RUSH: Verona, California, Nick, it’s great to have you with us, sir. Hello.
CALLER: Hello, Rush. I want to say it’s a great honor to speak with you today.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: I’ve been listening to you for seven years now, and I just want to let you know two things. One, congratulations on raising all the money for the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. It’s excellent what you’ve done there, and I do agree with you 100% that it shows the reason why so many people are interested in this. Because it does show an abuse of power, and somebody is actually able to harness that or show, you know, the abuse of power there, and kind of turn it around and do something good with it. I want to thank you for that — and, two, I just want to let you know that I’m shipping off to basic training in a few days, and you’re one of my inspirations. You kind of helped me to realize there’s a — I don’t want to say there’s more in life, but answer the calling. I want to say you’ve done a great job for the troops over the years, and I think you’re a great American.
RUSH: Well, thank you very much.
CALLER: You’re very welcome. I wish I had more to say. I’m just so nervous right now, I’m terrible.
RUSH: Brevity is the soul of wit. You don’t need to say any more. It’s all of us that really need to start saying a lot of things to you, including thank you and how much we honor what your intentions are, what you’re going to do, and how much in awe most of us are, because we’d never do it, and most of the people in the country would never join, and haven’t. It’s a special breed that do. Where are you shipping out?
CALLER: I’m going to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
RUSH: What branch?
CALLER: Army. National Guard.
RUSH: Well, congratulations — and thanks so much. I really appreciate what you said, more than you’ll ever know.
CALLER: No problem, Rush. Thank you for the good work.
RUSH: You bet, Nick. Thanks. This is Tom in Tremont, Illinois. You’re next on Open Line Friday. Hi.
CALLER: Hey, how you doing, Rush?
RUSH: Just fine, sir. Thank you.
CALLER: Hey, I just want to tell you something. My son just got on the bus yesterday to go to Iraq, and I really appreciate what you’ve done for these Marines. You know, this was kind of, I think, your gift to us parents that have Marines and go through struggles, and the grief, and also the pride that we have in these kids, and I just want to thank you and tell you that those Marines — I talked to them. I was out in Camp Pendleton last week for about four days, and those guys really appreciate what you do for them.
RUSH: Well —
CALLER: So I just want to thank you.
RUSH: Thank you. The vast majority of people in this country have such a great appreciation for what people like your son are doing that it’s difficult for us to express. (sigh) But I don’t know what to say. Can I tell the people out there something?
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: There is nothing that makes a person prouder than going to like a Marine Corps graduation or something, or not just Marine Corps, but a military graduation. Everybody needs to experience that once. The sacrifices that these kids go through… We took my boy Ben and all his buddies and their wives out for supper while we were out there, and then we cooked supper for them the next night, kind of a going-away present for them — and these kids are sacrificing things and 90% of the American people don’t realize what they’re doing. They’re giving up, basically four or five, six years of their lives, for service to this country — and people need to realize that. They really do.
RUSH: Now, wait. The vast majority of the people in this country do.
CALLER: Yeah, I’ll take that back. I didn’t mean it that way.
RUSH: It’s a crying shame that that statement that I just made surprises so many people. There has been a coordinated assault on this mission because of politics —
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: — for the last four years, and in the midst of that assault, the uniformed personnel, the boots on the ground, have also taken flak. They have been impugned by various Democrats that’s been reported in the media. Do I need to mention names? Jack Murtha. You know, all of these — baseless now — accusations about these uniformed people being rapists and murderers, all these phony soldiers that have come along who have never been to Iraq, said they were there. Lie, after lie, after lie. And that has been one of the things that’s been so sickening to so many about this, is that the political opposition to the war has included attacks on people who are volunteering to sacrifice their lives for the national security of this country. It is unconscionable to all of us, and far more people than you know share the view that I just expressed to you.
