RUSH: Do I know these people or do I know these people? During the break, they’re planning this massive party at the White House, this massive celebration. They’ve already arranged for the buses to take key members of the Republican Party up to the White House and celebrate the passage of the Republican health care bill here in the House. And, remember, this is one-third of the way. If the Senate doesn’t pass the House’s bill, there are two things that can happen: The Senate can kill it or they can come up with their own version.

Now, if the Senate comes up with their own version, you’ve got the House bill and you’ve got the Senate bill. What happens next is they come together in what’s called the conference committee, where representatives of the House and Senate get together on the Republican side to try to negotiate the differences. And then that bill is sent back to both the House and Senate again for votes by the full House and the full Senate. And then, if it passes both, it goes up to the White House for the signature of the president.

Now, when it gets to the Senate, that’s when all kinds of fireworks are going to happen because of this 60-vote filibuster rule. But this is… A lot of this is going to be budget reconciliation so they can do it with 51 votes. But there’s going to be a move, I predict, to have massive changes in Senate procedure here, to get rid of this 60-vote requirement — the filibuster — on as much as possible. And there’s going to be opposition in the Senate. Every Democrat is going to oppose it.

Even though — you should know this — Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, last fall, when they thought that Hillary was going to win, publicly said that they were going to change the rules and eliminate the filibuster. Not the real filibuster where you can go to the floor and talk for as long as you can. But they were going to eliminate the 60-vote requirement. They were going to do it, just like they had done for judicial nominations. They were going to do it on everything. And, of course, Hillary did not win, so that hasn’t happened.

This procedure, this 60-vote thing is not part of the original construction of the Senate. I think this… I could be wrong about this, but I think this goes back to the administration of Woodrow Wilson, the 60-vote filibuster rule in the Senate. And so it’s not long-time Senate tradition. Well, I guess it’s about 100 years old. It’s… If you want to, call it a Senate tradition. And, of course, the Senate die-hards will say, “Well, you can’t change this! This is sacrosanct. You can’t get rid of a rule like this.”

There are people already saying, “If we didn’t have that 60-vote rule, we would have already been a socialist country.” It might have been Lindsey Graham who said that, that the 60-vote requirement had saved this nation from left-wing radical policies they can’t count how many times. So, anyway, we don’t know how it’s going to end up. There’s going to be fireworks over that because once this passes the House, there’s going to be a full-court press to get this passed everywhere. It’s… I fully expect something else.

You know, Pelosi and the Democrats are out there now talking about how everybody is going to die, and kids are going to get sick and die, and people are going to lose their health insurance. We played the sound bites for you earlier. Let’s not forget… It’s been a while, but let’s not forget. Don’t forget that it was Barack Obama who said that said, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” It was Barack Obama who said in the run-up to this passing the first time around that your average premium is going to come down $2,500 a year.

Well, you weren’t able to keep your doctor, you weren’t able to keep your plan, and your premium (chuckles), by no stretch, went down. See, everything that the Democrats are warning about now is already happening! People are losing their health insurance. They’re being priced out of the market. They’re losing their doctors. They’re losing their plans. They can’t afford it already! People are already… That’s why this crisis exists is because Obamacare has destroyed the health care system in this country as it was designed.

They haven’t destroyed health care. It’s still some of the best in the world. They have destroyed the mechanism by which it functions and by which it was largely accessible and affordable. Now for these people to be running around — these Democrats to be running around — talking about how, “You’re going to lose your insurance. You’re going to lose your life and your kids are going to die!” I’ve had to listen to this for I don’t know how many years.

One of the things I got mad about in the budget deal is they continue to get away with this absolute lunacy, instead of having it buried and done with once and for all by being called out on all of it. So, anyway, that’s the status here with the vote having begun. It’s going to pass the House, or they wouldn’t even be voting. And there is going to be a big celebration. And there’s going to be a trip to the White House. And there’s going to be… Well, you’re going to think it’s become law by virtue of the way they celebrate this. And that’s still a long way off.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: The bill has passed in the House.  So the Obamacare repeal and replace has passed in the House, and now there’s going to be a party like it has become law.  But it hasn’t yet.  It now has to go to the — what are you snickering at in there?  (laughing) The Democrats were waving, “Goodbye.  Bye.  Bye,” at the end of the vote?  The Democrats mean, “You just buried yourselves.  Goodbye.  We’ll see you in 2018.  You’re repealing something everybody liked.  You’re taking people’s health care away from them.  You’re killing children again.  We’ll see you 2018.”

So the Democrats are happy.  You can expect that to be portrayed in the Drive-By Media as well.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  217 votes, 218.  Whatever.  They got it by one more than what they needed.  The Democrats on floor of the House were singing as though it’s the end of the Republicans.  You’ve just signed your death warrant here, gang.  You have repealed Obamacare and you’re going to get killed for it, meaning politically.  And there’s a bunch of left-wing protesters at the bottom of the steps of the Capitol shouting, “Shame.  Shame.”

