By Solange Uwimana
Rush Limbaugh devoted most of today's show to the breaking news out of Connecticut that Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat in that state, misrepresented his military service, according to The New York Times. Specifically, the Times said that Blumenthal has claimed that he served in Vietnam when he did not; he served in the Marine Reserves but was never sent to Vietnam. Rush was all but ecstatic reading the Times headline at the start of the show, saying it was “over-the-top great,” adding, “the ways they come up with to cover for their guys is just amazing.”
Rush used the occasion to suggest that Sen. John Kerry, who did serve in Vietnam, falsified his military service, saying, “Lying about your service to Vietnam can you elected to the U.S. Senate. It's called John F. Kerry, the hoity John Kerry,” and he stated that it really won't impact Blumenthal's campaign since “blue states hate the military.” Rush concluded: “It's blue state; it isn't gonna matter. I'm telling you, folks, it's a resume enhancement to lie about your -- look at John F. Kerry: You lie about it, you get elected. Same thing with Blumenthal.” He finally ended with what he really thought of Blumenthal: “Can you say slime? Can you say oily? I mean, how else to describe this?” It is not the first time Rush has attacked Kerry, whom he has previously called "a total phony" and a “fraud.”
Rush also found time to misinform about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, whose record has been severely distorted by the conservative media. Today, Rush invented a new falsehood about Kagan, saying that she “agrees” and “supports” the reasoning behind net neutrality, which is that President Obama and Cass Sunstein supposedly want to “force you” to be exposed to the administration's point of view and to read “their garbage.” This is really not much different than what he previously claimed -- that "[w]hat they want to try to do is limit your access to it, and have that access flavored toward whatever particular point of view the administration wants supported." And taking his cue from The Washington Times, Rush also falsely claimed that Kagan said government could ban books and pamphlets, like Thomas Paine's Common Sense, which is utter nonsense.
Here are some highlights from today's show:
Limbaugh suggests Kerry lied about service in Vietnam, adds that “blue states hate the military”
Rush continues to attack “spinmeisters” in Obama administration over oil spill
Limbaugh: “Political correctness, specifically, is the censorship of free speech”
Limbaugh: Democrats “like the [oil spill] disaster. They can blame it on capitalism”
Lester Leavitt contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.