{"id":32637,"date":"2009-06-10T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T02:20:10","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T02:20:10","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T02:20:10","slug":"am_i_a_moderate_republican_rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/06\/10\/am_i_a_moderate_republican_rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Am I a Moderate Republican, Rush?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RUSH: Terry in Mesa, Arizona, great to have you with us. Hi.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush, from the only desert Southwest red state.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hey, earlier you had said there were certain people that had kind of ruined I think it was the Republican Party? McCain, Colin Powell —<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, there\u2019s a story today in USA Today, and it\u2019s based on a Gallup poll that suggests that the party\u2019s in trouble because its leader, me, and all the other so-called leaders, according to the poll, are bald white guys.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: And what I said was that this is a party out of power, not because of me or bald white guys. This is a party out of power thanks to McCain, thanks to Colin Powell, and the moderates.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay. Well, that\u2019s where I wanted to touch on real quick. I\u2019m a white guy, fortunately I\u2019m not bald, I\u2019m 47 and I still have all my hair.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Doesn\u2019t matter. Sonia Sotomayor still has you in her crosshairs.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughing) Okay. Well, what I wanted you to do is give me a litmus test. Give me a litmus test. I believe I\u2019m a true Republican. I have as much disdain for Barack Obama and his policies and all of his knuckleheads in the White House as much as anybody in the conservative movement, but I just want to make sure I pass the litmus test because I don\u2019t know. Sometimes I feel like I don\u2019t. <\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, I don\u2019t have litmus tests.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You don\u2019t have —<\/p>\n

RUSH: I don\u2019t have a litmus test. I just know a moderate Republican from a conservative Republican, but you\u2019re going to have to tell me what you believe. <\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay. I believe in gun ownership. I don\u2019t think that there\u2019s an issue with gun ownership. <\/p>\n

RUSH: Right.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I don\u2019t believe in abortion, but —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Hang on just a second. I\u2019m going to make a little column here.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: I\u2019m going to put an ‘M\u2019 and a ‘C,\u2019 and I\u2019m going to check these off as you go along and I\u2019ll tell you after if you pass or fail the test.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay. So you oppose gun control?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yeah, I oppose gun control. I mean I think you have a right to own guns.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay. That\u2019s good, \u2019cause the Constitution says so. What did you say on abortion?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Abortion, I don\u2019t believe in abortion with the exception if a mother\u2019s life is in danger —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: — or a woman has been raped. With those extreme exceptions.<\/p>\n

RUSH: In the case of rape, though, it\u2019s not the baby\u2019s fault, but I don\u2019t want to argue abortion. What else?<\/p>\n

CALLER: I don\u2019t believe in higher taxes, that\u2019s for darn sure.<\/p>\n

RUSH: All right.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You know, A, I believe in our country. I\u2019ve always been very proud of our country.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I\u2019m a little disgusted by our politicians.<\/p>\n

RUSH: All right.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You know, I believe in people\u2019s right to work. I believe in, you know, the right to work. I don\u2019t believe that just because you\u2019re part of a union that, you know —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: — you\u2019re given a free ride.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You\u2019ve done a pretty good summary here of your views. Let\u2019s go to people. Colin Powell.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, let\u2019s put it this way, before he backed Barack Obama in the presidential election, I would have voted for Colin Powell. I used to have people say, ‘Oh, is the reason why you\u2019re not voting for Barack Obama is because he\u2019s black?\u2019 No. ‘Cause I would have voted for Colin Powell because I thought the man —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay, all right.<\/p>\n

CALLER: — but now I\u2019m not sure know I\u2019m not so sure because I think he\u2019s double-crossed the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay. Now, let me ask you as a subset of the Colin Powell question, what specific policies and agenda items of General Powell\u2019s have you heard that you agree with?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, I believe he\u2019s for a strong military. I believe he\u2019s, you know, protection for the United States. You know, as far as other policies, I really can\u2019t go into them that in depth and I apologize.<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, you shouldn\u2019t apologize. He hasn\u2019t said, that\u2019s why you don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: And you\u2019re even guessing about his supposedly support for the military because he wears the uniform. But you really haven\u2019t heard him say anything about any of the issues you\u2019ve listed. You could not tell me — and nobody can — you could not telephone what Colin Powell thinks of gun control, what he thinks of abortion, what he thinks of taxes. You could. I\u2019m sorry. Take it back. Colin Powell did come out for bigger government and higher taxes when he endorsed Obama.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay, John McCain.<\/p>\n

CALLER: John McCain, well, I believe he\u2019s a true and blue American. I voted for him personally, but who was I going to vote for otherwise?<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I mean, was he my first choice —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: — for presidential candidate? No, he wasn\u2019t but —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Sarah Palin.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I believe she\u2019s a great American as well. I believe she\u2019s come from nowhere to be somewhere.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay. Me.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You?<\/p>\n

