"Ace" Senator
Posted on 10/02/2007 6:43:31 PM PDT by kristinn
Edited on 10/02/2007 7:29:10 PM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
Clear Channel CEO Mark P. Mays responded to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a letter hand-delivered to his office this evening.
Take a look at the letter here.
Full text:
October 2, 2007
The Honorable Harry Reid
S-221 United States Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20501
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
I want to thank you and your Senate Democratic colleagues for sharing your concern over recent comments made by Rush Limbaugh on his daily radio program. First, let me say that the men and women who wear the uniform in defense of our country deserve the utmost respect and gratitude from each and every one of us whom they serve to protect. I assure you that I fully agree with your statement that “not a single one of our sons, daughters, neighbors and friends serving overseas is a phony soldier.” As a grateful American citizen, I would reject anyone’s contention to the contrary.
Mr. Limbaugh’s comments last week have stirred a lot of emotion, and I have carefully read the transcript from the episode in question. I hope you will appreciate that I cannot speak with authority as to whom exactly Mr. Limbaugh’s comments were directed, or what was his intent. Only Mr. Limbaugh can speak to those issues, which he has done.
I can say, however, that over the years Mr. Limbaugh has repeatedly praised the dedication and valor of our brave men and women in uniform. Given Mr. Limbaugh’s history of support for our soldiers, it would be unfair for me to assume his statements were intended to personally indict combat soldiers simply because they didn’t share his own beliefs regarding the war in Iraq. However, if Mr. Limbaugh’s intention was to classify any soldier opposed to the war in Iraq as a “phony soldier,” which he denies, then I, along with most Americans, would be deeply offended by such a statement.
While I do not agree with everything Mr. Limbaugh says on every topic, I do believe that he, along with every American, has the right to voice his or her opinion in the manner they choose. The First Amendment gives every American the right to voice his or her opinion, no matter how unpopular. That right is one that I am sure you agree must be cherished and protected.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel, I support each of our on-air talent’s right to express his or herself freely, as long as they do it within the confines of the laws set forth by Congress. For this reason, I have not and will not impose my own views upon any of our on-air talent. Doing so would, quite frankly, undermine the integrity of the broadcast, undercut the trust with our listeners that they are receiving the true and honest opinions of the radio host, and more importantly fly directly in the face the right to free speech that we hold so dear.
Each and every day, Clear Channel airs a broad diversity of viewpoints from Rush Limbaugh on the right to Air America on the left of the political spectrum. It is inevitable, with so many different perspectives, than an on-air personality will challenge or even offend another segment of the public. I too am sometimes offended by words that are directed at me or a particular belief I hold. However, as a broadcaster and leader of this company, I will always defend the right of our employees and contracted talent to voice their opinions under the protections provided by the First Amendment.
I want to thank you and your colleagues for writing me regarding this matter. Again, I regret that you were offended by Mr. Limbaugh’s statement, regardless of what its intended meaning may have been. I hope that you understand and support my position that while I certainly do not agree with all views that are voiced on our stations, I will not condemn our talent for exercising their right to voice them.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Mays
Chief Executive Officer
bill of attainder. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved October 02, 2007, from Dictionary.com website
an act of legislature finding a person guilty of treason or felony without trial.bill of attainder. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Retrieved October 02, 2007, from Dictionary.com website
n. pl. bills of attainder A legislative act pronouncing a person guilty of a crime, usually treason, without trial and subjecting that person to capital punishment and attainder. Such acts are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.And I'm not even going to get into contrasting the definition of punishment and repudiation (it certainly aint semantics).
The letter is not a bill, nor an Act of Congress, and neither is it an expressed sense of the Senate. Even if there were 50 names on that letter (and there are only 41), its not even close to expressing a sense of the Senate. And its not even a non-binding resolution.
Raising your voice to the contrary doesn't make what you're yelling about so (and bolding your insistance is no different than capitalizations, which in cyberspeak are both connotations of yelling. Its a letter written by a bunch of Senate Democrats excercising their Constitutional First Ammendment right attempting to quash another voice from expressing its Constitutional First Ammendment right.
Are they a bunch of contemptible slugs? You bet (no dispute or contention on my part concerning that).
He should have responded that “Clear Channel does not get involved in Democrat Party political SMEAR campaigns”.
there, fixed it.
Naw, it’s not going to take a bunch of hard work. It is just kindergarten stuff they are doing. Rush is blowing them off. This CEO told them to pound sand. They are just so infatuated with themselves, they cannot see their own idiocy.
Well, Rush never referred to Murtha as a phony Soldier. He’d have to be called a phony Marine. But, hey, if Reid can stand up for Murtha, it says a lot about the company he keeps.
I would like to respond to this and say that Jack Murtha is in trouble as a Marine. He has sold his soul to satan’s party and may well have to answer. (I hope so).
WOOHOO! Now this is one I can get behind and support! Thanks, weegee.
I'm fully aware of what is really going on here, but if they are that easily whipped up, can you imagine the damage that some of the (other) enemies of our country could do by planting false statements and then goading them into action?
Thanks for the ping!
I sent Nelson this letter with a BCC to Martinez...
Is your staff falling down on the job? How could they have advised you to sign that disgusting letter condemning Mr. Limbaugh? It wasn’t difficult for me to find the actual transcript of what was said on the radio about phoney soldiers. It is very plain that our fine military was NOT BEING MALIGNED.
Now, you have made yourself look foolish. It is better to remain quiet than to let the world know that you are ignorant of the facts. It is no wonder that Congress has an 11% approval rating.
It is equally tragic to have two foolish senators!!! We will be doing all we can to see that you both are unemployed when election time comes around.
not to knock your friend, I have relatives who are totally uninformed also, doesn’t it just drive you crazy how they can be so unaware? They just hear snippets of the network news to form important decisions, important to some of us anyway.
“However, as a broadcaster and leader of this company, I will always defend the right of our employees and contracted talent to voice their opinions under the protections provided by the First Amendment.” When he says “defend”, he means it in the legal sense, as in ‘put your money where your mouth is’, in other words, pound sand.
Go get 'em, Rush!
Dead serious , I’ll go . I hat those traitors. This country is in serious trouble and we need to be heard before Klinton takes over and we all shut down. Talk Radio is only the start . I’m sure klinton will be gunning for FR too . All opposition must be silenced.
I left e-mails at Harkins,Reid and my own Senators sites with some insightful stuff (IMHO) and hope they listen. All Americans should do the same.
mark
The democrats are indeed sickening.
Rush responded with a plural ‘soldiers’ as the caller used the word in the plural also...what’s so difficult for these media idiots to get?? It should be explained as I said, plainly and simply for the idiots who don’t get it.
It might be time for us to take the shot and leave the family and business once and awhile to get out there and try to save the country in person before it’s too late.
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.