RUSH: And let me ask all another question: How many of you believe that George W. Bush campaigning in South Carolina yesterday for Jeb Bush is gonna help Jeb Bush? How many of you believe that George W. Bush going in and explaining — he was on television last night with Jeb, campaign trail talking about the Iraq war, weapons of mass destruction, responding to some of the allegations that were made in the debate, how many of you think that’s gonna help Jeb? Show of hands. How many people in the audience, how many think it’s gonna help?
Greetings, and welcome back. Great to have you. 800-282-2882 if you want to be on the program. E-mail address, ElRushbo@eibnet.com.
Mike, grab number 26 first before we start with the numbers I gave you. This is Trump this morning on Fox Business Network, mornings about Maria, the Money Honey, the infamous Marie Bartiromo. She played a clip of Trump saying that the pledge he signed not to run third-party is not being honored by the RNC, he’s mad. He’s mad that the donors are showing up with all the seats at the debate and booing him. By the way, the RNC says that isn’t true. The RNC says the candidates are getting the lion’s share of the tickets. So they’re pushing back on that. We heard from ’em yesterday, in fact. We hear from everybody.
You know, during an election year nobody’s happy. During an election year, I’m letting down somebody every day. Disappointing somebody every day. You know how hard it is to deal with that? Anyway, I’m not complaining, folks. I never do it. I never whine and moan to you. I never complain about this job, period. Because, well, a host of reasons, but just don’t do it.
Anyway, Trump was saying (imitating Trump), “I’m gonna run third-party. I’m gonna run third-party. These people are mistreating me. They’re not respecting me. I signed that pledge, but they signed it, too, and they’re going back on it.” Now Trump is saying that he’s not gonna run third party. Maria Bartiromo said, “Mr. Trump, can you explain this for us? Does this mean you are again considering a third-party run?”
TRUMP: No. It’s just that I’m very upset with the RNC because every single time we have a debate they have it stacked with special interests and donors and lobbyists and the rooms are all stacked. I’m self-funding my campaign. I’m not taking special interest money. I’m not taking lobbyist money. I’m not taking any of that money, and the room was stacked with those people.
RUSH: Now, let me expand on that. You remember when Trump said that he’s financing his own campaign and he’s not getting any credit for it? You know what he really means by that? It’s all wrapped up here. “I’m not taking any special interest money. I’m self-funding my campaign. I’m not taking lobbyist money. I’m not taking any of that money.” He brings this up not to whine about it, but to be repetitive over and over again to let people know he’s paying for this himself, because he thinks there’s value in people understanding that. He’s paying for it.
Everybody’s upset with all the money in politics and he’s trying to ram it home that he’s not — and when people don’t notice it, his feelings are hurt. And he tells you when his feelings are hurt. Most people don’t. When it doesn’t register, when they don’t appreciate it, he’s gonna whine about it until people do. And it is that kind of thing that’s always been thought to be deadly. But for him it isn’t. It just seems to, if not hurt him, it seems actually to help him in some cases.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
Now, let’s move to audio sound bites number two. This is Karl Rove. And I realize many of you when you hear the name Karl Rove think that I’m showing Dracula the cross. But Karl Rove had some comments about Trump and expectations for Trump in the South Carolina primary.
Now, I’m gonna preface this by reminding you what I said yesterday, that Trump’s performance on Saturday was obviously — it’s been confirmed now, by the way, that he was reaching out to moderates and Democrats to expand his voter base for a host of reasons. Ted Cruz is gaining serious ground. Trump may think that he has maxed out in terms of the number of conservatives that make up his coalition. South Carolina’s an open state. He needs to gain ground. He needs to fend off Ted Cruz, or, from his standpoint, it could be that he wants such a sweeping victory that it makes it look like nobody has a chance, basically hammer the final nail in the coffin this Saturday in the South Carolina primary.
Whatever the strategy is, and there is a strategy, whatever it was that led him to do it, Karl Rove now says that, because of this, Trump has raised his own expectations, that he’s gotta win so big now to avoid being seen as a loser. It was on America’s Newsroom, Bill Hemmer speaking with him say, “Hey, Karl, if Trump wins on Saturday, sensibilities in a position to run the table, do you think?”
ROVE: It depends on if he gets — new poll he was at 42%. That would be awfully strong. But if we see a New Hampshire-like result, that is to say in the low thirties or high twenties, he’s not begun to consolidate. Not a single person who’s withdrawn has supported Donald Trump. By saying and doing the things that he’s doing, do you think the Cruz people, if Cruz loses, are gonna be excited about joining Trump? Do you think the Rubio people, do you think the Jeb people? All of these people that he goes out and just takes a flamethrower and burns ’em to a crisp.
RUSH: So Karl is saying you take people, Christie’s bombed out, left the race, Carly Fiorina, they’re not sending their voters to Trump. So Rove’s points is that if Trump doesn’t get 38, 40%, after all of this, with a bunch of Republicans dropping out now, Christie and Fiorina are gone, Ben Carson, for all intents and purposes, although he’s not officially said he’s out, but his percentage is pretty small, but regardless, Rove’s point is that none of these Republicans leaving are endorsing Trump and they’re not sending their voters to Trump.
So Trump’s gotta get ’em somewhere else. And if he doesn’t pick up additional voters, if these other people go to Cruz and they go to Rubio, then Trump’s margin of victory with other voters, moderates and Democrats and independents, had better be big or the story is gonna be Trump is losing. Now, you have to admit this is pretty clever. Rove out there, Trump is trying to establish expectations that are pretty high. Trump better get 40 or more or it’s gonna look like he’s losing, and what are the odds he’s gonna get 40? So Trump is trying to establish a narrative here, not just for the Republican Party, but for the media as well.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Meeting and surpassing all audience expectations every day, Rush Limbaugh, your guiding light, happily so. Yesterday afternoon in Hanahan, South Carolina, Donald Trump held a press conference. This is the press conference that was going on as our program was taking place. And we didn’t have a chance to get to any of the sound from it. But here is one of the attacks that he leveled on Senator Cruz.
