http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/08/25/trump_converts_the_gop_to_amnestyTrump Converts the GOP to Amnesty?
August 25, 2016
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RUSH: Could you imagine what it's like to be Jeb Bush today? Who knew -- (laughing) I'm sorry, folks. "She's a bigot!" Who knew. First they tried Marco Rubio. They tried the Gang of Eight. They tried Jeb Bush. They tried any number of people to convince -- they tried me! They sent emissaries to the EIB Network Southern Command. They tried everybody they could think of to try to convince the Republican base to support some form of amnesty for illegal immigrants, and -- (laughing) -- sorry -- who knew -- (laughing) -- I know it frustrates you to hear me laughing. Sorry.
Let me regain my composure. Who knew that it would be Donald Trump to come out and convert the GOP base to supporting amnesty the same week Ann Coulter's book comes out. Poor Ann. Oh, my God, she's got this book In Trump We Trust, and in it she says the only thing, the only thing that could cause Trump any trouble whatsoever is if he flip-flops on abortion or on immigration, goes amnesty. It looks like he's getting close to it, and she's just beside herself with this. I mean, what timing.
Greetings, my friends. It's great to have you here. Rush Limbaugh behind the Golden EIB Microphone. It's 800-282-2882 if you want to be on the program. You want to send an email, have a new email address. It is ElRushbo@eibnet.us. Pardon me. I have to dry my eyes here. I was watching CNN today, you know, I really like the Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson. Pardon the sniffles, folks. If Snerdley hadn't shown me this, I would have totally missed it. I really like Katrina Pierson. I think she goes in there and stands up for Trump against all kinds of odds.
She's on CNN today, and the subject in the roundtable is Trump's near flip-flop, not all there yet, but near flip-flop on amnesty and this whole notion that he's softening his position on immigration. They asked her to explain what Trump's doing. And she said (paraphrasing), "Well, he hasn't changed his thinking on this. He's just changing the words that he's using." I stared at the TV, and there were four other people on the panel, and they started laughing and tried to stop. They started smirking. They had to go to a commercial break early 'cause nobody could keep up straight face. (paraphrasing) "No, no, no, he's not changing what he thinks at all. He's just changing the words that he is using." Well, we'll get into great detail that only we can do here at the EIB Network and offer the perspective that only we can offer.
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RUSH: Okay. Now, some of you might be a little perplexed at my comment about Trump being the Republican to come along and convert the Republican base to supporting amnesty. We will explain this as the this program unfolds. I'm gonna tell you, Ted Cruz and the Cruz supporters are all over the place out there, in Politico. Cruz is saying (paraphrasing), "We told you, we told you, we told you that every Trump policy has an expiration date, and it looks like Trump's immigration policy has just expired and he is now adopting the policy that we all had."
And Jeb Bush is out -- well, is it Jeb actually saying it or somebody saying it for Jeb? Yeah, Trump is out saying, "Don't doubt me on this, I'm gonna fix it." And they said, "Well, that's exactly what Jeb Bush said. Jeb Bush's immigration policy is exactly what Trump's articulating now, including saying, 'Trust me, I'll fix it.'"
But it all leads to the question: Will this cause a problem with Trump supporters? I've done an informal survey here, and apparently it won't. That's why I say, who knew that it would be Donald Trump to come along and convert the GOP base to supporting amnesty? I don't see a lot of people preparing to abandon Trump over this. Maybe Coulter. Who knows what she's gonna do. I mean, her book hits, and it's just had the rug pulled out from under it.
What else? There's number of other aspects about this. Let me take a break and give myself time on the other side of this to keep going, but hang in there, folks, because we are just cracking the lid now. We'll see what's inside.
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RUSH: Speaking of Trump, here's the Katrina Pierson sound bite that I mentioned. It was on CNN this morning and here's who was on the panel. It was Amanda Cooper (she used to work for Cruz, she was communications director) and Erica Hill. There were two others there. Maybe three. A total of five people, including Katrina Pierson. And they all were on at the same time with head shots. And the question was, "Katrina, how do you square those two?