Meanwhile, President Trump is getting ready to throw a party in the Rose Garden.  The buses are already there waiting to take them up to the White House.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: It wasn’t that long ago when the first attempt to bring the repeal Obamacare vote to a vote didn’t happen. Remember the Drive-Bys were saying that, “That’s it! That’s it! Repeal is dead forever. If they can’t get the votes, repeal is dead forever!” And now, today, the first step toward repealing and replacing Obamacare has occurred.

Josh, Brick, New Jersey, thank you for waiting and welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.

CALLER: Thank you for taking my call, Rush. Anyone that accuses you of taking the party line ought to listen to the interview with Mike Pence. It was a great interview. But to my point, I have a theory about Trump. Is it possible that Trump almost doesn’t mind losing first and then winning? That kind of shores up his base. They all think he’s abandoning them, and then he comes through again. He did that during the campaign with the wall.

RUSH: You mean Trump might not mind losing at first and then comes back and wins and makes it look like an even bigger win, like a giant recovery, like a big comeback, in making himself appear even bigger?

CALLER: Exactly. He doesn’t just not mind losing. He likes to lose first and then to come back and win. And he accomplishes with that two things: Number one, he accomplishes that… You know, with the past budget thing that everyone’s upset about, you know, he can make it look like he’s bipartisan, and then come back.

RUSH: Well, have you seen evidence in this in Trump’s life where he doesn’t mind losing so that when he wins, it looks even bigger?

CALLER: I think, Rush, during the campaign, he came out very hard against immigration. He then said, “You know, you have to…” You know, he has a great heart. He doesn’t mind to deport… You know, he’s not going to deport everyone. And everyone thought he was kind of backing off on the wall. Then he gave that big speech.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: He gave that speech pro the wall, and then a lot of those people that were on his advisory board resigned after. So we see clearly he enjoys doing that, and that will gain him the side for losing and coming back and winning.

RUSH: Let me ask you: Do you think the president knows that the bill does not become law today, or do you think he thinks it does?

CALLER: With Trump, it’s all about winning, and after this whole big win and everyone is going to be in the White House taking pictures, I don’t think anyone — the Republicans in the Senate, even if they really do oppose it are going to want to oppose it. I think they’re going to get on the train and kind of… They might need some persuasion.

RUSH: I think you’re right. (chuckling)

CALLER: But this is a clear victory.

RUSH: Let me tell you something. Let me tell you what’s going to happen. Folks, if they do go the route of budget reconciliation here — which, by the way, just remember, that is how Obama passed Obamacare. They didn’t… They did budget reconciliation. Fifty-one votes. They just said, “The hell with going to normal Senate procedures.” They ran the Senate. The Republicans didn’t have enough votes to stop anything the first two years.

Now, the one thing about budget reconciliation, if that’s the root that McConnell chooses to go here (chuckling), you have to know something. There are no limits on amendments. Anybody can propose an amendment, and if McConnell wants to let that amendment come up for a debate and a vote, then so be it. Limitless amendments. So by the time this is over with in the Senate, it could well look like nothing the House sent over. That’s one of the aspects of going budget reconciliation is that there is no limits of amendments.

There will be amendments galore here, and those can be used to make it worse, to kill it. They can be used to improve it, to make it better. With all due respect, I don’t think Trump calculates losing first and then coming back and winning second. I think he doesn’t want to risk losing. I don’t think they intended to lose the first round of this. That wasn’t the objective, and it wasn’t the plan. They didn’t want the grief. I know what your theory is, that losing it the first time, and then coming back and getting it today after the media said, “No way. It’s dead. It’s over,” Trump can show a giant recovery and rebirth.

I can understand why you would think that way, but I don’t understand that is the strategery.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Well, this is great, folks. There is this giant motorcade of buses and police cars with the lights and sirens going, escorting victorious members of the House to the White House for the big celebration with President Trump. I mean, you got two giant buses, a little yellow bus after that. And then a bunch of red vehicles, law enforcement vehicles, and the bubble gum lights are on. And they’re making a big show out of this. And this is just ramming it down the throats of the Democrats because they’re acting like this vote, it has become law.

And I think Trump knows that it’s not yet law. But they’re acting like — and now they’ve got this little bunch of ragtag bandit good time plastic banana rock ‘n’ rollers over at Lafayette Park raising hell, about eight or ten of them, shouting, “Shame, shame.” And the Democrats are singing whatever they’re singing. This is a show. (laughing) It would be funny if the caravan stops at the Trump International Hotel for an adult beverage on the way — complimentary — on the way to the White House.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: You know, one of the objectors for this gigantic bash at the White House — the members of the House just got there. It’s at 3:30 when this bash gets underway. They might be putting on a show for Republicans in the Senate. Is this going to be a major display of Republican unity up there? I don’t think every House member is going, I’m not sure. There were three buses. I don’t know if you can get 235 people on three buses. But regardless, nevertheless it’s going to have a huge message to it, and I think the Senate Republicans are one of the people the thing is targeted to.