Hush Rush

What is going on at Capitol Hill?

Rush Limbaugh has been at or near the top of the left’s most-wanted list for some time. Recently, however, the left has kicked it up a notch on counter-Rush operations. The “phony soldier” controversy has spilled over into October and has shown little sign of slowing.

Someone saw an opportunity when Rush referred to phony soldiers on his radio program. If you care about the context (which is not a factor for organizations such as Media Matters for America) you could read in the transcripts that the phony soldiers in question were actual phonies. Not anti-war veterans as the left insists – but people who fabricated atrocities committed by U.S. troops in Iraq to support the anti-war movement. He specifically mentioned Jesse MacBeth, whose story is detailed in my last piece, Phony Soldiers.

So why create a phony scandal? There are many possibilities. The moveon.org attack ad on General Petraeus blew up in their face. The negative publicity the Democrats received needs to be countered. The counter strategy would be to make conservatives look even worse. Unfortunately, the right actually supports the troops and their mission, so that would be a tough one to pull off. Fortunately for the left, the line between the truth and a lie is wherever you need it to be to fit your agenda.

Another possibility is that the news from Iraq is going badly for Democrats. The good news is getting harder to hide – casualty rates are the lowest in over a year. The Iraqi population is now standing up and fighting off al Qaeda. Bush even stole the Democrats’ thunder by calling for troop withdrawals. They have (for the time being) abandoned their attempts to withdraw the troops from Iraq. Success in Iraq spells disaster for Democrats. Perhaps a scandal featuring Rush Limbaugh will divert the attention from the battlefield, possibly buying some more time for defeat.

To the detriment of the left, real atrocities are hard to come by. Even the Haditha massacre investigation has all but collapsed (Imagine being in John Murtha’s shoes right now). Without atrocities, the anti-war crowd is losing steam. When the “phony soldier” story was invented, the anti-war movement got a flag for their troops to rally around.

Still yet – and this may be the biggest factor – when Rush is on the air, tens of millions of Americans tune in. Rush puts the left on full display, exactly where they do not want to be. They are much more comfortable in the shadows, operating under the radar as they undermine the institutions that make this country great. They can’t stand having their own words come back to haunt them. They can’t pass their socialist agenda when it is brought out in the open. In the old days, politicians could get away with murder (literally) – they could say whatever they wanted and not be held accountable. But now, conservative talk radio does a fantastic job holding these politicians accountable, and Rush is the King of talk radio.

Senators Harry Reid, Tom Harkin, and Jim Webb have spent plenty of time denouncing and insulting Mr. Limbaugh on the floor of the Senate. Legislation was introduced by 20 House Democrats condemning Rush’s (supposed) statement. Is anyone else concerned that our legislators are attacking a private citizen from the floors of the House and Senate?

More importantly, Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is having his investigative staff monitor Rush and other popular talk radio hosts. He is also speaking with the head of the Federal Communications Commission about the Fairness Doctrine. Let’s just pretend that Rush said what liberals claim – it is still free speech. No one gets bent out of shape when Democrats speak against our troops. Why is speech not as free when it doesn’t please liberal politicians?

Democrats even look to profit off their invented scandal. Howard Dean, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, and Charles Schumer are featuring Limbaugh on their fundraising strategy. A Democratic National Committee staffer said, “We’re not going to let Limbaugh determine what soldiers can talk and what soldiers can not.”

The left must have a villain to survive – someone on the right to attack, to divert attention from the political shortcomings. Nations like Iran keep their repressed populations angry at the United States. In Nazi Germany’s case it was the Jews. Without the Jews to blame, chances are Hitler would not have risen to power. Today’s liberal politicians attack Rush Limbaugh to hide their abysmal performance in Congress. Voters would be outraged at Democrats if they weren’t distracted by the assault on Rush.

In closing, here are the words of an unnamed source from House leadership, “Limbaugh isn’t the only one who needs to be made uncomfortable about what he says on the radio. We don’t have as big a megaphone as these guys, but this all political, and we’ll do what we can to gain the advantage. If we can take them off their game for a while, it will help our folks out there on the campaign trail.”

So there you have it – the left will do whatever it takes to win.

Chris Carter is the host of “Unto the Breach with Crushing Chris Carter.”
COPYRIGHT 2007 CHRIS CARTER