A Golden Opportunity for Republicans
Dec 21, 2018
RUSH: So I checked the email again during the break, and I have to tell you, there’s a lot of people asking, “Rush, all right. We know what’s going on. What do you think should happen? What do you think is gonna happen? What do you think? We know what’s happening out there, Rush! We’re paying attention. What do you think?†Okay. All right. If that’s what you want.
JOHNNY DONOVAN: And now, from sunny south Florida, it’s Open Line Friday!
RUSH. And we’re gonna be getting to your phone calls maybe in this segment. I don’t know. I feel bad, I didn’t get to any in the first hour. I want to get started on that since this is Open Line Friday, and the number is 800-282-2882. Okay, here’s my take on all of this based on where we are right now. Now, some of this I didn’t specifically say in the first hour because I assume that so many things are understood, especially among and by you in the audience. And that’s actually a mistake.
I shouldn’t assume that just because you’re here and you know me and you have a many, multiple-year history of listening that you can figure out where I am on this even if you don’t say it per se, that you can get it. But I need to say it, per se, I guess, more often than I do. Taking things in order, I think it is absolutely fabulous that this bill passed the House. For all of the reasons: That it put Chuck and Nancy back on their heels, that they’re out there saying that Trump couldn’t get the votes, that the House…
Nancy doesn’t even run the House yet, and she’s out there saying Trump couldn’t get the votes — and he did, and it was because of Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan and the Freedom Caucus. They did their special order earlier this week and they let the president that know they would have his back. It’d be easy for the president to think that he’s isolated, but it was I think a very important thing that they did to make it a point to go to the floor of the House and special orders to make sure that everybody knew — not just the president — that they, significant number of Republicans in the House, would have his back.
So I think it’s great. I don’t think there’s anything wrong yet. I think it’s fabulous they passed this bill. Now the Senate is in a position they don’t want to be in. The Senate never wants to be in this position. They are the great deliberative body. But they have to take it up now, and here’s what has to happen now. Regardless how this ends, we need to get every senator on the Republican side on record here. They’re all talking about how they don’t have 60 votes.
Fine. If I don’t have 60 votes, then go ahead and vote for it. If you’re worried about this, I don’t care if you’re retiring senator, if you’re Corker, if you’re Flake — and I may be (sigh) wasting my breath here hoping that these guys would do something that would be seen as pro-Trump. But I think on this issue — the border, the wall, border security, saving the American culture. I think every senator that we can get on record we need to get. They need to be flushed out.
I think despite how you and I know the Democrats hate Trump, we cannot assume that other people who don’t pay as close attention as we do understand this. Remember people that get most of their news from the Drive-By Media, they’re watching it and they’re absorbing it but they’re not seeing perhaps the degree of literal hatred for Trump that we know they have. Now, you might think, “How could they miss it?†Because they’re not watching it from the same perspective.
These people turn on the news expecting to hear the news — and like it or not, we have to admit that a lot of consumers of news do not question it. I know their reputation is way down. But even if I’m wrong on this, I still think that we need every Republican in the Senate voting for this thing to show that it is the Democrats who are opposed to border security. It’s the Democrats who are opposed to border security. It’s the Democrats who are opposed to border security. It’s the Democrats who are opposed to shoring up the border.
It’s the Democrats who do not want to fix this! It’s the Democrats who are saying, “No!†It’s the Democrats who are the obstacle. It’s the Democrats who are stopping things. It’s the Democrats who won’t cooperate. It’s the Democrats who won’t cross the aisle. It’s the Democrats who won’t compromise. It’s the Democrats who are acting like children. It’s the Democrats acting like spoiled brats. This is what needs to be illustrated, and with every Republican signing on to this, that objective is furthered.
Every senator that opposes this, it’s because of the fact that they hate Trump and that that’s why they oppose this. That they are willing to damage the country rather than support Trump. That they are willing to put the country in great peril because of refusing to shore up the border! This needs to be demonstrated. This is such a golden opportunity to me. I don’t look at these things as chaotic. I don’t look at these things as, “Oh, no, it isn’t going our way.†This is such a great opportunity, a teachable moment, whatever you want to call it.
It’s the opportunity to demonstrate to everybody that it is the Democrats who are engaging in political malpractice, that it’s the Democrats who will not compromise, that it’s the Democrats who are not interested in doing anything if it helps Donald Trump, including something that would really benefit the country. We cannot be harmed by taking action that would cause this to be seen by more and more Americans. But every senator on the Republican side needs to be flushed out and needs to vote for this — and they’ve got cover.
They can tell themselves it isn’t gonna pass because they don’t have 60 votes. Some of them are leaving anyway. But there are some Republicans that hate Trump so much that they won’t compromise for the good of America, either. That needs to be flushed out! But primarily the opportunity here to demonstrate — not because we say it, but because they show it — that the Democrats hate Donald Trump so much that they will not do what they demand he does: compromise, respect process. They’re unwilling to cross the aisle.
They are unwilling to engage in this precious process. They are unwilling to spend five billion measly dollars to protect their own country because they hate Donald Trump so much. They would just as soon damage the country as help Trump. That’s the message that needs to get out. That’s how you sell this. That’s how you push this. You continue to push back. Trump is showing the way. He’s got ’em on their heels. You continue the attack! You blame them. Get rid of this idea that government shutdowns are Republicans’ fault.
