![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/To-The-Phones-bullhorn.jpg\"\/)
RUSH: Oh.<\/p>\n
CALLER: — I think that\u2019s a huge part of it, but I think that —<\/p>\n
RUSH: That I\u2019m a racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe —<\/p>\n
CALLER: No, absolutely not.<\/p>\n
RUSH: No, but they think that. They arrive here thinking that, so they listen to the program with that thought, or those thoughts, so they\u2019re then not able to really hear what I am saying.<\/p>\n
CALLER: But there\u2019s one difference here. Let\u2019s compare you, in essence, to Karl Rove. You do not have an agenda. Karl Rove has an agenda. There\u2019s a big difference there. And if the audience realizes that, again, all sides of the aisle, you\u2019re not a guy that\u2019s out here to benefit in any way because you want power, because you want political prestige. You\u2019re gonna make the same kind of money you get because, in essence, there\u2019s kind of an entertainment factor to it, but it\u2019s massively informative. And that\u2019s all it is. Guys like Karl Rove, they\u2019re pushing an agenda, period. That\u2019s what they want; that\u2019s what they see the country as, it\u2019s their way or the highway and they will absolutely look to defraud anybody who is not of their same thought process.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Okay. I get what you mean. I know what you mean. A lot of people would think I have an agenda, which I actually do have an agenda, but my agenda is within the framework of the business I\u2019m in, which is broadcasting. My agenda or definition of success is wholly contained within the bounds of broadcasting, not politics, and you\u2019re comparing me to people like Rove who have a political agenda that they need to succeed before they can be seen as successful. <\/p>\n
Now, I get your point. Whereas, my agenda does not require somebody to win an election in order for me to be successful. But I\u2019ve set it up that way. I was the first to tell people, my success doesn\u2019t depend on who wins elections, \u2019cause I can\u2019t the control that. But I do have an agenda deconstructing the left, informing people what liberalism is, how to spot it, who liberals are, and all that, but still within the confines of the business that I\u2019m in, in broadcasting. Well, look, I appreciate that. I think I know what you mean. People listen but don\u2019t hear. <\/p>\n
I think that describes a lot of people, which is why I\u2019ve had a change in philosophy about this program, and I\u2019ve had to beg your indulgence with it, those of you who listen regularly. It used to be — and this is strictly a performance belief — once you do something, you\u2019ve done it, don\u2019t do it again. Don\u2019t be repetitive in that sense because it looks like you\u2019re out of material or you\u2019re phoning it in or whatever. <\/p>\n
So if I did something that was funny or made a good point, I would never do it again to avoid the criticism of phoning it in. But I\u2019ve changed that for a lot of reasons. I will repeat points that I have made, because I now know that sometimes people have to hear things multiple times before they get it. And not everybody listens all the time. So there are these constant modifications made within the bounds of the business I\u2019m in that determine how I do this. And you are very shrewd and clever to make the distinction of listening and hearing. I do appreciate it. Thanks very much. <\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: Boy, has the email been something today. I mean, it comes in here in droves. I would be embarrassed to tell you how many emails. I just hunt and peck. I scan subject lines. I mean, I can\u2019t possibly read it all, and the stuff that I have found today is just over the top in-depth. The email address is ElRushbo@eibnet.us. <\/p>\n
Listen to this one. This is about a guy — and I\u2019m stunned by this. I am stunned at this. This email is in regard to the guy who called about a half hour ago who told me that he\u2019s been a listener, solid listener for the last, what, eight or nine years, or five or six, whatever it was, and he thinks a lot of people listen, but not enough really hear. He was talking about the difference in listening and hearing and how people ought to make a greater effort to actually hear. <\/p>\n
“The two are not inconsistent. That is, while your goal is broadcast success, you would never betray your principles or your audience to achieve it, and you don\u2019t have to anyway. But what I think this caller was saying is, you might have an agenda both in broadcast ratings and in pushing the political ideas you believe in, but you can be trusted because you don\u2019t have a personal political agenda. Yours is philosophical. You care about the country, but your income doesn\u2019t depend on you tailoring your message to advocate a certain viewpoint. You\u2019re not a political hack, in other words. <\/p>\n “You are a above that fray and thus your audience trusts your sincerity but outside-the-box commentary and analysis. The outside-the-box observation is one of the most insightful things he said because he\u2019s saying that you are free because of your unique position and your character actually to think and comment freely, thus you see things that others with conflicts of interest and agendas don\u2019t see, and you benefit your audience uniquely by sharing them. Hell, I understand what the guy was saying better than even he does.” (laughing)<\/p>\n Now, that is deep. And that\u2019s from a listener. He ends by saying: “You say you know Trump. Well, I know you.” That\u2019s how he ends it. Look, I don\u2019t want to go through all that point by point, but there\u2019s a lot of truth in that. The primary thing I think he\u2019s concerned about, he thinks that when I tell you that my interests and success here have to do within the broadcast community, he thinks that you might think that I will do whatever it takes to achieve broadcast success, even say things I don\u2019t believe. And he doesn\u2019t want people to get that impression. Which I have addressed countless, countless times here. <\/p>\n You know, I\u2019ve often said that this program is a combination of two things that you don\u2019t see anywhere else. One is the serious, honest, in-depth discussion of ideas combined with off-the-wall, irreverent humor, satire, and parody, both sides with credibility. And you don\u2019t find this. For example, the old Nightline days. If Ted Koppel opened his show with a joke monologue people would say, “What is this? That\u2019s not why I\u2019m tuned in here,” and you\u2019d be nervous.<\/p>\n If Johnny Carson ever threw the monolog out and really did nothing but tell you what he thinks about things you\u2019d think you\u2019re watching ESPN and you\u2019d cancel your subscription. ESPN\u2019s a good example. They can\u2019t do both. They\u2019re trying to combine sports with their ultra-left-wing radicalism, and it isn\u2019t working. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" RUSH: Michael in New York City. Welcome. Great to have you with us, sir. Hi. CALLER: Hi, Rush. I want to say thank you again for taking my call. It\u2019s been a pleasure. I\u2019ve been listening for years, and the one thing I realized over the last year is that I actually started to hear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/00-Golden-Mic-Era-of-Limbaugh-b.jpg\"\/)