Wes Clark Calls on Pentagon to honor commitment to Ed Schultz

[Texas_Kat]

Wes Clark is calling on everyone to help get the Pentagon to honor its commitment to Ed Schultz. Click on one of the links below to send a message to your congresscritters. It couldn't be easier.

We can't leave the airwaves to the rightwing propaganda machine. Time for us to fight for one of our Democratic voices!

Dear ,

Many of you probably already know Ed Schultz, a prominent progressive radio talk show host who is syndicated nationwide. You may not know what happened this week though.

After being told that the first hour of Ed Schultz's daily radio show would air live on Armed Forces Radio every day, the Pentagon suddenly reversed the decision and refused to air Ed's program Monday morning, only hours before the first show would have been broadcast. The explanation for this sudden reversal seems weak.

Last year, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced a resolution that was unanimously passed by the Senate, urging Secretary Rumsfeld and Armed Forces Radio to ensure more political balance in programming. Then, at the end of September, Manny Levy, Chief of the Radio Division of the American Forces Network Broadcast Center, advised Schultz's distributor, Jones Radio, that: "AFN Radio has squared away everything on our end to begin carrying the first hour of 'The Ed Schultz Show' each day, beginning Monday, October 17, 2005."

But suddenly, at 7 am on Monday the 17th, Allison Barber, the Pentagon's deputy assistant secretary for internal communications -- the same person who was responsible for staging last week's ill-fated video conference between President Bush and American troops in Iraq -- called Schultz's producer. Without any further explanation, she simply said that the deal was off.

We must let our voices be heard and exercise leadership to help ensure that the spirit of Senator Harkin's resolution -- and the spirit of fairness -- are at play on taxpayer financed programming.

Send an email to your Members of Congress now -- urge them to enforce fair play on Armed Forces Radio!

It was just 11 years ago when 70 Republican Members of Congress, led by then Congressman Robert Dornan (R-CA), demanded that President Clinton's Secretary of Defense Les Aspin broadcast Rush Limbaugh's radio and television programs to the military.

Well if Armed Services Radio is good enough for Rush Limbaugh, it's certainly good enough for Ed Schultz.

Tell your Members of Congress to urge the Pentagon to honor their promise and air the Ed Schultz Show on Armed Forces Radio!

Sincerely,



Wes Clark

[indie_voter]

1. I hope he is the Democrat nominee in 2008

I voted for him in last primary, I would be honored to be able to vote for him again.

edited to clarify

[Tigress DEM]

48. Any Prez should tap John Conyers for VP

Give the black American's a real voice in government and a reason to be proud, feel included this time.

[meppie-meppie not]

61. damn fine idea!!!

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

2. I did this in response to his email

I suggested that Limbaugh be dumped for someone honest, and of course Shultz be added.

[Mr_Spock]

3. You go Wes!

Not only do I think Ed Shultz should be on Armed Forces Radio, I personally enjoy listening to Ed every day!

Emails sent!

[SeanQ]

4. I reponded to the email and forwarded it t oeveryone

[mzmolly]

5. Mr. Clark is more impressive every day.

:toast:

[Gloria]

8. Aint' that the truth, mzmolly!!

eom

[MsKandice01]

6. Clark '08!

I LOVE Wesley Clark. I love Ed, too. Man, I hope he runs in 2008.

[Gloria]

7. Done and kicked!

Great to see Wes leading the way on this!!

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. Excellent. Gladly done.

[pkspiegel]

10. Way to go, General!

The media that should characterize an open Democracy is slipping away from us. Thank you General Clark for providing an easy way for us to express our concerns where it matters.:kick:

[tishaLA]

11. Schultz just talked about this

He said (paraphrasing) "If a guy as good as Wes Clark is behind me, how bad can I be?"

[Adelante]

27. How cool!

Thanks for posting that.


Tisha :hi:

[CarolNYC]

42. Pretty neat....

Ed is a Wes fan, i think. :)

[haypops]

12. this IS important

The republicans have such a strangle hold on the media that this issue is critical. I wish Senator Reid would join Wes in this endeavor.

[Catchawave]

51. I agree, this is very IMPORTANT

and we really need to get both parties involved and Shultz on the air for the troops.

