Posted on 03/25/2011 5:44:32 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Craig in central Florida. You are on Open Line Friday. Hi.
CALLER: Hey, Rush. Dittos. It's great to talk to you.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: I'll get right to my point here. I just have a simple question for you. Are you going to endorse a GOP candidate?
RUSH: You mean in the primaries?
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: It would only be the second time if I did it. I know, the pressure is on, the pressure is on. Everybody says look what happened last time when I didn't, I know.
CALLER: If you don't plan to, I beg you to do it, you know, considering the circumstances in the country right now, and based on the results from last time, getting McCain.
RUSH: Yeah, I know. You're blaming me for that?
CALLER: No, no, no, I'm not blaming you. I mean, everybody has a reason for what they do but, you know, the country needs conservatives, in particular need that kind of leadership.
RUSH: Let me ask you a question. I'm gonna turn it around on you. You know who the field is right now pretty much, right?
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Who do you endorse?
CALLER: If I had to vote for somebody right now I'd probably vote for Bachmann.
RUSH: Michele Bachmann.
CALLER: I mean I like Palin. I don't really understand all the hatred for Palin. I think it's almost like an infection that a lot of even conservatives buy into that --
RUSH: Fear. It's fear.
CALLER: I don't understand it, but I would vote for Bachmann. But you know it's gonna save the candidates a ton of money, a tone of hard feelings and backbiting. And it's gonna allow them to save their money to go up against Obama who's gonna have, they say, a billion dollars in the bank.
RUSH: Well, some of that goes beyond the scope of my responsibilities here, saving money. But nevertheless, I understand your concerns. It's a question I've been asked by many. If you look at the way this field is shaping up, you've got Bachmann, you have Palin, Christie, Trump, any number of people here that you could coalesce behind. It will be an interesting period of time. Did I hear you say that you like McCain or did you say Palin?
CALLER: No, no, no, I like Palin.
RUSH: Palin.
CALLER: McCain, I feel the same way that you do about McCain. I mean I voted for him but I held my nose when I did it, though.
RUSH: Well, the real question is who is Colin Powell going to endorse because he is said to be the prototypical Republican and he's not gonna be running and we've always been told that General Powell, keep a sharp eye on how he's thinking, who he endorses, that's probably the best route the Republican Party could take.
CALLER: Well, I could kinda care less about that, but I think you're ducking me here. You're really not gonna give me a yes or no?
RUSH: (laughing) I'm just having fun with you.
CALLER: I know.
RUSH: No, I don't know. Look, what do you want me to do? If there's nobody in the field that I am jazzed about, which is entirely possible, if there's nobody in the field, what I'm gonna have to do then is say, okay, this election had better be about Obama, and I think it ought to be anyway. This election should be all about Obama because, frankly, I would vote for Elmer Fudd than Obama. I would vote for whoever the Republicans nominate.
CALLER: Of course.
RUSH: I don't care.
CALLER: Everybody would. Any conservative would, but you're in a unique position to just clean out the field, allow all these candidates to back up the person --
RUSH: No. No wait a minute, now. Wait a minute -- (crosstalk)
CALLER: -- spending their money trashing them.
RUSH: I'm not trying to slither out of this. I'm trying to tell you as honestly as I can, what if there isn't anybody I'm passionate about? I could do that, I could pick somebody, but if I don't have passion about it, I can't. I'm not a liar. I can't come in here and tell you I'm razzmatazz, rolled, and ready to go.
CALLER: Nah, you don't have to be passionate to endorse somebody.
RUSH: Thanks to you my own staff is ganging up on me in here.
CALLER: Good.
RUSH: The election is going to be about Obama. (interruption) I'm suggesting to you that it is entirely possible a loser candidate will get the nomination. That's what I'm telling you. It has to be about Obama, it has to be. That's what all this is about. It has to be about Obama. We can't handle four more years of this. What do you mean, if it's you-know-who? Who the hell is you-know-who? (laughing) Now they're throwing names at me, folks, they're telling me, "If you know it's such-and-such it's gonna be a disaster and if it's that person it's gonna be a disaster." It may well be. That's what I'm telling you. It may well be a disaster, and regardless what it is, the election has to be about Obama, it's got to be. That's the only logical thing anyway. We have got to stop this, even if it's a stopgap, Elmer Fudd, I don't care, pick a name. This is why I don't understand all this talk, and I hear about people, "I don't think Palin's the one, do you, Rush?" Well, she's a lot better than some of the others already in the field, all right? We could say that about a lot of them. (interruption) Yeah, I know, I know, I need to -- (interruption) No, because nobody knows that.
