Reid Praises Limbaugh For Record EBay Letter Sale
Oct 20th, 2007 | 19 responses
Mark yesterday as the day when you-know-where finally froze over:
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid is no fan of Rush Limbaugh, but the Nevada Democrat praised the conservative radio talk-show host on the Senate floor Friday for raising more than $2 million for charity — by auctioning on eBay a letter in which Reid condemns Limbaugh.
“I think it’s really good that this money on eBay is going to be raised for this purpose,” Reid said. “Everyone knows that Rush Limbaugh and I don’t agree on everything in life, and maybe that is kind of an understatement.
“But without qualification Mark Mays, the owner of the [Clear Channel Communications] network … [and] Rush Limbaugh should know that this letter that they’re auctioning is going to be something that raises money for a worthwhile cause.”
Limbaugh has pledged to donate the auction proceeds to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, which provides financial assistance to the children of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement officers.
Reid also encouraged “anyone interested with the means to consider contributing to this worthwhile cause.”
“I strongly believe when we can put our differences aside, even Harry Reid and Rush Limbaugh, we should do that and try to accomplish good things for the American people.”
The letter, which was co-signed by 40 Democratic senators and sent to Mark Mays, whose network syndicates Limbaugh’s show, condemned Limbaugh for comments he made “characterizing troops who speak out against the war as phony soldiers.”
Rush Limbaugh can’t usually be pointed to as someone who made public relations “lemon” into “lemonade” — but he can this time. In one fell swoop he helped negate some of the negative imagery surrounding his “phony soldiers” comment, since the big bucks for the letter will indeed go to a good military cause. Reid is also smart in praising Limbaugh: he’d look like a stubborn bad guy if he didn’t praise what has now turned out to be a fund-raising gold mine using a letter that was intended to damage Limbaugh’s career. The New York Times:
The money will go to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation Inc., a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that provides scholarships and other assistance to families of Marines and federal law enforcement officials who die or are wounded in the line of duty. Mr. Limbaugh is a director of the foundation, which had total revenues of $5.2 million last year.
“It’s unbelievable,†said James K. Kallstrom, the retired head of the F.B.I. office in New York, who is chairman of the foundation. He said the charity would meet on Monday to decide how to spend the money. “We might increase the size of the bonds we give these children, and we’ll probably do a lot more for the wounded veterans,†he said. “It’s almost unlimited what you can do for them.â€
The letter was purchased by the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, a $294 million foundation in Gaithersburg, Md., that has given money to a wide range of organizations, including the Washington Opera and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. In a statement, the foundation said its purchase was intended to demonstrate its belief in freedom of speech and “to support Rush Limbaugh, his views and his continuing education of us.â€
Limbaugh had fun talking about the letter on his show:
He said fans had written him with concerns that wealthy liberals like George Soros would drive the price of the letter to $20 million or more in hopes of bankrupting him.
“It’s just amazing,†Mr. Limbaugh told Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes of the Fox television program Hannity & Colmes on Thursday night, when the bidding stood at $851,000. “This is more fun than I’ve ever had in my life.â€
He predicted the sale’s success would anger the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, a signer of the letter, who Mr. Limbaugh calls “Dingy Harry.â€
But, no, Harry Reid did surprise him.
And, in the end, Limbaugh probably surprised Harry Reid. And — for perhaps just this once — America’s increasingly bitter political wars ended in some genuine good guys benefiting from America’s ideological battlefield.
A CROSS SECTION OF OTHER WEBLOG OPINION:
–Ed Morrissey:
Uh-huh. So now Harry wants everyone to think that he participated in the fund-raising effort deliberately. He wants to take credit for over $4 million in donations that came from two people — the bidder, and the man Reid intended to smear and intimidate. That’s not just laughable, it’s pathetic.
Let’s see Reid put his money where his mouth is. Where’s Reid’s $2.1 million? He could sell off a few of the Nevada properties that have enriched him while he manipulates their value through legislation. His colleagues could also pitch in and at least match Rush in the aggregate — donating $50,000 for everyone who signed the letter. If they want to take credit for the fundraising, why don’t they contribute some funds themselves?
Trying to get backhanded credit for this situation smacks of desperation. He and his fellow weasel Democrats tried very hard to smack down Rush over comments that he didn’t make and taken out of context by Media Matters, and Rush turned the entire situation on its head by offering up the document on eBay to the highest bidder.
This is the state of the Senate Democrat leadership today.
--The Impolitical looks at the news reports and writes:
There’s a bottomless pit of money to rescue such comedians as Rush Limbaugh from their smearing of U.S. troops who oppose the Iraq war….Just unbelievable..
