{"id":18980,"date":"2011-05-16T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-07-20T00:20:06","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2018-02-26T14:03:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T19:03:46","slug":"newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/","title":{"rendered":"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RUSH: The inexplicable Newt Gingrich. I\u2019m getting e-mails all morning, “Rush, would you explain?” Why do I have to explain it? No, no, no. I mean I\u2019ll be happy to explain it under the rubric that I\u2019m the boss, but I\u2019m not gonna justify this. I am not gonna justify this. I\u2019m not gonna explain this. The attack on Paul Ryan. The support for an individual mandate in health care? Folks, don\u2019t ask me to explain this. There is no explanation. (interruption) What do you mean if I don\u2019t explain it, who will? There is no explanation for it. First off, it cuts Paul Ryan off at the knees. It supports the Obama administration in the lawsuits that 26 states have filed over the mandate. I guess back in 1993 Newt supported an individual mandate, everybody should buy insurance? I am befuddled as anybody else is is what I\u2019m telling you. I can\u2019t explain it. We could sit here and say, “Well, trying to carve a niche. Well, trying to set himself up as something different.” <\/p>\n

He also said that social engineering is bad whether it\u2019s right wing social engineering or left-wing social engineering. We\u2019re not social engineering anything. We\u2019re trying to reduce the size of government. My God, it is inexplicable, is my point. Obviously I haven\u2019t spoken to Newt or anybody on his team about this. But it\u2019s not explainable. There\u2019s no way that I can sit here and give you a rational set of reasons that you may not have thought of. I read that and I\u2019m scratching my head like all the rest of you when you read it or when you heard it. It\u2019s just mind boggling. So that has led George Will now to proclaim, “Newt is not a serious candidate.” According to George Will, the Republican nominee will be one of two people, Tim Pawlenty or Mitch Daniels. That\u2019s it. Those are the only two serious guys. <\/p>\n

But let\u2019s go back to Indiana for a second. This judge of the Supreme Court is a Mitch Daniels appointee. The judge, Steven David, who wrote for the court, said that if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason, or no reason at all, the homeowner can\u2019t do anything to block the officer\u2019s entry. It was just a little blurb, one of many blurbs at Drudge that I saw on Saturday. And of all the things on Drudge, that\u2019s the thing I clicked on first, I said, “What in the world is this?” So when Kathryn said, “What\u2019s the big news?” on Saturday, this is the first thing that came to my mind to mention to her. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what Will thinks about Romney. I\u2019m telling you what Will said, that Newt\u2019s not serious. That\u2019s the new term now, by the way. Newt\u2019s not serious, it\u2019s gonna be Pawlenty or — well, you know, Mitt\u2019s got a problem here that\u2019s somewhat similar to Newt\u2019s in a way. (paraphrasing) “I was for Obamacare before Obama wrote it. Now I\u2019m opposed to Obamacare but I liked my version of it in Massachusetts and don\u2019t tell me it was a mistake because it wasn\u2019t.” Okay, fine. This is a little maze here, a little circuitous route thing that I\u2019m having trouble keeping up with. (interruption) How am I gonna pick somebody for you? That\u2019s not my job, to pick somebody for you. (interruption) You think it is? All right. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Let\u2019s go to the Newt sound bites. Yesterday on Meet the Depressed, David Gregory was interviewing Newt, and they have this first question here. Gregory said, “What about entitlements? The Medicare trust fund. Stories have come out over the weekend that it\u2019s now gonna be depleted by 2024…” That\u2019s another crisis: How many times have we had the story that Medicare and Social Security are gonna run out of money before we thought so? You know, I used to be ensnared by these stories. I used to be entrapped by them and I used allow myself to get all, “Oh, no, really?” But it\u2019s just a common technique now, and I refuse to emotionally fall for it. <\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have the money for Medicare now! What do you mean Medicare is gonna run out of money by 2024? We don\u2019t have the money for Social Security now. What do you mean we\u2019re gonna run out of Social Security money before we thought so? We don\u2019t have it now! What is $14 trillion in debt? What is a $1.6 trillion budget deficit? We don\u2019t have the money now. The idea that Medicare and Social Security are still solvent is a joke, and so now it\u2019s panic city. “Guess what? Guess what? We\u2019re gonna run out of Medicare money earlier than we thought, 2024!” Yeah, right, really. We\u2019re out of money now. Why are we borrowing $1.6 trillion every year, especially when they tell us that it\u2019s because of entitlements? <\/p>\n

