RUSH: Kathy in Clarkston, Michigan, you’re next on the Rush Limbaugh program. Hi.
CALLER: Hey, Rush, thanks for taking my call. Honor to talk to you.
RUSH: You bet.
CALLER: Yeah. Hey, you know, your commentary at the beginning of the program about the affluent and the rise in eating out all the time and how they’re spending so much money.
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: My take on that is this, Rush. I have four children. And from two o’clock in the afternoon until probably nine, sometimes later than that, I’m on the road, and, you know, we are stopping, we’re stopping to eat, we have to have options, and I refuse the McDonald’s and the Burger Kings and the Taco Bells. So we’re hitting Subway; we’re hitting Panera Bread; we’re hitting Starbucks; we’re hitting somewhere that I feel and that my family feels are better food sources —
RUSH: Let me explain to the audience — this is an hour and a half ago — what you’re reacting to. At the beginning of the program, there were two things. The New York Times has a story that despite soda pop bans in school, the students are still drinking all these sugary drinks, that the ban’s not working, and another report that says higher wage earners eat more fast food than the poor. And that’s why Kathy’s calling here.
CALLER: Yes. That’s right. And, you know, we refrain from the pop and the soft drinks and, you know, my kids get a bottle of water. Typically, I have a 24-pack of water in the back of my car or we grab milk on the run. We’re spending between 50 and a hundred dollars a week probably in takeout food —
RUSH: But that’s because you’re busy.
CALLER: I have four kids all in activities.
RUSH: Right. And you obviously called because you consider yourself affluent, you fit the profile of the story?
CALLER: Well, we spend a great deal of money for our kids to play these sports, and I guess if you want to call it that, you know, what’s your definition of affluent?
RUSH: Well, I have no definition of affluent. I’m just saying you called —
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: — to explain why the affluent might be eating more fast food. Cause it’s another one of these myths that the poor are so poor, and so without, that all they can eat is this rotgut, poison fast food, which is a scandal, which is a conspiracy to keep the poor a bunch of fat slobs. And yet here comes the news that the affluent eat more fast food than the poor do and that motivated you to call to explain why.
CALLER: Yeah, absolutely. All of my four children know what a carb, a protein and a fat is. They know how to read a food label and they know, even if they’re not with me and they have to stop somewhere with another family, they know the right choices to make.
RUSH: Well, that’s good. That’s great.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Good for you.
CALLER: It’s just my take, you know.
RUSH: Well, your take is relevant. Your take matters. So do you. You’re who you are. And I take it you don’t like your kids drinking sodas like Coke and Pepsi and stuff?
CALLER: Oh. No. We don’t drink much of it at all.
RUSH: What about tea, you let ’em drink tea?
CALLER: Yeah, they’ll drink a tea —
RUSH: Good.
CALLER: — occasionally but we don’t, you know, that type of food, those things don’t even come into our house. If we want to go out for ice cream we will go out to Dairy Queen or whatever, we’ll get the ice cream and it doesn’t even come into my house. That’s our treat.
RUSH: Why? Why do you think you have to tell everybody, “Now don’t misunderstand, there’s not any ice cream in my house,” what does it matter? You know how much ice cream’s in my house, and I don’t eat it, it’s there for guests —
CALLER: I know but —
RUSH: I got a whole freezer full of it.
CALLER: Sometimes I just don’t want to eat it myself, so it’s kind of a trigger for me.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Makes total sense. Well, look, Kathy, I’m glad you called. I appreciate it.
CALLER: Thanks for doing your work.
RUSH: Kathy, you know what I want to do? I want to send you a case — no, you got four crumb crunchers — I want to send you two cases of Two If By Tea. So I need you to hold on, Mr. Snerdley will get your address, and we’ll ship it out. We’ve got four flavors, regular and raspberry diet and with sugar. You pick out what you want, tell Snerdley what you want and —
CALLER: Awesome. Thank you. That’s awesome.
RUSH: And do not be afraid to have it in the house.
CALLER: It’s out in the garage, Rush. It’s not in the house.
RUSH: Well, wherever, wherever, I mean don’t hide it someplace where you have to go get it somewhere nobody will see it.
CALLER: It’s a treat.
RUSH: All right. Now, hang on.
CALLER: I will.
RUSH: Okay. That’s Kathy in Clarkston, Michigan.
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