Posted on 01/29/2015 2:06:01 PM PST by Kaslin
RUSH: I've got more on Scott Walker here, but I want to spread this out, spread the Scott Walker stuff out. Let me make something very clear: I haven't endorsed Scott Walker or anybody else, as per usual. I don't endorse, particularly this far out. I mean, we don't even have any real official candidates here. But even if we did, that's not what happens on this program, by policy. There's some things that Scott Walker...
I'm getting e-mails, "Hey, you'd better be careful! You know, Scott Walker's not exactly good on immigration, Rush. You don't want to embarrass yourself here by going overboard." Folks, everything's cool here. My point about Scott Walker is I thought what everybody out there -- I thought all of you were so upset about. I know I have been. My whole point is that defeating the left is not easy, but clearly it can be done. And when it's done, using conservatism, with the right candidate, done the right way, it wins!
The Republican Party's not even interested in that, as we've documented and discussed. My only point about Scott Walker is: If you want to beat back the left, there's the guy that's done it, and he's done it against all odds. He has written the blueprint how to do it.l And I thought that's why we were all here, is to restore this country and beat back the left and their desired transformation of this country. Scott Walker has shown how to do it in the belly of the beast.
He hasn't done it from a think tank. He hasn't done it from position papers and theses and all this. He hasn't done it as a consultant. He's done it with his name and reputation on the line. He's done it as a candidate, as a sitting governor campaigning for reelection. He's done it. He's shown how it can happen, and it's not even tied to geography. Yeah, Wisconsin's a Northern Plains state, but it's a blue state.
The unions ran that state! That's who he had to take on and boat back, along with the media. He had to take on every illegal act they tried, every act of personal destruction against him and his family. My point is, for 25 years ago I've been receiving phone calls, "Why don't the Republican do this? Why don't the Republicans do that? Why don't they fight?" Here's your answer. Scott Walker has been doing everything you wish the Republican Party at large would be doing.
In terms of beating back the opposition, in terms of taking them on and beating back, showing how to do it, he's succeeding at doing it. There's the blueprint. Not even that complicated. Anyway, the media hasn't yet zeroed in on him full time. The Wisconsin media did to a certain extent with the national media, but now they are going to start focusing because of his speech Saturday. The brand-new attention he's getting outside...? (interruption)
What are you laughing at? What in the world is so funny? What now? Okay... (muttering) I just called it, I just predicted it, and then you got a caller, somebody to say it. Okay, make sure he doesn't go away. It's a guy. Josh, Decatur, Alabama, hold on. Do not go away, Josh. I have not endorsed Walker. I just made that point. I've said the same kind of things about Ted Cruz over and over and over again. I've said many of the same things, not quite with the same verve and energy, about Mike Lee.
I've said roaringly good, positive things about Rick Perry over the years. So I've not endorsed anybody.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here's Josh in Decatur, Alabama. Josh, we're not gonna get you all in in this segment. We're gonna get you started though. What's up?
CALLER: Hey, Rush, it's really a pleasure. I've been listening to you for 15 years.
RUSH: Great to have you with us, my buddy, how are you?
CALLER: You're the man, and I know you said you didn't endorse him, quote, unquote, but you've all but endorsed Walker. And I just gotta ask, I'm in the tank for Cruz. I told Snerdley I'm a Cruz seminar caller, but what about Walker on Common Core and amnesty?
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: What's your take on that? Because he's squishy about that.
RUSH: This is why I haven't endorsed Walker and I didn't say he's perfect and I did not get into anything specifically policy. He beat the left by being conservative and fearless and taking them on and not trying to become a partial liberal. He didn't do it by being cooperative and working together with them. He's not perfect, and that's why I didn't endorse him. I haven't endorsed anybody. Now, hang on out there, Josh. Don't go away.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Back to Josh in Decatur, Alabama. You were very bold, Josh, unabashed Ted Cruz seminar caller.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Now, how long have you been listening to the program? Years?
CALLER: About 15 years.
