So Harry Reid is calling on all Senators to sign a letter condemning Rush Limbaugh for calling the soldiers in Iraq who share the sentiments of 70% of the country and have serious reservations about the war “phony soldiers.”
I really don’t know which is more exasperating — that our Senators think it is their job to tell people at large how they should exercise their right to free speech, or that they fire back at Limbaugh in such a weak and meaningless way. I suppose they have to do something or we will be treated to and endless parade of Cornyn bills where the Village Elders tell us all how displeased they are at our “uncivilized” rhetoric via fiat, and the failure of Republicans to sign on after voting to condemn MoveOn will serve up some campaign fodder. Would that their gesture was something more effective than watching them stomp their feet and shout “I know you are, but what am I?”
From Reid’s statement:
Freedom of speech is one of our country’s most cherished values. Nothing sets us further apart than the countries and regimes we oppose than our belief that everyone’s opinion matters, and everyone has the right to express it. That is why, when we hear things on the radio that are offensive, by and large, we tolerate them.
But last week, Rush Limbaugh went way over the line – and while we respect his right to say anything he likes, his unpatriotic comments cannot be ignored.
No, Harry, actually he didn’t. Rush may be drug gobbling bloviator with a giant 4-F pustule on his butt, but his comments were well in line with what is considered free speech in this country, and that actually isn’t any of the Senate’s business.
What is the Senate’s business, however, is that Rush Limbaugh is on Armed Forces Radio Network. His show is broadcast daily to nearly a million troops in 177 countries. In a poll conducted earlier this year, only 35% of service members said they approved of George Bush’s handling of the war while 42% disapprove, and 41% say the US is not very or not at all likely to succeed. A full 37% say the US should never have gone to war. It’s their network, too.
These young men and women do not deserve to have to listen to their commitment besmirched by Rush Limbaugh, who never served in the armed forces and never met a pill he didn’t like. He’s got no business on the radio launching attacks on military personnel like that, and his right to free speech does not guarantee him placement there at government expense. I’m sure the Republican would fight like hell to keep him on — look at all the effort they went to in order to keep Republicans on the reservation with Ari Fleisher’s ads and the Petraeus three ring circus — but that’s because removing him would actually be meaningful.
It’s past the time for empty gestures. Senate Democrats should never have let the Cornyn bill onto the floor. Now it’s done, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Take Rush off the air. Really, Senators, protecting the troops from this kind of abuse actually is your job.
Update: House Republicans put forward resolution to commend Limbaugh. Because they actually do know how the game is played.
Related posts:
- Got a Question for Rush Limbaugh?
- Stark on the Hill: Will Pete King Denounce Rush Limbaugh?
- Pill-Popping Goyische Radio Jockeys Need to STFU About the Nazis
- Late Night: RACISM ALERT!11! Rush Limbaugh Not Allowed to Own Football Team Because He Belongs to Oppressed Minority Class (i.e., Rich Screechy White Twits)
- Rush Limbaugh’s Failure Paradox
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
first?
Afternoon Jane.
You’ve got a way with words, hon.
Won’t happen – someone will question Reid’s patriotism, and he’ll fold like tent in a hurricane.
Take him off… and leave him off…
Afternoon, Jane.
Tom @ 4
Tom’s probably right. Sadly, you’d have just as much luck asking him to miraculously grow wings and fly as to demand that Rush be removed from Armed Forces Radio.
But once again,Jane, I think you’re right on the money in detailing what he “ought” to do.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha .
Whew, thats some good shit ya got there pal.
We got Wolfman Jack and Kris Noel in the Nam!
Good god, what is *wrong* with these people?
Anyway, EPU’d OT comment from below. Just got this in my email:
Make Three Calls for the Constitution
thanks jane. i really hate that most senators and reps now seem to think it is their job to decide what is acceptable political speech in this country.
what makes it especially aggravating is that they also apparently think that holding bushco accountable is not their job.
argh!!!!!
Hi Jane,
sounds like a great idea to me.
Bustednuckles @ 8
He’s playing all next week at the showroom at Caesar’s Palace /snark ;-)
peanutbutter @ 10
me too!
at least we have the aclu trying to do something good about fisa.
Oh.. Now Jane that is a great idea… why pay that thug to bloviate to our troops?
Fair and balanced
excellence in broadcasting
hahahaha
US ‘biggest global arms dealer’
The US has reaffirmed its domination of global weapons trading, cornering nearly 42 per cent of the arms market, according to a US congressional report.
The US concluded $16.9bn worth of arms deals last year, a $3.4bn increase over 2005, the Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations report said.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the traditional rivalry between India and Pakistan, seemed to be fuelling regional arms races, the report, officially published on Monday, said.
Pakistan, a key US ally, was the developing nation which purchased the most arms with $5.1bn worth of deals.
Along with a variety of other weapons, the US will supply Pakistan with 36 upgraded versions of the F-16 fighter aircraft for $1.4 bn, a variety of missiles and bombs for them for over $640m, and $52m worth of upgrades for self-propelled howitzers.
In Saudi Arabia, it will be modernising the kingdom’s AH-64A Apache helicopters, a deal worth $340m, and providing new military communications equipment, the report said.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates is buying Seasparrow ship-to-air missiles from Washington for $106m.
During all this Betray Us uproar, I have not heard one criticism of BillO intimating that a military commander (Kearney) is a villan for undertaking an investigation. If the Senate is going to react by condeming pundits, let’s add BillO to the list.
Who will protect comedian Rush Limbaugh from Senator Reid’s sternly worded letter?
Bullshit, Harry! Give him hell about something that really matters — his wallet. There’s no excuse for this chickenhawk to be on Armed Forces Radio at government expense.
Make a difference, Harry Reid.
Tom @ 4
I agree with this totally.
However, I think that the “PC” crowd may have taught the Republicans how to do this. How long have they screamed “RACIST” at anyone who didn’t agree 200% with their agenda?
Now the Republicans take a page from this same playbook and yell “UNPATRIOTIC – NOT SUPPORTING THE TROOPS” at anyone who disagrees with them.
This war in Iraq business is just like all those people stuck with escalating adjustable rate mortgages and over-priced houses thay can’t sell. The price keeps going up and they can’t walk away from it.
Just another example of junior turning everything he touches into gold.
RichardCA
I wonder how good my senator, Amy Klobuchar, feels about this endless spiral of government censorship that she gladly participated in on the Cornyn thing.
God why are the politicians in this country so frustratingly short-sighted? I know anyone under about 30 is challenged to know much about history and civics, considering the craphole public schools have become. But what’s the excuse for anyone older than that, who went to school before the full-scale dismantling of education?