I sent my letter! Thanks Team Clark

:yourock:

[Springg]

13. We have to fight back!

I'm glad that Wes Clark is concerned about this misuse of Armed Forces Radio. It should not be a propaganda tool of the Pentagon....our soldiers need to know that there are plenty of citizens concerned about this administration's mismanagement. I live in Ohio and I know that my senators don't listen...but, hey...guess it can't hurt to try!

[texpatriot2004]

14. Done. n.t

[gcole]

15. Done

[Adelante]

16. Absolutely, let every DUer stand for Ed Schultz

Let everyone know!

[SeattleGirl]

17. Done!

I am so pissed about this. They are getting more and more blatant about censoring anything and anyone that doesn't march in lockstep with the neocons.

Well, hopefully this will help get this thing turned around, and get Ed on the air.

[Texas_Kat]

18. Maybe I shoulda posted this in Bold

A resolution that was unanimously passed by the Senate

THAT's why we need to write to them.

A mid-level staffer on Rumsfeld's staff over-rode the direction of the Senate.

If we can't appeal to them to do the right thing BECAUSE IT"S THE RIGHT THING, we can appeal to them 'cos some PR chippie decided she didn't like Big Ed and decided she didn't care what the Senate said.

[CrispyQ]

19. Is Clark still on fox?

Cuz I would love for my mother to see him.

[snowbear]

20. Don't watch Faux... but Big Eddie will be on there next week..

On O'LIElly's show. It was supposed to be this week, but was postponed due to Hurricane Wilma.

[Larry in KC]

28. Yes, he still shows up regularly (and brilliantly)...

...but to avoid going crazy, I can't imagine just tuning in to Fox and waiting to see him. Instead, get the schedule from the "Upcoming Events" column at WesPac http://www.securingamerica.com/ (although sometimes those Fox appearances are only listed a day or two in advance, they normally do make the calendar before they air).

Everybody's mother should see him!

[Coexist]

21. Done

[ticapnews]

22. I added a paragraph to my letter

"Why the double standard when it comes to Ed Schultz? Is the Pentagon afraid to allow a Progressive broadcaster on the air for one hour a day to offset the conservative broadcasters who are already being broadcast?"

My fear is that soldiers who just hear the neocons railing about how much liberals hate them will start to believe it...

[merci_me]

23. As always, General Clark

is right there looking out for the rights of our men and women in uniform. He speaks up for them, for the safety of their bodies, the freedom of their minds and the peace of their souls. Wes Clark cares deeply. He will be a fantastic Commander-in-Chief!

[dogman]

24. This is another important way to support our troops.

They deserve an alternative.

[democrank]

25. Wes Clark ....

If only our other "leaders" had his guts.

[intheflow]

26. Done. n/t

[FrenchieCat]

29. I wrote my own letter.....

Based on Wes' call to arms!

The media is the reason we are in the deep doo-doo that we are in. If anything is worth fighting, it's the thick RW propaganda!

[Jai4WKC08]

30. I had written my Dem representative yesterday

Oh well, it won't kill him to get two letters. ;)

Doubt it will do any good to write my corrupt rubber-stamp Repuke Senators (Roberts and Brownback... argh!), but I did it anyway. It can't hurt either. I'm already on their shit lists.

[ksclematis]

60. Ditto, Jai....eom

[sharonking21]

31. This is worthwhile

I changed the wording to make it in my own words and sent it to my two senators and 1 representative. I also emailed Armed Forces Radio.

[e-mail]


I suggested that people who risk their lives for our country deserve better: commentary that they can trust.

[OneTwentyoNine]

32. Just got that email myself--this is BULL,keep this thread bumped!! n/t

[Texas_Kat]

33. Feel free to repost this.

The entire Democratic party (and greens and left-leaning Independents) should be campaigning to get Ed on AFR.

Monopolies get broken one step at a time.

[skipos]

34. Done. Very easy to do. Clark rulez. nt

[mcscajun]

35. Done! And Damn, I want the General to run in 2008!

We so need this man in charge.

[Totally Committed]

36. Done.

Good for Wes!

