RUSH: I have so many people asking me, “Rush, is this stuff I’m hearing true? That Pelosi may be looking for a way out of actually having an impeachment vote?” Folks, I’ve got three stories about this, including polling data from the anointed one, Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com, which indicates that support for impeachment is plummeting, and it dropped as the Schiff show was ongoing.
And on the other side of it, not only is support for impeachment dropping — here it is, FiveThirtyEight: Support for impeachment topped out at 47.7% late October, it’s down to 41%, six points down over the last three weeks. YouGov is among the polls registering the decline, with independent support for impeachment dropping from 39% down to 35%. An Emerson College survey found an even more extreme flip among independents.
And you have to be consistent with this. I mean, you can’t sit there and pick the polls that you like and then start heralding them if you have, like I do, an overall distrust of the genre itself for a host of reasons. But I don’t have any doubt that the American public’s desire for impeachment’s dropping ’cause there was nothing in these hearings to excite anybody.
Where were the tapes? Where was John Dean? Where was the evidence of the break-in? They say this is Watergate redux. Where is all the stuff that we had in Watergate? There isn’t any. All we have is a bunch of disgruntled civil servants who are upset that they were not utilized. Nobody’s accusing them of lying, either. “Why would all of these Trump supporters accuse every one of these civil servants of lying?”
Nobody’s accusing them of lying. We’re accusing them of being haughty, arrogant snobs that Trump doesn’t trust for obviously brilliant common-sensical reasons.
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RUSH: Okay. Here we go. “Washington Post Reporter: We’re Hearing Behind the Scenes House Dems Are Getting ‘Cold Feet’ on Impeachment.” Politico: “Vulnerable Democrats Spooked by GOP Impeachment Ad Onslaught — Democrats want the party to step up its defense.” There are lots of examples today, not in polling data. The polling data is ancillary, but it may be causing the cold feet. There’s lots of stories of actual Democrats telling liberal Drive-By Media that they are very worried about this.
They know the case wasn’t made. Folks, here’s another thing. There’s something that every one of these people from Fiona Hill to Lieutenant Colonel Vindman (O say can you see?), and Bill Taylor and all these other people realize. Any other president that this group of people — call ’em whatever you, deep state, the establishment, the administrative state. Any other person would have been gone by now. The FBI and the intelligence community alone running this hoax against Donald Trump starting in 2016…
Trump has beaten every one of them back. Now there are stories in the New York and Washington media about how Trump is remaking Washington, and the premise of these stories is that official Washington is being left out, that Trump is forming a new kind of Washington that includes rogue outsiders, people like Rudy and other Trump appointees who are loyal to Trump as commander-in-chief.
Not Donald Trump the person, loyal to Trump as commander-in-chief. There are lots of stories — I have ’em in the Stack of Stuff today here — about how official Washington is worried as heck that Trump is changing Washington and getting away with it. I will guarantee you that Trump has inserted a type of energy into Washington these people haven’t seen in a while, and they’ve tried to beat it back, and they haven’t. They haven’t been able to.
So how does Pelosi get out of this?
Well, I think there’s a way. We already know the basic elements of it.
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RUSH: So here’s to Pelosi. Here’s how Pelosi gets out of this impeachment vote if she wants to. Not predicting this. But again to refresh your memory, I opened the program by noting that lots of people are asking me if I think there won’t be a vote because lots of people are seeing — I’ve got stories in the Stack myself.
Just to review, “Washington Post: We’re Hearing Behind The Scenes That More House Dems Are Getting ‘Cold Feet’ About Impeachment.” The phrase of the day, says the Washington Post reporter, over the weekend was “cold feet.”
Politico says that vulnerable Democrats, moderates who won election in 2018 in Trump districts, are watching in horror as Trump spends $8 million worth of ads attacking Democrats and impeachment in their home districts.
Politico claims the Democrats and their allies have only spent $2.7 million on pro-impeachment ads. Trump is dwarfing them with $8 million, which of course is a bunch of crap because you can’t ignore the free media that Democrats get from New York Times, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, you name it.
By the time you add all that free media up, it’s gonna dwarf whatever amount of money Trump is spending. But the fact of the matter is the Trump ads are effective in these districts, and these vulnerable Democrats are saying they are spooked by it, and they want not the impeachment to be canceled, they want the Democrats to step up their defense of these people.
What is happening is the poll data is plummeting. Support for impeachment dropped in some polls up to eight points in the two weeks of the Schiff hearings. In no poll is support for impeachment expanding or increasing. And they all see this. And they are very poll-driven. So if Pelosi wanted to not have the vote, how could she do it? Here’s what I think she could do.
