JASON: I want to get to a clip that Rush played on the military and keeping the country safe. Secretary Lloyd Austin went to Afghanistan to talk about the May 1st deadline to get those troops home. We need to be channeling Eisenhower on whether we deploy troops abroad. More on that, but I want to listen to Rush on his reverence for the troops right now.
RUSH: They are special people. It was an honor to be able to talk to them and convey what I think to be the majority sentiments of the people in this country. But I want to tell you, when we were at Kandahar? Kandahar is the place where there still are skirmishes going on. There was mortar fire the night we were there — nowhere near us but at the base. The base is huge. One of the things that I noticed when I had that troop event is that these people would all tell me what an “honor it was” to meet me, and I thank them, but I’m honest here, folks: I can’t tell you how small I felt compared to these people, the age range was anywhere from 18 to 30 and even older. I mean, some of the command officers over there, career military, have been around for a long time, and I mean I’ll be honest.
When I got there, second day I was looking forward to leaving. I mean, this was not a pleasant experience in terms of just living. It was not anything an American is accustomed to, and I had it better than the troops did in the accommodations that I had, and they were nothing to write home about. I’m not complaining with it; it’s just the way it is and I’m glad I saw it and I knew it was going to be that way when I went, but like anybody else, I was looking forward to the end of the week when it was time to come home, and I met a couple guys in Kandahar, a couple 19-year-olds. The day I did my troop event was their first day, and I said, “How long you scheduled to be here?”
“A year, sir.” They both had copies of my books, and they didn’t know — because they just got there that day, they didn’t know — that I had an event scheduled there. They showed up, both of them. One of them had one of the books; the other one had the other copy, the other book, and asked me to sign ’em. And just to show you, they were excited to be there. They signed up for it. They were glad they were there. They were glad they were training was over and they had finally gotten to go, and I’ll tell you what I told them at Kandahar in this group toward the end of my one-hour, wasn’t a speech.
Well, I guess you call it a speech, but I want to tell you guys, “I feel very small standing here in front of you, compared to what you’re doing, what I’m doing seems insignificant, and I don’t mind admitting this to you.” I said, “As I get older I have more and more respect for all of you who do what you do, and I think one of the reasons is that when I was your age, I had the chance and didn’t do what you’re doing. It was Vietnam and it was the beginning of the time when the country was turning against that war and so forth, and I had a lottery number that was pretty safe, so I didn’t worry about it. But I didn’t join. You guys have all joined, and as I get older and continue to mature, and I have a greater appreciation for what people like you throughout our country’s history have done and what you’ve meant, I’m literally in awe of you. You’re better people than I am.”
You know, and I told them the story of the trip I took to Miami to the Versace mansion. I may not have mentioned this to you folks. It was about, oh, nine months ago, and I was down in Miami with some friends, and they said, let’s get to the Versace mansion. I said, “I don’t want to go to Versace mansion; my house is nicer than that.”
“No you’ve got to see this.” So we went in there, and I found what I thought, just a bunch of young people trying to pair up and go to the clubs, 20, 21 years old.” I’m telling this story to the troops and I said, “Little women are there wearing these little mini-skirts that barely cover anything,” and a guy in the front row said, “What’s wrong with that?” And I said, “Nothing’s wrong with that. That’s the point. I’m not criticizing.
I’m saying this country is so magnificent that we can have people who couldn’t care less about whatever threats we face. They’re just out there having a good time — and yet here you are, same age, I’m in awe of what you do. You could be the same kind of people.” I’m not being critical, but you’re here, and I just wanted to tell them how much I personally appreciated them and then wanted to convey how much all of you do, too — and that was the real reason I went over there, and I got that done.
JASON: You know, this is really fascinating, because government’s first duty — first duty — is to keep the peace. The federal government handles external threats; the police powers of the state, primarily, handle internal threats or criminal acts. That’s why it was so unconscionable and outrageous that in Minnesota, where we used to export Land of Lakes but that it’s politically incorrect (you can’t do that now, that’s been canceled), now we export riots because we let the 3rd Precinct go to the rioters.