U.S. sees Iraq as own ranch
http://www.azzaman.com/english…..fname=news2007-10-01kurd.htm
Diane Benson, whose son was terribly injured during his second tour of Iraq as a trooper in the 101st Airborne, will be issuing statements on the Limbaugh matter later today. She’s running against Alaska Rep. Don Young, who has yet to visit any Alaskan wounded warriors hospitalized near D.C.
Diane’s son returned to Iraq after his enlistment was supposed to be over, and after he had decided the war was a mistake. But he and many thousands of others who disagree with this ghastly mistake, served. He gave his legs so that that total puke Rush Limbaugh can spew his bile to our brave soldiers?
You can donate to Diane Benson here. She wants congress to concentrate on REALLY helping our troops, not on meaningless declarations, sense-of-the-house measures, and letters to networks and sponsors. That’s OUR job, folks.
I remeber hearing something about certain blogs being censored by the military in Iraq is that still true?
1,614 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Patriots:
How fuckin’ pathetic…the entire elected leadership of the Democratic Party should be removed but only after they shove a resolution condemning Limpballs and the Fox Network down the throats of the Repofascists in both the House and Senate. JEEzus H. ceeeRIST on a God damned crutch, how bad is it when the leader of the DEMOCTRATS in the Senate is callin’ to take ANYbody off the air or out of print (a leader in the DEMOCRATIC Party fer God’s sake!!!)??!!! We are gettin’ a good look at jest how far the rot of corporate fascism has moved…there isn’t a titled leader in either house of Congress who is an anti-fascist.
Maybe now some a you folks’ll listen to the ol’ Norske…the whole ballgame is goin’ down ta whether er not we ken mobilize grassroots, citizen action to turn the Democratic Party into an anti-fascist-anti-war front. We gotta march on the fuckin’ DEMOCRATS here …if we don’t turn these weak-kneed bastards around and scare the Nazi tendencies right outta them…well it won’t matter who the fuck is elected!!
KEEP THE FAITH AND REMEMBER THAT NOT ALL FASCISTS CALL THEMSELVES REPUBLICANS!!
I have a theory that Harry Reid holds down a second job as a TV personality under an assumed name.
You can help me to test this theory by letting me know if you’ve ever seen Harry Reid and Alan Colmes in the same place at the same time.
Jane, maybe it would be better to keep Rush on Armed Forces Radio. Just play a loop of his “phony soldiers” statement intersperded with comments praising him from the likes of Dick Cheney, Tom Delay and other righties. Then let the troops decide who supports them.
I agree with Glenn Greenwald on this one – that throwing this censure shit right back at the right wingers is the only way to stop them. If we simply fold and apologize when the wingers whine about moveon.org, and fail to hit back, we are just reinforcing the meme that we are weak.
What is with our fucking Congress and the fucking first amendment, anyway?
*xyz @ 26
Hmm…
you might be onto something there
Corporate America run the Limbaughs, Coulters, Noonans, O’Reilly’s, Ingrahams, and the rest. Not to mention the DLC. And they run just about everything else.
Sorry for the bad language; I’m commenting at watertiger’s site open in another window….
bilzim @ 28
But the reason we on the left were against the MoveOn.org censure bill was because it is not Congress’ business to legislate speech, or even to condemn it.
I have zero faith in Reid, Pelosi, HRC or Obama. Zip.
In the first place,they are holding us hostage while they play tit for tat on a meaningless subject that has absolutely no business coming to the floor.
Though it is a good thing to finally put some heat on the gasbag, I don’t see them pulling him off the air. He is one of them.
He has slthered away from worse than this already.
Still, it’s entertaining holding the stink of hypocracy under their noses and watching them squirm away.
Here’s what the Iraqis think about “contractors”:
“So Iraq does not reel under the boots of U.S. marines. Scores of security contractors have lured swarms of mercenaries who are now blamed for the killing of innocent Iraqis and the liquidation of those opposing the parties they are assigned to protect.
They are armed to the teeth and some groups brandish weapons more sophisticated than those in the hands of U.S. occupiers.
These trigger happy guys are not hold accountable for their actions as Iraqi police have not right to question them and Iraqi courts cannot hold them accountable. They do whatever they want with impunity.
Many Iraqis blame them for some of the worst crimes and most devastating explosions in the country. In the Iraqi vernacular they are called hameeha harameeha or ‘sentry-turned thief’.
There are no exact figures on the numbers of these thieves but the U.S. alone is reported to have contracted at least 20,000 of them who are nothing but the dregs of humanity.
Some of the U.S.-contracted thieves are remnants of Serbian militias whose role in the genocide of Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo cannot be denied. Some others are the remnants of the hated apartheid regime of South Africa.”
http://www.azzaman.com/english…..fname=news2007-09-26kurd.htm
Damn, I see incoming.
I should have worded that a little better.
Harry Reid has lost control of the Senate floor. His job requires better performance than this. He should shut the Senate down and send Senators home to rail to their local papers. They are accomplishing nothing and he should be ashamed.
Clinton for Majority Leader in 2009 !!
TeddySanFran @ 32
Bad language? These shit eatin dog fuckers deserve everything we can throw at em. The republicans too!
Harry Reid is so used to speaking out of both sides of his mouth he can no longer hear himself.
The greatest thing about free speech is that it allows people to prove that they are assho**s.
Praising free speech and curbing free speech all in one bloody letter is quite incredible.
The reason that ‘main stream Dems’ disdain Progressive so much is simple. Because we try to make them do their jobs. And they don’t want to. Why don’t we just outsource the Democratic “Leadership”.
TeddySanFran @ 32
Yeah, cuz you’d never leave a comment like this at FDL.
This conversation reminds me of an old joke, that I still think is a classic.
What’s the difference between Rush Limbaugh and The Hindenberg?
Answer: One of them is a flaming, Nazi gasbag and the other one is a dirigible.
I’m sure glad Reid and Pelosi aren’t fighting terrorists. /s
Does the armed forces get the BBC, KO etc or are we shut out Jane’s point about 42% of the troops disaproving of the war is all the more remarkable if the troops don’t hear our doubts about the war.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 41
If we could give them report cards, they’d read something like, “Harry just can’t seem to stay “on task” and refuses to hand in his work on time. If this continues, we will have to hold him back a grade.” Or something like that.
I tell ya, RBG scares me sometimes with what he remembers.
NorskeFlamethrower we listen :)
I do not think the Senate should do a damn thing about this. Free speech is free speech-period.
