‘DittoHeads’ = ‘Mee-eensKoppen’/'IdemKoppen’.
Microphone Marines.
Professor Thomas Schaller.
Oh, this is rich: Radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh, a man who cheerily accepted a military deferment because he had a cyst on his rear, has appointed himself the arbiter of which American soldiers are “phony” and which are real.
Speaking to his millions of “dittoheads” - people who have so thoroughly surrendered their capacity for independent thought that they agree reflexively with whatever position he espouses - Mr. Limbaugh complained that some members of the American military who speak to the media, presumably to tell the truth about the lies of the Bush administration and failures of the war in Iraq, are “phony soldiers.”
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential candidate and certifiably un-phony former prisoner of war, quickly chimed in. “If Mr. Limbaugh made the remark he is reported to have made, it reflects very poorly on him and not the objects of his offensive comment,” he said. “I expect most Americans, whatever their political views, will have the same reaction. He would be well advised to retract it and apologize.”
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, was less charitable.
“My classmates went to Vietnam; [Mr. Limbaugh] did not,” she said. “He had a medical disability, the same medical disability that probably should have stopped him from spending a lifetime in a radio announcer’s chair.”
How foolish, these presidential candidates and their spouses, asking for apologies. They presume that some sense of internal integrity or personal embarrassment would prevent Mr. Limbaugh, and other demagogues like him on television and radio, from indulging in such hypocrisies.
But Mr. Limbaugh doesn’t issue apologies. He calls for them, and he’s not alone: A whole battalion of phony media soldiers is fighting with great ferocity from behind their bunkered desks in their sound-booth trenches. To read or listen to them, you’d think their blinkered cheerleading was as crucial to the war effort as the sacrifices made by the real troops.
These “microphone Marines,” such as Mr. Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter, have convinced themselves that their outrage-filled rants, disinformation campaigns and challenges to others’ patriotism constitute national service.
A favorite, sickening tactic employed by this crowd - and the “think tank commanders” such as William Kristol and Richard Perle who have been consistently wrong in almost every prediction they’ve made about Iraq - is to wrap themselves in the troops’ uniforms.
They do so to camouflage the Bush administration’s long list of failures in Iraq. For good measure, they pounce on some passing phrase from a politician or group and declare that it has demoralized our troops abroad.
Why have the microphone Marines been reduced to this? Because nobody is spitting on troops when they come home. Nobody is calling them baby-killers. Heck, even when the documented atrocities of Abu Ghraib prison or the raping and burning to death of a young Iraqi girl and her family were brought to public light, Americans did not blame our servicemen and women as a group.
There are protests against the war, sure. But our soldiers and veterans are not hanged in effigy, and the administration has received from Congress every dollar for the troops it has requested.
The microphone Marines need enemies at home, even if they must invent them. They need to redirect blame domestically in order to divert attention from the real fatalities and casualties occurring abroad.
Cowards like Ms. Coulter - who wrote a book titled Treason, and recently suggested that we may need to take away American women’s right to vote because they will endanger the country by electing Democrats - live for such moments. This is why so much fuss was made over MoveOn.org’s ad about Gen. David Petraeus in The New York Times that said, “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?”
America has “phony soldiers” in this battle, all right, but not in Iraq. They are fighting insignificant rhetorical battles here at home intended to obfuscate the truth about this war. And, despite the fact that many of them cut and ran when their time came to grab helmets and rifles, their favored tactic is to question the patriotism and resolve of other Americans.
This is the war they are fighting. And they’re losing it, too.
Thomas F. Schaller, teaches political science at UMBC.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:39 am
De reacties op dit artikel in de vrij rechtse Baltimore Sun zijn adembenemend. Hier volgen een aantal!
October 12th, 2007 at 7:39 am
One would think that Limbaugh would pass on referring to anyone, anywhere at anytime as being phony. His very public history is snapping at his heels. His followers fell all over their shoestrings upholding his criminal behavior. How much credibility does he have with fairminded people? Guess? NONE!