TC

[Clarkie1]

37. Done! n/t

[Totally Committed]

38. Kick

:kick:

TC

[Califooyah Operative]

39. awesome. - done.

[Donna Zen]

40. Reminder to those who complain about the MSM

and the rightwing nutz: If you haven't written, now's your chance to do something worth while today. The military in the hands of republican party is a very dangerous thing in our country.

Ed Schultz appeals to a broad spectrum of people, and deserves to be heard. Our military deserves to hear both sides of the issues.

Please write. I did and the software made the process easy.

End the monopoly of the rushbots!

[CarolNYC]

41. Senate letter

Nice to see Wes getting involved with this. This situation just steams me to no end.

BTW, some in the Senate sent this letter to Rumsfeld. (Sorry if it's been posted before.....I hope I'm not breaking some kind of rule by posting the whole thing....):


(10/19/2005 ) Senate Letter to Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
October 19, 2005

The Honorable Donald Rumsfeld
Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

We are writing to express our concern about the lack of political balance in talk radio programming on the Department of Defense's (DoD) American Forces Network and to request a definitive timeline by which we can expect DoD to correct this imbalance.

More than a year ago, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution offered by Senator Harkin expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of Defense should ensure full implementation of the American Forces Radio and Television Service goal of maintaining equal opportunity balance with respect to political programming.

AFN Radio carries the shows of a wide range of conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlesinger, and James Dobson, to the near total exclusion of progressive talk radio hosts. This is in violation of DoD's own guidelines on political programming on the American Forces Network, specifically, DoD Directive 5120.20R, which calls for political programming on American Forces Network that is "characterized by its fairness and balance," as well as news programming guided by a "principle of fairness" that requires "reasonable opportunities for the presentation of conflicting views on important controversial public issues."

On September 29, 2005, Manny Levy, Chief of the Radio Division of the American Forces Network Broadcast Center, formally advised the syndicate that distributes "The Ed Schultz Show" that AFN Radio would "begin carrying the first hour of 'The Ed Schultz Show' each day, beginning Monday, October 17, 2005 at noon PT/3 ET." However, higher-level DoD officials subsequently backtracked on this commitment. A Pentagon spokesman said that Mr. Levy "got ahead of the process," and that no decision had been made in a review of which programming to add to the network.

Inclusion of "The Ed Schultz Show" would have been a first, partial step toward achieving balance in political programming on AFN Radio. Even that first step has been abruptly canceled. Why, more than a year since the Senate passed its resolution, has DoD not implemented any program changes to balance political programming? At this late date, why is DoD still in violation of its own guidelines for political programming on AFN Radio? Given the time that has passed since this issue was brought to the attention of DoD by the Senate, the problem is not that Mr. Levy was "ahead of the process." The problem is that DoD is woefully behind in addressing this imbalance and coming into full compliance with its own guidelines and procedures.

We request that you provide us with an action plan and timeline for achieving greater political balance in AFN Radio programming as quickly as possible. We respectfully request that you respond to this letter by November 1, 2005.

Sincerely,



Tom Harkin United States Senator

Byron L. Dorgan United States Senator

Carl Levin United States Senator

Frank Lautenberg United States Senator

Mark Dayton United States Senator

Jack Reed United States Senator

Ron Wyden United States Senator

Daniel Akaka United States Senator

Christopher Dodd United States Senator

Edward Kennedy United States Senator

Russell Feingold United States Senator

Barack Obama United States Senator

John Kerry United States Senator

http://www.wegoted.com/EdInTheNews/more.asp?ID=61

[WA98296]

43. Done. Thank you.

[windbreeze]

44. Done and Kicked n/t

[FrenchieCat]

45. Kicked

cause I'm a :patriot:!

[Tom Rinaldo]

46. This isn't Clark's first fight against right wing censorship either

We are in a continuing battle. Sometimes I think when bad news for this administration is filling the headlines, Bush's junta figures it's a great time to ram a few dozen more rotten arrangements down America's throat, while activists and the media are preoccupied elsewhere with Myers, or F.E.M.A or Delay or, or, or... They never miss a chance to consolidate power. This has to be opposed.