Limbaugh is selling a bad product. Let the market place of ideas work.
OT, but of interest:
Private security contractor Blackwater USA has had to fire 122 people over the past three years for problems ranging from misusing weapons, alcohol and drug violations, inappropriate conduct, and violent behavior, according to a report released Monday by a congressional committee.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..PQEkas0NUE
If you take the position that the people who were fired were the worst, what about the rest?
In case anyone is interested in the full story, read on:
This is a story of who the left props up as heroes. They have their celebrities and one of them was Army Ranger Jesse MacBeth. Now, he was a “corporal.” I say in quotes. Twenty-three years old. What made Jesse MacBeth a hero to the anti-war crowd wasn’t his Purple Heart; it wasn’t his being affiliated with post-traumatic stress disorder from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. No. What made Jesse MacBeth, Army Ranger, a hero to the left was his courage, in their view, off the battlefield, without regard to consequences. He told the world the abuses he had witnessed in Iraq, American soldiers killing unarmed civilians, hundreds of men, women, even children. In one gruesome account, translated into Arabic and spread widely across the Internet, Army Ranger Jesse MacBeth describes the horrors this way: “We would burn their bodies. We would hang their bodies from the rafters in the mosque.”
Now, recently, Jesse MacBeth, poster boy for the anti-war left, had his day in court. And you know what? He was sentenced to five months in jail and three years probation for falsifying a Department of Veterans Affairs claim and his Army discharge record. He was in the Army. Jesse MacBeth was in the Army, folks, briefly. Forty-four days before he washed out of boot camp. Jesse MacBeth isn’t an Army Ranger, never was. He isn’t a corporal, never was. He never won the Purple Heart, and he was never in combat to witness the horrors he claimed to have seen. You probably haven’t even heard about this. And, if you have, you haven’t heard much about it. This doesn’t fit the narrative and the template in the Drive-By Media and the Democrat Party as to who is a genuine war hero. Don’t look for any retractions, by the way. Not from the anti-war left, the anti-military Drive-By Media, or the Arabic websites that spread Jesse MacBeth’s lies about our troops, because the truth for the left is fiction that serves their purpose. They have to lie about such atrocities because they can’t find any that fit the template of the way they see the US military. In other words, for the American anti-war left, the greatest inconvenience they face is the truth.
Of course, it is possible that some people don’t want to know what was actually said by Mr. Limbaugh. It is much more fun to spread the lies!!!
JF @ 33
Agreed. Congress should do its business. But when democrats, including Hillary, vote to condemn moveon, but fail to apply the same standards to nutcases like Limbaugh, they simply look weak. A few slapdowns like Reid’s might just take from the right a weapon they’ve been using against the “above the fray” dems for ages.
Jane
MoveOn was wrong with the Betrayus ad, not because it was outside the bounds of free speech, but because it was namecalling. It would have been better had they listed facts showing Petraeus to be the butt kissing bureaucrat he is. The facts are there.
I don’t believe you can, as you do, say Rush exercised his right to free speech but he should get tossed off the army’s network anyhow. That’s censorship. Censorship from the left is no better than censorship from the right. That the Senate sees as one of its duties the criticism of political speech, no matter whose, does not bode well.
*xyz @ 26
Personality? You jest
Of course Reid’s whole charade here would be unnecessary if they hadn’t allowed that stupid MoveOn amendment even get a vote in the first place. Now he’s wasting the Senate’s time on playing this tit for tat game.
Sure, maybe there’s some benefit to pointing out Republican hypocrisy on this issue, but not nearly as much good as we would get out of actually standing up to them once in a while rather than resorting to this passive-aggressive crap.
I thought all the political talk was being dropped from AFN radio. Gee, did the military LIE to us? Say it ain’t so.
The radio schedule shows Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura, Alan Colmes and Ed Schultz. Three blatant conservatives, one milquetoast liberal and Schultz. (I’m not sure how to categorize Schultz, I don’t listen to him. Not sure how political Dr. Laura is, don’t listen to her either.)
When you consider that many liberal websites are blocked so the troops can’t read them or stream the audio, this is a disgraceful way to support free speech. It’s unAmerican.
Good idea, Harry. Then Rush Limbaugh would have signatures of many Senators. And he could hold an auction and sell them for big bucks in 20 years. Way to go.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 16
Why the … are we selling weapons to Pakistan if they refuse to go after Ossama? Why are we selling weapons to the Saudis if they don’t close down their borders to Al Quieda?
Are the profits of the military industrial complex more important than our troops?
Is Bush going to act surprised is, Condi going to say nobody could have forseen that some of these weapons will drop off the truck and magicaly appear in the hands of Al Quieda given the strong Al Quieda presence in these countries?
Is Bush trying to arm the Terroisits, is he trying to lose?
All we have to do to get rid of these Limbaugh
schmucks is reinstate the Equal Time and Fair Comment FCC rules. The same ones that Reagan
(ever the faithful acolyte of the broadcast industry) zeroed out.
Then the broadcasters have to give equal (e.g. comparable time of day and day of week) time, FOR FREE, to other citizens to respond to this ever-lasting drivel. And the ditto-heads would
get a chance to actually learn and understand what’s going on in the world.
Still More Blackwater Goodness
10.01.07 — 3:13PMBy Josh Marshall
Back in December, when a drunk Blackwater contractor blew away one of Iraqi VP Adel Abdul Mehdi’s bodyguards, an official with State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security decided to low-ball the financial compensation for the man’s family so as not to give an incentive for Iraqis to “try to get killed to set up their family financially.”
The initial suggestion from Embassy personnel of $100,000 to $250,000 was lowered to $15,000 to the man’s family.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/054723.php
bilzim @ 52
Clinton voted Nay on the Moveon issue.
Sorry, but I have a quick off-topic question: what year did FDL come into existence?
old gold @ 49
Hi Folks—Was reading comments and I believe if you give Limbaugh or people who make a living by being some kind of drama queen the time of day, you’re doing them a big favor by keeping their negative agenda on the radar (by the way agree with you old gold)….
Fucking Congress.
So much promise frittered away.
LimaBN @ 59
Nah. I don’t want to turn on Air America and hear Sean Hannity…
CrankyMom @ 51
Wow, this MacBeth character is a hero I didn’t even know I had. Just because Rush says this guy was a hero of the left, doesn’t make it true — in fact the precedent set by Mr. Limbaugh’s record would indicate just the opposite.
