RUSH: I also have a fabulous piece here by Mr. Angelo Codevilla — who, by the way, I interviewed not long ago for the current issue of The Limbaugh Letter. He’s the professor that came up with the original characterization of “ruling class” (meaning deep state) versus us, “the country class,” and he said something… When I read the piece today… I could tell during the interview that he was working on this piece.

Some of the things he said in the interview have been expanded upon in this piece, and what the piece deals with is what happens when Trump’s gone. And this is a question, by the way, I get all the time. I think we even had it yesterday on the program. (impression) “Rush, what Republicans are gonna pick up after Trump’s gone?” It is the question, and there are a lot of people who believe that Trump has now shown the way and that future Republican leaders will be as confident and combative and as Trumpian as they know how to be — without, maybe, the rough-around-the-edges traits.And, my friends (chuckles), as I said yesterday, I’m not so sure of that. Would somebody give me the evidence that that can happen? Why is Trump so rare? Why is Trump a one-off? It’s because there isn’t anybody like him. There’s not a single person like him out there, and I’m not just talking about the outsider-versus-insider aspect. There’s not a single Republican who could tolerate a smidgen of what Trump’s daily existence is. They just couldn’t tolerate it. They would do whatever they could to stop it or walk away from it — and it’s not gonna go away.

Whoever the next Republican nominee or president is is gonna get this same treatment, depending… Although there’s a caveat. It depends how this is ultimately dealt with. If this ends up really hurting the Democrats, they might make minor modifications in things. But I don’t think that’s the case. I mean, these people… They are the Wellstone memorial. They are this silent coup. They are a bunch of Stalinist totalitarians. This is what really grated on me today.

These guys, these expert academics speaking up for the founding and the Constitution? These people are part of the cabal that’s trying to undermine it in the name of power for the Democrat Party! Even Codevilla alludes to this. Let me give you the pull quotes from this thing that I found fascinating. “From President Obama on down, the political, educational, media, and corporate establishment had long since taken for granted that placing the opinions, interests, tastes, and the rights of the rest of America on the same plane as their own amounts to ‘false equality.'”

In other words, we are forever going to be thought of as inferiors to the deep state, the ruling class, the establishment. We’re gonna always be the inferiors. We’re gonna always be the deplorables. We’re always going to be the hayseed, hick kooks. Codevilla writes, “They had come to regard us as lower beings. No matter whether they attributed our purported inferiority to our alleged racism, sexism, etc., or just plain stupidity, they negated the possibility of common citizenship with us.” What he means here is that we will never be seen…

Meaning conservatives, Republicans, anybody who’s not them. We will never be seen as coequals, as citizens, coequals as human beings in a common country with a common set of values. We are always going to be seen as inferior, stupid, racist, sexist, bigoted beings. Making the prospect of “common citizenship,” i.e., a unified country, impossible. Codevilla thinks we’ve lost it. It’s impossible to ever have common citizenship with ruling class, and by that he means this long-sought-after unity.

“Can’t we all come together? Can’t we all just become one?” No. He believes they don’t want that, and Trump… By the way, he is so right. Trump is the living example of it. Trump is the living example of their hatred for us, something I have been pounding into people’s heads for as long as I’ve been talking about it. Their hatred really is for us. Trump is somebody that’s gonna come and go. He can only serve two terms, eight years maximum. Their hatred is for us.

We elected him. We foisted him on them. We’re never gonna be members of the club, however you want to analogize this. Codevilla writes, “The moment that Hillary Clinton’s reference to those disinclined to vote for her as ‘deplorables’ and ‘irredeemables’ made this unmistakable,” and it made “Donald Trump’s victory became possible.” Another pull quote: “In either case, after the 2020 elections ordinary Americans will have to deal with the same dreadful question, we faced in 2016: How do we secure and perhaps restore our fast-diminishing freedom to live as Americans?

“And while we may wish for help from Trump, we have to look to ourselves and to other leaders for how we may counter the ruling class’s manifold assaults now, and especially in the long term.” Again, this is simply an acknowledgment that can’t sit around and let Trump do everything. Can’t sit around and wait for Trump to do it, wait for Trump to beat ’em back. It’s gonna take all of us, and even at that… So what happens when Trump leaves?

There isn’t anybody for us to say, “Well, let such and such take care of it.” Who’s it gonna be? Mitt Romney? Take your pick of names. “Since 2016, the ruling class [the deep state] has left no doubt that it is not merely enacting chosen policies: It is expressing its identity, an identity that has grown and solidified over more than [50 years], and that it is not capable of changing.” And here is… Are you ready for Codevilla here? You may not want to hear this.

