129 years), Bill Clinton went up to Congress to drum up support for health care. Clinton then tried to distract attention from how Democrats missed their Memorial Day deadline for coming up with a plan by attacking Republicans. Clinton undoubtedly knows that his health care plan is losing support among the people right and left, and he tried to make Republicans the bogey-men by saying that the only reason the people weren't supporting it was because "these new Republicans are right-wing fanatics - they are messengers of hate and fear." Mary, though, wonders whom Clinton is talking about - Kay Bailey Hutchison or Christine Todd Whitman perhaps? Just who are these "Republican messengers of hate and fear"? Tony notes that this speech was only a couple of days after Clinton talked about how the country in general and Congress in particular had to be civil and work together for health care. This was a classic bait and switch for Clinton, who tells the public "let's be nice," yet then claims he's a victim of "powerful forces" and hate-mongering Republicans. Mary says she is offended by how Clinton is characterizing Republicans; granted, Ron Lewis of Kentucky is a minister, but does that mean he's a "right-wing religious fanatic" and a "messenger of hate and fear"? The Democrats seem unable to view the conservative wing of the Republican party as anything but hateful and fanatical. Tony notes that this is a typical Democratic strategy: to portray everyone who opposes you as evil. He asks Mary to hang on through the break. *BREAK* Phone Mary Matalin from Washington, DC (continued) Tony asks Mary about Clinton's performance on foreign policy, noting that during the 1992 campaign Clinton tried to treat foreign policy as being on a par with "character," i.e. not an important topic at all. Mary notes that Clinton is always "one step ahead of the sheriff," and during the campaign he continually attacked Bush's foreign policy, saying his Haitian policy was racist, that his Chinese policy was unconscionable, and that his Bosnian policy was immoral. Now, though, Clinton has adopted all of these Bush policies himself. Mary notes that foreign policy cannot be run for domestic consumption, but this seems to be what is governing the Clinton administration's foreign affairs. Clinton's flip-flopping on Bosnia, Haiti, and China, not to mention Somalia and North Korea, is dangerous, given that these leaders aren't impressed with flip-flops. It is telling to note that Clinton reportedly decided to award Most Favored Nation status to China so as to get their support for sanctions against North Korea and their nuclear program. However, yesterday China declared it would do no such thing, so the question is just what the heck is Clinton's plan, if he has any at all. Tony notes that foreign leaders are used to the United States providing leadership, not trial balloons, and Clinton is not impressing them. Mary says she was making some of these points to Vide President Gore on her own show last week, and one caller was upset at her because "we did not hire Bill Clinton to do foreign policy but domestic policy." Mary admits that foreign policy is not part of Americans' day to day life, but whether North Korea eventually ends up with a dozen nuclear bombs will indeed affect Americans. Maybe this is stuff that Americans don't want to be personally concerned with, but they should want their leaders to be very concerned about them. Tony agrees, and notes that the United States is trying to put together a coalition to stand against North Korea, but Clinton, for the sake of political expediency at home, has offended both the Japanese and Chinese. The U.S., though, needs friends across the world and we can't afford to offend them because Clinton and friends want to rack up some points among the American people. Mary notes that Clinton recently said that his problems with foreign policy are `communication problems.' This is what the Clinton administration seems to always think when its policies are criticized, that it's not that the people don't like Clinton's policies, but that those policies aren't being communicated properly. Tony admits the Bush administration had the same short- sightedness, and Mary agrees - in fact, the Bush administration campaign did have trouble with both its policies and its communications. However, the Bush administration at least had the saving grace of being a Republican administration that didn't want government to do so much, but this isn't the case with Bill Clinton. Tony notes that Clinton's "saddlebags" are full of big government policies and of plans to take even more of the people's money and freedoms from them. He thinks this will be a common theme in the future: the people trying to keep their money out of Bill Clinton's avaricious hands, and he thanks Mary for calling in. *BREAK* Phone Kevin from Wisconsin Kevin asks how much longer Americans will continue to think Clinton is an honest politician. Tony thinks Americans have already discounted Bill Clinton, whose trust numbers have always been far lower than his popularity poll numbers. One of the reasons Clinton is in trouble is because should things start to fall apart domestically (i.e. the economy failing and nothing being done on health care), he'll have nothing left with which to get the people's support. Some observers think the country signed in a Faustian bargain by electing Clinton, in that the people were willing to ignore his character flaws so as to get what Clinton promised. If this is true, though, then what does Clinton have left going