Limbaugh repeated false Judicial Watch attacks linking Obama to FARC
SUMMARY: On his radio program, Rush Limbaugh quoted from a Judicial Watch blog entry that falsely claimed an "electronic mail[]" allegedly from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said that "associates of FARC were scheduling a sit down with" Sen. Barack Obama "to lobby him." Limbaugh also read aloud a portion of the blog entry that misattributed a quote from right-wing news website WorldNetDaily to "evidence seized" from FARC, thereby falsely suggesting that a FARC spokesman said the group "see[s] 'more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president.' "
On the March 12 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Rush Limbaugh quoted from a March 6 entry on Corruption Chronicles, "A Judicial Watch Blog," that falsely claimed an "electronic mail[]" allegedly from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said that "associates of FARC were scheduling a sit down with" Sen. Barack Obama "to lobby him." Limbaugh also read aloud a portion of the blog entry that misattributed a quote from right-wing news website WorldNetDaily to "evidence seized" from FARC, thereby falsely suggesting that a FARC spokesman said the group "see[s] 'more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president.' " Limbaugh claimed that the Corruption Chronicles entry "back[s] up Iowa Congressman Steve King, his comments that Al Qaeda and Islamofascists will be dancing in the streets if Obama wins," adding: "I'm just telling you what's on these blogs out here."
Reading from the March 6 Corruption Chronicles entry, Limbaugh said:
LIMBAUGH: Here's a little excerpt from the Corruption Chronicles Judicial Watch blog. "Evidence seized during a Colombian military raid on the Marxist terrorist group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia" -- its Spanish acronym is FARC -- "reveals that the group's top commandos are receiving aid from President Hugo Chavez and that they see," quote, "more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president."
As Limbaugh indicated in his reading, the Corruption Chronicles entry directly attributed the quote -- "more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president" -- to the "[e]vidence seized" from FARC:
Evidence seized during a Colombian military raid on the Marxist terrorist group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (or its Spanish acronym FARC) reveals that the group's top commandos are receiving aid from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and that they see "more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president."
The "more help" quote, however, is actually from a March 5 WorldNetDaily article, which reads: "A laptop computer captured in the possession of a slain Colombian revolutionary provides tangible evidence Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is aiding the narco-rebels and that they see more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president." The line that FARC sees "more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president" is not from the "evidence seized" from FARC.
Limbaugh continued, still reading from the Corruption Chronicles entry:
LIMBAUGH: "One of the electronic emails says that gringo associates of FARC were scheduling a sit-down with Obama to lobby him since the associates believe Obama will be the next president. The Illinois senator is quite popular among Latin American communists who view him as a spokesman for millions of Central Americans and Mexicans who migrate to the U.S. Last month, Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, the head of the Marxist Sandinista Liberation Front, said Obama's presidential bid is a revolutionary phenomenon in the U.S. because he'll bring great change that will offer justice and equality toward all."
In fact, the document in question -- a letter allegedly written by recently killed FARC spokesman "Raúl Reyes" -- does not make the claim, or anything like it, "that gringo associates of FARC were scheduling a sit-down with Obama." As Media Matters noted, when translated into English, the letter says that unidentified "gringos" will "ask for an appointment with the minister" -- apparently Ecuadorean Minister for Internal and External Security Gustavo Larrea, the only "minister" specifically mentioned in the letter -- "to request that he communicate to us his interest in discussing these topics." As the Associated Press reported, the "gringos" Reyes referred to in the letter allegedly claimed that Obama will be the next president of the United States and will reject "both the Bush administration's free trade agreement with Colombia and the current military aid program." The letter offers no indication whatsoever that Reyes or FARC has had any contact with Obama and does not identify the "gringos" in any way.
From the March 12 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: Couple things here. The editrix of The Limbaugh Letter, Diana Allocco, has sent me some interesting things here, that sort of back up Iowa Congressman Steve King, his comments that Al Qaeda and Islamofascists will be dancing in the streets if Obama wins. And they demand that he apologize, said, "I'm not gonna apologize for it," and he went on offense even more.
Let's see. So much stuff here and I had to -- well, let's just -- a couple of new stories first from Corruption -- the Corruption Chronicles, which is a Judicial Watch blog. March the 8th [sic: 6th], 2008, let's see. Here's a little excerpt from the Corruption Chronicles Judicial Watch blog. "Evidence seized during a Colombian military raid on the Marxist terrorist group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia" -- its Spanish acronym is FARC -- "reveals that the group's top commandos are receiving aid from President Hugo Chavez and that they see," quote, "more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president." I'm just telling you what's on these blogs out here.