Snerdley's just said, "You gotta pick the person who can win." I gotta pick the person who could best beat Obama, who has the best chance of beating Obama, that's what you think? Who can win the nomination or beat Obama? Saving the country is about getting rid of Obama, and I'm telling you, you guys are not hearing me. You're not hearing me because you don't want to face the truth. The truth is, the sad reality is we may end up with Milquetoast as a nominee. We still have to get rid of Obama, in which case it has to be, the election has to be about Obama. It has to be. You'll see. You'll see. Staff still doubts me. I know some of you people do, but they know me best, they still doubt me. I'll tell you this. Whoever in this field takes it to Obama the straightest, the hardest, and the most direct is who's gonna win. Somebody's gonna have to take it to Obama. This is not a pussyfoot around type election. This is not, "Well, we gotta worry about what they say about us, gotta worry about our PR, we gotta worry about charges of racism." Somebody's gonna have to be willing to take it to Obama. It's going to be about him and four more years of this stuff, and we'll see if there's anybody in this field willing to do that. All right. Thanks for the call out there. I appreciate it.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I'll tell you something else. This Libya stuff and the Japanese earthquake has created an impression that might not be accurate. Let me just put it this way. Do not believe that the Tea Party has forgotten about this budget business, the spending, what the Republicans on Capitol Hill are doing, make no mistake. They are as focused, they're gonna be as demanding, they're gonna be watching. It's only intensifying. This reluctance on the part of the Republican leadership to deal seriously with spending and defund Obamacare, there is a lot happening, it's not being reported on 'cause the press shoves it aside for this sexier stuff, the Japanese earthquakes, the tsunami, the Japanese syndrome and all that stuff, then Libya and everything else, but the pressure being brought to bear on Republicans regarding spending, Tea Party, they're swelling in their ranks, their enthusiasm's growing, their demands are intensifying. Just 'cause you're not hearing about it doesn't mean that it's been forgotten or the energy or passion has evaporated, because that isn't the case at all.
END TRANSCRIPT
If I was the guy who was the deciding vote on who would become President on January 20, 2013, I’d pick Palin and would not even bat an eye doing it. I think she would be the right person at the right time in the right place in history.
But I also hew to the saying made popular by Reagan “it’s amazing how much you can get done as long as you don’t care who gets the credit.”
The person isn’t as important as the policies and the philosophical/moral foundation from which those policies arise, IMHO.
What I like about Palin is that she’s already taken the left’s best shot—and she’s taken it over and over again and she’s still standing. I think her heart is true—one of the rarest things you can ever say about anyone in American politics.
What I like about Cain is that I sense he has that same sort of strength and truth in him—I don’t think you beat cancer without the experience setting all of your priorities in order.
But, after reading all of the comments here, I think it’s getting close to the time to go all-in for somebody, and really start putting the pedal to the floor for the 2012 election.
And the somebody I’d really prefer to go all-in for isn’t yet all-in herself.
So, what to do?
Palin didn't finish out her first term as governor. She quit. That's how she'll be portrayed. The reasons don't/won't matter to the media. Also, unfortunately Palin has been skewered in the media for the past 2+ years and a lot of the voting public doesn't have a favorable impression of her. I'm not saying it's right or it's fair but it is what it is.
There's a reason the likes of Ann Coulter and Andrew Breitbart say Palin shouldn't run. They obviously believe a)she can help the cause better by doing what she's doing now and b)she probably wouldn't beat Obama.
Of all the new Tea-publicans who were elected to Congress in the 2010 midterms, Allen West most closely parallels Sarah Palin, in temperament, tenacity, courage, and fealty to the Constitution. He's also got precisely the same dogged determination to restore America to its Founding basics, as she does. There's no doubt in my mind, that she's already developed a close alliance with West because of those shared views.
I agree with you, that Allen West would eat Biden alive in any debate. I'd buy tickets to see that!
I feel Obama so fears Sarah that he would find a way NOT to debate her. I watched the 06 debates when she ran for Governor. She was masterful.