RUSH: I\u2019m serious. What do you think of me and my radio program and the way I conduct it?<\/p>\n

CALLER: I think you conduct a fairly honest radio program. Every now and then I do get a little frustrated at some of your ramblings on but —<\/p>\n

RUSH: About what specifically?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, sometimes I think you just carry on too much about certain things. You just pick a subject and you keep beating it to death. Rush, don\u2019t get me wrong.<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, no.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I believe in your message.<\/p>\n

RUSH: No, I understand, I understand — there\u2019s a specific reason I\u2019m asking. There\u2019s no wrong answer here.<\/p>\n

CALLER: No, I understand that. I understand.<\/p>\n

RUSH: But give me an example of something that I just don\u2019t let go of, I just beat it to death.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughing) Oh, man now you\u2019re gonna really put me on the spot.<\/p>\n

RUSH: It should be easy to remember because somebody that won\u2019t let go of a subject, somebody just beats it to death irritates you and people generally remember why they\u2019re irritated.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You know, Rush, over the years of me listening to you in the car and whatnot, you know, I can\u2019t give you any specific things.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I just felt like sometimes you get on something, you start beating it to death, you know what, it\u2019s in a funny way and I\u2019m not patronizing you, by the way. It\u2019s in a funny way and I know a lot of times it\u2019s very serious. Well, for example, I know for right now you — today, for example, you\u2019ve been harping on the thing about A-Roid [sic], and you\u2019ve been talking about him ‘knocking up\u2019 Sarah Palin\u2019s daughter. Now, first of all, that\u2019s a huge insult. You kept referring to it, and I know it was a pun. I know you were saying, ‘Oh, well, that\u2019s a huge insult to A-Roid [sic],\u2019 you know?<\/p>\n

RUSH: A-Rod.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I understand that. But, you know, where I come from he\u2019s A-Roid. I\u2019m a true and through baseball fan, so —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: But anyway —<\/p>\n

RUSH: So basically I haven\u2019t mentioned Letterman and what he said about Sarah — see, are you irritated at Letterman for saying it?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Oh, I\u2019m hugely irritated, and I used to like David Letterman, I used to love to watch his show. But I gotta tell you, he has gone off and taken the other train. I mean he\u2019s just horrible.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah.<\/p>\n

CALLER: And to make a comment like that, I mean ‘slutty airline outfit,\u2019 and then to also —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Be careful — wait. We\u2019ve talked about it enough, you\u2019re beating this subject —<\/p>\n

CALLER: I\u2019m sorry. (laughing)<\/p>\n

RUSH: We\u2019ve talked about this. I think, you know, Letterman, when his train came in, he was at the airport. And you say he took the wrong train, he\u2019s not even on the train. Here\u2019s the results of your test.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay, I\u2019m all ears.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You are not in the slightest way a moderate Republican.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: So I\u2019m curious why you call yourself one.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, you know, I mean there\u2019s certain things that I like. For example, solar and alternative energies. I like that. Do I want it crammed down my throat? No. But I think for people that can afford it, you know, go out and get it.<\/p>\n

RUSH: But it is being crammed down our throats and so is the stupid windmill garbage. It is being crammed down our throats. Every aspect of our lives is going to be crammed down our throats once they get health care nationalized. All right, well, look, I appreciate your subjecting yourself to the test. Most people wouldn\u2019t have done it and you were very honest about it. I just want to tell you, you probably call yourself a moderate because you think you deviate from the conservative stance on global warming or environmentalism. I\u2019m like you, if somebody wants a windmill, fine, just don\u2019t make me do one and keep the government out of my backyard with one. Don\u2019t ream me for using the electricity I pay for. Don\u2019t ream me for using the water I pay for. Don\u2019t tell me how to live. If you want to buy a lawn mower with two seats on it thinking you\u2019re saving the planet, that\u2019s fine, I\u2019ll try to tell you you\u2019re not saving the planet, you can still buy the car. But that\u2019s the big difference. We don\u2019t tell anybody how to live their lives. We get out of people\u2019s way, as conservatives. We\u2019re dealing with people who want as much control over the way we live our lives as possible. All right, a brief time-out. We\u2019ll be back and continue, and, by the way, if anybody else out there can tell me, other than being for high taxes and bigger government, what Colin Powell stands for, issue by issue, I would like to know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: Terry in Mesa, Arizona, great to have you with us. Hi. CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush, from the only desert Southwest red state. RUSH: Thank you, sir. CALLER: Hey, earlier you had said there were certain people that had kind of ruined I think it was the Republican Party? McCain, Colin Powell — RUSH: No, […]<\/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":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAm I a Moderate Republican, Rush? - 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\/2009\/06\/10\/am_i_a_moderate_republican_rush\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Am I a Moderate Republican, Rush? - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: Terry in Mesa, Arizona, great to have you with us. Hi. CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush, from the only desert Southwest red state. 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