Ms. Fiction

The "Phony Soldiers" Controversy Timeline - Audio clips and all.

Senator Harry Reid letter to Clear Channel can be found HERE, signatures and all.

Original Harry Reid letter to Clear Channel can be found on eBay HERE.

I was wondering what people here thought of all this. It's pretty obvious that most of the people who post on the News & Politics board of FF are Democrats. If I was a Democrat I would be pretty embarrassed with my party leaders so eagerly joining in on calling Rush Limbaugh unpatriotic, or even believing that he would say something negative about our soldiers being the soldier enthusiast that he is.

If the facts of what Limbaugh actually said are taken into account it's pretty obvious that he was not going after soldiers who are opposed to the war, he was going after one guy, Jesse MacBeth, who claimed to have a Purple Heart, post-traumatic stress disorder from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to have witnessed the abuses caused by American soldiers on unarmed civilians. When the truth is he wasn't there, he lied, he didn't have a Purple Heart, he didn't have post-traumatic stress disorder from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he didn't witness abuses caused by American soldiers on unarmed civilians. When Limbaugh pointed this out to the public, he was attacked. Through misinformation, ignorance, unwillingness to be informed, and sheer stupidity, 41 Democratic senators proved inability to being properly informed, or informed in the slightest, on subjects they decided to stand for, and are willing to put the first amendment rights of others on the line for their inabilities.

ceilirose

Ah..from what I remember Rush's transcript was changed. The day after the incident there was no mention of Jesse MacBeth. The next day there was.

Just more of Rush's b.s. Nothing more, nothing less. He was trying to save his rear end.

But hey I did get a chuckle out of your comment about Rush being attacked. Hasn't he made his millions, if not billions doing that to those who have different political views than him? If you can't take it then don't dish it out in the first place.

But I was embarrassed when some Democrats along with Republicans passed the resolution about MoveOn and the General Petraeus/Betrayus ad. Talk about being willing to put first amendment rights of private American citizens on the line because of some people being thin-skinned, right? That was more upsetting. This is just tit for tat as they say and on some level it's fitting. However I wish the leaders would be working harder on getting out of Iraq and finding the votes to override Bush's veto of the SCHIP act.

Ms. Fiction

I had happened to be listening to Rush Limbaugh thought a couple days of this "controversy" and I remember the caller talking about soldiers and I distinctly remember Rush bringing up MacBeth. It's how talk radio works, they have to bring up the same story multiple times a week to fill air time, it's highly unlikely that Rush would have only talked about MacBeth once and been done with it, if he finds a liar he goes after them.

I guess I should have rephrased the "Rush being attacked" part. Rush attacks those he feels and has proof are doing wrong. He doesn't just randomly go after people with a different political view with no concept of the situation. I've heard Rush tell callers he wouldn't talk on certain subjects because he hadn't done enough research to fully understand what was going on. But did these politicians even have the slightest sense to do some research on what actually happened? Or did they just jump on the bandwagon of the first thing they could do that would make them look patriotic?

I highly doubt that this is Rush "trying to save his rear end" anyone who knowns the slightest about Rush knows that he is Mr. Soldier. Profits from his website got to the families of fallen soldiers, he has tons of fund raisers for soldiers. When he is not on the air he practically lives and breaths soldiers. Why would anyone like that say something negative about actually soldiers? They wouldn't. There is no reason Rush would need to "save his rear end" because he did nothing wrong. The fact that they went after Rush regarding his view/regard of our soldiers is quite hilarious and shines their incompetence.

ceilirose

Mr. Soldier? He had a cyst on his rear end (to put it delicately) and got out of Vietnam service because of it. He's made his career attacking people and calling them names. Tell me one positive thing he's ever said about anyone who doesn't believe as he does.

You can go to mediamatters.org to get another view of this. Yes it's liberal but using his website to back up his claims isn't exactly objective either.

ETA - As far as him not commenting on subjects he has no knowldege of - that's not true. Last year he made an ignorant statement about Michael J. Fox and the effects of Parkinson's Disease on him. He was dead wrong on his comments. We had a discussion on this board about that very comment.

Ms. Fiction

I never said he was a soldier, I was saying he shows more support for our soldiers than anyone else. The man practically lives to support our soldiers. So he got out of going to the Vietnam war, big deal, people do it all the time. He had a problem that could get in the way of combat, it's good he didn't go.

First off, I don't memorize his program. As flattering as it is that you think I could remember everything that comes out of Rush's mouth, I can not. There are certain things that standout that I keep filed in my brain for future use and the Jesse MacBeth story is one of them. You said it yourself, he attacks people, why on earth would he say something nice about someone who doesn't share his beliefs? In the essence of talk radio that would make him a hypocrite. Even so, I do believe he has sided with Democrats on some things, no matter how rare an occurrence or how small the agreement was, but to think that someone who, as you said "attacks people", is going to throw a couple of complements to those with different beliefs, is ridiculous and naive.

I linked to his website because it had the actual clips from his program. People could make their own decisions based on what he actually said not what Media Matters tells you he said.

And do you not remember him apologizing for that, repeatedly? After he apologized he got himself educated on the matter. What a shock, someone who made a mistake, and then corrected it.

sunnykerr

We either don't get Mr Limbaugh's show in Canada (or possibly just here in Quebec), so I don't really know either the program in general or this controversy in particular.

I do know that Mr Limbaugh, whether deserved or not, has quite the reputation for saying highly provocative things, not to say often mean-spirited. Again, that's the reputation I know of. I've never listened to even part of one his programs.

ceilirose

Really? Except for those who disagree with him IMO.

Ah no comment on that one - if I did I'd probably get banned. I think old Rush lives for a lot of things but the soldiers aren't his first cause. IMHO.

That's right - big deal. He never was in combat but he can talk about those who have and who don't agree with him in a derogatory manner. Then if people push back old Rush is being attacked. Also the condition he had could have been easily corrected even back in the 60's. They were doing heart transplants back then - I think his cyst could have been removed.

Honestly I don't know where that's coming from. I'm not here to flatter you - only debate.

That's right - let's not even talk about saying something nice. Let's just talk about getting his facts straight. That would be an improvement.

Why give up your gig when it's paying you so well? Did you ever think that he's the one fooling his base? Maybe he doesn't really think the way he does but he's discovered that talking/acting in a certain manner hits a chord with a segment of the population which in turn fattens his checkbook.

Media Matters quotes his transcript - his own words.

No I actually don't. I googled it and all I came up with was this gem -

Fox Responds To Limbaugh Accusation, Actor Responds To Claim He Was Off His Meds In Political Ad: 'My Pills Are Working Really Well' - CBS News

I highlighted the word "if." Is there another apology out there that I'm unaware of?