February 8, 2010

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Yesterday in his interview with Katie Couric, Barack Obama was asked a question: "Yesterday you said, 'Just in case there's any confusion out there, I'm not going to walk away from health care,' but specifically how you gonna move forward?"

OBAMA:  I want to consult closely with, uh, our Republican colleagues so they're gonna be coming in, uh, to the White House next week, and what I want to do is to ask them to put their ideas on the table and, uh, then after the recess -- which will be a few weeks away -- I want to come back and have, uh, a large meeting, Republicans AND Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward.

RUSH:  Now, there have been stories all weekend long: Obama realizes health care dead on Capitol Hill. Obama not giving up! He went to the DNC fundraiser over the weekend, Saturday night I guess, and he said "We're not giving up on this, gang!" The Democrats in Congress don't know what's going on. He's provided no leadership; he has never had a plan.  This is one thing that we must continually emphasize.  He has put it all on them.  He has demanded that they do it all, in the House and the Senate.  He has never had a plan, and they have taken the hit for that, not him.  Well, he is taking a hit in the approval numbers, and his party is taking a hit but doesn't. He hasn't suffered from it much yet.  So now they're kind of, "What? What? What is going on?" and the Republicans have to be very, very careful here because this is nothing more than a trap.  

And the Republicans, I'm saying it right now: Do not be afraid of being called the party of "no" if you don't do this.  Be proud of being called the party of "no." Have confidence, my fellow Republicans, that there is no where near a majority of people that want Obama's health care. A clear majority of people do not want it, and they stopped it.  This is no time for bipartisanship.  (That was my favorite part of Sarah Palin's address, by the way, to the tea party Saturday night.)  "Bipartisanship" simply means Republicans compromising their core beliefs to agree with Democrats.  There is never talk of bipartisanship with the Democrats giving up everything.  It's always everybody joining them or caving to meet them.  This is a setup because Obama wants to be able to blame this on the Republicans when in fact it is his own party that's been saying "no" to itself!  

The Senate Democrats say "no" to the House Democrats.  The House Democrats say "no" to the Senate Democrats.  The Blue Dogs are saying "no" to everybody.  A bunch of Democrats have lost elections over this; more will lose elections in November.  If the Republicans get anywhere near this meeting... Obama does not care about their ideas.  Obama is trying to get them on television, on C-SPAN. He has proposed a meeting at blare House (which is across the street here; think of it as the White House guest house) and he wants this on C-SPAN because can fulfill his promise that every health care negotiation will be on TV.  I was encouraged to see this story just a little while ago from State-Controlled AP: "Republicans gave a chilly reception Monday to President Barack Obama's invitation to discuss health care in a bipartisan, televised setting later this month, part of the White House effort to revive the stalled legislation." Let me remind my dear friends the Republicans: Obama does not have a plan.  

He has not presented a plan. He does not have his own sheaves of paper that he can throw out and say, "No, right here in my plan on page 2,940 it says you can keep your insurance plan." There is no Obama plan.  Negotiating with Obama is a waste of time.  All it's doing is helping him fulfill a photo-op promise of having this stuff televised, and it's also to set you up as the reason this didn't pass.  Obamacare reality check: The Senate Democrats, the senators of "no," cannot agree with the House Democrats.  The House Democrats, the representatives of "no," can't agree with the Senate Democrats.  What's the result?  Obama and the Democrats want to say Republicans are the party of "no." And I'm here to tell you: wear that badge with pride and honor.  Wear "The Party of 'No' to Democrat Health Care Reform as We Know it" as a badge of honor, and get out of the way of the support and campaign contributions that will flood your coffers.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Look, for those of you Republicans in the House (and the Senate for that matter) the goal is to get our message out there and do it repeatedly and effectively right up to Election Day.  Do not engage Obama in staged propaganda events. Do not do it.  I'm going to tell you, all that's going to happen is here is a campaign debate.  That's all it's going to be. It's not going to be a health care debate.  It's going to be a campaign debate, but Obama gets to choose the talking points. Obama gets to choose the way in which it's discussed, and Axelrod will go out there. Axelrod will tell the media in advance where it's going and tell them how to handle it, all on live TV.  It will be a replay of that summit where you had him come to visit your retreat in Baltimore.  The -- media said, "That's the day Obama turned it around! That's the day Obama turned it around."  

(sigh) Please, don't get sucked into this.  Do not get sucked into this.  True bipartisanship here is to say "no." Republicans and independents and Democrats across the country are opposed to this.  That's where the bipartisanship is, if you care about it. If you go along with this, it's -- ooh, ooh! It's going to be squandering such an opportunity.  Here's another thing: A whole bunch of members of Congress cannot debate a single president.  And right now, we don't have a single political or elected leader to go into that meeting with Obama.  The Democrats and the left do.  It just makes no sense to waste time this way.  The goal has to be victory, not getting along with this guy and helping him advance this plan to destroy this country.  He's not going to be persuaded to cut taxes, you guys.  He's not going to be e persuaded to open up to competition and to embrace individualism or private property.  He's not gonna be open to embracing anything you're doing, any idea.

