I think this entire incident is instructive. Rush is heartsick over the direction this country is going and that we arrived at a place where many people don't even bat an eye over the alarming development that our government is mandating insurance coverage -- and forcing employers to pay for it even when they object on moral grounds.
But Rush issued written and verbal apologies, and those apologies were unequivocal. They were not phrased in the passive voice. They were not indirect, e.g., "I am sorry for the pain I've caused my family." They did not seek to blame others. They did not seek to avoid personal responsibility through use of the conditional, e.g., "I am sorry if I hurt your feelings." They were not phony; they were coupled with a discrete reaffirmation of his belief in the underlying principles that led to this sad episode in the first place.
That is, he did not say he is sorry for being a conservative and for standing up for the values he believes in. He had the courage to reaffirm those beliefs in a way that did not detract from his sincere apologies for the unfortunate words he used.
What is a much bigger story is that the left's primary interest here is not in protecting Fluke -- in my humble opinion. Liberals are attempting to exploit this as another opportunity to destroy Rush through a calculated, organized Saul Alinsky-type community organizing campaign to pressure and intimidate his advertisers into discontinuing their sponsorship of his show.
I am watching them operate on Twitter and other social networks, and their viciousness is palpable. They didn't want Rush's apology, which they absolutely refuse to accept. They want his scalp. And they've wanted his scalp for years because he is the most effective and influential spokesman for the conservative cause.
What I am observing is the most radical display of hate and intolerance that I've witnessed in years. It does not surprise me, but it is ironic that the very people who masquerade as exemplars of tolerance, civility and compassion have no room in their hearts for forgiveness.
We are facing an existential threat to our nation today in discretionary and entitlement spending. We are experiencing an unprecedented assault on our Constitution and the God-given liberties it seeks to guarantee.
We were already spending unconscionable amounts of money, but President Obama has pressed his foot on the accelerator and taken us into crisis territory in three years. He has wasted trillions of dollars, resulting in a net loss of jobs. He has spent hundreds of millions on failed green projects that can't work, and instead of apologizing and changing course, he simply shrugs and demands money for more such projects.
In his most recent budget, he has projected for the fourth straight year a deficit in excess of $1 trillion, and more outrageously reckless deficits as far as the eye can see. His budgets don't even pretend to rein in spending. And he makes no apologies for it.
Obama knows -- neither he nor the people with whom he surrounds himself are stupid -- that we must restructure entitlements in order to have a chance for national financial survival, yet he hasn't even addressed the issue. Did you hear me? He hasn't even presented a plan to address the issue.
And please don't get me started about his horrifying gutting of the military and our defense capabilities, from our jet aircraft to our naval fleet to our missile defenses to our nuclear arms, at a time when our biggest potential rivals are all ramping up, from China to Russia to Iran -- not to mention terrorists throughout the world.
We are in a war for the survival of the nation as we know it -- as the greatest, freest, strongest, most prosperous nation in history. This is why we fight. When we step over the line, we apologize for having done so. But we do not apologize for the causes we are fighting for, and we must redouble our efforts to stay in this battle with all that is in us.
I repeat: I am proud of Rush for apologizing. I am equally proud of him for sticking to his guns on the underlying principles, because in this war, he has been at the tip of liberty's spear for years -- and he remains so today. We march on.
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