Clark had an earlier call to action about Right Wing censorship of the media,I went back and found it and am posting it below. If you haven't already done so you might want to get on Securing America's mailing list (Clark's Political Action Committee) to receive these alerts directly. Here is a link to others he has issued:

http://securingamerica.com/grassroots

Here is the earlier one about the F.C.C:

"Respect the Sacrifice -- Protect the Freedom -- Stop Government Censorship Today

This past Veterans Day, ABC honored America's vets for a third straight year by airing "Saving Private Ryan." But 66 local ABC affiliates, bullied by a small group of right-wing zealots who objected to the realistic violence and language in the film, asked the Federal Communications Commission for a ruling to protect themselves before proceeding.

How did the FCC respond? Silence. They left the stations hanging out to dry. And these 66 affiliates, fearing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, chose not to air "Saving Private Ryan," depriving one-third of the country from watching it.

This kind of de facto censorship is wholly unacceptable. We deserve a government that will stand up to these extremist groups, leaving the decision about whether or not to watch these programs up to us. That's our right as Americans. That right was secured by the sacrifice of the fighting men and women portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" and by all of us who have served in America's armed forces.

I urge you to email FCC Chairman Kevin Martin by signing my petition below and demand that he end this de facto censorship. Tell Chairman Martin that we will not stand idly by as the government enables the erosion of one of our most precious freedoms."


We have to take on the Right about Freedom of Speech and a Free Press. The Right wing always pose as the great defenders of Liberty while staging news events, secretly putting journalists on their pay roll, spying on libraries, and now by controlling the information, using an overt political bias, that can and can not be broadcast to those serving in our Armed Forces. Clark is at home with directly confronting this Administration for being Un American. That is a message we should be picking up.

[Hissyspit]

47. Here's what I added at the beginning of my letter:

I am in agreement with the text below of Gen. Wesley Clark's letter concerning the Ed Schultz show. Considering the blatant false information communicated to our soldiers by the Rush Limbaugh propaganda program, I think the least we can do for them - which I myself try to do a college professor to Ft. Bragg and Pope Air Force Base students - is give them the balance and concerns of a fair-minded American like Ed Schultz.

[Totally Committed]

49. kick

:kick:

[sadiesworld]

50. kick

[bee]

52. This man continues to impress me. Done. n/t

[LeahD]

53. Gladly sent the E-mails! n/t

[d59cy6]

54. AFR is totally one-sided

I've been working as a civilian with the military and can attest to the fact that AF-radio is totally bias. It's amazing that someone like Rush is on regularly yet they refuse to air the other side. If it was equal, they would be required to air Mike Malloy during prime time overseas.

[Jai4WKC08]

55. It didn't use to be that way

I was stationed in Germany from 1985 thru most of 1989. Prime GOP years (altho we Dems did control the House). I recall that AAFRTS was pretty scrupulous about carrying a variety of programming from a variety of sources.

Granted, there wasn't any Rush or Hannity back then. But there were religious programs, for example, and they tried to cover all, or almost all of the different sorts, in close proximity to the proportion of the military population served. And news came from all the networks--Fox got no more share of the air time than NBS, CBS and ABC. Probably less, since they were the new guys.

As a retired Army type, it drives me nuts that the Repubs have gotten so blatant about politicizing the military. It ain't because they care much about military votes--there aren't that many. It's more about impressing the rest of America that they are the party that supports the military, as evidenced by being the party the military supports.

Like everything else with the Repubs, reality isn't important, but marketing is.

[Divine Discontent]

56. Done~!! please recommend the other current military thread so others see

the todaysmilitary.com bullshit that they're pumping across airwaves!

[Qanisqineq]

57. done. n/t

[AX10]

58. This is why I Wes Clark!

Not Hillary :puke:, not Kerry, not Edwards, not Biden, not Bayh and the rest of the meely mouthed pro war idiots.

Wes Clark 2008!

[blueblitzkrieg]

59. Awesome, and done.

Thank you Wes.

[trillian]

62. Done!

And gladly!

