RUSH: Here is Wolf Blitzer. You know, this really irritates ’em. In fact, let me precede this. No, I’ll play the bite first and I’ll do it with an antecedent. This is Wolf Blitzer, CNN this afternoon, talking about Trump with one of his correspondents, Joe Johns. They have an exchange here about Trump and what he gets away with saying and all that. It’s pretty explanatory. Here it is.
BLITZER: He did the other day, before the debate, say that Cruz was a little bit of a maniac. He used the word “maniac” and then he was criticized by Rush Limbaugh, and Trump himself later acknowledged, Joe, that he was influenced. I think that’s the first time we heard Donald Trump acknowledge that he was influenced by the criticism he got from some of these conservative radio talk show hosts.
JOHNS: Yeah, and you almost never hear that from Trump. He’s a never back down guy.
RUSH: They’re so livid. They’re upset they can’t make Trump back down, they can’t cause Trump to change. They can’t they can’t affect any change in Trump whatsoever. And it bugs them that they think Trump changed his tune toward Cruz because of me on this program. Who knows whether or not that’s the case, but they think it is. Now, a little observation here. A 2015 truth. The two Republicans, let me just put something out there, if I might. The two Republicans that I have commented upon most favorably happen to be what? The leaders in the Republican primary, Trump and Cruz.
Now, they can take plenty of credit for where they are, and they deserve it all. Don’t misunderstand here. But there can be no doubt that they have benefited from talk radio, from El Rushbo. Establishment candidates have no traction. And here we are, we’re up in the final days before we get to the actual votes being cast, first in the Hawkeye Cauci, then New Hampshire. And I think it’s fascinating, because we had pieces written over the years about how the Republican Party needs to forget what talk radio’s about. Talk radio’s an albatross around the Republican Party’s neck.
Remember Obama, in his second week in office, 2009, brings the congressional leadership up, both parties, and he tells Boehner and the guys (paraphrasing), “You gotta stop listening to Rush Limbaugh, that’s not how things get done here in Washington. You gotta forget that. You gotta stop listening to people like that.” And the Republican Party itself over the years has had — well, not the party, but there have been — I don’t want to mention any names ’cause I really don’t want to credit people, give them any publicity, but there have been numerous supposed conservative writers and commentators who have also suggested that talk radio, that’s part of the problem the Republican Party has. And I just find it interesting that the two guys leading the Republican Party primary happen to be two guys who have been fairly commented upon and supported here on this program.
It’s also interesting, I think, that neither Trump nor Cruz are afraid of the media. They will engage anybody at the drop of a hat. They will accept every invitation. You can’t turn on TV and you don’t see Trump. It seems like he’s accepting every invitation. Cruz, too. They’re not afraid of the media. Happy warriors, whatever you want to call ’em, they are out there, and they’re mixing it up, and they will engage at the drop of a hat.
Equally as interesting is Hillary Clinton. She never makes herself available to the media. And the media hates Republicans. She couldn’t have a more friendly support group, and she won’t get anywhere near ’em. She has to be dragged kicking and screaming into a press conference. And they do everything they can to shape the media so that it’s practically a support group rather than a bunch of journalists.
She’s leaving a significant advantage on the table because she cannot connect with voters, she doesn’t want to demonstrate she has no way of connecting with voters. In her own mind she’s too way above people. The voters are the little people, and in Hillary’s mind, in Hillary’s world, it’s an insult that she even has to campaign, but nobody’s found a way around it yet, so she does it as little as possible. Her personality is off putting. Her policies don’t make Americans feel safe. So they’ve made the calculation let’s keep her hidden, the more bathroom breaks during debates, the better.
McCain and Romney hid from talk radio. McCain and Romney wanted no part. Romney would come by here — he came by here a total of two or three times during the campaign for 45 minutes to an hour, and he would sound to me like — well, the most severe conservative, in his words, I’ve ever heard, and he would leave here, and he would go to a fundraiser right down the street and not even mention he was here. He was too embarrassed to mention he’d been here. Wouldn’t dare do it. McCain, Romney ran from talk radio, didn’t want to be touched by it, didn’t want to seem to be too close to it. Cruz and Trump, the exact opposite. And look at them.
They’re not afraid of the media. They will engage at the drop of a hat. In other words, they’re not playing it safe like Hillary is. And they’re not following what they think conventional wisdom is. They’ve blown through the idea that talk radio is a stepchild or is somehow harmful and instead they are profiting from it, using it, unafraid of it, whatever. Hillary’s strategy is to craft and protect a phony image while riding Obama’s coattails, and Obamacare doesn’t even have any. He’s got Iran. He’s got Obamacare. He’s got the border. He’s got terrorism. He’s got people wondering who the hell is he, what is his agenda really? The transformation of this country that Obama has begun will haunt Hillary Clinton, not help her. So just these little observations here that you can’t miss. Can’t avoid making.
To me it’s just another set of things, if you will, that the mainstream Republican Party has at its disposal but refuses to learn from it, profit from it or what have you. And don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that there’s any kind of a relationship here. I’m just pointing out the obvious. They just have a disdain, the party leadership does apparently, just have a disdain for their base.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here’s Renee in Killeen, Texas. Hey, Rennie, glad you called. Great to have you here. Hi.
CALLER: Thanks. I’ve got three reasons why Ted Cruz might be establishment in an outsiders disguise.
RUSH: Oh, no.
CALLER: One, his wife works, she’s an executive with Goldman Sachs. She’s also done work with the Council on Foreign Relations —
RUSH: Oh, no.
CALLER: — with the North American agreement.
RUSH: Oh.
CALLER: He also worked for George Bush for three years, and he wanted to have more H-1B visas two years ago —
RUSH: Are you telling me Heidi Cruz is CFR?
CALLER: Yes. Well, she was a representative under Goldman Sachs —
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: — that contributed to an article or whatever work with the North American agreement.
RUSH: Yeah. But she’s not running for anything, Renee.
CALLER: Well, as a spouse’s wife, I have to make sure that my relationships don’t interfere with my husband’s.
RUSH: Renee, are you one of these people that think the wife runs the show, calls the shots?
CALLER: Well, Hillary does.
RUSH: Well, you know, at least as far as we know, yeah. But Bill was still out there on his own catting around.
CALLER: Well, yeah.
RUSH: Didn’t stop him. Didn’t stop him.
CALLER: No.
RUSH: In all candor, I don’t think — I understand your concern here, the areas you’re looking. I don’t think that you need to be concerned about Ted Cruz being a trilateralist or the Socialist International or a Bolshevik. In all candor, I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about there. I understand, as I say, your sensitivity to this. What are you laughing at in there? Snerdley’s going absolutely — (interruption) Well, I invite people to call here. I’m not gonna characterize ’em. I’m just trying to tell her she’s got nothing to worry about.