Rush Limbaugh Defines A Real Vs A "Phony" Soldier

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MrsSpringsteen

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — In the wake of the high-profile uproar from Republicans over a MoveOn.org ad attacking Gen. David Petraeus, Democrats are seizing on recent comments from popular conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh who said on a recent broadcast on Iraq that some veterans who criticize the war in the media are "phony soldiers."

Democrats are pointing to comments Limbaugh made Wednesday when he and a caller were discussing critics of the Iraq war:

"What's really funny is, they [Iraq war critics] never talk to real soldiers," the caller said. "They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media."

"The phony soldiers," Limbaugh then said.
(he went on.."If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country."

In a statement issued Thursday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called Limbaugh's comments a "personal attack on our men and women in uniform" and "reprehensible."

"It minimizes the sacrifice our troops in Iraq and their families are making and has no place in the public discourse," he added. "Rush Limbaugh owes our military and their families an apology for his hurtful comments that minimize their service to our country."

Also Thursday, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, a veteran of the Vietnam War, called the comments a "disgusting attack."

“In a single moment on his show, Limbaugh managed to question the patriotism of men and women in uniform who have put their lives on the line and many who died for his right to sit safely in his air-conditioned studio peddling hate," Kerry said in a statement. "He is an embarrassment to his party, and I expect the Republicans who flock to his microphone will now condemn this indefensible statement.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pennsylvania, an Iraq War veteran, said, "Someone should tell chicken-hawk Rush Limbaugh that the only phonies are those who choose not to serve and then criticize those who do."

And on the House floor Thursday, Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-New Jersey, said Republicans should hold MoveOn.org and Limbaugh to the "same standard."

"I wonder if Republicans who showed so much outrage towards MoveOn.org yesterday will hold Rush Limbaugh to the same standard, and I wouldn’t hold your breath," he said.

On Wednesday, the House voted 341-79 to condemn the liberal group's recent newspaper ad dubbing Petraeus "General Betray Us?"



You can read more about it at Media Matters

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709270010?src=item200709270010
 
There is a wide range of folks serving in the military. It is my experience, that those doing most of the fighting (Infantry especially) are EXREMELY supportive of the war effort.

You will always be able to find a soldier here and there that doesn't like their situation. But is is also my experience that the more vocal critics are the non-combat arms...
 
Some of those soldiers who wrote the op ed in the NY Times (as mentioned by Media Matters) were recently killed in Iraq. Were they real or phony soldiers? In my opinion no one has the right to call anyone a phony soldier-all are as real as real gets as far as I'm concerned.

Maybe some of Rush's "real" soldiers are afraid to speak their minds.
 
Yes
Yes.

And sometimes a person can find a few Black Sabbath fans at a U2 show.

yes
yes

dbs
 
How did you score on the analogy portion of your SATs?

diamond said:
And sometimes a person can find a few Black Sabbath fans at a U2 show.

How does that relate to this at all?
 
Limbaugh has been scum since Day One. Let's all remember that Limbaugh is definitely an authority on being a phony because he's the biggest phony out there. Everyone should just consider the source and move on.

I bet if we hooked good old Rushie up with some Oxycodene (or whatever the fuck it was) he'd shut the Hell up.
 
I still remember Rush Limbaugh encouraging all his listeners to buy a premium membership to his website for a soldier--at a discounted rate of $49.95. He could have offered the memberships free to the soldiers, but chose to make some money off his listeners' good will toward the soldiers, while upping his subscription numbers. He presented it as a wonderful offer to allow his listeners to do something really good for the soldiers.

https://members.premiereinteractive.com/store/28566/45108.html

Cause what the soldiers need most is a premium membership to Rush's website. Cause what benefits Rush must benefit the soldiers.

Because of the nature of talk radio, I've listened much more to conservative talk than liberal talk. I've heard many times a soldier's or a soldier's family member call disagreeing with either the war itself or the way it is being handled and almost across the board, the host says the caller is misrepresenting himself.
I'm not saying it's impossible. The same way it's not impossible for anyone to misrepresent themselves. But the hosts have no other reason for accusing them of misrepresentation but an opinion expressed that differs from theirs. I think if I were a soldier, I would find it offensive that all soldiers are supposed to think alike. I think I would find it offensive that a soldier of any stripe would have their soldier's credentials challenged just for expessing a viewpoint that they are risking their lives for the right to express. You sacrifice a lot being a soldier--independent thought or dignity in expressing it shouldn't be part of that package.

I listen to Limbaugh sometimes just to see propaganda in action.
I'm aware that the left has their own propagandists. But to watch the twists Limbaugh puts on things is amazing.
 
