RUSH: Let me go to Whitesboro, New York, and grab a quick phone call. This is Ed. And welcome, sir. Great to have you here with us.

CALLER: Thank you, Rush. Hey, this Murkowski, Collins, and Romney, what of those three do we need to get this justice through?

RUSH: We don’t need any of those and we can’t lose any more.

CALLER: Okay. I don’t know what these people are thinking. My God.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: I don’t know what Romney — I don’t know why the people of Utah —

RUSH: I tell you what they’re thinking, Ed. They’re thinking like Democrats. They are thinking that most people in the country hate Trump. They think that most people look at Trump and see this vile Mr. Orange Man. And they are dead wrong about it, but there’s nothing new in it. They are proud moderates. If there’s anything that ought to disqualify or discredit moderates, it’s these three. Because they illustrate how misunderstood the term is. Moderate is not open-minded and willing to examine. Moderate means anti-Republican or, in the current context, moderate means anti-Trump. Moderate, undecided, means anti-Trump. That’s all you have to know.

So here’s what can happen. You lose Murkowski and Collins almost by rote because they misunderstand what’s going on and they’re scared to death of the Democrats. There’s a photo out there — you know, I need to find this photo from my archives. There is a photo of Dianne Feinstein during the Kavanaugh hearings. And this photo, she’s with Murkowski, she’s got Murkowski pinned up against the wall. And she is attempting, even though Feinstein’s a tiny little hump, too, she’s attempting to tower over Murkowski. It is clear that Dianne Feinstein’s engaging in intimidation of Murkowski.

And I think it works. But Trump has some things up his sleeve such as the nominee him or herself. If Trump nominates the right person, it can bring a lot of pressure on these three people. “Oh, really, Senator Murkowski? You have a problem with an Hispanic female being nominated who happens to be Republican conservative-leaning on the Supreme Court? Really, Ms. Collins, you got a problem? You want to join the Democrats here in trashing an Hispanic female or a Catholic female,” in the case of Amy Coney Barrett.

Now what they would say, “No, it’s not about the nominee. I think the president should wait. I think the next election should determine the nominee.” That is such a cop-out. That is fear. That is fear, I mean, making itself so obvious. But the numbers are this, and we can afford to lose three, but no more. It would bring in Mike Pence as the tie-breaking vote, the vice president, the president of the Senate, he would go in and he would break the tie, and then the Trump nominee would be confirmed.

But okay, I got the photo here. It’s gonna take me awhile ’til the next break before I can get it moved into position for the Dittocam. But hang on for that. I’ll show it to you in just a jiffy here, folks. The bottom line is that I don’t know if we’ve really lost Murkowski and Collins for good. Probably so. But who the nominee is is going to play a big role in this. They are, as I say, illustrating the phoniness of being moderate and undecided.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I just got a quick note from a brilliant friend, a brilliant legal mind and friend. He said, “Mr. Limbaugh, there’s another possibility out there, and it is that Susan Collins and Murkowski could not vote at all, as opposed to voting against the nominee. They could simply vote ‘present,’ thereby abstaining, showing their opposition against a procedure but not voting against the nominee.”

It’s true. They could abstain. They could express their displeasure with the procedure (and thereby dump on Mr. Orange Man), but not vote against the nominee. If they vote “present,” it doesn’t count against the vote against the nominee. Now, the Democrats only have 47 votes against. The Republicans only need 48, if the Collins, Murkowski people don’t vote at all. Let’s throw Romney in there.

If they don’t vote at all, they abstain, if they vote “present,” all we need’s 48 votes, and you don’t need get to 51, and that is something they could do. It’s something that they might seriously consider, if they do not want to vote against the nominee but do want to vote against the procedure and that’s how they would do it.

All right. Here’s the photo. And we have had this photo up at RushLimbaugh.com before. We put it up during the Kavanaugh hearings, but I want to show you how this stuff works. The first photo I want to put up is a long shot of Senator DiFi have pinioned Murkowski up against the wall and telling her what-for, and we’ve gotta close-up of this.

We’re showing this the Dittocam right now for those of you who are subscribing to the Dittocam. But fear not. These photos that we’re showing will be on the website — the RushLimbaugh.com website — on the free side in mere moments. This is not a cheap trick to get people to subscribe. But that picture, you know, with Feinstein…

She’s got her left hand up with her hand up there against the wall. It looks like a Hitler salute just to give you an idea. It’s not what it is, don’t misunderstand, but looks like that. With the left arm, left hand — which, of course, makes it a not Hitler salute because that happened with the right arm. I’m just trying to give you a mental picture here.

And Murkowski is cowering. She’s holding what looks like her phone in her right hand or something. She’s got her purse in her left hand. But Dianne Feinstein is telling Murkowski how it’s gonna be. Now, let’s switch. We have a close-up of this, and there is the close-up, for those of you watching the Dittocam. You could say on the left side there that Dianne Feinstein is not happy, and she is giving Murkowski the what-for.