for him if the can't deliver on his promises? Kevin notes that Clinton continually lies and changes his story, but the press never seems to care. Tony says this is a good point because he'll talk about it in the second hour, in reference to the "Porkchopper incident." He thinks one of the most amazing pictures he's yet seen about this administration is the one showing a Marine guard, who undoubtedly joined the military to defend and serve his country, saluting a Presidential golf bag as White House aide David Watkins climbed aboard Marine One. *BREAK* SECOND HOUR Tony notes that Walter Williams will be hosting the show tomorrow and Friday. Phone Pete from Lafayette, CA Pete asks why Rostenkowski isn't being indicted for income tax evasion. Tony thinks the fraud charges are basically the same thing, but perhaps if Holder's indictments fail to get a conviction, Rostenkowski will be charged with tax fraud. Pete says his dream is to see "Bill and Danny," who were once united on a podium in Chicago when Rostenkowski was fighting his recent primary battle, reunited behind bars. He thinks these two are the "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid of the 90s," and he doesn't know why people are surprised that this professional thief stole money. Tony says the biggest scandal is that voters do expect this sort of thing from their representatives and they don't consider it to be anything new. However, maybe this court case will start changing people's minds. Pete thinks it takes a thief to vote a thief into office, but Tony wouldn't go that far. Instead, he thinks voters are starting to figure out just how much money of theirs is being wasted and stolen by members of Congress. Phone Ron from Cleveland, OH Ron thinks Tony is being very poetic in referring to Rostenkowski as "defendant Rostenkowski," and notes that many people were surprised that Rostenkowski didn't choose to cut a deal but rather decided to take his chances with a jury. Tony says that this might perhaps indicate that Rostenkowski is clueless as to the public's sentiments about all this - he's already lost the battle for public opinion as his own lawyer has already admitted he's guilty. Ron, though, isn't sure of any conviction, given that the jury pool will come from the same group of individuals that elected the ex-convict Marion Barry back to an elected office. Tony agrees, but notes that the DC voters are just as much anti- federal government as anyone; in fact, both Barry and Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly were elected on a strong stance against the federal government. So the fact the jurors will come from DC really doesn't mean they'll look kindly towards a member of Congress accused of graft. Ron points out that Rep. Mary Rose Oakar was finally voted out of office because of things like cashing checks at the House Bank and employing ghost employees. To Ron, this kind of abuse is only possible when members of Congress are in office so long that they start thinking they can do whatever they want. Tony says this is why he thinks Rostenkowski will become the posterchild of the term limits movement, illustrating why term limits are so necessary. Phone Francis from Old Seabrook, NJ Francis points out that if an executive of a major corporation misappropriated funds, he'd be told to take a leave of absence while the court case was pending, and to come back only when he was cleared. Francis thus doesn't see why the country has to tolerate keeping Rostenkowski in office until he goes to trial. Tony notes that typically members of Congress are ultimately adjudicated by their fellow members of Congress, which is why they end up thinking they are above the law - they are never forced to obey the law. Francis says he's tired of this elitism and hopes that the "peasants" start demanding such things be ended. Phone Larry from Carthage, TX Larry is glad that Tony is around, articulating his beliefs strongly and framing the debate, without allowing the Democrats to run over him; unfortunately, Tony seems to be one of the few conservatives around who can do this. Larry wishes that this had happened more during the Bush administration when Republicans instead let the Democrats beat them to death. Tony admits this was a problem during the Bush administration, and Republicans still seem scared to death about being hard-lined about their principles and of going for the jugular. Larry says that his local member of Congress, Rep. Jim Chapman (D-TX), voted against investigating the House Post Office scandal, claiming that the special prosecutor didn't want Congress to do this. Tony notes that the Democrats are using this same excuse for Whitewater, which is why he's started referring to this as "taking the Fiske defense." Tony adds that Democrat leaders in Congress knew about problems in the House Post Office nine to ten months before the Washington Times broke the story in January, 1992. Thus, it should also be asked what these guys knew, when they knew it, why they covered it up, and how much this cost the taxpayers. Larry thinks Speaker of the House Tom Foley is certainly guilty of obstruction of justice. Tony notes that the chief of the Capitol Hill police force resigned after Congress stonewalled the investigation into the House Post Office, and he has already testified to the grand jury. Thus, Tony wouldn't be surprised to hear more about this coming out in the near future. *BREAK* Phone Kent from Kansas City, MO Kent saw Tony Snow on CNN over the weekend, and Tony admits he made a wrong prediction on that show; he stated