Get rid of this idea that it’s we who have to explain things. We don’t have to explain anything other than we are trying to save America. We are protecting America. We are attempting to shore up the border! We are attempting to gain and secure border security. It’s the Democrats who don’t want any part of it! This is the opportunity that we’ve got. The Democrats have supported measures with more wall funding than this one! They just never went anywhere. This isn’t about the wall, as far as the Democrats are concerned.
This is about humiliating Trump and delaying all of this until they get control of the House so that none of this can ever come up and have a legitimate chance the next two years. Because they don’t want border security. They do not want illegal immigration flows to stop. This must be demonstrated! Mitch McConnell and whoever it is that’s gonna walk to Republican microphones and address the press, has got to say, “It is the Democrats who are unwilling to compromise. It’s the Democrats who are willing to help us secure the border.â€
This is gonna require these Republicans to stand firmly, solidly with Trump. He is taking the lead. He’s willing to stick his neck out on this. He needs more than Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan saying they will have his back. He needs a bunch of senators who are not retiring and not leaving to join this chorus that they support the president, they support security of the border, they support protecting America’s borders and America itself, and that it’s the Democrats who don’t, that it’s the Democrats who are not interested in it.
Democrats are so obsessed with Trump hatred that they are unwilling to compromise and even do one thing to help America. It’s not a difficult message, because it’s actually the truth. It’s actually what’s happening. But somebody besides the “tyranny of talk radio†needs to say it. They need to say it. They need to say it as the explanation for what they’re doing. Why are they voting for this? Because they want to protect the border. They don’t have to use the word “wall.†They just have to say, “Protect the border,†“border security,†what have you.
Enforce that it’s $5 billion, that the Democrats have authorized even more for this in previous legislation that never went anywhere ’cause it started the focus. There have been other efforts to get this money. It’s been denied Trump every time he’s tried. This is his last best effort for it. It’s not this is the first time he’s tried. He’s tried this back in 2017, and the same thing happened. Back then all he wanted was $1 billion, and they wouldn’t even give that.
It is time for everybody in that town that calls themselves a Republican, especially if they’re in the Senate, to stride to those microphones right now and start saying, “We’re there. We just need some Democrats to help us protect the border. But the Democrats are so obsessed with Donald Trump and attempting to see that he does not succeed at anything, they’re willing to put their own nation at risk.†Just keep putting ’em on the defensive! There’s no need for us to be! We’re not doing anything wrong here.
We’re simply using legislative tactics. We’re using The Art of the Deal. We’re doing whatever is necessary, the president is, to try to get an objective (that was a campaign promise) accomplished. He cannot do it alone. We’ve got 51 or 52 senators, depending on how you count Flake and Corker and some of the others that are retiring or got beat. But the message here is very simple: “We aren’t the problem. What we want is not the problem. What we want is not damaging or bad. We want border security! We want, finally, to do something about the never-ending flow of illegal immigration into our country.â€
You hit the cameras and microphones all afternoon if you’re a Republican in the Senate, and you put the onus right on Chuck Schumer and the rest of his buddies on the Democrat side who don’t want any part of this and are unwilling to even talk about $5 billion — and I’ll grant a concession. If there looks like there could be success on this, then maybe somebody proposes a-24-hour, 18-hour, 12-hour continuing resolution while all this is going on, to keep the precious government running to show good faith.
But it’s just 12 hours. It’s just another 12 hours or so. If it looks like there’s a possibility for movement here. You do not end it. You do not take the shutdown off the table, but you offer to keep the government open ’cause that’s what they’re so obsessed with. The bottom line is, Donald Trump, President Trump needs the support of his party. He’s got you. He’s got you who voted for him, and he knows it. He needs the support of elected Republicans in Washington. He needs to be encouraged. He needs to be praised for pushing this issue in the first place at this time.
He needs applause. It never hurts anybody. I don’t care how big a self-starter anybody is, and I don’t care how confident they are. Everybody needs encouragement. Everybody needs to know at times of crisis and chaos that they have people behind them who have their back willing to support them. The House Republicans need to be praised for passing this in the first place and then turning around and encouraging the Senate GOP to vote for it and hang tight. ‘Cause if this doesn’t happen, folks, we’re… I don’t want to use the word “screwed.â€
But if this doesn’t happen, the chances of it down the road with Pelosi taking over the House in a couple of short weeks? The chances reduce. I talked about the encouragement and the need for it in my short little remarks of 35 minutes last night at the Turning Point USA celebrations that arrived. I received an award. I don’t care who you are, encouragement never hurts, and a lot of people don’t get encouragement who need it ’cause everybody thinks they don’t need to it. “They’re secure, they’re powerful, they don’t need it! (muttering) They can take care of themselves.â€
It helps.
Right now, there’s one guy making all this happen, and he needs to be assured that he has support. That’s what I think should happen. That’s what I think the Republicans in the Senate’s objective here has to be. Put all of this on the Democrats and put it all on the Democrats. Everything they think is important. Willing to compromise? They’re not willing. Willing to do process? They’re not willing. Willing to walk across the aisle, shake hands and show government can work? They’re not willing. Protect the border, border security, five billion measly dollars? They aren’t willing.
Screw the media!
Just say it and keep saying it.
That’s my idea.
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/12/21/a-golden-opportunity-for-republicans/