I ran this by the Official Program Observer this morning, Mr. Snerdley, and he thinks that, “Oh, God, yeah, I never thought — that might work.” Here’s how she could do it, folks. She could go on TV, call a press conference and tell a bunch of lies about how successful the hearings were. That we’ve got all of this evidence of bribery and extortion and praise to the hilt all of the civil servant left-wing liberal Democrat witnesses, extol their virtues to no end, praise them to the hilt, praise them by name, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman — O say can you see — Fiona Hill, Bill Taylor, George Kent, name ’em. Yovanovitch.
And then say that even if she were to get every Democrat in the House voting, the problem is that the process then goes to the Senate where the corrupt Republicans are in charge, where the Republican Party is going to not listen. This is Pelosi speaking, I’m making up the words, but this would be her message. The Republican Party will openly defy the wishes and will of the American people as represented in the vote to impeach in the House of Representatives.
And in the trial, the Republicans will be able to call witnesses who will be able to distort and confuse and get away with it because the partisan Republicans who will do anything to protect Trump will be running the trial. And she can continue to set it up as whatever happens in the Senate will be illegitimate because of Republican partisanship, and then present that as the greatest problem facing America. Republican partisanship, Republican defense of Donald Trump. The Republicans’ refusal to stand up for the Constitution.
I mean, just ladle it on the Republicans and don’t stop. And then tell her wacko, crazed base a truth, that the inherent problem of going to the Senate is that because of the partisanship of the evil Republicans, this president, who we have proven has violated his oath of office will be acquitted because of Republican partisanship, because Republicans will ignore the evidence just like they did with Kavanaugh. They will see to it that this president is protected.
And then she says, ladies and gentlemen, the last thing we want, the last thing this country needs, the last thing this country can put up with and tolerate is this president being acquitted. That would be an outrage to the Constitution. That would be an outrage to the American people. I simply will not participate in a process that ends with this president, who is as guilty as any president has ever been, I will not be part of a process that finds him not guilty. I simply cannot do that to America.
And because of the partisan Republicans, because of the mean-spirited Republicans, because of racist, bigoted, sexist homophobic Republicans — just really ladle it on — this president will be found not guilty, and that is something our country cannot withstand. And I, your speaker, will not put this country through that. Even on the day, she could say, even on those days where we care about God, God knows the president is guilty. But the Republicans who also know he’s guilty will do everything they can to shield and protect him because he has corrupted them like he has our great country.
That’s another thing the Washington Post story points out. If she does this she’s gonna need 230 votes for this. She can’t do this, bare minimum. I mean, this guy’s so guilty, if he is just obviously unequivocally guilty, she can’t do this with the barest minimum of Democrats supporting it. So if she pulls back, could she pull this off by telling her wacko base that the absolute worst thing here would be for the president of the United States in an election year, by the way, to be found not guilty?
There’s another thing she could add. Because of the archaic old-fashioned rules of the Senate which will be enforced by the bigoted leader, Mitch McConnell, our great Democrat presidential candidates from the Senate will not be able to campaign during a trial. And the bigoted leader of the Republicans, Senator McConnell, has promised a six-week trial, and so our courageous Democrat presidential candidates would not be able to join the campaign trail during the precious early days of the primary season because they must stay in the Senate during the trial. I will not handicap my precious Democrat presidential candidates by making sure they can’t campaign.
My point is she’s got some avenues she could go down if there is anything to this not having a vote. And if she doesn’t have a vote, then Schiff, you know, they might have to drag him off a ledge somewhere if there isn’t a vote, either.
RUSH: I’ll just tell you this, folks. I think Pelosi — with her buddies in the Drive-By Media and elsewhere — is already laying the blame, laying the groundwork for blaming Republican partisanship as her reason for withdrawing the vote to impeach. It’s still a long shot, but I can see it happening out there.
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RUSH: Anyway, I mentioned the Pelosi possibility of an impeachment offering. How can she get out of this? And I gave you my theory as to how she could do it. And essentially, folks, it is to just pile on the Republicans as mean-spirited, bigoted partisans and how she just can’t, she can’t bring herself to have done all this work to prove the president’s bribery and extortion all to have these partisan, bigoted Republicans declare him not guilty. That that would be so damaging to America that she can’t do it.
And also her precious Democrat Senators would not be allowed to campaign during a Senate trial for president. The reason I say this, I think there’s a groundwork being built for this that the Republicans’ partisanship — it would be a tough sell for her. But in the last few weeks the media has been starting this Trump supporters are a cult narrative. Have you seen that? The use of the word cult to describe Trump supporters is an angry, hot, liberal way of saying partisanship, unmovable partisanship. A Trump cult, they don’t care what he does. There’s no way they will not support him.
