Sound Politics Public Blog: Letter To Senator Patty Murray re Rush Limbaugh

September 29, 2007

Letter To Senator Patty Murray re Rush Limbaugh

Ms. Murray, as a two tour Viet Nam Veteran, I am sorely disappointed to read in the Hill that you will be co-signing a letter of condemnation against radio host, Rush Limbaugh, for the false charge of him slandering our Troops. If you had listened to or read transcripts of his radio program the morning in question, it was very clear that he was talking of the false claims of the false veteran, Jesse MacBeth, who I'm sure you realize admitted his falsehoods and has been tried and convicted for his falsehoods.

What makes this so disappointing is that I have not found one instance of you condemning the Moveon.org slanderous ad from the New York Times calling a brave patriotic American General like General Petraeus as "General Betray-Us."

I have never seen you condemn Representative Jack Murtha for his false claims of Marines murdering innocent civilians in cold blood in Iraq.

I have never seen you condemn Senator John Kerry for his false testimony alleging war crimes committed by the vast majority of Viet Nam Veterans and labeling us as "monsters trained to deal in violence" in that same 1971 testimony.

I have not heard you condemn Senator Barack Obama for alleging our Troops in Afghanistan air raid villages and kill civilians.

I have not heard you condemning Senator Hillary Clinton for her audacious claim of accepting General Petraeus's Report would "require a willing suspension of disbelief."

Those of us who have gone to war know from where and from who we receive support and political grandstanding against a radio host while giving a pass to actual condemnation of the Troops by members of the Democrat Party in Congress isn't supporting the Troops, it is hypocritical.

Frankly, I expect better from a United States Senator from Washington State.

Lew Waters

Sent to Senator Murray September 28, 2007

Posted by LewWaters at September 29, 2007 07:14 PM | Email This

Comments

1. Well said Lew.

Senator Murray in fact voted against the resolution condemning MoveOn. Something about free speech and not Congress' role....

Now, when it is not a major Dem donor, it is no longer about free speech and Congress does need to be involved?

As Rush has stated many times, many that speak against him do not actually listen to his show. Instead, they read what Media Matters says and that is all they know. They could go to Rush's website and read the transcript or listen to the recording and they would find that the truth is far different from what Media Matters posted.

Pity that Patty or her staff failed to do that. How many other issues Patty deems are important enough to debate on the Senate floor are as woefully researched?

We should expect better from a United States Senator.

Posted by: SouthernRoots on September 30, 2007 10:16 AM

2. Yes, well said. The far-left now has an amazing capcity to press on with a smear that has been debunked. It's just like the smear against Sharkansky over the waitress. The lefties kept on, even after the narrative had fallen to pieces. Likewise w/ the recent O'Reilly/race dustup.
They seem to know that if they keep screaming, a goodly chunk of the populace is going to believe them regardless of readily-available contrary info.

Posted by: russell garrard on October 1, 2007 02:14 AM

3. "they read what Media Matters says and that is all they know. They could go to Rush's website and read the transcript or listen to the recording and they would find that the truth is far different from what Media Matters posted."

But they are not interested in the truth, and their credibility is not at risk if they can argue that they themselves were misled in the future by their source. It's like papers reprinting slanted stories from the New York Times or AP. The local paper is off the hook, and if the slant is to their liking, they can spread it freely without any significant personal risk.

Harry Reid doesn't want to know the truth. He's giddy that he's been handed a charge that he can politicize and make speeches about, but he's not responsible for its accuracy. He and his fellow Demorats in and out of government don't care about the truth. They only care about winning at any cost.

Oh, and not winning the war in Iraq. That war only matters to the extent they can politicize their positions for political gain. These people are truly sickening, and to the extent that Parry Murray has sided with MoveOn or Media Matters in these lies and attacks, she's pathetic and a disgrace too.

Posted by: MJC on October 1, 2007 12:16 PM

4. Great Post, Lew, It seems too much to hope for, that Washington state could have a Senator that would stand up for America in stead of MoveOn.

Posted by: pagar on October 1, 2007 06:12 PM

5. Dittos on the "Well said, great post, Lew" comments. Check this out: http://drudgereport.com/flashhr.htm

Posted by: raven on October 1, 2007 08:13 PM

6. This is coming on the heels of a Bill O'Reilly hoopla, which came on the heels of a Sean Hannity hoopla, which came on the heels of a Lars Larson hoopla, which came on the heels of all the Ann Coulter hooplas.

This is a well planned, well orchestrated attack on any and all conservative voices that dare speak out against liberals in general and Hillary in particular. Do not be surprised when the next one occurs and do not be surprised when the Fairness Doctrine rears its ugly head with fangs. This has Hillary and Soros written all over it

These people know they have no ideas on which to run. The only thing they do have is the willingness and ability to tear down and attempt to destroy their political opponents. One need only look at blogs like Kos, Huffington and the H'Asses to see their MO, and their complete lack of courage. They portend to fight bullies on the playground all the while honing their own bully skills to screw and fool the MSM reading, ill-informed public. These utter asses have absolutely no shame.

Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on October 1, 2007 09:31 PM

7. Ragnar, I'm not so sure how 'well planned, well orchestrated" this is, but otherwise--spot on. And the irony is that increasingly the left uses 'bully' as a catchword against conservatives. Watch for it--it is a trend on the rise. It's a handy argument for them because it requires little in the way of facts and logic.

Posted by: russell garrard on October 4, 2007 07:30 PM

8. An update: I noticed Patty Murray's name on a list of U.S. Senators who signed a letter sent to Clear Channel (Limbaugh's syndicator) urging the company to repudiate Rush Limbaugh.
Not only is this misguided (RL says that his comments were not directed at serving soldiers), but even if RL had said what they claim, this would be a clear First Amendment violation. So often there is confusion about the 1st Amendment. Don Imus doesn't have the 'right' to an MSNBC show, for example. But here are gov't officials pressuring a radio show syndicator. I hope these Senators recuse themselves from any vote re FCC-related legislation that could affect Clear Channel.

Posted by: russell garrard on October 6, 2007 08:26 PM