with certitude that Rostenkowski would cut a plea bargain, which only goes to show how bad his prediction abilities are. Kent says he is in the insurance business, and a lot of his wealthy clients are paying a lot more in taxes now, thanks to how tax shelters were eliminated in the 1986 Tax Reform Act. Kent thus wants to know why George Bush didn't bring this point up during the 1992 campaign. Tony says he really doesn't know, but notes that the Reagan tax cuts brought more of the rich into the taxpaying mainstream than ever before; one amazing fact is that since the 1990 tax increases, the rich have been paying a smaller portion of the overall tax bite than before, falling from 26% to about 21%. And since the Clinton tax increases took effect last year, income tax revenues have slowed down, increasing less rapidly than other taxes. In other words, thanks to Clinton's tax increases, people are sheltering and hiding their incomes again. Kent asks if Tony was writing any speeches for Bush during the campaign, and he replies that he wasn't. In fact, he ended up writing stuff for people outside the administration, trying to make the points that those in the administration should have been making. Kent wonders why the Bush campaign didn't make these points. Kent says that Dan Quayle's book reports that there were some conflicts in the campaign. For example, some of those in the Bush campaign were urging Bush to raise taxes, because not only didn't they believe in Reagan's tax cuts but because they wanted to increase spending so as to buy votes. They wanted to portray Bush as the environmental President, the education President, etc. In other words, the Bush campaign was trying to satisfy every wing of the party except the conservative wing. Phone Dick from Aberdeen, WA Dick asks if Tony sees any parallels between Rostenkowski and Wilbur Mills, in how little contact with reality these guys have. Tony notes that Rostenkowski's ghost employees were not strippers and Wilbur certainly had personal problems that Rostenkowski hasn't displayed. However, Rostenkowski does seem to have some sort of political and ethical vertigo, which made him think he was justified taking thousands from the taxpayers because he wasn't making the millions that others in Washington were making. Dick wonders if Rostenkowski basically was in the system too long, and Tony bets this point will be made, with a lot of people quoting Lord Acton's "power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely." It's easy for those in Washington to justify their theft of the people's money, complaining that they are engaged in public service, doing the people's will, working long hours without ever seeing their families, etc. However, a lot of people outside of Washington have to work hard and to work long hours without seeing their kids, and they aren't able to steal cars from other taxpayers; of course, most people outside of Washington have to work long hours in part because of the taxes they have to pay. Members of Congress, though, think they are doing noble work and that this justifies their being an exception to normal honest behavior. Rostenkowski, for example, has said that he would like the capstone of his career to be pushing through a health care plan that will "save the lives of millions of people." Yet, though, the Clinton health care plan is really about helping 2% of Americans who are unable to get insurance, at the expense of the remaining 98%. A lot of people would thus like to see Rostenkowski fail in this "dream" of his, especially since Congress over the past few years has become more unpopular than ever. This is amazing because the idea that Congress is corrupt is not new - 100 years ago Mark Twain quipped that members of Congress were the only native class of American criminal. Perhaps, therefore, the Rostenkowski trial and continuing public outrage will mean the American people will seize their government back. *BREAK* Phone Frank from Towson, MD Frank saw Tony appear on Crossfire with Eleanor Clift last month, and Tony notes that he apparently has been chosen to be the conservative who appears with the "girls," given that he often appears with Democratic women such as Clift and Ann Lewis. Frank thinks Tony handled himself quite well on Crossfire and is "very smooth." Frank was especially impressed when Tony said on Crossfire that Clinton was a very sick man. Tony says that he actually said that if Paula Jones's story is true - that he dropped his pants in front of a woman he hadn't known for two minutes - then he's a sicko. Of course, if Jones's story is not true, then she's the sicko. Frank thinks Tony handled this in a responsible way, and he especially enjoyed the reaction Tony's comment got from Clift and Michael Kinsley, who when they heard it looked as if they realized that Tony had a point; "they went dead white," Frank adds, "I think I had a black and white TV for a moment!" Tony notes that Kinsley afterwards wrote a column saying that perhaps Clinton was guilty of some misdeeds and should apologize. Frank says he was also impressed by how Tony handled himself and kept the liberals off-balance throughout the show. Tony thanks him for that and for calling. Phone T.J. from Houston, TX T.J. heard Tony near the end of yesterday's show talk to a member of the military who didn't hold it against Clinton for not joining the military because not everyone is cut out for the military. T.J. says she was a bit disappointed that Tony agreed with this caller. Tony says this caller made two important points, the first of