October 12th, 2007 at 7:40 am
You are such an idiot…you don’t even know what you are talking about. Why don’t you grow up and smell the ratings! Rush rules the radio and you commie-libs have lost…
October 12th, 2007 at 7:41 am
MeMe wrote:
You are such an idiot…you don’t even know what you are talking about. Why don’t you grow up and smell the ratings! Rush rules the radio and you commie-libs have lost…
MeMe
The only thing Rush RULES is his DITTO HEADS.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:45 am
The people who attacked us on 9/11 were predominantly Saudi…so what?? The more important point (and one that’s obviously eluded your addled intellect) is that they were MUSLIMS.
You’ve heard of MUSLIMS, right? Live in North Africa, Middle East…hell, pretty much everywhere…and everywhere they go, trouble ensues…but I digress.
Anyway, MUSLIMS (and not “Radical Muslims” which is redundant) declared war on the USA that day…and our man GWB hit those pussies back and hit them hard.
And that inclued Iraq. Yes…Iraq. And frankly, anyone who doesn’t believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in funding international terrorism is either a) willfully ignorant, or b) plain ole’ stupid.
Which is it “BobThePhonyVeteran” ?? “a” or “b”??
October 12th, 2007 at 7:47 am
If Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter are seen as Microphone Marines by some American American Veterans/Military Personnel are these Americans PHONY AMERICANS/PHONY Veterans and Soldiers and NOT REAL AMERICANS?
October 12th, 2007 at 7:50 am
Stop distorting the truth. Rush Limbaugh was only referring to George W. Bush as a “phony soldier” due to his lack of actual service.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:50 am
Rodney Lamprey wrote:
Stop distorting the truth. Rush Limbaugh was only referring to George W. Bush as a “phony soldier” due to his lack of actual service.
Really? I thought he was referring to Al Gore’s phony “tour of duty” in “Nam!
Or John Kerry’s phony Purple Hearts!
Hmmmmm….
October 12th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Mr Reality wrote:
Really? I thought he was referring to Al Gore’s phony “tour of duty” in “Nam!
Or John Kerry’s phony Purple Hearts!
Hmmmmm….
So according to you Gore’s tour of duty in Nam was phony.
John Kerry’s Purple Hearts were Phony.
Are ALL Vietnam (In country) Veterans Phony Veterans with Phony Medals and NOT REAL AMERICANS if they DO NOT agree with you and Rush?
Was General Clark a Phony General with Phony Medals and NOT A REAL AMERICAN?
Are all those Retired Generals and Col Phony Soldiers with Phony Medals and NOT REAL AMERICANS who happen to disagree with Bush/Cheney/Rumsfelt about Iraq. etc.?
October 12th, 2007 at 7:55 am
“people who have so thoroughly surrendered their capacity for independent thought that they agree reflexively with whatever position he espouses -”
are you sure you’re not projecting here? I’ve never seen you do anything other than regurgitate left wing talking points.
And please, stop distorting. Limbaugh was referring to a soldier who claimed to have fought in Iraq and witnessed atrocities. It turns out the guy is a muslim with an ax to grind who never made it through boot camp.He was never in Iraq and was using an alias to lie about it. He truly was a phony soldier.
We see this time and time again in the Sun. Give them half the story because it fits the agenda.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:57 am
Hidalgot wrote:
This article is kind of shallow and insignificant.
It is strange that a college professor would want to write about people like Limbaugh, Coulter, and Hannity.
Why is it strange??
All 3 of the individuals you name - Limbaugh, Coulter, and Hannity - are smarter, better educated, and FAR more successful than 99% of all college professors in the USA…
…but most importantly (and this is what “professors” and others in the “academic elite” really can’t stand!), all 3 (Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter) have a greater, more powerful impact on society than they do!
In addition, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter are the heroes of real Americans…you know…the people who actually work for a living? And they live in other places besides New York and LA. Professors, most of who are devout Leftists, have a disdain for average Americans.
So it’s not surprising that a second-rate Professor like SChaller, who teaches at a third-tier University (like UMBC) would want to comment on Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter…
…it’s called “ENVY”.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Schaller is typical of the leftwing maggots infesting the nation’s campuses and promulgating lies, inuendos, slurs, and personal attacks. He is the Ward Churchill of the Baltimore Sun! It’s Schaller who has abdicated his ability for independent thought and reason. My fifteen year old has more sense and wisdom than this lib.