And as for understanding what he really said — it is irrelevant. The whole point of most of us on this blog (as far as I can tell) is that free speech is free speech and the Senate has no business censoring (or censuring) it.
You claim it is more fun for us to “spread the lies” as to what he said, but I haven’t seen much discussion at all about what he said, we’ve been arguing the appropriateness of the Senate acting to limit the freedom of speech.
So you seem to be missing the whole point of this discussion.
CrankyMom @ 51
Uh, it looks as if this is true Jesse
Helen @ 61
She voted Nay on the Cornyn motion but she voted Yea on the Boxer motion (to condemn MoveOn AND the Swift Boat ads AND the ads against Max Cleland)
CrankyMom @ 51 do you have a link? I searched the Firedoglake web site and I searched Google with the words Jesse Macbeth Firedoglake but I couldn’t find a mention at our site about this hero of the left.
Nothing from the Bloggers or the Commentors hear at the Lake.
Jane, once again you make plain why I continue to read you – in this one little post, you make plain the issue, the ethical background, and a way forward. You have vision, a rare kind of vision that sees things as they are.
Thank you for being here, for being you.
Not that you could do much about the second. :)
Jake
LimaBN @ 59
http://www.house.gov/hinchey/issues/mora.shtml
There’s a piece of House legislation that would do that, courtesy of Maurice Hinchey.
Jane, I disagree with you, only in part, on this one. Limbaugh certainly has the right to say it. And AFR shouldn’t drop the show simply because Rush said something we or the troops don’t like.
I agree with you that Cornyn’s bill is a steaming pile of excrement. I also think the senate sinks further in the commode every time they do this silly crap. They deserve every drop in the polls they get. They are acting like damned children.
But free speech is free speech. Easily tempted to kill it when you don’t agree with the message–but that is exactly when we need to stand up for it the strongest.
cahuenga @ 64
So right… they are being effectively sidelined by an ineffective strategy to an issue that isn’t worth the time of day….
Played like a harp, I would say….
Being a proud member of THE LEFT, I had never heard of Jesse Macbeth until today.
Jesse MacBeth came up about five minutes AFTER the “phony soldier” comment. Limbaugh was clearly smearing soldiers who disagree with the the war and the tactics used. Anyone with basic comprehension skills can see that.
Helen @ 61
There were two resolutons. She voted nay on one and yea on the other (the Boxer version), which condemned the Swiftboat ad along with MoveOn.
I have only heard a replay of Rush’s comments once. (I have slow dialup here in the woods). It was the caller who first used the term “phony soldiers” and then Rush went with it. Given how soldiers tend to stick together especially in combat, has anyone confirmed that the caller was actually a military or former military man? I’m just saying…..
We had a guy named Al Hubbard in the VVAW that lied about being an officer. It’s too bad but one incident like this can really hurt.
Helen @ 61
true. but she also voted yes. there were two votes.
feingold voted no on both.
Tom @ 4
I just had a thought.
The Democrats are basically holding shit up because they don’t have the balls to force the Republicans to actually filibuster.
And they’re doing it because they’re afraid people are going to question their patriotism.
Ok, so… Lets all start questioning their patriotism. Lets start putting up ads that question the patriotism of Reid, Pelosi and so on for allowing Bush to violate the Constitution unpunished.
They swore an oath when they took office to defend the US Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Yet, Mr. Felony FISA violation is still walking free and we’re still in a war based on a yellowcake memo that was known to be false. Defrauding the United States is also a felony.
I said this b4, but I think at this point we’d be better off with 2 congresses: one to do full time condemnation duty and one to pass a fuckin LAW every now and then.
Ed Kunin @ 53
They did exactly that. The “name calling” part was simply the headline used to grab attention (Advertising 101), while the content of the ad enumerated Petraeus’ failings as a crass political figure who happens to wear a uniform. That ad was just fine in the eyes of many, there’s no point to keep asserting that “MoveOn was wrong.”
What was wrong was what the Senate and House did in response. And now we see the stupid foolishness continuing.
Jesse Macbeth could be a plant kind of like Bush getting into the National guard despite the long waiting list. Or the claims that Bush did serve his full time in the service.
By the way when is Rush going to start attacking that draft dodger Bush the way he did Clinton?
Helen @ 61
She voted against the Cornyn amendment but for the Boxer amendment whose statement of purpose says:
CrankyMom 51: I never heard of Jesse McBeth. Has anyone at FiredogLake?
Q: How can you tell when Harry Reid is “on the level”?
A: When shit dribbles out of BOTH sides of his mouth…
Kathy/Fozzetti @ 85
Google him, there is an extensive wiki article, I posted it above.
Is he really a darling of the Left?
E in MD @ 80
It’s getting closer and closer to the next election cycle, what you say makes sense.
Perhaps this is all theater to combat any lingering questions regarding patriotism…
Got to fly off right now, hope all of you have a refreshing swim at the Lake……
thanks dakine01 and peanutbutter! (edit: and hugh!)
voting no (to condemn moveon) on cornyn does not make it ok to vote yes (to condemn moveon) on boxer.
Ed Kunin @ 53
By your argument I’m entitled to a show on Armed Forces Radio Network under the first amendment.
When do I start?
I read somewhere that the US supreme court ruled on this subect in 1960 bates VS ….361 us 516 @ page 528 “first amendment rights are beyond adbrigement either by legislation that directly restrains their exercise or impairment through harassment,humilation or exposure by goverment.” So until its overturned its the law of the land.Please correct me if it does not apply.Good post Jane
raven @ 67
1) Jesse is a fake – a phony soldier.
2) Limbaugh wasn’t referring to him, when he made his remarks, he was making a general statement, replying to the second of two callers. The first – claiming to be an Iraq war vet – criticized Limbaugh. The second supported Limbaugh, and that’s when the “phony soldier” stuff came up.
3) Limbaugh mentioned “Jesse” several minutes later, in a new context.
4) The entire transcript and aircheck are available.
5) The next day, Limbaugh played an edited version of the clip, which falsely made it seem he was referring to “Jesse,” not responding to a comment that those who criticize the war are “phony.” The phony “phony” transcript is being shopped around – witness what happened above.
6) Trolls like the one you reacted to are showing up almost immediately whenever discussion of this happens. They started showing up Friday evening, and are hanging in there pretty good.
7)mediamatters has been covering this thoroughly, as has VoteVets.
bilzim @ 28
the best way to stop the wingers would have been to block the cornyn amendment (and the boxer amendment).
condemning limbaugh isn’t hitting back. it’s buying into the right wing meme that citizens don’t have the right to criticize the military.
