RUSH: Okay. Open Line Friday. I’m gonna start on the phones right now. I normally don’t get to the phones in the first hour even on Open Line Friday, but I’m gonna change that, so we’re gonna start now. We’re gonna go to Quincy, Illinois, and George. Great to have you, sir. You’re up first today. You know, it’s important, the first caller on Open Line Friday sets the tone. That means you gotta be good.

CALLER: Thank you, Rush.

RUSH: I don’t mean to add pressure or anything, but you gotta be good.

CALLER: I’m gonna do my best.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: Rush, here’s my thoughts on this David Hogg guy, that he’s sort of the new dream child of the liberals.

RUSH: Yeah. Camera Hogg, you mean, right.

CALLER: Yeah, Camera Hogg, yes. I’ve watched liberals for years, and rarely am I fooled by them. But I have to say that the smooth talking Bill Clintons and the smooth talking Barack Obamas, their message tricks people Hogg by, you know, flowery language with, “I feel your pain” and whatever else they say. I don’t fear David Camera Hogg at all. His message is vile and angry and hateful, and he basically riles up the 15% of the liberal far left crazies, and I don’t think he converts anybody in the middle. I think, if anything, he’s gonna be a great Republican get-out-the-vote registration drive.

RUSH: Wait a minute. You think he’s gonna end up being a liability to the left?

CALLER: I think he is, Rush.

RUSH: Okay. Before we go there — that’s an interesting point. Before we go there, can I ask you a question?

CALLER: Sure.

RUSH: I don’t hang around people that age very much. As you know, I don’t have kids. So I’m not around teenagers. I have nephews and nieces, but I’m not around them all the time, so I really don’t have a lot of experience with the modern day teenager. So I have to ask, do you have kids? And if you do, how old are your kids?

CALLER: Twenty-one and 22.

RUSH: Okay. So it wasn’t long ago that they were 17 and 18.

CALLER: Correct.

RUSH: Could you explain to me — you have acknowledged that Camera Hogg, he may not have the likable personality that Clinton or Obama had, but he’s got the rap down. Can you explain to me how a 17-year-old sounds like an experienced 40-year-old liberal activist? Forget the quality of his voice. His strategy, his techniques, the way he’s dealing with Rubio, this is the stuff that it takes 30 years of experience or 20 years of experience to learn the intricacies of what he’s doing, and yet here he is 17. So in your opinion — there’s no wrong answer here — in your opinion how’s he been able to do this?

CALLER: Well, Rush, the first time I saw him, it was interesting. They were cued by their teachers. They’d mention a teacher’s name who they’d been talking with. I think this developed over time. My biggest fear is what we see on the college campuses is also occurring undoubtedly in junior high school and —

RUSH: Wait a minute, now. I haven’t been clear. He’s not acting. The college kids, the snowflakes, “Get away.” This guy’s not afraid of anything. He’s not like them. I’m telling you, he’s 17, and he sounds like he’s going on 35 or 40. He sounds like he’s run a couple presidential campaigns or political campaigns already. I’m just asking, if anybody has the answer, how does a 17-year-old get there? I mean, I had political opinions when I was 17. But I was no more equipped to go on media and do things like these kids are doing. And since I haven’t hung around teenagers very much, I’m asking, what have I missed here in the evolution of teenagers the last generation or two?

CALLER: Rush, I speculated a while back the first time I heard these kids and the Emma girl who, you know, to basically look an adult like Marco Rubio in the eye and say rude things, or say to Dana Loesch, “I’ll take care of your children better than you will,” I honestly think part of it is — I’ll give Trump credit for it — these people sort of think we have to be like Trump. They miss the point completely because they’re so angry, but I think they feel like they’re desperate and it’s a different world. I mean, I’m close to your age. I fear the David Hoggs of the world someday taking over our country. I mean, they are unreasonable and angry and I don’t think their message will work.

RUSH: I get all of that. By the way, just to be clear, it was not Camera Hogg who told Marco Rubio that when he looked at Rubio he felt like he was looking down the barrel of an AR-15, that he looked at Rubio and saw a murderer. That wasn’t Camera Hogg. That was one of Camera Hogg’s fellow classmates. Maybe there is no answer to my question. Or I’m not asking it properly. You’re talking about this guy, you’re afraid of a 17-year-old. When did this happen is what I’m asking.

How did it happen, how does a 17-year-old — forget Hogg. I mean, he’s not the only one. There’s a bunch of them. How did it happen that they have the political vocabulary, the political line of rap, the political strategy — I’ll give you an example of what I mean. I talked about this the other day, because somebody asked me — it was earlier in the week — remember I got the question, “Why are they being so mean to Rubio? Rubio’s the one guy reaching out to them. Senator Rubio, Florida, he’s trying to compromise with them, and they’re treating him like he’s the biggest enemy of everybody they’re up against.”

