Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh run with dubious rumor that White House is threatening Nelson with Air Force base
In a December 15 post, Weekly Standard blogger Michael Goldfarb reported the claims of an unnamed "Senate aide" who allegedly said that the White House is "threatening to close" Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base "to extort" Sen. Ben Nelson's vote on health care reform. The rumor has since been denied by both Nelson's office and the White House, but Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh have nonetheless seized on Goldfarb's blog post and advanced the dubious allegation.
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Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh bring poorly sourced and dubious rumor to their radio audiences
Beck reads Goldfarb's post, then hosts Goldfarb to advance rumor. On the December 16 edition of his radio show, Beck read from Goldfarb's post and called it "one of the worst things you've heard yet this year." Despite later saying that "[w]e have called Senator Nelson's office; Senator Nelson says, 'No, no, no. That's not true,' " Beck interviewed Goldfarb, who said, "I have 100 percent confidence in my source on this, and, of course, the Nelson people have every reason to deny it." After Goldfarb later said, "As I understand it, Rahm Emanuel delivered a message to the Senate leadership that if Nelson did not get behind this, Offutt Air Force base would find itself on the next round of BRAC closures," Beck responded, "I don't even know what category that fits in -- high crimes?"
Hannity: "They're threatening to close a base vital to national security." Citing Goldfarb's "Weekly Standard report," Hannity stated on the December 15 edition of his radio show, "They're threatening to close a base vital to national security. Now this is the headquarters, by the way, for the U.S. Strategic Command, the successor to the Strategic Air Command, and StratCom was located in the middle of the country for strategic reasons, meaning its closure would be a massive blow to the economy and the state of Nebraska, but also another example of how the administration is playing politics with national security. That's how bad it's got."
Limbaugh suggested "Dingy Harry and Obama" said "we'll exempt Offutt" in return for vote. From the December 15 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: Harry Reid and Ben Nelson, Senator Nelson, I don't know if you care, but you're finished if you vote for this. Lieberman's not, but Ben Nelson is finished. If he votes for this, he's finished. I'll tell you what's going on with Nelson. It's not just the abortion language in the bill. There are two things that are happening with Ben Nelson. One is there's a doctor-owned hospital, physician-owned hospital being built south of Omaha, and it's not finished. It has been put on hold. It's under delay. Under this current health bill, it may not be finished because doctor-owned hospitals are going to be legislated out of existence. Doctor-owned hospitals are targeted for elimination. So Ben Nelson says, "I want to finish this hospital." Dingy Harry says, "We'll think about it."
Also, Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha is slated to be closed in the next round of blue ribbon base closing commissions. The next seating, the next convening of a base closing commission is 2013. Offutt Air Force Base, which is where the Strategic Air Command is, was, Offutt Air Force Base is responsible for 10,000 jobs and gazillions of dollars in not just the Omaha area but the Nebraska economy and Ben Nelson is holding out, "You gotta help me on these two things." Dingy Harry and Obama, that won't be any problem. OK, we'll exempt Offutt, we'll keep it going, we'll think about your physician-owned hospital. And they'll monkey around enough with the abortion language to get his vote. If they get his vote, it's over.
Both Nelson's office, White House have denied rumor
Nelson spokesman: "The rumor is not true." The Omaha World-Herald reported on December 15 that Nelson spokesman Jake Thompson said, "The rumor is not true," and, "This misinformation is coming from inside-the-Beltway partisans who only want to derail health care reform."
Pfeiffer: "[T]hese rumors are completely baseless and false." From a December 15 blog post by White House Communications director Dan Pfeiffer:
Proving that they will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to undermine health reform, some blogs opposing reform are now trafficking an absurd rumor that Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base is being threatened over Senator Ben Nelson's vote on the Senate reform bill.
To be perfectly clear: these rumors are completely baseless and false.
Thanks for your time.
Rumor circulated by conservative bloggers citing single anonymous "Senate aide"
Matt Lewis: "Hearing Ben Nelson has been threatened with closing his air force base." Posted on Matt Lewis' Twitter page at 4:50 a.m. on December 15:
Citing single anonymous "Senate aide," Goldfarb reports "White House is now threatening" to close Nebraska Air Force Base "if Nelson doesn't fall into line" on health care. In a December 15 Weekly Standard blog post, Goldfarb wrote:
According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn't fall into line.
Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a "naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson's vote." They are "threatening to close a base vital to national security for what?" asked the Senate staffer.
