Mike Pence worshiping at the alter of Rush Limbaugh. Wow. Who's next Mike....Sean Hannity?
O’DONNELL: On another matter I do want to ask you about Rush Limbaugh because he said “I hope he fails,” talking about President Obama. Rush Limbaugh also said this. He said, “We are being told that we have to hope Obama succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black because this was the first black President.” Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh?
PENCE: Well let me speak specifically to what Rush Limbaugh said about America. I actually heard a little bit of him this afternoon. We all hope America succeeds and in that vein, we hope our President succeeds and I think Rush Limbaugh who I admire, and like millions of Americans, I cherish his voice in the public debate...I think that’s what he was saying.
But, what he was also saying was where Barack Obama is going to, to pursue the implementation of campaign promises, where he’s going to grow government, grow spending, depart from traditional values, or take positions with regard to our national defense that are antithetical to conservative values...
O'DONNELL: No doubt...
Pence:...we certainly hope there will be strong opposition from voices like Rush Limbaugh and from leaders here on Capitol Hill, so we appreciate (crosstalk) I understand what he was saying Norah and we all hope our President succeeds, we all hope America succeeds. But that doesn’t mean we’re always going to agree with what the best solutions are for the country.
O’DONNELL: No doubt you can agree with Rush Limbaugh about that he’s calling this stimulus essentially a sham going on and too full of wasteful spending. On that specific thing, that we have to bend over because this is the first black President, why don’t you feel that you could denounce something like that? Are you so beholden to someone like Rush Limbaugh that you can’t say...
PENCE: Oh gosh, Norah...
O’DONNELL: ...that’s not the type of rhetoric when America is trying to come together and do something for the unemployment rate, in your state of Indiana now 8.2 percent? Is that the type of rhetoric we need?
PENCE: Well look Nora I don’t believe Rush Limbaugh's got a racist bone in his body and if you’re suggesting that his statement had a racist element in it, I would commend you to, you know a greater understanding of the positions he’s taken. He’s a man about opportunity of all Americans, regardless of race, creed, or color and I think that’s why he’s so admired and appreciated all across America.
But look, you know on this stimulus bill I appreciate Rush's voice out there. Nancy Pelosi just said on the House floor, and I respect her greatly, she said after defending all the different spending programs in this bill, a hundred and thirty six billion dollars in program spending she said "We are taking America in a new direction". Well Nora I thought we were trying to pass a stimulus bill that in the short term was temporary and fast acting and would create jobs in America and that's what the Republican's alternative is going to do. Rush is out there championing the kind of stimulus bill that will put Americans back to work. We're grateful for that. We're going to continue to keep fighting for it right here.
