RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen the story? Everybody that has a show talked about this last week. And of course I didn’t get a chance to talk about it last week because, even though I have a show, I wasn’t here. And it was the story about how many people are afraid to be honest about what they believe, except liberals. Liberals feel totally comfortable telling anybody what they believe because they know that nothing is gonna happen to ’em. But pretty much everybody else is scared to death to be honest about what they believe, including the pollsters.

Here’s the story. And it’s from The Cato Institute, which is a Libertarian think tank. Headline: “Poll: 62% of Americans Say They Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share.” Now, you’ve heard this story, if you watch any kind of news, but you’ve not heard my take on it, so effectively you haven’t heard the story.

“Sixty-two percent of Americans say they have political views they’re afraid to share.” I think it’s probably higher than that, particularly when people are talking to pollsters. “Fifty percent of strong liberals support firing Trump donors. Thirty-six percent of strong conservatives support firing Biden donors. Thirty-two percent are worried about missing out on job opportunities because of their political opinions.”

Now, there’s one group that is not afraid to tell anybody what they think, and that is strong liberals. And the reason that strong liberals think they can spout off is directly tied to the media. If they’re echoing the media, they are safe. If they’re echoing the media, they’re echoing conventional wisdom and they are safe. And they are made to feel as though they are in the majority. If they reflect what they see on Twitter, which is not America, but a lot of liberals think it is, then it gives them confidence.

“Fifty-eight percent of staunch liberals feel they can say what they believe. However, centrist liberals feel differently. A slim majority, 52% of liberals, feel they have to self-censor, as do 64% of moderates.” Can you believe, 64% of moderates think they have to censor themselves? “Seventy-seven percent of conservatives feel they have to self-censor.” That right there is all you need to know about how wrong presidential polling is right now.

If, by definition, 77% of Republicans, conservatives, Trump voters are afraid to tell people what they really think, then the pollsters are getting lousy data in and they’re producing lousy polling results out. “This demonstrates that political expression is an issue that divides the Democratic coalition between centrist Democrats and their left flank.” Even supposed centrist Democrats are afraid of the radical left.

Now, The Cato Institute thinks the story is that the left is divided. “Liberals are divided on political expression. Strong liberals stand out, however, as the only political group who feel they can express themselves.” That’s not the story. The story here is 77% of conservatives are essentially afraid to tell people what they really think. Seventy-seven percent. And it may be higher than that.

How many of them were honest even in this poll. It may be 80, it may be 80% are afraid to tell people what they think. By the way, I happen to believe it. I’m not surprised by it. I run into conservatives all the time who want me to shut up if they’re around me, much less express their own opinions. They’re afraid. Literally afraid. They don’t want the hassle. They don’t want the controversy. They don’t want the discomfort.

And so they either don’t express an opinion and try to make it look like they’re apathetic examine therefore no threat or they lie and try to make it look like they are anti-Trump. Because the safest behavioral mode when you are in the company of liberals, the safest behavioral mode is to be anti-Trump.

Now, you extrapolate all this into polling data, and, you know, every time on this program, every time I make mention of the fact that I think there’s this — and it’s not just me — that there’s this massive silent majority out there that is so pro-Trump it may be even bigger than it was in 2016, you would not believe the number of emails I get from people, “You’re right. You’re right. Don’t let go of this. This is the biggest unreported story.”

It is the silent majority and how much in favor of Trump they are but are afraid to say. It’s kind of shocking, in a way. But it also means that these people do not want to engage. They don’t want to engage the left. They’re waiting for somebody else to do it. And that somebody else is Trump. Or maybe elected Republicans.

So as all the statues come down and all of American history is attempted to be erased, the people steadfastly opposed to this, the people universally outraged by it don’t say a word. And thus make it appear that there’s no opposition to what the left is doing. And the media capitalizes on that like you can’t believe.

The media capitalizes on the notion that a majority of Americans agrees with everything Black Lives Matter and Antifa are saying. That’s what not pushing back looks like. So it’s not that there is a divide among the left. It is that 77% of conservatives self-censor themselves because they’re afraid. I’m not commenting on whether it’s bad, good, indifferent, whatever to be afraid. I’m just acknowledging that it is fear.

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RUSH: Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Joel, great to have you. Glad you waited. You’re next on the EIB Network. Hi.

CALLER: Hi. Just continued prayer for you and that God continues to richly bless you.

RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.

CALLER: Yeah. I’m actually calling ’cause I disagree with what you spoke about earlier with the polling and people being afraid to speak their mind. I think that is a small percentage, but I think people are just fed up like myself. Everything is weighted. Sports. Coronavirus especially. I’m a nurse. Everything’s weighted, and, uh… (click)

RUSH: Did we just lose the connection? (interruption) All right. Okay. That’s enough. Let me see if I can extrapolate. He was calling to disagree with me. But I didn’t say anything. I was just quoting from a poll. The poll said 77% of conservatives are afraid to publicly express their beliefs. In fact, the poll said that there’s only one group of Americans totally confident to express their beliefs with no fear that anything is gonna happen to ’em, and that’s hard-core liberals, and that number is 62%.

