BRETT: Let’s go out and check in with some of the great listeners across the fruited plain. Nick is first up in Richmond, Michigan. Hello, Nick. Welcome to the program. What’s on your mind?
CALLER: Adults know that what it really means when he gets free college for two or four years or free preschool, is that you get the pleasure of paying for everyone else’s college for the rest of your life —
BRETT: Right!
CALLER: — like some crazy, backward chain letter. And also, the janitor gets stuck buying the CEO’s degree.
BRETT: That’s a great point. That is a tremendous point. And I love the reference to chain letters, ’cause that’s exactly what it is. If you just, you know, forward these letters, you’ll get millions of dollars in your mailbox. So listen. You know full well that you have a very progressive governor there in that state of Michigan, and she was somebody that was rumored to be a vice presidential potential once upon a time. Is she gonna try to sell this there inside the state of Michigan —
CALLER: She already did.
BRETT: — all this free, free, free is for me?
CALLER: She already did. She was already on this morning pushing it as a supposed covid update.
BRETT: (laughing) That’s the covid update, free junior college, free college for as long as you want. That’s the covid update. (laughing)
CALLER: Well, it was pushing everything that was in the speech yesterday as all that as being good.
BRETT: I’m not surprised. Nick, such a great point that you raise, and I appreciate you being there. Free stuff is not free! It just means somebody else is gonna be delivering the goods. Piper is in Northern California. Piper, welcome to the Rush Limbaugh Show.
CALLER: Hi. It’s from Rush’s adopted hometown, and shout-out to KFBK and Kitty O’Neal, a friend of his, and Pat Walsh. This is a great place to be.
BRETT: So happy to hear from you.
CALLER: I am… I cannot understand why it didn’t raise the hair on people’s neck about the numbers that they were throwing out. The perspective is, one million seconds is 11 days —
BRETT: Mmm-hmm.
CALLER: — one billion seconds is about 31 years —
BRETT: Mmm-hmm.
CALLER: — and one trillion seconds is about 32,000 years. So when they throw around trillion and people don’t have the… I don’t know if it’s you just listen and you think trillion/billion, and you don’t really think about the difference —
BRETT: (laughs) Right.
CALLER: — and the scale of it.
BRETT: Right.
CALLER: But are you kidding me? A trillion seconds is 32,000 years!
BRETT: Sure.
CALLER: So, you know, insert that into our economy and this is how much we’re gonna spend in addition to what we’ve already spent? You’re right on about our grandkids and great-grandkids. It makes me crazy.
BRETT: Except it’s not gonna be a great-grandkids. It’s gonna be 35 generations down the line (laughs) because Joe Biden wants to spend $6 trillion, and that’s 192,000 years (laughs), which is insane. It is just nuts.
CALLER: It is insane.
BRETT: Oh, thanks so much for calling, Piper, and all our best to the beautiful area Sacramento, California, lots of great listeners out there and we always appreciate hearing from them. Okay, let me go to Minneapolis, right there in the headlines of the news. Paul is up next. Welcome to the show, Paul.
CALLER: Thank you, Brett. You know the groups of people that are yelling the loudest in this country for free stuff are the poor, whether the working poor or nonworking poor. And conversely, the ones who are gonna suffer the most under this lunacy are the same group. What are they gonna do when they’re told, as poor people, that they have to go buy a $50,000 electric vehicle?
Or when their electric bill doubles, quadruples? When the price of gas is $4 or $5 a gallon? They’re going to be suffering. So you know what? What I say to them is, “You get to sit down and shut your big mouth now and deal with the consequences of your actions,” because that’s something that escaped the left for decades: Consequences. I want to give you one more example.
BRETT: Please.
CALLER: They interviewed a business owner in downtown Minneapolis a few weeks ago. I think he owned a barbecue joint, and he’s sitting there complaining about because of all the lunacy that’s going on in downtown Minneapolis that 70, 75% of his business has been lost because everyone’s scared to go down to that area.