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–Right Wing Nut House (a blog that needs to be renamed since it often makes a LOT of sense):
The whole world is laughing at Harry and he hasn’t a clue, has he? Has there ever been a Senate Majority Leader more oblivious?…Harry Reid trying to take credit for Limbaugh’s brilliant riposte? Some things are simply beyond irony, beyond sarcasm, and enter the realm of sublime idiocy. Reid has no clue that he is being funny, that the joke is on him…And by the way…How’s that campaign to get Rush off Armed Forces Radio coming?
–Mixter’s Mix points to Rush being on the foundation’s board:
So he’s going to donate the proceeds of the sale to a charitable foundation, of which he is a director? Yeah, that sounds like Rush…Not to judge or anything, but I really gotta, for the sake of my own sanity, think there’s a special place in Hell for people like Rush.
Regular listeners to Rush’s show know that Harry Reid’s statement is nothing more than last minute showboating. He’s obviously had his staff paying attention to this auction all week. The question I have isn’t about why he made this speech. That’s the easiest thing to figure out. He wanted to sound conciliatory without apologizing for his disgusting statements…
….God bless Rush for showing America what happens when we stand up to intimidation. There aren’t many things that are as inspirational as watching a man say with his actions that he’s mad as hell and that he isn’t going to take it anymore.
The old adage that states there is a sucker born every minute is again proven true as Betty Casey, a noted philanthropist and supporter of the arts, paid $2.1 million for the so called “historic†Limbaugh smear letter (hopefully tax deductible). …So again the war dodging blowhard gets his followers all riled up and in the process Rush and Harry Reid get more publicity and Betty Casey gets a couple of pieces of paper worth barely more than the the Charmin I used this morning. Sounds like another successful Limbaugh stunt, at least this time the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation gets to come along for the ride.
So, will Harry, who says he’s so proud to be associated with this fundraising effort, and the other senators put their money where their mouths are and also write a personal check equal to the winning bid to the Marine Corp-Law Enforcement Foundation? Come on, Senators, take Rush up on his challenge.
I just threw up in my mouth a little. As will you shortly, as you witness Harry Reid attempt to take credit for this noble, magnificent, arguably heroic joke on him and 40 of his colleagues, slinging more condescension and naked hypocrisy than I would’ve guessed he – yes even he – could muster.
19 Responses to “Reid Praises Limbaugh For Record EBay Letter Sale”
[...] Joe Gandelman disagrees with Ed, writing that “Reid is smart in praising Limbaugh.” Although some in the Democratic camp may indeed feel that way, it seems to me that most observers – independents and conservatives – won’t fall for it. Reid’s attempt to take credit / and to play good sport is too obvious. He convinces no one that he’s sincere. [...]
[...] House Reid Praises Limbaugh For Record EBay Letter Sale » This Summary is from an article posted at The Moderate Voice » Domestic and international news [...]
As Net gamesters would say: Harry Reid is PWNED!!!
It is interesting how the handful of Left blogs who have commented upon this story – a fact indicative of Limbaugh’s scoring with this issue – refuse to note that Limbaugh himself matched the winning bid to the tune of $2million+. That is serious money for anyone not a billionaire — and rebounds to Limbaugh’s credit.
Reid’s act was a desperate, and utterly political, attempt to recover something for the Democrats from this.
It is also interesting that NO ONE in the MSM has thought of mentioning the implications of so many senators from the dominant Senate party writing a letter to a broadcaster critical of the speech of someone on the medium.
Constitutional “freedom of speech” (in contrast to the popular view) is about freedom of speech from government authority.
If Bush wrote a letter to CBS criticizing Rather over Rathergate – and CBS for providing Rather with a platform – the entire MSM would have arisen in righteous wrath. Instead, here there is only a vaguely sneering article in the NYT.
Still, the day was Limbaugh’s. He showed the Senators the damage he could do to them should they campaign for their Democratic (Un)fairness Doctrine.
Serious PWNAGE!
It is interesting to note that some are gleefully rooting for Limgaugh in this ridiculouws episode.
What a champion!
I can’t even imagine, that is, I don’t want to imagine, how low one has to stoop in order to to be able to look UP to the king of hate.
I don’t want to hear what the weather is like down there. It would ruin my appetite, and I haven’t had breakfast yet.
Domajot… Ya gotta give credit where credit is due.
Plus, Limbaugh is the underdog in this affair — he may have a lot of listeners…but his opponents are 41 Democrats of the US Senate who tried to suppress his right to speak on the air (precisely what the First Amendment blocks…govt. suppression of speech) + the entire MSM.
Note the ABC News blog on this story. It has been fascinating to see historical revisionism in action at ABC News.
The original blog story actually had the Democrats under Reid posting the letter on eBay to raise money for the troops!
Then, under massive criticism in the comments, the story was rewritten (without any admission of the rewrite)…but still favouring Reid and the Democrats who are raising money for the troops.
Also, ABC News’ blogger is deleting critical comments willy nilly. It is fascinating to refresh and watch.
