|
|
 |
|
|
|
Reid Calls On Clear Channel CEO To Denounce Limbaugh 'Phony Soldiers' Comment
 WASHINGTON -- October 2, 2007: Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid has called on Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays to condemn what Reid says was Rush Limbaugh's characterization of soldiers who oppose the Iraq war as "phony soldiers." Limbaugh's show is syndicated by Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio Networks.
On September 26, in a discussion about the wisdom of pulling out of Iraq, a caller to Limbaugh's show said, "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 responded, "The phony soldiers," to which the caller said, "The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve."
Reid called Limbaugh's words "unpatriotic and indefensible," saying in the letter to Mays, "We trust you will agree that not a single one of our sons, daughters, neighbors, and friends serving overseas is a 'phony soldier.' We call on you to publicly repudiate these comments that call into question their service and sacrifice and to ask Mr. Limbaugh to apologize for his comments."
Later in the September 26 call, Limbaugh referred to Jesse MacBeth, who, while claiming to have been an Army Ranger, gave media interviews in which he said he witnessed atrocities by American troops in Iraq. MacBeth earlier this month admitted in federal court that he lied about his war record; he was, in fact, discharged from the Army before completing basic training and never served in Iraq.
Since the controversy arose, Limbaugh has steadily maintained that he was referring only to MacBeth and other soldiers who may have falsified their war records, not to all soldiers who oppose the war. On Monday's show Limbaugh said of Reid, "He has prepared a letter to be sent to the CEO of the company that syndicates this program, and [in] that letter he asked as many senators as possible to sign, offering them the opportunity to demand of my syndicator that I be condemned for something that I did not say, which Harry Reid knows I did not say."
Media Matters, which first brought attention to Limbaugh's remark, has pointed out that Limbaugh did not mention MacBeth until nearly two minutes after the "phony soldiers" exchange, though it was during the same call.
Comment on this story
E-mail this story to a friend
Sign up for Radio Headlines
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From the Publisher
|
|
|