"One of the electronic emails says that gringo associates of FARC were scheduling a sit-down with Obama to lobby him since the associates believe Obama will be the next president. The Illinois senator is quite popular among Latin American communists who view him as a spokesman for millions of Central Americans and Mexicans who migrate to the U.S. Last month, Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, the head of the Marxist Sandinista Liberation Front, said Obama's presidential bid is a revolutionary phenomenon in the U.S. because he'll bring great change that will offer justice and equality toward all."
And then there's this little passage: "Ramadan Adassi, leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades terror group in the West Bank's Anskar refugee camp, pointed to Obama's rise to stardom as," quote, "an important success. He won popularity in spite of the Zionists and the conservatives." So the Al Aqsa Brigades terror group happens to dig Obama, too.
Now, I'm -- look it. All I'm -- I'm just reading this stuff to you to point out that what Steve King said is true. There are people around the world who are hoping for Obama to win, and they are Marxists and they are communists and they are terrorists. Well, I know that's 'cause he's gonna talk to them. But they think that they're gonna get something from him after they talk to him. We don't know that he's gonna give them anything, but they think so. All Steve King said was, "there's gonna be dancing in the" -- this is why he's not apologizing. You know, pure and simple. You know, freedom of speech is freedom of speech. It's a crucial thing. Too many people give it up too willingly. I have not disobeyed the talking points, Snerdley. I'm not subject to McCain's campaign talking. If you're just joining us, you've gotta hear this.
From the March 6 entry on Corruption Chronicles:
Already endorsed by two of Latin America's communist leaders, Barrack Obama is a favorite among the region's radical Marxist terrorists who believe the Illinois senator will help them if he becomes U.S. president.
Evidence seized during a Colombian military raid on the Marxist terrorist group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (or its Spanish acronym FARC) reveals that the group's top commandos are receiving aid from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and that they see "more help coming next year if Barack Obama becomes president."
Renowned for bombings, murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, FARC is Latin America's oldest, most powerful and best-equipped insurgency of Marxist origin. The U.S. government refers to the group as a narco-terrorist organization and several of its members have been tried in American courts on serious drug charges.
Information on the guerilla group's Obama ties, which the mainstream media is sure to ignore, came from the laptop computers of various high-ranking FARC leaders. The equipment was confiscated by Colombian government forces during a recent raid on a camp in the Ecuadorian jungle that killed 23 rebels and their commander.
A strong U.S. ally, Colombia has made the correspondence between the Marxist group's most prominent members and leaders public by posting it on a government website. Written in Spanish, the exchanges mention Obama on several occasions.
One of the electronic mails says that "gringo" associates of FARC were scheduling a sit down with Obama to lobby him since the associates believe Obama will be the next president and he rejects the Bush Administration's free trade agreement with Colombia as well as the current military aid program.
Where is the copy of this email so we can look at it ?
As soon as Rush has "Snerdley" finish typing it up, he'll post it on his web site for all to see... :-)
Way to go, Obama. The only terrorists that have not yet endorsed you are the Moro Liberation Front in Phillipines. Give them some time and they'll join the bandwagon too.
As usual, your "foam in the mouth" rants and personal invective avoid the points I've made in my post. For you, this is par for course.
I suggest you (and another unnamed poster) take some classes in Rhetoric/Writing 101. Let me know if I can help by pointing you to some pertinent websites.
Gengy, assuming that the terrorists are our enemies, do you uncritically take whatever they say as the truth? Look around, you can find piles of quotes from various "terrorist leaders" giving interviewers anything message they want to get out. These guys are as good at propaganda as our own government and media is, and you're their prime target.
And you've got to get up to speed on another matter; This constant whining about other posters not responding to the "point" or "substance" of comments needs to be tempered by the possibility that there is no point or substance there. It gets really boring seeing the same wingnuts repeating the same BS and getting their feelings hurt when their un-brilliant douchebaggery isn't answered with a line by line rebuttal.You flatter yourself.
You're showing up at the Bake-Off with a package of Ding Dongs. You're cruising into the classic car show in a '78 Volare with the vinyl top peeled off. You're going to the job interview drunk with a load of poo in your pants. No, you don't get a ribbon, or a trophy, or the job. and, no, you're not owed an explanation. Don't take it personally, now dry those tears.