We start talking about paring down the budget and they say, “Well, you can\u2019t touch the entitlements. Nobody\u2019s got the guts to do that. So we have to go after discretionary spending, and Mr. Limbaugh, there\u2019s only a couple hundred dollars in discretionary spending. The rest of it\u2019s entitlements.” Okay, if the whole budget\u2019s entitlements, if you want to make that argument, then we\u2019ve been bankrupt and busted for years. Everything\u2019s run out of money! Anyway, Gregory asks him the question: “What about entitlements, Newt? Medicare trust fund. Stories have come out over the weekend that it\u2019s now gonna be completed by 2024, five years earlier than predicted. Do you think the Republicans ought to buck the public opposition, really move forward to completely change Medicare, turn it into a voucher program where you give seniors some premium support so that they can go buy private insurance themselves?”<\/p>\n

GINGRICH: I don\u2019t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don\u2019t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate. I think we need a national conversation to get to a better Medicare system with more choices for seniors. But there are specific things you can do.<\/p>\n

GREGORY: But not what Paul Ryan is suggesting! <\/p>\n

GINGRICH: I — I — I — I — (stammers)<\/p>\n

GREGORY: Which is completely changing Medicare!<\/p>\n

GINGRICH: I think that that is too big a jump. I think what you want to have is a system where people voluntarily migrant to better outcomes, better solutions, better options; not one where you suddenly impose upon the… I don\u2019t want to… I — I — I\u2019m against Obamacare which is imposing radical change and I would be against a conservative imposing radical change.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, now, it\u2019s apparent that Newt has seen what he thinks is a niche to occupy. It\u2019s amazing how many people seek out niches. People in media do it all the time. I could name names. Well, I could! I could name names and blow a whole lot of careers sky-high, but that\u2019s not my wont. But there are a lot of people, one particular area is already occupied, somebody owns it — and even if you believe it (sigh), what are you gonna accomplish being number two or number three? So you go someplace that nobody owns, you think — i.e., you find a niche. So the niche here is, “Everybody but me is radical. Republicans are radical here with their social engineering. Democrats are radical. We need somebody more reasonable, like me.”<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the niche that Newt\u2019s trying to find here. <\/p>\n

The problem is that it\u2019s politically tone deaf. Well, maybe it isn\u2019t (I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s calculated), but he has to know that virtually the entire Republican establishment, including the DC insiders and the Tea Party are in full-throated support of Paul Ryan\u2019s idea in Medicare — and, in fact, Ryan\u2019s whole budget. Now, I also know that Newt, when he talks about this — specifically when it comes to Medicare and the mandate — he\u2019s going to say that his mandate\u2019s from the states not the Feds, just like the states mandate auto insurance — and I know that he\u2019s going to suggest that it\u2019s simply not just that others have to pay for the health care that other people have who don\u2019t pay for it. Somehow we\u2019ve got to change that, and those who aren\u2019t paying for it, they\u2019re gonna have to start paying their fair share.<\/p>\n

I know what he\u2019s trying to do with that, but this is the politics of it right now. There\u2019s a groundswell here for a massive, massive reduction in the size of government. Medicare and Social Security are untenable. I don\u2019t think what Ryan\u2019s doing is “social engineering” that\u2019s drastic. He\u2019s not taking current enrollees and taking everything away from \u2019em. Current enrollees play by the rules until they die. It\u2019s people not yet on the rolls who are going to be told, “Okay, by the time you get there you\u2019re gonna have to make some changes. We just can\u2019t afford it anymore. Sorry. That\u2019s the truth of the matter.” Ryan\u2019s proposal would have people choose from a list of coverage options and have Medicare make premium support payments for the plan they choose. <\/p>\n