And Murkowski looks pained. Murkowski looks like to be suffering. Would you agree with this interpretation, Mr. Snerdley? (interruption) Looks… Her eyes are closed. She looks to be… She’s either frustrated, flabbergasted, or she is frightened. Ah, maybe not frightened. She just maybe she realizes (ha-ha-ha) on which side of the bread her butter is. But Dianne Feinstein, there is no doubt what’s happening here.

Dianne Feinstein is telling Murkowski how she gonna vote; what it’s gonna mean. I mean, there is a sense of resolve, a mean spirit; there’s a demand on that facial expression of Dianne Feinstein. (interruption) What are you saying in there? What are you saying? (interruption) Oh, that’s a good way to put it. “It looks like bullying.” That’s exactly right.

It’s a great way to describe it. “Bullying” is not in my vocabulary ’cause, you know, it’s not a big deal, but… (interruption) Yes, there it is. That’s exactly what’s happening there. Dianne Feinstein is bullying poor little Lisa. The Democrat is bullying the Republican babe.

Grab another phone call here while we have time. This is Brian in St. Augustine, Florida. Great to have you, sir. You’re next.

CALLER: Hey, thanks for taking my call, Rush. I just wanted to say that the biggest mistake the Republicans made was in 2016 people like Lindsey Graham making excuses for doing what they had the power to do, and now it’s coming to bite them all in the rear end.

RUSH: Like what do you mean? Give me an example. What did he do?

CALLER: Well, when he said, “Oh, well, use my words against me. We’re doing this because the last year when — when there’s a — an election coming up, with — with the — with Merrick Garland.” They should have just said, “You would do the same thing if the roles were reversed to the Democrats, and that’s the result of having the power in the Senate.”

RUSH: Oh, I see. You’re thinking that Lindsey Graham should have just been forthright, upfront, and honest rather than try to make excuses.

CALLER: Exactly.

RUSH: Well —

CALLER: You don’t have to make excuses for it.

RUSH: Yeah, but is it gonna matter now? Does it matter now?

CALLER: Well, it doesn’t matter, but now the Democrats have all these talking points that they can go ahead and say, oh, well, you said this four years ago. But now the Republicans have… Well, Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself said this four years ago.

RUSH: That’s right. “You said this four years ago” goes both ways. But that doesn’t… I don’t mean to be trying to say your call is insignificant. Please don’t misunderstand. The only relevant bottom line we have here is not what Lindsey Graham said or any other senator, whatever, Murkowski and Collins. The fact is, we got President Trump, and that’s gonna determine what’s gonna happen — and, mark my words, it’s going to happen.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s Kathy in Waterford, Michigan. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. Love you. Pray for you and our president and your family.

RUSH: Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

CALLER: All bets should be off as far as what senators have said and the ones who say they’re not gonna vote. After what they put us through with Kavanaugh, this whole country through, it’s a disgrace for those who are not gonna vote.

RUSH: I think that’s exactly — folks, after what the Democrats put this country through, there is no way they should be offered any semblance of deference. I’m not saying that this whole thing doesn’t need to happen fairly or with fairness, but we don’t need to defer to these people’s wishes or demands. They attempted to destroy not just a nomination, they tried to destroy the nominee’s life, his character, his future, his family.

They spared nothing as they attempted with a series of lies stacked on other lies, they attempted to literally destroy Brett Kavanaugh. There is no way they are owed any deference whatsoever.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Caroline in Virginia Beach, Virginia. You are next, and welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.

CALLER: Hey, Rush. Mega dittos and mega prayers sent to you.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: I was wondering all weekend, why do we worry about Murkowski and Collins —

RUSH: You know, I have to tell you something. I saw that your call was about this. I saw up there on my cheat sheet that you were gonna say this.

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: And I started slapping, ’cause you’re exactly right. Why do we give a rat’s rear end what they’re gonna do? And I’ll tell you, the answer to it is, we shouldn’t care. The media throws them up at us, the media throws Collins and Murkowski up on us on every, be it a government shutdown, a piece of legislation, or this simply because they’re trying to pressure other Republicans into following lead of these two women.

CALLER: Right. And then you were saying that Feinstein intimidated Murkowski. I’m thinking, why aren’t we talking about Feinstein’s connection with China and Biden’s connection with China? You want to intimidating people, like, why are we not talking about that?

RUSH: We are. Trump has done everything he can. They tried to impeach him over talking about Biden and his son and Ukraine. And they tried to impeach him over it. And Trump constantly talks about Hunter Biden and China at his rallies. So when you say, why aren’t we talking about it, Trump is. The Republican Party isn’t. And I suspect the reason why they don’t link Dianne Feinstein to China, look, she had a driver. Her chauffeur for 20 years was a ChiCom spy. Her husband has beaucoup business dealings in China.

