{"id":22149,"date":"2004-09-01T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T07:05:17","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T07:05:17","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T07:05:17","slug":"why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CALLER: Rugged individualism that you were saying that only I can do that. I can\u2019t rely on other people. I can\u2019t depend on the government or depend on somebody doing it for me. I had to be the one that paid for any college. I had to be the one that studied, and you\u2019re the one that gave me that message and hammered it home.<\/line> <\/line> RUSH: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. You know, the important point about that is that all of these things that Arnold said last night or the things that I\u2019ve said, we didn\u2019t invent them. It\u2019s constitutional Americanism. These are the principles embodied in our Constitution<\/a>, folks, and that\u2019s why the Constitution is so important to me. I think the root of conservatism is found in our Constitution. Limited government, power to the people, all of these things, it\u2019s right there. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to be educated on it and understand and hold onto it and try to preserve it and fight the efforts to rewrite, redo, tear up, build, expand, or whatever the Constitution, because it\u2019s a timeless document as it is. <\/line> <\/line>But in other countries, for example, what you just said, Susan, that you did is not possible. And that\u2019s the great thing about America. In a totalitarian regime you can\u2019t pull yourself up by the bootstraps. They\u2019re not going to let you. And there\u2019s no opportunity anyway. It\u2019s denied you. That\u2019s the great thing about this country and one of the things that\u2019s so frustrating to me about liberalism. Liberalism looks out over the landscape and they see nothing but doom and gloom, and they see people that can\u2019t do anything. And they see no opportunity unless somehow they, the liberals, are involved in it. And it\u2019s just frustrating as it can be. And people for so many years have heard this, slowly but surely, and it\u2019s just crept into their being, and most people don\u2019t have any idea of their potential. <\/line>Most people have no — well, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s true, “most” anymore — but there are way too many, a lot of people have no clue how good they are. A lot of people have no idea how much they can accomplish. And it\u2019s simply because — there are a number of factors — but most limitations are self-imposed. “Well, I can\u2019t do this because then I would have to do that. Well, I\u2019d have to move to do that and I want to stay here”. All right, fine, but nobody is stopping you but yourself in these scenarios. <\/line>But in other countries, you either don\u2019t have freedom of movement or freedom of speech or freedom of much of anything. So whatever your potential is goes to waste because you don\u2019t have a chance to exercise it. And that\u2019s what\u2019s so frustrating to me. In this country everybody has that freedom, and everybody, whatever potential and ambition and desire and passion they want to bring to anything, nobody here stops you. There may be obstacles in everybody\u2019s way. Some people may get discriminated because of their skin color, they may get discriminated because of their size, whatever, we all have things that are obstacles. Nobody has the way paved for them, except the Kennedys who inherited a lot of it. But I mean for the most part, we all have obstacles. <\/line><\/p>\n

Nothing is a smooth highway. But still the opportunity is here. If you want to invest in yourself, you can do so here, and that\u2019s the message of conservatism and that\u2019s why it\u2019s easy for me to recite it, it\u2019s easy for Schwarzenegger to recite, because we understand it. In Schwarzenegger\u2019s case and mine, too, we\u2019ve lived it, as have most of the people in this country. And I think we sometimes get caught up in our need to feel sensitive or sorry for people who may not be doing as well as we are, may not be doing as well as we think they should be doing, and so we extend this sensitivity to people, and then we assume, “Well, maybe it\u2019s just not fair for them, I had it lucky,” and most people are not willing to fully credit themselves for their achievements because we\u2019ve also been taught to be humble. And we\u2019ve been taught not to be braggadocios. And I agree with all that. Don\u2019t misunderstand. Those are great characteristics. But at the same time, when you\u2019re the one that does something there\u2019s nothing wrong with telling yourself you did it. Everybody needs achievements in their lives because achievements build stature. They build confidence, and they teach. When you show yourself you can do something you\u2019re inspired to do even more. And somebody comes along and makes you think that whatever you did you didn\u2019t really do on your own because of all the help you got, well, then it sort of diminishes what you\u2019ve done. And way too many people agree, or because of their false notion of what humility is, downplay their own achievements. And I\u2019m not talking about bragging about them; I\u2019m talking about how they think of themselves. And that\u2019s also limiting in its own way. <\/line>Achievement is a powerful thing. This is the whole point of welfare reform, is teaching people to earn what they have, have a little pride in it, they\u2019ll want more, have much more appreciation for it than if something is just given. This is human nature. And this is among the many essential aspects of conservatism. But I\u2019m struck, again, by the idea that this speech last night by Schwarzenegger or when anybody says it. You know, people still stand up and cheer and I think that\u2019s all good, but one of the reasons they stand up and cheer is because they don\u2019t hear it very much. It\u2019s still unique to a lot of people. It\u2019s still not common that you can do what Arnold Schwarzenegger has done. It\u2019s not commonly believed. It is commonly done every day in this country, but for some reason it\u2019s still reacted to as though, “Yeah, boy, that\u2019s the way!” Or maybe I\u2019m wrong. Maybe they love hearing it said because they know it can be done and is done and there aren\u2019t enough people saying it to encourage others. Whatever. It\u2019s true what he said regardless where he came from and who you are and how you heard it, and it\u2019s true because of freedom, and it\u2019s true because of liberty, and these are the kind of things we want for people around the world. And this is the kind of thing we try to spread, this is the kind of thing we try to share, because it only strengthens our own freedom and our own liberty to have as much of it around the country, around the world as possible.<\/line>END TRANSCRIPT<\/line><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CALLER: Rugged individualism that you were saying that only I can do that. I can\u2019t rely on other people. I can\u2019t depend on the government or depend on somebody doing it for me. I had to be the one that paid for any college. I had to be the one that studied, and you\u2019re the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"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},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"CALLER: Rugged individualism that you were saying that only I can do that. I can\u2019t rely on other people. I can\u2019t depend on the government or depend on somebody doing it for me. I had to be the one that paid for any college. I had to be the one that studied, and you\u2019re the […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/limbaugh_bolt_of_lighting_4.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/limbaugh_bolt_of_lighting_4.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/limbaugh_bolt_of_lighting_4.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/\",\"name\":\"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-19T07:05:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-19T07:05:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"CALLER: Rugged individualism that you were saying that only I can do that. I can\u2019t rely on other people. I can\u2019t depend on the government or depend on somebody doing it for me. I had to be the one that paid for any college. I had to be the one that studied, and you\u2019re the […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/limbaugh_bolt_of_lighting_4.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/limbaugh_bolt_of_lighting_4.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/limbaugh_bolt_of_lighting_4.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/","name":"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2011-05-19T07:05:17+00:00","dateModified":"2011-05-19T07:05:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2004\/09\/01\/why_conservatism_still_makes_people_cheer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Conservatism Still Makes People Cheer"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}