It sounds like it\u2019s voluntary, in terms of the ultimate choice. Now, I don\u2019t see where allowing people more choice in their Medicare plan is social engineering or radical. Now, it\u2019s true that we on the right can be radical, depending on what we\u2019re measured against, but by definition we\u2019re not. We\u2019re mainstream. But by pure and simple definition, all of Obamaism is pure radical. It is dead set opposed to traditional Americanism, as defined by the way the country was founded. That\u2019s radical. Some people like radical. Some people say radicals are the ones that get things done. But “radical” meant in a derogatory defamatory way, we\u2019re not that. We\u2019re the height of reasonable. So to be lumped in with radicals?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m telling you, Newt\u2019s just trying to find a niche here. Doubt don\u2019t me on this, folks. I know niches. I don\u2019t do it, but people do. This program was accused of trying to find a niche when it started. I\u2019ll never forget being amused reading about how I decided to position this program. I would read stories that talked about my original syndication partner and how we “combed” the nation. That was said to be the secret of my success. We\u2019d combed the nation, we looked at the media landscape and we saw an opening and headed right for it — and there was no such thing. There was no national survey; there was no national investigation. There wasn\u2019t a focus group survey. There wasn\u2019t a bunch of polling done. <\/p>\n

A guy with two hours time on an ABC satellite decided to take a huge risk and put me on it, trusting my performance in Sacramento. He said, “Okay, let\u2019s see what happens here.” I mean, we literally threw it up against the wall. There was no grand strategy other than try to do a good radio program. The last thing we did was trying to fill a niche. I don\u2019t like doing niches. It\u2019s phony. Plus, it\u2019s shooting way too narrow. It\u2019s the same thing I said when we had the discussion last week about Hispanics and other minority groups and how political parties ought to go out and get \u2019em. I could never do it. I couldn\u2019t tailor men and women on one day for this finite group of people and then have another message about another.<\/p>\n

Like if we were to do this radio show and say, “Hispanics, you listen between 2:30 and three today! That\u2019s when we do this show for you. Women, you listen from one to 2:45; that\u2019s when we do the show for you.” That\u2019s the radio equivalent. I didn\u2019t do it, don\u2019t do it, wouldn\u2019t know how to do it. I think all of us here really do want a big tent. We want a majority made up of the way people think and live and how they believe, not what they look like — and not where they come from. You\u2019re not gonna build anything like that trying to fill a niche, unless you want to say that America is our niche — which, I\u2019d be totally supportive of that niche, but I wouldn\u2019t want to subdivide it any further than that.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Here\u2019s more from Newt.David Gregory: “I know you\u2019ve got big differences with what you call ‘Obamacare,\u2019 but back in 1993 on this program, this is what you said about the individual mandate. Quote: ‘I am for people, individuals exactly like automobile insurance, individuals having insurance and being required to have health insurance, and I\u2019m prepared to vote for a voucher system that will give individuals on a sliding scale a government subsidy so as to ensure that everybody, as individuals, has health insurance.\u2019 Now, what you advocate there is precisely what President Obama did with his health care legislation, is it not?”<\/p>\n

GINGRICH: I believe all of us — and this is gonna be a big debate — I believe all of us have a responsibility to help pay for health care. I\u2019ve said consistently we ought to have some requirement you either have health insurance or you post a bond or in some way you indicate you\u2019re gonna be held accountable.<\/p>\n

RUSH: So, now, the politics of this are quite obvious. The politics of this are quite obvious. He\u2019s faced with an option here. Okay, they quote him from 1993, and he\u2019s decided to stick with what he said in 1993, say it\u2019s gonna be an interesting debate and, see, I think we\u2019ve already had the debate but you\u2019ve got 26 states suing the federal government in opposition to the mandate, and in the middle of that, and these are Republican attorney generals, in some cases a couple Democrats, in the middle of this Newt goes on Meet the Press and comes out essentially for the Obama version of health care. So you have to say, “Well, what are the politics of this?” So he wants a debate on it. The politics are obviously gonna be, he\u2019s gonna say, “I mean at the state level, just like they mandate auto insurance. Nobody has a problem with that.” <\/p>\n