And the answer is because they’re not interested in compromise. There is no compromise. They are out for one thing when it comes to guns and that is the total confiscation of every gun in this country. And Camera Hogg wants that despite what they say in their tweets and so do all these other leftists anti-Second Amendment, anti-NRA people. That’s their ultimate objective.

So therefore they can’t compromise. There is no compromise. And to compromise with a Republican would slow them down and it would create the wrong impression that they are willing to compromise. So a Republican who steps out and offers to compromise and gets closer to having some agreement with them than any other Republican, Camera Hogg knew at age 17 to destroy Rubio and to keep destroying, to not take the bait whatsoever. I don’t know how a 17-year-old figures that out.

There are a lot of adults on the left that would have been tempted to take Rubio’s deal, to show compromise. This guy is not interested in compromise and he’s gonna cut the head off politically of anybody that tries to make him compromise, and that’s what he demonstrated here.

Now, is he doing this on his own or is there somebody that we don’t know — parents, uncles, aunts, Democrat Party activists advising him, or is he doing it on his own? This is my question. If he’s doing it on his own at 17, whew. Let me tell you something, folks, let me tell you what we do not want. What we do not want is Hillary Clinton and David Hogg teaming up, running around the country bashing Republicans in September and October before the midterms.

That would be so terrible. We do not want that to happen. Can you imagine Hillary Clinton and David Hogg appearing together in a national tour endorsing Democrat candidates? How could we prevent that? What would we have to do? I hope Hillary and David Hogg, I hope they never get together. Don’t tell anybody. Damn it.

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RUSH: I want to hear what people think about this. And maybe it isn’t unusual these days. I mean, maybe your average 17-year-old could go on TV in front of 30,000 or 200,000 people at a rally and do whatever just as normally run to the faucet and get a class of water. I don’t know. That’s what I’m asking.

The snowflakes can’t even leave mom and dad’s basement. The snowflakes can’t even stand anybody asking them a question on college campus. This kid’s out to destroy people he disagrees with, politically, at 17. I have some idea what the answer is, but as I say I’m withholding it. See what we get here on the phones.

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RUSH: We go to Thomson, Georgia. This is Tom. Glad you called, sir. Your turn. Hello.

CALLER: Hey, Rush, good afternoon. Listen, I’ve gotta agree with something you said earlier. You know, my wife has had me under her thumb for about 15 years now, and it all started when she urged me to start listening to your show, and here I am.

RUSH: (laughing) Good for her!

CALLER: She’s a smart lady. Listen, I want to go back to David Hogg, if I can.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: You posed a question earlier as to how it is that someone at this early age shows up and appears in front of us as a high functioning activist. And I think I have an answer for you. The answer is that it’s not his first time. He’s a minor. No one in their right journalistic or legal or political mind is going to deeply dive into his social media background for fear of repercussions, but if they did they would find that he’s been a fully formed, highly functioning left-wing activist for several years now. This is not his first campaign. This is not his first rodeo.

RUSH: Wait a minute. Have you made that deep dive into his social media archives?

CALLER: No. I would make that assessment based on experience and intuition.

RUSH: Okay. So you don’t know this for a fact. You’re just suggesting this is the answer?

CALLER: Correct.

RUSH: Yeah. Okay. Keep going.

CALLER: Well, I think there are some layers or potential layers to this. Someone at the age of 17 doesn’t appear like this without being allowed and encouraged to operate in an environment wherein this sort of attitude about America is encouraged, so I think —

RUSH: There’s a lot of anger there. There’s a lot of rage. And I’ve always contended people are not born hating anything.

CALLER: I agree. I agree.

RUSH: Anyway, look, I just noticed the clock. I’m out of time. I have to take a quick break. But I will expand on this, as I always do, when we get back.

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RUSH: So our last caller believes that David Hogg at age 17 is not undergoing his first rodeo, that he’s been practicing left-wing social activism for a long time. It’s just that nobody’s seen it because it’s been contained on social media within his realm of friends, likes, dislikes, that kind of thing. Maybe, but I still — maybe the fact that he’s 17 isn’t a big deal today. It is to me.

I guess it would help if I were to share with you my impression of the average 17-year-old, which is, “Where’s the video game? Mom, don’t bug me.” This is not what they do. And when they do, it’s clear they don’t know. They’re not old enough. They don’t know enough to have formed their own personal opinions. I mean, deep personal opinions. They just haven’t lived long enough. They haven’t been able to absorb enough knowledge by then. But this clearly is not that case. This is the exact opposite.

My point is this guy at 17 sounds every bit as poised and formed, committed as a 35 or 40-year-old professional political consultant or activist, somebody that would run campaigns against political opponents, at age 17. To me, that’s odd. And I’m simply trying to find out from those of you who might agree with that, how this has happened. There has to be an explanation for it. We’re all a product of something. Is it superior intelligence? Is it a natural inclination to political battle? Is it a firm, unmistakable resolve toward left-wing politics, radical left-wing liberalism?