RUSH: Okay, then you have heard me rave and rave about Ted Cruz, have you not?
CALLER: Yes. Yes. And I totally agree Walker makes a very compelling case, but --
RUSH: What Walker does is supply a blueprint.
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: And so does Ted Cruz, but Ted Cruz doesn't --
CALLER: Is it the governor thing? Is that what it is?
RUSH: No, well, partially it's a governor thing, but look, Cruz has won his own battles, and he's fearless. He does not back down from either --
CALLER: He never wavers.
RUSH: Nope. Doesn't waver. And if you're gonna have a conservative scorecard, he's gonna probably be a hundred percent on the thing when it comes to anything you care about: amnesty, social issues, you name it, Cruz is gonna be right there. I would love if Ted Cruz be elected president. But Walker has been, for the most part, laboring in obscurity, despite all his success. I think probably, of all Republican candidates outside of presidential campaigns, Scott Walker has had more thrown at him consistently than any Republican out there and has not --
CALLER: He slayed the dragon, I give you that. He totally slayed the union dragon, no question.
RUSH: Now, stick with me here. 'Cause you're gonna end up happy here, Josh, and I know that's why you called. You feel let down by your radio show today, and I'm not gonna let you hang up here having that be your lingering thought as you head into the rest of the day.
CALLER: Oh, that would not --
RUSH: I'm gonna tell you why I think -- you want boldness, you want honesty, you want to know why Fox News did a segments on me touting Scott Walker, why do you think they did it?
CALLER: I don't know. You tell me.
RUSH: You said it. You said it in your opening criticism of me. Or your, not criticism, but your complaint --
CALLER: They want an endorsement.
RUSH: No. It's immigration. They touted me touting Walker because that puts me touting a guy who is not quite an open borders guy, but he's not really opposed to doing this amnesty for the illegals already here. He's really good on closing the border, he's excellent on border security, but he's also got a position here on Obama's executive amnesty that bothers some people. He's certainly not as solid on that as your guy Ted Cruz is.
CALLER: And Cruz is a rock star. You talk about great with a speech. I mean, did you hear Cruz's speech at Iowa?
RUSH: Yeah. It was great, too. Every speech Cruz gives is great. But the Republican Party is as afraid of Cruz as they were Palin.
CALLER: Yeah? I think Walker is a little dry, so that's another --
RUSH: See, this is --
CALLER: I'll take Walker as the VP.
RUSH: Well -- (laughing) -- that's magnanimous of you. Now, that's the kind of compromise this party needs. I'll take my amnesty guy on the veep side but I don't want him getting the big show. I gotcha on that. Josh, thanks for the call. Appreciate it. Look, I'm under no illusions here. Let's be frank. Cable news can highlight things that I say every night if they wanted to. I mean, let's call it what it is. It's not that something happens here that's so unique it's newsworthy, 'cause everything that happens here is newsworthy, but I'm not under any illusions here.
The Republican establishment is pro-amnesty, there's no question about it. And if you look at Scott Walker, that would be the one area where people would have red flags going up. And so here comes Fox News, "Hey, man, Walker, big bump from Rush Limbaugh. Does that matter?" "Oh, yeah, that could be exactly what he needs, big push, big push." With Dr. Krauthammer and O'Reilly both agreeing. And it's right in there, one of the reasons I'm convinced -- I could be wrong. It doesn't matter either way. Don't anybody tell anybody I'm mad about anything. I'm not mad. I don't get mad over things like this. It's not useful. To me it's fascinating.
But I think that's one of the reasons why all of a sudden I'm not an albatross. All of a sudden I'm not a problem for the Republicans. All of a sudden, why, the Republicans are happy with a positive mention from me all of a sudden, in this case -- (interruption) You think I've got a point on this, Mr. Snerdley? (interruption) Absolutely, there's no question about it. It doesn't diminish anything I said about Scott Walker, but I'm glad old Josh called here because I made it clear as I can that I'm not endorsing anybody.
