RUSH: This is Rick in Richmond, Virginia. Rick, I’m glad you waited. Welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush, it’s an honor to talk to you. Listen, I know we’re short on time, and thank God for the lady before me, because you answered a tremendous amount of my concerns and questions. I was one of the guys that was on hold that just doesn’t feel the fire in my belly that I’ve had. I’m 43 years old. I just don’t feel the way I think I need to feel as far as my commitment to the party, to the Republican Party with John McCain. And I know apparently somewhere along the way I have missed this rebuilding plan that you’ve got, and like I said, you’ve answered a lot of my questions except for that particular one. I don’t know if you can do it now or maybe after the break, if you can explain what this plan is, this rebuilding plan is, what I can personally do to see that it happens, or is this something that we’re talking about in the 2010 election?
RUSH: Well, the 2010 election… I can do this very briefly. I’ve got a minute here before the break so I can do this very briefly. The whole point is we’ve gotta deal with what is. We have McCain and he is what he is. He’s out there seeking as many Democrat votes as he can. I’ve got a couple sound bites from one of his supporters today, one of his employees, talking about how proud they are to be not associated with George W. Bush. I have a fear that John McCain secretly wants to destroy the Republican Party. After he gets the election, if he does, he’s going to take out after conservatives. I just think he’s going to come after conservatives as much as any liberals would. So I understand where you are on this. Whatever happens in the presidential race, the Democrats are going to have huge majorities in the House and Senate, and those majorities are going to have to be whittled down in 2010. The first order of business, regardless who wins the presidency, ’cause it’s not going to matter, the first order of business will be to continue to discredit liberalism in the eyes of as many people as possible. They, liberals and liberalism, must and will be the continued target, because they’re moving the agenda that our side is accepting.
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RUSH: Samira in San Antonio, Texas, you’re next on the program. Hi.
CALLER: Wow, what an honor. I’ve been listening to these people like Mona calling your program and complaining, and I’m calling to defend you, not that you need it. But, you know, first it was after the primaries, ‘Oh, it’s your fault, Rush, because you didn’t tell us who to vote for, and that’s why we got stuck with McCain.’ And, believe me, I’m as frustrated as Mona is with McCain as the nominee. But now they’re calling you up and saying, ‘Well, now you’re not supporting a third party,’ which I totally agree with you, that’s just going to hand the presidency to Obama. They’re mad because they want you to tell them what to do, they want you to fix it, and to me that is a quintessential Democrat complaint. They want somebody else to fix this. And I think they’re missing the whole point of who you are and what your role is and what your goal is when you’re talking to the American people. Your audience are thinkers, they’re intelligent people that think. And you want people to think for themselves, you want them to make decisions for themselves based on the facts and arguments you make. And your aim is to persuade them, not to control them. Unlike the Democratic Party, who is largely driven by the media, their goal is to take the lazy or stupid Democrats who passively sit by their TVs and pick up the little snippet talking points that tell them what to think and what to do. So, you know, to me it’s like don’t whine and say, ‘Rush, you didn’t do this.’ You’re telling us, get up there and do something. This is what’s going on, make your own decisions. You want us to assert our free will. So, to me, you know, people need to understand what your job is, which you’ve taken on and done a fabulous job of informing the public and educating the public, and they need to understand what their job is.
RUSH: You know, we need to hire you in our press relations department to help explain to nimrods out there what this program’s purpose really is. That was said, I mean, 90% exactly as I would say it.
CALLER: Wow.
RUSH: Maybe even 95 — exactly as I would say it.
CALLER: Well, if I don’t get fired by my boss when he hears I called into the show, maybe you can convince him to keep me.
RUSH: (laughing)
CALLER: (laughing) I’ll be calling you back for a job, but, you know, I just get frustrated. We’re supposed to do something ourselves, and what I think people need to do, and I think you’re spot-on in terms of the upcoming elections. I mean, the president can’t do anything if he doesn’t have the Congress, and since we’re stuck with McCain, we need to make the most out of the situation. A third-party candidate is not going to solve the problem. We need to be pushing for the congressional elections. I mean that’s how we got Bill Clinton. We had enough people, we didn’t have majority, but we had enough people, coupled with you and other talk show hosts to get the people motivated, and that’s how we stopped the Clintons’ health care proposal and many other things and how we pushed Bill Clinton to become more moderate. So we need to be focused on the congressional elections. I mean do what we can now to sort of salvage the mess it’s gonna be, and keep pushing for 2010. How much can Obama do or McCain do, especially McCain? He can’t do the kind of damage in two years that could be done if we hand it to Obama. I mean McCain, the reason for voting for McCain and the reason I’ll probably vote for McCain is solely for foreign policy. Either McCain or Obama are going to kill our domestic policy, but if we can limit it to two years then it may not be total destruction.
