Rush Limbaugh - "Free Speech" segment of CBS News

Originally Posted By Darkbeer

Thursday Night, as part of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Rush Limbaugh was allowed 90 seconds to discuss anything he wished, here is what he said...

>>COURIC: If you've been with us this week, you probably know we have a new segment we're trying called "Free Speech," where newsmakers, opinion makers, and just plain folks tell us what's on their minds. With the fifth anniversary of 9-11 coming up, the topic tonight is the war on terror, and there may be no one more opinionated on the subject than radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

LIMBAUGH: My friends, it's time to face a hard, cold fact: Militant Islam wants to kill us just because we're alive and don't believe as they do. They've been killing us for decades. So it's time to stop pretending these terrorist incidents are mere episodic events and face the reality that our way of life is in grave danger. Now, this threat is not just going to go away because we choose to ignore it. Some say we should try diplomacy. Yeah, well, tell me, how do we negotiate with people whose starting point is our death? Ask them to wait for 10 years before they kill us? When good negotiates with evil, evil will always win, and peace follows victory, not words issued by diplomats.

But some Americans, sadly, not interested in victory, and yet they want us to believe that their behavior is patriotic. Well, it's not. When the critics are more interested in punishing this country over a few incidents of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay than they are in defeating those who want to kill us, when they seek to destroy a foreign surveillance program which is designed to identify those who want to kill us and how they intend to do it, when they want to grant those who want to kill us U.S. constitutional rights, I don't call that patriotic. Patriotism is rallying behind the country, regardless of party affiliation, to defeat Islamofascism. Patriotism is supporting our troops in the battlefield, not undermining the mission and morale.

But let there be no doubt about this: America will prevail. We're the same country that survived a bloody civil war, defeated the Nazis and the Soviets. Each generation has a responsibility to the next. Our generation will not disappoint.<<

 

Originally Posted By HyperTyper

I thought Libaugh's commenary was okay. But I think there is another key point to patriotism. Patriots, despite their differences, can at least agree on the boundary between good and evil. A patriot can be critical of the president, but would never use abusinve hypoerbole to condemn President Bush as a "terrorist" "murderer" and "war criminal" while giving monsters the likes of Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt. A patriot would at least recognize the evil of despotism. A true patriot would choose sides based on opposition to evil, not on opposition to the other political party. Defending the helpless and the innocent would take precedence over defending terrorists and dictatorial thugs.

 

Originally Posted By cmpaley

It's as though Beau were given the microphone. Uncanny!

 

Originally Posted By EdisYoda

I did notice ONE difference though. Rush said that MILITANT Islam wants to kill us, while Beau says ALL of Islam wants to kill us.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

>>A patriot can be critical of the president, but would never use abusinve hypoerbole to condemn President Bush as a "terrorist" "murderer" and "war criminal" while giving monsters the likes of Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt.<<

I'm not sure that's a distinction that Limbaugh, nor many of his loving fans, are able to understand. If he did, he would have included it. Instead, his mini-rant was more of the 'you're either with us or against us' jazz. He alone decides who is, and who is not, 'patriotic.'

What a load.

 

Originally Posted By Beaumandy

<<I did notice ONE difference though. Rush said that MILITANT Islam wants to kill us, while Beau says ALL of Islam wants to kill us.>>

Flat out lie, but whatever. I have always said it's radical Islam that wants to kill us. I have also said that the next terror attack will be from a Muslim and guess what? That was exactly what happened day after day after day.

<< Instead, his mini-rant was more of the 'you're either with us or against us' jazz. He alone decides who is, and who is not, 'patriotic.' >>

The liberals are NOT patriotic. You can't be patriot if you are undermining the country during wartime and that is exactly what they are doing. Speaking out against the war is one thing. But actively trying to help your country lose is another.

Rush was totally dead on correct.

 

Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF

^^^
In BeauWorld, maybe...

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

>>The liberals are NOT patriotic.<<

Well, I'm glad that's settled.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

>>Speaking out against the war is one thing.<<

It's unpatriotic in the eyes of your radio god. He's not 'okay' with speaking out against the war, and because he isn't, neither are you.

Anyone who speaks out against it is 'undermining the mission' or mocked as a 'lib' or a 'confused moderate'.

But again, it's a distinction that gets in the way of the blowhard rants his audience tunes in to hear.

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

the problem is the egmenting -- either you are a far right wing Rush Limbaugh supporter -- or you are a country hating, communist , loser 'lib' -- it's all black and white -- life just doesn't separate itself that easily for most people.. for fanatics yes it does !

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

segmenting ( darn new keyboard )

 

Originally Posted By DlandDug

Thanks for posting the statement. I missed it last night and was curious what Mr. Limbaugh would do with his 90 seconds.

Odd, to me, that he chose so narrowly focussed a topic. But then, I have no idea how his mind works. He's not running for public office, anyway.