But since I’ve cited the piece and you can go read it, I’m gonna read it to you. “That really does mean that restoring anything like the founders’ United States of America is out of the question.” He thinks the ruling class has become so big, so powerful, so discriminatory, so mean-spirited, so anti-constitutional, democratic freedom that the idea of unifying the country around the “common citizenship” that we’re all one, that we are all citizens of the country.

He says it’s not possible anymore, “out of the question.” Restoring the country to its founding vision is “out of the question.” He says, “Constitutional conservatism on behalf of a country a large part of which is absorbed in revolutionary identity; that rejects the dictionary definition of words; that rejects common citizenship, is impossible. Not even winning a bloody civil war against the ruling class could accomplish such a thing.”

That’s what he said to me in the interview. Of course, that’s when the red flag went up. It was not so much fatalistic as it was his honest assessment that the arrogance combined with the condescension, the outcast way in which they view people not members of their group or club or whatever, their lack of desire for people like us to even be in their midst… There’s no way of changing that about them.

I asked him, “It’s impossible to defeat them?” He said, “I don’t think it’s possible to defeat ’em.” And that’s what he puts in here, even a bloody civil war against the ruling class would not accomplish the restoration of the country as founded.

So what he means here is get ready, because life, if you care about this kind of stuff, is gonna be a never-ending political battle. And the only elements of this that will be fruitful are when we win politically. But those are temporary things that have to be built on. Not sure I accept this total “all hope is lost” attitude, but he holds it.

Here’s one final pull quote. “In 2016 and since, we have learned that our ruling class has amassed the power and developed the taste to revel in making us miserable. We have also learned that to avoid this, we must undo or separate ourselves from them, their structures, and priorities. Knowing that they regard us as illegitimate, we have no choice but to return the favor. Living as we do in revolutionary times, we—and whoever would lead us—must act accordingly.”

In other words, it’s gonna be a constant battle. And this whole notion of crossing the aisle and showing we can make government work, forget it. It’s not possible. They don’t want it. What he’s saying is, the time-honored, traditional Republican who accepts the inferiority and then attempts to be liked or accepted is the death knell.

We have learned that we must undo or separate ourselves from them and their structures and their priorities because they regard us as illegitimate. We better start looking at them the same way. Instead of hoping the news treats us fairly, instead of hoping that somehow the media gets its just due, we gotta stop worrying about how they might change to our liking and just say screw them.

Which then takes us back to the question. Who after Trump? Now, a lot of people think that the Republican Party has learned and seen and the next Republican, whoever the nominee is, perhaps president, is gonna learn from Trump and this is how you deal with ’em day in and day out, just punch ’em in the face every day. Don’t give them an inch, don’t acknowledge they’re legitimate. That’s exactly what Trump did. He does not acknowledge their legitimacy, particularly the media, particularly his tweeting.

Isn’t it interesting, “I wish Trump would stop tweeting. It makes me so nervous.” Get ready to be nervous the rest of your lives if you’re gonna care about this stuff. By the way, it’s possible, it’s possible to live your life and be totally distant from all this, if you want. It’s not possible to live unaffected by it, but it is possible to live where you don’t follow it every day and so you don’t get miserable.

Does anybody know, can somebody cite for me a Republican who’s gonna pick up whatever the Trump mantle is and run with it, or is it more likely — pick a name, pick any Republican that you think will get the nomination. Let’s say Trump wins in 2020, so it’s 2024, the Republican primaries, candidates, we don’t know who the possibilities are, but pick a name among those you do know.

What I think is gonna happen, if it’s among names we know, after this person, whoever it is, wins the Republican nomination in 2024, one of the first things this person’s gonna say is, “It’s time now to move on from the incivility and the mean-spiritedness of Donald Trump and try to bring the country back together.”

They’re gonna accept the idea that Trump is the reason we’re divided. Unless there’s some name we don’t know of yet that’s gonna rise and surface that is going to attempt to further the Trump model. But take any Republican you know right now. Can you tell me who you think will try to carry on as Trump? “But, Rush, look at the economy and look at –” Folks, what do most Republicans care most about? What the media thinks of them. What the media says about them.

And what do most Republicans do in that case? Look, there’s some exceptions. I’m not saying all. They sidle up, they rip. What does Romney do? What did McCain do? Sell out their own party. That’s what they did. Criticized their own party. It’s a no-brainer. “From this day forward, we are moving away from the Trump example. No more criticism of the press. The press is a valid institution. It’s constitutionally mandated. The days of calling the press enemy of the people are over in my administration.”

You don’t think that’s gonna happen? Well, if you can see that happen, then you can see everything else happening too. “No more tweeting. No more calling people names.” Whatever their bugaboos about Trump are, that’s what they’ll promise they’re not gonna do anymore. And they’re gonna make the mistake of thinking that that’s what a majority of Americans want to hear. They will ignore the fact that Donald Trump got elected twice. They will consider it an aberration somehow like the Democrats still do.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I want to get started on the phones in Cincinnati. Ron, you’re next. It’s great to have you, sir. Hello.

