RUSH: Next up is David Axelrod. Now, you know, Axelrod’s got this book, and he’s actually firing both barrels at some people, including the Clintons. And something that is fascinating to me, the Clintons — I have a theory about them. And actually I have a theory about many liberal Democrat politicians and personalities. I don’t think they can take it. I don’t think they can take very much criticism, real or half-baked or comedic, because they’re not used to it.
The Clintons, for example — but I’m sure you can think of your own examples — they get fawning press attention, and they have all their lives. I’m talking about from the mainstream press. Obviously not from the conservative media or conservative blogosphere, but the mainstream press, what they care about. New York Times, NBC, CBS, ABC, they salivate over these people. They have never been ripped to shreds. They have never had their characters assassinated. They have never had their livelihood attacked. They have never had one 1%, for example, of what Scott Walker has had to put up with just the last four years.
So when there is just a little bit of criticism, they can’t take it. And Axelrod, in his book, has had a couple of little zingers aimed at the Clintons, and the Clintons are forming a new war room to deal with it all. The story is from TheHill.com: “David Axelrod, the former top strategist to President Obama, has been annoying Hillary Clinton allies with his rash of recent comments about the would-be presidential candidate and her potential campaign.
“The staunch Clinton supporters feel as though Axelrod, who is promoting his new book Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, has taken unnecessary aim at Clinton and her team. ‘It’s not helpful, and it’s definitely not appreciated,’ said one Clinton ally. ‘The last thing we need is another round of headlines about lingering tension, and this is doing exactly that. When he speaks, it gets picked up, and people listen,’ the ally added. Another supporter added: ‘I think a lot of us are scratching our heads. Why is any of that necessary?’ A third added, ‘She’s been a great team player, she’s been very supportive of the president and she hasn’t gotten in front of him on a lot of issues so what’s he trying to do?’
“It hasn’t just been one or two comments or a rare, accidental slip up, Clinton insiders point out. It seems as though Axelrod is going out of his way to make a point. On MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’ earlier this week, Axelrod said John Podesta, who is expected to be Clinton’s campaign chairman in the coming months, ‘has to get control of the Clinton operation.'”
That’s what Axelrod said, and that has ticked ’em off. All Axelrod said was they’re in such a state of disarray over at camp Clinton, Podesta is gonna have to move in there and get control of the operation.
“In a radio podcast with Politico’s Glenn Thrush, he said Clinton’s paid six-figure speeches may have hurt her chances in 2016 and that he would have advised her to take a different approach.” That’s it. That’s all he said and the Clinton war room is motivated, and they are ready to fight back and destroy Axelrod. Now, my point is, if they think that is criticism, they ought to try walking in the shoes of any elected Republican in this country for one day.
I don’t think they could do it. I don’t think that the Clintons or the Obamas or any of the titular heads of the Democrat leadership could withstand more than a week of the kind of intense scrutiny that conservative Republicans get. It’s not just scrutiny. The left and its affiliates try to destroy the lives, the character, the reputations, and the credibility of political opponents. I’m telling you, people on the left, like the Clintons, have never had to deal with it.
I know what some of you are saying. “Well, what do you mean, Rush? What about all that stuff in The Spectator back in Troopergate? What about the stuff you’ve done, Rush?” It’s different. When we match and launch attacks on the Clintons, the mainstream media responds by launching attacks on us. The Clintons do not get treated — no Democrat does, no elected Democrats could withstand the kind of daily treatment in the media Republicans get. I just think this degree to which the Clinton people are upset with these dire and hard-hitting comments from Axelrod make the point.
These are mild things, that John Podesta has to take control of her campaign, and that Hillary might have trouble from her six-figure speeches. You know, I tell you what, folks, the fact of the matter is, Hillary has never faced a real hard-nosed opponent. She was given her job in the Senate. She was given her job as health care administrator in the Clinton administration. She was given her job to head up the bimbo eruptions unit. And I could make the case that even the Obama campaign treated her with kid gloves.
I don’t think Hillary Clinton has ever had to defend her lousy record in public office. She’s never going to be asked about it, her endlessly long list of scandals. And this is just proof, they can’t handle it. These are nothing. These are throwaway comments. These are the kind of things you don’t even react to. “I would have told Hillary to drop the six-figure speeches. I think those are gonna hurt her as she gets into the campaign.”
ISIS Folks Randomly Burn 45 People in Iraq
RUSH: RUSH: Breaking news from Fox: “ISIS Militants Reportedly Burn to Death 45 People in Western Iraqi Town — The western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi — not far from air base housing 400 US Marines — local police chief tells the BBC.” ISIS burned to death 45 people in western Iraq town of al-Baghdadi, not far from an air base housing 400 US Marines. Man, that’s a lot of random burning. Those folks are doing some really random burning out there, Islamic State. Not terrorism, of course.
RUSH: My brother sent me a note yesterday, “We got eight inches of snow in Missouri.”
I wrote back and said, “We don’t. It’s gonna be 75 today, 84 tomorrow.”
He wrote back and said, “I envy you.”
I said, “That’s why I sent you the note.” We South Floridians love it when the rest of the country’s freezing. It’s a smugness. We openly embrace it