The government failed in its first duty while locking up innocent people for violating covid restrictions. If we don’t get our heads straight on what the first duty of government is… It’s why we give government a monopoly on force to use it to repel illegitimate force, not to initiate illegitimate force. That’s what Rush was talking about there.
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JASON: Let’s go to Cory, first up this segment.
CALLER: Hey!
JASON: Cory, you’re on the Excellence in Broadcasting Network.
CALLER: Jason, thanks for taking my call. Mega dittos from a 30-year listener, 21-year, three-war veteran. Yep.
JASON: Wow.
CALLER: Yep.
JASON: Well, congratulations to you too.
CALLER: And I had the opportunity and pleasure to meet you up in Hockeytown USA when you were recently running.
JASON: We did very well when I was running for the U.S. Senate last year in — well, all throughout — Greater Minnesota. It is, like so many states, the urban core that overwhelms so many states, whether it’s New York or Colorado or Minnesota, and the urban core where, shall we put it diplomatically, vote early and vote often.
CALLER: And that was from James Oberstar, if I’m correct on that (laughing), a longtime person up here.
JASON: You know, I remember going into that last couple of weeks of the race here last year. I was down by one, according to a Channel 5 poll, and everywhere we went in northern Minnesota just massive turnouts for the president in Bemidji and my Senate candidacy, and then — like a microcosm for the country — something happened on Election Day, and a lot of, folks, are still trying to figure that out if you getting my drift.
CALLER: I get your drift on there and thank you for doing a phenomenal. And thoughts and prayers out to Kathryn and the Limbaugh family.
JASON: Wasn’t that great to hear from her today?
CALLER: Yeah, and the story from Rush when he was in Kandahar. Most people don’t understand what it’s like to be overseas and to serve over there and to, you know, be in the combat zone the whole time.
JASON: Thank you for your service, Cory. It’s so very, very important and that’s a true patriot. But let me tell you, you know, what I used to tell people on the campaign trail, “The single biggest… We reformed the VA when I was in Congress, allowed them to fire bad employees. We made certain they could go to private clinics. We did all that.
“But the single best thing I as a member of Congress could do for the trips was to give them my sacred pledge that I would never send them abroad for regimes change, with rules of engagement that didn’t allow them to persevere and win, and for interests that weren’t in the direct national security threat.”
And that’s what the John Kerrys of the world do. They’re interventionists at home and they’re interventionists abroad. This May 1st deadline in Afghanistan ought to be abided by. We ought to get out of there and focus on the real threat right now, which is China.
CALLER: And we did not forget our oath when our enlistments ended. We are still defending this country.
JASON: As you are, I know you are. You always will. Cory, thanks. It’s good to hear your voice. Let’s try Ocala, Florida. Randy, squeeze you in before the next Rush clip. You’re on the Excellence in Broadcasting Network. Hi.
CALLER: Jason, listening to Rush reminds me of how pitiful our civics education is. I’m extremely excited to tell America that one more great thing that Governor Ron DeSantis is doing is implementing a mandatory civics education program K through 12 back into the education in the state of Florida. And that’s one more reason why he is one of the greatest governors in the United States at the moment.
JASON: Yeah, I served with Ron in the 115th, and man, oh, man, has he stepped up. He’s done a great job down there. It’s a testament to federalism. People can see that example compared to New York and Minnesota and say, “Let’s do what he’s doing,” right? They’ve handled it just perfectly, and they’ve allowed people — and this is the thing, really.
During the covid era, what people want is to be treated as adults. And you go back to viruses past, and the public health authorities give recommendations, not mandates. And then they let adults do what they want to do. Whether they want to distance or not, whether they want to wear a mask or not, whether they want to get a vaccine or not. Give recommendations and allow adults to behave as adults. That’s gone by the wayside except for Texas and Florida and a few other places. And that’s what’s important.