I have the same gut instinct about an eventual debate between Sarah and Obama. I honestly feel that he dreads the potential of that meeting more than anything he might face as president. I picked right up on his fear of her during the 2008 campaign. He telegraphed it all over the place for weeks. He knows without question that Sarah will expose him for the weak incompetent he is, in front of the world. I believe that he will avoid such a debate at all costs, even if it means losing votes to her.
Well, I suppose that goes without saying, but I fail to see how his coming out in support of the best candidate we have in this contest could possibly do anything but help lead to Obama's defeat.
This country is at a very real fork in the road. One road leads to the possible restoration of our country, and the other leads to our certain collapse and demise as a nation.
Now is not the time to play by the old established rules of engagement. Our country could very well be lost, if we don't get this right in 2012. Rush and others with large amounts of political influence should examine how they can best serve their country in this perilous time, and choose wisely, even if it means winding up on the losing side of one battle.
As Sarah told her daughter Piper, when she asked her mom about her future in politics, "If I die, I die."
I will continue to advocate for Sarah, and defend her against negative attacks, for as long as it takes to get her to Inauguration Day.
I believe that she's 'all in', but just isn't ready to pull the trigger on her campaign yet. Again, that's just my belief, which is based on everything I've seen Sarah do and say over the last year or so.
I could be wrong, but I think she's got this thing tightly mapped and timed precisely. She will make her announcement on her timetable, not when her supporters, the media, or her competitors demand it.
I do agree, though, the waiting is a killer.
Thank you for bringing the conversation back to the very point of the whole thread.
It's my contention that Rush should endorse his choice of nominee during the primary. He's already analyzed every potential contender in the spreadsheet of his mind, and knows full well who among them is the best possible choice for America.
It's not his uncertainty about who to endorse that will stop him from publicly supporting that person during the primary. I believe it's more a sense that he doesn't want to exert undue influence on the nation's political process.
I believe it's his mission in life to get people to use their own minds, become better informed, and to make better choices about who they elect as leaders. He doesn't want to spoon feed people by telling them who to vote for. I think he'd rather be the teacher, and make the case for conservatism with logic and reason - then let those pupils of "advanced conservative studies" come to their own conclusions as to who best fits the bill for president.
That said, this is a time like no other, and the professor may just have to break with his normal modus operandi for the good of the country.
It’s very easy to sit back in your chair and second guess those of us who have to get behind the mike.
Try it yourself sometime and see just how easy it is.
Try it some time.
Also try it sometime when you are deaf.
I stopped second guessing Rush Limbaugh long ago and I advise you to do the same unless you regularly sit in front of such an audience.
Rod, folks are gonna think you're an unthinking, blinking, dittohead, if you keep talking like that.
While I greatly admire Rush, and believe him to be one of the most skilled political commentators of our time, I still know that he's just a man. Even he doesn't claim to be right 100% of the time, and on this one point, I think that he should at least re-consider endorsing his pick for president during the primary.
Naturally, it's up to him, and in point of fact, the best person for the job probably won't need his endorsement anyway, if they really ought to have the job. The People will see to that, all on their own.
I actually don't feel all that strongly one way or another about what Rush does or doesn't do during the primary, but I do feel that if it even looks like our side might once again pick the weakest person in our field to challenge the Democrat, then I say he needs to drop his considerations and endorse the best we have.
after 30 years on the air I know not to second guess Rush. I have a fairly good idea of what its like.Do You?
Gads, man. You're embarrassing yourself. Gotta run now.
YEah you run along.
My pleasure .. LOL
I think you have accurately characterized Rush’s motivation, and his role as an educator. However, we have RINOs adopting the rhetoric of true conservatives in primaries and claiming the mantle of Reagan, et al, who have no true commitment to those beliefs, which becomes evident when they get to Washington.
This is why I wish Rush would help Republicans separate the wheat from the chaff.
I wouldn’t laugh until you have a clue what you are laughing about. Arguments with ignorant people like you are usually fruitless and you have proved it so. Come back when you know more about radio than where to turn it on and off.
Silly man. I’ve worked in radio behind a mic.
Whoops! There goes your high horse!
In the main, I agree with you. My three are Palin, Cain and hopefully Jim DeMint.
Yeah you sound like it ace,come back when you have your 30 years in.
I keep seeing “Cain’s” name but who is this? I thought someone had misspelled MCCain’s name!
Oh...hi!
....and the answer is.....? :)
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