# Bozell's October 9 column, "Rush Limbaugh, Vindicated"
The ruckus over the Rush Limbaugh "phony soldiers" statement is dying
down. It ought not to. There is a huge story here.
What did Rush say? In a September 26 conversation with a caller to
his program who claimed the media never interview "real soldiers,"
but just people out of the blue, Rush added for emphasis, "the phony soldiers."
The left saw its opportunity and pounced with a vengeance. Led by the
George Soros-funded and Hillary Clinton-inspired Media Matters
outfit, it unleashed a scorched-earth attack on Limbaugh for
insulting the military, stating that any servicemen or women who
might oppose the war in Iraq had been defamed by the talk show host
as "phony soldiers."
The television networks, newspapers, and leftist blog sites were
ablaze with stories about Democratic outrage. There were calls for
his show to be yanked from the Armed Forces Radio Network. There were
demands that Clear Channel make Rush apologize, and that advertisers
pull their sponsorship.
Presidential candidates denounced him. Congressional leaders -- the
usual crowd of Reid, Pelosi, Harkin, Kerry, etc. -- denounced him. A
formal congressional resolution condemning Limbaugh was drawn up by
Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) and reportedly had over one hundred Democrat
(and one Republican) signers. The message was clear: Limbaugh's anti-
military insult could not, and would not be tolerated.
How disingenuous was this leftist attack on Limbaugh? Let us count
the ways.
1. Before reviewing the facts of the case, one has to shake his head
in disbelief that anyone would accuse Limbaugh of an anti-military
bias. A day doesn't go by when he isn't praising our military on his
radio program. He's visited the troops on the battlefield in
Afghanistan, and brought comfort to our wounded at the Walter Reed
Army hospital. He's raised and donated millions to military
charities. It is no wonder that he is the single most popular
personality on the Armed Forces Radio Network.
2. Less than two minutes after uttering the words "phony soldiers,"
Limbaugh elaborated on the subject, explaining exactly what he meant
by the term. He named one Jesse Macbeth as an example of a phony
soldier. Macbeth had become an overnight darling of the far left, a
self-described Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient man who
posted a YouTube video denouncing American military atrocities he'd
witnessed. Except he was never awarded a Purple Heart. He was never
in Iraq. In fact, he was never in the military, period. He was tossed
out of boot camp after four months. Macbeth is now in prison serving
a five-month term for falsifying Army records and applying falsely
for veterans' benefits. Limbaugh was right.
Limbaugh also pointed out that he wasn't the first to discuss the
Macbeth phony soldier story. Brian Ross had filed a report on this
man several nights before, on ABC's World News. Mr. Ross even used
the term "phony soldier" -- and not a soul on the left found fault
with that.
3. So the left returned with another charge: Limbaugh had used the
plural, "phony soldiers," therefore Limbaugh's sole example --
Macbeth -- was inadequate. So are there any other "phony soldiers"
out there? Jeffrey Sullivan, the U.S. Attorney for the Western
District of Washington, thinks so. Besides prosecuting Macbeth, he's
prosecuted another five "phony soldiers." Jim O'Neill, the assistant
inspector general for investigations at the Veterans Administration,
confirms that the federal government is presently conducting another
60 such "stolen valor" cases. Rush was right, in spades.
And when Rush fought back, that military hawk Sen. Tom Harkin took to
the floor of the Senate to denounce him for engaging in a publicity
stunt, for ratings. In other words, Rush had no right to defend himself.
4. The left knows Rush was correct, yet, just as with the spurious
racist accusations against Bill O'Reilly the week before, the attacks
continued for days, unabated. This is no accident, and no
coincidence. Yesterday it was MoveOn. Today it's Media Matters. This
is the far left at its repugnant worst, perfectly content to destroy
a man's reputation through dishonest attacks if it will further its
agenda. Josef Stalin would be proud of this movement.
Rush has beaten them all back now. In fact, as with the
Petraeus/"Betray Us" attacks by MoveOn, this newest round of
attempted character assassination backfired, and did nothing but re-
energize conservatives. But this won't stop the left. Tomorrow it
will be Sean Hannity, or Mark Levin, or maybe Laura Ingraham. This
group plays for keeps.
And what of all those media outlets giving aid and comfort to the
leftists who attacked Rush? Now that we know there are several dozen
cases of "phony soldier" scandals, just as Rush suggested, how many
stories have they devoted to them, thus vindicating Rush? Check for a
Jesse Macbeth story in a Nexis database search on CBS, NBC, and NPR.
Search Time, Newsweek and USA Today. Look up the Washington Post, the
New York Times and USA Today.
You won't find a one.
