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Betrayal-101--
"Phony" soldiers: MoveOn.Org and MediaMatters.Org shoot selves (and Al Gore) in
groin in smearing Rush Limbaugh, George Bush and Gen. Petraeus as "Betray US" on Iraq.·
The more one studies the entire
transcript of Limbaugh's comments before, during and immediately after his conversation
with a caller who identified himself as an American soldier with two tours of duty and who
characterized troops politically attacking the mission in Iraq as "phony" soldiers, the
more difficult it becomes to seriously claim that Limbaugh intended his use of the term
"phony" or "fake" soldiers to apply to anyone other than those -- such as Jesse
MacBeth (see also here
and here),
as but one of a number of examples-- who have made demonstrably false claims about themselves and
about other troops in order to attempt to politically discredit the mission in Iraq. Although
one could make a "rational"
argument (also here
and here)
that he meant such term to apply to troops expressing opposition to the mission without engaging in
false claims about themselves or against other troops, to do so would require one to disregardcommon
sense given the entire context of the conversations pertinent to such comments.
(For several useful links, a hat-tip
goes to Bryan Preston at HotAir.Com from the Editor at PoliSat.Com and WrennCom.Com.)
In contrast, however, a comment by Limbaugh approvingly quoted during his program on January 25,
2007 (see the "Betrayal-101" video linked on this page for a variety of
connection-speeds and configurations), could not only rationally but also fairly and common-sensibly
be equated with the MoveOn.Org smear of General Petraeus as "General Betray US."
What was that comment? He said that a caller earlier that day, who had been unable to remain
on the line long enough to have had an opportunity to speak on the air, had coined a "new
name" for Senator Chuck Hagel: "Senator Betray US." Not even Limbaugh's
greatest fans could seriously contend that such comment did not besmirch Senator Hagel. (By
the way, I cannot overstate the extent to which I disagree with the consistently defeatist positions
taken, and views expressed, by Senator Hagel since the time before commencement of Operation Iraqi
Freedom.) (Re the "Senator Betrayus" issue, see the October 8, 2007 update below.)
Yet Media Matters, a media organ for MoveOn.Org and a variety of other anti-war activists,
politicians and even many of those seeking the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, is now
speciously trying to claim that characterizing a political opponent as being guilty of
"betrayal" of America was invented by Rush Limbaugh. How utterly ridiculous.
(And, no surprise, the so-called "manstream" media-- i.e., SC-MSM-- is
already parroting that line.)
Who was the real initiator of accusing political opponents of "betraying"
America? It was none other than one of the favorite speakers/politicians of MoveOn.Org,
Media Matters and the rest of the propaganda organs for the American Self-Defeatists: Al
Gore. In fact, Al Gore launched this repugnant, defamatory tactic on February 8, 2004,
for which he received nothing less than fawning adulation from the Hate-Bush/Bush-Is-Hitler Left. (To
view the "[Bush] betrayed our country" clip from Al Gore's February 8, 2004 speech, see
the "Betrayal-101" video, for which there a links to a variety of connection-speeds and
configurations on this page.)
What would be so laughable if it weren't so tragic, is that no one could rationally argue that
Limbaugh's trashing of Hagel would provide "comfort" to our enemies or serve as an
"aid" to them in their propaganda, but that certainly could not be said about Al Gore's
February 8, 2004, speech accusing President Bush of having "betrayed our country" or
MoveOn.Org's September 13, 2007, advertisement in the New York Times characterizing General Petraeus
as "General Betray US." Neither Gore nor any of his fellow travelers in the
anti-war/hate-Bush mob is fit to lick the souls of Petraeus' (or Bush's) shoes.
So, what should "Media Matters" and "MoveOn.Org" and any candidate seeking the
2008 Democratic nomination for President do with the demonstrably bogus claim that somehow Rush
Limbaugh's harsh rhetoric about Senator Hagel served as the justification for MoveOn.Org's ad
to respond in kind with the "Petraeus/Betray-US ad? They all should put their rhetoric
where their heads are-- i.e., where the sun doesn't shine.
