Face it Rush, you got caught
On September 26th, Rush Limbaugh used his partially taxpayer-funded radio show to call the troops in Iraq who support the withdrawal of our forces “phony soldiers”. This incredible statement was quickly denounced, and Limbaugh was forced to explain his words. He did so with a clumsy attempt to call anyone questioning him a liar, stating that he was referring to a single soldier, Jesse MacBeth. He then released a “transcript” that claims to back this up- “transcript” being in quotes, because it was not the full transcript of the incident in question. You can read all about it on Media Matters. In short, Rush said a stupid thing, got rightly nailed for it, and then lied about it and tried to paint himself the victim of a massive left wing/Hillary Clinton/liberal media attack to silence conservative talk radio.
America would be a radically different country today if two things had occurred in its recent past. When stories linking Richard Nixon’s aides to the Watergate break-in began to surface, if Nixon had chosen to clean house, accept responsibility for the actions of his employees and supporters, and come clean, what has been called the “breach of faith” would never had occurred. Instead, he stonewalled, lied, and attempted to cover it up by placing himself above the law. To the Cheney’s of the world, Nixon’s only “crime” was that he didn’t get away with it. Instead of learning the moral of the story- namely that no one man is more important than the rule of law- Cheney and his ilk instead took it as a textbook in how to trip yourself up, and now, 30 years later, we have the most secretive, abusive government in our history.
If Bill Clinton had gone on national television and stated words to the effect of “Yeah, I did her. It’s a private matter between my wife and I, as it would be in anyone’s life, and we consider the issue closed”, then he would have saved our country endless, needless hearings, the millions of tax dollars wasted, and the Democratic party wouldn’t be the spineless worms they are today. By bringing spurious impeachment proceedings against Clinton, the GOP wisely poisoned the water for decades to come, assuring that any attempt by a Democrat to hold a Republican accountable would be met with charges of revenge. If the Clinton impeachment hadn’t occurred, George Bush would most likely be out of office, if not in the Hague. He has done more than any single person to destroy our American system of government, committing literally hundreds of impeachable acts. But thanks to Bill Clinton, Bush is virtually untouchable.
Which brings us to Rush Limbaugh. If Rush were to have come on the air on September 27th and done one of two things, this controversy would be over. If he had said that he misspoke, and accepted that what he said was insipid and insulting to our troops and apologized, it would be over.
Or, if he had been a man and confirmed the reality of what he said, and not tried to hide whimpering as a victim while at the same time attempting an Orwellian rewrite of history, he would have at least gone out fighting. But like countless cowards before him, he refuses to accept responsibility for his actions. His defenders, from Fox News to Neal Boortz to the thousands of keyboard commandos who can’t accept that just perhaps their belief system is one big lying sham, they all are cowards. Because this is no Dan Rather forged documents bit of partisan hysteria. Rush Limbaugh stated what he believed, got nailed for it, and is now trying to deflect responsibility for it.
Who knows how this will play out. Perhaps this will be the episode that gets Rush off the air, much as racial statements got him fired from doing football commentary. At the very least, my tax dollars shouldn’t be going to broadcast his hate speech on Armed Forces Radio- click here to join Wes Clark in petitioning to get him booted.
Or maybe, like Watergate and Monicagate, the effects of this will take years to surface. To support Rush in his attempt to rewrite reality by editing the transcript of his words, you are supporting a lie. And you know that you are. If you debate the issue using his version of the event, instead of the truth, and persist in pretending that Rush is a victim, well, that’s up to you. But you know, deep down, that Rush said it. And then he lied about it. The same way Bush lied about Iraq. And is lying about Iran.
Folks, this isn’t fun and games. This isn’t playing “gotcha”. Hundreds of thousands of people have died because you continue to believe the lies. And if we attack Iran- if we attack someone who can actually fight back- then your cherished lies will forever alter this country.
Sleep easy, cowards.
