While discussing the controversy surrounding Rush Limbaugh's “phony soldiers” comments on the October 2 edition of his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck claimed that the “liberal hit squad Media Matters has twisted [Limbaugh's] words to make it seem like he called all soldiers who might disagree with him, 'phony soldiers.' ” Beck added: “The whole truth of his statement is that he was specifically referring to one soldier and a group of soldiers called on by the DOJ [Department of Justice] in the Pacific Northwest.” In fact, as Media Matters for America repeatedly documented, during the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh did not mention Jesse MacBeth -- whom he subsequently claimed to have been talking about -- until 1 minute and 50 seconds after making his “phony soldiers” comment.

Further, as the Crooks & Liars blog and Media Matters both noted, during his September 28 broadcast, Limbaugh expanded his group of “phony soldiers” to include decorated Vietnam veteran Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) and Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp, who is currently serving in Iraq. In asserting that he was originally “talking about a genuine phony soldier,” Limbaugh went on to state: “And by the way, Jesse MacBeth's not the only one. How about this guy Scott Thomas who was writing fraudulent, phony things in The New Republic about atrocities he saw that never happened? How about Jack Murtha blanketly accepting the notion that Marines at Haditha engaged in wanton murder of innocent children and civilians?”

Beck went on to claim, "Media Matters goes after a conservative like Rush Limbaugh, but they refuse to confess their extreme liberal agenda, or the fact that the majority of their funding comes from billionaire activist George Soros." Later, Beck asked his guest, Hudson Institute president Herb London, “Tell me a little bit about the connection between George Soros and some of the things that we have seen in the news lately.” Hudson responded: “Well, you made reference to the fact that George Soros has insinuated himself into both Media Matters, as well as MoveOn. And these organizations have not been repudiated by anyone in the Democratic Party -- and the reason is fairly obvious. What we find is that that money looms very large in the calculations for 2008.” In fact, as Media Matters has repeatedly noted, it has received no money from Soros -- either directly or indirectly.

From the October 2 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Well, hello, America. You know how when you go into a courtroom, they make you swear an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I believe the most important word in that oath is “whole.” If you say something that's only part of the truth, but not the whole truth, it's really not any better than a lie, is it?

Rush Limbaugh is finding that out for himself as liberal hit squad Media Matters has twisted his words to make it seem like he called all soldiers who might disagree with him, “phony soldiers.”

The whole truth of his statement is that he was specifically referring to one soldier and a group of soldiers called on by the DOJ in the Pacific Northwest. One of them was a convicted fraud who lied about his military service. Of course, Media Matters, you know, didn't have a word to say when Congressman John Murtha accused American Marines of being guilty of murdering innocent Iraqi civilians, servicemen who actually turned out to be innocent heroes.

So, here's the point tonight: America, John Murtha is a murderer -- of his competition at waffle-eating contests.

See? It's almost like context matters -- and here's how I got there: If I were a left-wing activist group, I'd just ignore the second part of that sentence, when I just said, you know, about Murtha. Oh, I'd just blast out on e-mail to the mainstream media saying, “Evil radio and television host Glenn Beck calls Congressman John Murtha a murderer,” and then I'd hope that they just print it and put it on TV as fact.

And you know what's really sad about all this whole story? A lot would. That's the game of gotcha. This is the game that has been brought to perfection by these socialist, ultra-lefts, that have been playing with Rush Limbaugh, and anybody else they disagree with, that they're trying to destroy. That's dishonest. It's unethical, and it's the only kind of argument that is un-American.

Being taken out of context is nothing new. I mean, people on both sides of the aisle have been doing this for a very long time, but it doesn't make it OK. America, does the truth in context matter?

Here's the larger issue: The groups that are really guilty of some of the worst word games refuse to be honest about who they are, what their agenda is, who's paying their bills? Media Matters goes after a conservative like Rush Limbaugh, but they refuse to confess their extreme liberal agenda or the fact that the majority of their funding comes from billionaire activist George Soros.

