During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers." He made the comment while discussing with a caller a conversation he had with a previous caller, "Mike from Chicago," who said he "used to be military," and "believe that we should pull out of Iraq." Limbaugh told the second caller, whom he identified as "Mike, this one from Olympia, Washington," that "[t]here's a lot" that people who favor U.S. withdrawal "don't understand" and that when asked why the United States should pull out, their only answer is, " 'Well, we just gotta bring the troops home.' ... 'Save the -- keeps the troops safe' or whatever," adding, "t's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people." "Mike" from Olympia replied, "No, it's not, and 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 interjected, "The phony soldiers." The caller, who had earlier said, "I am a serving American military, in the Army," agreed, replying, "The phony soldiers." ---------------- On August 19, The New York Times published an op-ed by seven members of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division. They ended their assessment of the situation in Iraq with the following passage: On September 12, The New York Times noted: "Two of the soldiers who wrote of their pessimism about the war in an Op-Ed article that appeared in The New York Times on Aug. 19 were killed in Baghdad on Monday." http://mediamatters.org/items/200709270010?src=item200709270010 Conservatives police your own.
How dare Limbaugh impugn the moral character of active soldiers because of their political views? Congress must assemble AT ONCE to pass a resolution condemning this despicable abuse of free speech!
I suppose this is more appropriate than accusing a general of being influenced by politics with regard to a report to congress. Phony soldiers, phony americans, phony ethics, phony values, phony everything.
Unfortunately Rush represents the view of a vast majority of conservatives in the country today. Witness the fact that he has one of the largest audiences on the radio. But again, it will be interesting to see if the feigned poutrage of the right will now condemn one of their own. I won't hold my breath.
He was referring to one particular soldier who apparently served 44 days. Not surprisingly, the phrase was taken out of context(I wonder which other conservative commentator that happened to this week) by Media Matters and all the idiots in the media and the Democratic Party piled on him without doing any research or calling his producers for clarification on his remarks. I miss the days when the media actually reported news and didn't try to manufacture these hit pieces.
I really don't think such a reputable unbiased site like Media Matters would do something like that.* *sarcasm
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092607/content/01125113.guest.html His name is Jesse Macbeth. An entire segment and the media conveniently take 2 words out of it and turn it into an entire story. Hell, you could get anyone thrown off the air if you used that approach.
From the September 26 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show: LIMBAUGH: Mike in Chicago, welcome to the EIB Network. Hello. CALLER 1: Hi Rush, how you doing today? LIMBAUGH: I'm fine sir, thank you. CALLER 1: Good. Why is it that you always just accuse the Democrats of being against the war and suggest that there are absolutely no Republicans that could possibly be against the war? LIMBAUGH: Well, who are these Republicans? I can think of Chuck Hagel, and I can think of Gordon Smith, two Republican senators, but they don't want to lose the war like the Democrats do. I can't think of -- who are the Republicans in the anti-war movement? CALLER 1: I'm just -- I'm not talking about the senators. I'm talking about the general public -- like you accuse the public of all the Democrats of being, you know, wanting to lose, but -- LIMBAUGH: Oh, come on! Here we go again. I uttered a truth, and you can't handle it, so you gotta call here and change the subject. How come I'm not also hitting Republicans? I don't know a single Republican or conservative, Mike, who wants to pull out of Iraq in defeat. The Democrats have made the last four years about that specifically. CALLER 1: Well, I am a Republican, and I've listened to you for a long time, and you're right on a lot of things, but I do believe that we should pull out of Iraq. I don't think it's winnable. And I'm not a Democrat, but I just -- sometimes you've got to cut the losses. LIMBAUGH: Well, you -- you -- CALLER 1: I mean, sometimes you really gotta know when you're wrong. LIMBAUGH: Well, yeah, you do. I'm not wrong on this. The worst thing that can happen is losing this, flying out of there, waving the white flag. Do you have -- CALLER 1: Oh, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying anything like that, but, you know -- LIMBAUGH: Well, of course you are. CALLER 1: No, I'm not. LIMBAUGH: Bill, the truth is -- the truth is the truth, Mike. CALLER 1: We did what we were supposed to do, OK. We got rid of Saddam