OT:
Here is a shining example of how the Right Wing thinks:
Newton, Ia. — Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson said today he was certain former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a point of contention in the 4.5 years since the war began.
“We can’t forget the fact that although at a particular point in time we never found any WMD down there, he clearly had had WMD. He clearly had had the beginnings of a nuclear program,” the former Tennessee senator told an audience of about 60 at a Newton cafe.
-Fred Thompson, Oct. 1st, 2007
Linky
Wow. Where to begin.
Ed*ard Teller @ 93
oh, well at least they aren’t bitching and moaning about sports!
Newton, Ia. — Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson said today he was certain former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a point of contention in the 4.5 years since the war began.
“We can’t forget the fact that although at a particular point in time we never found any WMD down there, he clearly had had WMD. He clearly had had the beginnings of a nuclear program,” the former Tennessee senator told an audience of about 60 at a Newton cafe.
Here’s John Batiste on KO talking about Rush’s remarks (scroll down)
There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have served in Iraq. Many support the war and the surge to the max, others have opposed it from the beginning, many are in between or unsure or have changed their minds one way or the other. There will be individual soldiers who have done good things or bad things from all of these groups. This post is not about that. It is about Limbaugh’s blanket smear and the best response to Limbaugh’s remarks by Congress.
A lot of people still believe that Saddam was behind 9-11. And these same folks will buy into the latest Freddie diatribe.
Please get back to liveblogging hearings and such. The continued Firedog obsessions with criticizing political kabuki, involving itself in internecine Dem turf battles, and a debilitating interest in bloggy blog blog “controversy” (I mean really, Michelle Malkin was idiotic, insulting and ignorant all in one post? Again? You don’t say!) is killing me.
Rush and all the rest of the right-wingnuts need to be removed from AFRN. The discussion of politics in some venues in the military is corrosive and more damaging to unit morale than probably anything else.
In the wardroom we were not allowed (by convention and tradition) to talk about Sex, Religion and Politics and it worked out well. Perhaps the last two need to be more closely observed in other venues within the military. I’m not guessing that there’s much discussion about sex in Iraq and Afghanistan other than how much it’s not being practiced.
Choices are made somewhere about who gets airtime on Armed Services Radio, and if it’s taxpayer-funded, those choices are overseen by Congress. I’d like to see a big fat investigation of how those choices are made, who makes them, and what’s paid. This Limpballs scandal is just the place to start.
And I would also like Jane to have her own ASR show!!
“lieinveigleobfuscate” oooh, a gen-u-wine concern troll?
IrishJim @ 95
Talk about your revisionist history. If we had a functioning media, these right-wing schmucks would be immediately called on the carpet when they try to pass off their blatant lies, but instead a good chunk of the populace are lead to believe them — in part because they want to, but also because they assume that if what they were hearing weren’t true, someone would call them out.
TeddySanFran @ 103
What Teddy said!
Elliott @ 98
Very good, got his CIB on and is jumping in their shit like an airborne ranger!
puppethead @ 82
I didn’t read the ad and was going by what was reported. That makes my comment uninformed but I think, for a number of reasons, the headline, advertising 101 notwithstanding, was a bit too powerful.
The thing about politicians which seems to be ignored here is they are attuned, or think they are, to the desires of their constituents. When they censured MoveOn they believed they pandered to a majority of their supporters. In the case of Hillary she sees her constituency as national which inclines her to sit on both sides of the fence.
While I agree the Senate should not evaluate political speech, they think, Harry Reid included, they are scoring points.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 100
No question he is catering to the knuckledragging 27% hardcore “base”. I do not think it will go over too well in Iowa. I question why he would even take this position. He really looks stupid.
Jo Fish @ 102
Then there are commercial fishermen. They head out to sea, talk about their love lives incessantly for the entire trip. Then, they get back to town, grab their lover, head to the bar, and talk about boats until it is time to return to the sea…
lieinveigleobfuscate @ 101
The stockholders have spoken.
But, but, isn’t Rush supporting the troops when he calls ‘em “phony”?
Seriously, aren’t Limbaugh’s comments just another shiny thing? Meanwhile, planning for the Iranian bombing campaign continues, Blackwater gets another $92 million contract, and the MSM get hyped up for primary season.
Ah, but I guess the Beltway kabuki must play itself out.
lieinveigleobfuscate @ 101
https://www.blogger.com/start
Jane Hamsher @ 91
When do I start?
I don’t know if the army wants you, but there clearly should be a variety of points of view presented. If all that is offered is right wing talk radio, that should concern the Senate and all of us. The idea, I think, is to include rather than exclude.
I agree the vote against MoveOn should have never happened.
But I do think the Senate should move to condemn Rush OR rescind the MoveOn resolution.
I believe in Free Speech. But when Republicans attack free speech as they have I feel we need to push back on them to make the point.
In this case the point is being made which I think is good. I didn’t for the life of me think I would hear Senator Reid condemn Rush’s comments on the Senate floor.
But you are right, a better move would be to get Rush off armed forces radio.
can you imagine the soldier who is not thrilled with the occupation of Iraq coming back from an IED attack where his buddy was killed only to hear Limbaugh call him a phony soldier?
Can you imagine how the seriously wounded soldiers throughout the country who are speaking out against Iraq, who gave their lives and limbs, only to be called phonies?
SMACK!!!!
lieinveigleobfuscate @ 101
lol.
well, want to help? there are two especially interesting hearings tomorrow at 10am – Jack Goldsmith will be testifying on “Preserving the Rule of Law in the Fight Against Terrorism” and Erik Prince (chairman of blackwater) will be testifying on “Private Security Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
or maybe you’d prefer to help liveblog one of the other (more than 70) hearings scheduled for this week?
Maybe Rush shoud read the Daily KOZ more often
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/27/145957/376
Seems the Koz people had reported about Jesse being a fraud a year ago. But does KOZ get any credit for reporting that Jesse was a fraud?
Why does Rush get to raise strawmen nobody has heard of into being one of my Heroes?
Why that would be like saying something bad about Bush’s lack of National Guard Service.
Jesse Macbeth lied people do that about lots of things, but Jesse unlike Bush for the Righties is not a central figure in our struggle.
This attempt to use a nobody who was exposed a year ago the fact of which was REPORTED on KOZ’s site is weak.
Are all Rush’s trolls a year behind us Lefties in hearing the news?
as i never listen to winger radio i dont hear oxycontin boy…i know this tho – this isn’t the 1st time he’s made asinine remarks…yet he remains on the air anddddddd he’s on armed forces radio? still? why???????
nice, twolf1
Kathy/Fozzetti @ 85
It’s phoney. Raven gave a link at about 65.
