One word answer: No
The HillDemocrats on Monday called on the chief executive of Clear Channel Communications to denounce remarks by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, whom they say made a “hateful” and “unpatriotic” attack on U.S. troops opposed to the war in Iraq.
At issue is a remark from Limbaugh that characterized such troops as “phony soldiers.” Democrats have seized on the issue, allowing them to hit back at Republicans who similarly latched onto a MoveOn.org ad that referred to Gen. David Petraeus as “General Betray Us.”
“Thousands of active troops and veterans were subjected to Mr. Limbaugh’s unpatriotic and indefensible comments on your broadcast,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in his letter to Clear Channel Chief Executive Mark Mays. “We trust you will agree that not a single one of our sons, daughters, neighbors and friends serving overseas is a ‘phony soldier.’ We call on you to publicly repudiate these comments that call into question their service and sacrifice and to ask Mr. Limbaugh to apologize for his comments.”
Reid added that he is confident that “Republicans join with us in overwhelming numbers,” arguing that “anything less would be a double standard that has no place in the United States Senate.”
The Democratic leader stated that the letter would be available all day to allow other senators to sign on.
The ultimate irony about this whole situation is that talk radio persons take quotes out of context all of the time without being challenged. Now when they have been called on it they now claim that this was all taken out of context...hilarious..
This is sure to shizzle your irony swizzle...after congress wasted valuable time condemning a free-speech organization after it's ad were taken out of context by 'truth-mongers' like Rushbo....you get this...
Mon Oct 01 2007 15:16:57 ET
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2007
Mr. KINGSTON submitted the following resolution
RESOLUTION
DrugeCommending Rush Hudson Limbaugh III for his ongoing public support of American troops serving both here and abroad. Recognizing Mr. Limbaugh for his relentless efforts to build and maintain troop morale through worldwide radio broadcasts and personal visits to conflict regions.
Whereas the need to show support for American troops serving and fighting both here and abroad during a time of global conflict has never been greater, with the need to communicate an uplifting message of encouragement to American soldiers eternally important, in addition to the morale-boosting value of personal visits to region by highly-regarded individuals;
Whereas daily radio broadcasts reaching tens of millions of civilians and soldiers both in America and abroad by way of the Armed Forces Radio Network are conducted five days a week by Rush Hudson Limbaugh III;
Whereas Mr. Limbaugh has consistently used his broadcast time to praise American troops and support them during their ongoing efforts to secure peace in a troubled world;
Whereas Mr. Limbaugh made a week-long visit to meet with troops based in Afghanistan in 2004;
Whereas Mr. Limbaugh has raised and donated millions of dollars to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, which provides college scholarships to the children of Marines and veterans of other branches killed in action;
Whereas Mr. Limbaugh’s website features an “Adopt a Soldier” program which provides them with free subscription access to his online program features;
Whereas during the original invasion in 2003, pilots of five different aircraft flew an American flag in Mr. Limbaugh’s honor during their bombing and refueling runs; and
Whereas Mr. Limbaugh’s commitment to American troops serving both here and abroad remains as strong as ever: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) recognizes Rush Hudson Limbaugh III for his support of the Marine Corp Law Enforcement Foundation and for providing free subscriptions for active-duty servicemembers;
This has to be a hoax
Let's not forget the 'liberal'M$M double-standard going on here....
Media Matters for America
LinkNumerous major media outlets that covered the controversy surrounding a September 10 ad placed by MoveOn.org in The New York Times -- headlined "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" -- nonetheless have yet to cover the bipartisan outcry over remarks made by Rush Limbaugh during the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, in which he characterized service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as "phony soldiers." Notwithstanding numerous denunciations of Limbaugh's remarks by members of Congress from both parties, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, ABC's World News, the CBS Evening News, NBC's Nightly News, and CNN programs have all ignored Limbaugh's remarks and the ensuing denunciations, despite having covered -- in some cases extensively -- the MoveOn.org ad controversy. In addition, there was no mention of Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" comments or the bipartisan criticism of them on the September 30 editions of This Week, Meet the Press, Face the Nation, or Fox News Sunday.
From September 10-13, there were eight articles and an op-ed in The Washington Post, four New York Times articles, two articles and one op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, one Wall Street Journal op-ed, and one USA Today article about the MoveOn.org ad and the ensuing controversy. In addition, the MoveOn.org ad was frequently discussed on CNN's Newsroom and The Situation Room, and was reported on the September 10 editions of ABC's World News and Nightline, the September 11 and 12 editions of ABC's Good Morning America, the September 13 edition of NBC's Nightly News, and the September 16 editions of ABC's This Week, NBC's Meet the Press, CBS' Face the Nation, and Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday. However, as of 12 p.m. ET October 1, the same newspapers and television news programs had not reported Limbaugh's comments and the ensuing condemnation of his remarks.
