RUSH: David, South Side, Chicago, great to have you next on the program, sir. Hello.

CALLER: Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my call.

RUSH: Yes, sir.

CALLER: I was listening to your comments about Boehner before, and I was just wondering, do you think it’s possible that he’s been compromised? Because at the beginning of his tenure, he had been the poster child for conservatism. He’s done a complete about-face. He’s a rubber stamp Democrat now. He’s done an about-face on immigration, an about-face on tax reform, an about-face on Obamacare. I think somebody’s holding the sword of Damocles over his head. Do you think it’s possible?

RUSH: Well, yeah, but I don’t think that’s the explanation. It happens to too many people up there. Once again, let me cite for you O’Sullivan’s Law: Anything that is not actively conservative every day will eventually become liberal. Boehner was a ranking leader in Mr. Newt’s leadership. I mean, that was as pedal-to-the-metal conservative as you can get. And then, I mean, let’s face it, the budget battle of 1995 just destroyed a bunch of these guys, David. It just destroyed ’em. And conservatism is constantly under attack, and one by one, the leadership in Newt’s group began to fall away, one by one. I think they got bit by what the dominant culture, political and social, in Washington is.

Now, I know the simple explanation that people would like is there’s blackmail going on or that there’s some shaming going on or what have you. I think it happens gradually and a little bit more subtle than that. And at the root of all of it is going to be donor money. When you get right down to it, the root of it is gonna be donor money.