which was that Bill Clinton is the Commander-in-Chief, and thus pretty much has to represent the military at events such as the Memorial Day and D-Day ceremonies. The caller noted that had Clinton refused to attend these functions, he would have insulted the military far worse than anything he had done as a college student dodging the draft. The caller also said that Bill Clinton might not have been fit or cut out for military service 25 years ago; however, he also pointed out that there have been many others in this position who have still served their country in the military. For example, there was a Quaker pacifist who won the Medal of Honor in WWII for saving lives as a medic; thus, Tony thinks the caller was saying that Clinton could have served his country in an honorable way had he really wanted. Tony adds, though, that the caller was still an active duty member of the military, so his ability to criticize the President was severely limited. As it is, Tony admires the guy for calling and expressing the opinions that he did. T.J. says she thought the caller was saying that only those who are naturally "cut out" to be a fighting member of the military should do so; however, if the generals who sent the troops out for the Normandy invasion had accepted that principle, D-Day would never have occurred and Europe would probably have never been liberated. Tony agrees - there's a common misconception that soldiers like war and killing. This is insane; people serve their country in their military and are willing to go to war because they understand what's at stake and want to defend their country and its freedoms. Also, Tony is reminded of how one of the most important lessons of the Vietnam War was that America was right about the dangers of Communism. The 57,000 dead American soldiers did not die in vain, although those who survived were betrayed by their country when they came back. Tony suspects that this is one reason that Clinton and his draft-dodging and war protesting are still controversial, because soldiers returning from Vietnam were treated like dirt and definitely not given the thanks they deserved. T.J. says she would simply like to point out that a lot of soldiers who have died during wars were not "cut out" for fighting; many of these brave men and women would have liked to have had an office job, but they didn't have that chance and they ended up paying the ultimate price. Tony agrees, and he doesn't think yesterday's caller was saying anything different. It is a good point to make, though, that a lot of men and women ended up sacrificing a great deal, even their lives, in Vietnam, and what's different about them is that they made these sacrifices while there were those in America protesting them and what they were doing. These soldiers' bravery and gallantry is thus perhaps even more deserving than those in other wars, given how they were never given the thanks they deserved. The moral should thus be that Americans should never turn up their noses at brave Americans who are willing to do their duty and perhaps sacrifice incredibly young lives for the nation's business. Tony notes that EIB has gotten a lot of requests to replay the reading that Charlton Heston made of a letter written by Robert J. Grady, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel. He'll thus do this in the last segment of this hour. *BREAK* Tony decides to play an ode to the "new politics of meaning": <> Honey, when I'm in your office, I just gotta sing! <> Well, get up off your knees and make it quick! I've got a staff meeting in fifteen minutes! <> Yes, ma'am! <> I can build a new world, All I need is their money! Ain't it crazy and funny <> That they still believe my lines?! <> Socialism is good, Look what it's done for Russia <> We'll just be like Boris and Natasha, You know we can take them there . . . <> A whole new world! A place where anything's the norm. It will be up to me and Hillary To make them all conform. <> A whole new world, A place where comrades can belong. <> But if they knew the truth, They would conclude That we were lying all along . . . <> . . . a whole new world! <> Yeah, isn't it great? Think of all the things we can do! <> We?? We?!!? <> Well, uh, they made me President . . . <> It's mine! It's all mine!! <> But, but . . . honey, but . . . <> William, I think we have to have a talk! <> Yes, dear. <> Why, you . . . <> She can build a new world, All she needs is your money. ******** Items o After hearing this song, Tony remarks that Bill Clinton must have learned to sing in the same place as Mary Matalin did; these two, by the way, have the same birthday. o President Clinton yesterday was jogging along yesterday along Pennsylvania Avenue when he stopped to greet some tourists. It was a Kodak moment, and when Clinton jogged on, a reporter shouted to the group of tourists "what more could you want?" One guy shouted back "George Bush!" o Clinton will be meeting with the Pope this week, and the Pope has already made it clear that he plans to give Clinton a lecture about abortion, respecting life, abortion, and the Church's concerns about the expected U.N. document about birth control. This reminds Tony of how Mother Theresa earlier this year in Washington gave Clinton and Algore a swat about abortion and the need to respect life. o Also, the Washington Post ran a story recently about all the reactions, both good and bad, that Clinton gets from the American people. The paper quoted Stephen Ambrose, biographer of President Eisenhower and perhaps the country's foremost historian on D-Day, on