You know, when I was 17, I was on the radio playing Donny Osmond records, and I was trying to sound interesting doing it. If I would have dared begin to talk politics, I would have heard about it from the people running the radio station, “What the hell do you think you’re talking about? Stick to the hits!” At 17, my whole family was deeply politically involved, and I was too, but I was still at the listening stage. I was still in the absorbing stage.

And since I’m not around 17-year-olds much, I was simply asking if any of you have any idea how this has come to be. So the last answer we got was the guy who said, “Hey, been involved in activism for obviously a long time.” Okay, then we’re talking about prior to age 17. Political activism, what, from age 14, age 15? I mean, the younger you go here, the more incredible this all gets.

I mean, I’ve spent time reading people analyzing all of this. And they’re treating Hogg like he’s not the kid that he is. but that he is a seasoned political journalist and commentator and veteran. Now, I know it’s because he’s on the same page as the journalists are and he makes a great face for the anti-gun, anti-NRA, “the NRA’s a bunch of murderers” movement, which is what the media — although I’ve had a couple people call here today saying he’s ultimately gonna end up being a liability. Well, you may think, “Nah, Rush, never gonna happen.”

But look at Cindy Sheehan. She became a liability. You know, Cindy Sheehan was the first David Hogg except she was an adult, and she had a son who was killed in Iraq. Skin in the game, so to speak. And the left and the media just loved her. And wherever George W. Bush went, including to his home in Crawford, Texas, there she was on the parade route into town with her little gang of Code Pink protesters giving George W. Bush hell.

And the media hoisted her up and made her the biggest hero. And then what happened? Do you remember? She ran for political office against an incumbent Democrat. I think it was Pelosi. Not sure who it was, but they threw her overboard the minute she strayed from the protest march. The minute she attempted to parlay her fame and fortune as a protester into actual political power, they dumped her like they had never heard of her. So there is an example where somebody like Cindy Sheehan did become a liability. And they all have a life span.

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CALLER: Thank you, Rush. I think I have your answer to the TV Hogg guy. I think when you’re raised in an environment where your morality is created by pretty much hatred, you know, Black Lives Matter, whether it be the Palestinian issue, I mean, you name it, global warming. You know, when Lois Lerner was doing what she was doing, she didn’t have to think about what Obama wanted her to do. She knew what to do. And so when Hogg is raised up in this type of environment, it doesn’t take much to formulate your own morality. You know, and he’s completely devoid of what right or wrong is. I mean, you listen to the way he speaks, his mouth, how filthy it is, and can I say one more thing?

RUSH: Wait just a second. You’ve raised an interesting question. We don’t know how he was raised. I’ve not seen his parents nowhere. Are they out there? I know his 14-year-old sister is tweeting now and then, but I haven’t seen his parents. I haven’t taken the time to look. I’m sure I could find out. But I don’t know how he was raised.

CALLER: I would think that he would be raised that way, because how do you think that way? I mean, how do you have a mouth like that?

RUSH: Well, that’s my question but it’s not — look, I know how people end up thinking that. I’m talking about at 17.

CALLER: It doesn’t take much. I mean, when I was 17, I knew how I thought. You know, I knew how to convince somebody into something that they didn’t want to do. It was very easy. It was very easy to believe that way. You know? And one more thing. I gotta go, Rush, but I’m very grateful for your phone. I got your phone, and it’s awesome.

RUSH: Oh! You were one of the lucky recipients. Which one did you get, the iPhone X?

CALLER: Yes, I got the X, and I am blessed to know you and to hear you, you know, and thank you very much for that.

RUSH: Well, I’m glad you enjoy it. I really am. Thanks very much. Appreciate that. Look, when I was 17 I could do thing — look at what we’ve got here. A school gets shot up, 17 kids die, and immediately a bunch of students become public figures, and two of them become immediately world famous because of a commanding media presence on TV in front of cameras, not flustered at all, no stuttering. They have the line, the liberal line on all this, the attacks on the NRA, the attacks on guns.

In fact, let me point something out to you that I have noticed. David Camera Hogg is 17. Have you noticed how he talks about people his age? Have you noticed what he calls people his age? The children. He keeps talking about how we have got to stop killing the children, my friends and the children and so forth. Now, when I was 17, I mean, I was a lot of things, but one thing I did not want to be thought of was as a child.

“The children” is a perfected, practiced liberal Democrat political entity. We must do X for the children. We can’t do X because of the children. He is a 17-year-old child who refers to himself as among the children. Now, that tells me that he has been steeped and percolated in liberal, left-wing use of the language. I think — and I don’t have the total explanation for this — but he and a lot of kids these days, in his generation, they grow up in media. They are steeped in.

They’re not watching Captain Planet. They’re watching other adult stuff. And they’ve been watching videos, and they’ve been consuming visual media since they were five and six years old, maybe before. They don’t read. They don’t play outside. They watch media, news, movies, TV, YouTube videos. And all of pop culture is practically left-wing politics now. I don’t know anything about the home life, but I’m just telling you, for a 17-year-old to be this poised and well-spoken and articulate and perfect on the political lingo, it’s not common.