October
8, 2007 Update re Limbaugh's "Senator Hagel/Betrayus" and the REAL "inspiration"
for MoveOn.Org's "Petraeus/Betrayus" ad:
Since the September 30, 2007, posting of this installment, the
following September 25, 2007, post has come to my attention. Read that post first
in order to best understand this update (below).
Limbaugh intermixes his commentary with a lot of satire. For example, he refers to
Senator Harry Reid as "Dingy Harry." This is an allusion to one of two things (or
perhaps both): One, the 1970's era movie character, "Dirty Harry" epitomizing a
hard-nosed homicide detective perceiving himself as being hamstrung by soft-headed coddlers of
criminals, so that "Dingy Harry" implies Senator Reid to be less than
"hard-nosed," or two, "dingy" being a less-severe condition than
"dirty" to the extent that the term "dirty" applied to a politician implies
corruption, so that "Dingy Harry" implies something less than corruption but also less
than incorruptible.
Limbaugh is not the only person who expresses opinion in the form of satire and who also often
includes humorous satire. On the Daily Show, John Stewart expresses political opinions in the
form of satire but also tends to use humorous satire more than does Limbaugh.
Both of them (as well as many other commentators) also tend to use hyperbole. Some Republicans
disparage fellow Republicans they perceive to be "outside the choir" as "Rinos"
meaning "Republicans in Name Only," and some Democrats (mostly those on the Left)
disparage fellow Democrats they perceive to be "outside the choir" as "Dinos"
meaning "Democrats in Name Only." Republicans equate "Rinos" with
"rhinos" masquerading as elephants; Leftist Democrats equate "Dinos" with
dinosaurs masquerading as donkeys. This type of hyperbole is harmless.
The September 25, 2007, post linked above includes Limbaugh's explanation that his January 25, 2007,
reference to Senator Chuck Hagel as "Senator Betrayus" constituted a form of hyperbole
similar to "Rino"-- i.e., that Hagel, in supporting proposed legislation and/or
resolutions for time-deadlines for withdrawal of, and limitations on, our forces in Iraq, was
behaving as a "Rino" who was thus "betraying" the "elephants."
Thus, someone ignorant of the foregoing background might have inferred that Limbaugh's use of
hyperbole to describe Senator Hagel as "Senator Betrayus," might incorrectly infer
such hyperbole to have been intended as an attack on his patriotism rather than on his
positioning himself as a "Rino" venturing away from the Elephant ranks. For the same
reason that other commentators/satirists (such as John Stewart) rarely, if ever, explain their
satire to their audiences whom they correctly expect to understand it, Limbaugh did not
"explain" his "Senator Betrayus" appellation to Senator Hagel as indicative of
political "betrayal" (like the "Rino" appellation) rather than the unpatriotic
form of betrayal.
However, the spokespersons/operatives at Media Matters as well as those at MoveOn.Org (and likewise
David Shuster) are not ignorant of such background and context. It's true that Limbaugh
hasexplicitly said his intent is to question "the patriotism" of the most
extreme activists on the Left (who, ab initio, unrelentingly attacked the patriotism of Bush
and everyone supporting him-- see also Footnote
01 below). However, the history of those attacks (on Bush) somehow escape the
collective memories of the so-called "mainstream" media.
