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Jim Rutenberg’s Fantasy About What Happened on the “Sacred Ground” of Cape Girardeau
Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | April 4, 2019 | Rush Limbaugh

Posted on 04/04/2019 1:37:57 PM PDT by Kaslin

RUSH: Folks, you have to hear this. Our old buddy Jim Rutenberg. Now, you’ve heard me mention Rutenberg. When I first heard of Jim Rutenberg, he was a media columnist at the New York Times. And he was one of the few reporters at the New York Times which reported on me, Rush H. Limbaugh III, and this program not just fairly, but accurately and honestly. That is so unusual that we always note it when it happens in the Drive-By Media.

And Rutenberg has always been, when I have made it into stories that he has written, I’ve always been accurately portrayed, accurately quoted. I have not been misquoted. I have not been mischaracterized or any of that. Now, Jim Rutenberg has climbed the ladder of success at the New York Times since those early days writing about me, Rush H. Limbaugh III.

And Jim Rutenberg, you may remember the name, Jim Rutenberg is the guy, after Trump was elected, who wrote that front-page piece in the New York Times about how journalism needs to change now. We just can’t sit by and do what we’ve always done. We just can’t report the news. We’ve got somebody in the office that we personally abhor. When we personally hate the guy, what are we supposed to do? What are journalists supposed to do?

And Jim Rutenberg said that we have decided that we’re gonna try to take the guy out. Now, I’m paraphrasing. But Rutenberg admitted that Trump was such a drastic emergency that journalism had to drop all pretense of objectivity and fairness and devote itself to getting rid of President Trump. This man was simply unacceptable, he’s not presidential material, he is not at all qualified for this. This is an abomination of America’s electoral system, this has happened. That’s Jim Rutenberg.

So at the New York Times website they have prepared a video. Rutenberg has prepared a video. I don’t know what the occasion is. I don’t know what it’s for. I know what it’s about. It’s about Rupert moderate okay and Fox News and the relationship Murdoch and Fox have with Trump. What’s ironic about this is how these guys sit here and they bemoan and they lament that there may be one network that reports on Trump fairly, and somehow this is a bastardization of journalism.

Meanwhile, these guys have written that Trump is so bad that we gotta throw out our basic principles of journalism to get him out of office. And they do not think of themselves as inexorably linked to the Democrat Party. They only see Fox supposedly inexorably linked to the Trump administration, the Republican Party in a way? How can they not see that they are in the back pocket of the Democrat Party? How can they not see that they are the leaders of the Democrat Party?

I mean, just take a look at the difference the way Joe Biden is being treated versus Brett Kavanaugh or Justin Fairfax of Virginia being treated versus Brett Kavanaugh or Clarence Thomas or Robert Bork. They don’t see these things. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked here. I’m just setting the table.

So here’s Rutenberg. And this video is red meat for the New York Times ’cause they hate Trump, and they hate me, and they hate Fox, and they hate Hannity. They hate Judge Jeanine and all of that. So the impetus of the video is that Fox, the premise of the video is that Fox elected Trump, that Trump has taken over Fox, and that it all started with me in the sacred conservative ground of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Well, don’t doubt me. Here is our first audio sound bite. Jim Rutenberg, New York Times, reporting about Rupert Murdoch, the creation of Fox News, and Donald Trump.

How Fox News and President Trump Lost Control to Their Base

RUTENBERG: This is the night Fox crossed the line between where the network ends and President Trump begins. And I’m going to tell you how we got here. This is not just any rally. It’s the night before a historic midterm election. Control of Congress, the future of Trump’s presidency, it’s all on the line. Missouri is a key battleground and team Trump is pulling out all the stops to fire up the base. This is the birthplace, the hometown of Rush Limbaugh. There’s no more sacred ground in conservative media.

RUSH ARCHIVE: What an honor. This is so exciting!

THE PRESIDENT: Sean Hannity, come on up, Sean Hannity.

Rutenberg: That one small step for Sean Hannity would be a giant step for the network that pledged to make the news fair and balanced.

RUSH: No more sacred ground in conservative media than Cape Girardeau, Missouri, which is where Trump went to pull out all the stops, to bring together all the firepower on the last day before the midterm elections. The sacred ground of — (laughing) — Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Now, I have to tell you something. You hear at the end of this bite Rutenberg says, “That one small step for Hannity would be a giant step for the network that pledged to make the news fair and balanced.” That night Judge Jeanine was there and Hannity was there, and Trump called ’em up on stage. Ivanka was there. Jared Kushner was there. Trump called ’em all up on stage.

But because Hannity and Judge Jeanine went up there, the Drive-By Media thinks that’s when they crossed the line, that’s when Fox News stopped being fair and balanced and that’s when they demonstrated and proved that Fox News is in Trump’s back pocket.