Look, folks, I am a combination mad, ticked off, and frustrated like you can't believe of being led everywhere we look in this country by a minority. The left is a functioning minority in this country, and I'm sick and tired of our side being afraid of it. I'm tired of our side afraid to stand up for what they know and really believe. I'm tired of our side unwilling to stand up and show this contrast and draw this great distinction that exists between us. I'm so fed up with this belief that we have got to join amnesty in order to win. I'm fed up with all of this, "We were not elected to stop Obama, but rather to make Washington work." All of this stuff just frustrates and angers me to no end.
Now, coming here and being mad and frustrated every day, nobody wants to hear that. But with Scott Walker, and my whole point has been ever since I've been touting the guy, "There's the blueprint on how to beat 'em back." It was a governor's race. I do not know to what extent immigration, illegal immigration, amnesty factored in the campaign. What I do know is that Scott Walker was personally targeted on education and unions. They tried to destroy him every which way possible. We want winners, do we not? They keep talking about these same moderate Northeastern Republicans that the donor class likes to get behind, but they don't win. It'd be great if they did, but they don't win.
McCain didn't win, Romney didn't win, and they're not going to. They may be fine men, probably are. Romney, I don't think you could find a more solid citizen. But Romney -- I'll give you a classic example -- all of a sudden found it necessary earlier this week or last week to publicly announce that he has now changed his mind on global warming, and he's one of the people now that believes man is negatively impacting, destroying the climate. Why would you do that? Who in the hell are you trying to get votes from by doing that?
We're not gonna win by trying to siphon off liberals. You know where that thinking comes from? It comes from the idea that we are second class. It comes from the defensive posture that the minority in this country actually is the majority. These people must think that the left and the Democrat Party are the majority of everything and we're gonna have to get some of those people if we're gonna win. And the only way to get some of those people is to say a couple things that they agree with. We can't be totally different. We don't have a prayer. And that just totally misses the boat and it is not an accurate picture of reality.
Presidential turnouts are what they are. You can't deny Obama's last two election victories, but you can explain why Romney lost this second one. Let me put this way. Romney had a far better chance of beating Obama in '12 that McCain ever did in '08, and squandered it. Obama could have been defeated. The 2010 turnout, the 2014 turnout, those midterm election turnouts, it is clear where the people who care enough in this country to show up and vote, stand. It's not with the Democrat Party, and it's not with Obama, and it's not with his agenda. It's not people who want to work with that agenda and activate, implement, maybe a little of it here and a little of it there.
People want Obamacare gotten rid of. They want no amnesty, particularly by virtue of executive order. They revere the Constitution and they want it revered by the people who are elected as stewards. They don't want dictators or authoritarians. They don't want people who are gonna reach and grab for far more executive power than is permitted. They want -- and this the vast majority of people in this country, if presented -- and this is the point. Walker presented a total contrast in a blue state and won three times.
Look, I'm gonna stop mentioning this because it's gonna start irritating those of you who hear it all the time, but you do have to say things over and over again sometimes for them to make an imprint on people. I'm telling you, the point with me about Scott Walker, he's the blueprint. That's how it's done. It shows it can be done, by the way. Not just how, but here it works. And I don't think he's a dryball like everybody's trying to intimate with this business, "Hey, where'd this guy go to get a charisma transplant?"
It's gonna be an interesting campaign from a lot of standpoints, but I tell you what it's gonna boil down to, and this is gonna be a real challenge, I think, for people. For people like Josh. The perfect candidate doesn't exist. There isn't a single Republican who scores 100 on everything. Right? There are single issue crowds out there. Every issue has their single-issue people in there, and no matter what candidate you nominate, there's gonna be a constituency group that isn't gonna like him or her.
Now, normally it is the left that gets everybody in trouble in their pursuit of perfection. Now, the left believes that people can be perfected and that institutions can be perfected, and that businesses can be perfected. That is the root of their major evil and problem, this endless quest for perfection when it's simply impossible. But, by the same token, people on the right, conservatives, Republicans, whatever, by the same token, demand a perfect candidate in terms of this issue, that issue, and I don't think that candidate exists. So there's gonna be fallout during any kind of a primary and a campaign.
Anyway, I'm a little long. I have to take a break. We're gonna be developing all of these theories as the days unfold. We've by no means gotten to the end of any of it.
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RUSH: Now, just one more thing on this Scott Walker business, just so nobody misunderstands, because I am totally into being a top-notch professional communicator. It was I, on this program, who explained over and over again, detail after detail about 529 and Obama's plans to cancel the tax cut for the middle class in it. And they canceled it. By the same token, folks, the Republican Party, the RNC, Republican National Committee, Republican consultants, you name it, nobody in Republican Party officialdom was touting what Scott Walker had done. And I thought it needed to be touted.
I thought it was phenomenal and I thought it was crucial that people know it. Do you realize how many Republicans there are, voters, who are depressed thinking we can't win 'cause the deck is so stacked against us? The media, Hollywood, music, books, TV shows, the news, wherever you turn the left dominates it, the campus, the academy. They think we can't win. They're depressed. They're down in the dumps.
The Republican Party's not out there saying, "Yes, we can win. Look at our guy in Wisconsin." So I decided to do it, plain and simple. I think people needed to know. I still think it's phenomenal what he did. It didn't even become a factor until he finally shows up and speaks outside Wisconsin at this conservative confab in Iowa last Saturday. However it happened is fine and dandy with me. I just think you needed to know.
I think people need to know they can be beat. I think people need to know there's a way to beat Democrats. There's a way to beat the left. It's called conservatism. It works most every time it's tried on the national stage.
No, but he has asked the Mexican government to establish a consulate in the state.
An interesting little tidbit from the article:
“Walker pointed out in his letters that Mexico is the second-largest export market for the state with $2.2 billion in products sent to Mexico.
For the last 23 years the state also has had a sister state relationship with the Mexican state of Jalisco, he said.”
There is pressure from both the Chamber of Commerce in WI and the farmers who employ Mexicans. Being that Walker is mainly focused on fiscal issues I think his comment about Mexico being the second largest export market for WI is interesting.
Walker has been all over the map with his statements about immigration and the border issue. Enough to make me nervous about him.
Rush is himself very much a Johnny-come-lately on the illegal immigration issue and has never owned up to his previous completely mistaken stance on it.
I’m here in Wisconsin and I keep hearing how conservative Walker is. Walker is establishment/GOPe.
“It’s all is about the 11 million [undocumented immigrants],” Walker said. “You hear some people talk about border security and a wall and all that. To me, I don’t know that you need any of that if you had a better, saner way to let people into the country in the first place.”
Walker added: “If people want to come here and work hard in this country, I don’t care if you come from Mexico or Canada or Ireland or Germany or South Africa or anywhere else. I want them here.”
I think people put too much faith in Rush. He is an entertainer.
I’m sick of talk radio.
Rush: “But the Republican Party is as afraid of Cruz as they were Palin.”
He’s saying Cruz has as much chanced as Palin. Which in Rush’s mind is zero.
Rush “hasn’t endorsed anyone yet” but he sure does talk down the most conservative candidates. Never fails.
When Rush says “But the Republican Party is as afraid of Cruz as they were Palin,” he’s planting the seed of doubt. This is stealth but very powerful, and Rush knows it.
I don’t know what motivates Rush other than money and fame, but it sure isn’t conservatism. At the most critical moments he campaigns against conservatism.
Rush had me fooled during the Bush years. Partly because he speaks against the Republican establishment. But he’s the establishment’s most powerful weapon.
I hope you're wrong.
If you're right, what that tells me is that Ted puts himself above the good of the country, which, BTW, is consistent with a number of Cruz's supporters right here on FR.
It's a damned sorry state of affairs when the the "Conservative Movement's" idea of a political philosophers is a former rock'n'roll DJ.
Tea party favorite Ben Carson has said some out-there stuff. The former neurosurgeon, author, and possible Republican presidential candidate once compared women who get abortions to dog-abuser Michael Vick, blamed the decline and fall of the Roman Empire on gay marriage, and concluded that believing in evolution was like thinking that “a hurricane blowing through a junkyard could somehow assemble a fully equipped and flight-ready 747.”
But in his writings and public remarks, he has also voiced views on hot-button issues—immigration, foreign policy, gun control—that place him well outside the tea-party mainstream. He once embraced a universal catastrophic health care plan, and some of his other past positions—gasp!—sound downright liberal. Here are some of the comments that may put him at odds with the conservative GOP base.
Stop the deportations:
Even today we exploit our fellow human beings for work. Is it moral for us, for example, to take advantage of cheap labor from illegal immigrants while denying them citizenship? I’m sure you can tell from the way I phrased the question that I believe we have taken the moral low road on this issue. Some segments of our economy would virtually collapse without these undocumented workers—we all know that—yet we continue to harass and deport many individuals who are simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families. (From his 2012 book, America the Beautiful.)
Occupy Wall Street:
[J]ust because people control our markets’ financial instruments, they should not be able to personally benefit by manipulating those instruments to their advantage. Many of these people suffer from the same entitlement mentality seen in poor people who are always looking for a government handout. These Wall Street moguls and corporate executives actually think that what they do is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, even though in many cases they are simply moving money around, producing nothing. (From his 2014 book, One Nation.)
Elizabeth Warren was right about everything:
The stock market crash of 1929 exacted a severe toll on the people of our nation and our legislators realized, in hindsight, that some of our banking and investment policies had contributed to the crash. Several laws were crafted, including the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking activities. Sixty to seventy years later we forgot about many of the horrors of those difficult financial times as well as the reasons why we imposed appropriate regulation on speculative financial activity involving private resources. (From One Nation.)
Make alternative fuels, not war:
Whether America’s ensuing steps into war in Afghanistan and Iraq will be seen as positive or negative remains to be seen, but I can’t help thinking there may have been a better way to react that would not have cost us so many lives and financial capital. I believe that if the president had seized the moment and declared that we would become petroleum independent within the next ten years as part of our effort to strip terrorism of its resources, that business, industry, academia, and everyone else would have been foursquare behind him, and we would have been much further ahead in the fight against terrorism than we are today...an enormous number of jobs likely would have been created in the process of switching over to a new energy source, and Wall Street would have been booming; third, the environmentalists would have been ecstatic; and fourth, but most importantly, the terrorists would have been deprived of much needed funding, which would have gradually strangled their efforts. (From America the Beautiful.)
(Of note: Carson’s argument is nearly identical to that of Thomas Friedman, who has repeatedly chided Bush for not using the moment of national unity after 9/11 to adopt a 10-year plan for energy independence, arguing that it would “dry up revenue for terrorists,” create jobs, and inspire young people.)
A federal stimulus for green technologies:
Providing appropriate incentives to the American people should result in a plethora of ideas and inventions to solve our energy problems. Can you imagine the amount of hydroelectric power alone that is available to us, situated as we are between two oceans? We simply need to invent efficient and inexpensive ways to harness that energy. (From America the Beautiful.)
Yes, pull the plug on grandma:
Our mind-set is to automatically pull out all medical stops—even if that means literally torturing loved ones during their last few months of life. What if rather than always putting terminally ill patients in intensive care units—where we poke, prod, test, and operate ad nauseum—we allowed most people the dignity of dying in relative peace and comfort, at home, surrounded by loved ones, with hospice care or some other medical attendant if necessary? Agreement on who should be treated and who should not be treated would require an extensive national discussion that could hopefully result in some helpful basic guidelines. Obviously any such guidelines should allow for flexibility and choice. And decisions should be based not merely on age but on the viability of the patient. (From his 1999 book, The Big Picture.)
People don’t kill people, handguns kill people:
I realize that some feel the United States and other world powers with nuclear weapons have no right to declare that others cannot have them. On the surface this seems like a fair argument, but can you imagine how many deaths would occur if everyone were given a handgun? Perhaps it would be fair to give everyone a handgun, but it certainly would not be wise. (From America the Beautiful.)
