RUSH LIMBAUGH: Obama's New Prospective Labor Secretary 'May As Well Be Hugo Chavez'
On his radio show Monday, Limbaugh cast Thomas Perez, Obama's nomination to be the next Secretary of Labor, as a radical liberal and said he "may as well be Hugo Chavez."
Limbaugh's concern is based on Perez's work as as the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which has drawn criticism among Republicans in the past.
Last week, the department's inspector general concluded in a report that Perez gave incomplete testimony to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights when he said the department’s political leadership was not involved in the decision to dismiss three defendants in a lawsuit the Bush administration brought against the New Black Panther Party.
But the Department of Justice dropped the charges before Perez had been confirmed as a member of the department, and the IG also concluded that Perez did not "intentionally mislead" the commission in his testimony.
Other Republicans have latched onto this reason to oppose Perez's nomination — Sen. David Vitter said Monday that he would block it because of Perez's role in the New Black Panther case.
Limbaugh compared the situation to President George W. Bush dropping a case against the Ku Klux Klan.
"I want to play a little game with you, folks," Limbaugh said. "In a hypothetical, let's replace Obama with George W. Bush and the Black Panthers with the Ku Klux Klan.
"Now, I want you to try to imagine Bush's head of the Civil Rights Division not prosecuting Klanners when they engage in voter intimidation, and then — after not prosecuting Klanners for that — imagine what would happen if Bush turned around and nominated the Grand Kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan to a cabinet position where he would be deciding on discrimination lawsuits. That is exactly what's happened here. There would be unmitigated hell to pay if that had happened."
Listen below, courtesy of The Daily Rushbo: