RUSH: Here’s Dan, Cherry Hill, North Carolina. Hi, Dan. It’s great to have you on the EIB Network. Welcome.

CALLER: Thanks for taking my call. Mega dittos from the Tar Heel State, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.

CALLER: I was listenin’ to you on the way home from work, Rush. And I was listening to you read the Bob Dole piece. And I was listening to you talk about the established Republican elite up in Washington that doesn’t want Newt Gingrich as the nominee. And, you know, for us who go to work every day, you know, middle class guys that just fires me up. That just means I want Newt that much more. We need somebody in Washington to shake the Republicans up.

RUSH: So —

CALLER: That’s exactly what we need! Those Newt guys got elected in 2010, and they’re under the weight of the Republican establishment now. We need somebody up there that will shake some stuff up.

RUSH: I was wondering… Dan, thank you. Let me tell you what he’s saying. I was wondering. I was hoping… Well, I don’t hope. I was curious to see if I’d get any calls today from people who said, “This Newt stuff doesn’t bother us.” Now, Newt is dropped precipitously in the Rasmussen poll. At the beginning of the week, I forget, Rasmussen was Newt up? He was either tied or up. They arrived here from South Carolina, and Newt was leading in the polls. At one point he was up 12, I know, and other poll seven or eight. They were talking, “Oh, my God, what? We thought it was gonna be Romney. My God, if Newt wins Florida, oh, no! The whole thing is upset. Oh, gee, what are we gonna do?”

The latest Rasmussen today has Romney 39 and Newt 31. So Newt’s gone from whatever he was over Romney to now 39-31 trailing Romney. Before I think this stuff hit. I’m not sure. The poll came out today; I don’t know if it’s a a phone poll that included phone calls last night when this stuff started. But I was just wondering: “How many people on the Newt bandwagon look at all they stuff, say, ‘You know, you people, you think you can turn us off to Newt. You think you can drive us away. You think you can force us to run to Romney, but you’re just wrong,” and this guy from Cherry Hill, North Carolina, Dan, you know what he’s basically saying? “We want somebody who everybody hates. We want somebody who doesn’t get along with people in the Washington! Washington is the problem. If Washington hates somebody, that’s good enough for us.”

That’s what he’s saying. That’s what he’s saying: “If Washington hates Newt, Newt’s who we want.” These people, Tea Party, they’re sick and tired of the Washington insiders, the elites running everything in both parties. I was wondering, how many Newt…? (interruption) Not in this campaign he’s not. We’re not talking reality here, Snerdley. Snerdley’s shouting at me, “What are you talking about? Newt’s the ultimate Washington insider! He’s lived there 35 or 40,000 years.” I know, I know. But perception. The perception is that everybody in Washington is now literally trying to take him out, and the Newtsters are saying, “That’s exactly who we want! If they hate him, we love him.” I don’t know how widespread this sentiment is, but it is out there. And that’s what Dan from Cherry Hill was talking about.

RUSH: Sherry in Morris, Illinois, I wanted to get to you. You’ve been holding awhile and I appreciate it. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. I support Newt Gingrich. I am not at all shocked by these revelations. Newt Gingrich is a very smart man. There is absolutely no way you can become an agent of change in the Republican Party unless you become part of the establishment. And if that meant repudiating Ronald Reagan to move into the establishment, then that’s what he did. You can’t do anything from outside the tent, you have to be inside the tent. I firmly believe that Nancy Reagan, Michael Reagan, would not be endorsing Newt Gingrich if he wasn’t a conservative.

RUSH: Maybe Newt is behind these attacks on himself on purpose. ‘Cause this seems to be firming up his support.

CALLER: You know, I don’t doubt it. He is a very intelligent man, and, you know, you have to be an idiot to look at and say… He had to become part of the establishment to do several things. We never would have had a Contract with America.

RUSH: Right.

CALLER: He never would have been Speaker of the House.

RUSH: That’s right.

CALLER: And once both sides of the aisles realize they’ve been duped, they both close ranks around him and that’s why he got pushed out the door.

RUSH: There you have it. All right. Sherry, thanks so much. I wish I had more time. We’re really up against it here, but consider that. She thinks it’s possible that Newt himself orchestrated the attacks on him.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: You know what I think Newt’s next move might be? Newt, after tonight, look for him to offer himself as the conservative alternative to himself. Newt will be the conservative alternative to Newt.