CALLER: Thank you for taking my call, Rush. Mega dittos.

RUSH: Thank you. Thank you very much, sir.

CALLER: You bet. Hey, so if the impeachment goes through then it will go to the Senate, where you’ll have a few prominent never-Republicans that will be sitting on the jury, Romney prominent among them. And I’m curious what are your thoughts on how listening to all the evidence and then having to cast his vote, how that will affect whether or not he’s gonna continue to be the loudmouth and idiot that he’s been.

RUSH: I want to ask you a question. I don’t want you to misunderstand my tone, and I don’t want you to misunderstand anything. I’m genuinely curious. Why do you care what Mitt Romney is gonna say, think, or do?

CALLER: It’s less about Mitt Romney and more about the Never Trump Republicans. Rush, I spoke to you right before the 2016 election, and I asked what you thought of the Never Trump Republicans and that potentially Trump might get impeached, and you said I was shrewd, and I pointed to the Constitution and that the founders gave us just a tremendous tool for handling situations like this. So it’s less about Romney and more about the Never Trumpers. And me as a fan of the Constitution first, I’m loving that Trump’s trumping them, literally, trump card, he’s trumping them.

RUSH: The Never Trumpers or the Democrats?

CALLER: Yes. The Never Trumpers. He’s got the Democrats so far underwater on this, it’s unbelievable, but now he has an opportunity to shut up even the Republicans, which I’m delighted for if the Senate trial goes through. That’s what I’m really anxious to see.

RUSH: See, the thing about this is the Democrats don’t think they’re underwater. Think they’re winning. And Romney doesn’t think he’s underwater. Romney still believes he’s gonna be able to get rid of Trump. So do all the Never Trumpers.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s John in Syracuse, New York. As we, as promised, head back to the phones. Hello, sir.

CALLER: Hey, second-time dittos. Recently you were talking about the 2024 Republican nominee, whoever it might be —

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: — that perhaps it would be we’d go back to our old ways and it would be a McCain or Romney-like person to reach across the aisle and sort of forget about —

RUSH: Not just Romney. McCain, take your pick.

CALLER: Of course. Listen, I must totally disagree with that point. I know that’s hard to hear. When Trump has —

RUSH: No, no. It’s not hard to hear. It’s unbelievable, but it’s not hard to hear.

CALLER: (laughing) Anyway, Trump has done such an excellent job exposing everything, as you and many people know so well, the corruption, the double standards, the total bull that’s out there in the swamp. And my point is, the next person that we Republicans nominate will be someone exactly like Donald Trump.

RUSH: Well, yeah, I see what you’re saying. You’re saying that the next field of candidates is gonna have people in it that have learned the lessons of Trump and that they will get your support. I understand that. Let me ask you this, though. How many Republicans followed the example of Ronald Reagan? Answer. (Raspberry) Zero.

What’s the first thing that happened after Ronald Reagan left office? “We’re gonna have a kinder, gentler nation.” But that did not happen in the campaign. That happened after the nomination was secured and after the election was achieved. During the campaign, we were told that we were gonna get Reagan’s third term. Instead, we got “Read my lips: No new taxes.” Then we got new taxes and we’re gonna have a kinder, gentler nation and a New World Order.

So after that, who then stepped up? Everybody agreed the eighties were this monstrous economic decade, and they were. The military was rebuilt. We vanquished the Soviet Union. We recovered from the malaise of Jimmy Carter. Who picked up the mantle? Answer: nobody. The Republican Party was so eager to get rid of Reagan and go back to what they were beforehand. And what they were was knowing bit players in the Washington establishment, accepted second tier citizens in the Washington establishment.

We get George W. Bush, who, as governor of Texas, did a fairly good imitation of Reagan, then ran for president, and his campaign was — remember he came out of nowhere, was beating everybody in fundraising. ‘Cause everybody thought it was gonna be Jeb. George W. bush gets elected, Florida recount. Eight years later his approval numbers are in the thirties.

Then we move forward. We lost in 2008 because McCain said it was time to get back to our roots, which means pre-Reagan. You know what happened there. And Trump comes along and just wipes out the field. They had a couple people that field, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio at times were trying to distance themselves from the establishment. But who was considered to be the slack dunk winner of the 2016 primaries? Answer: Jeb. How many delegates did Jeb get? Three.

So the question becomes, will the Republican Party become the party of Trump? Now, it could very well. I mean, look, five years from now is a long time with a lot of young people growing up and entering politics who admire and idolize Trump and want to continue Trumpism. The Baby Boom generation, remember, politics is where 75- and 80-year-old guys are still stars. In the real showbiz, they’re in the old folks home. In Washington, they’re committee chairmen, party chairmen.