RUSH: The phone lines in Washington continue to melt. I don’t even think I have to give the phone numbers out, but get ’em for me and put ’em up in a box somewhere because I didn’t keep the page from yesterday. We’re going to keep hyping the numbers because it’s working. Here is CBS News this morning on the Early Show, the correspondent Nancy Cordes.
CORDES: Members are getting so many calls from constituents on both sides that House phone lines have been overloaded. We couldn’t get through to anyone.
RUSH: We couldn’t get through to anyone. Now, they’re really hearing from both sides, right? (laughing) They may be by now, actually. Once the fruitcake left understands the success we’ve had in bombarding the phone system, they’re probably trying to get in on the act, too. Join us. Hey, go ahead and call, as many of you people on the left, here’s one number: 877-762-8762. That’s toll-free. The other is: 202-224-3121. We welcome all calls. We welcome anything that will shut the place down. Go for it.
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RUSH: Folks, you keep those phone calls going to 877-762-8762 and 202-224-3121. What’s happening is your phone calls are actually taking the Easter break to Congress. They are hearing today and yesterday and the day before, and they’re going to hear tomorrow, what they would have heard had they gone home and passed this thing, or not passed it. Your phone calls and what they think they’re going to hear from you is what is keeping the vote from happening. So to borrow a phrase: We are the ones we are waiting for to stop this travesty! Your phone calls are taking the Easter break straight to Congress. Keep dialing.
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RUSH: Okay, I have a couple of names here for you to target on the phones, ladies and gentlemen. One’s in Ohio and one is in Louisiana. But I’ll tell you, we just heard from Paul Ryan who said that a busload of seasoned citizens just arrived in the Capitol from Florida and they off-loaded there and they ran down the halls and they started pummeling people (verbally) they ran into, about they don’t want any part of this. Seasoned citizens all over the country are very up in arms. I’m going to tell you why, a very simple reason why they’re up in arms. They are watching. We’re talking Medicare here, and don’t think for a moment they don’t hear the words ‘Medicare cuts.’ Don’t think for a moment they don’t hear those words. They do hear those words.
They are watching a system that they think that they have paid into for 30, 40, or more years, and they’re seeing it being changed right before their eyes. These people, who think they’ve paid for all of this, are going to have their benefits, their services reduced, benefits cut so that people who have never paid one damn dime can get the same coverage — such as illegal immigrants? This is literally a matter of life and death for them. Medicare is life and death to these people. They believe that they’ve paid into it. To a certain extent they have. They have paid a portion of it. But now they’re watching all this is going to be extended to 30 million uninsured, and then they hear Medicare is going to be ‘cut’ to insure all these other people. Let me tell you, they are up in arms over this out there. That’s why busloads of them are showing up in Washington without anybody asking them to.
Now, here are a couple of names. For those of you in Ohio and those of you in Louisiana, from the Columbus Dispatch blog: ‘Representative Charlie Wilson is one of a number of Democrats who’s officially undecided about the final health care bill, but the St. Clairsville, Ohio, Democrat is giving off strong signals that he’s headed toward a ‘yes’ vote. Wilson…’ Is this dated today? Let’s see. I don’t have the date. It says ‘Wilson’s scheduled to participate in a conference call with pro-life religious leaders to say that these leaders are encouraged that this historic piece of legislation upholds restrictions on federal funding of abortion.’ You know what? You religious people, you have got to stop this single issue stuff on this, because abortions are going to be paid for. Planned Parenthood’s Guttmacher Institute… Don’t make me go get the story; I’ve got it here. The Guttmacher Institute is an arm of Planned Parenthood. It’s their ‘think tank,’ and they’re giddy.
What’s…? I’m going to have to get the number, damn it. I want to get the number. I don’t want to be wrong about this. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da. I just can’t find it. But they’re out there giddy because of all the new abortions that there are going to be. Because of this bill, federally funded abortions are going to happen. Remember, this is just ‘the starter house.’ So you people who live near Charlie Wilson’s district in St. Clairsville, Ohio, need to call him and say whatever he’s being told about abortion funding is wrong, that at some point everybody is going to be paying for taxpayer-funded abortions because Planned Parenthood wants it, and you need to ask Mr. Wilson: ‘How come Planned Parenthood’s not objecting to this? How come NARAL is not objecting? How come the feminists are not enraged over what’s in this bill?’
If this bill were actually going to cut funding for abortion, we wouldn’t hear the end of it. But we’re not hearing of a peep out of them because they know what’s really in this. I’m going to find that story. My memory says they’re looking forward to 30 million more abortions or a 30% increase in more abortions. I don’t remember what it is, but I’ll find it. So there’s one. Charlie Wilson from St. Clairsville, Ohio, a Democrat leaning ‘yes’ ‘because he’s been reassured that pro-life religious leaders are encouraged that this historic piece of legislation upholds restrictions on abortion.’ He needs to call Bart Stupak to boot! Now, the next one. Joseph Cao, and I’m still confused as to how to pronounce it. It’s not ‘cow.’ It’s ‘gao’ with a G. Okay. ‘Health Care Overhaul to Get Fresh Look from Rep. Anh ‘Joseph’ Cao, at Request of President Barack Obama.’