My party should be countering the right wing propaganda everyday and night with a media blitz like none ever seen before. Take it to the people Democrats. Americans are waiting desperately for leadership.
things come undone @ 45
They don’t need our commentary to know how to feel about something they are experiencing first hand.
I have a friend who says he was standing in a rice paddy in ‘Nam when it hit him the whole thing was a lie and a huge clusterfuck. Nobody had to tell him that, he figured it out on his own.
i believe we should have never invaded iraq in order to depose an odious dictator. but when republicans attack countries that have never threatened us, i feel we need to push back on them to make the point.
so when are the dems in congress going to insist that we invade and depose every other odious dictator?
I’m pretty fuckin sick of this congressional condemnation bullshit- go do something that makes a difference.
Yep. Pivot and attack. When will the Democratic leadership learn this handy trick?
Rush is used to wallowing in the fetid and swampy bowels of the bigotsphere, where there is no such thing as bad publicity, cause, you know, bad breath is better than no breath at all. He is smiling all the way to the bank Harry.
Quietly reach over and unplug his wire to our armed forces that he shows such contempt for and then just MoveOn.
Campaign financing is out of control.
AP – Democrat Barack Obama raised more than $19 million from July through September for the presidential primary elections, bringing his total for the year to nearly $80 million, his campaign said Monday.
I couldn’t believe Perino actually said this but I heard it with my own ears:
via digby
okk@130
this has been my cry for awhile now….we need more media but no one listens it seems…we only have the toobz to get our message out.. on-air they only allow miquetoasts to give the “progressive” spin… sighhhhhhhh – its to laugh….
I happened to be near the television when the Senate opened session on cspan this afternoon and Leader “who is KBR” Reid led his opening statements with this blather about oxycommie boy.
Is it me or does Harry Reid remind anyone else of Les Nestor from WKRP in Cincinnati? A small man who can’t even get the news straight, not worthy of a position on a city council.
OT and for the Breaking News on CNN OMFG Britney is losing custody of her kids! /s
Whichever gooper wins the nomination is gonna have a damned tough time wheeling around and appearing sane by the general election. It’s a long way from here to there.
Why do candidates have to raise so much money? To buy tv time. But the people own the airwaves. I don’t get it.
Eureka Springs @ 131
He reminds me of Alan Colmes.
I have a theory that they may be the same person.
sunny @ 123
I’m wondering if they heard about recent things like us selling Pakistan and Saudia Arabia weapons I don’t think that even troops who believe in the war believe that either of those two countries are cooperating in the war on Terrorism.
I don’t beleve they would be happy about it.
I know Ed Schultz a semi-lefty blowhard radio dude had a hell of a time getting on the Armed Services Network. One obstacle after another, but it’s fulla rightard yakkers like Rush.
Pull the plug Harry.
things come undone @ 58
A simple answer? Because that is what a military contractor does and the US has become nothing more than an agent for the military-industrial complex.
Kind of like a stockbroker who’s upbeat in today’s economy:
s/he makes money coming and going, it doesn’t matter.
And as far as weapons contractors goes, if the conflicts in the world continue and get worse then they’re profit margins just keep going up and up and people like Neil Cavuto can spout how wonderful the US economy is doing.
September 24, 2007
Bush Job Approval Ratings
9/21/07 Approve Disapprove Undecided
Overall 34% 60% 6%
Economy 33% 58% 9%
Republicans are more apt to approve of the way George W, Bush is handling his job. 80% of Republicans now approve, compared to 66% in August. Details from the nationwide survey conducted August 18-21 are available at The National Economy
Ed Kunin @ 108
Sadly, I fear too many of our august senators voted in an uninformed manner without actually reading the ad. There is no excuse for that. It was indeed a very powerful ad which is exactly why the Right Wing Noise Machine made a big deal out of it—they were worried about the effectiveness of it and needed to destroy it.
I don’t believe the Democrats who voted for the Cornyn resolution were attuned to their constituents at all, simply the DC punditocracy. My senator Amy Klobuchar, for example, has been inundated by disgusted constituents for voting for this. She’s issued a weak form letter justification, but the anger is running pretty deep regarding her vote.
If any individual senator really felt this was a significant issue the more appropriate response would have been to hold a press conference issuing a personal condemnation. Using the official power of our government to dictate the boundaries of speech is anti-democratic and does nothing but move us further from our free speech rights.
twolf1 @ 113
707
Eureka Springs @ 131
i keep looking to see if there is a transcript posted of that DPC hearing.
I saw a Zogby poll that put dissaproval of the Iraq war by soldiers serving in Iraq at 72%. That’s an awful lot of “phony soldiers”.
dakine01 @ 132
Well, let’s just pray that the House moves on a resolution on this soon.
At this point, the 2008 elections are for the Democrats to lose.
Oilfieldguy @ 137
That would require action by the Democrats, so not gonna happen.
Perhaps Harry should have his plug pulled.
Will the last real Democrat turn out the lights.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 147
OK,
then who do we plug in?
things come undone @ 136
They’ll find out one way or another. My same friend said they regularly came upon NV weapons cache’s made up of Amercan made weapons, but they were ordered to leave them there! So many things like that are happening NOW in Iraq. Ever wondered who has the missing weapons and who those weapons are killing?
By the way, great post Jane, and spot on.
Harry Reid’s previous unsuccessful letter-writing efforts:
Elliott @ 149
Ted Kennedy. Perhaps?
Burma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pag….._id=484903
yeah, let’s go to the mat on this issue. let’s make freedom of speech a thing of the past.
Someday I am going to make a documentary about this D led congress and it’s going to be called.. Valley Of The Bozos.
bilzim @ 28
My problem with this is that the Democrats do this in such a way that essentially buys into the Repuglicans Constitution-sabotaging tactics. Dare the Repuglicans chastise MoveOn.org for exercising Free Speech and underlining a catch phrase with actual evidence? Fine! We can attack free speech too! We’ll show’em how tough we are!
{/snark}
We need to strike back, but not in the same Constitution-bashing way. That’s why Jane’s proposal is better– it attacks not free speech, but free government subsidies for hate speech: He has the right to say such nonsense, but not on the public dime.
Same problem with the FISA mess. We talk loudly about the Constitutional issues, do something symbolic, and then pass legislation which rips away Constitutional protections. Look how strong we are! We can eviscerate the Constitution, too!
Thank God for the ACLU and PFAW!
