Rush Limbaugh is under fire for calling anti-war military "phony soldiers."
Harry Reid has asked Limbaugh's bosses at Clear Channel to discipline him for "hateful" and "unpatriotic" remarks. Limbaugh has upped the ante by calling one soldier who has attacked him a "suicide bomber." That soldier has told Limbaugh to stop "nursing the boils on his ass." Wesley Clark has said that Limbaugh's show should come off of Armed Forces Radio.
(Watch the video of Reid here and of Rush's response here.)
And so the wheel of idiocy keeps turning...
Let me clarify. When I say "wheel of idiocy," what I mean is a circular process, populated by one or more idiots on one or more sides of an issue. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer more than he is a politician. I agree with him about almost nothing. But I do agree that he has the right -- and, more importantly, the compulsion, to make inflammatory statements. He has, for years, lobbed rhetorical grenades into every foxhole he could find. It's what he does. Is he for the troops, in general? Is he against them? There is more evidence to support the former than the latter, obviously, but there is even more evidence to support the "who cares?" thesis. Evidently Harry Reid cares, because he's wasting the the Senate's time asking for Limbaugh, a radio host -- an entertainer -- to be disciplined. This responds to idiocy with idiocy and is consequently a Wheel of Idiocy.
When the Republicans in the Congress went after the Moveon.org ad undermining General Petraeus, I thought it was a monumental bit of foolishness. This is, too. Just because one person's an idiot doesn't mean that others people should respond in kind. These kind of responses violate one of the fundamental rules of intelligent debate: don't get drawn down to their level. Instead, what's happening is that Democrats are attacking Limbaugh, and conservatives are defending Limbaugh by attacking Democrats -- by way of proving that Limbaugh is not anti-soldier, Sean Hannity has been playing his tiresome montage of Murtha/Kerry/Obama anti-military remarks. Your guys said unwise things, too, so our guys aren't wrong. Bad blood, bad thinking, bad business. Ecch. Idiots.
I am using the word "idiot" imprecisely here. I am lobbing a rhetorical grenade. In this post, this one right here, I am part of the problem. But that's the insidious nature of these kinds of slap fights. They reminds me of that scene in "Police Squad" where Leslie Nielsen and a crook are shooting at each other. The camera shows Nielsen, then the crook, then Nielsen, then the crook. Then it pans back to show that they're only a few feet away from each other. That's funny. Then their guns run out of bullets and so they start throwing their guns at each other. That's funnier. And that's what's happening. And we keep watching, because we like comedy. What gets lost, of course, is real debate. The most cynical part of me wonders if this isn't intentional -- if it isn't easier for politicians and commentators to keep the debate in the idiotic rhetorical realm instead of dealing with substance. It's easier for the politicians on both sides of the issue because it distracts us from the fact that they have gotten us into a mess (war supporters) or can't get us out of that mess (war opponents). And it's easier for commentators because it gives them ratings boosts, reader boosts, and cash in the pocket. Ann Coulter, appearing on Sean Hannity's radio show, said that she envies Limbaugh his condemnation by Harry Reid, because it's the equivalent of free advertising. She's right, of course.
In the end, it's worth wondering whether an idiotic controversy is good for anyone (it's not), and whether it should be thought of as a controversy at all (it's not). Frankly, it seems more like a conspiracy. I don't mean a conspiracy in the towers-can't-fall-from-a-plane-crashing-into-them-so-let's-look-for-a-bomb sense, but rather a conspiracy by message makers in the media and Congress to take everyone's eye off the ball. When the sun goes down on this dumb little "phony soldiers" hiccup, just like when the sun went down on the General Betray Us hiccup or the O'Reilly hiccup or the Imus hiccup or the a million other tempests in teapots, people in power will have stalled another day without solving anything -- or, for that matter, showing most Americans a clear difference between the right and the left, except that the right barks at the left and the left barks at the right. Let radio people say whatever they want. Stop pretending to be outraged and giving them so much attention. And force politicians to govern. No country, not even one this size, needs so many windbags.
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Phony Outrage at Phony Rush's 'Phony Soldiers' Comment
Posted Oct 3rd 2007 10:57AM by Ben Greenman
Filed under: Scandal, Media, Rush Limbaugh
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 7)
1. As to "Crutch" Limbaugh, I still cannot figure out why he did not go to jail for sending his Latina maid out to buy his drugs.
Makendoo at 8:37PM on Oct 3rd 2007
2. As to "Crutch" Limbaugh, I still cannot figure out why he did not go to jail for sending his Latina maid out to buy his drugs. Like Oliver North I guess a multitude of patriotic hyperbole can cover a multitude of drug dealing.
Makendoo at 12:18PM on Oct 3rd 2007
3. How does Limbauh manage to keep people talking about him? Just like your article. He is an Idiot and should be ignored, not discussed.
Heidi at 12:36PM on Oct 3rd 2007
4. What I can't stand about the Left, and I am a Lefty is too many people react like Reid and try to muzzle Limbaugh. Why would anybody want to do that? If there is anybody out there that thinks Limbaugh Savage Coulter Fox News and the rest of the Right Wing Noise Machine is HELPING the right rather than destroying it they're just not paying close enough attention. I say make more noise. Free Speech is having just enough rope to hang yourself. Tie the knot for them and provide the gallows. Don't take away the damn rope from them.