Indeed, Offutt is the headquarters for US Strategic Command, the successor to Strategic Air Command, and not by accident. STRATCOM was located in the middle of the country for strategic reasons. Its closure would be a massive blow to the economy of the state of Nebraska, but it would also be another example of this administration playing politics with our national security.
Noonan, Continetti advance allegation. In a December 15 Weekly Standard blog post, John Noonan linked to Goldfarb's post and stated, "In what appears to be a very strange decision, the White House seems to feel that all the money, pain, and headaches that would result from BRAC'ing Offut is fair price in exchange for a single vote on health care reform. Nelson should recognize a bogus threat when he sees one, and dare Emanuel to try." Additionally, in a December 15 Weekly Standard blog post, Matthew Continetti wrote that Nelson "has been threatened and cajoled into a Yes vote," linking to Goldfarb's post.
Malkin: Nelson "is reportedly being threatened with closure of an air force base." Michelle Malkin wrote in an "update" to a December 15 blog post, "A Hill source says to pay attention to Sen. Ben Nelson. He is reportedly being threatened with closure of an air force base if he doesn't fall in line and will be offered a 'blank check' bribe bigger than Sen. Landrieu's."
Ed Morrissey: Obama administration "willing to damage national security to extort his support." In a December 15 Hot Air blog post, Ed Morrissey wrote, "How desperate has the White House become to get anything passed under the name of health-care reform? According to Michael Goldfarb's source on Capitol Hill, the Obama administration has targeted the last remaining Democratic holdout, at least among moderates -- and they're willing to damage national security to extort his support. The White House has threatened Ben Nelson (D-NE) with the closure of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska if he opposes Reid's latest version, despite its status as the headquarters of US Strategic Command."
The White House doesn't determine what bases go on the list. The Dept of Defense does, and they have a fairly strict way to make that determination - and White House pressure isn't one of the variables they examine! The rumor can't be true. But it makes Obama look bad that he would threaten such a thing.
However, Right On's point isn't off topic. In the past presidents have pressured commissions to close or keep open certain military facilities for political reasons. To deny that is either a result of ignorance or duplicity. You just want to derail discussion that there's a possibility that the rumor could be true, which by the way I don't believe. Even though I'm a Republican I like Ben nelson and have even met him so I'll accept his word.
But why can't the rumor be true? Just because it can't, that's your reasoning? Obama has quietly ended many critical defense programs and has stated he wants to close down many more in order to finance his agenda. He knows it's difficult to have both guns and butter and healthcare reform is one of his main hopes for change. But next you'll say Bush/Cheney/Runsfeld never pressured any senator or congressman for votes on pet projects.
"Well, his point is also off-topic - the thread is about these 3 people running with the dubious rumor, and not about whether or not it will actually happen."
The topic is NOT whether or not a military base will close or not. It's about the rumor itself! What a loon you are that you couldn't understand this.
That's first. Next is your assertion that presidents have pressured the BRAC to close or keep open bases. That's not what we're talking about, doofus. It's about which bases actually GET on the list. Once a base is ON that list, then presidents have done that, but the base has to get on the list FIRST, and the ONLY way to GET on the list is to fill certain criteria!
And yeah, I wanted to derail an off topic post. That's what one SHOULD do with troll posts, BTW. Stop them in their tracks!
It can't happen. A President can't get a base onto that list.
But Presidents can and do pressure legislators in many, many ways - but this isn't a way that it can be done! Not sure why you were incapable of understanding this simple concept.
His post wasn't meaningless. But it was very stupid.
To accept something like that as true, I'd need to have some reason. "Because I think they're capable of it" wouldn't be enough reason. Nor is "of course they'd deny it." It simply doesn't have the ring of truth to me, so I'd need to see some evidence which seems to be lacking.
If I deny harboring extraterrestrials in my basement, does that mean nothing because of course I would?
And we shouldn't forget that there is no evidence this happened. It all appears to be fantasy.
I agree. Knowing the democrats, they'll likely bribe him with taxpayers' money, rather than use a heavy-handed approach.
If there was a rumor that right ON is a pedophile and unless he votes democratic in 2010 someone will come forward and his reputation will be ruined. The only way to know if the rumor is true (According to right ON) is for him to call its bluff and vote Republican, otherwise, nobody will ever really know.
I say if Nelson is going to try and stop the whole health care bill, he pays a price, and his constituents pay a price. The headquarters of the Strategic Command can be moved to another air base. The "middle" of the country is a big place.
For more on SAC and this precious base, see link below:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/quotes
Face it, dude...the Eagle has both a right wing and a left wing, and these days, both of those wings could use a good preening.