Okay, so is this a big push for independents? Is he trying to establish a niche? I mean, who knows. I think it\u2019s largely niche politics. But it\u2019s also standing up to conventional wisdom on the right. It\u2019s standing up to what is considered now conservative conventional wisdom. The attack on Paul Ryan and his Medicare proposal is part and parcel of this. If Newt wanted to throw a nuclear bomb into the whole Republican apparatus, he did it with the two comments that we played for you just now on Meet the Press yesterday. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Bridget, Springfield, Missouri. Thank you for waiting. You\u2019re up next on the EIB Network. Hi.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hi, Rush. It\u2019s an honor to speak with you.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Thank you very much.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I am a Newt Gingrich supporter, so let\u2019s state that up front. I think he gets it. He gets the things you just said. He has actually called Obama a socialist. He speaks of him as a radical left-wing president with policies that endanger this country. Not just the economy, but national security. It\u2019s as though Iran and North Carolina are off Obama\u2019s radar screen. He\u2019s not even thinking about them. As to these comments that Newt made over the weekend, I wish he\u2019d talked to me first; I wish he hadn\u2019t said this stuff, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s as bad as people are making it out.<\/p>\n

RUSH: All right, so you still support Newt?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yes.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You do. Okay. Well, to each his own. That\u2019s fine. You don\u2019t think that he has proverbially stepped in it?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, yeah. He\u2019s definitely stepped in it, but I still support him. I mean, everyone makes mistakes. I used to believe in global warming for a little while and then I was cured of it. You helped cure me of it. Another point that helped cure me of it was I remembered that back in the seventies people were talking about an ice age. I haven\u2019t seen an ice age yet, have you?<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, I\u2019ve seen closer to an ice age than I have global warming — <\/p>\n

CALLER: I agree.<\/p>\n

RUSH: — in this last winter. Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: What you\u2019ve said about the sunspots convinced me that was all just ridiculous.<\/p>\n

RUSH: What\u2019s important is to realize that whether it is global warming or an ice age, it\u2019s all still BS. Those are nothing more than tried-and-trued liberal tricks. It\u2019s all part of the game of Alarm, Frighten, Scare. They\u2019re trying it now with the debt limit. They tried it with the continuing resolution. They used it on the economy. We needed TARP; we needed all of this stuff. We needed this stuff really quickly. Now it\u2019s the debt ceiling that everybody\u2019s in a panic over, and there\u2019s no reason to panic, in terms of the country dissolving into itself and ceasing to exist. That\u2019s just the way they play the game.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all oriented toward creating a set of circumstances so dire that you alone, as an individual, cannot matter. You can\u2019t fix it. All you can do is help. But Washington — the smartest people around, government — they have to fix it with your support. You have to agree to have your taxes raised. I don\u2019t care whether it\u2019s the debt limit or global warming or flooding, you have to agree to have your taxes raised. You have to agree to have your lifestyle downsized. Whatever the issue, they ladle guilt upon guilt upon guilt in their attempt to get you to go along with it. Most people\u2019s lives don\u2019t mean anything, in their own minds. Most people want to be somebody. Most people want to matter. <\/p>\n

Why do you think everybody does all this social media stuff? Everybody wants fame. Everybody wants to be noticed, everybody wants to be known, everybody wants to be famous for a while. Everybody wants to matter. So you come along and you say, “You know what, you can save the planet! Go buy an electric car. You can save the planet: Support a tax increase on those rich clowns so we can build windmills.” Wow, what a great way to give your life meaning. Why, you\u2019re saving the planet! It\u2019s all tricknology. <\/p>\n

This is Glenn in Durham, North Carolina. It\u2019s great to have you on the EIB Network, sir. Hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Thanks, Rush. Rush, Mr. Gingrich is about Mr. Gingrich. He\u2019s done commercials for and with Hillary Clinton, he\u2019s done a commercial with Nancy Pelosi, and Mr. Gingrich is simply about Mr. Gingrich. That\u2019s all he cares about. He wants his 15 minutes of fame. Now I understand, Rush, why you don\u2019t have guests on your show: Because you would have to actual defend this poor slob. But Mr. Gingrich deserves no attention from any of us conservatives. <\/p>\n

