LaMidRighter

Nice!

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Neither side in an argument can find the truth when both make an absolute claim on it.

LMR

Reverend_Hellh0und

Best part is he is matching the auction total and asked Ried and ilk to do the same. They have unsuprisingly remained silent.

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كافر
Never forget those who died.
Never forget those who killed them.

Thelost1

If I had a million dollars right now...

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Emphasis added.

"The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next."
~Emerson

SixStringHero

I admit, I'm not a fan of Rush, and thus I haven't been paying attention to this whole apparent 'debacle.'

Can someone give me a brief synopsis of what actually happened and why the Democrats appear to have a hard-on for censuring Rush?

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Real Eyes Realize Real Lies

Zyphlin

General Timeline.

On a Tuesday some weeks ago, Rush did one of his morning updates (a minute to two minute long little snippet that gets played in the mornings on most radio stations that host him, to get people ready for his show later in the day. He also has them for download on his site). Around this time other news outlets were also doing reports on the "phony soldiers", namely one Jesse MacBeth.

The following Wednesday a caller to the show calls in in response to an earlier caller, states that he's been in the army for 14 years, joined to serve the country, and it bothers him that the media never seems to talk to real soldiers but instead focus on the soldiers that appear out of no where and start spouting off about atrocities. At which point, Rush says "The phony soldiers", which the solider agrees and then goes on to finish his point.

Directly after the call Rush cues up the morning update he did about this topic on the earlier day, to illustrate what he was talking about it. This was directly after hanging up with the caller where the topic came up.

The following day, Media Matter's focuses upon the "phony soldiers" bit, using it to portray that he stated that any soldier disagreeing with Bush is a phony soldier, which no matter how you take his transcript you can't get that as being what he said unless you're trying to guess or just want to assume what he's thinking, and logic kind of beats it.

Once Media Matter's posted it, the media latched on and lead with stories not questioning what Rush said but simply starting out that "The other day on his radio show Rush Limbaugh said that soldiers who don't agree with the war are phony soldiers". This is repeated so much, and as a fact without any actual backup, that its simply taken as truth.

The media then begins to ask politicians what they think about "Rush saying that soldiers that don't agree with the war are phony?", which naturally they decry as being a horrible statement. Because...it is a horrible statement. Rush admitted that its wrong, and bad, to disparage soldiers and call them phony simply because of how they view the war. The problem is, he never said it.

Harry Reid then tried to get senators to sign a letter to send to clear channel (The company that hosts Rush) to get him reprimanded, and got 40 other senators to sign it. He also condemned him on the senate floor. Another Senator (can't remember the name) even went to the level of some of the people on this forum, stood up in on the floor of congress, and actually slandered a public citizen by stating something along the lines of "Perhaps he's just on the drugs again, but that doesn't excuse these kind of statements". (Granted, he's a public figure, so there isn't technical slander, but to think congressmen are throwing out that kind of language about a private citizen is rather amazing...its the stuff of messages boards, not congress). Clear Channel supported Rush in the matter.

Then, a group began to run an ad actually using this entire situation, once again saying that Rush called the soldiers phony, to push their point, with an Iraqi vet lambasting Rush for calling him phony.

Rush then went on to state he did not begrudge the gentleman, called him a hero, called his service to this country honorable, and said that whatever group this is is simply using him to strap their lies to and shove him out into the public so as many people as possible will hear the lies and continue to believe this line, which never happened. He felt sorry for the soldier if he was lied to about what Limbaugh said, which caused him to be enraged and agreed to do this. And he said that even if the soldier knew what he said, and simply didn't believe it, then he felt bad that he couldn't understand the true meaning of the words but it doesn't change that he's a hero. He then goes on to say how the ad however, and this whole situation, fits with what the "Drive by Media" does (which, he's explained in times past. The term "Drive by Media" was taken from an author I believe, to explain how the media now a days grabs a story...fires off a flurry of bullets [articles] about the story not caring what they hit [if the facts are true or not]...and then drive off, not caring about the outcome [not researching the facts, not publishing retractions, not publishing stories to set records straight, etc]).

This soldier then gets on some of the shows saying that Limbaugh equated him to a suicide bomber and insulted him. Limbaugh again points out, he did no such thing, and actually called the soldier a hero numerous times.

And its mostly gone back and forth from then. Generally its thought its a tit for tat type thing, with the left trying to equate this to the Betrayus thing. The different being, you can look at the ad, and unequivocally figure out what's meant by it and what its saying, because you can see all of it...all in context...when you look at the ad.

Rush's thing isn't that. Its taken out of context, with little regard for the actual information surrounding it, and with media people speculating his "intent", what he was "Thinking" at the time, etc because they can't rely just on the substance of it.

That's the general flack.

What the eBay thing is is that letter, signed by Reid and the 40 other senators, that was sent to clear channel and then down to Rush I believe, is what he's put up on eBay for charity.

akyron

It went for 2.1 million which Rush matched to the marine corp law enforcement charity which gives scholarships to children of soldiers and law enforcement officers slain in battle.

A masterful counterstroke move by Mr. Limbaugh and his staff. Mr. Limbaugh deftly manhandled the otherwise worthless senators into supporting the troops. Nice move.

Whats great is that Harry Reid publicly attempted to take credit for it on the floor after the fact.


Harry Reid Takes Credit For EBAY Auction Idea

"..." Senator Reid, let me be clear about this one more time -- actually, as many times as it takes. It wasn't your letter that raised this money. It was your abuse of power that is responsible for raising this money. No other letter you have written would be... People wouldn't pay a dime for it, Senator! This one represents an abuse of power: a federal government official, a US senator, getting hold -- after besmirching me and smearing me by name personally from the Senate floor, gets hold -- of the CEO of my syndication partner and asks him to "confer" with me about something Senator Reid thought was said that was improper? Words? First Amendment? Free speech? That, sir, is an abuse of power. That is why your letter is historic, not because you signed it, not because 40 other people signed it, not because you wrote it. It is because of what that letter represents: a full-fledged, undeniable, 100% abuse of power, and that's how this letter will be remembered by historians forever."


Senator Reid is lower than a snake and will be remembered as such forever.

that has been in office 26 years too long as well.

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RightinNYC

Despite my oft-stated disdain for Rush, I can't help but note that this was the single best executed political maneuver I've ever seen. Without doubt.

Whoever on his staff came up with this is the next Rove, also without doubt.

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Sir Loin

I've got to agree with you here. I can’t listen to more than a few minutes of Limbaugh without getting annoyed. But on this matter he took the pathetic and transparent attempt to distort his words by the usual forces and turned it into egg on their face. Also he turned it into another example of his well known and well documented support for the military. That he was able to raise 4.2 million dollars for the Marine Corp and highlight the pathetic attempt by Media Matters and elected democrats should be a cautionary tale. One that I doubt any of his foes will learn a thing from. They increased his regard with the troops in their failed attempt, increased his ratings and made asses of themselves. Of course Reid tried to spin his failure here; he is a shameless media attention whore.

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I hate to break this to you but there is no big lie. There is no system, the universe is indifferent.

SixStringHero

I appreciate the responses which filled me in on what transpired.

What gets me is that Reid along with 40 other democrats wanted Rush to repudiate his statment, which appears to have been taken severely out of context, yet had no problems with what Stark said?

Does this strike anyone else as odd?

It also gives me a new outlook on Media Matters.

WI Crippler

Odd? Not really. Its expected.

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