Who ing cares? I don't know what's more incredible, that people listen to Limbaugh or that a US Senator thinks it is of the upmost importance to attempt to score political points on the floor of the US Senate by attacking a radio show host? Reid's a dumbass but that's besides the point. The primary point is that America is ed up as long as its voting base consists of cracksmokers like Nbadan.
But, but, but, oh,well. They do care. And I do listen to
Limbaugh. And the Reid crowd hate it when they get
caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
eh, this isn't the first time the addict has denigrated active military because of their political stance. Recall when Paul Hackett was running for Congress in Ohio Rush called him a staff puke who went to Iraq to pad his resume.
Ray you can disagree with Dems because you have differing political views but it's time to look into undoing that Limbaughtomy you had.
Hey, dummy, did you listen to the link? I thought not.
Just blowing off are you. How bout you own up to your
sides problems. Never mind, they are all your problems.
Hillary downward.
The link was edited by the addict. Namecalling? Very persuasive.........
Seems appropriate.....name-calling is the preferred modus operandi of the intellectually lazy......
You guys are running away from the facts about these statements. Rush was talking about a soldier who washed out of basic training, then fabricates lies about the Army doing dishonorable things. MacBeth is the dishonorable one here, and Rush was just one of many who pointed it out.
Missing minute and a half? Could it be form a different segment or show? Media Matters had been without doubt, shown to lie about Limbaugh's statement, and now some of you are going to believe there is a missing 1-1/2 minutes?
Come on people, I mean Kool-Aid drinking Lemming... Wake up from the liberal trance, and smell the truth!
As for the plural form of the word soldier... Listen carefully, Rush was repeating the callers words! Besides, there are several phony soldiers. Here is another:
Paul H. Lemmen
Sorry, I just have to go back to the first post:
How's it feel George to be seen as the fool you are, believing such propaganda?
I have a suggestion. Do some fact checking before you repeat someone else's lies, or base opinions on someone else's word. It goes a long was in maintaining some integrity.
Feel patriotic? Do some fact checking before you vote, or else don't vote! It's the ignorant fools that put this nation where it is today. Too many lemmings vote.
The entire audio is on Media matters website.. ever been to the website or do you believe the propagandists? Media Matters ALWAYS puts full audio and written transcripts out when calling out people like Limbaugh specifically for reasons like this. Before you start calling the website liars shouldn't you go check for yourself?
hey head the entire audio is on thier website!!!... instead of listening to kool aid drinkers whny don't you check for yourself.??. you are really getting on my nerves now..
He's had a Limbaughtomy. Can't think for themselves anymore.
Wonder if Moveon and Media Matters are going to go after ABC
for their Phony Soliders story.
Story and video
Like the article says, left says jump and Harry and his
left wing buddies say: "How High".
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298858,00.html
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats frustrated by failed battles against Republicans to change Iraq war policy are instead taking on one of the war's staunchest supporters — syndicated, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.
Democrats took to the Senate floor Monday to demand an apology from Limbaugh for supposedly saying that troops who oppose the Iraq war are "phony soldiers." Limbaugh has vehemently denied a wholesale attack on antiwar servicemen and women.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that Democratic leaders have drafted a letter to Mark Mays, president of Clear Channel, the parent company of Limbaugh's broadcast, calling on the network "to publicly repudiate these comments that call into question ('antiwar soldiers') service and sacrifice, and ask Mr. Limbaugh to apologize for his comments."
"Rush Limbaugh took it upon himself to attack the courage and character of those fighting and dying for him and for all of us. Rush Limbaugh got himself a deferment from serving when he was a young man. He never served in uniform. He never saw in person the extreme difficulty of maintaining peace in a foreign country engaged in a civil war. He never saw a person in combat. Yet, that he thinks his opinion on the war is worth more than those who have been on the front lines," Reid said.
"Rush Limbaugh owes the men and women of our armed forces an apology," he said.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, then followed Reid, saying: "Maybe he was just high on his drugs. I don't know." In 2003, Limbaugh admitted a dependency on pain medication, but three years later reached a plea deal that cleared him of prescription shopping for Oxycontin.
In the House, Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who is running for the open Senate seat in his state, has authored a resolution condemning the host. Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has not decided whether or not he'll bring it up for a vote, his staff told FOX News.
Limbaugh said Monday that efforts by Reid and others to condemn him are merely an effort to divert attention from Democratic failures to change the course of the Iraq war. He added that his critics know they are misrepresenting his comments but are charging forward anyway.
