Rush Refers to Murtha as "Genuine Phony Soldier"

Washington, DC - Responding to the growing controversy over his claims that members of the military who support U.S. withdrawal from Iraq are "phony soldiers," Rush Limbaugh today referred to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), a Vietnam veteran, as a "genuine phony soldier." Limbaugh also falsely claimed that Media Matters for America had taken his original statement out of context -- and resorted to distorting his own comments in order to do so.

Limbaugh claimed that when he originally referred to "phony soldiers," he was referring to Jesse MacBeth, "a genuine phony soldier. And by the way, Jesse MacBeth's not the only one. How about this guy Scott Thomas [Beauchamp], who was writing fraudulent, phony things in The New Republic about atrocities he saw that never happened? How about Jack Murtha blanketly accepting the notion that Marines at Haditha engaged in wanton murder of innocent children and civilians?"

In addition to referring to Murtha as a phony soldier, Limbaugh misled listeners about his original comments, which were not limited to MacBeth. In fact, Limbaugh's original "phony soldiers" comment came nearly two minutes before he even mentioned MacBeth.

Also, to support this claim, Limbaugh purported to air the "entire" segment in question from the September 26 broadcast of his show. In fact, the clip he then aired had been edited. Omitted from the clip was most of the discussion that occurred between Limbaugh's original "phony soldiers" comment and his subsequent reference to MacBeth.

"Rush Limbaugh has dug himself a deeper hole with this latest outrage. After referring to troops who disagree with him about Iraq as 'phony soldiers,' Limbaugh now says that Rep. John Murtha, a highly respected Vietnam veteran is a phony soldier," said Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters.

Frisch continued, "If that isn't despicable enough, Limbaugh's hate-filled radio program is broadcast to the very troops he smears via American Forces Radio. It is time for media and political leaders to speak out against Limbaugh's disgraceful attacks."

During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers." Limbaugh has denounced as "contemptible" and "indecent" MoveOn.org's much-discussed ad -- titled "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" -- critical of Gen. David Petraeus, but has repeatedly attacked the patriotism of those with whom he disagrees.

Further Background:

Limbaugh: Service members who support U.S. withdrawal are "phony soldiers"

During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers." He made the comment while discussing with a caller a conversation he had with a previous caller, "Mike from Chicago," who said he "used to be military," and "believe[s] that we should pull out of Iraq." Limbaugh told the second caller, whom he identified as "Mike, this one from Olympia, Washington," that "[t]here's a lot" that people who favor U.S. withdrawal "don't understand" and that when asked why the United States should pull out, their only answer is, " 'Well, we just gotta bring the troops home.' ... 'Save the -- keeps the troops safe' or whatever," adding, "[I]t's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people." "Mike" from Olympia replied, "No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media." Limbaugh interjected, "The phony soldiers." The caller, who had earlier said, "I am a serving American military, in the Army," agreed, replying, "The phony soldiers." Read/Listen to More

Members of Congress denounced Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" smear

On September 27, several members of Congress denounced Rush Limbaugh for, as Media Matters for America documented, calling service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers" on the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show. Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) made speeches on the House floor responding to Limbaugh; Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) made his comments on the September 27 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann; and Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Patrick J. Murphy (D-PA) issued statements denouncing Limbaugh's comments. Read/Listen to More

Limbaugh previously called Vietnam veteran Kerry "a fraud," "a total phony"

As Media Matters for America documented, on the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Rush Limbaugh characterized service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as "phony soldiers." It was not the first time, however, that Limbaugh has labeled a military service member a "phony." On the June 27 edition of his radio program, Limbaugh claimed that the discredited Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth's smear campaign against Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) Vietnam record "worked because it was true," adding: "The guy's a fraud! He's a total phony, and people were able to see it!" Read/Listen to More

Before MoveOn's "General Betray Us," there was Limbaugh's "Senator Betrayus"

Rush Limbaugh has called the MoveOn.org "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" advertisement "contemptible" and "indecent," but months earlier, on his radio show, he told his audience that he had a new name for Senator Chuck Hagel: "Senator Betrayus." Though Limbaugh has taken exception to accusations that he has attacked the patriotism of his political opponents, the "Senator Betrayus" remark is one of several instances in which Limbaugh has done so. Read/Listen to More