RUSH: Carson City, Nevada, Kate, who used to call me regularly when I was in Sacramento.  She lived in Fairfield, California at the time.  Now she’s Kate from Carson City.  And we didn’t have time — she let us call her back.  And here you are, great to have you on the program, Kate.  How are you doing?  

CALLER:  Thank you, Rush, I’m doing well.  And I just have to say this is 30 years since I’ve been listening to you.  I started in 1986.  And real quickly, you know, I heard Vin Scully’s last broadcast, and I just want to say that Vin Scully was to sports broadcasting what you are to politico talk radio and I just want to thank you for that. 

RUSH:  Wow.  Thank you.  

CALLER:  You guys both get it.  You both understood — he understood it was the fans and the listeners.  You understand that it’s your audience and you guys are a couple of really humble, awesome guys and I just had to say that. 

RUSH:  Well, I appreciate that.  Thank you very much.  Really, I do.  

CALLER:  It’s the truth.  Anyway, I called because I saw this story this morning, that Vice President Biden was bashing Trump on this post-traumatic stress disorder issue with veterans, and he was feigning outrage and being so upset that Trump doesn’t understand — 

RUSH:  Let me stop you.  Let me play what Trump said.  We’ve got the sound bite, it’s just ten seconds, so people who missed it will know what you’re referring to.  This was yesterday in Herndon, Virginia.  Trump was at the Retired American Warriors PAC campaign event.  And during the Q&A he made these remarks.  

TRUMP:  When people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it. 

RUSH:  Right, so Biden and a bunch of the Drive-Bys have jumped on that as insensitive and uncaring and whatever other insult they can attach to it. 

CALLER:  Exactly.  And here’s the thing:  First of all, it was a question asked to him at this veterans event.  Second of all, they took it totally out of context.  He goes on to talk about the VA falling down on this whole mental health issue and how he wants to help men and women who come back with these problems and that we need to put more emphasis on it.  I mean, they are really grasping at straws and I don’t think vets are going to fall for it.  But I’m so tired of this phony outrage.  And I’m so grateful for your passion about it now, because this phony outrage is just getting to be so frustrating and so fake and I don’t know, I’m at a loss for words.  I’m just so tired of this kind of attitude. 

RUSH:  I am, too.  I’m sick and tired of this stuff.  I’m sick of them doing it.  I’m sick and tired of it working.  I’m sick and tired of the media carrying the ball and running with it.  I’m sick and tired of the assumption.  We’ve gotten to the point where Trump was actually talking about a serious problem that not everybody faces.  The idea that some people don’t face this, he is being accused of being insensitive and he’s actually talking about how the VA has let those people down and we need to have a program of improvement where we deal with this a little bit better than we have been.  And the fact that they tar and feather — because any expression of not feeling compassion supposedly is going to come under assault and attack.  

I’m fed up with it.  I have had, like you said, 30 years we’ve been having to deal with this kind of stuff.  And some days it just really irritates me.  I just blow up internally and the last two days have been like that.  Every instance of this stuff, from this tax return business to the illegality. You know who is actually breaking the law in this country.  It’s every Democrat you can think of in this regime, at the DOJ, and Hillary Clinton and her e-mail server.  Trump hasn’t broken one law yet.  The media is breaking the law.  Hillary is breaking the law.  And we have to hear how Trump is the bad guy and Trump poses the problem.  And it’s just maddening, infuriating.  I hear you.  I’m totally on the same page with you. 

CALLER:  Thank you.  And you know your passion, you speak for us, Rush.  You’re speaking for millions and millions of people, including those who won’t admit it.  But they’re going to go to the polls on November 8th and they’re going to punch that ticket for Donald Trump and Mike Pence and I’m looking forward to hearing Mike Pence tonight because I think he was an awesome, sober choice.  I think Trump really nailed it with that one.  He hit it out of the park, and I’m looking forward to hearing him tonight.  So I think things are in good shape.  Rasmussen says we’re tied up again.  I’m optimistic.  I’m looking forward to it.  

RUSH:  I think Pence is going to represent Trump tonight extremely well.  People do not know what an absolute extremist left-wing radical Tim Kaine has been his entire life and they’re going to do everything they can to try to mask and cover that up tonight.  This guy is every bit as radical as Barack Obama is.  Every bit.  

CALLER:  Yes, absolutely he is.  I’ve looked into him.  And his background, calling himself a Catholic, please, excuse me.  He is no more a Catholic than Barack Obama.  And he’s going to be exposed, Pence is a very good speaker.  He’s going to do a great job tonight and we’re going to have a good November and people need to be excited and they need to be positive about it.  And don’t let these folks get you down, because they’re going to lose.  And I think they know they’re going to lose.  And it’s going to be a good year.  And Donald is surrounding himself with some really awesome advisors and I’m happy about it.  Really happy.  I didn’t start out with Donald.  I started out Carson and I went Cruz.  But you know what, I’m very happy with what he’s doing. 

