RUSH: Mary from Beaverton, Oregon. I’m really glad you waited, and welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hello, Rush. It’s an honor to speak with you. Rush, I hope somebody from President Trump’s administration is listening to this call, because I have a very simple strategy that will solve this entire health care debate. Let me put it this way: Get the ball rolling and it will be on a bipartisan basis, and my strategy is very simple, Rush, and it actually happens to revolve around something that you could not be farther off base on earlier in the week. Briefly, let me tell you what it is. President Trump needs to schedule a prime time address to the nation on health care. The major part of this address, the crux of this address, Rush, is that the president must inform the American people that Congress has exempted themselves both times.
RUSH: Everybody knows that.
CALLER: No, no, no, no, Rush! They don’t. Please hear me out. They do not know that, Rush. I speak from personal experience. They do not know that. In fact, at a barbecue just this weekend, I experimented again: 11 of our 13 people absolutely had no clue and were irate, and that’s one of many examples. So just hear me out. Please hear me out.
RUSH: Okay. I’m listening.
CALLER: They do not know this. Trust me. The president… Hear me out.
RUSH: I’m listening.
CALLER: The president must demand that any replacement Congress and every federal employee is on the same plan, no exemptions, no waivers, no exceptions whatsoever. He needs to conclude his address by asking every voter if they agree with this to call their senators and congressmen to demand that they get moving and that they’re on the same plan. It’s amazing, Rush, how much more pure motivations become when individuals actually have skin in the game. Rush, I’ve been on Obamacare for the last seven years.
Every time I would debate this — and I live in a very blue state, my friend. Every time I would have this debate — whether the person was Democrat or left, Republican or independent like me, the vast majority of the time — you know how I’d win the debate? I was by telling them this and the same thing would happen. They’d get on their smartphones, they’d look it up, and they’d realize, “My God, they exempted themselves.” They would go from looking stunned —
RUSH: Mary, hang on. I’ve gotta take a break here, but I want you to hold through the break so that we continue this after the break.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Now back to Mary in Beaverton, Oregon. So, look, I agree with you that the president should do a national address on a bunch of things. I think he should do health care, tax reform, and spell out exactly what the obstacles are. If your test marketing has found that people really respond to the news that the Congress exempts itself, then all the better.
CALLER: Oh, Rush, yeah — and, by the way, backing this up, I actually tried to call into your show on Friday on this. It just so happens you might have seen this. There was a wonderful op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this weekend done by a lady named Heather Higgins on this very issue. She said once people are aware of that, a poll that was taken showed 94% think Congress should be on this same plan. Let me put it this way: This type of behavior is an absolute disgrace and is one of the major reasons Donald Trump was elected.
I will guarantee you, Rush, the Capitol phone lines will be brought down from the volume of irate callers on both sides of the aisle. (chuckles) I will guarantee you that. And you know what? All of a sudden not only would people, I think, be tripping over each other — you know, our political establishment be tripping over each other — to get into that conference room to come up with a bipartisan solution because they have no defense to not be on our policy, but —
RUSH: Look, I don’t want to be Mr. Negative here, but there isn’t gonna be… If you get bipartisanship, they’re gonna get two Democrats, three at the most. They’re not gonna join this effort no matter what you do to shame ’em.
CALLER: Well, I think Donald Trump… If they’re not gonna get elected again when people are calling them, when their phones are being flooded —
RUSH: The Republicans aren’t even worried about getting reelected!
CALLER: Yeah, I know. Well, that’s true. Yeah, don’t even get me started with that.
RUSH: I know.
CALLER: Let me put it this way.
RUSH: Hear me out on this. Hear me out. I mean, it’s exactly the case.
CALLER: (sigh) But I agree with you on that, Rush, because they’re scared to death for this reason. They’re scared to death of an outsider like Trump coming in and turning the establishment on its head.
RUSH: Bingo!
CALLER: And, by the way, could you imagine the equity he would gain on both sides of the aisle with the voters? (chuckles) The voters? Then the ball is firmly in Congress’ court, Rush. They’re called out for what they are.
RUSH: Well, this is why I think you have a point. I think Trump should do — and he should rehearse it. He should do a national address. He should reach out. He needs… This is easy to say, and I don’t mean it to be critical. But Trump was unbeatable during the campaign. Those performances that he gave that were his rallies? Those were unscripted. That was just straight improv, straight from the heart and straight from the mind. Some of them were just knock-down great. Others were not as good, but it doesn’t matter; they were all genuine.
That is how Trump coalesced all of these disparate types of people in America to support him. Tweeting is not going to recreate that. He has the bully pulpit, and he could use it to — not shame members of Congress. That would happen as a by-product with the information that you wish he would impart. But just go out and sell it. Just go out and tell everybody how wonderful it is, how great it is, how it’s necessary for the nation. Use the opportunity that he’s got to present the infectious personality that he has — and I don’t mean rallies. He could do rallies after the speech.
I mean, Bush took a year and a half to sell the Iraq war. Look at how much time Obama spent. Look how much time Obama spent traveling the country, speaking and lying about Obamacare. “You like your doctor? You get to keep your doctor!” A year and a half of this, folks. I don’t think Trump can be beat doing this. But as long as he stays in the White House and goes through the motions here of trying to work with Congress so that they lead the effort? I think that’s been the mistake. This is just me, but I think that is part of the…
It may be a Trump strategy for, “Okay, we’re gonna try it using the rituals you guys all have used. I’ll do this. I’ll work with you. You carry the legislation. I’ll provide whatever needs to be done from me here at the White House.” I think he needs to take over and lead it. Obviously, these guys can’t do it. They can’t come to an agreement, the Republican Party in the House or Senate, about what they want to do. So you create the demand… This is what Mary is essentially saying. You go out and you create the demand on the part of the American people.
You throw in that in every health care bill that has been written and that has failed, members of Congress have exempted themselves from it. So the objective is to put together a health care bill that replaces Obamacare with something they would put themselves on. That’d be a damn good health care bill, don’t you think? If they could design something for themselves — which they’ve obviously done. They have their own health care system: Something they like; somebody else is paying for it. Well, do that for everybody, and then watch it sail through. I’m glad you called, Mary.