This is from the New Orleans Times-Picayune. It’s their website. ‘President Barack Obama on Wednesday asked Rep. Anh ‘Joseph’ Cao, R-New Orleans, to take a fresh look at the language on abortion in the Senate health care bill to see whether he could, in good conscience, support landmark health care legislation now days from a final vote. Cao, the only Republican to vote for the health care bill in either the House or Senate, said he would take another look. ‘He’s asked if I would restudy the Senate language and that I would approach it with an open mind. And I promised that I would go back and study the Senate language again,’ Cao said after meeting with Obama in the Oval Office for about 10 minutes Wednesday.’
It’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune. It’s their blog. So Charlie Wilson, St. Clairsville, Democrat — that’s in Ohio — and Joseph Cao are being asked to look at the Senate bill again. Cao didn’t even get Air Force One. Mary Landrieu got all the goodies from the Louisiana Purchase. Cao didn’t get anything. He voted ‘yes’ and he has said he’s going to vote ‘no.’ And now Obama’s putting pressure on him. ‘White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, whose powers of persuasion are famously expressed less delicately, was also in the Oval Office during their brief meeting.’ Joseph Cao said, ‘He did not whip me on the vote.’ That’s ‘whip’ with an H. So there are two people to focus on if you’re making phone calls in Washington. Again the numbers are: 877-762-8762 or 202-224-3121.
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RUSH: Doug in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, hi, welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. You and I go back a long ways. I’ve been a listener since right after the first Gulf War.
RUSH: Wow. Thank you, sir.
CALLER: Yes, sir, you’re welcome. I just wanted to tell you that what you’re doing with giving out the Capitol Hill phone numbers is definitely working. I called yesterday and today, and both times it took me a bare minimum of 20 minutes just to get a hold of the switchboard operator. And yesterday I called my congressman, John Adler’s office. We’re about 20 minutes or so from Philadelphia here in Mount Laurel. Someone — it sounded like a young lady — answered the phone, and of course she gave me the song and dance about he was undecided on the vote and but he did vote ‘no’ the first time and all this stuff. I came back at her and she got as frazzled as Obama did yesterday, when I questioned her about: ‘Why is it taking his 14 months to decide?’ Her comeback was, ‘Well, he wants to make an informed decision.’ Well, you and I both know that’s a bunch of garbage. He already knows he’s going to vote ‘yes.’ I called Pelosi, tried to call Pelosi’s office today, and again the same thing. It took me forever just to get the operator, and then when she tried to connect me to Pelosi’s office, the lines were jammed.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: So this thing is working, and to reiterate what you said earlier in the program about Obama going for this single-payer system : I personally have seen the videotape several times where he very clearly stated to some union people, and I’ll quote him: ‘I am a proponent of the single-payer system,’ so he is a flat-out liar and I’ll call him that to his face. He’s a liar.
RUSH: Of course. We have played that sound bite and others. We’ve played Barney Frank saying, ‘Single payer is where we’re headed.’ That’s what Jason Altmire in Pennsylvania… I don’t want to irritate the guy, but, folks, it’s entirely possible. I know this is hard to believe, but it’s entirely possible that you know much more about what’s in this than your member of Congress. Bret Baier knows more about what’s in it than Obama does. That was obvious from the interview last night on Fox. It’s obvious Jason Altmire does not know what’s in this. He does not know that we’re headed for taxpayer-funded abortions. He does not know we’re headed for single-payer, unless he’s lying to his constituents when they call. But I can easily accept the notion that constituents know more than their members of Congress about this. We generally think of them as the experts. We think of them as having access to more information than we have.
That’s not true anymore. Plus we’re not browbeaten by leadership like they are. We’re not bribed, we’re not bought off, and we’re not given talking points. You know, we just deal straight up front with the truth and the facts. These guys are into obfuscation. But it really stretches credulity for Congressman Altmire to say that he doesn’t see a route to single-payer in the Senate bill when all he has to do is listen to Barney Frank and his own party, listen to his own Speaker of the House talk about it, or his own president talk about it. I mean, it’s not all that complicated. It is what it is.
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RUSH: Here’s Patricia in Norfolk, Virginia, welcome to the program I have a minute-and-a-half but I wanted to get to you.
CALLER: Okay, real quick, Rush. Thank you so much. I’m a Rush Baby growing up, and I appreciate what you do for our nation. This is why I’m calling, is I want to let people know, number one, two years ago I had ovarian cancer and if I hadn’t been treated as promptly as I had I wouldn’t be alive today, so this health care fight, this is personal. I think if Obama and the Democrats pass this health care bill, this is going to affect my children’s or my children’s children and I’m not willing to let that happen. Number two, my husband is a health care worker, he’s in occupational therapy assistant that works for a medium-sized health care organization that provides health care to people who receive Medicare, Medicaid. We just got a memo this past week that says: ‘Legislative sessions have seen significant reductions in both the Medicare and Medicaid daily rates we are paid, therefore we are cutting back on your benefits.’ So thank you very much President Obama and the Democrats. My husband’s losing a paid holiday, they’re eliminating bonuses, and pretty soon we’re going to be looking at whether or not we have nationalized health care, we’re going to be looking at health care increases.
RUSH: And this is before Obamacare is even the law of the land.
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: It is going to be even worse. That’s the point of the Walgreens story. Walgreens, April 16th, in the state of Washington — and this is just the beginning — accepting no new Medicaid patients because they can’t make money filling the prescriptions. The government reimbursement on the prescriptions being filled is not enough to cover it so no new Medicaid patients. That’s it. All this by design, by the way. That’s just the forerunner and we could spend all day here with eyewitness accounts of how the health care system managed as it is by the government now is falling apart, but we don’t have time.