Washington Elite Seeks to Choose the 2012 GOP Presidential Nominee

RUSH: “Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told supporters in an e-mail early Sunday that he will not run for president in 2012, a decision he said ultimately came down to his family’s reticence about a campaign.” This is The Politico and, by the way, you can see the tears on my Internet page when I went to The Politico. I mean my screen started crying, The Politico just devastated here. And of course the inside-the-Beltway Republican elite are devastated here. Daniels not running, I am telling you, has upset a whole lot of applecarts in the Republican elite. This was an entire political apparatus set up here that was comprised of people wanting back in the White House, and Daniels was their vessel. And one of the reasons that they wanted Daniels was that they could control him. He was their guy and this has shaken up a lot of people.

The rest of the field is said to be weak, and, by the way, that’s starting to offend me, too, as though the Democrat field in 2008, Hillary and Obama and John Edwards was the epitome of a great field? I mean that’s a pretty weak field if you ask me. But anyway, this weak field business, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the pro-Daniels crowd, they need to come up with somebody who can fit that mold, and it’s not Romney. They don’t like Romney. And it won’t be Christie. Which, by the way, the regime has already started negative opposition research into Christie, governor of New Jersey. The Obama White House has already started and they are publicizing it, negative opposition research into Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. But the moderate wing of the GOP’s gonna need a substitute and it’s not Pawlenty. Pawlenty’s off their reservation in a number of ways.

Huntsman, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you see a very visible and concerted effort to push Huntsman to the top on the part of the inside-the-Beltway Republican elite and the media. The media, I mean it would be great for them, here’s another Mormon to take potshots at, and, remember, now, the media is into picking our nominee. And that’s the bad thing in here with the Daniels decision. “The announcement by the former Office of Management and Budget director and favorite of much of the Republican establishment will again roil the unsettled GOP field — and likely intensify efforts to convince another major candidate to join the race, such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.” But don’t forget the name Jon Huntsman. His name’s out there already, but don’t be surprised if you see a concerted effort by Washington Republican elites in the media to put Huntsman near the top of this list in the field.

“The Daniels e-mail, obtained by Politico, went out from Indiana GOP chief Eric Holcomb, a key Daniels adviser, soon after midnight, with the word ‘Urgent’ in the subject line. ‘The following is from Governor Mitch Daniels….’ the e-mail began. ‘I hope this reaches you before the public news does,’ Daniels wrote. ‘If so, please respect my confidence for the short time until I can make it known to all. The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate. In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.'”

Daniels’ wife Cheri — and remember, told you the story last week. I’ve been told for six, seven weeks that this is gonna be the outcome here. I’ve been told by a number of people, “Daniels is not gonna run, Rush, don’t even give it 10% a chance. His wife wants no part of it.” And yet Mitch did the dance, you know, all the way up until Saturday night. “Daniels’s wife, Cheri, was widely known to be concerned about the impact a campaign would have on their lives, which have followed an unusual path. Cheri Daniels left her husband and their four young daughters in 1993, married a former sweetheart in California, then returned and remarried Daniels – a set of circumstances that the pair would be unable to avoid talking about in the crucible of a campaign.” But, meanwhile, neither Ted Kennedy nor Bill Clinton nor John Edwards had any qualms about running for the presidency, and why not?

Well, look at Edwards. How many news organizations had the story that he had the girlfriend, that he had the baby out of wedlock, and they spiked it. They didn’t run with it. Edwards was Mr. Chosen, Ted Kennedy, of course, he was Mr. Chosen, 1980, until he blew it. Roger Mudd said, “Why do you want to be president?” Ba-da ba-da. He didn’t have an answer so he was finished. Bill Clinton, bimbo eruptions. The media does everybody they can either to make those things resume enhancements for Democrats or to cover ’em up. But for poor old Mitch Daniels we’re told that his wife’s divorcing him and remarrying him, that would be fodder for too much dirt.

