Does it surprise you that Democrats are trying to take credit for Rush Limbaugh?

Question

Limbaugh Letter Fetches $2.1 Million on eBay
Rush Limbaugh appears to have the Midas touch.
The conservative radio talk-show host turned an inflammatory letter written by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and signed by 41 of his fellow Democrats into a more than $4.2 million gold mine for the kids of Marines and law enforcement personnel killed in the line of duty, all courtesy of eBay.
The Eugene B. Casey foundation Betty Casey coughed up more than $2.1 million to be the sole owner of the letter sent to the radio host's boss demanding that Limbaugh be reprimanded for a "phony soldier" comment he made on air. Limbaugh has pledged to match whatever was paid for the letter.
Limbaugh described Betty Casey, a trustee of the foundation, as a loyal listener to his show.
“She gives significant sums to hospitals, hospices, colleges and private schools,” Limbaugh said during his radio show Friday afternoon, just after the eBay auction ended. “Betty has been a listener to my program since its inception, and we can't thank her enough for her support. This was kind of the last straw for her, what Harry Reid did here.”
The letter, sent by Reid and signed by his Democratic colleagues, was delivered Oct. 2 to Mark P. Mays, president of Clear Channel, the parent company of the conservative talk show host’s radio broadcast.
Click here to read the letter sent by Reid to Clear Channel's Mark Mays.
In exchange for the $2.1 million, the Maryland-based Eugene B. Casey Foundation, will receive the letter, the Halliburton briefcase in which the letter is secured 24 hours a day, a letter of thanks from Limbaugh and a picture of him announcing the auction at a speech in Philadelphia last week.
The foundation released the following statement on acquiring the letter:
"The Eugene B. Casey Foundation believes freedom of speech is a basic right of every citizen of this country. Their purchase of the smear letter was to demonstrate their belief in this right and to support Rush Limbaugh, his views and his continued education of us."
Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Maine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, a nonprofit that gives scholarship assistance to children of Marines and federal law enforcement personnel whose parents die in the line of duty.
Limbaugh has denied the term "phony soldiers" referred to former servicemen and women who served in Iraq and now oppose the war, but to those who lied about their service. A literal reading of the Sept. 26 show in question shows that the controversial host did not say that soldiers opposing the war are "phony."
On his Friday radio show, Limbaugh said Reid’s letter was an “abuse of power against a private citizen.”
“Harry Reid in a speech on the Senate floor at 12 noon today, a little over an hour ago, attempted to hone in on all this and take some credit for it, claiming that he and I had buried the hatchet, or implying that that had been the case, and then kept using the pronoun "we" in discussing how good this was, the money going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation,” Limbaugh said on his show.
“Three words, that means, ‘Rush, you win,’” Reid told his colleagues on the Senate floor. “I asked Sen. Reid to match and all the other senators who can afford to do so. I haven't heard from them on that. I asked Sen. Reid to go on the program and discuss his discussion of me as "unpatriotic." He did not accept my offer to do that and now has the audacity to climb aboard this, praising the effort, saying that "he" never knew that it would get this kind of money.
He also announced an unknown number of certified copies of the letter signed by him will be sold on for $1,000 on his Web site, with proceeds going to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.
So did the foundation get their money's worth?
Kieta, the vice president of AmericanMemorabilia.com who goes by only one name, said what makes the letter appealing to a buyer is all the media attention the correspondence has received, but it holds no real historical or collector value.
“If you compare it to an Abraham Lincoln document, there is obviously no comparison,” Kieta said. “This is strictly a promotional marketing ploy. Historically speaking, is it a historical document? I wouldn’t categorize it as a historical document.”

Answer 1

On his Friday radio show, Limbaugh said Reid’s letter was an “abuse of power against a private citizen.”

Let's get something straight here, Rush is using the PUBLIC airwaves so our government has every right to go to his superiors if he is spewing hate and calling our veterans "phony soldiers." Rush has every right to stand on a street corner and say all the things he normally says. But when you use the PUBLIC airwaves you don't have the right to just say anything you want, you have to act responsibly.

Answer 2

I noticed that the three people who answered this question in a negative fashion (i.e. that Rush was anything other than sincere) didn't address the question at all but attacked Rush.

Rush is a private citizen who has gone to Afghanistan to visit the troops and his show is one of the most highly appreciated shows on Armed Forces Radio according to the troops themselves. It is clear that he has historically supported the troops so suggesting that "if" he gives the money to the Foundation it would be a rare source of support is ignorant. As to the people who merely personally attack Rush, why would you do this to anyone. Here is a man who just turned a personal attack on him into a $4.2 million contribution to those people who lost family members who were defending us, with $2.1 million coming from his own pocket. How vile of you. Cough up another $4.2 million and I'm sure Rush would be happy to have you say anything you want about him but in the meantime, if only to honor those who receive the benefit of this selfless act, shut up.