the type of person he wants to see in the Oval Office: "Guys in their 40s are just too young - I want maturity, I want a world figure who's reputation is unassailable. I want someone who isn't in the White House to make a name for himself; I want someone who has had a respected career before he became President. I don't think people like having a squirt for President - I like Ike!" Tony has to agree with that sentiment. *BREAK* Tony plays the letter that was written to Charlton Heston and which Heston read yesterday on the show: "I was embarrassed to read that President Clinton and his advisers have said the older generation must learn to sacrifice as other generations have done. That's my generation - I knew eventually someone would ferret out the dirty secret: we've lived the lifestyle of the rich and famous all over lives. Now I know I must bear the truth of my generation and let the country condemn us for our selfishness. "During the Depression we had a hilarious time dancing to the tune of `Brother, Can You Spare a Dime'; we could choose to dine at any of the country's fabulous soup kitchens, often joined by our parents and siblings, for those were the heady days of carefree self-indulgence. "Then with WWII, the cup filled to overflowing. We had the chance to bask in the exotic beaches of Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa - to see the capitals of Europe, travel to such scenic spots as Bastogne, Malmedy, Monte Cassino. Of course, one of the most exhilarating adventures was the stroll from Bataan to the local Japanese hotels, laughingly known as `death camps.' "But the good times really rolled for those lucky enough to be on the beaches of Normandy, for the swimming and boating on that pleasant June day in 1944. Unforgettable. "Even luckier were those who drew the prized holiday tickets for cruises on sleek, grey ships to fun-filled spots like Midway, the Solomons, Murmansk. Instead of asking `what can we do for our country,' an indulgent government let us fritter away our youth, wandering idly through the lush and lovely jungles of Burma and New Guinea. "Yes, it's all true - we were pampered, we were spoiled . . . rotten. We never did realize what sacrifice meant. We envy you, Mr. Clinton, the harsh lessons you learned in London, Moscow, and Little Rock. My generation is old, Mr. President, and guilty, but we are repentant. Punish us for our failings, sir, that we may learn of the true meaning of duty, honor, country." *BREAK* THIRD HOUR Items o Today's NY Daily News reports that 49% of letters mailed in New York City failed to arrive on time. One large clothing retailer had to stop payment on $2 million worth of checks sent to vendors because the vendors still hadn't received them after two weeks. A Queens man who sent cards both to his neighbors in Queens and to friends in Israel found that the cards to Israel arrived first. Tony recalls how a few years ago the Cato Institute dared to suggest that the United States Postal Service be privatized, so as to put it under the same competitive and profit pressures every other business has to deal with. The outraged US Postmaster sent off a letter in response, and the letter took 11 days to travel the two blocks from the Postmaster's office to the Cato Institute's DC headquarters. The NY Daily News also reveals that some Brooklyn residents found hundreds of pieces of mail dumped in their lobby by the mail carrier, who was obviously inspired by the several stories of such mail dumping that have come out of Chicago. Also, a notice sent out by Manhattan Postmaster Sylvester Black to his district's residents admitted there had been "an increase in the number of misdeliveries in correctly addressed mail," and he asked the residents to please make sure any misdelivered mail got to its correct destination. "Your tax dollars at work," Tony notes. o The right to keep one's property is under assault across the country, but the most recent example is how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has targeted Tong Ming Lim, a Taiwanese immigrant who bought 720 acres of desert land from Tenneco. Lim wanted to grow bamboo and vegetables on his land, but the federal government had already declared his land a habitat for endangered species. Tony notes that the federal government often doesn't tell people that their land has been declared a habitat until after the people have done something "illegal." Lim found this on the morning of Sunday, February 20th when state and federal marshals invaded his property, searching for Tipton Kangaroo Rats. Finding bits they claimed were part of a deceased rat, they hauled away Lim's tractor and discing machine. The U.S. government therefore now has the distinction of filing the following, groundbreaking lawsuit: "The United States Government, Plaintiff, Versus One Ford Tractor, Its Tools and Appurtenances Thereon, and One Towner Offset Disc." Thus, the government is suing a couple of pieces of farm machinery. The federal marshals supposedly found the remnants of Kangaroo rats, but three months later they still haven't been able to prove that the animal remains they found were actually part of an endangered species. Yet they nevertheless have confiscated this man's property, threatened to fine him $300,000, and made it impossible for him to earn his living. Tony notes that the only difference between a Tipton Kangaroo Rat and non-endangered rats is a tenth of an inch in the length of the back feet. Thus, the government has assaulted a private individual, confiscating his property, for the alleged sake of a