Rush on health care cramdown: This is ball game. Melt the phones.

On his radio program today, Rush Limbaugh gave out the Capitol switchboard number and urged his listeners to call Congress about the health care legislation skulking its way to a scandalous finish.  The results were predictable.  From The Hill:

The congressional switchboard was nearing overload Tuesday after Rush Limbaugh asked listeners to phone in their objections on healthcare.

The House e-mail system was also deluged in what the House’s technology office called “a very significant spike” in traffic.

The office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) sent out a system-wide advisory to member offices at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, warning them of the dramatic increase in traffic.

“Our phone system is nearing capacity,” said Jeff Ventura, spokesman for the CAO. “It got critical enough whereby we notified all systems administrators throughout the House that the phone systems are overloading.”

Michael Calderone at Politico emailed Rush during his show and asked him why he did it.  Rush responded on the air:



Tea Partiers are inside and outside the Capitol building today.  The phones are melting.  Arms are being twisted to the point of fracture.  And the President (who is not running for re-election this year) tells Democrats to "have courage."  I agree with him.

Have courage.  Vote no.