Posted on 10/02/2007 4:20:59 PM PDT by RDTF
Washington, DCSenate Democrats today sent the following letter to Mark P. Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications, calling on him to publicly repudiate Rush Limbaughs characterization of troops who speak out against the Iraq war as phony soldiers. Despite recent Republican comments condemning verbal attacks on our troops, when given the opportunity to join us in signing this letter, not a single one did so.
The text of the letter is below and attached:
October 2, 2007
Mr. Mark P. Mays CEO, Clear Channel Communications Inc. 200 East Basse Road San Antonio, TX 78209
Dear Mr. Mays,
At the time we sign this letter, 3,808 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, and another 28,009 have been wounded. 160,000 others awoke this morning on foreign sand, far from home, to face the danger and uncertainty of another day at war.
Although Americans of goodwill debate the merits of this war, we can all agree that those who serve with such great courage deserve our deepest respect and gratitude. That is why Rush Limbaughs recent characterization of troops who oppose the war as phony soldiers is such an outrage.
Our troops are fighting and dying to bring to others the freedoms that many take for granted. It is unconscionable that Mr. Limbaugh would criticize them for exercising the fundamentally American right to free speech. Mr. Limbaugh has made outrageous remarks before, but this affront to our soldiers is beyond the pale.
The military, like any community within the United States, includes members both for and against the war. Senior generals, such as General John Batiste and Paul Eaton, have come out against the war while others have publicly supported it. A December 2006 poll conducted by the Military Times found just 35 percent of service members approved of President Bushs handling of the war in Iraq, compared to 42 percent who disapproved. From this figure alone, it is clear that Mr. Limbaughs insult is directed at thousands of American service members.
Active and retired members of our armed forces have a unique perspective on the war and offer a valuable contribution to our national debate. In August, seven soldiers wrote an op-ed expressing their concern with the current strategy in Iraq. Tragically, since then, two of those seven soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq.
Thousands of active troops and veterans were subjected to Mr. Limbaughs unpatriotic and indefensible comments on your broadcast. 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.
Sincerely,
Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader Senator Richard Durbin, Assistant Majority Leader Senator Charles Schumer, Vice Chairman, Democratic Conference Senator Patty Murray, Secretary, Democratic Conference Senator Daniel Akaka Senator Max Baucus Senator Joseph Biden Senator Barbara Boxer Senator Sherrod Brown Senator Robert Byrd Senator Benjamin Cardin Senator Tom Carper Senator Bob Casey Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton Senator Kent Conrad Senator Christopher Dodd Senator Byron Dorgan Senator Dianne Feinstein Senator Tom Harkin Senator Daniel Inouye Senator Edward M. Kennedy Senator John Kerry Senator Amy Klobuchar Senator Mary Landrieu Senator Frank Lautenberg Senator Patrick Leahy Senator Carl Levin Senator Blanche Lincoln Senator Bob Menendez Senator Barbara Mikulski Senator Bill Nelson Senator Barack Obama Senator Jack Reed Senator Jay Rockefeller Senator Ken Salazar Senator Bernie Sanders Senator Debbie Stabenow Senator Jon Tester Senator Jim Webb Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Senator Ron Wyden
As a matter of fact, this is going to help Rush and conservitive talkradio because people will wonder what the fuss is all about and turn on the radio and maybe learn something.
What a waste of time and tax dollars, all for NOTHING!
The Democrats stepped in it this time. Republicans should expose their lies to the world. If Republicans do not fight back they too are losers like Reid and Harkin.
I sent letters yesterday to condemn Reid, Harken. Freepers should add more. The Dem Senate needs to hear from pubs, libertarians, Independents and Freepers that this smear will not stand.
I hope Rush keeps it up until they go on his show to talk man-to-man about this for a few more weeks. And no GOLF game days off until it's over. This is good. Invite Ann Coulter down to participate in this stuff too. She's funny. Laura Ingraham too. She's funny. Michelle Malkin, Mike Savage, Mike Medved, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, etc, etc. Too many to name. Keep this up. Rush isn't going to be a quitter on this one.
Let's debate publicly what these "Democrats" said in the House and Senate for a whole month or two about the U.S. military for the last few years. They asked for it. So give them what they asked for.
Exactly! Rush will probably have to THANK Harry Reid in a few weeks for raising his listenership dramatically! LOL! :-)
And who knows, maybe a few moonbats who tune in will be converted and that would make all this unpleasantness worth it. :-)
Republicans smartly dived under their desks before before the 19 Rat senators did.
You can probably read in Al Jazeera that Rush is a bigger problem to them than President Bush is. Just watch.
“Our troops are fighting and dying to bring to others the freedoms that many take for granted.”
Odd. I thought that these socialists believed that the war was for oil or for Haliburton.
Guess not.
Oh how I despise the DemocRAT Party. Just a group of lying character assassins. Could you imagine what things would be like for them if they didn’t control the media? They would have been strung up long ago, figuratively speaking of course...
mark
My email in support of Rush has been sent to Mr. Mays.
&@#%*-!! all, and the horse they rode in on!
Got in a drawing mood...wouldn't put this past them.
These dims do nothing but sit around trying to perpetuate lies and more lies. Must be exhausting.
It’s “the seriousness of the charge”.
Gag.
It has to be good to have the domestic enemies of the United States all put their names on a list. Worth bookmarking.
It will be interesting how his show will turn out today. All the other national talkradio shows have picked up on this one.
I can’t wait to hear Rush today or the Phony Senator Reid. The Phony senator is no match for an honest man...Reid should step down for using the Floor of the Senate to smear a loyal, G-d fearing, taxpaying, American. Reid was underhanded and dishonest; he has no place in the US Senate.
Did you hear Wesley Clark on the Today Show today? He started an email campaign to get Rush removed from the Armed Forces radio. Unbelievable.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.