RUSH: Harry Reid has been caught in a verbal slip-up where he actually admitted what’s on the agenda. Harry Reid, Dingy Harry, actually admitted what the Democrat Party objective is. Grab audio sound bite number 13. Yesterday morning in Washington, on the Senate floor, here is Dingy Harry.

REID: (whispering) The anti-gun legislation before the Senate, we’re making good progress in the effort to schedule a series of votes on amendments to the anti-gun violence legislation before the Senate.

RUSH: Anti-gun! He said, “anti-gun.” They maintain they’re not anti-gun. They maintain they don’t want to take our guns away. They maintain they want people to continue to be able to hunt. They’re not “anti-gun.” Except that they are, and Dingy Harry let it slip. For example, the Assault Weapons Ban? We’ve had one of those before, and the problem is there’s no such thing as an assault weapon. It’s just a created title. It’s a created label.

It’s nothing more than a name the Democrats and people on the left created to gin up anti-gun sentiment among people. There’s Dingy Harry saying, “the anti-gun legislation,” a faux pas in which Dingy Harry has let the cat out of the bag.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: The Senate vote on the background check bill, the gun control bill, is still scheduled for four o’clock this afternoon. The Associated Press says that the bill is in peril; it may not pass. Again, remember, folks: 4% — only 4% — of the American people care about gun control. Only 4%! Do you realize…? I really do need to make this point again. Ninety-six percent of the American people don’t care about gun control. When it comes to immigration, it’s almost the same thing, 5% or 6%.

Five, 6% of the American people care about illegals being granted citizenship. Ninety-four percent, 93% don’t care! It is a golden opportunity for the Republican Party to reach out, to link, to relate to a vast majority of people on an issue, and instead they’re throwing in with the Democrats on this. They’re throwing in with the media. The Democrats and the media want gun control, want citizenship for the illegal aliens. The American people don’t, but that doesn’t matter. I mean, it really is such a grand opportunity.

The Republican Party has an enormous opportunity here to advance principles, to connect with the public. Instead, they’re playing along with all this, and they’re doing so out of fear or because they’ve lost their way or lost their will or what have you. It’s mind-boggling. I mean, they’re in the business of politics. This is a political opportunity here that they haven’t had in a long time, for the Republican Party to be on the side of 96% of the American people on two issues.

Those are gun control and citizenship for illegal aliens here voluntarily, and they’re throwing in with the Democrats and the media. It’s just inexplicable. Anyway, “A bipartisan effort to expand background checks faced almost certain defeat Wednesday as the Senate approached a long-awaited vote on the linchpin of the drive to curb gun violence.”

Now, we’re also led to believe that the skin color of the perp in Boston is a factor here. The guy at Salon.com said (summarized), “Oh, no! If the perp is not white, then liberalism’s agenda is gonna be set back big time!” Gun control, immigration, national security, privacy, civil rights, everything left cares about is gonna be set back if the perp is dark-skinned or person of color. So the gun control bill is in deep doo-doo, deep trouble.

From The Politico: “Tragedy Threatens Immigration Momentum — President Barack Obama promised to make immigration reform his top priority after the election. But twice in the last five months, unimaginable acts of violence rattled the country — first in Newtown, Connecticut and then in Boston — splintering Washington’s attention among immigration, gun control and now terrorism.”

Those shooters, now the Boston bomber, they really have it in for poor old Obama. ‘Cause they’re stopping his agenda! “Immigration advocates fear that balancing act will be a drag on the momentum they need to get a bill wrapped up this year…” See, they were heading on down the tracks, they were on their way to amnesty, and then Newtown happened, and then the Boston bombing happened, and it just distracted poor old Obama.

So to hear The Politico tell it, the Boston bombings are just the latest in a conspiracy to derail Obama’s agenda.

It’s what they say here.

“[T]twice in the last five months, unimaginable acts of violence rattled the country…” Again, I’m just gonna tell you, Gallup poll, identical: 4% of the American people care about gun control. Four percent care! “Care” is the wrong word in immigration. Four percent support amnesty. Ninety-six percent oppose granting citizenship to the 11 million here illegally. They’re here voluntarily; 4% support it. Ninety-six percent oppose this. So both of these agenda items are unpopular — and it’s the Democrats’ agenda, the president’s agenda that the Republicans are throwing in with.

Inexplicably.

On immigration, you want to hear some interesting numbers?