Here’s Nancy Pelosi’s morally bankrupt plan for this Congress: Speak loudly, pass some legislation that is mostly symbolic, but don’t rock the boat too much, and mostly strive to make the Republicans look bad. Then just sit back to watch the chips roll in November 2008.
This is morally bankrupt because
(a) she takes impeachment off the table,
(b) is not willing to cut spending for the war, and
(c) rolls over under pressure and allows Kyl-Lieberman and FISA-gutting legislation.
Bob in HI
RockPaperScizzors @ 154
Too bad we don’t have any moral authority anymore…
michael @ 155
Well given the Cornyn and Boxer amendments, I’d say that horse has already left the barn.
sunny @ 150
I spent 21 months in Vietnam. I never heard of anyone being told not to take enemy weapons caches. One of the main things me and my team did was look for stuff like that and enemy hospital complexes in caves.
To leave those weapons there would be like committing suicide.
Sunny @ 150 I wonder if our troops in Iraq are finding Al Quieda people armed with American weapons?
Did anyone get a chance to gander at the Debra Cagan comments and photo that C&L and ThinkProgress had up yesterday? If you haven’t, you’ve got to get a look at this person:
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/….._id=484762
She’s making foreign policy decisions for the Bushies? Christ.
These people are hellbent on “doing” Iran. If they start dropping bombs in Iran, all bets are off. I think the Russians and the Chinese cannot stand by and watch us start stealing their resources too. Can somebody please put these fascists out of their misery, someone on the inside?
RockPaperScizzors @ 154
When will it stop?
Did we demand any action in Rwanda while the genocide was occurring?
Did anyone in this country raise a voice against Stalin during the Terror?
The junta that is running Burma is just one partner in the worldwide opium pipeline from the golden triangle. The Bush family and the CIA have a vested interest in the continued flow of narcotics throughout the world (cf the reinstatement of the Taliban in Afghanistan).
Nothing will be done, not by us at least.
I went to the Des Moines Register and read Fred Thompson’s statements. What he declares as facts is what he says he knows. He offers nothing to back up his allegations. Actually, he doesn’t need anything because if you choose to believe someone who expresses your bias, I guess you are pretty satisfied that just making a statement is just as good as solid, indisputable facts. Imagine, Thompson is now the rightwing facts source. He can be quoted. Thus it is so.
charge him with treason, aid and comforting the enemy in time of pretend war. it would be the legal thing to do if anyone had the spine
Eyes in the Skies Document Human Rights Violations in Burma
oldtree @ 165
The Democrats won’t even be able to get a news cycle out of this.
Debra Cagan also shows up on Scooter’s itinerary which was entered in evidence for some trial….
SHe is in Azerbaizhan today.
The ghastly photo is from an Austrian diplomatic party.
Nice to see we are well represented at such affairs.
Over all Ms Cagan appears to be a thoughorly scary charecter.
She could give Cruella DeVille a run for her money.
mack,
I read that the photo of Cagan in the red leather and the Iron Cross looking ornament around her neck was from a Hungarian awards ceremony and she received the medal from the Hungarian government.
She really is the perfect face for this administrations foreign policy. Yikes!
mack @ 167
are we sure she’s not a ‘Kagan’?
we never hear faux news take on oxycontin boy when he castigates soldiers as phony…leading me to think repug TPs have been given to him – yeah – no outcry from troops-loving wingers…..how odd
james @ 160
Fukin A. Good to see ya bro.
The Limbaugh photo reminded me of Cagan as he used to “date” Daryn Kagan from CNN.
If ever I am arrested and sent off to a detention camp or remote island, spare me the “concerned” folks sitting around discussing the situation. What a luxury to have while they sip tea and munch on crumpets. And they thought Saddam was bad.
How about declaring the junta and its military a terrorist organization at the same speed we did with Iran? It could be taken up tomorrow. I could go for that.
The UN liaison has as much clout as I do – zilch.
OMG, Sen. Bill Nelson on the Senate floor (cspan) warning of Iranian missles hitting the US and Europe. Evidently he wants to pass a new missile defense bill.
Oh, Jesus Christ;
http://thinkprogress.org/
juslin @ 171
Looks like a Britney News Day. War coverage will resume next week. Rest easy, Democrats. You’re off the hook again.
Oilfieldguy @ 169
.
More on Cagan:
Oklahoma kiddo @ 148
Unfortunately, OK, Democrats have been in the dark for a very long time. I couldn’t figure out how Reid qualified for his position in the first place. I asked why to active Nevada Democrats and they couldn’t tell me. I must add, they aren’t active on issues, just on winning – much like a game.
Bustednuckles @ 176
This is the punk that bitched so much about having to work 5 days a week.
He should have been kicked off Armed Forces Radio when he called civil affairs officers “staff pukes.”
but but but but oxyboy castigated the troops!! where’s the faux outrage?!
If Bill Nelson is going to start with the fear(war)wongering on Iran….we’re closer to conflict with Iran that I thought. WTF? These Democrats are pathetic.
juslin @ 181
faux-menting?
does oxyboy dream in the nazi colors…. hmmmm just wondering out loud – methinks he does
juslin @ 171
Remember, to the Repugs, “Fair and Balanced” still means being “fair” to your BFFs and “unfair” to your not-friends.
See how balanced that is?
Above all else I hold the goopers in the greatest contempt for treating politics and public policy as though it is a game.
And a game they have gamed.
elliot@184
ok ok i give….. LMAO!
ohhhhhh if only faux news would allow any of the FDLers on as rebutting voices….
Elliott @ 158
RockPaperScizzors @ 154
Thank you for your post on Burma. I also post on the latest news. Glad to have another voice in there. As for moral authority, only I have that and it cannot be given to another person for me nor can I be the moral authority for any other person. I just keep plugging along connecting with small NGO’s working with Burma.
FYI, Elephants are upstairs
The country and world are going to hell and the Republicans want to focus attention on anything but anything that will keep the people from seeing that so they will keep on flogging these MoveOn type “offenses” until the next election, especially if we play (not very effectively) in their swamp. Stick to the realities and keep hammering them on lying, incompetence, corruption, cronyism, torture, Geneva violations, Constitutional violations, destroying the Justice Dept., $500 billion wasted on a war that no one can tell us when and how we will get out, ecomony in the tank, record gas prices, debt and trade deficit, weak dollar-rinse and repeat. Have some fucking spine when they pull this shit and call them on it rather than play along. And please don’t vote for anything that has Lieberman’s name attched to it you stupid morons. I swear I’m starting to lose hope. Thank God I’m going to Springsteen tomorrow. At least he will take them on.
