RUSH: Now, the Phil Mickelson story. There are two stories, actually. “Golfer Phil Mickelson May Call It Quits Due To Climbing Tax Rates.” This was Forbes. And the author here, Tony Nitti, is making some fun of Phil Mickelson being a very rich golfer who works so hard for his money and now complaining about taxes.

“Word is, Phil Mickelson is mad as hell about rising tax rates, and heÂ’s not going to take it anymore. What follows is a brief portion of an interview Mickelson gave earlier today,” this is yesterday, “after carding a final-round 66 at the Palmer Course at PGA West in La Quinta — which I assure you, is not associated with the La Quinta next door to your local Denny’s.” Typical snarky comment. I have played the Palmer course at La Quinta in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. It’s a great golf course, and this guy has to make fun of your little La Quinta Inn & Suites Hotel. It’s not that, don’t get confused. Mickelson’s not hanging around in some fleabag, winning a golf tournament, is what this guy says.

Anyway, he says that Mickelson “hinted that he is considering drastic career changes because of a combined tax rate nearing ’62, 63 percent:

“NITTI: When youÂ’re asked about [Steve] StrickerÂ’s semi-retirement, with the political situation the last couple months, blah, blah, blah, what did you mean by that? Do you find it an unsettling time in a way?

“PHIL MICKELSON: Well, itÂ’s been an interesting off-season. And IÂ’m going to have to make some drastic changes. IÂ’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes.

“NITTI: Meaning leaving from California?

“PHIL MICKELSON: IÂ’m not sure.

“NITTI: Moving to Canada?

“PHIL MICKELSON: IÂ’m not sure what exactly, you know, IÂ’m going to do yet. IÂ’ll probably talk about it more in depth next week. IÂ’m not going to jump the gun, but there are going to be some. There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and, you know, it doesnÂ’t work for me right now. So IÂ’m going to have to make some changes.”

Then the author of the story says, “To be honest, itÂ’s hard to blame Mickelson — who has compiled a net worth approaching $180 million by repeatedly striking a tiny white ball until it falls into a hole. … Let’s take a look what Mickelson’s up against in 2013.” And they go through what his federal rate is and his state rate, and then with Prop 30. The icing on the cake here is that Mickelson was going to buy into a portion of the San Diego Padres. Then they passed Prop 30 in California, and he pulled out of the Padres deal. He said, “I’m looking at a combined rate here of 63%. This doesn’t make any sense.”

So, anyway, the story got reported, was in Forbes, was all over the place. “In November, California passed Proposition 30, which increases the top income tax rate on resident millionaires to 13.3%, a drain on MickelsonÂ’s take-home pay that may force him to sell his 9,500 square foot mansion and flee his home state in search of more friendly pastures.”

Okay, so that was real, and Mickelson said all that, and it was reported. And there’s a follow-up.

Fox News: “Mickelson Backtracks on Further Comment on Taxes After Speaking Out Over High Rate — Golf star Phil Mickelson says he regrets publicly commenting that he may have to leave California over high taxes, saying he should not have spoken out on such a personal topic. In a statement to Fox News late Monday, Mickelson apologized to anyone he may have ‘upset or insulted’ with the comments that his high tax bracket was causing him to consider ‘drastic changes.'”

He’s apologizing. Phil Mickelson found it necessary to apologize for saying, “You know what, 63% tax rate combined, that may be too much. I may have to leave.” Something happened that made him think the wise thing to do was apologize. And what’s he apologizing for? Essentially for being selfish, for putting himself first. He’s apologizing for thinking about himself. He didn’t say the word selfish. It’s not in his comments or anything, but it’s what it means.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: So, ladies and gentlemen, what’s the lesson here with Phil Mickelson? You will not speak against the revolution. You will not speak against the tax collectors. You will not speak against high taxes without getting into trouble. Somebody paying 62, 63% of their taxes and complaining about it, is somebody to be shamed, is somebody to be targeted. If you are finding yourself paying 62, 63% of your income in taxes, you’re to sit there and take it, and understand that there’s even more coming your way, because you are the reason we have the problems we have in the first place. It’s because you haven’t been paying your fair share up to now. So that 62, 63%, we’re just getting even with you for all the breaks that you’ve had in the past.

So somebody saw the Forbes article, and somebody said, “Phil, you know what? You can’t act selfish like that with all these endorsements.” It had to be something like that. If your income… Well, again, I’m gonna stop there. It’s another one of these instances where I can only get into trouble by being right, and being right is very politically incorrect, so I’ll dial it back. Look, the bottom line, folks, is I don’t want anybody be under any illusion here. Obama has already defeated the GOP. All this talk about taking ’em out, we’re talking degrees. I don’t mean Republican voters, but I mean the RINOs, the Republicans-in-name-only, the establishment. They’re on the run.

Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, they’ve changed sides. Condoleezza Rice: GOP’s gotta stop turning off large segments of the population. Really? I didn’t know we were. But she thinks we’re turning off large segments of the population. I know what that means. Hispanics and other minorities and gays. And we gotta stop that. And then Colin Powell, I mean, he’s long ago left the Republican Party, but not in name. Not in name. See, the difference is, folks, you and I — we, the people — have not accepted this defeat. Not yet. We conservatives have not accepted this. But the Republican establishment has. And now the media and Obama have joined forces, and they’re going for the full-blown elimination of the Republican Party, and the Republican Party is helping out every phase and step of the way.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: No, folks, I’m not making this up. I’m checking the e-mail during the break. Phil “Mickelson apologized to anyone he may have ‘upset or insulted’ with the comments that his high tax bracket was causing him to consider ‘drastic changes’ in his life.” Phil Mickelson is apologizing for upsetting anybody who might have been offended at him saying he didn’t want to pay a 63% tax rate. Now, something happened.

Mickelson makes the statement (paraphrased), “If taxes go to 62% or 63%, I’m gonna take drastic action. I may have to leave the state. I don’t know.” Something happens, and he issues an apology for offending people over that? Uhhh (Soviet accent), “You do not speak against the revolution!” You do not speak against the tax collector. So now the right thing to do is to apologize for thinking that a 63% tax rate on your earnings is not fair. That’s unseemly, and you shouldn’t do it, and you need to apologize for offending people.

Holy smokes!