[Jai4WKC08]

63. Kicking for the weekend crowd

PLEASE sign the petition folks. :patriot:

[norml]

64. This would be a good project for Activist HQ.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=106

[Adelante]

67. Good idea nt

[otohara]

65. Done - thanks for posting

[Tom Rinaldo]

66. But it's OK for Rush to imply that the Clinton's killed Foster:

The Armed Forces Radio has no problem broadcasting Rush Limbaugh to our non partisan defenders of American liberty, do they? Remember when Limbaugh was spreading rumors that the Clinons had then deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster murdered? Yup, spreading rumors that the Commander in Chief, the democratically elected Resident of the United States and our First Lady, plotted the murder of long time Clinton friend Vince Foster.

First, let's go back in history to some of the broadcasts made by a man that Republicans in Congress successfully lobbied, eleven years ago, should be broadcast to our troops over Armed Forces Radio. On Rush Limbaugh's March 10th 2004 broadcast, which I note was a little over 11 years ago and was therefor already public record when the push to get Limbaugh onto Armed Forces Radio was made, Limbaugh made this announcement:

"OK, folks, I think I got enough information here to tell you about the contents of this fax that I got. Brace yourselves. This fax contains information that I have just been told will appear in a newsletter to Morgan Stanley sales personnel this afternoon.... What it is is a bit of news which says...there's a Washington consulting firm that has scheduled the release of a report that will appear, it will be published, that claims that Vince Foster was murdered in an apartment owned by Hillary Clinton, and the body was then taken to Fort Marcy Park."

My source is this archived page from F.A.I.R. but there are others:
http://www.fair.org/extra/9407/koppel-limbaugh.html

This F.A.I.R. report goes on to say:

"Limbaugh was referring to an item in a newsletter put out by the Washington, D.C. firm of Johnson Smick International. The newsletter, relating a rumor that has no apparent basis in fact, reported that White House attorney Foster's suicide occurred in an apartment owned by White House associates, and that his body was moved to the park where it was found.

Limbaugh took this baseless rumor from a small insiders' newsletter and broadcast it to his radio audience of millions, adding his own new inaccuracies: The newsletter did not report--as Limbaugh claimed--that Foster was murdered, or that the apartment was owned by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Limbaugh's repetition of an unfounded rumor has been credited (Chicago Tribune, 3/11/94; Newsweek, 3/21/94) with contributing to a plunge in the stock market on the day it was aired."

Limbaugh later appeared on an ABC special hosted by Ted Koppel (ABC Viewpoint, 4/19/94) exploring press coverage of "Whitewater". There he flatly denied suggesting in any way that Foster was murdered "Never have I suggested that this was murder," he said. However quoting again from the F.A.I.R. archive linked above:

"The executive producer of Limbaugh's TV show, Roger Ailes (a Republican campaign consultant and president of the CNBC cable network), didn't claim that his star had debunked the rumor--he boasted that Limbaugh's report of "a suicide cover up, possibly murder" was a scoop. On the Don Imus radio show, Ailes remarked: "The guy who's been doing an excellent job for the New York Post ...for the first time on the Rush Limbaugh show said that...he did not believe it was suicide.... Now, I don't have any evidence.... These people are very good at hiding or destroying evidence."

One might say that Rush Limbaugh's opinion could have differed from Roger Ailes' opinion, or that Roger Ailes did not come right out and say that Clinton had Foster murdered. I suppose one could make that case. However Limbaugh, in his smirky swarmy way, is still at his President and First Lady Clinton were murderers insinuations. Long after Republican coup appointed special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, who forced the reopening of the investigation into Foster's death, finally conceded that Foster indeed committed suicide, Limbaugh won't let it go.