Even if FARC's enthusiasm for Obama is suspect, it is useful to see that the little snippet about Ramadan Adassi's endorsement of the IL senator has been ignored by MMFA.
Media Matters is not a news organization. It monitors the media and points out evidence of conservative misinformation.
How exactly does Genghiz think that this merits their review? What part of the job description for the Media Matters staff does he not get?
"You come in here spewing ignorance about the worlds terrorists endorsing Obama then whine like a little girl that you got insulted"
Looks like you won't have to worry about Obama being attacked anymore. Any other candidate with 'connections' to hatemongering like Obama has would be driven out of the race by the media and the hatemongers that make up the liberal aspect of life. McCain simply got an endorsement by a 'controversial' preacher and you railed on him, Obama belongs to and donates to the church of a racist preacher who spews his racism as if it's candy. How many of you are clamoring for Obama's withdrawal like you did McCains??
Obama is a good friend of a racist and follows his teachings, Clinton is whining like a little girl that she doesn't get fair treatment and McCain is in Iraq acting like a president. I wonder who just lost this election that, no more than a year ago, was being handed to the democrats on a silver platter? Thank you Nancy Pelosi/co for demonstrating that democrats are less popular than republicans. You people just blew your best chance at controlling all aspects of our political system and all you do is whine about what makes it into the media. Ha ha ha ha. Did I mention; Ha ha ha ha?
Just like Bush was when Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and other hatemongers vouched for him? Hyocrite
How 'bout the McCain, Parsley, Hagee tryst? Hypocrite.
"Just like Bush was when Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and other hatemongers vouched for him? Hyocrite
How 'bout the McCain, Parsley, Hagee tryst? Hypocrite."
Did Bush or McCain attend the church (for 20+years) that was being taught by those hatemongers? Don't you think there's a slight difference between being endorsed by a hatemonger and being taught by one??
"He isnt a hatemonger just because YOU say so and because someone produced a handful of inflamatory statements over a 20 year period. Now the Weinerdog is a hatemonger."
Being a racist isn't the same as being a hatemonger? Apparently you have the God given power to decide if someone is a hatemonger when you call Savage one.
You give me inflamatory statements of one right wing pastor and I'll give you an equal amount by Wright. These aren't isolated incidences. You may be blinded by your hatred of anything not liberal, but racism is most certainly a form of hatemongering.
I'll take unpopular Democrats over morally depraved, weak minded, creatively bankrupt Republicans any day of the week.
"I'm proud someone had the balls to get in front of a camera and honestly address the nation on race in America."
Believe it or not, so am I! However, there is a difference between your concern and mine. I fully agree with Obama's speech and also would like to see racism addressed in America. But, Obama should not have continued going to the church when it was teaching racism, like it was.
I know this analogy will fit perfectly. If you attend a Catholic church that has a pastor who is a pedophile would you continue going to the church (or seek another)? If you knew the pastor for 20+ years and explain that his beliefs are not the same as yours, would that explanation fly when you continue to go to that church knowing you are being taught by a pedophile? Would you let your kids be taught by that pastor? If you answer 'yes' to those questions then I think you have a judgement problem also.
Obama has worked for years as a lawyer, almost a dozen years as an elected official, written two books, given hundreds of speeches and been active for many years trying to better his local communities, often in cooperation with his church.
If Obama "follows [Wright's] teachings" (which you perceive to be racist) you should easily be able to point to words or actions of his that indicate that. Please enlighten us as to all of these terribly racist things Obama has said and done under the influence of his minister. Take all the space you need.
What? You can't think of anything? Is it possible that Obama is his own man? Should we be judging him simply on his own words and actions? What an incredible concept.
"Please enlighten us as to all of these terribly racist things Obama has said and done under the influence of his minister."
Read my analogy from above. If YOU attended a church taught by a pedophile and you didn't become a pedophile would that be because of the teachings or because you are your own man? How about this question: would YOU continue attending the church that is taught by a pedophile for 20+ years? Would YOU let your kids be taught by that pedophile? Somehow I get the suspicion you don't even understand what my concern is. You probably never will.
