RUSH: Now, these super PACs, ladies and gentlemen, Democrats hate them. They despise them. And there are two reasons why. The Democrats have their own super PACs. One of their super PACs is the union movement. The Democrats have long had agents provocateur outside the political realm able to act independently or in concert. It didn’t matter. But the mother of all super PACs on the Democrat side is the news media. So the Citizens United case, in one way of looking at it, is balance, is fairness. Republicans don’t have the unions. You might say, “Well, they’ve got family values coalition people and they’ve got some of their special interest groups,” but those groups are not as combative as the labor union movements are.
We don’t have — didn’t have until recently — an alternative media. Same thing. So the super PAC stuff, the Citizens United worries the Democrats because, as I pointed out, whoever the nominee is, if he chooses to, can lay off Obama — which will happen, by the way. I am sure of it. Particularly Romney. I don’t think there is any way… Romney’s already said, “He’s just in over his head. Well, you know, he’s nice guy. Misguided. The Republican consultants that are in play here are not going to permit their candidate to go after Obama. They think they’re gonna be losing independents. And if I didn’t know better, I would say that the consultants will also try to rein in the super PACs, too.
They’ll be scared to death. I’ll tell you something else. The bottom line… I’ve got audio sound bites here that will back me up on this, as I’ve said this from the get-go. Way too much of the Republican establishment doesn’t think Obama can lose anyway. They don’t think Obama can be beat. Their Romney choice is all oriented toward holding the House and winning the Senate, putting themselves in charge of the money and the regulations, and then stopping Obama that way. Now, you and I all think Obama can be beat. But the vast majority of the people who serve as consultants, advise candidates, will do their best to make sure that whatever the vitriol you’re seeing here in this primary will not happen in the general.
And as a historical note, the stuff between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, that was a general election. That was not a primary. I hope I’m wrong. I want to be wrong. I’ll be stunned, though, if we see from Romney (if he’s the nominee) this kind of stuff against Obama that we’re seeing against Newt. If we’d had a super PAC in 2008 vetting Obama, that was running television ads on Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright and all these things? “Where are Obama’s friends? Who are his girlfriends? Where are the students of his that were inspired?” All of that was in television ads, media ads? Who knows what 2008 would have been. That didn’t exist. It does now.
Consultants also don’t want to burn any bridges, not with anybody, not even with members of the other party. It’s all tight knit, inside the Beltway. They’re all… At the end of the election, they’re all buddy-buddy. They all pal around and hang around. It’s a far different game with a far different objective inside the Beltway in the professional political class than it is for us. Did you see McCain? McCain… Where was this? Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. Well, I don’t know where he was. It’s a Real Clear Politics video, and McCain is calling for an end to the debates. (impression) “That’s right, Limbaugh! We have to stop. We have to stop the debates.” McCain said, “I think any of our candidates can beat Obama, but you just showed the number up there: We’ve gotta stop the debates. Enough with the debates because they’re driving up our candidates’, all of them, unfavorabilities. We’ve had enough of that. They’ve turned it into mud wrestling instead of exposition of the candidates’ views on the issues. We’ve had enough of that! It’s time to recognize who the real adversary is, and that’s not each other.” We’ve gotta stop the debates.
Grab a quick phone call here on topic. Dale, Ventura, California. I’m glad you called, sir. You’re up first, and hello.
CALLER: Rush, thanks for taking my call. I’m a little sick about the tactic being employed by Mitt Romney. There is no doubt in my mind that he is through-and-through a liberal to the core, whether he’s got an (R) at the end of his name or not. Everything about him belays the (R) at the end of his name, from Romneycare to his stance on abortion, to the tactics he’s used of attacking the Republican candidates but using kid gloves with the Democrats. A perfect example is going after Newt Gingrich on the $300,000 (sic) that he collected as a consultant at $25,000 a month, which is the exact same amount that Michelle Obama collected having a title at a hospital. Now he has gone to the extent of, in two states, he spent over $30 million trying to buy the nomination. Every tactic he is using just screams that he’s a liberal through and through.
RUSH: How do you explain, with all this, the apparent — according to the polls — Romney gaining ground in Florida?
CALLER: I don’t trust the polls. I wait to see the results. The polls, as you know, are normally skewed. They’re not balanced. They’re normally taken by liberals with a skewing towards the liberal bent on the answers. And, myself, I don’t even bother answering polls. That’s why I think you’re gonna get the people that want to try and sway opinion answering polls, and they’re not truthful.
RUSH: All right. Well, look, Dale, I appreciate the call. I just want you to know: I’ve got e-mails galore from people who agree with you. I don’t recall… I was trying to think back over the course of my 25 years doing this program. I could be wrong. I may have to search my memory even deeper. I don’t recall a primary campaign where every candidate had such a high degree of literal hate from voters. The people that oppose Romney hate the guy, and it’s a significant number. And there are a lot of people that hate Newt the same way.
The only guy that nobody hates is Santorum. Nobody hates Santorum. Now, how about this guy and his daughter? Did she get out of the hospital? Well, she’s doing better. It’s a significant turnaround in her condition. Santorum’s the only guy that I don’t hear e-mail from people passionately opposing. But Romney and Newt, it’s there on both sides. All I have to do is say something on this program indicates I support either one of them? Pshew! It is an avalanche. My e-mail server gets overloaded either way. I got people out there thinking I’ve endorsed Romney and others thinking I’ve endorsed Newt, and when they think either one happens, gee! So it’s a fascinating thing to look at here.