RUSH: Wait, wait, wait, wait —<\/p>\n

CALLER: He sold us out a long time ago.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Hold it a minute. Wait a minute, now. Why would I have to defend him if I had him as a guest? You\u2019re half right in why I don\u2019t have to guests, but there are other reasons beside that one that are more relevant. But why would I have to accept what any guest says?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, I guess I\u2019m referring to the colleague of yours that comes after you generally in the afternoon who\u2019s been propping up this poor slob for a long time. So it\u2019s not you, Rush. It\u2019s just other talk show hosts, one in particular that has made a career out of propping up this poor slob, Newt Gingrich.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Wait a second. (laughing) You are intent here on referring to Gingrich as “a poor slob.” It\u2019s about ten times you\u2019ve done it here.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Do you want 11? (chuckles)<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, I think we get it. I think we get it. <\/p>\n

CALLER: (chuckles)<\/p>\n

RUSH: All right. Well, look, Glenn, there\u2019s no doubting where you are. I would have been nice to him. I\u2019m nice to people, to guests. I just… (sigh) Frankly, folks, “I don\u2019t care what anybody else thinks,” is the reason I don\u2019t have guests. I cannot sit here and act like I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on until somebody on this program tells me. I just cannot. Well, I have a… (interruption) No, I don\u2019t know everything. (sigh) It\u2019s not in me here to start acting deferential when I\u2019m as informed about the subject matter as any guest I would have is. Open Line Friday\u2019s enough. You know, once a week, and those lovely people are not even professionals. All right, who\u2019s next? Where we go next? Lucena in Katy, Texas! Hello and welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hey, Rush. How are you?<\/p>\n

RUSH: Very well.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Great. Well, I have a theory about why I think Newt attacked Paul Ryan\u2019s Medicare plan, and I think it\u2019s really an attack on Paul Ryan — and the reason I say that is that if you think of one person who we conservatives might really flock to if he would change his mind and run for president, I think Paul Ryan would be so hard to beat. And I think that Newt is getting to the desperate stage where enough is being asked about his personal life and his background that he thinks that he has to take a swing at somebody who might possibly come out and whip him, and I think that that could be Paul Ryan.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, this is fascinating to listen to all this.<\/p>\n

CALLER: What\u2019s that?<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, no. It\u2019s fascinating to sit here and listen to you and Glenn, the other guy who used the word “slob” ten times. It\u2019s fascinating to listen to this, because I know Newt. It\u2019s fascinating for me to listen to this. It\u2019s not a cut. Please don\u2019t misunderstand. You don\u2019t know him as I do, and it\u2019s just fascinating to listen to people evolve theories about why he\u2019s doing something here. I would disagree with you that this is rooted in a fear of Paul Ryan. You probably also think he might be a little jealous that Ryan\u2019s getting all of this great publicity with his plan, that that might be bothering Newt. Would I be right there that Newt might be a little jealous, too.<\/p>\n

CALLER: No, I think Newt at heart — just after having watched him for so many years — loves this country and he thinks he would be the best president that could be elected, and he thinks he would do the best job of anyone out there. Having said that, he\u2019s a fighter, and if he feels like someone is potentially in his way, and he really should be the president, I do think that he would act ahead and early and try to take the legs out from under someone who might be getting too much traction with the conservative base — and I really do feel that Paul Ryan is one of those people that has kind of that Reagan quality. If he looked into the camera and talked to the American people about making hard choices, I think people would follow him. I don\u2019t feel like Newt has that connection.<\/p>\n

RUSH: In practical terms, now, there\u2019s only one thing that\u2019s wrong with that, and that is this: Paul Ryan is not one of Newt\u2019s opponents. Paul Ryan is not running. So there\u2019s no reason, in an electoral sense, to take Paul Ryan out. Paul Ryan\u2019s not gonna get drafted. Ryan does not want to be president. He\u2019s one of these people I think that said not his time, not ready yet. There are other people, however, who are running and they are in Newt\u2019s way if he wants it. So I think the distancing himself here, the taking issue with Ryan… You know, folks, it could be something as innocuous as bad staff. It could be a staff error. <\/p>\n

