For years, promises to leave the United States in the wake of an undesirable political development have been the domain of liberals. Celebrities such as Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon all at some point suggested they would move to Canada if a Republican won the White House.
(There's even a Facebook group around to motivate them, complete with a helpful link to Canada's department of citizenship and immigration.)
While most of those were empty threats, there are notable exceptions: Film director Robert Altman moved to France after George W. Bush's victory in 2000; Law & Order star Michael Moriarty shipped off to Canada well before that.
But now the decidedly non-liberal Rush Limbaugh has made a similar move, telling his audience he will move to Costa Rica if health care reform becomes law. And now the only question that remains is whether Limbaugh will make good on his word, or join the ranks of the empty-promisers.
"If the health care bill passes, where would you go for health care yourself?" a caller asked Limbaugh on his radio show Tuesday.
"I’ll just tell you this, if this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented — I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica," Limbaugh replied.
This audio is from Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, broadcast March 8, 2009 and uploaded by Media Matters.