"[Trump] said ... and I'm quoting, 'I just want to follow the law. We'll work with them,'" meaning the illegal immigrants. Which everybody up to now thought he's gonna deport 'em. I mean, he's saying, "They gotta go. They gotta go." What people don't know, may not remember -- and I'm remind you -- is that Trump has said they're gonna come back. But he has made it plain that they're gonna be deported. So Katrina Pierson was asked to explain what all this is.
PIERSON: He hasn't changed his position on immigration. He's changed the words that he is saying.
PANELISTS: (chortling)
PIERSON: What he has always said is that he does not --
PANELISTS: (laughing)
PIERSON: No. He does not want to allow people to stay in this country illegally. He does want to build a wall --
CARPENTER: Just got ten feet shorter, though!
PIERSON: -- but he wants to work with Congress to get it done, and that's exactly what he has said from the beginning.
RUSH: You hear that. They were smirking, they were laughing, they were having trouble keeping straight faces when she said, "He hasn't changed his position, he's changed the words." And then she tried to explain what she means and they laughed even more because somebody then spoke up and said, "Katrina, he has said, 'Get them out.' He's been very clear about his position. This is a change; this is a shift; this is a flip-flop; it's an evolution. Whatever words you want to use."
PIERSON: No, Erica. It's the "how" that's being discussed now. He's always said, "If they're here illegally, they have to go." He's always said that.
HILL: Before he talked about the how. He said there would be a deportation force. So now he is shifting. Katrina, there is a definite different message that we're hearing now.
PIERSON: There's not a different message. He's using different words to give that message --
HILL: (guffawing)
PIERSON: -- because everyone on the news is saying that he's a bigot and that he's a racist because of the words that he uses. Now he's simply saying, "Yes, we are going to follow the law, we are going to enforce the law," which ICE is immigration and customs. They do remove people from the country who are here illegally. He wants to start with the criminals. I can point to several speeches he's given saying the exact same thing!
RUSH: Okay, her point is nothing's changed here. He's just changing the words, and he's trying to soften the way his policy sounds to people. But all he's gonna do is what he's always said he's gonna do: He's gonna enforce the law. (summarized) "If they're here illegally, they're gonna go, they gotta go, they gotta go. They're gonna come back but they gotta go, and we're gonna build a wall and Mexico's gonna pay for it." That's basically where it is right now.
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RUSH: From the Washington Post: "Trump 'Softening' on Immigration? Many of His Supporters Don't Seem to Mind." That's the headline. "Trump has been signaling for days that he might be open to a 'softening' of one of his most extreme immigration positions and no longer call for the deportation of an estimated 11 million immigrants who are living in the United States illegally.
"He and his aides seemed to be testing the waters, setting off alarm bells among some conservatives who have rallied around his hard-line immigration stance. But judging from many rally-goers here in Tampa on Wednesday and at an event Tuesday in Austin, many rank-and-file voters will give Trump relatively broad latitude to alter the parameters of his immigration policies."
That's a wordy way of saying that Trump's supporters are not going to sell him out. Trump's supporters are not gonna abandon him on this. They're not going to be talked into abandoning Trump. They're not gonna believe what other people say in analyzing Trump about what he means. They're gonna continue to believe Trump. And Trump is saying, "My position hasn't changed, none whatsoever. We're gonna enforce the law. If they're here illegally, we're gonna send 'em back."
Now, one of the things that happened, there was a town hall meeting last night on the Fox News Channel. It was Sean Hannity the whole hour with Trump. And this was one of the more incredible such events that I have seen. What happened was that in the midst of discussing all this Trump started to soften. He said (paraphrasing), "You know, what do you think? We've got people who've been here 20 years. They've not broken the law. They've got kids. They've got families. I mean, you ought to be compassionate. Maybe we don't send those people back." Then he turned around and asked the audience, "What do you think? What do you think my policy ought to be?" And that's a first.
I've been trying to think if I can ever recall a presidential candidate anywhere turning to the audience at a rally or anywhere and asking, taking a poll what his audience thinks that he ought to do. I'm used to candidates who know what their policy is and telling the audience what it is and trying to persuade the audience to understand it, agree with it, and help the candidate promote it.