It will be folly to go up there and present the ideas.  Have I made my point about this?  Now, imagine you're a Democrat.  Here is Obama speaking about private health insurance last Friday: "'And it may be that if Congress decides we're not going to do it -- even after all the facts are laid out, all the options are clear -- then the American people can make a judgment as to whether this Congress has done the right thing for them or not,' the president said, 'and that's how democracy works.  There will be elections coming up, and they'll be able to make a determination and register their concerns.'"  He's talking like a spoiled brat complaining to Congress for not getting his little bill passed.  (crying) "You're not gonna do a bill? Well, you just wait! There's gonna be elections coming up! There's going to be elections and you're going to see how democracy works to send you packing!"  That's what he means.

Now, imagine the collective chill that shot up the spines (if you can find them) of every Democrat across the country, when they heard that.  After New Jersey, after Virginia, after losing "the Kennedy seat" in Massachusetts, Obama promises to push this career killer and says Americans will have a chance to register their concerns at the ballot box, and he's continuing this charade that if they don't pass his bill -- and he doesn't have one, folks!  He does not have a plan.  He's not written it.  If they don't pass his plan, they're gonna lose.  So now to further taunt them, he's asking for a meeting with the Republicans.  Now, in Politico on February 5th. This is before either of these announcements that Obama made, is this story in The Politico: "Democrats Chafe as White House Wavers on Health care -- President Barack Obama has left Democrats as confused as ever about how the White House plans to deliver a health care reform bill this year, after two weeks of inconsistent statements, negligible hands-on involvement and a sudden shift to a jobs-first message.

"Democrats on Capitol Hill and beyond say they have no clear understanding of the White House strategy -- or even whether there is one -- and are growing impatient with Obama's reluctance to guide them toward a legislative solution. At a White House meeting Thursday with Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed frustration with the slow pace of the negotiations and the president's decision not to weigh in publicly on a path forward, according to a Democratic source familiar with the meeting. And some Democrats feel that every time they look to White House for clarity, they hear something different," and you probably heard last week that Al Franken behind closed doors ripped into Axelrod for this very thing. (paraphrased) "You're not giving us any guidance!You guys are letting us sink or swim up here. What's the president's plan?"

So the president comes out and taunts them yesterday with this meeting with the Republicans.  "Yeah, I'm interested in your ideas.  I'm interested in your ideas."  Well, he's not, but imagine.  So to rub a little salt in the wounds, Obama then condescends by explaining how democracy works.  And that's where he said, "I want to come back after the congressional recess, have a large meeting, Republicans, Democrats, go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there." You don't have to have a meeting.  This is what statists do: They have meetings. They have meetings on jobs. They have meetings on shovel-ready jobs. They have meetings on everything but they don't do anything.  They just have meetings, and then they bring TV cameras.  The meeting is supposed to suffice for doing something.  It's Community Agitator 101.   You never solve anything; you don't solve any thing. They have no solutions.  Community agitators are not leaders.  Leaders have solutions.  

Obama's not that.  He's just agitating.  You don't need to do a meeting. You could do a quick Internet search and get specifics on everybody's ideas on health care.  He's got all the research people he wants in the White House.  Send 'em out to Google.  To pretend the Republicans have been hiding their plans on health care in Al Capone's vault? Geraldo opened it up and it was empty.  To assume the Republicans are hiding their ideas in Al Capone's vault? I mean, that's weak, folks.  Obama continues to encourage Democrats to commit political suicide.  That is what he's doing here.  I think the Republicans just need to stand out of the way.  It's the old, "When your opponent's committing suicide get the hell out of there." You can't help it along; get out of there.  You're not even going to score points if you go up there and say, "Mr. President, your plan is not gonna work. We want to do this," because it's not going to go that way.  

You do that and he's just going to get sound bite after sound bite about how you're "obstructing," and right now it is the Democrats who are saying "no," and you gotta let that remain the fact.  You don't want to get in a sound bite with you in room with him saying that you're saying "no."  Anyway, let's see.  The Morning Bell from the Heritage Foundation has a good take on this.  "Right before the [Stupor] Bowl, President Barack Obama spoke about health care reform with CBS News' Katie Couric" we played the the bite: "'I want to come back and have a large meeting, Republicans and Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward.' According to aides, the President envisions a half-day meeting on February 25th held in Blair House ... televised by C-SPAN.

"President Obama's conciliatory rhetoric aside, everyone knows this publicity stunt has nothing to do with actually considering conservative health care reform ideas and everything to do with the appearance of transparency and bipartisanship. The New York Times reports: 'In making the gesture on Sunday, Mr. Obama is in effect calling the hand of Republicans who had chastised him for not honoring a campaign pledge to hold health care deliberations in the open,'"  blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.  New York Times today.  Oh, so Obama is brilliantly chastising Republicans!  The reality is Democrats have no intention of including conservative ideas this late in the game or at any time in the game.  They're not going to do it.  The White House continues to operate on the assumption that the American people would support the plan; it's just that Obama hasn't explained it well enough.  The American people have a great idea what's in this plan from across the political spectrum, and they don't want it! 