You are LYING again. I dont understand why you lie so much. I never criticised McCain for his endorsement by Hagee. I dont DO guilt by association. I think its stupid. Did Bush get pilloried in 04 by his close connection to Kenny Lay? Why no he didnt so you are just full of it. You still seem to think if you just SAY something it magically becomes true. Does Wright spew racist diatribes like candy? Why do you lie so much? Is it because you KNOW you have no possibility of arguing facts and reality? I am sorry but we arent going to give you the LIE BECAUSE I HAVE TO handicap. Please contain your posts to some semblance of reality. If you are unable to we will just take that as evidence that you never know what you are talking about and pat you on the head and tell you where the other special children are playing.
"I never criticised McCain for his endorsement by Hagee. I dont DO guilt by association. I think its stupid." solon / Thursday March 20, 2008 4:56:56 AM EDT
Who's the liar now (or are you just stupid)? Only 3 minutes after you say you don't do guilt by association we get this: "Good luck with your generation out of power. The public has caught on that the GOP lies a lot and cannot govern. Its most likely over for your guys for a LOOONG time." solon / Thursday March 20, 2008 5:00:22 AM EDT
"... pat you on the head and tell you where the other special children are playing."
Yeah, we all know where that is...it's in your back yard!! Why don't you address my concern of Obama's judgemental ability? Wait... I know why, because you CAN'T. Give it a rest, solon. You have NO facts to back up ANYTHING you say on this subject. You're simply a hypocrit with an attitude.
Let me know if I can help by pointing you to some pertinent websites.
Let me p[oint something YOUR way, Genhiz - from my New Jersey heritage, a Garden State One-Finger Salute. :-)
Are you a really a writer or do you just play one on this forum? I can send you those links to Writing 101 if you like. My offer still stands....LOL - only because you really need the assistance.
Lumbutt looks awful!!
Is he back on the Oxy?
I’m a big Mac guy,” Mr. Limbaugh told his listeners... (from DBeden's link)
Never would have guessed. This MMFA item also reinforces his nickname (given by and used by Rush himself) as "America's Anchorman". His resemblance to an anchor is uncanny, in weight and intelligence.
Never would have guessed. This MMFA item also reinforces his nickname (given by and used by Rush himself) as "America's Anchorman". His resemblance to an anchor is uncanny, in weight and intelligence.
The only difference is that a boat anchor serves a useful purpose, and Rush does not.
ahhh...I believe a little capitalization would have cleared that up.
Either way, he definitely set himself up for that one.
The untold story about all of this is that when Rushs' staff told him about FARC, he thought they said NARC and he ran to his lawyers office. Calm down Rush we know you went through detox.
Mr. Limbaugh is the new P.T. Barnum except, with his dorkheads, you can fool all of them all the time. Tuned him in for a few minutes today to hear the latest monologue and he was talking about being a historic figure because of his Operation KKKhaos. Didn't know what he meant until a caller mentioned that he switched registration in Pa. to vote for Sen. Clinton to keep the "Democrat" Party is a state of uproar. What is historic about that? Republans have been doing it for years. Does Rush really believe his Master Baiting Plan is going to work? I think not unless it is the hands of his almost blind followers.
As an Obama supporter I have to give Limbaugh a pass on this one. As long as Limbaugh cites where he is getting his information he has done "due diligence". People can judge for themselves the accuracy of the information.
We need to set a fair standard for everyone. And let's be honest, we have all relied upon something we have downloaded from the internet that turned out to be mistaken.
Let's just chalk this one up to human error.
" People can judge for themselves the accuracy of the information"
These are dittoheads you're talking about. Judgement? The only poster at this site who isn't laughing at your low-grade troll work is in the Rush target demo.nuff said.
You've set a very high standard for Mr Chickenhawk Rush. If he can downloaded it from the internet he can spew it into his microphone for all of his knuckle-draggers to eat up.
And it has to be accepted as truth, just because the fat man says it is?
Once again, thanks for your concern.
Who in their right mind believes something just because they downloaded it from the internet?
You mean those Nigerians aren't really going to put $25 million into my account?
;)
Belatedly. I started out yesterday morning trying to come up with an obscure Gaelic greeting for you but got side tracked.
This old Narrowback humbly apologizes to my favorite fellow bog trotter.
Let's just chalk this one up to human error.
The human error occurred when you gave that low-life Limbaugh a pass.
Let's see.
1. You compare a nationally-syndicated radio host's requirement that he try to fairly inform his listeners to people who comment on a blog? Due diligence standards for a person like Rush should be countless times greater than for a poster on a blog. Given that, I would not use a site like WorldNetDaily. It's beneath my standards, and it should be beneath Rush's too.
