Saturday, October 20, 2007
Harry Reid raises $4.2 million for the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation
In covering the just concluded fund-raising sale of the Senate Democrats’ letter to Clear Channel’s CEO criticizing Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Post’s Neely Tucker gives a written wink and a nod to Senator Reid and his fans:
“The letter in question is an Oct. 2 two-pager from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark Mays lambasting the syndicate's Rush Limbaugh, who had recently criticized U.S. troops who were against the war in Iraq.
“"Phony soldiers," blasted Limbaugh.”
…except that anyone without political blinders on would acknowledge that that wasn’t what happened. That treats the matter as if both sides had equally valid points. The moniker “phony soldiers” was applied to…phony soldiers, you know true faux soldiers, people who said they were soldiers but were found to be lying.
“The morning update on Wednesday dealt with a soldier, a fake, phony soldier by the name of Jesse MacBeth who never served in Iraq; he was never an Army Ranger. He was drummed out of the military in 44 days. He had his day in court; he never got the Purple Heart as he claimed, and he described all these war atrocities. He became a hero to the anti-war left. They love phony soldiers, and they prop 'em up. When it is demonstrated that they have been lying about things, then they just forget about it. There's no retraction; there's no apology; there's no, "Uh-oh, sorry." After doing that morning update on Wednesday, I got a phone call yesterday from somebody, we were talking about the troops, and this gentleman said something …prompting me to reply "yeah, the phony soldiers." The Anatomy of a Smear: "Phony Soldiers" Is a Phony Story
Mr. Tucker gets Senator Reid’s reaction:
“Yesterday on the Senate floor, Reid said Limbaugh had "very, very constructively" raised more than $2 million with a letter "signed by this senator and my friends."
(all the while never acknowledging Rush’s offer to match the winning bid.)
To recap: A little more than a month ago, Harry Reid had no problem questioning the bona fides of one General Petraeus but he goes absolutely ballistic when Rush Limbaugh refers to phony soldiers as phony soldiers. When the Senate Majority Leader tells us he supports the troops, at least now we know which ones he means.
Side Notes: Not directly on point but still amusing:
“Then there are the political "veterans" whose war records are even more dubious than their campaign promises. In 1984, Robert Sorensen was a Connecticut state representative running for reelection. When challenged on his opposition to opening legislative sessions with the Pledge of Allegiance, Sorensen huffily replied: "My patriotism should not be questioned by anyone because . . . when my country called me into service, I fought in Vietnam."
”Except that he didn't, as his opponent quickly discovered. Even then, Sorensen brazened it out, employing an excuse that, for sheer audacity, can't be beat. "For the first time ever, the American public had before them a war in their living rooms," he explained. "Every single person in this United States fought in that war in Vietnam. We all felt the anguish that those people felt. So in a sense I was there." Fake War Stories Exposed, Weekly Standard: Phony Soldiers Bring Shame To Military Forces - CBS News
“The letter in question is an Oct. 2 two-pager from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark Mays lambasting the syndicate's Rush Limbaugh, who had recently criticized U.S. troops who were against the war in Iraq.
“"Phony soldiers," blasted Limbaugh.”
…except that anyone without political blinders on would acknowledge that that wasn’t what happened. That treats the matter as if both sides had equally valid points. The moniker “phony soldiers” was applied to…phony soldiers, you know true faux soldiers, people who said they were soldiers but were found to be lying.
“The morning update on Wednesday dealt with a soldier, a fake, phony soldier by the name of Jesse MacBeth who never served in Iraq; he was never an Army Ranger. He was drummed out of the military in 44 days. He had his day in court; he never got the Purple Heart as he claimed, and he described all these war atrocities. He became a hero to the anti-war left. They love phony soldiers, and they prop 'em up. When it is demonstrated that they have been lying about things, then they just forget about it. There's no retraction; there's no apology; there's no, "Uh-oh, sorry." After doing that morning update on Wednesday, I got a phone call yesterday from somebody, we were talking about the troops, and this gentleman said something …prompting me to reply "yeah, the phony soldiers." The Anatomy of a Smear: "Phony Soldiers" Is a Phony Story
Mr. Tucker gets Senator Reid’s reaction:
“Yesterday on the Senate floor, Reid said Limbaugh had "very, very constructively" raised more than $2 million with a letter "signed by this senator and my friends."
(all the while never acknowledging Rush’s offer to match the winning bid.)
To recap: A little more than a month ago, Harry Reid had no problem questioning the bona fides of one General Petraeus but he goes absolutely ballistic when Rush Limbaugh refers to phony soldiers as phony soldiers. When the Senate Majority Leader tells us he supports the troops, at least now we know which ones he means.
Side Notes: Not directly on point but still amusing:
“Then there are the political "veterans" whose war records are even more dubious than their campaign promises. In 1984, Robert Sorensen was a Connecticut state representative running for reelection. When challenged on his opposition to opening legislative sessions with the Pledge of Allegiance, Sorensen huffily replied: "My patriotism should not be questioned by anyone because . . . when my country called me into service, I fought in Vietnam."
”Except that he didn't, as his opponent quickly discovered. Even then, Sorensen brazened it out, employing an excuse that, for sheer audacity, can't be beat. "For the first time ever, the American public had before them a war in their living rooms," he explained. "Every single person in this United States fought in that war in Vietnam. We all felt the anguish that those people felt. So in a sense I was there." Fake War Stories Exposed, Weekly Standard: Phony Soldiers Bring Shame To Military Forces - CBS News
