RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday Ted Cruz makes his speech at Liberty University, and I shared with you the fact that I had spoken with Mr. Cruz on Friday. And I shared with you additionally that I had told him one thing after he asked. It’s important for you to know that he asked. I did not sit there and tell him how to do his business. I warned him, I told him that something I have noticed in the last probably three or four presidential primaries, certainly the last two or three, what happens is that conservatives take out conservative candidates.

I mean the Drive-Bys do, too, don’t misunderstand. Like CNN. You know what CNN’s done? CNN edited video of Ted Cruz’s speech yesterday, and they drew an arrow to a portion of the back of his jacket and said, “This is what happens when you don’t use a podium.” They had found a bulge in his jacket. They don’t state it, but they imply that Ted Cruz was getting advice, was getting help from somebody backstage through a communications device, because he didn’t have a podium.

It all boils down to he didn’t have a prompter, and they just can’t believe that somebody could go out there and speak like that without a prompter. So he had to have somebody coaching him. Remember, they tried to accuse George W. Bush of this in one of the debates he was having with Algore. And all it was is the battery pack and the wireless transmitter for the wireless mic that Cruz was using. But there’s CNN with a full-fledged implication that Cruz was cheating. So we know the Drive-Bys are gonna go after Cruz. That’s a no-brainer.

But one thing I’ve noticed is that this quest — in some cases it’s a quest; in other cases, another reason for it — this quest for perfection that seems to possess or obsess many conservative groups leads them to nitpick and find a single issue or maybe two that conservative candidate X is supposedly wrong on, and they immediately launch into criticism. And when conservatives launch criticism of conservative candidates, the media just eats it up. They just love it, and they glom onto it, and they amplify it even more than their own criticism.

I warned Senator Cruz that this would happen to him, and it already has begun. I forget the name, a blogger at National Review Online wrote that Cruz is gonna have to learn how to speak better. He speaks at people rather than to them and he comes off like a used car salesman at a motivational rally or some such thing. It’s just uncanny. You got some conservatives out there, we had a call yesterday, the birther issue is back, saying Cruz is disqualified ’cause he’s not a citizen, not a real one. And of course the Drive-Bys eat that up, too. And the Drive-Bys are saying, “See? See? It just proves that the attack on Obama and his birth was racist, because they’re giving Cruz a pass on it but they didn’t give Obama a pass on it so it’s racist.”

Then yesterday on Fox, The Five in the afternoon dumped all over Ted Cruz for one thing or another. That’s somewhat understandable for reasons I can’t explain. You have to figure that out yourself. And then last night, grab audio sound bite number 11 on Special Report with Bret Baier. They were talking about Cruz and his announcement yesterday. Shannon Bream was filling in as the host for Bret Baier. She turned to Charles Krauthammer and said, “He talked a lot about the Constitution and freedom and liberty and very broad policy, repealing Obamacare, some of things he has been working on and talking about since he got in the Senate.” Here’s Dr. Krauthammer.

KRAUTHAMMER: First term senators, we already tried a first term senator, and that’s why when Scott Walker says a proven track record, what Walker has, he doesn’t have the fluency on issues that a Cruz does and he’s made a lot of stumbles thus far. Cruz talks about you have to walk the walk rather than just talk the talk, you have to have done something, but that’s not his record in the Senate. He’s a good rhetoritician but when Walker says: I ran the state. I took on the unions. I took on the liberals and I won. I think there’s gonna be a strong argument.

RUSH: Now, I have no argument with that. I have made it myself when it comes to Scott Walker. But really, is one of the knocks on Ted Cruz gonna be that he’s just like Obama? That he doesn’t have enough experience? Just like Obama, he’s only served a certain number of days in the Senate and he has not run a state, and he hasn’t really walked the walk and accomplished anything, just like Obama? What is this?

If Obama had run a state or if Obama had been in the Senate longer, he’d have been okay? Obama would have been a better president if he had just been in the Senate longer, maybe been a governor? Is that all this is about? This is horse hockey, folks, that Barack Obama is what he is only because of a lack of experience? I don’t know how you come to that conclusion. Barack Obama is who he is because of his ideology.

Barack Obama could have come straight from the community organizer office and become president and been exactly who he is. He could have serve the governorship, served as governor of Illinois for two terms, become president and be the same president he is today. This argument that we’re gonna disqualify Ted Cruz because we’ve learned how bad an inexperienced president can be. Obama and his foibles, Obama and his presidency that is a disaster has nothing to do with the fact that he’s inexperienced. It has everything to do with who he is. Ditto, Ted Cruz. It’s who he is that is the determining factor here.

And, by the way, let’s talk about this experience for just a second. Here we have a two-year Senator, Barack Obama, he serves two years, 160-some-odd days. He’s a first term Senator. He becomes president. Obama is running circles around the entire Congress, which is made up of what? All kinds of experienced politicians. Obama is embarrassing them. Obama’s making mincemeat of professional career politicians with decades, in some cases, worth of experience. And I don’t like that. That embarrasses me that a supposed neophyte who’s never done anything comes into town and starts running rings around professional politicians?

