RUSH: I had a meeting — I have to tell you this — after the program on Friday I had a meeting with a high-ranking Republican, it doesn’t matter who, and the high-ranking Republican said to me, ‘I was stunned when I heard that Obama mentioned your name in that meeting with Republican and Democrat leaders as somebody who shouldn’t be listened to.’ I said, ‘Why were you surprised about that?’ ‘Why bring you up? All it’s going to do is increase your ratings and finance and so forth.’ I said, ‘Let me tell you why he did it. He’s trying to marginalize me. He just previously had dinner with ten quasi-conservative columnists, the inside-the-Beltway establishment conservatives, and he wanted to marginalize me as the, quote, unquote, ‘voice of conservatism,’ as some fringe character, and he’s hoping that some of the Republicans in that meeting would come out of there and also agree with him.’
And the high-ranking Republican looked at me and said, ‘Rush, now, come on, this guy’s not that calculating. He’s really not that smart.’ I just stared. I just stared in some incredulity out there. Well, I didn’t stare that much, but I argued back. I said, ‘No, I think there’s an attempt here to marginalize mainstream conservatism as fringe,’ and that’s why they’re now linking Jindal with me. We have the audio sound bites on this as the program unfolds before your very eyes. I also heard — not from the same guy — but I also heard that the official elected Republican strategery in Washington is to not criticize Obama directly, but instead to go after Pelosi and Reid. Now, the theory on this, ladies and gentlemen, is that the president’s approval rating is 65%, makes no sense to attack him, gotta go after Pelosi and Reid, whose approval numbers are 20%, and the Republican said, ‘Look, his numbers are 65%. Only he can bring his approval rating down.’ I said, ‘What do you think happened to George W. Bush for eight years? A daily pounding by the Democrats, by the media, by special interest groups, all of it brought his approval number down to 29%. You think Bush alone brought hideous approval number down to 29%? I mean it was a daily drumbeat.’
But they don’t think that that’s the way to go. So, anyway, I just wanted to pass that along. (interruption) Well, they didn’t say to me, Mr. Snerdley, that what they’re going to do is leave it to me, again. I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s what they mean.