Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Rush Limbaugh Show, 8/31/93

LIMBAUGH: And welcome back to RUSH LIMBAUGH on television sitting here, ladies and gentlemen, in the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. And again, if you're wondering why I'm holding a utensil made popular basically on
Thanksgiving Day, be patient, be cool because we'll explain it to you in the final segment of our program.

All right. Gays in the military. Wha--I want to show you Strom Thurmond. And I'll tell you why I wa--have you--have you people by--have any of you in the audience seen Strom Thurmond's comments on this? All right.

Now Strom Thurmond is 90 years old and, of course, he's--he's from the World War II generation. He has a different view of the world than people of, say, my generation or my parents' genera--well, I wouldn't say he's different from my parents'
generation. Probably the same view of the world--same thoughts. Strom Thurmond just fire--he doesn't care. He is not encumbered by trying to be politically correct. He's not encumbered by all of the--the so-called new niceties and proprieties. He
just says it, and if you want to know what America used to be--and a lot of people wish it still were--then you listen to Strom Thurmond. Here he is conducting hearings yesterday on gays in the military and he's actually talking--you won't see him,
but you're--he's talking to a homosexual. He--and what you also won't hear--he has just asked the homosexual if he has ever sought psychiatric help.

(Laughter)

LIMBAUGH: Now, my friends, let's not chuckle. Be compassionate. He will ask the homosexual if he's ever had any psychiatric help and ha--the homosexual answers and then Strom continues. Here's what he says.

(Footage from Senate hearing)

Senator STROM THURMOND: Your lifestyle is not normal. It is not normal for a man to want to be with a man or a woman with a woman.

(Applause)

LIMBAUGH: He got a standing ovation. Now people--people applauded that. People applaud--because--you know, Strom Thurmond can say it because he's 90 years old and people say, Ah, he's just an old coot. He's from the old days,' and so
forth. But that's what most people think. They just don't have the guts to say it. That's why they applaud when somebody does say it that directly and that simply.


Limbaugh didn't mention Thurmond's rumored illegitimate child or his marital infidelity.