2. You begin almost every post, and end half of them, by claiming that you're an Obama supporter. That's clearly not true. People who have to always have that kind of declaration in their comments ("I'm a Democrat, but...") are virtually always trying to deceive others by using that declaration to gain unwarranted credibility.
3. The fact that it could be 'human error' does not absolve him from the responsibility of having promoted it.
"As an Obama supporter I have to give Limbaugh a pass on this one."
As a competent skeptic, I have to give your "support" for Obama a failing grade.
"Let's just chalk this one up to human error."
This one??? Huh..? Are you serious?
This disgusting pile of excrement has done this hundreds of times.
Be consistent.
Wondering if you have any proof of that arrest? And I don't mean links to web forums as I've seen on the site previously. I mean proof like an arrest report. Those are public records.
No. I don't - I live in Texas, and cannot search the public records in Pittsburgh. I had contacted the people at Snopes a while back about this - so far, nothing. Maybe my next step will be to contact The Smoking Gun.
UPDATE: I just e-mailed "The Smoking Gun" about this story. If anyone can get to the truth, it's TSG.
Obviously you have internet access. Took me 30 seconds to find this site:
http://www.psp.state.pa.us/psp/cwp/view.asp?A=4&Q=48275
Maybe Media Matters can pick up the fee for you.
If these Cons spent half as much time trying to help ordinary Americans...
As they do thinking up lies and smears...our country would be a lot better off.
Today, Rush was chortling and patting himself on the back for "Operation Chaos"... or his demonstration that his listeners are, indeed, "mind-numbed robots."
Everytime I hear El Rushbo say that, I take it as "Operation KAOS" - and remember that the folks at KAOS were always being bested by Maxwell Smart.
(For those of you who are too young to remember this reference, Don Adams played CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) on "Get Smart!", a '60s spy spoof TV series developed by Buck Henry. The bad guys in the series worked for an organization called KAOS.)
Dittoheads won't break up with him unless he gets caught in the sack with a liberal.
Dittoheads won't break up with him unless he gets caught in the sack with a liberal.
Well, he WAS dating a CNN anchor a few years ago....
Or where is Rush's head? uphisarseoozle. That would mean he has a pendejo mas grande.
Pendejo mas grande has Rush
His big whoppers make con artists blush
He pulls lies to bamboozle
from inside hisarseoozle
Getting rid of them takes more than one flush
Rush has his head up his arse
Whatever he says is sheer farce
But the cons think he's tasty
Facts from his butt so pasty
Since they like their truth rather sparse
Once again Media Matters splitting hairs and ignoring the big picture. Rush combimed two sources so he must be lying. Kind of silly don;t you think. Plus, after a little research on MMFA's posts about this topic a previous post here...
http://mediamatters.org/items/200803100007?f=h_latest
...translates the letter as
"The gringos will ask for an appointment with the minister to request that he communicate to us his interest in discussing these topics. They say that the new president of their country will be Obama and that they are interested in your compatriots."
Now, doesn't the "They" in the second sentence refer to "the gringos" of the first sentence. So "new president of their country" tells me these gringos are in the U.S. But in the post above MMFA tries to connect them to Ecuador since it's the "only minister mentioned in the letter." Seems to me MMFA is contradicting itself here.
Not true.
Go back, read it again. You're full of hot air. I won't do your work for you.
I cannot imagine why any intelligent person would give any attention whatsoever limbaugh makes. The ones that do are nothing but puppets unable to think for theirselves
Did not read his article you posted as know it is distortion as usual. He does not deserve space in any paper or report. The man laughs all the way to the bank about people he has duped.
truthseeker68,
"Once again Media Matters splitting hairs and ignoring the big picture. Rush combimed two sources so he must be lying."
Not at all. Did you read the article?
"Doesn't the they in the second sentence refer to "the gringos" of the first sentence. So "new president of their country" tells me these gringos are in the U.S. But in the post above MMFA tries to connect them to Ecuador since it's the "only minister mentioned in the letter." Seems to me MMFA is contradicting itself here."
No. The FARC letter clearly states the unknown "gringos" are giving their opinion about the pending US elections and how a meeting might result with the minister. No contradiction at all just a lot of wish fulfillment and RWnuts leaping to conclusions.