RUSH: Well, there’s a second reason for voting for McCain — I hate to say makes sense — but there’s another reason to put in that column, let me put it that way, and that is taxes.
CALLER: Oh yeah.
RUSH: If, if, if — and I know this is going to be contradicted by his support for the cap-in-trade program — but if — and it’s a big if — but right now he’s saying the right thing on taxes. He’s saying he wants to extend the Bush tax cuts, and he doesn’t want to raise taxes, and he wants to reform the tax code, everybody says that. That will never happen. But if his feet could be held to the fire on the tax question, which of course is a huge if, but he’s admitted that economics is not his strong suit, therefore he is going to be more reliant on advisors in that regard. We know with Obama we’re just going to get tax increase after tax increase. It’s going to be horrible. With McCain, we’re going to get some tax increase — see, we gotta fight and stop the cap-in-trade program, this stupid bill that’s going through the Senate now that doesn’t have a chance this time around, but they’re going to keep bringing it back. Those are the kind of things we can do. I want to say, Samira, one thing in defense of the people that you have called and discussed here. I understand where they’re coming from. There is a hunger because there is a vacuum.
There is no conservative leadership, no elected conservative leadership. And you can say that people should go out and take care of their lives and do their own thing and not look to others to fix problems. I don’t think that’s what they’re saying. I think in the case of Mona and others, they are very sophisticated, as you said. They’re aware that they can do all the right things in the world out there but they don’t have a vote in Washington. They have a senator or two, and they have a representative but those people have caved on them, too. There is not a voice. There is not a single voice of leadership. And no matter how self-motivated you are, when you’re talking about national politics, national policy, the only vehicle to implement things you believe is a political party. Media, we don’t have any votes. I can’t by virtue of vote affect the way things go. Media can maybe influence the way people who are there vote, but you understand what I’m saying? I understand it totally. They are craving leadership.
CALLER: Well, and I agree with that. I’m not saying that I don’t understand where they’re coming from, but what I’m saying is, if we need to get passion, I mean we gotta face what we’re facing. McCain is the nominee. If we try to do a third party, we’re going to lose —
RUSH: Well, yeah, of course, I’m not disagreeing with that. It is what it is.
CALLER: What I’m saying is get passionate about your local races, get active in your local races, and try to get better leadership in Congress. I mean that’s what we can focus on right now, that’s what we can get passionate about. And while we do that, the conservative message will get out there to the people because that’s who we’re going to be pushing, conservative candidates and the candidates that we can put out there. And that’s what’s going to have to be our passion for now. And, yeah, I agree, I mean believe me it’s overwhelming for me to think about what can I do. I mean, you know, I’m a person who is a self-starter–
RUSH: Now, wait a minute, wait a second. Look, look, time’s running short here and I’ve gotta go to a hard break, but let me — hee-hee —
CALLER: I believe you when you say it’s a hard break, by the way.
RUSH: Thank you very much. Well, this is not a hard break, but it’s going to be a hard break pretty soon if I don’t take it. Meaning hard to make it up. But the point is people who think they can’t do anything, they can. I’ve tried to tell people for all these 20 years learn to express what you think, learn the language, learn to engage people who disagree with you politically and ideologically, learn to persuade them, live your life the best way you can. We all stumble, but live your way the best way you can, with the values you hold dear. And I maintain you will have no way of knowing how many people you really influence. Many of the people you influence, you’ll never meet. They’ll just hear you. They’ll just see you. They’ll just watch you. You all have the ability to be leaders in your own way, in your family, at work, or what have you.
We all have the ability to take things by the reins and run with them, within our own spheres. My sphere happens to be a radio show. Yours might be where you work or school or whatever. Everybody has the ability to lead. Everybody has the — well, some don’t have the talent for it, but everybody has the ability to persuade, to learn, to interact with people, to influence others. Everybody does. Because everybody does influence — some people you meet, they influence and you don’t like ’em. Others you do. You influence everybody you meet. You cause a reaction on everybody you meet. If you look at it that way and have a plan that says the way you influence or impact people is going to be positive, believe me, you’ll do more than you can possibly even dream of doing.
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RUSH: I just got an e-mail here from a guy named Mort in Keokuk, Iowa. ‘Rush, you think McCain’s good on taxes? You should quit while you’re ahead. McCain won’t surrender overseas, but that’s where it ends. Sure, he gives lip service to tax cuts. He lip-services the liberal rhetoric on big shots like you being grossly overpaid and that tax-cut-for-the-rich stuff. Go back to your instincts. McCain’s awful. He’d cut a deal to tax the rich if the Democrats gave him amnesty. He’d throw you and other conservatives right under your 12-cylinder foreign jalopy. Mort in Keokuk, Iowa.’ It has not been a good day for Senator McCain here on the Rush Limbaugh program and the EIB Network, nor has it been a good day for that stupid spokesman of his who was on CNN by the name of Steve Schmidt. Whew.