RUSH: I want to play a couple more sound bites here. I’m still not quite sure how to interpret this. First up is David Gregory playing a sound bite of me to a Democrat congressional member-elect named Joaquin Castro (Democrat-Texas.) He plays a sound bite to this guy of me and then asks this newly elected Democrat to react to it. So here’s the first part…
GREGORY: You have the likes of Rush Limbaugh taking to the radio on the issue of immigration. Congressman, this is what he said on Wednesday.
RUSH ARCHIVE: Don’t tell me the Republican Party doesn’t have outreach. We do. But what are we supposed to do now? In order to get the Hispanic or Latino vote, does that mean open the borders and embrace the illegals? I want you to think about this. Is that what it means? Is that what the Republican establishment means? We’ve gotta reach out to Hispanics, is that what they mean? If we’re not getting the female vote, do we become pro-choice? Do we start passing out birth control pills? Is that what we have to do?
RUSH: Now, what was not played in that monologue for this congressman was my recounting of the Republican convention, and I pointed out that we have some of the most highly achieved and highly accomplished minorities in this country in the Republican Party. I pointed out we have more elected Hispanics in the Republican Party than the Democrat Party. I pointed out that every one of these people that showed up at our convention — be it Marco Rubio or Susana Martinez, Condoleezza Rice, Mia Love — whoever it was, they all had a common story, and it was all based on up from nothing.
It was all based on hard work. It was all based on families who made sacrifices for their kids. The kids took advantage of it, and they became the best they could be. And I was asking — which, of course, Gregory didn’t play for this guy — “Look, if that doesn’t work, if that does not show that we are inclusive, then what are we to do?” And that’s when he picked up the sound bite. Are we to all of a sudden say, “Okay, we’re for illegal immigration; we are for abortions”? I was asking the question rhetorically. Now, here is the answer from Joaquin Castro, who did not hear the whole bite.
He didn’t hear the first half of what I just told you.
CASTRO: That’s very telling because part of the fundamental problem with a big wing of the Republican Party is that, when they think of Hispanics, they think of folks that are illegal immigrants.
RUSH: No!
CASTRO: What they need to accept is that Hispanics/Latinos are part of this American family.
RUSH: No! See, that’s the point. It’s exactly what I said that he didn’t hear. This is what happens. We have outreach. We have inclusion. We have some of the most prominent Hispanics in this country in our party. Some of the most prominent and highly achieved blacks are in our party. It is not me talking about immigration and opening the border. It’s the party doing it! I’m not! It’s our party doing that, and I was asking last week: “Is that what we’re gonna do?” And apparently the answer is yes.
So this guy, Joaquin Castro, through no fault of his own, is mischaracterizing what I said because he wasn’t played the whole thing. Now he’s falling into the trap, “Oh, see? They only think of us as illegal immigrants.” Nope. No. Not at all. We think of Hispanics just the exact opposite, but that never is heard. Nobody’s ever informed of that. What we really believe is lied about and distorted, as this is. Then we get this response from Mr. Castro, who’s answering because he’s not fully informed on the question that he’s been asked.
Here’s the rest of his bite…
CASTRO: You have folks that have been here who are second generation, third generation, fourth generation Americans, and they’re making them feel that they’re not part of the United States. And that’s a fundamental problem that goes beyond tone. It goes beyond rhetoric. And it actually goes beyond who you elect to Congress or the Senate. They’ve got Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and others now, but it’s more than just the personalities. It’s the policies they pursue.
RUSH: Now, what does that tell you? He just said, “Rubio, Cruz, that doesn’t matter. What do they believe?” They don’t believe the right things, see? Rubio, Mr. Conservative. Ted Cruz, Mr. Tea Party conservative. Both of them, in fact. That doesn’t count. He admitted it here. Joaquin Castro admits it. “Yeah, they got Cruz and Rubio and others now, but it’s more than just the personalities.” Well, I’m sorry, they won elections based on their policies.
They won election based on the policies they pursue. See, this is my whole point here. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz don’t count with this guy. They don’t count. Because they’re conservatives. So I’m to conclude that Mr. Castro is telling us that conservative Hispanics are not going to help the Republican Party? Is that not what he’s saying? Isn’t he essentially admitting that I am right, that it’s about liberalism?
It’s about Santa Claus. It’s about what the Democrats offer. And if we want to be taken seriously, according to this guy, Castro, if we want to be taken seriously by the Hispanic population, we better understand that our conservative guys aren’t gonna cut it. That’s exactly what he’s saying here and he doesn’t know it, and Gregory doesn’t even know it, and, sadly, 99% of the people watching this did not conclude the right thing, either, because they weren’t presented with the whole picture. But Joaquin Castro is basically admitting that we’re right. He says, “Look, we got Hispanics here that are second, third, fourth generation.” It is exactly what I said about the kind of minorities that we had at our convention and the story that they tell.
Rubio told the story of his father and grandfather. So did Mia Love. So did Susana Martinez. But it doesn’t count because all they are is personalities. Yeah, you got Rubio and Cruz and others now, but it’s more than personalities. It’s the policies they pursue. What policies do Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz pursue? They pursue conservatism, and Mr. Joaquin Castro, newly elected Democrat, is saying it ain’t gonna cut it with the Hispanic community. Ergo, we’re right. Ergo, if we want to get the Hispanic vote, we’re gonna have to be liberal. That’s what he’s saying. There’s no other way to look at it. There’s no other way of interpreting this.
Sadly, nobody, I guarantee you, not one person in the Republican leadership or our inside-the-Beltway media or consultancy is gonna at all hear the right message. They’re not gonna get that. They’re not, and it’s plain as day. All you have to hear in that sound bite, “Yeah, they got Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and others, but it’s the policies they pursue that are hurting them in the Hispanic community,” and the policies are conservative. Ergo, Baracka Claus.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: By the way, Joaquin Castro, he was prominently displayed at the Democrat convention. His mother is Rosie Castro. She’s a lifelong Democrat activist, and Joaquin Castro has spent his whole life in government or protesting it or something. But he inadvertently proved my point that I made at the very beginning of the program. Marco Rubio is the sponsor of something called the DREAM Act, and when you strip it all away, it includes provisions for great relaxation on immigration policy. It’s not enough for Joaquin Castro. He still can’t embrace Marco Rubio.
Marco Rubio is not the kind of Republican these guys are talking about when they talk about restrictions and alienating Hispanics and so forth. Marco Rubio is moving in their direction and he still goes on Meet the Press and impugns him. Folks, they are not going — you understand this. Mr. Republican consultant and Mr. RNC chairman — they’re not going to welcome you in this immigration issue and they’re not gonna let you have any of their voters. They’re not going to surrender the issue to you.
I don’t know. They talk about Democrat voters like they are Democrat property. Democrat voters are the property of the Democrat Party, and they need more of ’em as they either abort each other out of existence or they become conservatives. They need more of them, and the Republicans are gonna move right in and help ’em bring more in. At the end of the day, somebody, it is hoped, is going to like the Republicans a lot more.