A few weeks ago, MoveOn.org took out a full-page ad in The New York Times, calling respected General David Petraeus, “General Betray Us.” I didn't see anybody in the Democratic Party running down to say “I have got to speak out against this.” And MoveOn.org hides from the fact that they are a liberal, socialist group that gets the majority of their funding from George Soros.

Help me. I've just pointed this out. I'm a dead man. Soros is a man with one goal, many puppet organizations, and unlimited financial resources. Actually, I've been thinking about this today, I think somebody should tell George Soros that if the Democrats do get in power, they're going to tax him to death. Hello, George.

So, tonight, here's what you need to know, America: Democrats, you need to wake up and figure this out. You need to figure out what the Republicans had to learn the hard way recently. Your party has been hijacked by the fringe. It's not the party of your grandparents or your parents. In this case, it's been hijacked by the radical left. Do you realize that most of America believes that radical socialists, like Media Matters and MoveOn.org, speak for you? Do you really want Michael Moore speaking for you? Is that who you are?

The Democratic Party used to stand for something: the values and ideals that helped build and sustain this great country. The Republicans did as well. Those days are over. In the Democratic Party, George Soros has bought his way into your party and he is funding smear groups that pretend to be objective. It's time to call a spade a spade, and a socialist, a socialist. The only thing worse than being a socialist is denying that you're a socialist.

Herb London is the president of the Hudson Institute. Do I have this wrong any place here, Herb? Where am I going wrong?

LONDON: Well, I think you've got it right. I think one of the things that we've already seen is that extremists have hijacked many of the essential issues of our time.

BECK: I have to tell you, I don't want to give the Republicans a free pass because I think the Republican Party was hijacked by the Democrats, and I think they're now the Democratic -- they're spending money like crazy, fighting wars not really to win. But the Democrats haven't caught on that they have been hijacked by the extreme left -- people that your grandparents and your parents would never identify with and I think most people.

Tell me a little bit about the connection between George Soros and some of the things that we have seen in the news lately.

LONDON: Well, you made reference to the fact that George Soros has insinuated himself into both Media Matters, as well as MoveOn. And these organizations have not been repudiated by anyone in the Democratic Party -- and the reason is fairly obvious. What we find is that that money looms very large in the calculations for 2008.

BECK: Yeah. You know what? Democrats -- I would want to make sure you understand, too. This is not your fault that this happened. This is John McCain's fault. This is the McCain-Feingold bill that caused this nightmare and injected this kind of money and insanity into this. I want you to tell me the connection here. I want to play a video clip. This is from August 4th. She was speaking in Chicago. This is Hillary Clinton. Watch this clip and explain the connection here.

CLINTON [video clip]: Institutions that I helped to start and support like Media Matters and the Center for American Progress. You know, we're beginning to match what I have said for years was the advantage of the other side.

BECK: Is there a connection between Soros and Clinton and Media Matters, and all -- I mean, are these Clinton organizations? Or --

LONDON: Well, what you can see is that the dots are connected, and they're connected in the following way: The money is going to loom very large in the Hilary Clinton for President campaign; and it's also true that what you will find is that the Democratic Party depends very heavily on the ideological position of MoveOn and Media Matters. So, there is some connection between these dots.

BECK: So, George Soros is the wizard -- if you were talking about The Wizard of Oz -- pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Who is this guy?

LONDON: Well, George Soros is a billionaire who I think is largely anti-Bush. Keep in mind that he was actually trained by Karl Popper and believed in the Open Society, and, to some degree, I think he's repudiated his own origins. What he is saying now is that it's the left wing, the socialist view of the Democratic Party, that he embraces.

BECK: OK. Any idea how long I have to live, Herb, now that I've picked on Soros?

LONDON: I think you're safe.

BECK: All right.

LONDON: I think you're safe, largely because you have a television program.

BECK: OK. Thanks a lot.