Furthermore, ideological activists such as MoveOn and Media Matters not only willfully ignore, but
also seek to inspire, such attacks on Bush, which leads us to MoveOn's "General Petraeus or
General Betray US" ad in the New York Times. That attack on Petraeus is exactly
the kind of expression that gives psychological and propagandistic aid and comfort to the
enemy. Indeed, given the virtual absence of condemnation (by anyone other than Bush
supporters) of Al Gore's February 8, 2004, speech accusing Bush
of "betraying our country," there can be little doubt among realists that the real
inspiration for MoveOn.Org's "Petraeus/BetrayUS" ad (and the real reason
MoveOn.Org did not expect it to "backfire") was that virtually no one other than Bush
supporters had condemned Gore's 2004 attack on Bush's
patriotism. So, MoveOn.Org expected to get the same "free pass" in the media
for attacking Patraeus's patriotism just as Al Gore and Ted
Kennedy had gotten "free passes" in the media for attacking Bush's patriotism.
The incessant whining by the Bush-hating Left (such as MoveOn.Org. Media Matters, ANSWER, Code Pink,
et al ad naseum) -- the inventors of attacks on people's patriotism-- that people are
attacking their "patriotism" is enough to gag a maggot.
--Jim
Wrenn, Editor at PoliSat.Com.
Footnote
01: Who can forget Ted Kennedy's January,
2004, speech accusing
Bush of having "hatched" a "plot" for the invasion of Iraq "while in
Crawford" in order to enable his supporters to make "profits" on warfare. If
that's not an attack on Bush's patriotism, I don't know what is. Yet the Left fetes, rather
than even frowning at, Kennedy for such indefensible, unpatriotic rhetoric unpatrioticallyattacking the patriotism of the President while our forces are serving in combat under
orders he issued pursuant to both Constitutional authority as well as legislative
authority.
Scroll
down for in-page viewing of a variety of size/connection-speed versions of the video, "Betrayal-101,"
Click
"play" button below for a medium-size version of "Betrayal-101" for high-speed connections (Scroll-down for large-size/fastest-connection
version)
Click
"play" button below for the largest size
version of "Betrayal-101" for the highest-speed connections
Click
"play" button below for a
medium-size version of "Betrayal-101" for medium-speed
connections (including accelerated dialup):
.
Click
"play" button below for dialup connections:
To Display on your website
the Silent-Preview/MiniVideo Player (170x374) for "Betrayal-101" shown below,
copy/paste the html code into your site-- For the copy/paste code, go here.
Editor's
Note re above: I expect to soon make "Betrayal-101" available in CD/DVD
form and/or for licensed downloading. If you're interested, check back here. --Jim
Wrenn, Editor.
To
display on a website or blog the video-box below (including permanent links for stand-alone viewing
of versions for multiple sizes/connection-speeds), use the copy/paste code below
(here).
variety of sizes &
configurations.</b></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
END COPY/PASTE CODE ON LINE
ABOVE.
.
Below is just a sample of a
GoogleNews Search for "Limbaugh" "Hagel" and "BetrayUS" in the
early-morning hours of September 30, 2007:
More
apologies needed
Kansas City Star, MO -
19 hours ago
Petraeus, it’s worth noting that the “betray us”
phrase was first coined by Rush Limbaugh in referring to Sen.
Chuck Hagel. (Earlier this year, he called ...
Dems
Rip Limbaugh's 'Phony Troops' Comment
KTVU.com, CA - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Rip Limbaugh's 'Phony Troops' Comment
KQCA, My58.com, CA -
Sep 28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Rip Limbaugh's 'Phony Troops' Comment
CBS 46, GA - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Hot Over Rush's 'Phony Troops' Comment
ClickonSA.com, TX -
Sep 28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Hot Over Rush's 'Phony Troops' Comment
WSOCtv.com, NC - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Hot Over Rush's 'Phony Troops' Comment
NBC30.com, CT - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Hot Over Rush's 'Phony Troops' Comment
WISC, WI - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Hot Over Rush's 'Phony Troops' Comment
WBAL, MD - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
Dems
Hot Over Rush's 'Phony Troops' Comment
NBC5i.com, TX - Sep
28, 2007
"Rush Limbaugh, who, in January, called
Vietnam veteran Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., 'Senator Betrayus' for
disagreeing with President Bush, has made no secret ...