And Pelosi and the Democrats are putting this out that Trump supporters are a cult, meaning they’re unmovable, they are inflexible, and members of cults are obviously what else? Fools. They’re idiots. They’re stupid. And so Pelosi and her buddies are spreading this notion that Trump supporters are a cult.
And if she played it right — and, boy, she’d have to thread the needle perfectly to bring this off without causing a revolt among her screwball base — but it would be a way for Pelosi to somewhat dissipate this rage, this negative energy toward her and the Democrat leadership that would exist if she cancels the vote.
But folks, she’s between a rock and a hard place right now because the vote, if it was taken today, she’d barely have the 218 that she needs, and she can’t do this with 218 — well, she can. She can do anything she wants. But 218 with a whole lot of Democrats not voting for it, especially when there aren’t any Republicans at all voting for it.
And I heard Schiff on CNN Sunday, you know, why haven’t you had the vote yet? You know, CNN wants to vote. (imitating Schiff) “I need to reflect further. I need to consult my constituents. I need to go home and consult my caucus, I need to consult the leadership, I need to consult –” What is there to consult? You guys think you’ve proved the case.
There’s also something else Pelosi knows, folks. They don’t have the truth. There’s not one aspect of her hearings that have been the truth. There’s not one aspect of her hearings that have featured an impeachable offense, much less a bunch of them. There’s not one bit of evidence they’ve produced that suggests bribery or extortion.
So their case has no evidence. And the minute it goes to trial in the Senate is when the evidence would be forthcoming. When Republicans can call witnesses, including Schiff, Schiff is a fact witness because he collaborated with the whistleblower, Eric Ciaramella. Schiff collaborated with Ciaramella, the whistleblower, to get all of this going. They put him under oath. He would refuse to show up.
Mark Sandy’s deposition, Mark Meadows said in a tweet today: “Mark Sandy deposition should be released immediately. Some of his answers provided important context,” about everything they think they’ve got Trump on, extortion, bribery, and all the rest of it.
Pelosi knows all this, is my point. Forget the made for TV statements of Trump being guilty of misconduct, bribery and extortion. She knows they don’t have such evidence, and when they go to the Senate, that’s gonna get exposed. So we shall see.
And, by the way, on this cult business, CNN headline: “New Book Says There is a Cult of Trump.” Washington Post: “Republicans Convene the Cult of Trump.” Enquirer.com: “Impeachment Inquiry Proved America Can’t be Saved from a Cult Called the GOP.”
It’s everywhere, they’re putting it out there. This is like that montage we had, gravitas, when Cheney was chosen to be veep by W. Cult. You look for it, you’ll see it. This is to set the stage that Republicans are so partisan, they’re so, so partisan, they’re angry, they’re dumb, they’re fools, nothing will ever, ever separate them from Trump.
So she’s building toward this if she wants to somehow get on the off ramp. I’m not predicting it, but I’m just telling you how she could do it in my estimation.
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RUSH: Roy in Joplin, Missouri, I’m glad you waited. Welcome, sir, to the EIB Network. Hi.
CALLER: Thank you much, Rush. My wife and I listen to you every day. We are both conservatives. And I thought with all the hearings and all the nonsense that the Democrats are doing, they should feel completely stupid ’cause they look stupid. Everybody here in southwest Missouri thinks, “Man, they could have spent that money a lot better, helped the old people, helped the veterans, that sort of thing.” Also, the senator (sic), Elijah Cummings, that died earlier? I heard him two weeks before he died on CBS make the statement that the only way Trump was gonna get back into office was over his dead body. Two weeks later, they were putting him in the ground.
RUSH: Uh, yes. Elijah Cummings, member of Congress, Maryland.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: I had forgotten that. I remember that Al Green, congressman, said, “We gotta impeach Trump because if we don’t, he’ll be reelected.” I had forgotten that Elijah Cummings said that Trump would be reelected over his dead body — and, as Roy here points out, Elijah Cummings died. Huh!
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RUSH: Ryan in Anchorage, Alaska, it’s great to have you here, Ryan. How you doing, sir?
CALLER: Mega dittos, Russia, Rush, from the town that we affectionally he will called Los anchorage. As far as government policies go we’re a snowy San Francisco or a Seattle. Snerdley told me to get right to the point and I had a follow-up on your Pelosi one since I’ve been sitting here listening. I’ll get right to it.
Now, I understand the president’s kid with a stick and a beehive way of prodding opponents and throwing the media into a frenzy, and I really appreciate it. You know, I think Trump should type up a beautiful, signed certificate of appreciation to Adam Schiff thanking him for his rising approval ratings, and what is this, his fourth exoneration.
