About a week after right-wing blowhard Rush Limbaugh attacked U.S. troops who disagree with him on Iraq policy, the subject seems to have grown stale. Dems did their best to generate interest in the story, but the political establishment only seems to care when MoveOn criticizes one soldier, not when Limbaugh criticizes thousands of soldiers.
Worse, any hope that congressional Republicans would be even-handed about this, criticizing Limbaugh the way congressional Dems criticized MoveOn, proved to be naive. In fact, at least one GOP lawmaker wants to reward Limbaugh for smearing troops. How tiresome.
Progressives, Dems, and veterans’ groups can call for an apology that will never come, they can call for condemnations that will never materialize, and they can ask Limbaugh’s employer for some kind of punishment that will never be imposed, but it’s a frustrating endeavor.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, however, has a feasible idea.
It’s time to put real pressure on Rush Limbaugh. His show is broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, and this time we are going to go straight to the lifeblood of Rush’s show — Congress. Congress has the power to remove Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Radio, and it won’t be as easy for elected officials to ignore our call.
Tax dollars are used to fund Armed Forces Radio, and that money is not intended for radio show hosts to spout insults at our soldiers. These “phony soldiers” have simply exercised their right to free speech, as Rush Limbaugh does on a daily basis. Simply because a majority of our troops who return from Iraq disagree with Rush on Bush’s failed war policy does not give him the right to dishonor their service.
Unlike Rush Limbaugh, members of Congress cannot casually brush off the concerns of citizens. Since Rush won’t listen to us, we’re going directly to Congress, who can prevent him from disrespecting and censoring the voices of our soldiers.
Indeed, Limbaugh has a history of these kinds of attacks, going after Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (whom he labeled “Senator Betray Us”), and Democratic war heroes like John Kerry and Jack Murtha.
Why should taxpayers pay to put Limbaugh on Armed Forces Radio? It’s not enough that he’s paid handsomely to broadcast nonsense stateside?
For what it’s worth, and I think it’s worth quite a bit, VoteVets.org is continuing to keep the pressure on, unveiling a new ad targeting Limbaugh for his attack.
I’d just add that the conservative clowns just can’t help themselves. Right-wing commentator Melanie Morgan was on Fox News last night, insisting that Limbaugh was right to smear troops who support withdrawal from Iraq, calling them “soldiers who are fake, or who are embellishers, or who are posers.”
She even went after VoteVets.org Chairman Jon Soltz, who served honorably in both Kosovo and Iraq, personally, accusing him of trying to “undermine the real mission of our troops, our heros who are out there.”
Some support the troops, some support the mission, but fewer and fewer support both.