Since the Rush Limbaugh controversy broke last Friday, Fox News has gone into overdrive papering over Limbaugh's comments and saturating the mainstream media and the Google News search engine with Democrat-hating, pro-Limbaugh propaganda that would make Stalin (Rush's favorite nemesis) blush.
After months of uncertainty about the future of the Republican Party in American politics, Republicans finally found something with teeth; the type of controversy into which they frequently descend with glee, dishing out slander and hate-mongering attacks every inch of the way.
As Democrats in Congress proved what a bunch of spineless, idea-less, hopeless losers they can be when opportunity knocks, progressive bloggers deserve commendation for their work.
For an entire week, the Republican Machine has gone on the defensive. For an entire week, radio personalities have talked about themselves rather than attack Democrats.
As a result, Americans bore witness to the ever-shifting nature of Republican Company spokespeople. They heard the same pundits calling the MoveOn.org "General Betray Us" ad bad publicity for MoveOn.org now calling Rush Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" comment a good career move for Limbaugh.
They witnessed the political gamesmanship of the hypocritical Republican politicians who just last week denounced MoveOn.org for their ad now praise and honor Rush Limbaugh for insulting US soldiers, including his comparison of one anti-war Purple Heart veteran to a suicide bomber.
Most of all, they got to see how tired and worn out the Republicans' talking points are becoming. Limbaugh, when backed into a corner, will serve up a healthy portion of Stalin and Ahmadinejad. Bill O'Reilly will use the noun guttersnipe and the adjective despicable without restraint. Sean Hannity will blame everything on the Clintons and slander and lie and call names and try to act like a tough guy from the safety of his radio bunker.
Run a Google News search on Limbaugh. It's likely that Fox News will dominate the webpage, but the Left Wing has won this fight. The Left Wing has spooked Right Wing Media. No longer will they have free reign to smear and slander and attack without being called on it.
Rush Limbaugh may never have accepted Brian McGough's challenge to face him one-on-one, but we will never forget that Limbaugh, for this decision, has proved himself a coward; fit only to call names and slander without the guts to face a man and say the things he does from afar.
Dean Danger Powers is an international man of mystery.
I don't believe one iota that the silliness of the past week "spooked" the Right. I suppose it's nice to think and say such things because they makes one feel good about what they've done over the last few days, but it's only spin on what had already become a spin disaster for the Left. Yes, you mobilized the Congressional democrats to essentially put their foots in their mouths (arguing essentially about the way in which the drapes hung), but in the end that stick of dynamite looked and sounded more like a party popper - exciting at the start but a mess to clean up afterwards.
Admittedly, conservative talk show hosts were forced by silly allegations to defend an embattled fellow conservative. But surely the Left realizes the size of the Right's listening audience? This number is in the tens of millions; it's HUGE. The Left can but only dream they could reach a similar-sized audience on a daily frequency.
The hosts had the ability to influence a sizeable number of voters regarding this matter, and more importantly, highlighted the fact to its audience and America that presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton, by her own admission, helped start Media Matters for America - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzC6-N9mwM . Of course Media Matters denies her claim, for it must to remain "objective". Regardless, Senator Clinton's admission certainly changes the lens by which the whole "phony soldiers" issue was analyzed.
Couple the above with Media Matters owns comments last April implying that there were targets other than Don Imus – conservative talk show personalities – that needed to be fired or removed http://mediamatters.org/items/200704120010 . FYI and no surprise, media personalities from the same political aisle as Media Matters - Al Franken, Alex Jones, and Lionel – can qualify as spewing forth "hate speech" like their conservative counterparts. However, these people were not identified in the Media Matters comments. Oh, now that's interesting or perhaps I'm just being paranoid.
This coordinated attack started by Senator Clinton and Media Matters and later escalated and propagated by the likes of Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid can only mean one thing. There exists a "vast left-wing conspiracy" (thank you for the loan of the phrase Senator Clinton) that will stop at nothing (i.e., the truth was MEANT to be sacrificed here) to remove those hate-filled bigots that form the conservative talk show or THE "wretched hive of scum and villainy".
Interestingly and as an added benefit to the Left's mismanagement of the phony "phony soldiers" issue, they've revealed their strategy prematurely to the conservatives. With several more months before the start of the primaries and caucuses, conservative media understands the nature of the beast more so and can better adjust its own tactics. And yet, I fear the end result will only be further bitterness and a deepening of the divide that already seems to separate the two political philosophies.
However, there are some (probably on both sides) that would truly enjoy such divisiveness because of their own extreme position of needing to have their expectations met. Forget about "Thy will be done," when it's all about me, my needs, and the needs I KNOW you need. AT that point, it's all about, "My will be done." Amen.
Tom, I believe your response abused a controlled substance. I'm sure you raised your response in a humble Christian up-bringing, enforcing the merits of sobriety. These efforts, it seems, were in vain. At 9:55 AM, Friday, your response left its origination traveling North, but got sidetracked when it tried to pick up Hilary Clinton. The Romance quickly turned sour and, dejected, your response drove madly out into the country, paranoid, as if liberals were chasing it. Frustrated and alone, your response probably knocked back a few then began missing Hilary Clinton, because it remembered things she used to say, like, "right-wing conspiracy." As the booze took full effect, your response began crashing over mail boxes and ripping up fences as it tried to take out every liberal it could pick off.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. But I have to cite you. The response was under your custody.
by
Dean Powers (108 articles, 7 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 58 comments)
on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 11:31:42 AM
I loved the response! And in some ways you're correct about the route taken - at least from a thought process, although and for the record, yes I am a friend of Bill's. I especially, though, liked this, "Frustrated and alone, your response probably knocked back a few then began missing Hilary Clinton, because it remembered things she used to say, like, 'right-wing conspiracy."
I was laughing as I read that line because I imagined it being said on some VH-1 flashback show about the 90s! I'm encouraged to hear humor...here, which gives me hope that compromise is still possible in today's age. Remember, "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure." -- Mark Twain. And followed by, "Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson.
P.S. The previously used "Amen" was for effect (i.e., it fit well given the obvious lack of unity associated with "My will be done") and not religious conviction. "Why can't we work out our differences? Why can't we work things out? Little people, why can't we all just get along?" -- President Dale from "Mars Attacks".
by
Tom Murphy (3 articles, 3 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 1541 comments)
on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 12:03:32 PM
Limbaugh bemoans the poor, "phoney" soldier as being "used" by the Left. Where is his outrage over the American soldier, sans leg, featured so prominently in one of the Freedom Watch ads? What makes that soldier less duped, or more real, than McGough, a veteran who has seen war and now opposes it? Why is it acceptable to slander wounded veterans (Kerry, Cleeland, Duckworth, Murtha, McGough, et al) simply to gain power? When did it become a prerequisite that Purple Hearts or Medals of Honor come with an (R) or (D) qualifier?
This game of one-upmanship is an indicator or how far we have fallen, of how divided our beloved country has become. Our world has been turned topsy-turvy. Veterans who have firsthand reasons to decry this war are made out to be cowards, and cowards who never served are allowed to slander them. A boil on the butt, a bad knee, a powerful daddy, has given cowards the power to cast aspersions on heroes. "Heroes" are no longer all who have fought and died. That term now only applies to those who support the cause of the sore asses, arthritics and silver spooners. That is, to put it quite simply, "messed up."
by
Lauria Hale (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 38 comments)
on Saturday, October 6, 2007 at 2:43:58 AM
