Saturday, October 20, 2007

Washington Post's Take on Limbaugh/Reid Letter   [Mark Hemingway]

Neely Tucker's Washington Post article this morning about the charity auction of Harry Reid's letter to Rush Limbaugh is really beyond the pale. Here's how it characterizes the dispute:

The letter in question is an Oct. 2 two-pager from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark Mays lambasting the syndicate's Rush Limbaugh, who had recently criticized U.S. troops who were against the war in Iraq.

"Phony soldiers," blasted Limbaugh.

"Beyond the pale," Reid blasted back. "Unpatriotic," he added.

That's all the context there is. Nevermind that anyone with a shred of honesty left knows that Limbaugh wasn't talking about soldiers who served honorably and are now protesting the war, but protesters who lie about having had military service. Framing it that way is taking Reid's side. But it gets worse from there:

Forty-one Democratic senators signed the thing, put it in the mail and, really, that should have been the end.

But Limbaugh decided he had been "smeared" by left-wing evildoers. He put the letter up for auction on eBay, with the benefits going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation...

Love the scare quotes around "smeared." Also, "evildoers"? So much for objectivity. Being in the Style section is no excuse for shoddy journalism. Even worse, Limbaugh "decided he had been smeared" — love the way that "decided" implies that he is alone in thinking he's been "smeared" — so in response to this smear, he then decides to ... raise a bunch of money for charity? That monster!

The article then notes that Limbaugh "graciously poked Reid in the eye" on his radio show yesterday — with no mention whatsoever that Reid tried to horn in on his fundraising success on the floor of the Senate. This after almost every Democratic co-signer of the letter wouldn't comment on the fundraising efforts.

But then I've saved the worst for last. After detailing all of the political grandstanding involved, the kicker of the article is this:

"But we're not political at all," [James Kallstrom, chairman and co-founder of the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation] said.

The implication here seems to be the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation — an all volunteer organization independently rated one of the best charities in America by the way — is disingenuous when it said that it wasn't political because of Limbaugh's fundraising efforts. Yes, too bad they didn't refuse $4 million for the children of deceased soldiers, because all of the attention might make Harry Reid have to publicly defend his claims against Limbaugh. Unbelievable.

10/20 12:27 PMShare