RUSH: Let me go to Kyle in New Albany, Indiana. Kyle, I really appreciate your waiting. Thank you, and welcome to the program, sir.

CALLER: Hey, Rush. Holiday greetings from the great state of Indiana and home of Mitch Daniels who would have made a much better candidate, in my opinion. But I wanted to comment. I hope that the Republican leadership is listening to your show today because I think there’s millions of people like me who are completely frustrated with the way that the leadership of the Republican Party is dealing with this fiscal cliff issue.

These guys need to take a class on how to negotiate. They’re not even willing to send the message to the American public that they’re willing to go over the fiscal cliff. I mean, on the talk show on Fox on Sunday, Boehner was asked multiple times, “Is there a chance we’ll go overt fiscal cliff?” and he refused to answer the question. He just said, “We won’t do it. We won’t do it,” and I think that that gives —

RUSH: Well, wait a minute. That’s answering the question.

CALLER: Well, but it doesn’t. (laughs) I think we had a stronger position that said, “Yes. If we don’t get concessions from the Democratic side, we will go over the fiscal cliff.”

RUSH: Well, I don’t think they want to go over the cliff because they know they’re gonna get blamed for it and they have no answer. I do. We all do. They don’t. So they’re… (sigh) Look, in an effort to try to make sense of this, I put myself in their shoes. They’re in a business just like any other business, and there are professionals and amateurs. We are all amateurs in their business, in the sense that none of us do it.

So I try to put myself in their shoes.

In one sense, I do wear their shoes.

I’m constantly blamed. I’m ripped to shreds. I’m lied about. I’m mischaracterized.

But getting an audience is a different thing than getting votes. I can get an audience being hated. They can’t get elected being hated. That’s just a simple reality. So they are highly sensitive to being blamed for things, whereas I take it as an honor. If I’m blamed for something, I say (laughing), “I’m a radio guy, can you believe it?” But that’s the point. They’re blamed for stuff all the time, and no matter what they do they’re going to be get blamed for it.

So I, as an amateur, always say, “Why not just do the right thing? You’re gonna get blamed for it anyway, so why not stand up for your principles?” and that then leads to the question… You know, we think they’re all conservatives. Maybe they’re not. Maybe they cannot articulate it the way we do. There could be any number of explanations, but putting myself in their shoes, they all know what’s coming economically, and it’s a disaster.

They don’t want to be blamed for it.

They’re going to be no matter what.

That’s what’s being set up.

But the frustrating thing is that they all think that they can change that by agreeing in part with what Democrats want to do. Or they all think they can be liked if they do, in part, what Democrats want to do. I also think that there’s another factor here. I think not just these guys, I think Republicans everywhere are afraid to stand up to Barack Obama. They’re afraid to stand up to Obama because that’ll make ’em racists.

They believe that, especially after an election which they lost. Their party lost. They still run the House, but they probably conclude Obama is wildly loved, still adored, and in their world, it makes no sense to go after Obama. It’s only gonna redound negatively to them. I think it is clear that that’s the view of the party. The party, we’re in this position… I said yesterday, “Obama is a cult-like figure. Obama has legions of support among people who have no idea who he is.”

It was left to us — I mean the Republicans — to tell the American people who Obama is. They refused to do it, did not want to go there, and this is what happens. The media wasn’t ever gonna tell anybody who Obama is in the sense of vetting him. So by avoiding that part of the campaign… And I don’t mean college transcripts. I’m talking about who he is ideologically, who he is policy-wise, what his view of the country is, where he wants to take it.

Why does he look at the country the way he does? There’s no… Believe me, there is not even a desire, there’s no compunction, there’s no thought of ever going there. So Obama is gonna get a free ride with all of these assumptions. “He’s a great guy!” We even said so. “Hey, he’s a wonderful guy! He’s a great family man. He’s just in over his head.” He’s not in over his head at all. But anyways, you put yourself in their shoes and you can understand it, but it doesn’t help at all.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Randy, Sparks, Nevada, great that you called. Welcome to the program, sir.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. About ten years ago after the ’02 election when the Republicans did quite well that year, they started pushing through a lot of conservative bills, sending ’em to the Senate, and this made Ted Kennedy really mad. I remember seeing him on TV going on a rant about how this is not a mandate for the Republicans to push through their agenda and that he still has constituents to represent, and they put him there for a reason, and they’re gonna do everything in their power to stop them from pushing through their agenda. My, how the tables have turned.