TRUMP: I’ve never seen anybody that lied as much as Ted Cruz, and he goes around saying he’s a Christian. I don’t know. You’re gonna have to really study that. I think he’s an unstable person. I watch him; I see him. And I always say he’s a good debater, but he can’t talk. I don’t even think he’s a good debater. I mean, I heard he’s a good debater. I don’t personally see he’s a very good debater. He’s a very unstable person. It’s just my opinion.
RUSH: “He’s a nasty guy. He’s not even an American! He’s born in Canada.” You’ve heard the drill. All this means is that Cruz is gaining some ground here. Trump has seen polls where Cruz is gaining ground. He’s going back and forth on whether or not he’s gonna sue Cruz. Today he said he doesn’t think he will. He hasn’t made up his mind, but that Cruz is a liar. That’s the new theme. “Cruz is liar. He’s a thief. He stole poor old Ben Carson’s votes.
“He says he apologizes. Fine. That’s after the fact. If I’d’a been Ben Carson, I’d you have done something about it,” Trump says. So Ted Cruz was on the Christian Broadcast Network website last night, the Brody File yesterday, and during the interview, a discussion about Christianity. Which, Trump just said, “Well, you know, Cruz says he’s a Christian. I’ve never seen anybody lie as much as he does. Christian? I guess you have to look it up. I don’t know. Really study that.” Here’s what Cruz had to say about Christianity.
CRUZ: For far too long, Christians have been staying home, have been ceding the public square to non-believers. And when we look at the state of the country, when our heart weeps at what’s happening to the country and we wonder why is it that the federal government is waging war on life, is waging war on marriage, is waging war on religious liberty. Is it any wonder when 54 million evangelical Christians stayed home in 2012 and did not vote? If we allow our leaders to be selected by non-believers, we shouldn’t be surprised when our leaders don’t share our values.
RUSH: Wait a second, 54 million evangelicals stayed home? I didn’t know the total number was that high. I thought the number was four million (largely evangelicals) Christians that stayed home. But maybe his point is that with the government waging — and make no mistake, but he’s right about this. The Democrat Party is waging an all-out War on Christianity. What do you think the institutions and traditions that define this country’s greatness are? Where do you think came from? All you need to do…
The left can’t stand when you do this. All you need to do is go back and read George Washington’s First Thanksgiving proclamation. Read his Farewell Address. Read any official government proclamation back in the early days of the founding. Every other word is giving thanks to God for the fact that the nation made it. These clowns run around saying that this is not a Christian nation. Just like this idiot Fareed Zakaria said the other day, that America was founded on the principles of diversity and ethnicity.
BS it was.
Only to the extent that it was liberty, that we’re all created equal, but we didn’t put this country together on the basis of skin color and sexual orientation. We didn’t put this country together — it wasn’t founded — under the premise that these different groups were suffering grievances out there. The people of America were suffering a grievance. They were living in tyranny. They were being deprived their liberty. This country was a revolution of freedom and liberty, and the left has even bastardized that.
And they’re trying to redefine what the American founding was all about, so to make themselves look like they are the modern heirs. It just… That offends me. These people have got to be defeated. This silly idea that America was founded to protect the minority status of favored Democrat voters today? What an absolute insult and crock. So here comes Cruz pointing out, “Look, this is a country founded on these particular religious beliefs, and it’s undeniable. It’s where our morality comes from.”
The left hates that, by the way. They despise that truth. It’s another reason why they want to blow this country up and transform it into something that it was not founded to be. And his point is that if you’re gonna sit out elections, if you’re gonna sit out there and not vote and complain what’s done to the country, is it any wonder that presidents and elected leaders chosen by nonreligious people — not even true believers, just nonreligious people.
Is it any wonder they’re gonna govern the way they do if you sit home in protest? Don’t be surprised when your values are not shared by the people that win elections if you sit home and don’t participate. So Cruz was making a direct appeal to the evangelical vote. That’s something Trump can’t do. He’s got Jerry Falwell Jr., but he’s gotta go broader than that in an attempt here to expand and broaden his base. Jeb Bush on CBS morning. He wasn’t with Gayle King, the BFF of The Oprah. And she said, “Have you ever thought about maybe just ignoring Trump? Maybe try that tack?”
JEB: I’ve thought that. I get back to thinking, “You know what? He’s hijacked my party!” I’ve been a conservative all my adult life, and someone has to take a stand.
RUSH: Right. So, no, he’s… (summarized) “I’ve thought about it, but no. He’s hijacked my party. I gotta defend it. I gotta go after it.” Last night… Ah, forget the montage. It takes too long to set it up. I don’t have enough time to do it. Here’s a little George W. Bush, last night in North Charleston. Audio sound bite number 11. First of two we’ll try to squeeze in here.
GEORGE W.: These are tough times, and I understand that Americans are angry and frustrated. But we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration. (cheers and applause) We need someone who can fix the problems that cause your anger and frustration, and that’s Jeb Bush.
RUSH: Right, there you have it. So here we’re back to this now. People’s anger, and we need somebody to be able to fix the problems that cause the anger. Look, we would not be here… Well, we would be. There’d be a campaign. But it would be much different looking had the Republican Party spent the last seven years trying to fix this. It all comes down to that. It always… It’s just all gonna come back to that. The anger that’s out here today is not petulant, it’s not childlike, it’s not temper tantrums by children. It’s real, because the Republican Party has not tried to stop the Democrat Party and their destruction.
It’s no more complicated than that.
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