big-footed rat. Recent research, by the way, indicates that plowing fields actually ends up benefiting rats, so even if the rats on his farm are endangered, Lim was doing them a favor. As outrageous as this story is, though, there are others even more so. For example, Gaston Roberges of Gaston Park, ME, after working hard all his life and "playing by the rules," which is something President Clinton ostensibly respects and champions, decided to buy some property which he could develop during his retirement. The Army Corps of Engineers, however, decided that the Roberges owned "wetlands," and the government bureaucrats decided to make an example of this man and his desire to develop his land. One Army Corps of Engineer memo even reads "Roberges would be a good one to squash and set an example, and the guy who signed the memo did so as "formerly the Maytag Repairman," indicating that he was no longer going to just sit around and do nothing. Instead, this guy now had a mission - to bash a retiree. In October, 1992, though, the government finally admitted, after the nearly blind Roberges had spent tens of thousands of dollars of his own money defending himself, that he didn't need any permits to develop his land. This man had been targeted to be squashed, and it was all for nothing, in what ended up being called one of the worst abuses of private property rights to be seen to date. o The New York papers reported yesterday that a "train surfer," a guy who stands on top of the trains as they zoom along, was killed when he forgot to duck when a tunnel came along. Also reported yesterday was the news that New York will now require bicycle riders to wear helmets. Tony thus predicts that sooner or later, government will require all train surfers to wear helmets. o The ACLU has cheered the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case brought by Georgia's Cobb County which wanted to be allowed to hang the Ten Commandments in its courthouse. Theresa Nellison, director of the Georgia chapter of the ACLU, declared "it is very much a victory - the Supreme Court has continued to maintain with this ruling that church and state should be kept separate." Tony only wishes that this same rule could be applied to the environmental zealots who worship the Earth, and notes that Cobb County argued that it was important to talk about values, so as to raise good kids, and that this was why they wanted to display the Ten Commandments. One Atlanta official noted that the judicial branch has coerced the American people into an "amoral straightjacket which has begun to tear apart our society at the seams." Values obviously do count, and it's time for the American people to say "enough is enough," and Tony is heartened by how this is starting to happen. *BREAK* Phone August August notes that Dan Rostenkowski is only indicted, not convicted, and while everyone insists that Congress is corrupt, they'll still re-elect their own congressman again and again. And Rostenkowski could have retired in 1992 with $1 million in converted campaign funds, so the fact he didn't do that is something in his favor. August also finds it contradictory that the same people who are supporting term limits are faulting the Clinton administration for its lack of experience; term limits will eliminate the experienced politicians that these critics ostensibly want. Tony says that career politicians are one thing and experienced ones are another; Ronald Reagan, for example, was governor of California and President of the United States for only two terms each office, so he wouldn't have been affected by term limits. August says that the problem with term limits is that this will replace experienced politicians with career bureaucrats, and August would much rather have the former. Tony notes that Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX) will be introducing a bill to lessen the power of bureaucrats by implementing a flat income tax of 17%, with $10,000 deductions for individuals, $14,000 for single parents, $20,000 for married couples, and $5300 for dependents. Armey also would force government programs that do not finance themselves to justify their existence every two years. Also, his plan would put an end to automatic withholding so that taxpayers would end up writing a tax check each year, forcing them to see how much they're actually paying each year to the government. August thinks that while a flat tax is a better idea, he'd prefer to see a Value Added Tax such as those used in Europe. Tony says that the benefit of a flat tax is that it's not invisible as a sales tax typically is; rather, because it shows people exactly how much they're spending each year in taxes, it forces the government to justify its spending to the people. Right now people don't realize how much they're paying, unless they're self-employed and paying quarterly tax receipts. Tony admits, though, that getting rid of career politicians doesn't do anything about the career bureaucrats. August notes that the bureaucrats are worse, and people typically have their problems with the bureaucrats, not the elected officials. Tony agrees and says that one thing Armey also wants to do is force government to get rid of half its regulations in seven years; these regulations are costing the economy from $800 billion to $1 trillion a year, almost as much as the federal budget itself. August says that state bureaucracies are almost as bad as the federal ones, if not worse, but the biggest cost to businesses is a poor economy, which is why August wouldn't mind seeing a good economy