Now, I happen to have been there that night. I introduced President Trump. And because I have manners and I am refined and sophisticated, I can’t tell you the truth about — but this whole controversy — and it was a huge controversy, I mean, for Hannity – (interruption) What? What does what mean?

The media is trying to say that when Trump called Hannity up there and that Hannity went up there — and, by the way, Hannity started berating the fake news media that was in the back of the room. That’s when the Drive-Bys, “Okay. That’s it, that’s it, that’s it, that proves it, that proves it, that proves it, Hannity has been lying, Fox has been lying, Fox and Trump are connected, they are one unit.”

And the management at Fox was really upset about this. They thought Hannity had no business going up on that stage after Trump called him up there. He shouldn’t have done that, he crossed the line.

Where my sophistication and manners and refinement come in, I can’t tell you, I cannot in good conscience — all I can do is tell you this is all my fault and you’re gonna have to figure it out from there. The fact that any of those other people were there is my fault. And then you figure it out from there. (interruption) I didn’t push anybody. No, no, no. I’m being dead serious.

Because I was there, all the rest of that happened. If I hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have been there and none of that would have happened. But I can’t say any more than that, folks. You have to figure it out. And even if you think you figure it out, I can’t confirm that you’re right or wrong because I have manners, sophistication, and refinement. I am Rush H. Limbaugh III, a household name in all four corners of the world.

(interruption) What does Rutenberg write about? What do you mean? The sacred ground? Oh, well, that, yeah, meaning the conservative media, yeah, yeah. Okay. Well, there’s another bite here. But that whole incident has been so overblown and the Fox management got concerned about it, they wished Hannity hadn’t gone up there on the stage with Trump.

Does anybody not know that Sean Hannity is a friend of Trumps? Does anybody not know that Sean Hannity supports Trump? You mean nobody knew until Hannity took the stage that night that he likes Trump?

Have you seen a CNN town hall? Have you seen some of these anchors and hosts that they have slobbering all over these Democrat hopefuls? Come on. Give me a break. I’m just telling you, it’s my fault! I can’t tell you why.

Next sound bite. This is Rutenberg explaining how I, Rush H. Limbaugh III, gave Murdoch and his accomplice, Roger Ailes, the belief that they could build Fox and have the kind of power the Drive-By Media had to take down president.

RUTENBERG: So, how did we get to this moment? It all started with an Australian media mogul who wanted to take on the world. Rupert Murdoch, from the minute he steps ashore in the United States in the 1970s, is all about upending the elitist news environment. Murdoch’s expanding his empire in the United States just as a new right-wing radio star enters the scene.

RUSH ARCHIVE: Rush Limbaugh, talent on loan from God.

RUTENBERG: Rush Limbaugh is a national hit. He is huge.

RUSH ARCHIVE: That’s more like it!

RUTENBERG: Limbaugh is a game changer for the conservative base. But what Limbaugh doesn’t have is the gravitas of a news operation. Murdoch sees a big opportunity and he finds the perfect accomplice. Roger Ailes was in the Nixon White House. He knows Watergate happens because The Washington Post, this beacon of credibility, this mainstream news organization, takes down a President. Ailes and Murdoch want that kind of power.

RUSH: So Ailes and Murdoch did Fox because they wanted the power to take down presidents, and it’s all because I showed them they could do it. I gave them the idea. What Rutenberg doesn’t mention there is that Ailes was executive producer of my TV show. That demonstrated Fox News could work for the purpose of taking down the president.

He’s admitting something I’ve always alleged about journalism, that one of the ways you climb the journalist ladder is destroy somebody and then submit that story to a bigger newspaper and hope to get hired. Yeah. Fox, Murdoch, and Ailes wanted the power to take down presidents just like the Washington Post has done.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: All right. Now, in my remaining time here on this, I have to correct Mr. Rutenberg and the reason why Trump was in Missouri. Missouri is not a battleground state. Trump went in there because he was — the actual reason for that rally was to bring out Josh Hawley, who was running against Claire McCaskill. The real reason for that rally in Missouri the night before the election was to get rid of Claire McCaskill.

Trump won Missouri in 20 — let’s see — well, 56.4 to 37.9 for Hillary. It wasn’t even close. Trump just skunked Hillary in 2016 in Missouri. And the fact that Missouri was a battleground is not why they were there. Trump did not go there to rally the conservative movement on the sacred ground of conservative history, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It was really to get rid of Claire McCaskill.

And the reason that Hannity and a bunch of Fox News people, Ivanka and Jared, it was the last rally. I mean, Jared Kushner was there, it was the end of the campaign season and Trump had everybody there. And Hannity was there to interview Trump on Fox News, which was put together by Ailes and Murdoch to take out Democrat presidents before Trump’s speech at the rally.

