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RUSH: This is Gary in Herndon, Virginia. Thank you for waiting, sir, and hello.

CALLER: Hello. Thank you for taking my call, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: I wanted to give you an on-site report from the Republican House-Senate event last night, a couple of quick observations. By the way, that Jon Voight speech was the best speech of the night. He was incredible.

RUSH: I’ve got some e-mails about that speech. I didn’t see the event, what was I doing last night?

CALLER: If you were there we would have seen you.

RUSH: Yeah, I can’t tell you what I was doing last night, but I’ve gotten a lot of e-mails about it.

CALLER: Yeah, that was the highlight even though it came early, and Sarah Palin got the loudest applause even though a lot of people didn’t know she was there. She was referred to vis-a-vis the current vice president and —

RUSH: Yep, CNN said she stole the show, and I guarantee you that half that room was cringing when that happened.

CALLER: Yeah, you’re right, you’re right.

RUSH: Half of that room is a bunch of has-beens that Republican voters no longer trust or depend on.

CALLER: Uh-huh. And there’s sop-rich has-beens. There were about 150 congressmen and 33 Senators, is what we were told.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: The Newt speech was interesting. My jaw dropped when he said that Obama had failed in the GM bailout, clearly, and in the whole bailout. He also mentioned that he’s glad he belongs to a party that has room for both —

RUSH: Wait, wait, wait a second.

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: Wait just a second. I saw a story on this on Bloomberg, but you were there. Newt’s speech was interesting, and your jaw dropped when he said Obama failed?

CALLER: He said Obama’s bailout failed. He tied the name and ‘failed’ together.

RUSH: Obama’s failed. Well, now, Newt was the one of the guys, when I said I hope Obama fails, he said we want our president to succeed. Newt was one of the chorus that chastised me for using the word ‘failure.’ Newt used the word ‘failure’ as he described Obama’s bailout as having already failed?

CALLER: Emphatically.

RUSH: Really?

CALLER: Yeah. Yeah. The word ‘failed.’

RUSH: Well, did anybody boo? Because the Republicans have said they want Obama to succeed. Did anybody boo Newt Gingrich when he used the word ‘failure’ associated with Obama?

CALLER: No, it wasn’t the loudest applause line of the night, but nobody booed.

RUSH: Do you have more to report?

CALLER: I have just a little more.

RUSH: Then hang on, we’ve gotta brief time-out here at the bottom of the hour and we’ll come back with our on-the-spot review.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now back to Gary in Herndon, Virginia, final thoughts on last night’s Republican joint fundraiser. Yes, sir.

CALLER: Yes, just two more quick ones. Newt’s speech mentioned that he’s proud to be in the same party with Dick Cheney and also Colin Powell. He didn’t mention the elephant in the room, he did not mention you. I don’t know if that’s because he’s not proud to be in the same party with you, but you were not mentioned and you are the litmus test, sir, and finally —

RUSH: Let me tell you, Gary, I would not have said what I’m going to say had you not called to offer a review.

CALLER: Okay.

RUSH: The bottom line is that at least half the people in that room, maybe more, wish I weren’t on the radio. Half the people in that room wish I was not saying what I’m saying. And Newt is one of them.

CALLER: Yeah, well.

RUSH: He’s happy to be in the party with Powell and he’s happy to be in the party with Cheney and so forth. Here’s the CNN headline on this: ‘Palin, Center of Attention at Big GOP Dinner.’ I guarantee you, half that room didn’t like the applause that she got. You see, conservatives usually are the center of attention at a GOP meeting, and the country club blue-blood Republican types do not like it. All right, what’s the final point?

CALLER: Final point, Newt, I would say, did give a campaign speech. I’m not saying he’s definitely running, but it was an hour long, it was stuffed with applause lines, and I’m thinking that’s why he’s being a little more diplomatic or center of the road, why he keeps backing off things like ‘racist’ and ‘failed’ or he’s nuancing them now, I think it’s ’cause he’s checking to see if he can run.

RUSH: I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine but there does seem to be a Republican formula that when you want to seek office, stop being conservative, accommodate the enemy, understand them and so forth. It is what it is. We’ll see how it all shakes out. Snerdley agreed with me, but Dawn got a look of horror on her face when I hazarded a guess that over half the people in that Republican fundraiser last night — and here’s who it was — it was the House and Senate congressional campaign committees. And normally the president, the leader of your party shows up, Bush was always the lead fundraiser for these, these are annual events. Newt was the guy, and then they asked Sarah Palin, and she was disinvited, they didn’t want anybody to upstage Newt because Newt was the guy. In fact, they had used Newt to sell tickets. John Cornyn, who runs the Senate campaign committee, I’m on their mailing list, and they were hawking tickets, you could see Newt, meet Newt with this donation, that donation. Newt was the star of the show last night, Palin was off to the side.

A lot of people, as he said, didn’t even know that she was there. But do not doubt me, my friends. Half that room is not happy with me. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m just telling you. I’ll give you an example. Last night on Chris Matthews Show with MSNBC, he talked to a Republican strategist, Michelle Laxalt. Now I don’t know if she’s related to Paul Laxalt, the old Senator from Nevada who was one of Ronald Reagan’s closest friends. I don’t know if Michelle is related. The question from Chris Matthews: ‘Cheney picked Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell, but Powell reaffirmed that he’s a Republican. What do you do make of this, Michelle?’

LAXALT: I think that you’re seeing an internecine warfare that started between Cheney and Powell over policy differences many years ago, you’re seeing inside ball. I couldn’t disagree more with Rush Limbaugh, excuse me very much, I don’t think he has been elected even dogcatcher as yet and as a Republican, I don’t want him as part of my party.

RUSH: So that’s a Republican strategist. And believe me she speaks for many, Michelle Laxalt, even though I’ve never heard of her — (interruption) it’s his daughter, Paul Laxalt’s daughter. This is the first time I’ve heard of her. She couldn’t disagree more with me, she wasn’t asked on what. I haven’t been elected dogcatcher. I haven’t run for dogcatcher, either, and ‘as a Republican I don’t want him as part of my party.’

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