RUSH: Meaning what?

CALLER: Well, meaning the hypocrisy of the Democrats, ’cause they think they have this mandate right now after winning the election. And after the Republicans won their election, when they tried pushing through their agenda, that made the Democrats mad. And Ted Kennedy went on this rant. He was on TV —

RUSH: Well, I know, but are you saying that the Democrats, since they won, should say that they don’t have a mandate?

CALLER: Well, no, what I’m saying is, the Republicans need to step up and stand their ground like the Democrats did.

RUSH: Oh, you want the Republicans to stand up and say, just ’cause Obama won doesn’t mean that he’s got a mandate?

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: Yeah. Oh. Well, that’s such a foreign concept I didn’t even think of it. Isn’t gonna happen.

CALLER: Probably not. But, I mean, you know, ’cause it was only four years later–

RUSH: Look, when the Republicans win elections, the Democrats run around and say, “This does not mean that the minority has no power,” and they start campaigning for minority rights and minority dominance in the Senate and in the House. That’s just who they are. They do not accept defeat.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: They do not accept defeat. When we lose, we try to join them in their victory.

CALLER: Right now, Boehner and the Republicans seem like they’re just ready to roll over and give ’em what they want.

RUSH: Well, I know it looks that way. Why do you think Boehner is doing that? There’s no wrong answer. I’m genuinely seeking what you think. Why do you think Boehner does that?

CALLER: Well, I just don’t think he wants to look like the bad guy.

RUSH: A-ha. There you go. You see, it’s all rooted in that. The media concocts all of these narratives and templates, and the Republicans accept them, such as, don’t criticize Obama. The independents don’t like that. The independents want people to get along. The independents and all these people that determine the winners of elections, they want everybody to be singing in the same hymnal, and they want everybody to work together, bipartisanship and all that. And so we don’t criticize Obama. So we don’t define Obama. We don’t tell people who Obama is.

But, by the same token, the Democrats can come out and call us the most vicious names, refuse to work with us. Harry Reid, before the election, can say, “If Romney wins, I don’t care, we’re not working with him. That guy’s a scumbag. You think I’m working with a scumbag dog killer?” The independents don’t seem to mind. Independents don’t get mad at that at all. Somehow, the Republicans have bought the notion that any criticism of Democrats is gonna be met very poorly with the 47%. We can’t do that. So I really think that a number of Republican leaders think that they are outnumbered eight to one. They act like that, behave like that, and they believe that standing up for themselves is gonna only make it worse. That’s what it appears to me.

Look, I’m glad you called, Randy.

Thank you.

Tom in Warren, Michigan. Glad you called, sir. Welcome to the EIB Network.

CALLER: Thank you, Rush. I can’t believe I got on. I have an idea for you to think about. Right now the Democratic narrative is, the top 2%, they’re evil, and we have to punish them by raising their taxes. Let’s agree with them. Let’s raise their taxes to 100%. This will do two things. It will force the Democrats who know that the top 2% is the golden goose where all the taxes come from, the top 40% of our taxes, it will force the Democrats to defend the wealthy, all right, and if they don’t, then the wealthy will move out of this country, and they won’t have anything to go back on. They’ll have no fallback position.

RUSH: You’re forgetting a third possibility.

CALLER: Let’s hear it.

RUSH: The Democrats would agree to do it and find a way to exempt their rich people.

CALLER: Well, see, right now we control the Congress. They will write the law on taxes. There will be no exemptions. That’s what the Democrats are hoping for. Even this little percent, the John Kerrys, the Pelosis, the George Soroses of this world, they know that their friends, their Democratic friends, are gonna give them an out. They’re not gonna pay these taxes.

RUSH: No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait. How is that gonna happen? How are those people gonna get an out on paying the taxes?

