The New Blacklist
From the Wall Street Journal. The emphasis at the bottom is mine:
In recent weeks we've seen how the MoveOn.org Democrats have aped the tactics of Joe McCarthy, including character assassination of military officials and childish wordplay on people's names ("Senator Half Bright"; "General Betray Us"). Fox News reports on the latest effort to imitate old Tailgunner Joe:
The owner of the company that airs Rush Limbaugh's show has come to his defense, telling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that while he isn't certain to whom Limbaugh was referring when he used the term "phony soldiers," the radio talk show host has a long history of supporting U.S. troops.
Mark P. Mays, president of Clear Channel, the parent company of Limbaugh's broadcast, on Tuesday responded to a letter signed by 41 Democrats that called on the network "to publicly repudiate" comments made by Limbaugh "that call into question" the service and sacrifice of troops who oppose the war in Iraq.
As National Review's Byron York explains, when Limbaugh talked about "phony soldiers," he was referring to phony soldiers--that is, to men like Jesse Macbeth, an "antiwar" activist who claimed to have served in Iraq, received a Purple Heart and killed innocent civilians, when in fact the Army discharged him before he even completed basic training.
If Democrats want to support the phony troops, it is their right to do so. But when they try to interfere with Limbaugh's livelihood, that amounts to an effort at creating a McCarthy-style blacklist.
The Fox report says that 41 Democratic senators signed this letter, which means that 9 or 10 did not (depending on how you count Joe Lieberman). Will they speak out against their colleagues' intimidation efforts? And where are the Republicans in all this? With the Democratic Party increasingly in thrall to hate groups like MoveOn and Media Matters, America urgently needs politicians of either party with the courage to take a stand for decency.
10 comments:
//// The Fox report says that 41 Democratic senators signed this letter, which means that 9 or 10 did not (depending on how you count Joe Lieberman). Will they speak out against their colleagues' intimidation efforts? And where are the Republicans in all this? With the Democratic Party increasingly in thrall to hate groups like MoveOn and Media Matters, America urgently needs politicians of either party with the courage to take a stand for decency. ////
Well, it goes both ways. Certainly, this could have easily been worded as follows:
And where are the Democrats in all this? With the Republican Party increasingly in thrall to hate folks like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck…
Maybe Congress should ignore the nutcases on both sides and get back to work. And I don’t buy the author’s weak attempt to show any sort of parallelism with McCarthyism. There is no blacklisting going on.
The thing Wesley Clark is attempting to do by limiting Rush on armed forces radio is spot on. I remember the Republicans and Limbaugh fighting like hell to keep Al Franken and Ed Schultz off of armed forces radio when in fact it was entirely funded by our tax dollars and should allow multiple viewpoints. And I don’t recall Franken or Schultz criticizing soldiers who didn’t agree with the war like Rush has been doing. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, we see his true hypocrisy.
I agree with your first three paragraphs, except for grouping Glenn Beck in with the others.
The fourth, however, depends on a bad assumption - that Limbaugh was dinging soldiers who don't agree with the war. He was clearly talking about the guys who have been running around making military claims that were false while spewing anti-war stuff.
In fact, Rush was saying a couple of days ago that he has the utmost admiration for all military personnel regardless of political affiliation.
Frankly, I am tired of saying this repeatedly - this "scandal" is a fabrication that requires a pretty good stretch of imagination to believe.
Gonzo, you still refuse to see that Limpdick edited his version so you can't hear that he called them "phoney soldiers" BEFORE the sleaze guy was even brought up!
The scandal is that you still believe Rush! The scandal is that you still say it's an "assumption"! He only supports the troops that support Bush's atrocity. That Rush said he supports the troops regardless of affiliation is so provably a lie it's only more pathetic that you believe it.
Are you still supporting the disgusting piece of sh Limpdick now that he has called the wounded veteran in the VoteVets ad a "suicide bomber"? The biggest problem is that you a$$wipes still believe Limpdick didn't lie about what he said.
On his radio show Tuesday, Limpdick attacked an honest-to-goodness, wounded-in-action, Bronze Star- and Purple Heart-decorated Iraq war veteran by equating him with a suicide bomber who can't possibly think for himself. After Iraq veteran Brian McGough appeared in a VoteVets ad pushing back against Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" smear, Limbaugh responded by telling his listeners that McGough was simply being used.
"You know, this is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media in a TV ad to walk into as many people as he can walk into," Limbaugh said. "This man will always be a hero to this country with everyone. Whoever pumped him full of these lies about what I said and embarrassed him with this ad has betrayed him. They're not hurting me, they're betraying this soldier. Now, unless he actually believes what he's saying, in which case it's just so unfortunate and sad when the truth of what I said is right out there to be learned."
McGough's retort: "I stood in the sand, snow, dirt, mud and dust of both Afghanistan and Iraq. I spent over a week on a side of a mountain in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda. I received The Bronze Star medal for my actions during that battle. I crossed the border into Iraq with the first wave of the 101st Airborne. I sustained an open head injury on the streets of Mosul after a vehicle borne IED exploded next to the vehicle I was riding in. I have seen the aftermath of a real suicide bomber. I had loved ones who died in the 9/11 attacks. I have friends and colleagues who returned from the war in body bags. How dare you call someone like me a phony soldier and a suicide bomber?"
You know, Gonzo, he could have said "maybe I misspoke - I really only meant the sleaze who lied about his service and I apologize if anyone misunderstood what I meant." But of course not. Because he's an a$$wipe.
This all boils down to if you believe or not that Limbaugh would have said something completely out of character. I have heard the audio, unedited, and read the transcript. I don't see what MM is saying.
Another thing, referring to Limbaugh as "Limpdick" and "A$$wipe" pretty much shows that you have no objectivity, anyway. If MM told you the sky was green you'd be saying that, too.
Gonzo wrote: This all boils down to if you believe or not that Limbaugh would have said something completely out of character. I have heard the audio, unedited, and read the transcript. I don't see what MM is saying.
It's not out of character, Gonz. It's totally IN character for him to slime anyone who disagrees with him, no matter who they are.
Calling him names is my way of venting my anger - at lies. MM doesn't lie, no matter how much you say it. I will agree that they sometimes take up causes that are unimportant (to me), but I always go back to where the founder, David Brock, came from and why they are here. Brock started this to stop the reich-wing tactic of saying a lie long enough that people begin to believe it. He won't let it happen - again.
You're right: MM does not outright lie but they do use misdirection, intentionally bad assumptions, and taking things out of context to smear the right.
As to Brocks intentions I have no way of agreeing or disputing. I do know that MM, though, is a propaganda site that cannot be trusted as an arbiter of fact. You believe their spin because you wish to.
Another lie.
MM goes out of its way to provide full context, but that doesn't matter to you. Feel free to point out even one item where something that was taken "out of context". Unlike Rush, who edits his tape to change context and then lies about it.
Gonz, every time someone here has asked you to prove your claims you never do. Put up or shut up. :)
Now I'm off to a hike in my current surrounding - Ogunquit, ME. Gotta clear my head of your right-wing-talking-points.
Judging by your commentary, it seems to me you cleared your head a long time ago and it remains pristine to this day.
MM is a joke - it's agitprop and people who actually believe everything they read there are dangerous to the ideals of this country.
BTW, if you're in ME, look up Garrett!
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