Skirmishes. And more skirmishes. Punch. And counter punch.

In Congress. On weblogs. And in the REAL trenches of political activism these days…talk radio.

The nation’s top progressive talker, Ed Schultz, spent much of his program lambasting top conservative talker Rush Limbaugh for Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” comments — and playing extensive parts of the tape over and over for callers who were clearly Limbaugh fans who insisted Rush didn’t say what the tape most certainly suggested he did say. Conservative talker and Limbaugh associate Mark Levin later blasted Limbaugh nemesis Media Matters as a “criminal organization.”

Was it hot enough yet? NOT QUITE…

The Murdoch-owned The Weekly Standard, in a post on its blog by Brian Faughnan, says the Democrats have been clamoring for a resolution against Limbaugh and raising a fuss over the comments to distract from their own failings:

What’s going on here? The Democrats have realized that they’ve run into a brick wall on Iraq. Unless more bad news is forthcoming (and there seems to be little news from Iraq in general), they simply don’t have the votes. So they’re punting. And when the spending debate is forced on them next year, they’ll simply take the cue from their nominee — whoever he or she is.

Are Democrats admitting to the Netroots that they’ve thrown in the towel? No. Instead they’re trying to throw up as much dust as they can, by taking advantage of another ginned-up controversy. And if the Netroots actually side with a phony soldier like Tom Harkin against a critic of phony soldiers, they’ll probably buy anything.

But is it as well-thought-out as that?

If Limbaugh was Rush Schmoe rather than THE Rush Limbaugh, that theory might hold. Instead, what is unfolding is that after years of seething and giving Rush a pass, Democrats — now joined by a modest talk radio infrastructure of their own plus potent progressive Internet presence — are pushing back. They have drawn a line in the sand.

The biggest progressive big-gun pushback: former General Wesley Clark — precisely the kind of “phony soldier” you could assume Limbaugh was referring to….if you accept Limbaugh’s critics’ arguments that he was first referring to “soldiers” as meaning soldiers not in lockstep with the administration rather than a single soldier who was a fake soldier.

Clark, writing on The Huffington Post, called for Limbaugh to be taken off Armed Forces Radio.

And herein is the SUPREME IRONY: some within Armed Forces Radio and some conservatives tried to keep Schultz off Armed Forces Radio. But Schultz, who is on Armed Forces Radio (and gets calls from soldiers who don’t like U.S. policy), has been going nonstop defending the troops’ right to hold different beliefs on his program. And now it’s conservative Limbaugh being accused of badmouthing and disrespecting the guys in the field. Part of Clark’s post:

Last week, Rush Limbaugh labeled any American soldier who supports an end to the war in Iraq as “phony.” We challenged Limbaugh through an email campaign to invite VoteVets.org’s Jon Soltz to his show and repeat these same insults to an Iraq war veteran’s face. Over 10,000 people responded and emailed Rush — but to our disappointment, he has refused to respond to our request.

It’s time to put real pressure on Rush Limbaugh. His show is broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, and this time we are going to go straight to the lifeblood of Rush’s show — Congress. Congress has the power to remove Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Radio, and it won’t be as easy for elected officials to ignore our call.

His ending is even more potent:

How have Republicans in Congress chosen to respond so far? Congressional Republicans have actually drafted a resolution supporting Rush Limbaugh, “commending [his] relentless efforts to build and maintain troop morale through worldwide radio broadcasts and personal visits to conflict regions.”

That’s outrageous. Rush Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” comment should not be commended — it should be condemned. And it’s time to tell Congress to act swiftly to hold Rush Limbaugh accountable.

And he gives this link to contact members of Congress.

How likely is it that Limbaugh will be bounced off AFR or chastised by his corporate bosses? As likely as Donald Trump kissing Rosie O’Donnell. On the lips. With a wet kiss.

The reason: Limbaugh is being charged with using the same kind of disrespectful and outrageous language as MoveOn.org used in its rightly-repudiated (by most) ad. Unlike the case of the axed Don Imus, Limbaugh is only accused of demonization — a staple now of 21st century American politics, talk radio and (unfortunately) the blogosphere — not racism.

Moreover, Imus was dumped by his CBS bosses who felt the heat and felt the cost of keeping him was greater than getting rid of him. Limbaugh is a cash cow (no pun intended). And his bosses show no sign of even reining him in:

Read the rest of this entry »