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Dean, you're up first.  Great to have you with us on the EIB Network.  Hello, sir.

CALLER:  Hey, Rush, how you doing?

RUSH:  Excellent to outstanding.  Thank you.

CALLER:  Fantastic.  Hey, you already alluded to the point I wanted to make but of course that's why you're the host.  I think the Republicans ought to push the concept of bipartisanship because if you think about it, in the House, what do we have, one Republican who voted in favor of health care but a number of Democrats who voted against.  And on the Senate side, you had no Republicans voting in favor of health care, and you had a couple Democrats who wouldn't if they weren't, you know, bought out by the kind of politics that most Americans despise.

RUSH:  Well, I know what you're saying, but I still think it's risky to use the term because bipartisanship in the popular lexicon means working with Democrats.  To use the term, "Hey, we're being bipartisan," you have to then explain, yeah, Republicans, Democrats, independents, all oppose.  Bipartisan is a code word that the media and the Democrats use, and just don't even mention it.  I wouldn't even go there.  I wouldn't even talk about the desire to be bipartisan, because people are going to misunderstand.  Republicans are going to think that their own guys are caving.  Some Republican guy says, "We're willing to take a bipartisan approach with the president," and then start explaining, "Well, bipartisanship in this case is Democrats, Republicans, both oppose the bill."  Too much detail.  It's a trick word, it is a word, I've 'splained it, it's a trick word, the media always throws it out.  

Here's what Republicans ought to do.  When the press comes up to them and says, "Well, why are you so opposed to meeting with Obama and talk about his plan," Republicans need to say, "Would you tell me what page of Obama's plan I can find his answer to people keeping their own health insurance?"  Well, blah, blah.  My point to you, Mr. Reporter, is that he doesn't have a plan.  He's got these debating plans between the House and Senate, both of which are dead.  Well, the House plan's not.  But the Senate plan is.  There's no upside to this, zilch, zero, nada.  

Randy, Pittsburgh, you're next, EIB Network, hello.

CALLER:  Hey, Rush, our Steelers will be back next year, but let's talk about the Obama thing first.

RUSH:  Go right ahead.

CALLER:  What was CBS even doing showing him?  I'm sitting there eating my pizza getting ready for the game and here he comes, he gets this national platform -- wait a minute, I thought he was on track to talk about jobs in 2010 --  boom, national platform to go right back to health care with the brilliant mind Katie Couric, editor-in-chief of CBS News.

RUSH:  Well, look, this is not unusual.  I mean Bush was interviewed in the pregame show of Super Bowls.  It's not unique to Obama.  And actually, although I understand your outrage and your hilarious regard for the brilliant mind of Katie Couric, editor-in-chief, CBS News, ahem, I'm actually thinking, the more the guy's on TV in events like that the better because people don't want to see him here.  They don't want to see it.  People in my house got up and left.  They didn't want to see it, and especially him, he's worn out his welcome many, many, many, many moons ago.  So in this case I don't think any damage was done.  I mean he's out there trying to sell jobs, jobs my number one focus.  I thought that's what it was last year.  Oh, no, it's health care, but he says both, depends on who he's talking to.  

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Diane in Las Vegas, great to have you on the program.  Hello.

CALLER:  Hello, Rush.

RUSH:  Hi.

CALLER:  I'm calling about health care.  No matter what the Democrats say to the Republicans or anything that they try to put in there, it would only be a lie. They would sneak things in that none of us want. I believe we should wait until all of them are voted out. We get people in there who care about America and believe in the Constitution and then we can listen to them about health care.

RUSH:  Absolutely right.  Absolutely right.  The Republicans ought not get suckered by this and go anywhere near it.

CALLER:  Say "no!"

RUSH:  Say "hell, no!"

CALLER:  Hell, no!  And we love you in Las Vegas, Rush.

RUSH:  Thank you, Diane.  I have a lot of fun when I go out there, too.  I love the place, despite what the president says.

CALLER:  Exactly.

RUSH:  All right.

CALLER:  And he's coming here.

RUSH:  Yeah, I know.

CALLER:  What a nerve!

RUSH:  It's okay for him to go there to blow his kids' college education.

CALLER:  Well, our mayor is going to take care of him.

RUSH:  Uh, yeah, Oscar Goodman. You gotta love Oscar Goodman.

CALLER:  Oh, we do.

RUSH:  Good.  I do, too.

CALLER:  Thank you, Rush.

RUSH:  Thank you, Diane.  That's Diane in Las Vegas.

END TRANSCRIPT

Read the Background Material...

• Washington Post: GOP Cool to Obama Call for Two-Party Health Talks

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/08/AR2010020800461.html

• Politico: White House Announces Televised Health Meet

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32646.html

• New York Times: Obama Plans Bipartisan Summit on Health Care

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/us/politics/08webobama.html