Here are two remarks Rush Limbaugh made much more recently in 2004, documented by Media Matters, where he again made reference to the "rumor" about our then sitting Commander in Chief, which Limbaugh claims he had nothing to do with spreading. This is just a sample of some of the stuff that is deemed fit to be broadcast over Armed Forces Radio by Bush's censors, since Limbaugh, unlike Ed Schultz, is currently cleared to be aired:

"Media Matters for America has also documented two recent instances in which Limbaugh referred to Fort Marcy Park (in Northern Virginia, where Foster's body was found after he committed suicide), resurrecting the long-discredited right-wing claim that Vince Foster was murdered and that the Clintons were involved:

LIMBAUGH: That's why I'm telling you, whoever briefed Janet Reno, start searching Fort Marcy Park, folks. <4/13/04>

LIMBAUGH: They know that -- they're pretty confident Kerry is going to lose and if Kerry wins there's always Fort Marcy Park. So they're rolling the dice on this. <4/15/04>"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200406280004

Want another? OK this from a separate Media Matters page focused on coverage regarding Sandy Berger and his unauthorized possession of classified information, quoting from his July 2004 broadcast:

LIMBAUGH: One thing we can be sure of, ladies and gentlemen, is these missing documents will not show up in the Map Room of the White House like the Rose Law Firm billing records, unless there is a former Clinton administration official who can worm his way back into the White House and plant them there -- and Sandy Burglar, stay away from Fort Marcy Park."

Quote taken from bottom of this linked page: http://mediamatters.org/items/200407230001#20050921

Or how about much more recently, say in September of 2005? Again, from Media Matters, their September 21 2005 Report:


From the September 20 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Time for another big-time El Rushbo, "See, I told you so!" Yesterday, I read a story about Cindy Sheehan in which she called out Hillary Rodham and said that Mrs. Rodham would soon be changing her mind on troops in Iraq and be demanding that they come home. And if she didn't, she might live to regret it, or words to that effect.

I said, "You don't say this about Hillary Clinton. You don't say this." I said, "By the time this story was published and Mrs. Clinton heard about it, operatives of Mrs. Clinton will have gotten to Cindy Sheehan, and she will never, ever mention Hillary's name again."

So, The New York Times today: "In an anti-war speech by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq, was cut short yesterday after the organizer of the event was arrested and police officers confiscated his audio equipment.

"Mrs. Sheehan has not shied away from controversy, opening her New York visit on Sunday night in Brooklyn, by accusing Senator Hillary Rodham of failing to challenge the Bush administration's policies in Iraq. Ms. Sheehan, who did not mention Ms. Clinton yesterday..." Da, da, da, da, da, da, da and she will not mention her again, ladies and gentlemen, unless she wants to end up in Fort Marcy Park. Mark my words on it."
http://mediamatters.org/items/200509210002

So I forget, what was it again that Ed Schultz said that was so unflattering to Americas Commander in Chief that he got barred from Armed Forces Radio? Must have been pretty disrespectful, to top the stuff that Rush is allowed to put out.

[Donna Zen]

70. Tom, please post this to other places.

Getting liberal voices heard is a very important piece of turning this country around. I worry, prehaps needlessly, that too many won't see their favored candidate's name attached to this issue, and thus, will fail to act.

But if we are to be successful in 2006, and 2008, and 2012......then we must turn the culture that currently grips our country. I hope this great post is making it onto other bulletin boards. Shout it out! Write the letters!

[Tom Rinaldo]

71. Thank you Donna

I posted this also to Dem Bloggers in my diary there
http://www.dembloggers.com/user/Tom%20Rinaldo/diary

Also to my blog at CCN: http://securingamerica.com/ccn/blog/22

Feel free to share either link or to post this piece elsewhere. With that type of encouragement Donna I may look to place it somewhere else tomorrow also.

The hypocrisy of the Bush Administration and their supporters in Congress is staggering, and all too often their actual intent is malicious. They are truly Un American.

[Jai4WKC08]

74. Good work, Tom!

Please consider posting this to dKos, and maybe smirkingchimp.com too.

I know this is sort of a special interest of mine, the politicization of the military. But really, media manipulation and the Right Wing noise machine is something that should interest (and scare the livin' hell out of) all of us.

[GreenPartyVoter]

68. Thanks, General!

[leanin_green]

69. Done and done. nt

[Tom Rinaldo]

72. So I wonder if Hillary will speak out on this after what Rush said?

She's my Senator so she gets my email. We need some Democratic in Congress to support Clark from the inside to make this happen, someone who will not just let it go.

Republicans want to keep brainwashing our military. They can not be allowed solo use of a government funded soap box.

[Donna Zen]

73. Checking the focus group

the polling data, and the bank account.