with lots of regulations as opposed to a poor one with no regulations. August says that the insurance industry is the worst of the lost; he notes that when he worked in Illinois, the insurance companies were "screwing me to the wall." Phone Claudia Claudia asks why there is such a concerted effort and attack against the tobacco industry; why are the liberals so intent on getting rid of cigarettes? Claudia refuses to believe that liberals really care that much about the health of the people. Tony first notes that the tobacco companies aren't being targeted because they donate to conservatives because the truth is that lobbyists finance incumbents, no matter what party they belong to. Tony thinks liberals are motivated by a desire to force others to live their lives the way liberals see fit, because liberalism insists that people don't have the smarts to make these decisions for themselves. This, of course, means a corresponding loss in freedoms. *BREAK* Phone Catherine Catherine says that every once in a while conservatives call the White House or Congress en masse, but those in Washington just ignore those calls, claiming they are artificially generated. Catherine wonders what else conservatives can do, other than calling Rush. Tony says the ballot box is the first outlet for voter anger, and Catherine agrees, but she is still frustrated. Tony says a lot of people feel like this; when he worked in the White House, though, he saw that phone calls were often ignored, simply because it is too easy to generate them with highly organized phone banks. However, what does work are handwritten and personal notes; members of Congress can ignore thousands of identical postcards, but 15 handwritten notes, obviously from different people, are a different matter. Catherine, though, wonders how conservatives can influence CBS, NBC, the NY Times, and other anti-conservative members of the media. "What if you harass the media - will that do any good?" she asks. Tony admires Catherine's spirit, but says no because this has been tried and it's failed. The best counter-balance to the liberal media right now is Rush's show. However, people should remember that the big media's influence has been decreasing over time and will continue to decrease in the future. People are finding other ways to get their news and to find out the facts, and the major press had better figure out that they will get run over if they don't stop getting in the way. Tony encourages Catherine to remain of good cheer because the American people will triumph; the people still believe in the system and will work to change that system. This takes time and patience, though. Catherine says one thing she admires of Tony is that he's always on the offensive, not the defensive, yet he's still a gentleman about it. Tony thanks her for that and for calling. Phone George from Pensacola, FL George is not in favor of what Rostenkowski has done, and thinks that above all the system that allowed his abuses should be thoroughly investigated. The fact Rostenkowski could cash in stamps for cash shows that there weren't any checks and balances in effect, and George has to wonder if Rostenkowski is just an exception or is just the one who was caught. Tony says amen to that and notes that more than 200 Democrats voted against having a full and open investigation of the House Post Office scandal; he thinks they were afraid that the people would discover that Rostenkowski was not alone in his petty theft, not to mention the drug sales that were going on. Tony doesn't think this story will go away, and the more people learn about it, the more outraged they will get. Tony thinks one result of this will be a change in the way things are done in Congress, especially since nobody in Congress really understands the federal budget and how the federal government works. When Tony was in the White House, he saw how the defense budget ended up going through more than 70 committees and subcommittees, with all sorts of things being anonymously tacked onto it. Congress has created systems designed to obfuscate, to keep members of Congress from being held accountable. George says that he's angry at how members of Congress live by different rules than everyone else; had anyone outside of Congress did what they did at the House Bank or Post Office, they'd be in jail right now. Yet Tom Foley still is covering up for people like Rostenkowski, and George thinks the Democratic power elite has to be worrying about what might be soon laid on their doorstep. Tony says that Republicans will certainly try to make this point, stressing how Democrats have dominated both houses of Congress for a total of 60 years, with the Democrats being in control of the House for 40 years straight. However, this argument will work only for so long. Republicans can't count on the corruption issue to get them victories at the ballot box; Republicans have to start offering strong alternative policies and principles, instead of compromising so much. George wonders if the Republicans will do anything about this scandal, given that they strike out time and time again at making hay about such things. Had Rostenkowski been Newt Gingrich, though, the press and Democrats would have already drawn and quartered him. Tony says this is true, but there will now be a public trial of Rostenkowski, and Tony is certain this trial will anger the people beyond measure. Should Rostenkowski cop a plea and get away with a minimal sentence, the people will once again see how members of Congress get away with amazing crimes, just as happened