CALLER: Right. I asked those guys one night out there, I said, ‘Do you think the majority of the people are standing behind you?’ and one of them said, ‘Well, everybody that voted for Bush and whoever listens to Limbaugh stands behind us,’ and I just want you to know that you do a good service for those guys, you know. They also hear what you’re talking about Murtha and those guys, they hear that stuff, and —
RUSH: Of course, they do.
CALLER: — they are really concerned about it. They don’t like that stuff, you know? Anyway, that’s about all I wanted to say, Rush. But thanks for your support.
RUSH: Thank you, Tom. Thank you.
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RUSH: Ace, Cincinnati, Ohio. Hey, Ace.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. How are you?
RUSH: Fine, sir. Thank you.
CALLER: Mega dittos from Cincinnati, Ohio.
RUSH: Great to have you on the program, Ace.
CALLER: I’m a Vietnam veteran and Marine, and I want to thank you so much for what you’ve done for our troops and for awakening the sleeping giant out here. These comments from Dingy Harry and Murtha have rejuvenated me — and, because of your stance, I’m fired up. These guys have got to be ground to a halt quickly. Anybody — anybody — that speaks so badly of our troops needs to be kicked out of office and needs to be brought up on charges. We fight for our freedom, and we fight for our country, and these young men, like Nick, I want to thank him for following and just thank you and God bless you for what you’re doing out there. I wish I had the means to send more money. I’m a member of a Marine Corps League here in Cincinnati, and we stay active, and it’s because of Americans like you who take the stance on truth and stand up and speak it, that you’ve awoken a sleeping giant — and I believe you’re going to see a rejuvenation across this country because of people like you. God bless you.
RUSH: God bless you, Ace. Thanks much. Just one thing. There is no such thing as too little money when you talk about contributing to any charity whatsoever, but particularly in this instance, with as many as there are in this audience. There’s no such thing as, I wish I had more. I mean, I can understand you wishing you had more. We all wish we had more, but there’s nothing wrong with whatever amount that you can give and that you do, and whatever you give it, whatever amount it is, I tell you, when it goes to MC-LEF, they’re all appreciated equally. Don’t think less of yourself or anything other than that you’re doing great work when you give.
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RUSH: This is Bridget in Danielson, Connecticut. Hi, and welcome to the program.
CALLER: Semper Fi, Rush, and the next time someone insinuates that you have not served, you can tell them $4.2 million of you served.
RUSH: Thank you. Thanks very much.
CALLER: We have a boy in Iraq. He’s been there about a month. He is a 22-year-old combat engineer, and he said, ‘I won’t lie to you, I’m scared, but I want to do this, I have to do this,’ and all his buddies are there doing that as well. I know firsthand how hard it is to raise even a little money for a charity. Two weeks ago we spent about 12 hours out in the sun raising money for the Marines Helping Marines for the Wounded Marines Foundation. We raised $1,600 in 12 hours. So for you to raise $4.2 million just by the power of your voice and your position is absolutely wonderful.
RUSH: Well, thank you. It’s a testament to the audience. A lot of people in this audience participated in bidding the price up. The one thing that I’ve never forgotten, I usually say this around Thanksgiving time or Christmas, when all these emotions well up in me, but to me, I still pinch myself when I stop to think that there are that many millions of people deeply connected to this program, and very loyal to it from all walks of life in any which way you want to imagine, and they all, like you and others, have called here thanking me for what I do, and I’m basically speaking. You have a son in Iraq, as have many of the other callers today. I appreciate what you tell me about what the show means to you, but you and all the rest of the audience will never, ever, be able to know what you all mean to me, in so many ways. Look at you. Your son is in Iraq, all of his buddies are over there; he admits he’s scared, but he felt a calling, a sense of duty to go do it. That is honor. Especially in the atmosphere in which all of this is being conducted in this country today, it is people like me and throughout this audience who are profoundly grateful for what you do. Yeah, it might take you 12 hours to raise $1,600, but you raised $1,600.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: This is one of those things where the effort is as valuable as the result, and this is going on all over the country every day. So while your amount individually may seem not as much as you’d like it to be, you pool it with all the other military charities that are getting largesse of this kind, it all adds up. This is a national effort that’s taking place of things that you describe doing, and you should feel very good about it.
