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 anyones contention to the contrary.
Mr. Limbaughs 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. Limbaughs 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. Limbaughs 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 didnt share his own beliefs regarding the war in Iraq. However, if Mr. Limbaughs 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 talents 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. Limbaughs 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
What were those voters in Nevada thinking???
Were they all drinking Move On Kool Aid????
Senators only know what their staffs and media advisors tell them. They don’t care about America. To them it’s a career, not a calling. They can go to Hell.
But don't you see the problem that would have created? Imagine the confusion! They have been talking out of their asses for so long, they wouldn't have a clue which orifice the condemnation request should be shoved into!
People who vote for dumbocrats don’t think.
Classic,The Colonel would be proud!
Well I don’t know, I took it as “only Rush can say what his intention was and he already did”. End of paragraph. In other words Rush said you’re wrong, period.
There was a lady from Nevada who called in today and said he was elected because they thought he would be good for Nevada. She was speaking in terms of a Byrd being good for WV or a Kennedy being good for MA. I hope she is right in saying he is toast.
Translation = screw you.
I agree. I was speaking with a friend last month about schumer's disparaging comments about our Troops in iraq. She had no idea who I was talking about, but then told me that he might be right because she had recalled seeing something on the news about how our troops were losing the war. I pressed her for what it was that she saw- she could only respond that it was on one of the network channels and from the look of things our soldiers were in bad shape.
Someone did, I forget which member of the House.
They're just warming up. Wait until 2008 for the real show.
It’s like a Who’s Who of suck.
Just amazing. They condemn Rush but not moveon. We really do live in a Bizarro world.
In a word No. However, the Senate can introduce anything they wont to, legal or not. Anything they introduce becomes part of the Senate record and I believe that is their purpose.
What do the voters of Vermont think everytime they return a man to the Senate who leaked secrets that probably got people killed? What do the voters who return Kennedy and Kerry to the Senate over and over think? What happens in Iowa where there are good people who send a dictator loving liar to the Senate over and over again? I do not know.
Congressman Jack Kingston (R) Georgia 1st District did that in the House of Representatives.
We need to let the Republican leadership in the House and Senate know what we think about this, and send a thank you to Congressman Kingston.
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
We all need to take this for what it is, a test. The libs are seeing how far they can push this, and how far the pubies will bend in the wind.
We need to apply pressure on the pubies to get them to stand strong and push back. We need to push back too. The dems need to see that we will make this a mess if they are game on going that way..
This really is more of a chance to smack them hard than many can imagine.
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