with the Keating Five. Tony suspects the people's anger at this will sweep away the old guard in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats alike. George says this might happen, but he notes that the Keating Five cover-up was basically forgotten by the American people who seem very apathetic about everything. People should be rioting in the streets right now about what is happening in Washington, but instead they seem to be numb. Tony encourages George to remember that he is not alone with his outrage about this; after all, Ross Perot got 20% of the vote in the 1992 elections, and Tony truly believes that the people's anger is increasing to the point where a watershed moment in American politics will occur. *BREAK* Tony plays an old EIB favorite, the "Rush Rap": <> The fourth branch of government . . . We . . . we . . . we are being held hostage! . . . You listen, I'll host! <> You listen, I'll host! My name is not Bill Clinton! Never, ever! You listen, I'll host! . . . You listen, I'll host! Period! You recognize that argument? <> Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! T-t-t-taxes are contributions? Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! You are customers, but you have no choice? Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! And how do we judge? Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! I'm the target! Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! This is political cleansing! Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! This is liberalism, political correctness! Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! You don't get it? What choice . . . what choice do I have? Come on, Rush, you made your point, now back off! This is insanity, folks! You want to hear stupidity? <> That's why you sent me here . . . to keep this seat warm. <> Do you understand that? <> To make Washington work . . . for special interest. <> Do you think maybe we're not even getting to the root cause of the problem? <> A willingness to stop things that work. <> Recognize that argument? <> Change must begin at the top. <> Hey! I agree! <> I cut the White House staff by 25%. <> Naaahhh! It's no big deal to anybody, don't you get it? <> I've worked harder than I've ever worked in my life! <> And it'll ruin his day. I don't even want to get any further into it. <> This is nothing less than a call to arms. <> I'm the target! You don't get it! <> To keep this seat warm . . . that's why you sent me here. <> A brazen comment, to be certain. <> But at stake is the control of our economic destiny. <> That's exactly right . . . take it another step . . . back! Don't doubt my instincts! Period!! ******** Phone Lonnie from Ft. Collins, CO Lonnie gives "bake sale dittos to Vanilla Snow," but notes that the Post Office is no longer being run by tax money; instead, its operating funds are paid for by the postage it sells. Tony agrees this is true, but his point about the free market providing a better service is still a good one. Lonnie says her husband works for the Post Office, so she'll have to disagree with that; Tony admits there could be a debate about this and thanks her for calling. Phone Robert from San Mateo, CA Robert asks if Tony thinks a health care package will be passed by Congress this year or by the end of Clinton's term. Tony notes that he predicted last weekend that Rostenkowski would cut a plea bargain, so his prognostication abilities are limited, to say the least. However, it's clear that the American people do not like what they see about the Clinton health care plan. During the 1992 campaign when Clinton talked about health care, people thought he was talking about jobs, given that one of the first things people lose along with their jobs is their health care insurance. The American people, though, now have a slightly better economy underneath them, so they're not as worried about losing their jobs as about Clinton's coming up with a plan that would steal away their current health care coverage from them. The Clinton plan includes 3,000 pages, plus 200 pages of "technical corrections," and the people realize this, which is why the plan is dying - Rostenkowski's problems aren't the cause, but rather the fact that the people know this plan is crazy. Unfortunately, Republicans have been making a lot of noise about how "something must be done about health care" and what they have been proposing as a course of action is not much different from what the Democrats want. Robert thinks Republicans should just sit back and let the Democrats come up with their own plan. Tony says this is a valid approach, but Republicans have to start attacking the basic notion that big government can solve all problems. There has to be a big "battle royale" on these basic ideas; the people are getting tired of "eager to please" politicians who are only saying what they think the people want to hear and not what they truly believe. *BREAK* Tony again congratulates the Limbaughs on their wedding and thanks everyone at EIB for making his two-day stint at guest host a real pleasure. Walter Williams will be finishing off the week for Rush, and Tony thinks those will be great shows. Tony remarks that the EIB audience is obviously the smartest listening audience on Earth, and it's encouraging for him to see that ideas still count in the U.S. and that Americans can be both patriotic and fervent in their beliefs, without losing their sense of humor. Washington has become a dour place in the age of Clinton, but fortunately Rush Limbaugh and the EIB Network are the antidote.