So the whole premise of his video here, it’s not battleground. It wasn’t some magical last chance to reassemble the conservative base. It was just the last rally. He had a lot of the White House staff there. It was ending a campaign season, the preparty, if you will.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: Missouri
KEYWORDS: capegirardeau; clairemccaskill; ivankatrump; jaredkushner; jimrutenberg; joshhawley; mccaskill; missouri; newyorkslimes; nytimes; rushlimbaugh; rushlive; rushtranscript; rutenberg
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1 posted on 04/04/2019 1:37:57 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Meanwhile, Free Republic doctrine and dogma is that Fox News is the communist enemy........ Sanctimonious purist hogwash perpetrated by people who live on sour grapes.


2 posted on 04/04/2019 1:43:12 PM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Honduras must be invaded to protect America from invasion)
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To: Kaslin

Rush hates talking about himself


3 posted on 04/04/2019 1:49:19 PM PDT by bigbob (Trust Trump. Trust the Plan.)
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To: bert

Have you heard Shepard Smith??


4 posted on 04/04/2019 1:52:50 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: Kaslin

Fascinating that Jim Rutenberg is actually honest about things!


5 posted on 04/04/2019 1:56:02 PM PDT by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca. Deport all illegals. Abolish the DEA, IRS and ATF,.)
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To: bert
........ Sanctimonious purist hogwash perpetrated by people who live on sour grapes.

They can pound sand as far as I am conserned.

6 posted on 04/04/2019 1:56:19 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Nifster

What a crock of crap. You drag out one person who has the fewest viewers and decide to chuck it all because you find a little fault. Shame on you for such a narrow minded view. And I mean narrow as in very small minded view.

I know, I know, you are far from alone in your narrow mindedness. There are lots of folks with sore arms they got from patting themselves on the back dissing Fox News


7 posted on 04/04/2019 1:59:19 PM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Honduras must be invaded to protect America from invasion)
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To: Nifster

You can not compare Shep Smith, with Sean Hannity, The Fox and Friends crew, Martha McCallum,Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Shannon Bream. Who they need to get rid of is Shep Smith and Whoraldo.


8 posted on 04/04/2019 2:09:39 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: bert

Faux Mews is not what it once was. The opinion folks are ok. The news section is only slightly better than any other msm

I care where I get my news


9 posted on 04/04/2019 2:10:17 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: bert

Bump


10 posted on 04/04/2019 2:10:51 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

You name mostly opinion folks. Shall we throw in the continuing need to have Huan and Geraldo and Napalitano amongst others and the useless lefties that grace the sets of Faux so they can have “balanced” coverage??

Shannon is ok. Martha McCollum not so much. I’ve already said I like the opinion folks


11 posted on 04/04/2019 2:13:23 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: Nifster

blah blah blah yada yada yada...... Balderdash. You feed the false dialogue to promote your own self esteem


12 posted on 04/04/2019 2:22:24 PM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Honduras must be invaded to protect America from invasion)
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To: Nifster

blah blah blah yada yada yada...... Balderdash. You feed the false dialogue to promote your own self esteem


13 posted on 04/04/2019 2:22:25 PM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Honduras must be invaded to protect America from invasion)
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To: bert

I’ve not heard a lot of people call Fox News “communist enemy” but I do know there are a lot of Never Trumpers over there - most explicitly are Shep Smith and Bret Baier. Both are quite powerful at Fox.

I was amazed at the lisping, gay-sounding guy whose audio Rush used. A real pajama boy!


14 posted on 04/04/2019 2:23:34 PM PDT by miss marmelstein
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To: bert
Meanwhile, Free Republic doctrine and dogma is that Fox News is the communist enemy........ Sanctimonious purist hogwash perpetrated by people who live on sour grapes.

I see a lot of good things on Fox when I watch.

That said, I don't get to see what's on Fox between 9am and 5pm.

15 posted on 04/04/2019 2:35:37 PM PDT by FreeReign
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To: Nifster

16 posted on 04/04/2019 2:45:40 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: bert

That is exactly what he does


17 posted on 04/04/2019 2:46:37 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Nifster
"I care where I get my news"

Just where is that fountain of bipartisan wisdom?

18 posted on 04/04/2019 3:11:28 PM PDT by SuperLuminal (Where is Sam Adams now that we desperately need him)
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Here for the Beer.


19 posted on 04/04/2019 4:38:04 PM PDT by Big Red Badger (Despised by the Despicable!)
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To: bert

Sorry, Fox is trash except for Hannity, Tucker, and the Judge. Their “objective reporters” have reliably trashed and lied about non-eGOPers for years. I still remember entire panels on Fox lying about Herman Cain or propping up Romney.


20 posted on 04/04/2019 9:09:47 PM PDT by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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