RUSH: Now, folks, I gotta be very careful here. I’m getting some e-mails here. “Rush! Rush! Rush! How come you haven’t commented on Boehner and the debt ceiling?” Come on, folks. Please. Did anybody expect anything different?

I have this phrase that I use and am guided by: Intelligence guided by experience. Some people reverse it and say it’s experience guided by intelligence. Either way, somebody show me in the past three years where there’s been a serious fight with Obama on the debt limit. The one time that you might consider serious, what happened? The government was shut down, and who got blamed and who got scared and who got punished?

There was no reason to expect anything other than a clean debt ceiling bill. Plus, it was the same old strategery we’ve been hearing. Every time one of these budget things comes up — be it the debt limit, be it the debt ceiling, be it continuing resolution, whatever it is — the strategy of the day is, “Look, look, look. We can’t win this, let Obama have this, and we’ll kick ass six months from now on the whatever comes up next!”

That’s what’s happening here. “Look, we can’t stop this. We’re not gonna stop this. We can’t have another government shutdown. We can’t let Cruz ruin it again for us! We can’t do that. So let’s just get this off the table! Let ’em raise the debt limit, it’s gonna happen anyway, and we will kick butt on Obamacare from now ’til the election,” and that’s exactly what happened. It wasn’t gonna be anything other than that.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: From The Politico: “White House Celebrates House Debt Vote.”

This is, ladies and gentlemen, is a textbook example of how the House Republicans are rewarded by the Democrats and the media for “compromising,” also known as “caving.” “The White House hailed the House vote to increase the debt ceiling as a ‘positive step’ and called on Congress to raise the minimum wage,” and while they’re at it, pass amnesty for illegals. “‘Tonight’s vote is a positive step in moving away from the political brinkmanship that’s a needless drag on our economy,’ press secretary Jay Carney said.”

The spokeskid “called on Congress to enact ObamaÂ’s economic agenda of increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and renewing long-term unemployment insurance benefits.” See? Nothing’s ever enough. The Republicans are desperate for praise from the media sector, and they got it. “Hey, Republicans, way to go! Way to compromise on the debt limit! Now, while you’re at it, how about extending unemployment benefits and raising the minimum wage?

“And, as an added bonus, if you really want us to love you, why don’t you pass amnesty?” I mean, it’s all here. (laughing) I’m surprised the headline isn’t (laughing), “Republicans Buck Limbaugh, Raise Debt Ceiling!” Well, speak of the devil, there is one story. Did I throw it on the bottom of the Stack? Yeah. They’re close to it. The AP: “GOP Bedrock Principle Dropped in Debt Limit Vote.” It’s by our old buddy Jim Kuhnhenn.

“It was once the backbone of the House Republican majority — the hard-line stand that brought President Barack Obama to the negotiating table and yielded more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction.” When the hell did that happen? When was there $2 trillion in deficit reduction? What was I doing when that happened? I missed that. It must have happened here ’cause it says it right here in the AP.

Let me read that again: “It was once the backbone of the House Republican majority — the hard-line stand that brought President Barack Obama to the negotiating table and yielded more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction. “On Tuesday, it abruptly vanished, the victim of Republican disunity and a president determined not to bargain again. During the summer budget negotiations in 2011, House Speaker John Boehner had insisted that any increase in the nation’s borrowing limit be matched dollar for dollar with spending cuts.

“It became the ‘Boehner Rule,’ a mantra of fiscal discipline. And while it didn’t always live up to [itself],” it still was something that looked good on paper. But now they wave bye-bye, and the headline is: “GOP Bedrock Principle Dropped in Debt Limit Vote,” and, by the way, the AP says (if you’re gonna read this story), it’s very smart. By doing this, Boehner has placed the burden of extending the Treasury’s borrowing authority all on the Democrats. Right. Right.

As though the media is ever gonna blame the Democrats. So the Republicans are probably sitting around saying, “Boy, we really won. They think we caved, but we threw ’em a curveball, and they struck out! Now all of this debt stuff is on them. Every new dime of debt, it’s all on them ’cause we let ’em have it.” I wonder if somebody in the Republican caucus said, “Wait a minute. Do you really think the media is gonna blame them for the debt, or are they gonna blame us again?”

Then we get to this: “White House Celebrates House Debt Vote.” So it’s “GOP Bedrock Principle Dropped in Debt Limit Vote,” and “White House Celebrates.” Yes, the White House celebrates. Nothing’s ever enough. Now they want amnesty. Now they want unemployment extensions. The Washington Post headline on debt limit: “Harry Reid Credits Boehner for Doing the Right Thing,” and then Dingy Harry “suggested that House Republican leaders should next hold a similar vote on immigration reform.”

See?

It never stops.

They always want more. It’s never enough. Dingy Harry did find some collegiality here, but it only went so far. “‘Boehner has said he’s going to pass a clean vote. If they do that, I’m confident that we’ll move over here as quickly as it can,’ he said, before cautioning: ‘But I put nothing past the Tea Party-driven Republican House.'” (laughing) It’s all so predictable. It’s all just…

Every syllable of this is totally predictable.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: This is yesterday on Capitol Hill, House Republicans’ press conference, a Q&A. A reporter said, “You’re putting up the minimum number of votes to get a clean debt ceiling passed. It’s a ballpark in my opinion. I mean, I know you had the Sandy vote last year which was only 49 Republicans. Isn’t that some abdication of the responsibility of the majority party?”

BOEHNER: Let his party give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants. It’s a disappointing moment, I can tell you that. We don’t have 218 votes, and when you don’t have 218 votes, you have nothing. We’ve seen that before; we see it again.

RUSH: What? I don’t even know how to analyze that. This is just… Let his party give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants. It’s a disappointing moment, I can tell you that. We don’t have 218 votes…” You know, the subtext is: “Damn Tea Party! Damn Tea Party! Damn Tea Party! Damn Tea Party! Damn Tea Party!” I don’t think they cared. He wasn’t out there whipping the vote count. They didn’t care. This is one of these bumps in the road. Get it out of the way. Hope the car sees the bump and adjusts the suspension accordingly. You don’t break the axle. So you keep rolling down the road.

Let’s go back. May 9th, 2011, Economic Club of New York, Congressman Boehner.

BOEHNER 2011: Let me be as clear as I can be: Without significant spending cuts and changes in the way we spend the American people’s money, there will be no increase in the debt limit — and the cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in the debt limit that the president is given.

RUSH: Okay. So that was the throwing down the gauntlet there you be in 2011, and then yesterday, ” Let his party give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants. It’s a disappointing moment, I can tell you that. We don’t have 218 votes, and when you don’t have 218 votes, you have nothing,” and people still call me and say, “Why don’t the Republicans fight?” (laughing) I’m sorry to laugh, folks, but what else are you gonna do here? Here’s Dingy Harry, praising Boehner for courage.

REID: I commend Speaker Boehner for doing the right thing. I put nothing past the Tea Party-driven Republican Congress.

RUSH: This is… Folks, I can’t keep a straight face during this. Just can’t.