Limbaugh Mocks Rep. Jackson Lee's "Freed Slave" Remarks By Asking Who Owned And Sold Her

JUSTIN BERRIER/Media Matters for America

Following a speech in which Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) praised the Civil War-era efforts that resulted in her being a "freed slave," Rush Limbaugh responded by asking "who owned and who sold" her.

The Hill reported that on the floor of the House of Representatives, Jackson Lee encouraged Congress to compromise in order to avoid automatic budget cuts. According to the article, "Jackson Lee suggested lawmakers should take inspiration from President Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War" before saying, "I stand here as a freed slave because this Congress came together. Are we going to be able to do it today to free America?" Limbaugh mocked Jackson Lee by "trying to find out who owned and who sold" her and "what they got for her":

LIMBAUGH: We're not having much luck here, folks. We've been doing exhaustive research in the last four minutes. We're trying to find out who owned and who sold Sheila Jackson Lee and what they got for her. She just said on the floor of the House of Representatives mere moments ago this morning, and she was standing there as a freed slave because this Congress came together. I didn't think they were coming together at all, but she talked about the Congress during Lincoln. But anyway, she's a freed slave. Somebody had to own her, and I -- we don't know who.

Obviously, you know, with the makeup of culture today it didn't have to be Houston that -- the owner did not have to be where she lived, she could have been owned by anybody. What if a drug company owned her? You know, what if -- what if big oil owned her and she didn't know about it? Somebody freed her, though. We will keep looking to try to find out who owned her, who sold her, and what they got. I have to tell you, though, in all candor, I think she looks pretty good for her age. She's got to be over 110. You'd never know it. 

After Congressional Progressives Ask ‘Where Are The Jobs?,’ GOP Rep. Biggert Says ‘Stop Talking About Jobs’

By Zaid Jilani

One of the mantras of congressional Republicans over the past two years has been to ask, “Where are the jobs?” House GOP leader John Boehner (OH) made this into atheme of the campaign last fall. As then-GOP chairman Michael Steele summarized the argument: “Americans are still asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ … Washington Democrats still have no answers.”

This afternoon, Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and other progressives took to the floor of the House of Representatives to turn this question back on their Republican colleagues. Ellison and the others asked where all the jobs-creation legislation was, excoriating their conservative colleagues for focusing on legislation like terminating the HAMP program, which would do nothing to create jobs:

– Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN): “The Republicans’ no-jobs agenda has been exposed, Mr. Chair. The majority has done nothing to create jobs or protect homes. All they do is criticize programs that could use some improvement. Rather, they would get rid of them altogether.”

– Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY): “[The Republicans] have no plans of their own to address the foreclosure crisis that is hurting neighborhoods and disrupting lives throughout their country. Like the jobs bills they said they would have. We have yet to see them.”

– Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX): “Your cities have been impacted positively by the HAMP program. Job growth is picking up. Investing and growing jobs should be the mindset of the American Congress for that’s what we were sent back to Washington to do.”

At one point, Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) took to the floor to respond to the progressives. She attacked the HAMP program, urging her colleagues to end it, and signaled that she would oppose progressive amendments to the GOP’s bill for ending the mortgage modification program. Then, she incredulously told her colleagues to stop talking about jobs and focus rather on the substance of the amendments:

BIGGERT: I would urge my colleagues to support — oppose this amendment. And stop talking about jobs, let’s focus on the substance of these amendments.

Watch it:

One would have to wonder what a certain congresswoman who asked at a hearing — on February 25, 2010 — “Where are the jobs?” would think about Biggert’s statement. That congresswoman was Biggert herself. Watch it: