RUSH: Let’s turn to Rick Perry. Rick Perry went in and was fingerprinted and mug shotted yesterday on this silly indictment for executing a constitutional power the governor in Texas has, line-item veto. Tom DeLay was also indicted by the Travis County DA and has had some very interesting things to say about this, because of an old, old Texas controversy. DeLay eventually had the whole thing thrown out after nine years.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time rehashing this, but the Democrats were going after DeLay for the longest time because he was the Republican whip in the House. He was called the Hammer because he got the votes for Newt and the Republican leadership. He was able to keep that caucus unified and in line. He whipped the votes, and he did a great job of it. The Democrats hated him because he was effective. They hated him because he was an exterminator before getting into Congress. He was not a political professional. He got rid of bugs, like the Orkin man. And he was so fed up that he got into politics and rises to the third highest position in the Republican leadership.

Well, the Republicans, as they so often do, decided to show the Democrats and the country how high-minded they were and how above the fray they could be, and how evenhanded and how decent. Because, of course, the Republicans are always racists, sexists, bigots, homophobes and what have you. They’re mean-spirited extremists that do nothing but hate. And so the Republicans, always eager to show everybody that none of that is true, instituted a rule which said if any of the leadership were ever under indictment they would be forced to resign.

The Democrats have no such rule. That kind of thing is a resume enhancement in the Democrat Party. But the Republicans were trying to illustrate how aboveboard they all are, and how decent and so forth. And the Democrats, “Is that all we gotta do? Just indict this guy for something and he’s gotta go? We can’t beat him at the ballot box, so the Republicans are gonna tell us how we can get rid of him?” Yep. And so they found, what was it, three, Ronnie Earle, they had to go through three grand juries before they would indict DeLay. I mean, it was so preposterous. But Ronnie Earle, the DA at the time, finally found enough grand jury members that would give him an indictment, and DeLay had to step down.

He was in the weeds on this for nine years, I think. Well, the same Travis County DA indicted Rick Perry for exercising the line-item veto. The veto denied funding to the Travis County office. Rick Perry had seen videotape of this female, Lehmberg is her name, the DA got caught driving drunk three times the legal limit and the videotape of her arraignment is one for the ages. I mean, the woman is just wild-eyed hammered and threatening. They had to put a spit rag on her. Have you ever heard — Dawn, you probably know what a spit rag is, much time as you spend in jails. (laughing)

Anyway, a spit rag is a mask. It’s kind of like a gag that is over the mouth and the nose because the suspect is so angry and out of control that they’re spitting on everybody. So they put the spit rag on her. They put her in a wheelchair and strapped her into it, and she was still going bananas. And Rick Perry said (paraphrasing), “I think Texans deserve better. I’m not gonna fund this office with somebody like that running it. This is absurd.” So this was pay back, the indictment of Rick Perry.

What I was gonna say is, because of an age-old Texas gripe, long ago, it’s a long story, but long ago there was another governor that was legitimately behaving way, way outside the bounds, and it was decided that this particular DA’s office could indict statewide officials, not just people inside the county, and that has been the case ever since. I mean, for decades. It’s just a quirk of Texas jurisprudence.

So, anyway, they indict Perry for exercising this veto. He’s responded to it extremely well, but he’s always gonna have the word “indicted” now in every headline, and he’s gonna have a mug shot in every story, although I don’t think he will. I don’t think he will. Because he’s learned there are ways to do mug shots. The way to do a mug shot is to make it look like an official portrait. You go in there dressed well and you smile. You smile and you look happy, and the media will not use it, particularly if you look good.

Now, the female, the drunk-beyond-control DA of Travis County, her mug shot looks like you would think a mug shot of a perp looks. I mean, it’s not flattering. But Perry’s looks like GQ. So they won’t use it. Very, very smart on Perry’s part, to smile. It just looks like an official state portrait, his mug shot. So it won’t be. But the word “indictment” will be in there.

So now the headlines are already out there. “Four of the top presidential hopefuls are now involved in legal scandals.” Yes, NBC had the story yesterday. It’s Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Rick Perry, and I forgot who the fourth is. But the Democrats got what they wanted. They got Rick Perry indicted. They get the word “indictment” in every story. So he shows up to be fingerprinted and to get his mug shot, and before he was booked he held a press conference and spoke about the charges. We have two sound bites. Here’s the first.

PERRY: I’m here today because I did the right thing. (cheers and applause) I’m gonna enter this courthouse with my head held high knowing the actions that I took were not only lawful and legal, but right. (cheers and applause) And if I had to do so, I would veto funding for the Public Integrity Unit again.

RUSH: He wasn’t finished.

PERRY: This indictment is nothing short of an attack on the constitutional powers of the office of governor. There are important fundamental issues at stake, and I will not allow this attack on our system of government to stand. (Cheers and applause) I’m gonna fight this injustice with every fiber of my being and we will prevail. (cheers and applause) And we’ll prevail because we’re standing for the rule of law. (cheers and applause)

RUSH: Now, for whatever it’s worth, there are a lot of Democrats who are joining the chorus of people who think this was really, really, really botched. That the Texas Travis County DA just really overstepped. Not a lot, but there are a few, and they’ve shown up on Fox, and they have said so. Now, the indictment, Perry was technically indicted for exceeding his executive powers.

I find it fascinating that nobody in the Drive-Bys sees the irony. I mean, here you have Obama, who really has exceeded his executive powers countless times, waiving Obamacare all those times, adding things to it, executive orders. You talk about something who has exceeded his executive power, it’s Barack Obama hands down and everybody knows it, everybody agrees. Just nobody wants to do anything about it. Perry went off, got ice cream after he was mug shotted and fingerprinted.

Here’s Chris Christie, you gotta hear this. This was yesterday, Long Branch, New Jersey. Governor Christie held a town hall event. Now, this is part and parcel of what I am talking about. There was a woman in the audience at the town hall meeting holding up a sign that said, “Indict.” This is what the Democrats want. They got the picture. Here’s a town hall meeting and the cameras record some stupid idiot standing there with a sign that says, “Indict.” Because like I said yesterday, the Democrat Party, Obama, is all about eliminating the opposition. That’s what is going on, criminalizing the opposition.

So an unidentified woman, during the Q&A at the Chris Christie town hall… Get this question. She said, “I thought that Bruce Springsteen asked that none of his music be played at your events because he doesn’t believe in your politics. Is that true? I thought Springsteen said that you couldn’t play any of his music.”

CHRISTIE: No.

WOMAN: I heard —

CHRISTIE: He never did that. No, you’re wrong. In fact, I saw Bruce just a week and a half ago. If you’re gonna be cute, we should get the story right. Listen, I know him and you’re wrong, and I understand you’re now expressing your politics.

WOMAN: My neighbor —

CHRISTIE: You’re now expressing your politics and your objection, and that’s fine.

WOMAN: No.

CHRISTIE: Don’t put it in Mr. Springsteen’s mouth. Put it in yours, ’cause I know Bruce, and I’ve spoken to Bruce, and you’re wrong.

RUSH: Oooookay. So, back to Springsteen. This is how you hurt Christie. You know, Chris Christie loves this guy Springsteen. He just loves and idolizes him. I mean, the most exciting day in his life — he said this — is when Obama put Springsteen on the phone after hurricane whatever it was up there. Yeah. Hurricane Sandy.

You know, Obama and Christie were doing the moonwalk there on the beach, and they’re getting together “for one and ever” and solve all the problems — yip yip yip yip yahoo — one week before the election, and Obama puts Springsteen on phone and Christie almost starts crying. He was (sobbing), “Oh, my God, Bruce Springsteen! Oh, jeez, my hero! Ohhh, I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it!”

And then Springsteen made a joke on a late-night comedy show making fun of Christie over Bridgegate and hurt Christie’s feelings. (sobbing) “Oh, gee, I thought the guy liked me! I thought we were best buds now,” blah, blah, blah, blah. So now they’re going at Christie, holding up a sign that says, “indict.”

And then hit him with, “By the way, I thought Bruce said he didn’t like your politics and you can’t play his songs.” They’ve reduced Christie here to, “Oh, no, no! I know Bruce. I know Bruce likes me. I like Bruce. No, no, no! You’re just wrong. You’re just wrong. Bruce… Bruce… I just spoke to Bruce last week! Bruce and I are cool!”