RUSH: Folks, I have to tell you, I was almost unable to do the program today. I was so sad, I was so shaken, respondent, dejected, that I actually required a pep talk from my chef this morning in order to come here and actually do the program.
Well, Mona Charen criticized me at National Review Online. She said I was wrong, what I said on TV, and I thought, “Well, how can I go on? Mona Charen said that I’m wrong about the shutdown, that I’m wrong about Republicans. I’m savvy, but I’m wrong. And I don’t know, folks, it just destroyed me. I’m not used to being called on the carpet like this publicly. (interruption) What? What was this? (interruption) Well, I had a friend send me her column, and the note was, “I’m sure that you have seen this,” and I hadn’t. This one friend sends me everything critical of me in the e-mail.
Whenever this particular friend finds something critical, bam, I get it, with the note, “I’m sure you’ve seen this.” And I say, “No, I do not seek these things out, cause I don’t know how I could go on if I run into all the criticism I get,” as evidenced by today. (interruption) What? No, National Review Online, right, which is doubly hurtful because of course that’s the publication or website founded by William F. Buckley Jr., one of my idols and heroes, and to be criticized and basically accused of being wrong, oh, folks, oh, you don’t know, and it’s tough to admit this.
Here’s where Mona — this one paragraph here, this where she said I got it wrong. This is her assessment. “Republicans want to shrink government, revive the mediating institutions of society like family, community groups, and churches, improve national defense, and restore economic vitality by removing government-imposed burdens on small business. A key ambition, universally endorsed by Republicans, is repealing and replacing Obamacare.”
Man, have I been missing a lot. I didn’t know any of that was going on, or very little of it. But, anyway, folks, I bucked up and I decided to put that aside, put aside the personal pain and suffering of being openly criticized like this. (laughing) Snerdley’s taking me seriously. “What, are you kidding? What do you think you were wrong about?” (laughing) Do you really think I needed a pep talk from the chef to get behind the microphone? (laughing)
Her point was I was wrong about the shutdown, because it is hurtful, it is damaging, we should do anything at all costs to avoid doing a shutdown ’cause we’re always gonna get blamed for it. And that Romney wouldn’t have won if four million voters — because it’s not guaranteed that all of those Republicans would have voted for Romney and so — (interruption) Yeah, but I just, I just, you know, I walked in the kitchen and said to chef, “I don’t think I can do it today. I really don’t.”
“Why?” Then I explained it, got a pep talk, and here I am.