RUSH: Let’s hit the audio sound bites very quickly here — and this is, once again, to go back to my take on it as it being the public standing up and saying, “No more” to Obama. One of the things that always happens after a Republican victory — it doesn’t matter if it was 2000, the midterms of 2002, 1994, doesn’t matter — there are predictable behavior patterns the left engages in.
One of them is to immediately take out for talk radio. So last night on Bloomberg TV’s All Due Respect, cohost Mark Halperin was speaking with cohost John Heilemann about the impact of talk radio on the postelection agenda of the Republican Party. Mark Halperin said, “You know, the history of the Republican Party of late has been defined by congressional leaders being afraid of talk radio and Fox.
“Will the establishment — Mitch McConnell and John Boehner first and foremost — be able to withstand the pressure from that kind of cacophony, which will only build as compromise with the president comes?” That question is as loaded and factually incorrect as any. You know who the Republican leaders are afraid of? Guys like Mark Halperin and John Heilemann!
The Republican Party leadership is scared to death of the media and wishes the media would love them. The Republican Party leadership is scared to death of the charge of racism if they dare criticize Obama. The Republican Party leadership has been made to believe, apparently, that they don’t have a prayer of winning elections unless they support amnesty. They’re not afraid of talk radio.
They may not like it, but they’re not afraid of us.
They’re not afraid of Fox News.
This is absurd!
If they’re afraid of anybody, it’s the left-wing media, and this is not even arguable. But nevertheless, that was the question asked. So the question here… Note the premise. Note the premise of the question. “Will McConnell and Boehner be able to withstand the pressure from talk radio as they begin to compromise with Obama?” As though these guys think compromising with Obama is a fait accompli? It’s gonna happen, and then talk radio and Fox News are gonna start having a cacophonous fit — and will Boehner and McConnell be able to withstand it?
HEILEMANN: I’m a big fan of history, and there’s no evidence in the historical record that suggests that they will or can. These guys, individually and collectively, have been the biggest and one of most pernicious forces in our politics for a long time. And there’s some counterparts of theirs on the left, but they’re a very, very loud voice. And they have repeatedly, over the last 20 years — and in only growing in strength — they have put pressure on, destructive pressure on Republican leaders and establishmentarians who want to get things done. The pressure has been intense, and they have almost always — almost always — capitulated, the leaders.
RUSH: He’s talking about to me. Twenty years? Fox hasn’t been around 20 years, yet. They started in ’96.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Did you hear that, folks? I, El Rushbo, have been “the most pernicious force in politics” for a long time. That’s right. ‘Cause these Republicans, they really want to work with the Democrats. They want to work with them so bad just to get things done, and then here comes talk radio, for 20 years, making it impossible to do. And then Halperin, Mark Halperin — who not a bad guy. These guys… I’m amazed at how wrong people are who are so close to this. Anyway, this is what he said…
HALPERIN: Boehner and McConnell, as much as Dick Cheney, is not afraid of the flying monkeys. They’re not. And they have disdain for them privately. They say it all the time to people, and when McConnell yesterday said, “We’re not gonna have a debt ceiling crisis; we’re not gonna have government shutdowns,” that sent a loud message. These guys and gals can attack Boehner and McConnell all they want. I don’t think that they personally will be intimidated.
RUSH: Of course they’re not intimidated! Where’s the evidence that they’re intimidated? Nobody’s trying to intimidate them — and, by the way, Mark, this government shutdown business? Not gonna have a debt ceiling crisis, not gonna have a government shutdown? They’re talking to you! They’re telling you there’s not gonna be a government shutdown. They don’t want you writing that they want to do a government shutdown.
They want you writing stuff they’re not planning on doing. They’re not worried about what people like me say. Dick Cheney? You really want to go there? Dick Cheney privately disdains talk radio? I can produce I don’t know how many people to tell you the exact opposite on that one. You’re the people that destroy them on the government shutdown. You’re the ones that mischaracterize all that.
The government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis? You’re the guys that run around on that. You go out and find the Jellystone Park sleigh ride operator and tell everybody how horrible his life is gonna be because of a three-week government shutdown. They’re not afraid of us. They might not be particularly crazy about us from time to time, but they’re not afraid of us. These guys aren’t afraid.
If they’re intimidated by anybody, it’s people in the Drive-By Media who love to call ’em racists or bigots or accuse them of hating women and conducting a War on Women, when no such thing is taking place and never has. Anyway, this is… I don’t know. I love this stuff. The week after a victorious election is always ripe. It’s so much a teachable moment.