It could be that I was right in the first instance, that Newt\u2019s seeking a niche, trying to go where nobody else is, for whatever reason — attracting independents and so forth. Regardless the reason, you\u2019d have to say that as we sit here and speak now, it isn\u2019t working. It\u2019s got a lot more people opposed. A lot of people inside the Republican establishment have come out in full-throated opposition to what Newt said (which may also be an objective, by the way). Time will tell where all of this is headed. As it is right now, most people look at it with raised eyebrows, cocked head, say, “This doesn\u2019t make any sense. Ryan\u2019s not running. Everybody\u2019s rallying around his idea. We gotta do something about it.” We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: I know a lot of people who think that Newt\u2019s comment on Ryan is purely jealousy. I know a lot of peoplewho think that. Ryan is credited with being the thinker of the moment, a great thinker of the day, good policy guy. And Newt views that as his role. I got an e-mail: “Rush, it doesn\u2019t matter if Ryan\u2019s running or not. Newt doesn\u2019t like anybody talked up as smart.” The opinions run the gamut out there. I think at the end of the day most people don\u2019t care why Newt said it, it\u2019s just enough that he did, and they\u2019re scratching their heads, “This makes no sense. Everybody is rallying around this. And to be the lone wolf tearing it down cannot possibly be helpful to him. How does this help Newt?” People are asking themselves, how is Newt helping himself doing this? And nobody can come up with that answer. Nobody can see how it is helpful for Newt, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the genuine question here. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Look, I gotta do something here. Sean Hannity was impugned on this program in the last half hour. A guy called up talking about Newt. He said unflattering things about Newt and accused Sean of basically being a blind supporter, and that is not the case whatsoever. You know, I don\u2019t like it when other people are impugned on this program unless I\u2019m the one doing the impugning. (interruption) Well, the… (interruption) Yes, he did. He didn\u2019t say Hannity\u2019s name but he said the personwho follows me. <\/p>\n

Hannity and Newt go way, way back to Georgia and so forth. They\u2019re close personal friends, but that\u2019s as far as it goes. Hannity is not gonna compromise what he believes for the sake of friendship when it comes to his career, the country or any of that sort of thing. It makes me nervous when people… ‘Cause I like Sean. He\u2019s a good friend of mine. He\u2019s a former guest host of this program, and there\u2019s not a rotten bone in his body. There\u2019s not. He\u2019s not the problem. As I say: If anybody\u2019s gonna be doing the impugning on this program, it\u2019s gonna be me.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Paul Ryan today on WLS in Chicago, with Don and Roma. They asked him a question here, and the question probably took 90 seconds; his answer took two seconds. It\u2019s a great answer. Don Wade, who is the Don of Don and Roma on WLS in Chicago, said, “I want to ask you about Newt Gingrich\u2019s comment on Meet the Press yesterday. Gregory asked him if he favored turning Medicare into a voucher program where you give seniors some premium support so they can buy private insurance. And Newt responded: (plays Gingrich clip) ‘I don&rsquo;t think right wing social engineering is any more desirable than left wing social engineering. I don&rsquo;t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate. I think we need a national conversation to get to a better Medicare system with more choices for seniors.'” <\/p>\nDon Wade said, “What do you say to Gingrich?”<\/p>\n

WADE: So, what do you say to Newt Gingrich?<\/p>\n

RYAN: Well, with allies like that, who needs liberals?<\/p>\n

RUSH: And that\u2019s his answer. With allies like that, who needs liberals? That\u2019s Paul Ryan, Don Wade and Roma on WLS in Chicago. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Peter in Rochester, New York. Great to have you on the program. Hi.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hey, Rush, listen, I think Snerdley and you both know what\u2019s going on with Newt, and to quote my brother-in-law, Les, who is an expert on women, his wife got to him.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Now, who says this? Whose theory is this?<\/p>\n