"This is not just the anatomy of a smear. There's much more going on with this than just smearing me. There is an attempt, I think, as they have done throughout my career, to discredit me," Limbaugh said on his radio show.
"These people have had three, four days now to learn the truth about this, and they no doubt know the truth, which doesn't matter. What they are trying to do is flood a false story into the 'drive-by media' and have that survive and suffice as the evidence and as the story of what I said when it wasn't."
A literal reading of the Sept. 26 show transcript shows that the controversial host did not in fact say that soldiers opposing the war are "phony," but his remarks have left confusion as to whom he is referring when he used the phrase.
The offense came up when a caller named Mike, who said he is currently serving in the Army, described his anger about talk of a pullout from Iraq. Limbaugh readily agrees, according to the recorded exchange:
CALLER 2 (Mike): ...What's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.
LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.
CALLER 2: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country.
Limbaugh has since said on his show that he was referring only to one soldier: disgraced, convicted former Army soldier-turned-antiwar-activist Jesse Macbeth. Macbeth falsely claimed to have participated in war crimes in Iraq and received a Purple Heart, but in reality, he was discharged after only 44 days of service, never placing a foot in Iraq. Macbeth was sentenced to five months in prison for fraudulently collecting more than $10,000 in benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The problem with the exchange is that Limbaugh refers to multiple "soldiers." He gets to a conversation about Macbeth about two minutes after referring to "phony soldiers." Did he have Macbeth in mind when he said it? Calls to the Limbaugh studio, for now, have gone unanswered.
In subsequent radio shows, Limbaugh has attempted to clarify his position, but he has only muddied the waters. On Thursday, he referenced the segment, but he edited out a portion of it, prompting outrage from the liberal media watchdog Media Matters, which has been driving this latest controversy. The edited section has nothing related in it, but the timing is problematic for Limbaugh. In edited form, the discussion of Macbeth comes much more quickly after the reference to "phony soldiers."
"He must have known he screwed up, or he wouldn't have edited the script," Reid spokesman Rodell Mollineau told FOX News.
On his Friday show, Limbaugh also referred to Scott Thomas in a discussion of "phony soldiers." Thomas was caught falsifying accounts of war atrocities in The New Republic magazine. In the next breath, Limbaugh, in his usual combative style, then took aim at Rep. John Murtha, a Vietnam war veteran and strong antiwar politician who on Friday was ordered to give a deposition in a defamation case against him for suggesting that U.S. Marines were involved in "cold-blooded murder and war crimes" in Iraq.
"How about Jack Murtha blanketly accepting the notion that Marines at Haditha engaged in wanton murder of innocent children and civilians?" Limbaugh asked.
Mollineau said the Murtha reference proves that Democratic interpretations of Limbaugh's comments are correct.
"I think it proves our point that he was talking about more than one person when he brought up Jack Murtha," he said.
In any case, Reid is not likely to get the apology he seeks. On Monday, Limbaugh referred to "dingy Harry," and a story ABC did on phony soldiers a week ago, telling listeners, "I have just finished an interview with Clarence Thomas talking about the lies and stuff spread about him during his confirmation hearings, and now I, little old private citizen, Rush Limbaugh, the subject of Senate action, the subject today of House of Representatives action, all based on a purposely told lie, which they know is a lie, and yet they are persisting in this."
However, what Limbaugh claims to be perpetuation of a lie could be gaining traction.
On Tuesday, a veterans group opposed to the Iraq war said it will launch a television ad campaign lambasting Limbaugh. It will feature a Purple Heart recipient who was injured while serving in Iraq.
Click here to see the VoteVets.org ad.
North Carolina Republican Rep. Walter Jones told FOX News late Monday that Limbaugh "went too far," and that he will sign on to Udall's resolution on Tuesday morning. Jones is one of two Republican House members who have consistently supported antiwar legislation.
"The men and women who have been to war in Iraq — those speaking out, they've been there, they should be respected and whether you agree or not with what they are saying, at least respect and not make such statements as (Limbaugh) had made," Jones said.
Udall's resolution on Monday evening had the co-sponsorship of a number of liberal Democratic members, including presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. Udall said he remains optimistic his resolution will get a vote.
And the hits keep coming. Hush deserves every bit of this.
Liberals sure do waste a lot of time and energy on what Rush Limbaugh says.
I get tired of unchallenged hypocrites and liars
Why is this so hard to believe?
MacBeth lied and slandered the military.
Other people lie about being soldiers.
The conversation was about one specific soldier, but there are many.
You lefties just cannot admit you are wrong! You just have to trash a man who is not afraid of the left.
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