Well, I saw a picture of the guy as he’s talking, and let’s just say that statistically speaking he probably more than likely voting for Democrat — state, local, and federal Democrat politicians. So I’m sitting there scratching your head saying, “Hold on. Hold on a second. No, no, no. What you get to do now, partner, is sit down and shut your big Marxist mouth. It’s called consequences for your actions,” and it’s something my 3-year-old grandson understands. They’re gonna be the ones feeling the pain the worst.
BRETT: Okay. I understand what you’re saying there, but I would recommend this as well. This is an important opportunity for people this happen this is a chance to start to convert people away from this, right? Because they’ve now gotten a hundred days of what this is going to be in the next four years, and I think this is a chance.
I think Rush would leap at this chance to say we’re not gonna leave this guy out there drowning, this is a chance for him to get saved and to come to the side of free markets and liberty and all of that. Nobody, nobody wants to see cities burn regardless of how they’re voting or what they’re doing in terms of their politics. We want to see everybody have an opportunity to fulfill the promise and the dream of the great American experience.
At least, that’s what I think.
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BRETT: Bruce is in Milwaukee. He wants to talk about Tim Scott’s speech. Bruce, welcome to the program on the EIB Network.
CALLER: Such an honor. I wish I could have got through when Rush was still with us.
BRETT: I do too.
CALLER: God bless him for everything he’s done. But Senator Scott, he had a wonderful rebuttal speech, and my question to you — I’ll just keep this quick and short — is why has the African community as a whole been…? I mean, they’ve been lied to for 200 years by the Democrats.
The Democrats brought the slaves over, and I wish I could go on and on through the history of what the Democrats have done to repress the African-American community. Why does the African community continue to vote for a Democratic Party that really they’re racist towards?
BRETT: Well —
CALLER: That’s my question. I appreciate an answer.
BRETT: Okay. Okay, Bruce. I appreciate it. Thank you for calling in today. We have to be cautious. We have to be cautious and understand that we can’t define behavioral patterns just by groups alone, okay? We can’t say, “Well, those people vote this way.” You can say that there are places, pockets, locations in this country where the Democrats have a stranglehold or a hammer hold or a toehold on what it is that they want to do.
They have the machinery in place to keep people voting for them. But, again, nothing is set in stone. Nothing is set in stone ever in politics. It’s an ebb and a flow. There was a time when the Republicans couldn’t get any people of color voting for them in the last number of years, right?
Romney wasn’t very successful at it. McCain had challenges at it. Donald Trump actually was quite successful in a lot of different ways. You can’t write off communities. It’s about selling the message of prosperity. It’s about selling the message of freedom. Rush talked about it endlessly. We’ll talk about it some more straight ahead. I’m Brett Winterble, your guide host today on the EIB Network. And I’m looking forward to taking your phone calls and your thoughts on the speech.
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BRETT: As I look back at the speech last night by the president — and, of course, the speech by Tim Scott in response — I’m seeing a common theme play out, both on social media and my email. I’m seeing a common theme play out in my email personally, with as many people that I talk to, and the question is really brilliantly surmised by Jackson in Princeton, Texas. Jackson, welcome to the program. What is your concern with the speech last night with Tim Scott?
CALLER: Basically, I felt that Tim Scott… I mean, he had some good points, but I felt he was a bit too passive. When I think of Biden, I think of Biden as a president of the Democrat Party rather than of America.
BRETT: Mmm-hmm.
CALLER: This is just evidenced by all of his executive orders and partisan policy decisions. It’s just rampant. So when he says, “America is on the move last night,” is he talking about all of us in America, or is he talking about the Democrats? Now, my issue with Tim Scott last night is that I think he missed that mark.
I think, you know, Republicans are only seeing this as a Socratic policy debate rather than noticing that the Democrats are playing for keeps. I don’t think that he really laid out a good game plan for the Republicans and their base on engaging and actively pursuing ways to secure our civil liberties. (chuckles) Just get us back to the America that we knew. All these mask mandates here and there, I see tyranny everywhere.
