Limbaugh: What's at Stake in This Election

November 1, 2004
RushLimbaugh.com

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Ladies and gentlemen, I have avoided throughout the whole year declaring this the most important election in our history. I mean, we've had crucial elections before during the Civil War, during World Wars. We had numerous crucial elections during the Cold War, and we've had a divided electorate before. This isn't the first time that we have settled national arguments or even a single national argument over several election cycles. Well, that having been said, this time there is one high stakes issue that makes domestic concerns pale in comparison, and that is the growth of international terrorism -- and this is the prelude to getting into the bin Laden tape that came out on Friday.

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International terrorism, which claimed over 800 American lives in what I guess could be called "nuisance" attacks before September 11th, 2001. The growth of international terrorism is a real clear and present danger. I mean, not just to us, but to all of Western Civilization. Only since September 11th has this threat been met with the full projection of American power, and just as important, American political will. Now, despite the claims of one candidate and his party and his allies around the world, we have friends in this struggle. We have friends that include East European nations who were oppressed under communism for almost 60 years and do not want a return to anything like that. We have friends in support from Pacific Rim nations, from nations in Africa and western powers like the Brits and the Aussies who have been steadfast allies throughout.

But the truth of the matter is, America is the dominant power and economy in the world today. We determine the course of freedom throughout the world, not just here in the United States of America. It is something that has to be fought for on a daily basis. It's something that far too many people take for granted. It is something that far too many people think that can be purchased with appeasement of enemies. You can't purchase peace with appeasement. I heard over the weekend, "You can only rent it for a while," but eventually you're going to have to make the buy. You're going to have to purchase peace. You don't get it because you want it. You don't get it because you bury your head in the sand and ignore it. You don't get peace, you don't continue the lifestyle of freedom and liberty that we in this country too often take for granted simply by wanting it more than the other guy.

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You have to back it up and you have to defend it, and to defend it you have to recognize when it's under attack, and recognizing when it's under attack takes courage. Recognizing when we are under attack takes wide open eyes, takes honesty. Because once you admit, once you come to the intellectual decision, not emotional, once you come to the intellectual decision to admit, to understand that our way of life, that our freedom that, our daily existence as we've always known it is under attack, once you come to that conclusion, then there's only one option you have, and that is to defend it. We are under attack. The truth is that we have been under attack for many years by the same type of people who think in the same way fanatic Islamists have been attacking freedom and Americans for over 20 years.

It's only in the last three years that we've decided to do something about it. We now find ourselves at a crossroads. Are we going to continue to do something about it or are we going to rent peace for awhile and allow Osama bin Laden at the end of the day tomorrow to go ahead and claim that he and he alone influenced the outcome of the United States elections?

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