Joe at 1:47PM on Oct 3rd 2007
5. Rush was reffering to one particular phony soldier by the name of Jesse McBeth who has been prosecuted for impersonating a soldier. Get the facts straight before you post! He is a strong supporter of the military and has nothing to hide! What about the vile comments made by Democrats about the military? Those don't seem to be a problem for liberals! I wonder why?
Jesse at 1:56PM on Oct 3rd 2007
6. What Reid and others who attack Rush seem to ignore, and what you failed to mention in your blog, was that Rush was talking about ONE phony soldier who was in fact a phony soldier. He lied about going to Iraq, he lied about being in the Army, he lied about the atrocities he claimed to see. In fact, he washed out of boot camp after about a month and never went anywhere near Iraq. And yet he claimed to be an Iraq vet who was against the war, so the Left made him this big hero. But it turned out he was a big PHONY. Rush called him on it, so instead of addressing that problem, the Dems are trying to distract attention from it by going after Rush. Plain and simple. You Lefties say "well if you right-wingers listened to more than just Fox News and talk radio, maybe you would be more well informed." Well, if you liberals listened to more than just Air(head) America, CNN, and MoveOn.Org, maybe you would be a bit more well informed yourselves.
bo at 2:20PM on Oct 3rd 2007
7. I think we do need to focus on Bens comments about having taken our eye off the ball. I'm conservative and Bens obviously not, but what we all need to do is listen up. Stop being sound bite junkies and look for some substance. There are real things going on in the world that needs our real attention. We fight over whom is more patriotic when we need to SHOW it. America is losing it's intellectual edge because we love to be fed the fluff the media feed (including me at times). Let all wake up and realize it's WE the people!
Dawn at 2:43PM on Oct 3rd 2007
8. If the Left made this guy mentioned such a "big hero" I wonder why this is the first I've heard of the entire affair? Now the Tillman episode I heard from the start - the self sacrificing hero killed by the Enemy that later became a bit embarrasing, and the female soldier captured early on whose "story" was later shown to be Right-wing propaganda.
Robert E. Quillen at 2:54PM on Oct 3rd 2007
9. This was originaly posted on ABC news when it was brought about this soldier who claimed he was a ranger and a corporal and won the purple heart while serving in Iraq.When the truth is he was booted out of the army after 44 days,and the left without checking thought they had another real war hero like John Kerry.
robert kennedy at 2:59PM on Oct 3rd 2007
10. And someone said why wasn't Rush in jail for drug dealing and I would answer that why wasn't Teddy tried on homicide charges.
robert kennedy at 3:02PM on Oct 3rd 2007
11. The left hate Rush because he has over 22 million listeners and there not all conservatives.Just look at Air America they had about 10 people who would listen.And why do you think the so called big 3 are losing viewers along with cnn,pmsnbc,Fox News is burying all of them together because the majority likes to hear both sides.
robert kennedy at 3:09PM on Oct 3rd 2007
12. While I cannot stand Rush Limbaugh, he is an entertainer. He is a self-absorbed blowhard. But why Reid has to comment on this is beyond me.
But, then, the self-serving Republicans in Congress who grandstanded over the Moveon.org ad were equally wrong and wasted Congress' time.
Essentially, we have a Congress (of both parties)who would rather deal with this crap than address America's real concerns. The system is broken.
David S. at 3:17PM on Oct 3rd 2007
13. I heard the comments by Rush and find nothing other than what he's accusing the left to be true of this matter. Why is it that the left don't get their ears checked, maybe they have inplants from their leaders which deny them hearing or seeing the truth for themselves! How low can you go? The hate on the left has completely blinded them.
The hate they feel for their fellow Americans is the hate that should be directed at those that would kill us including dems and who attacked and are pursuing attacking us. Why isn't there an outrage at the phony soldier who has given propaganda to our enemies and I said OUR!!!
Manny at 3:49PM on Oct 3rd 2007
14. Uhhhhh... Ben...
This one goes a bit deeper than that. The Brouhaha is actually over a move by Rethuglys to preserve their dominance of the radio airwaves by passing legislation prohibiting CCongress from bringing back "The Fairness Doctrine".
If the Fairness Doctrine were brought back, the Clearchannel wouldn't be able to flood the market with the Rethugly message 24 hours a day without opposing opinions.
It would functionally disable their ability to lie to the American Public.
BT at 3:50PM on Oct 3rd 2007
15. RUSH IS AN ALTERNATIVE VOICE THAT NEEDS PROTECTING OTHER WISE WE GO BACK TO THE SAME OLD STUFF I GREW UP WITH... ABC, NBC, CBS.... AND BEING GROWN UP NOW, I REALIZE HOW WRONG THEY WERE SO MUCH OF THE TIME, BUT WHO WAS THERE TO QUESTION WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD? I LIKE AND WANT AS MANY CHOICES AS POSSIBLE FOR MY INFORMATION. I LIKE THAT WE NOW HAVE THAT WITH CABLE, TALK RADIO, CSPAN, THE INTERNET...I DO REALIZE THERE ARE GROUPS OUT THERE TRYING TO CONTROL SPEECH AND THOUGHT AND I HAVE FAITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, LEFT AND RIGHT, CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL KNOW HOW IMPORTANT OUR FREEDOMS ARE AND THAT THEY NEED TO GROW, NOT BE TAKEN AWAY OR STIFLED.
MM at 4:08PM on Oct 3rd 2007