By the way, you don't see Rush running to a lawyer to sue Harry Reid or anyone else over this major overstepping of the boundaries. You need only look at the Randi Rhodes flap to understand how many of the people on the other side of the dial react. I would be embarassed to admit that I listened to Randi Rhodes (I have, but only in the - "I can't turn my eyes away from that car wreck" - way), whereas it is a joy to hear of the causes supported by Rush and Hannity.

On liberal talk radio, the causes supported by the hosts are most often political (e.g. Ed Schultz shilling for moveon.org, etc.) but on conservative talk radio the causes are for the families of those who have been killed defending our freedom (Hannity and Rush) or for those wrongfully accused (Savage). These types of issues merely serve to highlight the differences between the two camps. I am a moderate conservative but I have to admit that listening to the foul mouthed, nasty, bitter creatures inhabiting the air waves on the left has pushed me ever further into the conservative camp.

Sorry for the rant but I couldn't believe that people had to be vicious and cruel to someone who had every reason to be hurt by an action by Congress and yet turned it to the benefit of people in need. And in response to the question, no I wasn't surprised but I was dissapointed, again.

Answer 3

You know - I really shouldn't be surprised - but the unmitigated gall of the left in Washington knows no bounds .
I actually thought I was listening to some idiot's parody of Harry Reid . When I realized it was him..I had driven past my street and had to make a U-Turn ..INCREDULOUS . On one hand ..there is Stark..who is stark-raving-mad ..talking like he is doing a scene in Sopranos..and then there's Harry Reid..with the "we raised all this money"..when ( unless he just took leave of his last brain-cell ) he knows he tried to smear a love-able little fuzzball , who did anything but smear our troops . Only a sociopath like Harry Reid could be so blatant and lie upon lie upon lie .And not only that - he gets 40 other democrat senators like him..John Kerry , Ted Kennedy , Hillary Rodham Clinton ..and they sign this huge lie , too - to smear Rush Limbaugh..who has NOT ONLY donated money to our military on his own in the past..besides he was defending our troops from the smear of a REAL LIVE "PHONY SOLDIER" . Anyone breathing knows what he said and if they don't all they need to do is listen to it again ..instead of wasting our tax dollars on smear & lies when there are crucial matters they could be tending to .Actually - this travesty shows utter incompetance & deception in the 40 senators ( along with Reid )..who signed that partisan smear letter to Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays . It shows they are not earning their pay..instead they are committing fraud . We need to hold hearings on what these people are doing in Washinton - that they have so much time to parade around as actors in a B movie..instead of elected officials . Reid should resign .

Answer 4

Of course its not surprising. Everyone know the seething hatred democrats have for our military. Thats why military votes 3-1 in favor of republicans.
Rush challenged democrats to follow his example by matching funds raised. So far no takers.
I wonder if Al Gore could take his sons bag of vicodin, xanax, oxy, and pot and auction it on e-bay.
Maybe Ted Kennedy could auction the pillowcase he slept his drunk off on minutes after killing the young lady.
Maybe Robert Byrd (drooly) could auction his white sheet he wore as grand dragon of KKK.
Clintons could auction blue dress. Some weirdo in san fran would get that.
Harry Reid could auction pork barrel legislation that benefitted his bro.
Way to go Rush. Taking an attempt at censorship and making it benefit people that democrats have nothing but disdain for, our military, was a stroke of genius.

Answer 5

It is a historical document in the sense that it shows the depths of how far the current Democratic Party will stoop to try to lead this Nation A Stray! Including Hillary and the other 40 Demos who signed the letter.

They are so good about taking things out of context to try sway gullible Americans. Which this letter is a perfect example.

Answer 6

Not even a little bit. The hateful comments here clearly show the Left's common point of view: offer nothing helpful, spew hate & lies at every opportunity, and make crap up as you go along.
And ^5 to Matt W & Josiah for great answers.

Answer 7

the primo draft dodger Mr Bill Clinton.
the fact then Reid wanted to censor Rush .
what ever happen to freedom of speech

Answer 8

I love how the libs who have posted here have NOTHING positive to say about Rush's generosity here, even after agreeing with "questions" challenging GOP generosity. Who cares if its a historical document or not? The bottom line is that Rush has generated $4.2M for a very worthy cause with it. How much have Ried and Pelosi together (or the rest of the libs in Congress for that matter) donated to similar causes?

Answer 9

Harry Reid was trying to shut down Limbaugh's program. He was trying to censure a private citizen.
It is frightening to think that if we disagree with Libs, we could lose our freedom of speech.

And, no, nothing underhanded that the Dems do surprises me. It's their typical mode of operation.

Answer 10

Given as how they have been unable to lead in Congress since being elected or stop the war on terror while driving their approval ratings to new lows, I guess they have to show their voters something to get their checks from Soros and the Clintons and MoveOn. . .