Much sniggering on the US right as shock jock Rush Limbaugh executes an expert piece of political aikido on his political opponents. The story goes like this:
After Limbaugh referred to Iraq war veterans criticial of the war as “phony soldiers”, 41 infuriated Democrat Senators sent him a stiff letter of complaint. “Although Americans of good will debate the merits of this war, we can all agree that those who serve with such great courage deserve our deepest respect and gratitude. That is why Rush Limbaugh’s recent characterization of troops who oppose the war as ‘phony soldiers’ is such an outrage,” they thundered.
1-0 to the Dems? Not so fast! Undeterred, Limbaugh announced on his show that he was going to auction the letter for charity on eBay. And, he’d match the price dollar for dollar. So – what did it fetch? A thousand? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? Not even close. Here it is: two point one million dollars – the largest amount ever paid on eBay for an item being sold for charity. Ouch – 2-1 to Limbaugh!
And where will be money be going? To the Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation Inc. (of which he’s a director), to give scholarships and aid to families of marines and cops killed in the line of duty. 3-1! (Limbaugh: “this is more fun than I’ve ever had in my life”.)
But it gets worse for the Democrats. In a statement of the floor of the Senate on Friday, Democrat majority leader Harry Reid actually praised the auction (choking all the way, presumably): “I strongly believe that 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”. 10-1!
What can one say to a drubbing like that? “The horror, the horror…”