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^Hmm, that's interesting

Seems to be that a much stronger Army would be made up of independent and free and critical thinking, but some people clearly feel differently. Then again I certainly don't hold any opinion of Rush's in any sort of esteem-but it's offensive to me all the same. Perhaps the graves of soldiers should be marked accordingly-real or "phony" :|
 
A few weeks ago one of my friends was in town and wanted me and my bf to go out to a club with her. I'm not much for partying, but we went and ended up sitting at a table with one of her friends and that friend's fiance. He was a career Marine who had served almost 20 years and had already done tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was scheduled to be sent back to Iraq in a few weeks. I didn't want to get into talk about politics because I assumed that he and I would be on completely opposite sides of the fence. Surprisingly, another guy at the table brought up the war and Bush and this hardened combat soldier spit out with disgust, "I hate that bastard!" And then proceeded to tell stories about seeing his buddies head blown apart in front of him and having his brains splattered all over him. And ranted about the way the operations in Afghanistan had been handled and how they had the rug cut out from under them so that GW could pursue a personal war in Iraq. It really shocked me. This guy was in no way a bleeding heart liberal or a "phony" soldier.
 
sulawesigirl4 said:
A few weeks ago one of my friends was in town and wanted me and my bf to go out to a club with her. I'm not much for partying, but we went and ended up sitting at a table with one of her friends and that friend's fiance. He was a career Marine who had served almost 20 years and had already done tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was scheduled to be sent back to Iraq in a few weeks. I didn't want to get into talk about politics because I assumed that he and I would be on completely opposite sides of the fence. Surprisingly, another guy at the table brought up the war and Bush and this hardened combat soldier spit out with disgust, "I hate that bastard!" And then proceeded to tell stories about seeing his buddies head blown apart in front of him and having his brains splattered all over him. And ranted about the way the operations in Afghanistan had been handled and how they had the rug cut out from under them so that GW could pursue a personal war in Iraq. It really shocked me. This guy was in no way a bleeding heart liberal or a "phony" soldier.


wow just when you thought you heard everything! What a story! :ohmy: I guess we should never assume the obvious...
 
When exactly did ol' Rush fight for our country again?
 
AEON said:
You will always be able to find a soldier here and there that doesn't like their situation. But is is also my experience that the more vocal critics are the non-combat arms...

Funny, I thought we were all trained to be combat...

I heard it was the freaking reservists that were the "phony soldiers".
 
Dreadsox said:


Funny, I thought we were all trained to be combat...

I heard it was the freaking reservists that were the "phony soldiers".



and here i was thinking that the real soldiers who want to stay in Iraq simply have bigger penises than all you limp-wristed reservist pansies.
 
sulawesigirl4 said:
Surprisingly, another guy at the table brought up the war and Bush and this hardened combat soldier spit out with disgust, "I hate that bastard!" .

Is he a Black Sabbath fan?

dbs
 
I have the blessing to meet many soldiers, active, Guard, and reservist...and I have only met a few that dislike Bush and think the war is a mistake.

My unit lost over 17 soldiers in their last deployment. Support for the war is amazing. As a matter of fact, most want to go back.
 
Is it support for the war or dedication and commitment to duty and to each other? And I have nothing but complete unwavering admiration for the latter, and would never fault any of you for the former either. I just think it is completely offensive to call anyone a "phony" soldier because they think and express certain thoughts about this war. You may as well go take a you know what on their graves. How dare he? The military is made up of intelligent, thoughtful men and women, and that's the way it should be.
 
AEON said:
I have the blessing to meet many soldiers, active, Guard, and reservist...and I have only met a few that dislike Bush and think the war is a mistake.

My unit lost over 17 soldiers in their last deployment. Support for the war is amazing. As a matter of fact, most want to go back.

Don't you think some of that is out of a sense of duty? Bush is the Commander in Chief, there are probably guys who would choose not to openly criticize the guy, whatever their private feelings may be.

I still say Rush Limbaugh has no business calling anyone a phony soldier. Not saying he can't say it - I'm a free-speech guy myself, whether I agree with what's said or not.
 
MrsSpringsteen said:
Is it support for the war or dedication and commitment to duty and to each other?

I believe it is both. Most of the men I serve with believe we are making a positive difference over there.
 
AEON said:

Most of the men I serve with believe we are making a positive difference over there.

I understand that-but how does that preclude certain criticisms? You can believe you are making a difference but still see what is wrong and what is failing. I can't believe that any soldier would defend these comments by Rush Limbaugh or any similar comments (not saying you are, just making a general statement), and honestly I would be very disappointed in them if they did.

And that would be men and women, correct?
 
MrsSpringsteen said:


I understand that-but how does that preclude certain criticisms? You can believe you are making a difference but still see what is wrong and what is failing. I can't believe that any soldier would defend these comments by Rush Limbaugh or any similar comments (not saying you are, just making a general statement), and honestly I would be very disappointed in them if they did.

And that would be men and women, correct?

I'm not exactly a Rush fan. From what I've heard he is generally very supportive of the Armed Forces - so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on his comment.

I am of the opinion that the soldiers shouldn't talk to the press (or anyone else for that matter). The press is looking for something that will grab a reader...even if they have to quote a 19 year olf frustrated Private First Class who is tired of cleaning latrines because he has poor attitude.
 
AEON said:

I am of the opinion that the soldiers shouldn't talk to the press (or anyone else for that matter)

Wow, so they should take some sort of vow of silence? What grabs a reader is moral courage and honesty.

And I think anyone who is generally supportive of the armed forces would never make such a comment in the first place.
 
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