BRETT: Okay, so —
CALLER: But about his speech last night —
BRETT: Let me ask you about this, Jackson. So if I were to say give the… I’m just putting you spot here quickly.
CALLER: Mmm-hmm.
BRETT: Give me somebody you would have liked to have seen in that seat instead of him, in terms of a stylistic approach or a speaking style or something, who would you have envisioned being in that seat?
CALLER: I can’t give a name.
BRETT: Sure.
CALLER: What I would have liked to hear more of is, you know, when we see like bills like H.R. 1, why aren’t we attacking that head on? That is just… I don’t see that as safe-and-secure election reform.
BRETT: Sure.
CALLER: I see that as a plank as, “Hey, let’s redo 2020 again!”
BRETT: Sure.
CALLER: And it’s one of those things where I feel that if he had specifically said something along the lines of, “Hey, this is our own self-sufficiency plan,” like, and give, you know, an actual infrastructure plan rather than just blanket everything. “Okay, let’s just throw money at this program and throw money at that program!” It’s actually engaging and seeing how they can help the overall American people rather than have all these ideologies being pushed into different programs.
BRETT: Okay. Look, it’s a fair take. I’ve gotten this from people in my own private circle, okay, people who said, “Ahhh, it was a little… He didn’t come in and really go for it hard as Biden’s positions and things like that.” Jackson, I appreciate that phone call very, very much, and there are people who feel that way.
Maybe you feel that way. Maybe you want to see a more aggressive approach towards rebutting what it is that President Biden was offering up and is offering up on a day-to-day basis. Maybe that’s what you’re looking for. I would invite you to be a part of the conversation at 800-282-2882.
I want to go back to a clip from the beginning of this hour, the Tim Scott clip on “race is not a political weapon,” because what’s interesting to me on Jackson’s call is this idea that Tim Scott didn’t address that challenge. In reality, he kind of did. Listen to Tim Scott, race is not a political weapon.
SCOTT: The president absurdly claims that this is worse than Jim Crow. What is going on here? I’ll tell you: A Washington power grab. This misplaced outrage is supposed to justify Democrats’ new sweeping bill that would take over election for all 50 states. It would send public funds to political campaigns you disagree with and make the bipartisan Federal Elections Commission partisan.
This is not about civil rights or our racial past.
It’s about rigging elections in the future.
And no: The same filibuster that President Obama and President Biden praised when they were senators — the same filibuster that the Democrats used to kill my police reform bill last year — has not suddenly become a racist relic just because the shoe is now on the other foot. Race is not a political weapon to settle every issue the way one side wants.
BRETT: That’s a mainstream position, I think, in the Republican Party, what he just laid out there, and Republicans have been very aggressive in challenging H.R. 1 because of what it represents: Nationalization of elections. They’re putting it under the guise of civil rights. They’re putting it under the guise of important reforms.
But if we’re upset about who it was that delivered that message, that on its own is a challenge — and let’s be clear: The two people who were at the forefront of selecting the rebuttal speech to President Biden were Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell — Mitch McConnell in the Senate and Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader in the House of Representatives.
But there’s Tim Scott talking about H.R. 1, saying it’s not the right answer, saying it’s not Jim Crow, saying it’s an illegitimate bill, condemning what it was the Democrats did to him when he tried a police reform bill. Why do you now have a different approach happening? This is a big challenge all the way around, because Joe Biden said at the time of that speech last night — at the very beginning — I’m not talking crisis and opportunity.
He said, “We were facing three incredible challenges as a country: The pandemic, the economic impact of the pandemic, and the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War.” What he was referring to was what happened on January the 6th. It’s interesting to me that in the minds of Joe Biden and the Democratic caucus gathered and assembled there in the House Chamber, that what took place on January the 6th surpasses September the 11th.