RUSH:  Okay.  You can breathe now. 

CALLER:  Okay. (laughing) 

RUSH:  Did Mr. Snerdley get your address for the iPhone?  

CALLER:  He did.  He did.  I can’t believe it.  That’s awesome.  

RUSH:  You’re going to love it.  Kate, you’re going to love this phone.  I know a lot of people don’t like the big phone because they can’t use it one-handed.  But I’m telling you, it is a marvel.  Aside from a couple of things, it’s my favorite thing that I have.  It’s just the absolute best. The thinking, the inventiveness, the innovation that’s in these devices blows me away.  It’s the first thing to come along in a long time that actually makes me regret getting older.  I’m now realizing the tech that I’m going to miss at some point.  But anyway, as always, thank you.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Every caller today will receive a free brand new iPhone 7 Plus.  And our next recipient, David in Woodstock, Georgia.  Great to have you on the program, sir.  Hello. 

CALLER:  Hello, how are you doing, Rush?  

RUSH:  Very well, sir.  Thanks much. 

CALLER:  My question for you was how much of an impact do you think a good Mike Pence performance will have on the polls or the election in general?  

RUSH:  Well, first place, don’t look for anywhere near as large an audience as we had for the Trump/Hillary debate.  That’s number one.  I hope I’m wrong.  I hope it’s a larger audience than people expect, average vice presidential debate.  Traditionally vice presidential debates don’t move the needle one way or the other.  They have largely been irrelevant and inconsequential.  But here we have perhaps in Mike Pence someone uniquely capable of explaining Trump and being Trump and explaining for people who Trump is and what he is.  And defending against whatever predictable insults and assaults on Trump that Kaine comes up with.  

So I think there’s big upside to this.  There’s a whole lot of potential here.  But it’s not going to be a substitute for Trump picking up the pace, the slack himself.  It’s not going to be a substitute for that.  I don’t think, barring something totally unforeseen, I don’t know how it hurts.  I think the only thing is an upside potential here.  How much, traditionally it hasn’t been much.  What are you hoping to get from it?  

CALLER:  Well, I’m just hoping that, you know, he might bring something up that actually sticks to Hillary. 

RUSH:  I think that Pence is entirely capable of doing that.  I think he’s willing to do it.  I don’t know what their strategery is on this.  I would hope there aren’t any — she’s the nominee, for crying out loud.  She is the opposition.  She is who we go after.  And whereas Trump let two or three hanging curveballs go by, Pence will not, unless they have a strategy to let them go by.  I don’t understand it; I’m not predicting it, but I think Pence is uniquely capable of doing it.  

And I’m telling you, I don’t know how many people I have called, the desire to take this woman out, to defeat her politically, is one of the most loudly reverberating energized objectives that Trump supporters have.  In fact, I will tell you something.  I don’t know what percentage it is, but it’s large.  There’s a whole lot of reasons people are supporting Trump.  Don’t misunderstand.  And one of those reasons, and it may be the reason why it doesn’t matter what Trump does with this group of people, it’s all about defeating her.  

It is all about keeping her and her husband as far away from the levers of power as possible.  It is all about ending this woman’s political career.  There are people that are totally devoted to that concept, that premise.  That’s why they’ll support Trump no matter what he does or says.  And it’s a sizable percentage.  And I’m assuming, David, that I can lump you in with that group of people. 

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Debbie in Boca.  Great to have you on the EIB Network.  Hello. 

CALLER:  Hi, Rush.  I wanted to say that your program yesterday disturbed me greatly. I could feel your anger and frustration.  It was palpable (chuckles) and it actually ruined my day, because when you were talking about the New York Times breaking the law and the fact that the IRS might have been complicit in all this, and with the media, what we’re dealing with is (unintelligible) nothing more than that, they have no respect for journalism.  It was almost like you were saying, my God, this is a coup.  And what do we do about it?  I mean, you call these congressmen, these senators, Rush, and they could care less.  They don’t care.  They barely even listen to what you’re saying.  

RUSH: Yeah. I know. 

CALLER: I thought you might have some advice for us. 

RUSH:  Well that’s what Trump has become for people that think there’s no other recourse. 

CALLER: Right. 

RUSH: Trump is the answer to, “What do we do?” if there is this coup as you say.  Whatever it is, whatever you want to call I thought, it is a stacked deck — 

CALLER: Yeah. 

RUSH: — where all the people who used to say they were unbiased and uninterested in the outcome, all of that’s off the table and we’re up against some of the most vicious partisans everywhere we look, and Trump is the answer.  That’s why Trump supporters are not abandoning him.  That’s why the left can’t force his supporters away.  That’s exactly why they haven’t been able to put him away so far, because Trump answers that question: “What can we do?”