RUSH: To the phones. Who’s next? Bob in Columbia, South Carolina, you’re next, sir, on the EIB Network.
CALLER: Hey, Rush. Mega dittos from a USC grad in Columbia. I just wanted to talk about a little bit about what I saw around the debate yesterday.
RUSH: Yeah?
CALLER: I noticed for the last couple of months or ever since the Democrats took over Congress, they’ve been pounding it down our threats that the base is not energized, and it’s just a matter of time until they sweep into the White House, you know, and they have a ticker tape parade in New York and take over the country. But from what I saw in Columbia, the Republican base is very energized, and they’re looking for somebody to lead them. There is thousands of people out —
RUSH: Let me tell you, this business about the Republican base not being energized? Let me give you two words: Hillary Clinton. If you want to energetize the Republican base, make her the Democrat Party nominee. I guarantee you, the Republican base is going to be energized; I will see to it. It’s going to happen. It’s just hard to get it now. All this energy now would be wasted. People don’t have that much they can spread out over 500 days, or longer. You’ve got your anecdotal evidence of stories from what happened inside the hall last night in South Carolina, but believe me, there’s going to be passion about this. If anything, if anybody is having trouble out there, and I got a couple stories we’ll get to today, the Democrats are having some trouble. Looking at the congressional approval number. I know Roger talked with you about this yesterday. The approval for Congress is beneath Bush. It’s at like 29%. Bush is polling steady at 33% out there. Now, why do you think that is? By the way, the Iraq funding bill failed. ‘The Senate today rejected legislation that would cut off money for combat operations in Iraq after March 31st of next year, less than a year from now. The vote was a loss for Senator Feingold…’ this is an AP story, ‘…and other Democrats who wanted to end the war. But the effort picked up support from members, including presidential hopefuls previously…’ Picked up support? It went down to defeat 67-29! It picked up support?
Only the Drive-By Media could look at it and see it that way. They say it picked up support because Mrs. Bill Clinton — a presidential front-runner, it says here — ‘previously opposed setting a deadline, but she said that she agreed to back the measure because ‘we, as a united party, must work together with the clarity of purpose and mission to begin bringing our troops home and end this war.” And then, of course, Barack Obama, another leading 2008 prospect, it says here, said ‘he would prefer a plan that offers more flexibility but wanted to send a strong statement to the Iraqi government.’ These people were allowed to vote for this because there was no danger that their votes would count. The Democrats are not going to pull out of Iraq, folks. If they win the White House, as I have said countless times, they’re not going to do it. They will not pull out of there, and they will not engineer defeat unless they can hang that around Bush’s neck. But they’re not going to hang it around their own. Somewhere in that party, there are some adults who are going to keep that from happening. They’re not going to pull out of there. Again, if the Democrat base — and we know who they are. It’s a bunch of kooks, but they’re small. They’re thought of to wield far more power than they do because the elected Democrats listen to them and the Drive-By Media is fascinated by them, and their world view is that that’s the only action in town: what’s happening in the Democrat Party among their base.
There’s no legitimacy to the Republicans, just in the world view of the Drive-By Media and the American left. So that’s why their attitude about Republicans and the base, eh, they thought the Republican base was a bunch of idiots and kooks, but probably the Republican base is not going to vote because Jerry Falwell died. I mean, they have the screwiest view of Republicans. They still have not taken the time to learn who conservatives are, what they are and what they really think,because they don’t think it’s legitimate in the first place. But I’ll tell you what, they’re running around telling us the American people want us out of Iraq. Here’s a chance! De-fund ’em. Bring the troops home next March. It goes down to defeat 67-29, and they try to tell us that that election last November was about the will of the people, about their desire to get out of Iraq? Don’t be fooled. Hillary and Obama, they’re just voting on this bill to shore up their credentials with the kooks in the Democrat base, but they didn’t have a chance of actually being held accountable because they knew the bill wasn’t going to pass. The last thing Mrs. Clinton wants — and I’ll guarantee you, the last thing Mrs. Clinton wants, Obama may not care, but the last thing Mrs. Clinton wants — is for that bill yesterday to win with her voting for it. That would be death for her, and this vote proves where the American people are on this whole notion of defeat and losing the war in Iraq.