In which, let’s not forget, the Capitol specifically was targeted by aircraft that went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I mean, I don’t want to divide and subdivide. But the idea that we’re pulling troops out of Afghanistan, we’ve spent trillions of dollars in the War on Terror — and, oh, by the way, the Pentagon, the Twin Towers, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, were all the result and the by-product of that worst attack (laughing) on American democracy.
The worst attack since Pearl Harbor, and Pearl Harbor was the worst attack since I guess you’d have to go back to the Civil War or the War of 1812. So it’s interesting the way the orientations are of the political players here. I believe… I believe that there was a “strategery,” to borrow a phrase from Rush and in the show once upon a time.
I believe there was strategery here, because they could have sent out Jim Jordan. They could have sent out somebody else — Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, whomever — and I do believe that Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy wanted to send out somebody who wasn’t then going to become the lightning, that Joe Biden needed to be the lightning rod today. Now, I’m not saying that’s the smart move. I’m not saying that’s the smart money.
I’m just saying that’s what the strategery was with those two men selecting Tim Scott. I think what Tim Scott had to work with there, he made a brave stand, and a strong stand in defense, in defense in a big way of where we are. But we certainly can take your phone calls on this.
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BRETT: Sal in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Sal, welcome to the program. What’s on your mind?
CALLER: Hey, Brett! First, I thank you for carrying the torch for the EIB Network. I’ve got a comment and I got a question.
BRETT: Yes, sir.
CALLER: I’m an engineer. Facts are my life. That’s how I make decisions. They’re black and white. No pun intended. I’ve written many things to convince many people with just the facts, keeping rhetoric out, a’la the way I was inspired by the Ross Perot of a bygone era.
Why isn’t the messaging of any sane person on the right something like that? Just put up a chart, put up a little thing with a little bit darting points and say, “Here are the facts,” and just cut through the nonsense and maybe get to the American people. What’s your opinion?
BRETT: Okay. So here’s my opinion? How do you mean present those facts?
CALLER: No, no.
BRETT: Like, how do you mean presents those facts to people?
CALLER: Just simply — and you could pick any topic. Say, “Okay, you know, global climate change. Here’s the chart, here’s the temperature of the earth, and here’s man-made CO2. They don’t match. The facts are over.” You could do that for any single point.
BRETT: It’s a very important point. It’s a very important, effective way to do that. I do think we see that to in some measure on the conservative front of pushing back on social media. But what ends up happening? You go to get the word out and you get canceled. Your account gets suspended. Your account gets banned. That’s the problem. Back in the days of Ross Perot, he could buy television programs.
CALLER: Yes.
BRETT: He was buying hours at a time on the networks. We all remember those right, Sunday night, Thursday night. He would break everything down for you. We no longer have that opportunity, ’cause most people aren’t consuming television at the same time. But what the left has been very good at — and I’m not talking your idea down. I’m just explaining.
What the left has been good at is controlling the parameters of where the debate can happen and saying, “Listen, if you try to put this on social media, you’re gonna become an unperson. We’re gonna block you. We’re gonna ban you. We’re gonna suspend you. We’re gonna put you into the memory hole.”
So it’s about having that information available on websites or in a particular location, and then being able to use that. Now, here, let me say this: RushLimbaugh.com has an amazing amount of information on that site, and you can go there as a member and you pull up arguments and conversations and riffs and monologues.
All that stuff was built by Rush over the years with his argumentation for 32, 33 years, and that is an endless supply of that. So I always recommend people to go to RushLimbaugh.com and to join Rush 24/7, because it’s an important and valuable resource that will provide the sort of stuff that you’re talking about, Sal. You’re a great call. I love your passion. Call back again.
Randall is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Randall, welcome to the program. What’s on your mind?
CALLER: Yeah, according to the Constitution, the people are supposed to run the country through the government. But what’s happening right now is the Democrats want to run the people through the government, which is tyranny.
BRETT: Mmm-hmm.
CALLER: In other words, the Democrat Party wants to bend the will of the people to match the government.