Hussein. We got rid of a lot of the terrorists. Let them run their country -- LIMBAUGH: Oh, good lord! Good lord. [...] CALLER 1: How long is it gonna -- how long do you think we're going to have to be there for them to take care of that? LIMBAUGH: Mike -- CALLER 1: How long -- you know -- what is it? LIMBAUGH: Mike -- CALLER 1: What is it? LIMBAUGH: Mike, you can't possibly be a Republican. CALLER 1: I am. LIMBAUGH: You are -- you are -- CALLER 1: I am definitely a Republican. LIMBAUGH: You can't be a Republican. You are -- CALLER 1: Oh, I am definitely a Republican. LIMBAUGH: You are tarnishing the reputation, 'cause you sound just like a Democrat. CALLER 1: No, but -- LIMBAUGH: The answer to your question -- CALLER 1: -- seriously, how long do we have to stay there -- LIMBAUGH: As long as it takes! CALLER 1: -- to win it? How long? LIMBAUGH: As long as it takes! It is very serious. CALLER 1: And that is what? LIMBAUGH: This is the United States of America at war with Islamofascists. We stay as long -- just like your job. You do everything you have to do, whatever it takes to get it done, if you take it seriously. CALLER 1: So then you say we need to stay there forever -- LIMBAUGH: I -- it won't -- CALLER 1: -- because that's what it'll take. LIMBAUGH: No, Bill, or Mike -- I'm sorry. I'm confusing you with the guy from Texas. CALLER 1: See, I -- I've used to be military, OK? And I am a Republican. LIMBAUGH: Yeah. Yeah. CALLER 1: And I do live [inaudible] but -- LIMBAUGH: Right. Right. Right, I know. CALLER 1: -- you know, really -- I want you to be saying how long it's gonna take. LIMBAUGH: And I, by the way, used to walk on the moon! CALLER 1: How long do we have to stay there? LIMBAUGH: You're not listening to what I say. You can't possibly be a Republican. I'm answering every question. That's not what you want to hear, so it's not even penetrating your little wall of armor you've got built up. [...] LIMBAUGH: Another Mike, this one in Olympia, Washington. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello. CALLER 2: Hi Rush, thanks for taking my call. LIMBAUGH: You bet. CALLER 2: I have a retort to Mike in Chicago, because I am a serving American military, in the Army. I've been serving for 14 years, very proudly. LIMBAUGH: Thank you, sir. CALLER 2: And, you know, I'm one of the few that joined the Army to serve my country, I'm proud to say, not for the money or anything like that. What I would like to retort to is that, if we pull -- what these people don't understand is if we pull out of Iraq right now, which is about impossible because of all the stuff that's over there, it'd take us at least a year to pull everything back out of Iraq, then Iraq itself would collapse, and we'd have to go right back over there within a year or so. And -- LIMBAUGH: There's a lot more than that that they don't understand. They can't even -- if -- the next guy that calls here, I'm gonna ask him: Why should we pull -- what is the imperative for pulling out? What's in it for the United States to pull out? They can't -- I don't think they have an answer for that other than, "Well, we just gotta bring the troops home." CALLER 2: Yeah, and, you know what -- LIMBAUGH: "Save the -- keep the troops safe" or whatever. I -- it's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people. CALLER 2: No, it's not, and 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: They joined to be in Iraq. They joined -- CALLER 2: A lot of them -- the new kids, yeah. LIMBAUGH: Well, you know where you're going these days, the last four years, if you signed up. The odds are you're going there or Afghanistan or somewhere. CALLER 2: Exactly, sir. ------------- care to try again?
I'm not sure what happened, but if you click that link, there's a whole section of the transcript you're missing after he says "Exactly, sir." That's the part where Jesse Macbeth is mentioned.
That was added after the fact because Rush knew he messed up and was trying to cover his ass. Plural, as in more than one. That's what Rush said. Still waiting for the condemnation from the right.
What do you mean it was added after the fact? It aired on his show. Are you accusing him of falsifying his own transcript or are you saying he doesn't have a right to clarify his remarks on his own show?
A lot of republicans like to live in this world of "we support the troops and the Democrats don't". But when the real world comes into focus and Generals, Captains, or Privates come out and speak out against the war they are labeled as "phony's" or there statements are brushed aside as politically motivated. They only want to here the company line. supports their views.
I'm not all the way to the right but I lean to the right. If my condemnation will do for you... Rush Limbaugh is a disgraceful human being.
That's a start But I really want to see a worthless "sense of the Senate" resolution condemning Rush and his blatant hatred of our brave men and women in uniform.
wait.. i think...yeah... another nothing story where a small group is trying to make a big deal out of nothing much.