The Republicans, on the other hand, have long since abandoned anyone who could be called liberal, and have spent the last decade purging the moderates from their ranks as well. It means they all agree, when they're not trying to prove who's the most conservative, but it has also marginalized them.
I certainly remember the mini-war within the Republicans as to whether or not they should go moderate during Bush's debacle, or move to the right. They aren't so invested in that now after their electoral slaughtering so they have time to regroup and just oppose Obama, that links them altogether I suppose.
Overall, they're all full of sheet. If the dems in office trend toward progressive, then why did so many of these guys vote against the prescription drug amendment. Yeah, they're really looking out for us poor saps getting raped by the pharmaceutical companies. At least the repubs didn't make all these empty promises about strong public options, cheaper healthcare costs, etc. . . The senate dems are selling out. . . . making concession after concession, and getting nothing in return.
Who was the President in 2001? Obama has kept us safer than Bush.
Get it? Rush will not tell you that.
1. Fiscal Responsibility: The bill was not paid for. It just added more red ink to the yearly budget deficit.
2. It's a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. The government is not allowed to use its own purchasing power to lower prices on the drugs.
3. The Doughnut hole actually makes care for some elderly worse. In an odd way to contain costs, there is a hole in the coverage after medicaid pays for the first few thousand dollars. It picks up again after the customer pays a few thousand of their own money. The effect of this has been for medicaid patients splitting pills or just going without needed medication because of the gap in coverage.
The prescription drug bill was a feeble attempt to pander to the elderly - who are great voters. It did little to help the poor and much more to help Big Pharma. You need to start reading the facts and not all of the key-wrap being spoon-fed you by Rush and his ilk.
Hey nimrod, what the heck are you talking about? Rejecting the amendment was a concession to the pharmaceutical companies, and your baseless objections aren't even relevant to the amendment.
And although I have no clue what Rush and his ilk have said on the subject, I've heard of many progressives not buying the lame excuses which you mention above. But that's okay, keep being a sheep, you poor sap. . .
I think you are correct in assessing that some of the Democrats (including Obama) are indeed bought out by Big Pharma. People should be able to buy cheap drugs across borders. Not sure it's a great solution, but it should not be banned.
Whatever twit, you're the nimrod that started with the gratuitous snipes. . .
Base closings don't work this way AT ALL.
This is just a stupid, stupid, made up story with no basis in fact AT ALL!
There also is not one (1)source on this "threat," but three (3) ... It may be cool to threaten in Chicago style politics, it is not in National Politics.
And no, there was one source who told multiple people. There is only one original source.
Next time, come more prepared. You make yourself look like a fool.
This is about the wackiest rumor the right-wing loonies have ever sprung on the public.
I bet they try to keep this story going forever....
After 8 years of evil, I, for one, am finding the deniers quite tiresome. We're just barely through year one, and the whining, moaning, b*tching, etc. from the far right has been simply astounding. Calling the president a racist is acceptable how? Saying that those of us who dared voice our beliefs that the war in Iraq was unacceptable did not support the troops because of said belief was bad enough as well.
Just sayin.'
These 3 moroons are nothing more than a side-show or a minstel act saying anything and anything to draw attention. No logic and critical thinking is applied. Proverbs explains the definition of a fool(s). Hannitard, Limpbug & Bick provide the faces.
Whatever happened to the concept of the loyal opposition. I can remember as a conservative Republican how offended I was when red necked so-called conservatives made fun of Barack Obama's name. It's a Muslim name and he should be and is proud of it. By the way, I'm Hispanic and proud of my heritage.
As for the rumor, as I like Ben Nelson despite being a Republican, I'll take the senator's word for it.
And we don't care who you are. You don't get to claim credibility here, so it matters not if you're a Republican who likes Ben Nelson. That doesn't get you any extra credit here. Too bad, so sad.
If conservatives had the ability to think things through, they'd be liberals.
Besides that, the White House doesn't "nominate" any bases, so it's a nonsense story anyway.
It's just like RightON's troll posts - intending to derail the conversation we SHOULD be having.
Lets just face up to it-this is Chicago Politics on a national scale. Beck Hannity and Limbaugh are right to report it, the same way the media reported any example of this under Bush.
Maybe NBC ought to check their rating out to see the public do want to know what is going on.
If the story is wrong, someone come out and sue the Weekly Standard reporter for slander. Get a subpeona, take him to court.
A proposition is not true simply because it hasn't been proven false.
Noticed that you have to review the comments sent in and was wondering if you just didn't want to edit out the ones that opposed your views...wouldn't be surprised over that either!