BRETT: Sure.
CALLER: In other words, basically, if you don’t conform to what the Democrat Party wants —
BRETT: Right.
CALLER: — they want to cancel you, they want to —
BRETT: Sure.
CALLER: — throw you in jail.
BRETT: Right.
CALLER: They want to do whatever they can to bend you to the government.
BRETT: Well, okay.
CALLER: And that’s not the way America is. That’s complete tyranny.
BRETT: Randall, I appreciate the call. Let me break it down this way. What they’re attempting to do is federalize all the institutions they can. They want to federalize the schools. They want to federalize the voting. They want to federalize the border. (Well, not really.) They want to federalize as many institutions as they can, and they’re doing that through the aggressive use of money going out the door. They want everybody as dependents as they could be from cradle to grave, because they know there’s votes in that there pile.
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BRETT: Let’s talk to Jim. El Paso, Texas. Jim, welcome to the program. You know, I grew up in El Paso, Texas. I’m happy to have you here.
CALLER: Really, Brett? That’s interesting. I was born and raised there for over 60 years now, so I’m very familiar with this border town all my life. The reason I called is that you had a caller earlier why you think that perhaps — and he said “in general,” he did say in general —
BRETT: Yeah.
CALLER: — African-Americans tend to vote for Democrats. And your answer was basing there’s pockets, gotta be careful not to rent them all together and stuff, and I agree with you 99.9% of the time. But on this one, I had to call because the reality is about 85% I believe it is the latest figure vote Democrat.
BRETT: Yeah.
CALLER: That doesn’t constitute pockets. It constitutes the vast majority of African-Americans voting Democrat. So, you know, I just wanted to touch that on that thing. I think you gave more of a politically correct answer, “pockets” and stuff like that. But the other thing is, offer a solution, you know, not just complaints of solutions, you know.
Solution, okay, I think that incentivizing… First of all, they try to destroy the nuclear family, and they have been very successful, the decades against African-Americans. That was step number one that they did. And then they deincentivized them for working and getting out by giving them free this and free that which is what they’re doing again with everybody now.
So what do you do? Well, try to put back the nuclear family. Incentivize to get out of the rut of living in government housing and food stamps and stuff like that. That’s what Donald Trump was trying to do.
BRETT: Right.
CALLER: And then educate them and make them realize… Not make them, but allow them to realize that they’re being used by these people by the Democratic Party, the party of the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow and segregation. All they have to do is go to the library because it’s no longer online. The library will is a good source for them to see that this is the truth. (laughs). There’s a truth about the history of the Democratic Party.
BRETT: I think the most important point you raise — and certainly we can disagree about the wording I’m using. But I think the most popularity thing you raise is the idea that you’re gonna have to go out there and sell the messaging to people on the granular level. Now, Donald Trump was successfully at that.
He pulled in whatever the number might be — 12%, 14% of the black vote — in ’20, but that is because he made a concerted effort. I remember back in 2016 when he went into Detroit and his pitch was, “What the hell do you have to lose?”
CALLER: Yeah.
BRETT: You’ve been trying this thing for 60, 70, 80 years? This is what you have to do. So I agree with the sentiment, but what has to happen is you have to go out there and you have to earn every vote you’re going to get, and that means going door-to-door, house to house, location to location to convince people. There is no way to throw a great tarp over an area and say, “Okay, now we have captured your votes.”
That’s not the case, because it takes a long time to build in the mind of people the need to start asking questions. Why am I accepting this standard of living provided to me by the government or whatever it is? Why am I not aspiring to more than that? And so what needs to be preached in many ways — needs to evangelized — is freedom, is liberty, is the opportunity to get up and to change the direction of your life.
We often hear about the bending of the arc of the moral universe. Well, nobody’s destiny is set until the moment they leave this earth. You have a chance every day to do better for yourself and your family, and I think that’s the important messaging. Jim, I appreciate the call. You’re a terrific caller. Please call again.