Houston Chronicle : Name-calling war overshadowing debate on Iraq

Name-calling war overshadowing debate on Iraq

'General Betray Us' ad, Limbaugh's 'phony soldier' reflect tone of elections

By ROBIN ABCARIAN | Los Angeles Times | October 7, 2007

Brian McGough, a 31-year-old former Army staff sergeant who was wounded in a roadside attack in Iraq knew he wouldn't receive a warm response from talk show host Rush Limbaugh when he starred in an ad made by the anti-Iraq war veteran's group, VoteVets.org.

The ad, which featured a photograph of McGough's shaved head with jagged scars, was a response to Limbaugh's implication during his broadcast last week that anti-war vets are "phony soldiers," saying:

"Rush, the shrapnel I took to my head was real, my traumatic brain injury was real and my belief we are on the wrong course in Iraq is real," says McGough, looking straight into the camera. "Until you have the guts to call me a phony soldier to my face, stop telling lies about my service."

Limbaugh responded on air Tuesday, comparing McGough metaphorically to a suicide bomber. The ad, said Limbaugh, was "a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media in a TV ad to walk into as many people as he can walk into."

Bickering on both sides

With the 2008 presidential primary season at a fevered pitch, both sides of the political noise machine are cranking up the volume, looking for opportunities to slam the other side for bad behavior, bad word choice or bad intentions. Schoolyard-style taunts flung by irrepressible partisans are blown up into national debates.

The Republican side amped up after the left-wing group, MoveOn.org, ran an ad in The New York Times characterizing Gen. David H. Petraeus as "General Betray Us" on the eve of his Congressional testimony about the status of the war in Iraq. Both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to condemn the ad.

Then, it was the Democrats' turn to wage all-out noisefare after Limbaugh made his "phony soldiers" remark during an exchange with a caller Sept. 26.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., composed a letter to Limbaugh's boss, Clear Channel Communications' CEO Mark P. Mays, urging him to "publicly repudiate" Limbaugh's comments and to ask the popular talk show host to apologize. Though Reid said he was confident Republicans "would join us in overwhelming numbers" none signed the letter. Of 41 signatures, all were Democrats, including four presidential contenders — Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden and Christopher Dodd.

In a written response to Reid, Mays said that he would not intercede since Limbaugh was exercising his right to express an opinion, adding that "if Mr. Limbaugh's intention was to classify any soldier opposed to the war in Iraq as a 'phony soldier,' which he denies, then I, along with most Americans, would be deeply offended by such a statement."

'Manufactured controversy'

Wednesday, House Republican leader John Boehner called the issue "a manufactured controversy." The brouhaha over Limbaugh's remarks, he added, was an attempt by MoveOn.org and others "to change the subject away from the slanderous advertisement ... about U.S. General David Petraeus."

Some observers simply shook their heads.

"This is why people hate politics in America and why they are so desperate for a change," said former Republican pollster Frank Luntz, now a consultant on the Fox News Network. "Everyone is looking for the political advantage. Everyone is looking for a story they can use to beat the other guy over the head."

Limbaugh maintains he was not referring to anti-war veterans. He was, he said, referring to anti-war activist Jesse MacBeth, a 23-year-old Tacoma, Wash ., man who was sentenced to five months in prison last month after his false claims about his military service were unmasked by conservative bloggers.

During his show Wednesday, Limbaugh, who did not respond to e-mails and a faxed request for an interview, expressed disappointment that more officials had not come to his defense, but said that Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson had defended him on his Web site.

Jon Soltz, the Iraq veteran who co-founded VoteVet.org., said Limbaugh's "phony soldier" remark was brought to his attention by the liberal media watchdog group, Media Matters, with whom he is friendly but not affiliated. "This man has insulted these troops, and there is accountability for this stuff," said Soltz, who was not pleased with the "General Betray Us" ad, either.

"What we need to do, as veterans of the Iraq war is to distance ourselves from personal attacks and focus on the policy issues," Soltz said.

Meanwhile, McGough, the wounded vet in the VoteVet ad, is coming up on the fourth anniversary of his catastrophic injury, which happened in Mosul on Oct. 17, 2003. He was upset, he said, but not surprised to be compared by Limbaugh to a suicide bomber, and has even received some supportive e-mail from Limbaugh fans.

As for Limbaugh, said McGough, "I knew he was going to deflect everyone off of him by calling me names. I just wanted to point out that I am not a phony soldier."