But the reason we on the left were against the MoveOn.org censure bill was because it is not Congress’ business to legislate speech, or even to condemn it.
And this attitude is exactly our problem.
Not the attitude about regulating speech – I agree with that. The problem is, we have to hit back. There’s next to zero chance that a motion to condemn Rush would pass . . . but we have to force Republicans to explain to people why MoveOn.org is worthy of condemnation, but Rush is above criticism.
It’s a game of chicken, essentially. And we’ve got to play it, because doing it the way you suggest is what we did in the 1980s and ’90s . . . and look what it got us.
Noteworthy: According to the Armed Forces Network Online schedule, Rush is on there, on the other hand, so is Jim Hightower.
Reid seems to be playing tit for tat on this one. Shouldn’t the broadcast schedule of Armed Forces Radio be the business of members of the armed forces?
Maybe a way to support troops, at least in a small way, would be to ensure that troops actually have a say in what is scheduled on AFR, as opposed to others making the decision for them.
All due respect, y’all have got it 180 degrees backwards on this one.
Rush did cross a line in his remarks. Now, it’s the same line he crosses every day (i.e., the line between reality and fantasy), but last I checked being a United States Senator doesn’t mean that one gives up one’s right to launch a little truth at that pompous, drug-addled bag of fertilizer.
And the only one I see advocating ything resemling a non-content-neutral restriction on speech is Jane.
Have I missed something?
reid is such a pussy.
I do not believe that he was a boxer. I simply so not believe it. And if he was, he had a glass jaw
Sewmouse @ 19
Attacking a person’s patriotism for failing to support war has been around for centuries. “PC” stuff has been around for a few decades. Sen. Robert LaFollette (R-WI), a progressive hero, spoke out against WWI and was vilified. In the “Traitors” issue of Life magazine in 1918, a political cartoon depicted LaFollette wearing a German army uniform while the Kaiser pinned numerous German medals on him. At least two dozen medals covered the uniform including the boots. Eugene Debs made speeches against WWI and was jailed under the Espionage Act. He served two and a half years of a ten year sentence, all after the armistice was signed. President John Adams had his patriotism attacked and was called a coward when he used diplomacy rather than war to settle a dispute with France. He believed that our infant country would not survive another war against a world power. He may have saved the United States, but history considers him to be a failed president.
The current batch of repugs didn’t have to learn about false accusations of anti-patriotism and “aiding and abetting the enemy” from PC types. It is a very old and despicable tactic. They had Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay, Karl Rove, and the Ghost of Sleazeballs Past, Lee Atwater, to lower them to new depths. Let’s keep the responsibility for that where it belongs.
james @ 160
This is really really late and won’t get read probably, but I just had to say that I have no reaon to disbelieve my friend. Yes, it was like committing suicide, which is why my friend is still angry today at the orders not to confiscate the weapons.
The overall point? Military brass were deliberately drawing out the war, even to the point that US weapons were killing our soldiers.
And don’t forget “Focus on the Family” another, beautiful, show about… the family.
If the Congress has the capability to get Rush off Armed Forces radio, then they most certainly have the ability to get the Armed Forces out of Iraq (and to keep them out of Iran).
Where’s the beef!
You all are so funny. It kind of shows the kind of power Rush has. He really drives you nuts, doesn’t he. Is that all you have left? To waist time attacking Rush? Any fair minded person with half a brain would wonder what this is all about it they took the time to read the full quote.
Jane tries to sound like she’s taking the high road by defending free speech and then cites a bogus poll to argue for getting Rush off the AFR. Rush is the balance for some of the liberal programming on AFR.
It humors me as I’m sure it humors Rush.
cosgrove @ 192
Yeah, Springsteen is really brave! He’ll really take them on! He’s really accomplished a lot! But, hey, that’s what’s great about this country … you don’t have to be brave to say just about anything.
“… the economy is in the tank, …” A liberals view of reality.
Fixed.
The Democrats have the opportunity to remove Rush from Armed Forces Radio for this but once again Harry Reid is missing the boat. What exactly is their problem? Strongly worded statements accomplish nothing. They slide down the memory hole like oxycontin slides down Rush’s gullet.
Sorry to say but the Democrats need stronger more effective leadership in both houses. Harry and Nancy need to go and the sooner the better.
I called on Rush to be removed from Armed Services Radio last Friday. I also called Reid’s office along with all members on the Armed Services Commitee for the Senate and House. I also called every GOP House member who wrote the resolution that condemned Move On, to condemn Limbaugh too. And who’s story does alternet pick up on, yours.
Rush was put on Armed Forces Radio because a poll of the Armed Forces was taken and there was a majority of people that wanted him to be on. Whatever happened to majority rules?
facethetruth @ 201
The one Rush makes nuts is you. You state a liberal’s view of reality is the economy is in the tank. Are you suggesting it isn’t? Neither of us know what will be six months down the road, but the signs are not hopeful. What about the Bush deficits? You for them? As for Rush and the quote, what justifies or minimizes his labeling of anti-war soldiers as “phony”? They are in Iraq, killing Iraqis and others, doing their duty. They don’t see what they are doing as in anyone’s interest. That doesn’t make them “phony” or do you believe people who don’t agree with you have no right to their opinion?
Jane Gaffigan @ 206
No doubt many in the south thought lynching was a great idea too when it was outlawed and felt highly put upon by those who wouldn’t let them. We live in America where we recognize the rights of the minority, too.
Nice job trying to redecorate the place, though. Personally I’m not so fond of “early third reich.”
Jane Gaffigan @ 206
Yeah, Ms. Gaffigan, whatever DID happen to majority rules? Having a senate majority doesn’t mean much right now, does it?
Jane Gaffigan @ 206
Got a link to that so called poll? Probably not or you would have posted it.
Did you know liberal sites have been banned for the soldiers like Media Matters. Liberal views and opinions have been silenced on Armed Services Radio. If what you say is true about the majority wanting Limpballs where is the rights of the minority? Our Constitution also included them you know.
Where is the liberal host for the troops to hear?
I think your a kool-aid drinker. Try reading a real poll of the truth!
I hope Zogby does this same survey agian real soon. Because my son is a soldier and most now know Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11 and they are their to help Bushco still Iraqi Oil!
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075
Um, to everyone who responded trollishly, I’m sorry about your life is like that. To those who responded bloggishly, I have no idea what “707″ means. And to the actual suggestion that I blog, well, that’s not my job. But I’d read Firedog more if they did it. Just sayin.