RUSH: Here’s Simon, San Diego. Simon, welcome to the Rush Limbaugh program. Happy to have you here. Hi.

CALLER: Thank you, sir. Glad to speak to you and I just got a question for you. The Republican Party doesn’t seem to really be supporting the Tea Party at all. Are they, in fact, creating an environment for a third party by kind of turning their back on the Tea Party?

RUSH: Well, in terms of desire, are you asking if I think the Republicans are actually trying to drive the Tea Party away and force —

CALLER: No, I think in the Republicans view they’re letting ’em know, “Hey, you do it our way or you don’t get anything.” And I’m just wondering are they in fact —

RUSH: Well, okay, so they’re already looking at ’em as a third party then, you mean?

CALLER: Forcing them into a third party by not allowing them to come to the table, not supporting them.

RUSH: In a sense —

CALLER: I’m not saying it’s their intent to create a third party.

RUSH: No, but I think it is their intent to change their base. I think they don’t like the conservative or Tea Party, the pro-life base. I think if they could change that they would do it on a dime and I think that’s one of the things that they’re trying to do. If you look, I think this is one of the great illustrations. One of the reasons why the Republican Party is having orgasms over Christie is that he beat the Democrat candidate in the Hispanic vote. Kid you not. He beat this Buono Democrat babe 51-45 in the Hispanic vote. And I’m telling you, that is orgasm city in the Republican establishment. So here you have the Tea Party, you got Ted Cruz, and what does he do? Ted Cruz takes the fight to the left. Ted Cruz takes the fight to the Democrats.

What is the Republican Party doing? The Republican Party is taking the fight to the Tea Party, ’cause they think the Tea Party is preventing the Republican Party from reaching out to Hispanics and women and all that. So this could end up being pretty epic, Cruz versus Christie if it ever materializes, ’cause it’s gonna be a huge contrast. The Republican Party right now would kill, figuratively, if they could get the Hispanic vote. If they could just tie the Democrats with the Hispanic vote. I don’t know what it is about that particular segment, but I’m telling you that’s why they’re just falling all over themselves with Christie. That and he has nothing to do with the Tea Party.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: As my friend Vince Flynn always said, “Keep the faith, folks, keep the faith.” And we will be back tomorrow. See you then.