RUSH: Now, what do you think the impact would be?
CALLER: Obviously the media frenzy and, you know, they have to deny everything that Trump does. No matter what he does, they have to deny it, they have to refute it, they have to oppose it. So if he’s thanking him, then it just throws the media into one more frenzy, by thanking Adam Schiff for his great numbers.
RUSH: Well, he could do that in a tweet. Now, you know, it’s interesting. I ran into some Trump supporters over the weekend, and here it came again. They love the guy, but it’s almost as though they say it by rote. It’s almost as though they think they have to say it because saying they’re a Trump supporter, ah, it’s a little dicey, so to cover they say, “I wish he’s stop tweeting.” They said this to me. I’m the wrong person to say that to.
I said, “You don’t have to justify your support for Trump to me. It makes perfect sense. I support Trump.”
“Yeah, but I just wish he’d stop tweeting.”
“Well, it’s just not presidential and it just –”
“Let me tell you something. You know why he tweets?”
“Yeah, it’s just his personality.”
No. Stop and think about it. It is the only way he can get his legitimate side of any story out there. When’s the last time you saw a story on the economy? When’s the last time you saw a story on consumer confidence on jobs, on rising wages? You don’t see ’em. Trump has to tweet this stuff. Trump knows that his base is loyal. It’s how he keeps the troops up. It’s how he keeps the troops engaged. Look at him as a general or a commander.
He’s not tweeting simply because it’s his personality. He’s communicating. And it’s the only way much of what he tweets is ever out there. If he stopped doing it, then a vast majority of his side of every story would not ever be in the public domain. Like I think, was it this morning or one day last week, I think it was this morning he tweeted: “Another record day on Wall Street, stock market was an all-time high. Thank me.” Or “enjoy”, something like that. Nobody’s talking about that.
The news about the stock market is how it’s on the verge of plunging, it’s on the verge of blowing up, it’s on the verge of evaporating. And then there are stories about how the economy is flimsy, it’s not really legitimate and so forth. It’s the only way he can get his side out there. It’s the only way he can respond, if he wants to, to the daily outrages in the impeachment hearing.
And I think most people say “I wish he would stop tweeting” as a way of eliminating what they think is gonna be criticism when they announce that they’re Trump supporters. A lot of people are afraid to do that. And some of them are legitimately afraid. There’s violence perpetrated against Trump supporters in some places. Trump supporters are the targets of intimidation. If they’re discovered, some of them are thrown out of restaurants, protested and so forth.
So when you have somebody say, “Yeah, I’m a Trump support, but I wish he’d stop tweeting,” it’s supposed to mitigate, mollify whoever doesn’t like hearing that somebody’s a Trump supporter. But you can forget him stopping tweeting. He’s not gonna stop tweeting. And if he did what you say, you know, put together an absolute like an accommodation or some sort of a sign of appreciation for Adam Schiff, he does that, I think, each and every time he sends a tweet out about these people. Make no mistake, it irritates them, ’cause they can’t control it.
All they can do is mock it and make fun of it, and run stories, Trump continues to lie to his cult following. Now that I’ve pointed that out to you, I want you to pay attention, I want you to notice the increasing frequency with which Trump supporters are referred to as a cult.
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RUSH: I don’t believe what I’m seeing. CNN is doing a story that does not involve Donald Trump being a criminal. CNN’s doing a story that is not about Washington. CNN’s doing a story that has nothing to do with Donald Trump needing to be kicked out of office. I haven’t seen CNN do a story that does not involve Trump in months. They’re doing a story about a sheriff in Alabama who was killed. I didn’t know CNN knew where Alabama was except on college football Saturdays.
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RUSH: Kevin in Howell, New Jersey. Hello, sir.
CALLER: It’s an honor to speak with you, sir.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: Before I get to my point, I just want to let you know my grandfather was a die-hard Rush fan. He was hard-of-hearing — and when he would listen, the whole block wasn’t allowed to make noise.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: Every day.
RUSH: Thank you. I understand that, by the way.
CALLER: To my point, you said a few different reasons… I’m sorry. I’m a little bit nervous. You said a few different reasons why Pelosi might back — not why she might back off, about how she might explain to her base how she might back off. But she knew all those reasons before she started the impeachment trial. She’s gonna claim that she didn’t realize how —
RUSH: No, there’s one thing she didn’t know. There’s one thing they miscalculated. This is an excellent question. There’s one thing they miscalculated. They miscalculated everything, but they thought the polling numbers for impeachment would skyrocket. That’s what they were banking on. They have misread the public on Trump from the get-go, and they thought that would be the foundation on which all of this could be built, and it’s gone the other way. Great, great question.
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