Left-leaning commentators including the Rev. Al Sharpton and David Brock’s Media Matters for America are bidding farewell to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh as he moves out of the United States. There’s just one problem: Limbaugh isn’t going anywhere and never said he was.
Media Matters, a regular critic of the popular radio talker, posted a blog item Sunday that recalled a remark by Limbaugh in 2010.
“I’ll just tell you this,” Limbaugh said at the time to a call-in guest discussing the bill that eventually became the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. “If this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented, I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica.”
Media Matters re-published that quote along with the text, “It’s 5 years later” and a moving Image of liberal comedian Stephen Colbert waving goodbye.
Mediaite Monday published its own blog post under the headline “It’s Been 5 Years Since Rush Limbaugh Promised to Leave the Country in 5 Years.”
Sharpton ended his Tuesday MSNBC program with a commentary on Limbaugh.
“Bon Voyage Rush, I hope you have a great time in Costa Rica,” said the fiery community activist and White House adviser on race issues. “But if you decide the Caribbean isn’t really your thing, try visiting the Eiffel Tower in France. Or hang with kangaroos in Australia. Or eat sushi in Japan. You won’t have to worry about the healthcare debate in any of those countries.”
But a transcript reveals that Limbaugh did not make any vow to move permanently out of the United States. Instead, he was addressing the caller’s question about how to get private medical treatment if Obamacare was adopted.
Limbaugh’s peroration came after the caller had asked, “If the healthcare bill passes, where would you go for healthcare yourself?”
The top-rated talk personality in the U.S. radio market spoke in some detail on the topic of overseas medical options before making the comments Media Matters highlighted Sunday.
Brian Glicklich, a spokesman for Limbaugh, also referred the Washington Examiner media desk to the transcript from Limbaugh’s show the day after his initial remarks sparked a similar jokefest.
On that show, Limbaugh said that he did not intend to leave if the healthcare law passed. He said he meant that if he could no longer getprivate-sectorhealthcare in the United States, he would seek treatment elsewhere.
“They [doctors] are establishing healthcare clinics with quality doctors in places like Costa Rica,” Limbaugh said in 2010. “They’re going to continue to sell policies to people who have the ability to fly down there and get treatment. If I have to get thrown into this massive government healthcare insurance business and end up going to the driver’s license office every day when I need to go to the doctor, yeah, I’ll go to Costa Rica for treatment, not move there.”
Asked if Limbaugh has in fact attempted to receive healthcare in Costa Rica, Glicklich said he doesn’t know. “I think most people would interpret his comment in the context of political commentary rather than a personal anecdote,” Glicklich said. “Especially given all of his remarks surrounding it.”