I think that illustrates how wrong-headed — by the way, Krauthammer, I’m not harping on him. Krauthammer’s not the only person mentioning this criticism. There’s all kinds of people coming up with all kinds of creative reasons, on the conservative side, to disqualify Ted Cruz, exactly as I predicted would be the case. But I think it stretches credulity to say that, “Oh, man, this is what happens, Barack Obama, this is what happens when you elect somebody that doesn’t have much experience in Washington.”

It wouldn’t matter how much experience Obama had because experience does not determine who he is. And ditto for Cruz. And again, just to repeat this argument that we’ve got this neophyte inexperienced Obama and that’s why he’s been a disaster, somehow running rings and embarrassing all of these seasoned, experienced, brilliant, inside-the-Beltway politicians in the House and the Senate.

You see, a conservative who leads, who is unafraid, unflappable as Cruz is, and who is principled, who can relate, who can articulate and who has a mission, can do a great deal as president, whether he was a governor, a senator, or whatever. I’ve heard the arguments against electing senators because they don’t have any executive experience. They’re one-man operations and they’re fraught with overinflated egos.

I’ve been persuaded by that argument now and then, but it’s always dependent on who we’re talking about. People are individuals and no two are the same, and to simply start broad brushing people — I mean, the thing I think that’s flawed here is the assumption that Obama’s as bad as he is because he didn’t have any experience. If Obama had been a two-term governor in Illinois, what would be different in the Obama presidency? I dare say, in terms of substance, very little would be different.

Anyway, we’ve got a whole roster of sound bites here to give examples for you, to you, of the kind of criticism that Cruz is getting, all of it predictable. Some of it quite frustrating.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Another criticism I’ve heard of Ted Cruz, swerving into a different subject here, in addition to the fact that he’s like Obama, he doesn’t have enough experience — which I think is bogus. Obama’s not as bad as he is ’cause he doesn’t have experience. He’s as bad as he is because he’s a liberal, extreme radical. Another criticism of Ted Cruz is, “Well, show me what he’s done? Hell, Ted Cruz hasn’t done anything. Scott Walker, he’s done things.”

I can’t disagree with the fact Scott Walker’s done things. But Ted Cruz has been in the Senate. At this stage, if you ask me, I humbly point out, it’s not a matter of what has Ted Cruz done. It has a little bit more relevance to me to ask, “What has Ted Cruz stopped?” The objective here the past six years has been to stop Obama. We have not had the majority in anything until a couple of months ago. There was no way we had the votes to stop Obamacare. What do you mean, what has Ted Cruz done?

Let’s list his accomplishments, which is more than we get out of Obama. He’s beaten the GOP leadership in election after election. He was in Texas. He’s a Harvard graduate. He’s got all these qualifications. He’s got a great resume. What do you mean, what’s Ted Cruz done? These are criticisms coming from conservatives, by the way. As I… (interruption) The real question is: What has Ted Cruz stopped? That takes us to what the left loves to point out, and that’s the government shutdown.

Ted Cruz has done his level best to stop as much of Obama as he can, and he still is. That, to me, is more relevant than asking, “What has Ted Cruz done?” The whole point of Ted Cruz and anybody who’s able to articulate an agenda like he is, is we’ve gotta be pretty confident what he will do, if given the chance. Unless of course he’s just saying all this “for domestic consumption,” like the Ayatollah Khamenei. “Death to America! Death to America!”

That Ted Cruz he’s so stupid. He’s so dangerous! We’ve gotta destroy Ted Cruz.

“Death to America! Death to America!” Oh, he’s just saying that for the Iranian people. We don’t have to worry about that.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s Bob in the Bronx, as we kick off the phones today. Bob, I’m really glad that you waited. I appreciate your patience. Hi.

CALLER: No problem, Rush. Hi. Yeah, Rush, I’m calling because I like Ted Cruz a lot. I’ve seen his full hour on Hannity last night, and he answered the questions, I felt, the right way. I must be a masochist, but this morning I was home, I decided to turn on The View. And of course you know the cast full well there, Whoopi and Michelle Wallace, you know, kind of a very weak-kneed Republican —

RUSH: That would be Nicolle Wallace.

CALLER: I’m sorry. Nicolle Wallace.

RUSH: Right. The former Nicolle Devenish, worked in the Bush White House communications office.

CALLER: Exactly. Exactly. But she kind of — you know, she goes right downhill with all the rest. And Joy Behar also made a guest appearance.

RUSH: When is the last time before today you watched The View?

CALLER: (laughing) Probably last week and it got me so frustrated I just turned it off.

RUSH: Something made you turn it on today. Let me guess, they’re bashing Ted Cruz?

CALLER: Absolutely. And of course Whoopi had to say, “Where is he from?” and of course Joy Behar had to get in and say (imitating Behar), “What an idiot, you know, he doesn’t believe in global warming? What is wrong with him?”

RUSH: Right.

CALLER: And on and on and on, you know, just to the point of disgust.