Within the given context, I generally agree with this:
>>Patriotism is rallying behind the country, regardless of party affiliation, to defeat Islamofascism.<<

Where I would disagree is the idea that patriotism is blindly accepting anything the government is telling us. The United States was founded in dissent, and born of civil disobedience. The genius of American democracy has been acknowledgement of this, without descending into anarchy.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

It's amazing, isn't it? More and more lately, the far right is getting as agitated as they've been since Clinton was in charge. Why? Because they know they've lost the support of the majority of the country. They lash out, call dissentings unpatriotic, communist (their latest buzzword, have you noticed?), and all other manner of name calling rather than admit there are thigns about them that need to be fixed.

I forget what radio show it was the other day, but some hard right muckety muck was asked by a caller "why should your God be my government? Isn't this the most pluralistic religious country in the world? Why should the Christian right's God take precedence over anyone else's, much less also be the God that influences decisions such as Stem Cell and a woman's right to choose?" The host and the guest went apopletic before the caller could get all the question out, but the question in its entirety got in, Unfortunately, the question went unanswered. Apparently, the caller made it past the screener, who was only supposed to allow calls the stroke the host's ego. "You see! You see!" the host shouted."That's so typical of the commie liberals today! They hate God, they hate the country and they're disrespectful!"

Of course, that was a perfectly legitimate question and the way it was handled goes directly to the way much of the hard right is behaving lately. They're becoming the best evidence against themselves, revealing their angst that there's a very real possibility the political landscape will change in a couple of months, and they'll soon be no more rubber stamping of everything they want done. Checks and balances, what a concept.

 

Originally Posted By wahooskipper

I am impressed that Katie gave him the platform. It will be interesting to see what others follow suit.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

"Where I would disagree is the idea that patriotism is blindly accepting anything the government is telling us. The United States was founded in dissent, and born of civil disobedience. The genius of American democracy has been acknowledgement of this, without descending into anarchy."

Which is essentially what I just said in post 12, albeit more long winded.

I'm almost done with Studs Terkel's book COming of Age, which is another of his oral histories, this one centering around older people whose lives roughly paralleled the 20th century. One interview is with a Dr. John Gofman, an early nuclear scientist who was later blackballed by the government because his data regarding "safe" radiation doses differed drastically from what the government wanted to propound. He uttered a simple one liner that is rather apt right now in so many situations. "The reason we have rules is that so nobody has to say 'trust us'."

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

<Where I would disagree is the idea that patriotism is blindly accepting anything the government is telling us. The United States was founded in dissent, and born of civil disobedience. The genius of American democracy has been acknowledgement of this, without descending into anarchy<

absolutely agree -- however with the far right it is there way or the highway... that is disconcerting for exacly the reasons you mentioned - this country was founded on different principles that that...

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

<"You see! You see!" the host shouted."That's so typical of the commie liberals today! They hate God, they hate the country and they're disrespectful!"
<

what I don't think they get today ( amonst many things) is that the term 'commie' no longer conjures up the kinf of fear it used to during the cold war...in fact it seems rather lame to make that comparison any longer...even in the context they mean it.

every time I hear the term used in this way I can only think of Archie Bunker using it....maybe appropriately so.

 

Originally Posted By bboisvert

Methinks that the rt-wingers confuse the term "patriot" with "loyalists".

In general, a loyalist is an individual who is loyal to the "powers that be".

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalist" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L
oyalist</a>

Loyalists condemned their opponents with the label "traitors" rather than the "patriots" label.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P
atriot</a>_%28American_Revolution%29

==========
Patriots in the 1770's were defined as those who were rebelling against the current government, the British Crown. They endured the same accusations as those today who are critizing the Bush administration.

Many Patriots of the time were tried and convicted as traitors.

Patriotism used to mean standing up for what is right and just often times in opposition to the status quo. Loyalism is the opposite. Interesting how that's been turned around.

 

Originally Posted By Beaumandy

Whyt are you guys always so confused? Rush was exactly correct in what he was saying. YOu can drop the attacks on the right wing because it's not the right wing who are rooting for our defeat.

That would be many people on the left.

It's one thing to question our policy, debate the war, discuss our options. That is what Americans do.

But this is not what the libs are doing today. Todays liberals is printing our war secrets in the NY Times, they are attacking our militray, they are blaming us for " creating more terrorsts ", they are giving the enemy talking points every day as they attack our president and call him a liar.

Sorry, but calling your president a liar during wartime and finding your ( the liberals ) words in the latest bin Laden video doesn't make you patriotic. It makes you a traitor.

Rush was right and he has covered this subject in great detail with many, many examples to prove his point.

What have the left done to help us win the war?

Is it patriotic to try and block every anti- terror measure we try? Because that is what the libs and the democrats do daily, all for political points.

Where are the threads on here by the libs supporting the troops or the country during this war? Show me ONE thread where a liberal on here is even close to patriotic? What??? There are none??

Stop your whining because Rush simply is telling the truth.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

Wow, post 19 was, well, I wouldn't know what it was, I didn't read it.