CALLER: I truly do, and I have to tell you that you are a counter to all the negativity. They — ‘they’ being the people that I know in the Marine Corps — and I think quite a few of them, that look to you for that uplifting support, that conversation that indicates that the rest of America doesn’t feel what they see on the news.
RUSH: Well, see, I appreciate that, too. But it’s unfortunate that the media has created the impression that a lot of Americans have no respect for the military. It’s not the case. It just isn’t the case. It’s just that those who are out there trumpeting their dislike or disrespect for the military happened to have their voices amplified by a sympathetic media. Then, when you have elected Democrats saying what Dick Durbin said about prison guards at Abu Ghraib and Club Gitmo, when you have John Kerry referring to US troops in Afghanistan, engaging in terrorism, storming into the homes of Iraqi citizens at night, when you have Murtha, before questioning the evidence, even waiting for the evidence to be presented and judged, concluding that we have murderers, and then he couches it with ‘they’re overworked; there’s not enough of them over there; there’s too much pressure on them, being driven nuts, they’re murderers,’ and this has to affect them. And, of course, the impression is that that represents a majority of thinking in this country. It doesn’t, and if it did, we wouldn’t be there, Bridget. If all of these things, all these polls, people want us out of Iraq, if they were really accurate, then the Democrats would have the political guts to go ahead and vote to de-fund it. The reason they don’t is because they know that the majority of the American people do not want to lose; do not want to demoralize the American military; do not want them to come home after waving a white flag. Be confident about that because I’m certain of it. Thanks very much for the call.
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RUSH: Waco, Texas. This is Frank. Nice to have you on Open Line Friday. Hello.
CALLER: Rush, it’s an honor.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: Once again the liberals engage in double-talk. I mean, they sit here and question your patriotism because you didn’t serve, and then they turn right around and call you a ‘microphone Marine.’ They can’t get it straight.
RUSH: (laughing) Well, I know. Well, that’s an insult. That’s a new term for ‘chicken hawk.’
CALLER: Yeah, well —
RUSH: Yeah, look that’s just who they are. Look, notice they do not dispute what I say, and they don’t argue with me about it — well, except for this case they perpetrate a lie. This is just name-calling. It’s the politics of personal destruction. It’s an attempt to discredit and destroy. That’s who liberals are.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Once you understand that, everything falls in line and makes sense.
CALLER: I know. I know. I have a question, Rush, and —
RUSH: Yeah?
CALLER: — I’ve been pondering it all week, and I figure if anybody can answer it, you can. The question is: Why don’t Americans vote their radios? And what I mean is, conservative radio is flourishing. Just all around the country it’s flourishing. Liberal radio fails every time that it’s tried. Well, that would imply that there are far more conservatives in the country than there are liberals. So why is that not reflected when it comes to time for a national election?
RUSH: Well, when you compare conservative radio to liberal radio, you come to that conclusion. What you have to do is compare conservative talk radio to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, MSNBC cable, CNN cable, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe — pick your paper — TIME Magazine, Newsweek — pick your magazine. That’s what we’re up against. Now, they used to have a monopoly. They don’t have a monopoly anymore, but they’re still big — and they coordinate, by the way. Have you ever noticed if you watch the CBS Evening News, the first two stories or three will always be the same —
CALLER: Oh, yeah.
RUSH: — on every network, with the same take? You don’t need to watch any of them. You can know what they’re all doing by watching one. It’s striking. It is a great example of groupthink.
CALLER: Well, that’s true.
RUSH: That’s what we’re up against. I think people are voting their radios.
CALLER: Okay. Well, thank God that we have you there to get that vote out.
RUSH: Amen. I appreciate that.