I noticed that she did not sign the letter. Then again, if the idea becomes "popular" maybe she will expend the energy.

We complain about the media, we complain about the attitude with the military, but what are willing to do about? Until we answer that fundamental question with words like: "take action" we will wonder what hit us again and again.

[Tom Rinaldo]

76. I'm afraid she'll avoid it because it links her with the past.

Limbaugh can attack her and Clinton won't respond because she doesn't want to be associated with her past "vast right wing conspiracy" comments. Hillary has tried to make an almost clean break as Senator from her record as First Lady. God it reminds me of Gore not wanting to be associated with being Vice President under Bill Clinton. Except unlike Gore Hillary is running away from being tagged as "too Liberal" because of it.

[Jai4WKC08]

77. When will Democrats learn...

"Liberal" has become a dirty word to the unthinking masses, so of course the GOP is gonna brand any Democrat we offer up as "too liberal." Scare tactics are their specialty.

Kerry was branded "too liberal" (and his being from Massachusetts only reinforced the sterotype). Remeber how over and over again they pointed to his voting record as the most liberal in the Senate, and said he was so far out of the mainstream, he wasn't even on the bank? And when Kerry tried to run away from the liberal label, it only made him look like a flip-flopper who couldn't be trusted to stand for anything.

Hell, they did the same thing to McGovern. They did it to Dukakis. To a large extent, Bill Clinton was branded as "too liberal" as well. The Repub Noise Machine wasn't as sophisticated or effective back then, but its message was the same. Even when Clinton supported, or proposed, more moderate initiatives, ones that had always part of his platform, in some cases ones that he'd implemented as governor, he was portrayed as only reacting to popular opinion and again, not standing for anything. You ask almost any independent or Republican (and I don't mean the irrational freepers, but just average Joes on the street), and you'll find people who honestly believe that Bill Clinton was the most liberal president we've ever had, and one of the most liberal Democrats in history.

Even before the 04 primaries, GOP attacks on the front runners followed the "too liberal" (and a little bit crazy) theme. They harped constantly on the association of Dean, with his extremely centrist record, with MoveOn.org and the more radical elements of his followers, and they did it to Clark, a fuckin' general for god's sake, with his endorsements from Michael Moore and McGovern.

If Hillary Clinton thinks she can outrun the "too liberal" label, she's only kidding herself, and her followers are living in a dream world. Hell, the left even believes she's only taking moderate to conservative positions in the Senate for political reasons--can anyone believe that the swing voters won't see it that way as well?

It's branding, and has nothing to do with reality, but it's a case where perception is far more important than reality.

The answer doesn't lie in moving farther to the left. We simply can't win without the independents and moderates. But we do have to change the perception, and move the conversation away from left vs. right. We have to get better at controlling the media. Mostly, we have to nominate candidates who define themselves and fight back when they're labeled by the other side.

If we can't do that, we're screwed.

[Tom Rinaldo]

78. That's why I find it troubling that she is seemingly staying silent here

If Hillary wants to send people like me a message that she is willing to fight for truth against Republican lies, she can step up on this one which she knows about from first hand experience. Why on Earth is it OK for Limbaugh to be on Armed Forces Radio but not Shultz?

I am afraid Clinton wants to prove that she is "tough skinned" and that it is "below her" to comment on smears made against her by the Right. That was the initial tack Kerry took against the "swift boaters" also. Instead of using those smears now to expose what the Right is still pushing on Armed Forces Radio, while they shut out even moderate voices from the Center Left like Ed Shultz. This issue is custom made for Clinton to take on from inside the Senate. It is a bad omen indeed if she is staying quiet based on political calculations.

[Texas_Kat]

79. Even if HC refused to call Limbaugh out

Shouldn't she be joining in the effort (publicly) to get a progressive moderate voice on Armed Services Radio?

Does she have the NIH (Not Invented Here) Syndrome that so badly divides most Democrats with personal political ambition?

Now that I think about it, have we heard HC EVER send out a call to action on anything except her own personal agenda? Has she ever 'joined' a call another Democrat has proposed?

I'm asking Native NYers because (in Texas) she's not seen and never heard.

[Adelante]

75. kick

:kick: