RUSH: The establishment’s out there going nuts, folks, thinking that they have made a giant recovery here.

But at the end of the day, what do we have? We have Rubio. We have Ted Cruz. And I’m gonna throw Ben Carson in because this is a crucial point. We have two genuine disciples of Ronald Reagan in the top three places in Iowa. We have a very strong outsider in Donald Trump, who is showing the way in illustrating how to oppose the establishment and what not to be afraid of. And then we’ve got Ben Carson. And I would have to say Ben Carson is a disciple of Ronald Reagan. When I listen to Ben Carson talk, I hear Reaganisms.

I know I hear them when I listen to Cruz, and Cruz openly admits he’s a Reaganite. Ditto with Marco Rubio. So three of the top four finishers last night are Reagan disciples with a party that is urging — its establishment is urging — that we get rid of “the Reagan fetish,” that we finally realize “the era of Reagan is over.” It isn’t. It’s the salvation! We have tried it the establishment’s way I don’t know how many years starting back in Bill Clinton’s era. We have tried it with the Northeasterner moderates. I mean, we even nominated a nice guy, Mitt Romney.

We nominated a guy who was the architect of Obamacare on the premise that we’re gonna repeal Obamacare. It was… This is one of those things Saturday Night Live makes jokes about. Sixty percent of the Republican vote in Iowa last night went for two Hispanics and an African-American, and 100% of the Democrat vote went for a couple of tired, old, decrepit white people.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I got a couple of Cruz sound bites I want to get into here and another point that I want to emphasize. These sound bites will help me transition to it. This is Cruz in New Hampshire talking about Ronald Reagan. I think this is huge. I think the outcome last night in Iowa and who won and how and what it all means is really important to note. First of two sound bites from Ted Cruz, already back in New Hampshire on the campaign trail for the primary there one week from today.

CRUZ: When was the last time we broke the Washington cartel? 1980. Thirty-six years ago. And, I’ll tell you, the Granite State played a critical role in making that happen. You know, back in 1980, all the media said, “This guy, Reagan, he’s a crazy right-wing kook. He’s too extreme. And, by the way, he’s really down in the polls.” That’s what the media said over and over again.

RUSH: And they did. For people that experienced Reagan, he was a two landslide victory president and the memories of Reagan are of a dominant and adored, respected president, but in the campaign of 1976 and the campaign of 1980, it was down and dirty. And the Republican establishment was anti-Reagan at every turn, and the media was, and Reagan was every bit as despised by the media as George W. Bush has been despised by the media, albeit for the different reasons.

The point is, it wasn’t a cakewalk. Even though Reagan captivated a majority of the American people, he was loved and adored, supported, landslide wins, it did not convert the media. It did not change the way the media reported. In fact, it angered them even more that they had has been rebuffed by the voters. They were brutal times, just like the period with George W. Bush as well. Here’s more from Cruz.

CRUZ: But, you know what?

RUSH: What?

CRUZ: Live Free or Die State took a look at Reagan and said, that guy believes what he’s saying. He’s not reading from talking points. He doesn’t have a consultant who said, “Okay, go pretend you’re for this.” He’s speaking from the heart. He means what he says. He tells the truth, and he’s gonna do exactly what he says. And the Granite State shocked this country by giving Reagan the victory, and literally the men and women of New Hampshire changed the course of history of America and of the world.

RUSH: And clearly Cruz is attempting to claim the mantle of Reagan in New Hampshire. Now, here’s the thing about it, if you look at what happened in Iowa, there was new voter registration in Iowa, there was a record Republican turnout in Iowa, and it was of the Republican base. It was conservatives who made up the new turnout. It was conservatives who created that record voter turnout and voter registration in New Hampshire. It’s the Republican base that is growing.

Nobody is gonna talk to you about that today. Nobody is going to acknowledge that today. They’re gonna diminish Cruz’s win as at the hands of a bunch of crazy Christians. And it’s no surprise it’s Iowa. I mean, look at who Iowa selected the last time, Santorum, and before him, Reverend Huckabee, or what have you. So they’re gonna do their best to diminish what Cruz did ’cause it was the pro-lifers. But that’s Iowa, and now New Hampshire. We’re moving on into Libertarian territory, they’ll say, and that’s a one-off. But it’s not.

Again, three of the top four finishers genuinely said to be descendants of Ronaldus Magnus: Cruz, Rubio, and I’m gonna throw Dr. Carson in there. Dr. Carson exemplifies the conservatism of Reagan, and while the Republican Party is doing its best still to convince everybody to get rid of this Reagan fetish, is the latest terminology, having replaced “the era of Reagan is over.” But the Republican base is growing, it is a conservative base, it is growing because the establishment insider elites of the Republican Party are not doing their job, that’s why this growth is taking place.

For all of the sighs of relief that there no doubt were in the sanctity of the sectors of the establishment last night, there were as many gulps because Ted Cruz was the winner.