The Feinstein family, her husband’s name is Blum. Richard Blum. I don’t know that she’s taken his name or not. Dianne Feinstein Blum, whatever. They are wealthy thanks to the Chinese government like you can’t believe. But how many other senators have strange connections? Biden does. And so it’s probably because they don’t want to dump on each other. They protect each other in the Senate.

But Trump tries to get everybody to understand the relationship between Biden and the ChiComs and Biden and Ukraine, and they tried to impeach him over it. But, you know, your question is actually right on the money. Why do we care what Murkowski and Collins say or do? They don’t vote Republican on most important issues. And you’re exactly right. And it’s an object lesson. The media hypes ’em. The media hypes Murkowski — and it’s how these women get their name in the news. It’s how they get acclaim, by going against their own party. Of course the media’s gonna make heroines out of ’em. And they do.

So these women have every reason in the world to continue to oppose their own party and president. Except in an election year it’s proving somewhat dangerous for Senator Collins, but the media constantly — it doesn’t matter who the Republican is — Mitt Romney, John McCain — if any Republican comes out opposing the Republican Party and/or conservatism, the media immediately makes ’em heroes.

I guess the reason that some people react to it is because it’s so close. Their votes would be very helpful if they could be on the team. But they never are on things that actually seem to matter. Collins, though, has had her moments. I must admit.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: There’s another reason why we need this replacement too. We don’t want a Supreme Court with eight justices. That means, in the current makeup, that means a 4-4 vote on matters that do need a decision. That won’t fly, that won’t work. I mean, to hell whether the Democrats agree with that or not. I’m just telling you, there’s just more evidence of why we need to fill this seat ASAP, and we will do that.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: This is Jay in Pine, Colorado. Great to have you.

CALLER: Mr. Limbaugh, mega dittos. We pray for you and Kathryn and your health and hope you live a long life together.

RUSH: Well, thank you very much. We both appreciate that more than you know.

CALLER: I just have one quick comment, and that’s ANWR and lobsters.

RUSH: ANWR and lobsters. Okay, let’s see. This is Jeopardy, right? What’s the question? What’s the question? What has Donald Trump done to support things the Democrat Party’s opposed?

CALLER: Exactly.

RUSH: There you go.

CALLER: I can’t understand why Senator Murkowski would oppose him after there’s been so many presidents promising to open up ANWR and Trump does it.

RUSH: Well, see, you’re looking at this with common sense, and that’s an ingredient here that may not be all that represented in the —

CALLER: Well, I don’t think she cares about her constituency ’cause she’s really not up for election, but Ms. Collins, her I do not understand totally. I mean, here he’s opened up thousands of miles of fishing territory and got rid of the tariffs on lobster imports to Europe, which has gotta be making the fishing industry in Maine very happy, and so I think definitely she does not have a clear conscience of what her constituency is.

RUSH: Yeah. Well, you know, the makeup of the electorate in Maine is, as I understand it, it’s one-third Republican, it’s one-third Democrat, and then one-third independent. She’s a a Republican. So going in at best she starts out with at least a third of the electorate and she’s gotta go out and find the balance of her support among people not in her party.

CALLER: Yeah, but using that same concept, if fishermen are one-third, one-third, and one-third.

RUSH: Well, okay. You got a point. He’s gotta point. Susan Collins will surprise you sometimes. Like she stood fast on Kavanaugh like you can’t — she was unaffected by any of the things that Blasey Ford and Feinstein and the rest of the Democrats did to try to disqualify Kavanaugh, and her reason, the speech that she gave, the remarks that she gave in support of Kavanaugh were all judicial, every one of them. And she did the same thing when Gorsuch was up.

But she didn’t hold any of what the Democrats did against them. And that’s really what you’re, I think, recognizing here is that the opposition with Susan Collins is allowed to go all over the place, be extreme, untrue, they can engage in character assassination, and that is not something that has any impact on her.

Bottom line is that in both of these women’s cases they’re given a pass under the guise that they are independent. So the media is gonna automatically love them because they will not automatically be counted as check the box for the Republican nominee or check the box for the Republican piece of legislation or check the box for anything else. So the media highlights they’re open-minded, these are responsible women, these are senators and women who are not under the spell of Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. They’re very independent. So they fit the bill. They go against the Republicans, are automatically loved and adored. I mean, you know that as well as I do.

I don’t have any answer for you in terms of why, you know, they are reluctant to credit Trump for any of the things he’s done that would benefit them. I think you just go in and you look at both of them as votes that we have to overcome. And then you appeal to them to vote “present” as opposed to voting “no.” Don’t vote on the nominee. Just say you’re there, but vote against the process. Vote against the fact that you’re voting. You don’t want to have to vote before the presidential election, okay. Then abstain. But don’t vote against the nominee. You got nothing against the nominee, whoever the nominee’s gonna be.

It’s gonna be a very qualified woman. Nobody is gonna have a problem. And whoever is nominated is gonna have been vetted. Whoever is nominated is gonna have to have been through the confirmation process with the Senate Judiciary Committee at some point in her career, whether it’s Amy Coney Barrett.