People don’t kill people, assault rifles kill people:
“It depends on where you live, I think. If you live in the midst of a lot of people and I’m afraid that that semi-automatic weapon is going to fall into the hands of a crazy person, I would rather you not have it. If you live out in the country somewhere by yourself, I have no problem.” (In an interview with Glenn Beck)
These ideas don’t seem to be the kind of red meat Iowa Republicans are clamoring for—and Carson is already beginning to walk a few of them back, emphasizing his love of the Second Amendment on a recent swing to the Hawkeye State. It will be interesting to see if Carson talks about them while courting tea partiers in the Hawkeye State.
Yep. And that's why Rush is boosting him. He's provably dangerous to the Democrat Party!
Thanks for pointing it out.
Motivates??? Stealth?
It’s a true statement.
Anyone can see that.
Something is amiss with your logic.
You are right. Ben is not ready, nor will he ever be. But he has it right about evolution.
I heard Walker’s speech, most of it. He said some good things. However, it sounded focus-group tested and contrived. I don’t think he will be a big seller. I don’t believe that Walker has what it takes to defeat Romney. Bob
That’s disappointing news about Walker. I hadn’t heard any of this about his stance on illegals.
He’s been so great against the Democrats there I’m at least willing to see if he will back of such comments.
I like Cruz a lot but the fact of the matter is he’s a Senator not a Governor. We need a person with executive experience and I don’t care that he’s not the most flashy charismatic candidate. I’d rather someone get in there and get the job done, not impress me with speeches of how he’ll do it. There’s a lot of hard work to be done, not a lot of speeches to give.
Of course Cruz is better than Christie or Bush or Romney, no question my vote goes to Cruz over those guys. And now it might go to Cruz over Walker too, if he doesnt roll back off the comments you linked to. But for the reasons I elucidated earlier I think he needs to be given such consideration. Especially if it looks like Cruz has no chance and its Walker or the other three CINO’s I mentioned. I’d hope everyone here would see that clear choice at least. And not play the favorites game that got us McCain and then Romney.
” Just FYI, for years, Rush pooh-poohed the threat of illegal immigration, parroting the US CofC line that it was “...the sign of a booming economy.”
Rush is himself very much a Johnny-come-lately on the illegal immigration issue and has never owned up to his previous completely mistaken stance on it. “
I was thinking exactly the same thing about Rush the other day, when he was boosting Walker.
Do you not think he’s planting seeds of doubt?
What tasks great or small would Cruz be unable to accomplish as president, simply because he hasn’t been governor?
Without answering this question, one cannot rightly say Cruz wouldn’t be as good a president as any given governor.
I’m just saying it seems like a good idea to me to go with someone who has proven a track record governing over one that has no such record. All things being equal.
The quotes I’ve been provided by Walker seem to change the analysis though. Clearly if he sticks to that viewpoint, that border security is useless and we should just make everyone legal, if he sticks to that and doesn’t recant it then the choice is clear: Cruz all the way.
Again, let’s not get caught up in the “my guy is best” mentality that stuck us with Romney. I’m willing to go with Cruz first if Walker doesn’t clearly recant from such a ludicrous proposal. Are you willing to support Walker if he recants and leads over Cruz?
What if Walker doesn’t recant, but is still strong against Bush, Christie et al? Are we going to say he’s just as bad as them just because his immigration stance is abysmal?
All I’m saying is we should fight tooth and nail for either man, whoever has the greatest momentum against the GOP anointed one. If both are equal, then Cruz should get the support unless Walker clearly recants his position.
No! He’s not....
Doubt about who....what?
He has had nothing but good things to say about Cruz.
You are totally misreading what he said about Palin and Cruz.
They are feared and disliked by the party! They are both tea party favorites and for that reason alone the GOP fears them.
You have mischaracterized Rush’s comments, as so many do...
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