Rhetoric flies fast, furious

WASHINGTON -- In October 2006, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh and Sen. Harry Reid met for the first time, bumping into each other at a Washington charity dinner.

Limbaugh told his listeners a few days later that the Nevada Democrat seemed like a nice enough guy and that their small talk was "entirely civil."

It's doubtful the next encounter between the radio commentator and the Senate majority leader will be as polite after the full-throated blasts they have traded over the past few days.

Reid sent a letter Tuesday demanding that Clear Channel Communications, which syndicates Limbaugh's daily three-hour show, make him apologize after he referred to some members of the military who oppose the Iraq war as "phony soldiers" in a broadcast Sept. 26.

"We call on you to publicly repudiate these comments that call into question their service and sacrifice," states the letter signed by 40 Democrats plus independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont and sent to Clear Channel President Mark Mays.

According to a transcript, Limbaugh was responding to a caller who complained that war critics "never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media."

"The phony soldiers," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript.

"Rush Limbaugh went way over the line," Reid said in a Senate speech Monday, calling it an "irresponsible, hateful and unpatriotic attack."

On his show this week, Limbaugh turned up the volume in response. He said his comments were taken out of context, and he accused Reid of trying to silence and smear him. He charged the Democrats were manufacturing controversy to divert attention from their failure to force a strategy change in the war.

"He's gotta be a nut," Limbaugh said of Reid.

Like divorcing spouses, the two brought up nasty stuff.

From Reid: "Rush Limbaugh got himself a deferment from serving when he was a young man. He never served in uniform. He never saw a person in combat."

From Limbaugh: "If anybody in this country has been trying to demoralize the troops, it is you, sir, and your members of the Democrat Party. You have waved the white flag of defeat. You have claimed they cannot win.

"What I want to do now is demand that Harry Reid come on this program and confront me like a man," Limbaugh said Monday. He repeated the challenge Tuesday.

Others jumped in on both sides.

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., introduced a resolution commending Limbaugh "for his relentless efforts" to boost troop morale.

Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., wrote a resolution saying the opposite and condemning the talk host.

VoteVets.org, an anti-war group, posted a video on YouTube.com calling Limbaugh "the real phony."

In a speech Monday, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Limbaugh was "shameless."

"Maybe he is high on his drugs again," Harkin said. "I don't know if he was or not. If so, he ought to let us know. That shouldn't be an excuse."

Limbaugh in 2003 admitted an addiction to pain medication. In 2006 he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in Palm Beach County, Fla., to enter drug treatment after allegations that he bought more than 30,000 prescription pain pills like Oxycontin and hydrocone illegally in 2001 and 2002.

Limbaugh responded calling Harkin a "phony war hero." Harkin was accused of embellishing his Vietnam War record in comments he made during political campaigns in 1984 and 1992.

The Limbaugh controversy comes after conservatives condemned a New York Times ad bought by liberal anti-war group MoveOn.Org that criticized the U.S commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, as "General Betray-Us."

The House and Senate passed resolutions condemning the ad, which the group says it stands behind.

Mounting his own defense, Limbaugh said the phrase "phony soldiers" on his show was taken out of context.

He maintained he was referring to a specific soldier, Jessie MacBeth of Tacoma, Wash., who claimed to have participated in Iraq war atrocities and took part in anti-war activities but was exposed as having faked his war records. MacBeth pleaded guilty this summer to making false statements in applying for veterans benefits.

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Politico.com that Limbaugh "was rightly taking aim at those who literally impersonate soldiers."

But critics said Limbaugh referred to soldiers in the plural, not MacBeth in the singular. And Reid said Tuesday that Limbaugh "edited" a transcript to cleanse his comments.

"This is not anything between Rush Limbaugh and Harry Reid," Reid said. "This is about our troops. Rush Limbaugh has a history of going after people that he shouldn't."