In this case Trump turned to the audience in the town hall and said, "What do you think?" And a form of chaos ensued, because there was massive disagreement among the audience members of this town hall. But, you still have to remind yourself that Trump is outside the normal parameters of what people expect politics to be. Therefore, what happened last night with Hannity is, as far as Trumpers are concerned, no big deal, no big deal. This is all about standing out and being different from the scripted playbook of American politics.
So who cares if Trump turned around and asked the crowd what they think he ought to do. We like that. That's refreshing, they say. Here's a candidate who cares what we think. Here's a candidate who's willing to factor what we think into this before he makes his decision. Here's a candidate willing to talk to us about his policy.
So whereas the traditional blue-blood establishment types are looking at this, "Oh, my God, this is a disaster. You don't do this. You don't do a town hall, turn to the crowd, and ask 'em what they think." People in Trump world don't see it that way at all, or many don't. There might be some who think, "That makes me uncomfortable. The guy doesn't seem sure of himself." And then the chaos, I mean, the chaos did ensue, a mild form of chaos, meaning there were disagreements even among the audience. And they had to expend a little effort in getting things back under control.
Still, there is no doubt that Trump is trying to change the way he is perceived on this issue. And people are eagle-eyeing this and asking themselves if this is going to have a killer impact on his campaign, because immigration is viewed as the one issue, the issue that has made Trump, the issue that separated him from the pack. And if there is the slightest doubt among his supporters, the slightest fear that Trump is gonna abandon his long-held position on this in any meaningful way, then what will they do?
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RUSH: Here's Scott in Houston, as we start on the phones. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello, sir.
CALLER: Hello, Rush. Yes, you hit perfectly on the Donald Trump turning to the audience. I've been yelling and streaming all morning, at Good Morning America, why aren't they covering that? That is George Washington. It doesn't matter what Trump thinks, it doesn't matter what I think; he wants to know what the people think, and I think that goes straight to our Constitution: "We, the people." I remember Governor Perry did the same thing with two things that he wanted, but us people here in Texas, we didn't want it. He's like, "You know, I'm for the people, the people don't want it, and I'll change that. " Show me anybody in Washington that will do that. And when that happened last night I was so excited; I was like, "Our country might actually come back to us."
RUSH: Wait a second, now. Wait, wait, wait just second. Because let me rephrase here so people know what you're talking about. On the town hall last night on Fox, during the discussion of immigration and deportation and, quote/unquote, amnesty, Trump turned to the crowd -- it's a town hall meeting -- and asked them what they think he ought to do. And you'll have to admit that a mild form of chaos ensued because there was disagreement among the crowd, and it looked for a while like they had lost control of the show.
Now, I've had people -- just so you know, Scott -- tell me... It's all anecdotal, just to give you something to bounce off of here. A lot of people tell me they don't like that. They don't want a candidate that turns to the audience and asks what he should do. They want a candidate who knows what he's gonna do, is confident about it, and is out trying to persuade other people to agree with him. But you are making my point. Trump turns to the people, "Hey, what do you..." And they love it. They actually love it because that to them is Trump listening to them because he cares. Right?
CALLER: Exactly. I had tears in my eyes. That's "we, the people." It's our country. It's fascinating that they're not even covering that. That's ground shaking, you know?
RUSH: Right. And so I happened to mention it because I have... Well, I knew it was important, I knew it's a big deal, and that's why you think... I'm the only show here where you heard this mentioned, right?
CALLER: Rush, you have been in my life over 25 years, and I could start crying but yes, man, thank you for everything that you have taught me -- I mean, all my life. This three hours that I spend at work when I listen to you is the only time of day that life makes sense, because people can't sleep today. You see what's going on. I have a 10-year-old daughter. The America I grew up in? I want her to grow up in that, and they're changing it. Change? You don't change the Constitution. I want everything that I had, for my daughter to have.
RUSH: Scott, I'm glad you called, and I thank you very much. You've been out there for 20 years, and it's obviously paid off for you. It's obviously been very beneficial. You're extremely informed, highly passionate, and very articulate. I'm honored to have you out there.
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