Such on-the-fly revisionism is characteristic of the BBC News website (the Beeb being the original model for Orwell’s Ministry of Truth, btw)…but it is fascinating to see liberal revisionism in action at ABC News.
BTW: I never listen to Limbaugh myself. Life is too short. But he is clearly the better here.
One thing I have noticed in the ABC News “Political Radar” blog editing of the comments…editing not for offensive (racist,sexist,swear words) but for criticism of the story.
The blog/editor is not just deleting whole comments…but is also going into the comments and deleting some parts (particularly those noting the similarities between the ABC blog story and a report by MediaMattersforAmerica)…leaving the commenter’s words often oddly truncated.
And people wonder why the MSM is not trusted by the general public?!
Well, the only people paying attention to this are right-wing bloggers. So if Reid got “pwned” on the wingnut-o-sphere in support of a good cause, that’s great.
Marlowe-the whole point of the article is that Reid rose above the partisanship of the situation, and congratulated Limbaugh for his good deed. Its called taking the high road- something Limbaugh could take lessons from Reid on.
Likewise, Bush could learn a little humility and grace- he was unable to overcome partisan aversion and congratulate Al Gore by phone last week for winning the Nobel. (yes, I know the right has deemed the prize worthless because Arafat won one year, and because they believe the committee is part of an international leftist conspiracy). A few gestures like this could do a lot to unite the country.
Marlowe-
“Domajot Ya gotta give credit where credit is due”
Only in the sense of giving Satan credit for working long hours.
In fact, admiring Limbaugh discredits all the rants about the MSM, in my eyes. If there are no standarss, then there can be no meaningful disucssion about standards..
Krit nails it.
This is a story for the choir that the vast majority of Americans would yawn over were they even aware of it.
Limbaugh’s vast listener audience of roughly .9% of Americans is ecstatic, and good for them.
Maybe it will push them to buy more all herbal impotency cures from the guy.
MarloweC,
I hate to tell you this but in fact Limbaugh is wealthy enough so that $2 million almost is pocket change to him. Especially after the tax write off. The blogger who challenged the Democratic Senators to match what he donated really has no clue how much money he has compared to them and is just as petty and vindictive as Rush and his fellow purveyors of political destruction.
Marlowe- “Domajot Ya gotta give credit where credit is dueâ€
Domajot responded: “Only in the sense of giving Satan credit for working long hours.”
Krit said: “Marlowe-the whole point of the article is that Reid rose above the partisanship of the situation, and congratulated Limbaugh for his good deed.”
I disagree, Krit. You have politicians with regulatory control over the media, writing the boss of a corporation they have control over, demanding he discipline fire an employee over speech. That is a dangerous.
If it was Bush writing to demand the firing of Colbert or Oblemann, the Left would be screaming in righteous wrath.
Jim Satterfield said: ” Especially after the tax write off. ”
Never thought of that, I must admit.
As I said, never listen to Limbaugh as life is too short and I find him irritating. Thought he kicked back pretty hard at Reid’s implied threat though.
Domajot responded: “Only in the sense of giving Satan credit for working long hours.â€
Great line. You are the voice of sanity, as always.
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[...] came across this post – Reid Praises Limbaugh For Record <b>EBay</b> Letter Sale – and thought it was worth sharing. I hope you find it interesting too and take the time to read [...]
MarloweC,
Sometimes when I’m helping out our CFO with problems on his laptop I am forcibly exposed to Gush, including in a bizarre bit of timing the conversation that led to the “phony soldiers” tempest. I just don’t find what doma said about him to be that over the top given that the only thing I’ve ever heard from him since Bush became President is vicious smears against anyone not toeing the RNC/Bush line. And before that he was one of the worst of the mindless attack dogs against the Clintons, including the bit where he claimed that the next day there was going to be revealed to the public proof that Vince Foster was murdered. He has done nothing but contribute to the pollution of modern American politics, IMO.
[...] Reid Praises Limbaugh For Record EBay Letter SaleThe Moderate Voice – But without qualification Mark Mays, the owner of the [Clear Channel Communications … This is the state of the Senate Democrat leadership today. - -The Impolitical looks at … So he s going to donate the proceeds of the sale to a charitable foundation, of … [...]
Not that long ago many Democrats in Congress publicly criticized MoveOn for MoveOn’s ad criticizing General Petraeus. I was one person who contacted my representatives and asked them why they were critical of MoveOn (which criticism I agreed with), but they said nothing about the hateful speech that has come out of the mouths of people like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh for years. Apparently some of them listened to me, because now this letter has shown up. I am proud that Congress has criticized Rush Limbaugh, and I think Republicans should be ashamed that they did not sign it. If I had the money, I would gladly have bought the letter, framed it, and hung it on my wall. As far as I am concerned, the FCC has not been doing its job by allowing filth like Rush Limbaugh’s program to be broadcast.
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]