“In a statement to the Indianapolis Star about his decision, he highlighted the role his family played in his decision. ‘On matters affecting us all, our family constitution gives a veto to the women’s caucus, and there is no override provision. Simply put, I find myself caught between two duties. I love my country; I love my family more,’ he said.” Now, who can blame her? In one sense, who can blame Cheri Daniels? All she has to do is look at how the media tries to destroy Sarah Palin, when she’s done nothing wrong. She’s done nothing wrong, except run for national office as a conservative. And Cheri Daniels, in modern American culture, done nothing wrong. Okay, so she divorces, remarries. Sarah Palin is a attacked as if she were a baby killer. But of course the fact that she isn’t a baby killer is one of the things that drives them crazy about her. They wanted her to kill her baby. But she didn’t. She had it. That makes her an enemy.

Now, get this. At this very moment, as of 9:30 this morning, one of Yahoo’s top stories is AP exclusive, “Former Palin Aide Pens Tell-All.” That was the top story as of 9:30 this morning at Yahoo News. The top story was: Sarah Palin nomination would be a disaster for the GOP. Cheri Daniels looks at this, says, “I don’t want that. I don’t need any of that.” The fact that Mitch Daniels has decided not to run would probably not stop the news media from doing the opposition research and attacking his family anyway because he’s still a Republican, and they’re gonna make sure that he stays out now. Of course they actually wanted him in, don’t forget, for obvious reasons.

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RUSH: Jesse Jackson. “the Reverend” Jackson never had any qualms about running for office. You know, no Democrat ever has qualms about running for office. They’re not worried about how their personal lives might end up harming them. They’re not worried about a media anal exam. But it’s a daily reality for Republicans. I mean, I’m still getting vitriolic e-mail from Mitch Daniels supporters. One guy just told me to stow my BS. “There’s a reason Mitch is popular in Indiana. Stow your BS!” What have I said today?

In fact, I came out in defense of his wife. Stow my BS? I didn’t do anything today. I think it’s interesting, folks that a lot of the inside-the-Beltway Ruling Class (including the Republican elite) gotta be a little ticked off this morning because Mitch decide he’s not gonna run for the presidency — and the world didn’t come to an end. I’m told — I didn’t see this but I’m told — that Karl Rove was on Fox & Friends today and did indeed mention Jon Huntsman as being in the top tier of Republican candidates. So there’s your replacement for Daniels, as far as a segment of the GOP ruling elite is concerned, in terms of who they are gonna support, push, or prefer.

(laughing) I still can’t get over Obama’s Irish roots.

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RUSH: Ryan in Newburgh, New York. Welcome, sir, to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Pleasure to get to talk to you, sir. Mega dittos from Newburgh, New York.

RUSH: Thank you very much, sir.

CALLER: What you said about before, about how Republicans get basically more vilified because of moral conundrums as far as affairs and, you know, out-of-wedlock children when they get in office. I think it is kind of a double-edged sword. I mean Republicans usually take the moral high ground because as opposed to Democrats usually have it and, you know, to me it’s kind of the equivalent of, if you found out that your janitor was having an affair with a mistress or another cleaning lady, you wouldn’t really take it as much, okay, the janitor, who cares. But if you find out that maybe your clergyman was having, you know, kind of extramarital affairs or just an affair with a woman in general, they would kind of go after him more just because of who he is and where he stands morally.

RUSH: You’re saying the Republicans set their bar high because they make a point out of morality in their campaigns?

CALLER: Pretty much, yeah, I mean not that it’s a bad thing at all. I mean that’s the way it should be. But that’s why I think they kind of go after ’em more because if you make a stance on, you know, family values, morality, et cetera —

RUSH: Oh, well, there’s no question that the left and the media would love to focus on hypocrisy because they can’t attack us on the substance of issues. They can’t beat us in the arena of ideas. So, yeah, you’re exactly right. They certainly will try to go the hypocrisy route and make a big deal out of that. And by the same token, the same people, the Democrats tell you the left can’t possibly be hypocrites because they don’t have these kinds of standards of denial of fun and behavior. The Democrat, we don’t judge people, you can do whatever you want, so they can’t possibly be hypocrites. In fact, in order to be a liberal, there must be nothing that you are not a hypocrite about. Plain and simple. Ryan, I appreciate the call.

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