CALLER: My brother-in-law, Les.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Your brother-in-law, Les, who is an expert on women —<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yeah.<\/p>\n

RUSH: — said that Newt\u2019s wife got to him?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, I\u2019m saying it, but my brother-in-law is an expert, and I think that a lot of people, a lot of people I know, anyway, are talking about that, that his wife got to him. This is the feminized Newt. You know, he got really contrite. He got really apologetic. You know, he had to search his soul. He became a Catholic recently, and I\u2019m not impugning the Catholic church, but I mean when people are throwing all of these questions at him about, “What about your past? What about your past?” and there he is searching his heart and looking deep inside and, blah, blah, blah, all like that, I think that in that process of contrition, he got feminized and went off the deep end a little bit here.<\/p>\n

RUSH: I tell you, I marvel here at all of the theories. You\u2019re making this hard for me \u2019cause I know Callista. I know Newt and Callista. In fact, I played golf with them. Oh, you missed that, Snerdley? (laughing) See, folks, that\u2019s Inside Baseball. The new way to irritate the stick-to-the-issues crowd in my audience is for me to say I played golf with somebody a long, long, long time ago. I don\u2019t even know what to say to it. Grab sound bite 23. There\u2019s one more Newt sound bite from Meet the Depressed yesterday. David Gregory, “First of all, you gave a speech in Georgia with language that a lot of people think could be coded racially tinged language.” Now, this is a favorite tactic of the media. “You gave a speech that a lot of people say is racially coded and tainted, calling the first black president a food stamp president. What do you say to that?”<\/p>\n

GINGRICH: Oh come on, David.<\/p>\n

GREGORY: What did you mean? What was the point?<\/p>\n

GINGRICH: That\u2019s bizarre. This kind of automatic reference to racism, this is the president of the United States, president of the United States has to be held accountable. Now, the idea that — and what I said is factually true, forty-seven million Americans are on food stamps, one out of every six Americans is on food stamps, and to hide behind the charge of racism? I have never said anything about President Obama which is racist.<\/p>\n

RUSH: He\u2019s right about that. It is a way to not hold Obama accountable and a way to defuse a substantive criticism. And, by the way, would somebody help me out, what is racist about calling him a food stamp president? Why is that automatically racist? Is every food stamp person a black? Well, of course not. We got 47 million Americans on food stamps. There aren\u2019t that many black people in the country. I mean there are what, 13%, the voting population? (interruption) Well, I know, the racism is in Gregory\u2019s mind. The racism here is in the minds of these people on the left. Anyway, no hint here as to whether or not his wife gave him that answer. Newt I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Joe in St. Louis, I\u2019m glad you waited, sir. You\u2019re up next on the EIB Network. Hello, sir.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You know, Rush, number one, I love you, I think you know that. Number two, I walked away from Newt Gingrich when he made that commercial with Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. That was it for me with Newt, I was done with him. And the last thing I want to tell you —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Wait, wait, wait, wait just a second. I remember the Pelosi commercial, sitting on a couch out there in the Capitol talking about global warming.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I thought they were on a park bench or something like that.<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, they moved an actual sofa beneath the steps of the Capitol building, and Pelosi and Newt are sitting there and they\u2019re talking about how they can work together on stuff —<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yeah.<\/p>\n

RUSH: — global warming or —<\/p>\n

CALLER: He\u2019s gonna work with her on global warming.<\/p>\n

RUSH: What was the Hillary ad? I can\u2019t remember the Hillary commercial, though. What was that?<\/p>\n