Moderate liberals… There’s no such thing, but the poll nevertheless said moderate liberals, 58% of them are afraid to express their views, and that was the thrust of the story. Now, that’s a crock. But let’s examine it, though, as though it wasn’t. Is it possible that there’s 58% of liberals afraid to publicly tell people what they think because they’re afraid that somebody’s gonna beat ’em up?

I don’t see it.

I don’t see it.

But that’s because I don’t think there’s very many gradations in liberals. I think they’re all radicals. The gradations would be in Democrats. You know, there’s your grandfather’s or your father’s Democrat Party, which doesn’t exist anymore. But there may be people that identify with it. Okay. So he doesn’t believe 77% of conservatives are afraid. He thinks that they’re all over the place and that they oppose everything.

He thinks it’s a small percentage, he thinks people are fed up and everything is weighted. Sports. Coronavirus especially. I don’t know what his point was gonna be. I’ve tried to guess. But if he’s disagreeing… He said I was wrong, but none of this is my opinion. I’m just quoting the poll. It’s a Cato Institute poll. It’s a libertarian think tank. (interruption) He was reacting to the poll? (interruption)

Well, then why did he say he was disagree with me? (interruption) All right. (chuckles) Well, whatever the bottom line is… Well, I don’t know what the bottom line is ’cause I don’t know what the guy’s point was gonna be because we lost the connection. (interruption) He said…? (interruption) So people…? (interruption) Well, but — but… (interruption) Well, can’t say that they’re not participating because the poll got a result.

Seventy-seven percent of conservatives are afraid to tell people publicly what they think because they fear that they will be victims of bodily harm. It’s what the poll said. So if he says, “I don’t think that’s true. I (grumbling).” So we’ll just have to guess at what he meant and I’m trying to do that because we’re polite to everybody who calls. It’s not his fault that we hung up on him.

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RUSH: White Lake, Michigan. This is August. You’re next. It’s great to have you, sir. Hi.

CALLER: Great to talk to you, Rush. All I can say is respect, love, and thanks to you and your whole crew.

RUSH: Thank you very, very much. I sincerely appreciate that.

CALLER: Well, we appreciate you and your whole staff and everybody that helps you.

RUSH: Well, let’s not go overboard on the staff, but I —

CALLER: (laughing)

RUSH: We all appreciate it. Thank you.

CALLER: I know. I know you do. I will always speak the truth. I don’t back down to anyone. I don’t have to confront them. I don’t have to get mad. I don’t have to yell at them. But I can certainly share my values and my ideas. And it’s freedom first from God, and it’s the freedom that this country has given us. People have sacrificed, they’ve sacrificed their life. When you take someone’s life, that’s it. And they were willing to die for it. That needs to be fully appreciated and thankful. And you lived your life the very best you can. And that’s the way you engage yourself.

Despite everything with all this craziness, I bought (unintelligible) every day in the public and I’m encouraging people (unintelligible) everybody that’s working, everywhere I go, stores, I don’t care, don’t care if it’s the police, (unintelligible) give them a peace sign, give them a thumbs up, I give them a laugh. I go buy a sandwich, “God bless you, keep going.” (Unintelligible) What does it cost me to share joy, to lift people up? It’s a simple gesture. (Unintelligible) Hold the door, let people come in. (Unintelligible)

RUSH: Hey, hey, hey, August, August, August, I’m sorry, I’m being told that the phone line’s really bad and we’re having trouble understanding what you’re saying. I think he’s reacting to the poll that said 77% of conservatives are afraid to tell people what they really think, and he’s saying hooey. Tell everybody what you think, give ’em a high five, make everybody feel good, lift ’em up, people want to be lifted up. I think that’s what he was saying and that that’s what he tries to do.

Folks, look. You can disagree with that poll all you want, but I don’t. I’m just basing it on real life. I don’t see any pushback. Do you see any pushback? I see Donald Trump push back and that’s it. I don’t see Republicans pushing back. Look at what the Republican Party’s got. They’ve got a gold mine here. You can’t go to church but you can join a protest and destroy an American city? That’s what the Democrat Party has become?

I believe it. I believe the polls. Seventy-seven percent of conservatives are afraid to tell people what – we’ve had people call here and admit it. They’ve called here and they’ve said that they are afraid that they’re gonna get beat up or that they’re gonna have something bad happen to them. So they wait for when they can really make a difference. That’s at the ballot box. If you think it’s wrong, fine and dandy. But you show me where the pushback is. ‘Cause I don’t see much.