WHAM 1180 calls servicemen “phony soldiers”
On WHAM 1180 yesterday, Rush Limbaugh smeared our brave soldiers in Iraq. Here’s what he said:
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.
Obviously, the station managers at WHAM 1180 don’t believe that our servicemen are “phony soldiers”. We need to tell them that we don’t want this kind of thing on their station. They need to drop Limbaugh from their line-up or ask him to apologize.
Here’s the station manager’s email
Remember: there’s no need to be rude. He may very well be on our side. You can contact your Congressman or Congresswoman and ask them to condemn this hateful, unpatriotic attack on our servicemen too. Contact info is belwo the fold:
Kuhl: (202) 225-3161
Reynolds: (202) 225-5265
Walsh: (202) 225-3701
Slaughter: (202) 225-3615
My letter to WHAM 1180:
Dear Sir:
On WHAM 1180 yesterday, Rush Limbaugh dishonored and insulted our brave troops in Iraq. Limbaugh called active-duty American servicemen who criticize the Bush administration or the Iraq war as “phony soldiers.”
We are Americans. Our military men and women have the right and the DUTY to remain citizens and use their intelligence and moral judgment to understand the aims and competence of our government. Sure it may may their job harder. But this is America, and we have high standards for citizens and our soldiers. This is not a monarchy where the King is above all criticism.
Was PAT TILLMAN a “phony soldier”? Pat Tillman gave up his million-dollar career to serve our country in the Army. Tillman proudly served in Afghanistan, which he thought was a just war, but he condemned Bush’s Iraq invasion and the resultant fiasco. THAT WAS HIS RIGHT AND DUTY AS AN AMERICAN.
This country needs more honest, decent, thinking military men like Pat Tillman, and fewer irresponsible, cowardly, drug-addicted, sociopathic slugs like Rush Limbaugh.
Do you station managers at WHAM 1180 believe that our servicemen who criticize our incompetent President and his failed, corrupt administration are “phony soldiersâ€ÂÂ? This is what demoralizes the troops–on top of having to serve, for longer tours with shorter leave and without proper equipment, in a war of occupation that the entire population of the globe knows was based on lies, the troops now are insulted if they use their own intelligence and moral judgment.
You need to drop Limbaugh from your line-up or make him apologize.
Sincerely,
(sdougherty)
OK, Exile, help me here.
The MoveOn.org ad that called the general a traitor was OK, but if Limbaugh calls soldiers opposing the war phonies, he should be shut down?
I seem to recall that you didn’t think much of the Freedom Watch ads which included soldiers who supported the war. Why aren’t all of these things covered by freedom of speech?
For example, I think much of what MoveOn does and says is vile and reprehensible. I don’t think anyone should be able to gag them. Limbaugh may well be a right-wing gasbag, but he has the same right to speak.
Frankly, you ought to be careful what you wish for. If the “wrong” people get the chance to wield things like the fairness doctrine, this blog could be a target.
John - The issue is the hypocrisy here and the underlying value of fairness. Not the current Republican version (I’m admittedly brushstroking here bear with me) of fairness such that it is “OK when we do it”.
The senate condemns newspaper advertisement yet ignores this? The back story is on an earlier show - long Before the MoveOn ad Chuck Hagel gets called Senator Betrayus in the same forum.
I agree that both are free speech issues. That is what makes the Senate’s condemnation of the MoveOn ad so wrong. They are picking and choosing what is fair.
Frankly I think the members of the Congress should be called on the Hypocrisy. The hypocrisy should be exposed so it doesn’t happen again.
John, I see your point and removed my line about this not belonging on th public airwaves. That was going too far on my part.
I do think that there’s a distinction between taking out an ad in a newspaper and as opposed to saying something on a regular radio show. We actually got some emails from readers saying that stations shouldn’t run the Freedom’s Watch ads, and I totally disagreed with them.
Also, I think what Limbaugh did is much worse. These “phony soliders” are risking their lives. Petreaus is not.
John, one more thing I forgot to mention. What really bothered me about this was that the most prominent of the “phony soldiers” were the seven guys who wrote the Times op-ed.
Two are dead now.
He’s defaming the dead. If Petraeus had been wounded or killed in combat and there had been an ad saying he “Betrayed Us”, I would be first in line to condemn it. The deaths of these soldiers changes everything.
You just don’t take pot shots at anyone who’s made the ultimate sacrifice. Period.
Is that email listed correct or is it supposed to be “jeff” at the beginning instead of “eff”?
Jeff - corrected - thanks
[...] has a new ad up protesting Rush Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” smear.ÂÂ It’s worth a watch. [...]