Phony outrage

Desperate times, as they say, call for desperate measures.  The Democrats, responding to the extreme left-wing at Media Matters and MoveOn.org, have given up any pretense of honest debate, choosing instead to spend all their political capital attempting to silence a private citizen, Rush Limbaugh.  Desperation.

It is no secret the Democrats hate, and fear, talk radio and they are desperately trying to curtail its influence.  Rush is at the top of their hit list.  The folks at Media Matters fed them a lie and they had no choice but to run with it.  They were desperate to divert attention from the disastrous public relations fiasco caused by MoveOn.org's General Betray Us ad.  After all, MoveOn has bought and paid for the Democratic party and now they own it.

The crusade against Rush is just the latest example of the ever expanding influence the far left-wing groups hold over the Democrats in Washington.  It's interesting to note the Republican Presidential candidates will debate on MSNBC next Tuesday.  The moderator will be one Chris Matthews.  Fair and balanced he is not.  Yet this will be the second debate for the Republicans on MSNBC.  Although some conservatives are calling on the Republicans to skip the debate after Matthews' meltdown Thursday night, I'm aware of no conference calls between conservative bloggers and leaders in the Republican party, with bloggers arm-twisting, threatening an "uprising" if Republicans go through with the debate.  It was a different story when the Democrats were going to debate on Fox News:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had been under weeks of pressure from liberal bloggers and MoveOn.org members angry about a scheduled Democratic debate co-sponsored by Fox News.

By last Thursday, Reid was ready to hear the rabble-rousers out.

In a 20-minute conference call, a group of bloggers told Reid an uprising was brewing over the decision by the Nevada State Democratic Party to partner with Fox for the August debate in Reno. Among the bloggers, some were national -- Matt Stoller of MyDD, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of DailyKos -- and some were local -- Hugh Jackson of the Las Vegas Gleaner.

[...]

Stoller said the bloggers told Reid that the issue was spoiling his popularity with the party’s Netroots: his DailyKos straw poll approval rating, they told him, had gone from the mid-80s to around 40 percent recently.

Reid backed off of his support of the debate, contending that he had had nothing to do with the decision, adding, "I don't like Fox News".

Funny, when the debate was fist announced Reid had this to say:

When the party announced in February  that Fox would be broadcasting the debate, it issued a statement in which Reid was quoted as saying "This is more great news for Nevada. I'm happy FOX News will be a partner for the August presidential debate."

Asked Thursday if we was standing by that statement, Reid said "I hold elation" over the attention that the Nevada caucus is getting from presidential candidates and that Nevada debates will be televised. But he suggested his statement might have been different "had I known at that time that it would be a controversy."

MoveOn.org was intimately involved as well:

Publicly, the Democrats blamed the cancellation on a comment made Thursday evening by Fox President Roger Ailes, who jokingly confused Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) with Osama bin Laden. Obama has said he was not offended by the remark, and Fox has said the joke was meant to be on President Bush.

A top Democratic official said the remark did factor into the decision, but was only part of the reason. “Out of deference to Fox, we didn’t go through the whole litany of problems,” he said.

[...]

The official conceded, though, that pressure from MoveOn members and the bloggers played a significant role as well.

MoveOn wanted to pick the moderators:

The battle began when state chairman (Tom) Collins rejected a MoveOn proposal to have two moderators from Air America, the liberal radio network, to complement two moderators from Fox. Collins consented to three Fox moderators and one from Air America, and the negotiations fell apart, said a MoveOn source.

The leading Democratic presidential candidates were also planning to skip a Fox debate scheduled for September 23 in Detroit.  That debate was canceled as well.

So, in the end, no debate on Fox News.  The puppeteers at MoveOn flexed their muscles and the wimpy Democrats caved.  And now, true to form, they are reacting to a phony charge against Rush Limbaugh with phony outrage.

REID: Last week, Rush Limbaugh went way over the line, way over the line. While I respect his right to say anything he likes, his unpatriotic comments I cannot ignore.  During his show last Wednesday, Limbaugh was engaged in one of his typical rants.  This one was unremarkable, indistinguishable from his usual drivel, which has been steadily losing listeners for years, [sic] until he crossed that line by calling our men and women in uniform who oppose the war in Iraq, and I quote, "phony soldiers." [sic]  This comment was so beyond the pale of decency, and we can't leave it alone.  And yet he followed it up with denials and an attack on Congressman Jack Murtha, who was a 37-year active member of the Marine Corps, combat veteran.

"So beyond the pale of decency?"  Let's see, Murtha called our Marines "cold-blooded" killers.  (They are not).  John Murtha, a United States Congressman called our Marines, fighting in Iraq, cold blooded killers, yet Reid defends him and says Rush is out of line.  And it's not just Harry Reid.  The Democrats in the House are piling on.

It is not accurate to say the Democrats in Washington fell for the lie about Rush Limbaugh hook, line, and sinker.  It's worse than that.  They have read the transcript and know full well what, and who, Rush was talking about.  They are intentionally ignoring the truth to advance their agenda and pacify their "owners".  These people are elected representatives, making critical decisions that determine the future of our country.  That they would perpetuate a lie such as this and use their position in Washington to condemn a private citizen is disturbing to say the least. 

Comments

[linda]

I cannot stand Chrissy Matthews!! I want someone to make him say what he meant by "criminal". Jerk.

[mad-cow]

Maybe one of the Republicans will ask him Tuesday night. Wouldn't that be a hoot? I'm not sure I can bear to watch it, though. I tend to avoid little Chrissy like the plague!