Lots of talk lately about Rush and the 2016 Presidential race. Does he favor Trump? Does he favor Cruz? Is he subtly pushing one candidate or the other? Why doesn’t he endorse Trump? Or Cruz?

For background to this commentary that appeared on his radio show yesterday, he first said this:

Preamble to Today’s Analysis: I Have Friends on All Sides of This Campaign

You know, I’ve been thinking about something since last night. I saw Rudy Giuliani on Megyn Kelly’s show on Fox last night and he was going on about how he is friendly with so many people involved in all this. He’s friends here, friends there, talked about the Republican nomination and then the various candidates. He said, “I know so many of them. They’re close friends.”

And it got me to thinking. He’s exactly right. It makes this challenging. I get all kinds of criticism, which is fine, but some of it, “You know, Rush, I don’t know, you gotta know some of these people. How do we know that you don’t secretly prefer one over the other and you’re not being up front and honest about it because you know these people?” And I can understand people with that sentiment.

I’ll say this – my opinion is that Rush has always been open and honest about his friendships with politicians, business people, and others in media. I notice that he didn’t mention Beck, Hannity, or Levin.  That’s odd, and piques my curiosity.

Now, on to the Main Course. Trump Refuses to Play by the Rules:

First, he sets the scene:

RUSH: Okay, where are we on the situation here with Trump and the debate?  So far Trump says he’s not showing up.  He claims he’s not showing up because Megyn Kelly is going to continue to be a moderator.  And if you believe that, I can give you substantive reasons.  And it’s all in The Art of the Deal.  Trump is not that hard to understand if you pay attention to him and read his books.  In The Art of the Deal, one of the things that he makes a huge deal about is being able to know when to walk away and have the guts and the courage to do it.

Trump is so far outside the formula that has been established for American politics that people who are inside the formula can’t comprehend it.  They don’t understand why somebody would want to venture so far outside it, because it is what it is, and there’s a ladder of success that you have to climb.  And somebody challenging it like this in more ways than one, as Trump is doing, has just got everybody experiencing every kind of emotion you can:  They’re angry, they are flabbergasted, they’re shocked, they’re stunned —  and all of it because he’s leading.

The elitists:

Like any group of elites, they’re exclusionary.

They want to keep people out.

They want to be in charge of who gets in the club. They want to be in charge of who’s allowed to rise or climb the ladder in the club.  Politics is no different, and all of those determinations are made by who gets money and who doesn’t.  But Trump is functioning totally outside this structure that has existed for decades.  As such, the people who are only familiar with the structure and believe in it and cherish it and want to protect it, feel threatened in ways that you can’t even comprehend.  So that leads them to try to figure out: How is all this working for Trump?  Why do his followers grow? Why does his support expand every time he busts a rule wide open?

 

The media:

And in this business one of the games is that when the media calls, you answer, and when the media wants you, you go, and when the media is going to host a debate and it’s part of a Republican presidential campaign, you go.  You just do it, no matter what the media’s done to you in the past, no matter what you think of it, whether you want to go or not, you go.  That’s the game.

Trump is so far outside this game, he’s so far outside the rules, he’s never been a player in this game.  He’s always been an outsider.  I heard people on Fox last night talking about this. “Who does he think he is?  He can’t control the media.”  I got news for you:  He is controlling the media, and it’s his objective.  He is controlling the media.  He controls the media when he’s not on it.  He controls the media when he is on it.  He controls the media when he’s asleep.  Nobody else has been able to do anything like this short of the Kennedys, and they’re pikers compared to the way Trump is doing this.

 

The first Fox debate:

Here comes Megyn Kelly’s first question.  He didn’t hear anybody else get a question like that.  He never sees Hillary Clinton get a question like that.  He never hears Bill Clinton or another Democrat get a question like that.  So he answers it and says screw this.  I’m not putting myself in that position again.  Why should I?  I don’t have to.

But the rules of the game say when there’s a debate, you show up.  Screw the rules, he’s saying.  Why should I willingly give them another shot at me in a circumstance they control, why should I do it?  What’s the sense in it for me?  I’m leading; I’m running the pack here; why in the world should I put myself in that circumstance?  I’ve already seen what’s gonna happen.

The bottom line:

I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that.  I mean, there could be some personal things going on here that I don’t know about.  But just from the standpoint of knowing Trump, reading his book, and seeing how he operates elsewhere, in his mind, screw the rules, screw what’s expected, screw “This is just the way you do it.”  I’m not gonna put myself in a position go where I’m gonna be treated unfairly.  I don’t have to.  I’m Donald Trump.  Anybody can do this.  Ted Cruz could choose to do it if he wants to.  They just don’t.  Cruz and the rest of the pack are playing the rules of the game.  Trump is saying I don’t have to do it.  I don’t want to do it.  I don’t have any respect for these people.  What the hell.

In my opinion, Trump won this, and Fox is doubling down on stupid by devoting their entire evening programming yesterday to Donald Trump. Megyn interviewing Michael Moore with the epitome of stupid. They are doing exactly what Donald Trump was hoping for – it was all about him, all of the time, for hours, and for FREE!

Rush also said what we have all heard: that Donald is snubbing the people of Iowa by not showing up for the debate (I just heard Ted Cruz say it, reported on One America Network). Rush’s response:

He’s not avoiding the people of Iowa.  He’s all over Iowa.  The guy does more TV and radio than any other candidate out there.  So I don’t think there’s fear, and I don’t think it’s disrespect for the people of Iowa.  This is what it looks like when some guy stands up to the rules and the game and says, “Screw yours; I’m looking out for me first.  That’s all this is.  And you can say whatever you want, but I am not dumb.  I’m not gonna give you the gun and the bullet and stand still.  You want to hit me, come get me, but I’m not gonna put myself in your line of fire.”  That’s what he’s doing, if you ask me.

RUSH: We’ve just scratched the surface on this. There’s a lot to add to this because there’s new elements now to add to it.  But I routinely am asked in the e-mail by people in the audience, “Why don’t you do more TV?  You’re never on TV.”  And there’s an answer for that: “I don’t want to.”  The reason is, why would I go someplace where I know that exactly whatever they tell me they want to talk to me about, it’s not gonna be that?  Why would I go someplace that I know doesn’t support me, doesn’t like me, disagrees with me, would love to embarrass me or damage my show?

Rush went on to take calls on the subject.  I think he’s right. He made it as clear as possible: Donald did what he did, and he and I have similar opinions. What it boils down to:

I’m not gonna give you the gun and the bullet and stand still.  You want to hit me, come get me, but I’m not gonna put myself in your line of fire.”