RUSH: You know, here’s the thing about this. If Joy Behar were sitting here, I might leave the room. But if she were sitting here, and I asked her to explain global warming to me beyond the political talking points, she couldn’t. But I could give her 30 minutes on how it isn’t true, scientifically how it cannot possibly be true. Global warming is based on one thing: computer models 50 and a hundred years out, predictions. That’s all, folks. That’s the only thing they’ve got.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: CBS This Morning, Ted Cruz guested, the fill-in cohost was Vladimir Duthier said, “Senator, you say that if you’re elected, you’d repeal Obamacare, but since it’s passed, 16 million people have become assured. Why do you want to take health care away from 16 million people?”

CRUZ: Those numbers don’t tell the whole picture. For one thing, the bulk of those numbers are coming from expanded Medicaid, and Medicaid is a program where a lot of people on Medicaid aren’t getting health care. Beyond that, remember: Six million people had their health insurance canceled because of Obamacare. You’re not doing someone a favor if you cancel the health insurance they like and then force them to buy new health insurance at higher premiums that covers less. And I can tell you, people are frustrated. You know, five years ago, maybe good faith, reasonable minds could have differed on whether Obamacare might have worked. At this point, it is the single largest job killer in this country.

RUSH: And grab sound bite five, the Today show, Matt Lauer talking to Ted Cruz. “You know your reputation. In your short time in the Senate, you’ve developed a reputation as a guy that doesn’t back down; who won’t compromise. I think you even referred to yourself recently that way and said, ‘I’m kind of like the disruptive app in politics.’ Are you gonna bring that brand of no compromise to the White House if you’re elected?”

CRUZ: Let me disagree with the premise. I’ve never said I won’t compromise. In fact, from day one, when I was elected, I said, “My attitude on compromise is exactly the same as Ronald Reagan.” Reagan said, “What do you do if they offer you half a loaf? Answer: You take it, and then you come back for more.” (chuckles)

LAUER: But shortly after you were elected, you also said, quote, “I don’t think what Washington needs is more compromise.”

CRUZ: Because what Washington does often is it compromises going backwards. You have compromises like the so-called Cromnibus bill that passed in December. It was a $1 trillion spending bill that paid off corporate welfare, paid off every special interest in Washington and simply grew government. That’s not a good compromise ’cause it’s not fixing the problems in this country.

RUSH: See, it’s compromise for compromise’s sake. “Compromise” means to people like Matt Lauer, “Republicans cave and agree with Democrats,” and that’s all Cruz is saying. I’m not gonna do that. I’m gonna stand up for what I believe in, you want to compromise with me? Let’s talk. But I’m done compromising with liberalism. It’s killing us.

Here is Julie in Fontana, California. It’s great to have you on the program.

CALLER: (silence)

RUSH: Hello? Julie?

CALER: (giggling)

RUSH: Julie? Hello.

CALLER: Hi.

RUSH: Testing, testing, one, two, three. Oh, she’s there. There you are.

CALLER: Can you hear me?

RUSH: Yeah, hear you now.

CALLER: Hey, well, like Ted said the world is on fire and it’s time to fix our own backyard. I have two points I’d like to make. One is kind of an observation, actually, about the attacks and the backlash from the media. It’s like kind of like almost amusing to watch. It’s like watching a modern-day version of The Exorcist. You reminded me of that when you said something yesterday about conservatism is like a crucifix to Dracula.

RUSH: Mmm-hmm.

CALLER: I was laughing because I thought, “Gee, you know, it’s like if Ted Cruz is up there and he says a word like liberty or freedom or virtue or self-reliance, it’s like throwing holy water on the devil,” and then God forbid he says his dad gave himself to Jesus Christ. Oh, that’s when the green vomit comes! And then God-given rights? Oh, my God. Well, that’s the 360 head-twister. So I got a chuckle out of that.

RUSH: It’s a good way of putting it. I like your vision.

CALLER: Well, hey, the other vision that I have in my head is just trying to find the candidate who can expose the Democratic mastery of an optical illusion, and the biggest optical illusion out there I think is the invisible depression that we have in our country today.

RUSH: Oh, yeah. The illusion is there’s an economic recovery going on.

CALLER: Right. And if we all sit and think about it, one of the things I’d be like to be able to find is a candidate who can superimpose two pictures. One, the Depression of 1939 where, you know, all the poor, you know, people that were gaunt with hunger and worry and hopelessness and despair. The vision of those people waiting in lines in soup kitchens and how sad and horrible an existence it was for our citizens at the time. And lay that over today what’s going on. We have a clean, neat, and tidy depression, because, you know why? The soup kitchen comes to the mailbox. It’s delivered to your mailbox.

RUSH: Yeah, I get your point. The signs of economic despair are covered over. You don’t have to go stand in line. The soup kitchen comes to you. You don’t even have to go stand in line for Obamacare. Just log on to a website, and get lost in there. Anyway, Julie, I appreciate the call. That’s a fascinating way of making your point: The invisible depression. That’s cool. She’s right. I appreciate it.