I had my annual cigar dinner last night in New York at the Four Seasons. “A Night to Remember” is what it’s called, and it is a fundraiser for prostate cancer. It’s Michael Milken’s organization, the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The place sells out every year. It’s a fun night, a black-tie event. It has auction items. You get to smoke cigars and nobody complains to you, just like in the old days. It’s always a lot of fun. This was the 19th annual event. I’ve been to all but one of them, and the only one I couldn’t make is because of mechanical issues on the airplane. I couldn’t get there in time.

Anyway, I ran into somebody last night who started chatting me up about immigration and telling me how I was wrong, that the Republicans are gonna have to make inroads with Hispanics or we’re lost. It’s over. Republicans are gonna have to start showing interest in the Hispanics of this country. The Hispanics don’t think the Republicans like them and the Republicans are gonna have to work hard to make the Hispanics know that they’re loved, liked, appreciated, and all that. I said, “What I don’t understand in this is why –” this person was a Republican “– why are you so eager to register 11 million new Democrats? What you want is no different than what the Democrats want. Doesn’t that concern you?”

And it wasn’t about that. This person, it was all about the Republicans reaching out to the Hispanics and making the Hispanics think the Republicans love them. And I said, “The polling data I’ve got shows that 70% of the Hispanic vote in this country believes government is the source of prosperity, and they vote Democrat.” And this person, “Well, I don’t, and that’s not true.”

I said, “Well, every polling data I’ve seen supports that. I said fully two-thirds of every group of Hispanics that shows up vote Democrat.” And this person, “No, no, no, that’s because the Hispanics don’t think the Republicans like ’em,” and then the Romney campaign was held up as an example. Romney didn’t reach out to the Hispanics. Romney didn’t do any Hispanic fundraisers. Romney didn’t go to the Hispanic community anywhere, and so the Hispanics didn’t think that they were loved and adored and liked or appreciated, and so they vote Democrat.

So I’m mentioning this today to some friends. I got back and started doing show prep, I’m talking about the event, and somebody sent me some numbers. I didn’t double-check this, but I’m trusting that this is accurate. Seven percent of the voters in the election were Hispanic. Does that sound right? Seven percent of the electorate in the 2012 presidential race was Hispanic, of which the Republicans got 27%. Okay, now, 28% of the electorate, 28% of the voters in the presidential race 2012 were evangelicals, of which the Republicans got 78%. Meanwhile, the Republicans are told to dump the evangelicals and spend more time on the Hispanics. So whether the 7% is right, it’s close.

Here are the numbers here. Seven percent of the presidential vote in 2012 was Hispanic, and Republicans got 27%. Twenty-eight percent of the voters were evangelicals, and we got 78% of those. You would think that the Republicans would stay focused on a large percentage of voters, 27%, of whom 78% vote Republican. But instead the Republican Party is being told, forget the evangelicals by virtue of forget social issues. Social issues are gonna kill this party, we’re told. You gotta stop talking about the social issues.

Okay, so the Republicans are being told to throw away 78% of 27% of the electorate and instead focus on 7% of the electorate, of which just a quarter voted for Republicans. Now, here’s the dirty little secret, folks. Hispanics are voting Democrat for the same reason other people vote Democrat. I was telling this person last night who was talking to me about this, “I don’t even see people as Hispanics. I look out over this country, I see Americans. When I think about reaching out to people, I think about reaching out to Americans with a set of principles. I don’t care whether they’re Hispanic or black or Japanese or Asian, doesn’t matter. They’re Americans. I see Americans. I reach out to ’em with principles. Ideas, conservatism.”

This person said, “What is a conservative? I don’t even know what a conservative is.” Honestly, “I don’t even know what a conservative is.” So the message, discount your conservatism, I don’t even know what it is. Conservatism, disqualified, I don’t even know what it is. Well, I don’t think people vote in blocs. I think we’re told they do, and I think everybody fashions news, make it look like people vote in blocs, but Hispanics are voting Democrat for the same reason that other people vote Democrat. They’re voting as individuals who are attracted to the left’s agenda. And that’s what we’ve gotta come to grips with and admit.

Why are they attracted to the left’s agenda? Why are they attracted to big government? Why are they attracted to being taken care of? Why are they attracted to Santa Claus? But I don’t buy this voting in bloc, other than the African-American, that, obviously, is one. But people vote as individuals. They’re attracted to the left’s agenda. We on the right are not offering attractive arguments or visions. It’s like this woman said to me last night, “What is a conservative?” and she’s a Republican, by the way. “What is a conservative? I don’t know what a conservative is.” And that’s simply because there’s nobody in elected politics articulating the vision, setting the principles or what have you, because right now, face it, the Republican Party is trying to win elections by being like the Democrats. So who are people gonna vote for? The authentic or the pretenders?