CALLER: Well, in every one of these tax bills there’s always, you know, a deduction’s made in such a way. What I’m suggesting is that there is no deductions for the wealthy. You make $10 million, the first $250,000 tax-free. The rest you have to send in.

RUSH: Well, that’s not a hundred percent.

CALLER: Well, you gotta let the poor man have his $250,000, Rush. But at that point, what will happen to the wealthy? Where would they go? What country are they going to? Where is John Kerry gonna move his money to?

RUSH: New Zealand.

CALLER: That’s right. Nancy Pelosi? She sells her vineyard out in —

RUSH: She won’t have to move. She won’t have to. San Francisco is a foreign country. Folks, we’re getting a little weird here now. There’s not gonna be a hundred percent tax increase on the rich. We cannot continue to stand for disaster, support disaster, advocate disaster to teach people a lesson. We’re in the middle of a disaster. It’s incrementally happening. Your 100% tax rate on the rich is incrementally happening. There is an all-out assault on every achiever, and it’s not just millionaires. It’s people starting at $200,000 a year. There is an all-out assault on anybody who has any disposable income. We are in the middle of this. It’s happening incrementally. We don’t have to make this proposal. It has been proposed. It’s in the process of being implemented.

What we need to do is find a way to stop it, and that means standing up and opposing this at every turn on every proposal, every idea. Every Democrat idea, oppose it. It’s the only choice that we’ve got. Folks, I’m worn out with this thinking, let disaster happen to teach people a lesson. That’s been happening. And the lesson being learned is that there isn’t a disaster. The government’s gonna take care of people. That’s the message of the Democrat Party. You’re out of work for four years, no worry, we’re gonna expand and extend unemployment benefits. And then we’ll give you some more food stamps. And then we’ll bail you out of your student loan. That’s their message.

There is no disaster for the beneficiaries of the Democrat Party. The disaster is for the people who work and earn their way. I’m sorry, there’s no lesson to be taught here. There’s a country to be saved, pure and simple.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Folks, look, I’m a little worn out, fed up, and very impatient with these ongoing assaults on the people who work in this country. Let’s tax them a hundred percent, teach people a lesson. Let me tell you something, if the current disaster is not teaching people a lesson, nothing will, unless we make some drastic changes. I’m here to tell you, the solution to this problem does not involve punishing people who work.

You know what needs to happen? Unemployment, 13 weeks, and that’s it. Food stamps, a month or two, and that’s it. If you’re able-bodied, capable, you have your mental acuity about you, that’s it. We are coddling the wrong people and punishing the wrong people. We’re blaming the wrong people and we’re exempting the wrong people, all in the name of phony compassion. It’s not doing anybody any good. We’re not teaching people to be productive and instead we’re teaching them that there’s nothing wrong with being slovenly. I hear all these ideas, raise taxes on the rich, take away their deductions, all that crap. It’s stupid! It’s what they did in the Soviet Union: punish success, punish achievement, punish ambition, kill it! Make everybody dependent on the government.

To hell with that. I’m telling you, if we go over the cliff, the sky’s gonna be blue. The birds are gonna be chirping. The unemployed are gonna have their money. They’re gonna be eating. They’re gonna have their big screen, their cell phones. Nothing’s gonna change. Nothing. Not in terms of disaster. It’s only gonna get worse for the people who are working. The burden on them is gonna increase. Why do we want to punish them? What is the crime in working? What is the crime in success? We’re criminalizing it for all intents and purposes. We’re ginning up hatred for people that take care of themselves, resentment, all of this stuff. It isn’t healthy. It isn’t good. We gotta stop borrowing money, political money, buying things we can’t afford.

We can’t afford all these goodies. We can’t afford all these freebies. We are damn lucky there are still millions of enough people who want to take care of themselves. If everybody just chucked it and said, “You know what, I’m gonna let Obama be my dad, my mother, my Santa Claus,” where would we be?

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I know some of you disagree. You think that until we take Warren Buffett’s money away and Hollywood’s money away, we’re not gonna accomplish anything. We can talk about it. I don’t care.