CALLER: He did a commercial with Hillary about health care — <\/p>\n

RUSH: Health care.<\/p>\n

CALLER: — about how we need to help the 40 million people who are uninsured.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, he\u2019s answered that. We got a mandate.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You know, back during — was it June or July or whenever, however long ago it was, during the leukemia telethon, I sat on the phone for almost three hours trying to get a hold of Snerdley \u2019cause I missed the beginning of the show \u2019cause all I wanted to ask him was how much did Rush give this year. Rush Limbaugh, $500,000. Michele Bachmann, not only is she a legal tax attorney and all this kind of stuff like that, 23 foster children —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Isn\u2019t that amazing?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Now, you tell me, what does Barney Frank or Anthony Weiner or John Kerry — the point is, people like Rush Limbaugh and Michele Bachmann, they live the life, they do what they say and they don\u2019t make a big deal about it. Barney Frank and all these guys, the only time they do anything for anybody else is if they\u2019re doing it with my money or your money. When do they ever sacrifice of themselves for anybody? Never. I would have Michele Bachmann\u2019s baby, if I could.<\/p>\n

RUSH: (laughing) You would have Michele Bachmann\u2019s baby.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, you know what, Rush, she\u2019s the only woman in the Republican Party with any cojones anyway.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah, there\u2019s a couple others, but I get your drift. I remember what it was, Newt appeared with Hillary in a press conference to support health care legislation. They did not do an ad together. It was a joint press conference. I do remember that now. Okay, look, Joe, I appreciate the call. Thanks el mucho. I really do appreciate it. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Ray in Atlanta, hello, and welcome to the EIB Network. Great to have you here.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Rush, thanks for taking my call.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You bet, sir.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Listen, I have a comment about the Newt Gingrich dustup. Does anybody on our side think that a Newt Gingrich presidency wouldn\u2019t be light years — I mean, light years! — ahead of anything the Obama administration can offer?<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, nobody thinks that. I know what you\u2019re gonna say. I\u2019d vote for Elmer Fudd over Obama.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughs)<\/p>\n

RUSH: This is why I\u2019ve had my problems with people trying to destroy Sarah Palin. I don\u2019t think Obama can compare to her in any way, shape, manner, or form other than his voice is better. That\u2019s it. I\u2019d much prefer Newt over Obama; there\u2019s no question about that. So what are you actually saying here?<\/p>\n

CALLER: What I\u2019m saying here is that this is… You\u2019re an NFL fan. This is like training camp. I don\u2019t have any problem with people fighting and getting down in the trenches, and certainly Newt\u2019s gonna have to ‘splain himself, as they say. But the bottom line is we have got to keep our eyes — as conservatives, as Republicans — on the fact that we\u2019ve got to get rid of this person in the White House. I\u2019m not saying we don\u2019t fight and fuss as families but once the team is chosen, like an NFL team, it\u2019s our team.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Let me tell you something, now. You talk about beating Obama. I don\u2019t know that the way to beat Obama is to agree with him on health care mandates when the ENTIRE Republican Party — forget conservative, when the entire Republican Party — is basing its opposition and its existence on the fact that they don\u2019t support the notion of the federal government forcing anybody to buy anything.<\/p>\n

END TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: The inexplicable Newt Gingrich. I\u2019m getting e-mails all morning, “Rush, would you explain?” Why do I have to explain it? No, no, no. I mean I\u2019ll be happy to explain it under the rubric that I\u2019m the boss, but I\u2019m not gonna justify this. I am not gonna justify this. I\u2019m not gonna explain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNewt Gingrich Seeks a Niche - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: The inexplicable Newt Gingrich. I\u2019m getting e-mails all morning, “Rush, would you explain?” Why do I have to explain it? No, no, no. I mean I\u2019ll be happy to explain it under the rubric that I\u2019m the boss, but I\u2019m not gonna justify this. I am not gonna justify this. I\u2019m not gonna explain […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125107.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"31 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125107.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125107.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/\",\"name\":\"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-20T00:20:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-26T19:03:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: The inexplicable Newt Gingrich. I\u2019m getting e-mails all morning, “Rush, would you explain?” Why do I have to explain it? No, no, no. I mean I\u2019ll be happy to explain it under the rubric that I\u2019m the boss, but I\u2019m not gonna justify this. I am not gonna justify this. I\u2019m not gonna explain […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125107.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"31 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125107.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125107.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/","name":"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2011-07-20T00:20:06+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-26T19:03:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/05\/16\/newt_gingrich_seeks_a_niche\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newt Gingrich Seeks a Niche"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265783,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18980\/revisions\/265783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}