RUSH: Jason, Fort Smith, Arkansas, welcome to the EIB Network, sir. Great to have you here.
CALLER: How you doing, Rush?
RUSH: Good, thank you.
CALLER: I got a bone of contention with you I think about your statement that independents are not ideological.
RUSH: Okay.
CALLER: I believe that they absolutely are, even more so now that we’ve had this ridiculous nut for the past 18 months or more with the parties —
RUSH: What is it that makes you an independent, then? Why do you call yourself that, simply because you’re not a registered Republican or Democrat?
CALLER: I generally agree with the Republican side, but because I follow that quote that absolute power corrupts absolutely, generally once they get up there they all turn into giant schmucks, and that’s why I vote independently. I don’t like to toe the party line. I like to see who I believe is going to hold my best interests at heart and stay that way once they get in there.
RUSH: So you believe that there is a Democrat now and then that will hold your best interests at heart?
CALLER: Well, I have yet to find one.
RUSH: Well, then why do you call yourself an independent? This is my point. You know, I think being an independent is a semantic vehicle that people use to try to hide and protect themselves from being attacked as closed-minded, either Republican or Democrat. ‘Oh, I’m an independent. Oh, I’m moderate. Oh, I make up my mind issue by issue. No, no, no, you can’t peg me as one of those.’
CALLER: Well, I have absolutely no problem being attacked. I actually could give a rat’s butt what people think of my opinions one way or the other, but I do —
RUSH: Well, there’s gotta be some reason you like thinking of yourself as an independent when you clearly aren’t.
CALLER: Well, generally as Americans in general, we all like to consider ourselves independent. That’s what this country was founded on.
RUSH: Yeah, okay, now I understand. You just mean you’re free, you’re untethered?
CALLER: Absolutely.
RUSH: Yeah. It doesn’t reflect your thinking at all. You just don’t want to be labeled?
CALLER: Absolutely.
RUSH: Okay. So what do you have against being called a conservative?
CALLER: Oh, I don’t have anything at all against being conservative. I consider myself, if anything, a conservative Libertarian, probably.
RUSH: Okay, no, you consider yourself an independent. You are calling to defend that attachment.
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: ‘Cause I think it’s important to deliver our opinions and whatnot by —
RUSH: Ah.
CALLER: — each particular issue, not towing the party line.
RUSH: If there is not a Democrat you would vote for, you’re biased, healthfully so, by the way. There’s nothing wrong with bias.
CALLER: No, not at all. I don’t generally vote Democratically because most of them are liberals.
RUSH: I know. Yeah, but you said —
CALLER: Liberalism.
RUSH: You have to have an opinion unfettered by bias, and an opinion unfettered by bias is linguine.
CALLER: (laughing) Exactly. No spine.
RUSH: Okay. So really you’re a conservative, you just don’t want to say so. Is that right?
CALLER: No, but I have no problems being independent, either. I absolutely have conservative values overwhelmingly.
RUSH: Okay. Then the way you’re defining it, I’m an independent, too.
CALLER: Right. I think you are.
RUSH: I’m independent of liberals.
CALLER: I think you are an independent but you won’t admit it. You cling to the Republican label.
RUSH: No, conservative. I identify myself ideologically, proudly so.
CALLER: True, you do espouse conservative but you also cling to the Republican label far too often, I believe.
RUSH: Ah. Ah. Headway. I’m clinging to the Republicans. I don’t think they would tell you that. I mean I’ve got Republicans lined up against me right now. Okay. Thanks for the call, Jason, I appreciate it. Well, I do. It’s worthwhile to have these discussions.