Why is Rush Limbaugh still on American Forces Radio?

[Swamp Rat]

The following excerpt is from a transcript of Rush Limbaugh's daily radio rant:



"Obama's Incoherent Afghanistan War Policy Doesn't Plan for Victory"

(snip)

"(Obama) didn't talk about victory because, remember, he's uncomfortable with the concept of victory. He has said this. And in Obama's world -- and I know some of you are not going to like this -- but if you haven't learned yet not to doubt me, learn now. Do not doubt me. Barack Obama believes Al-Qaeda has a point. Barack Obama believes our enemies have a point. He even admitted again last night our mistakes, national mistakes, targeting the Bush administration, apparently lying about Rumsfeld denying troop requests from 2001 to 2006. Rumsfeld has issued a statement. "What do you mean, Rush, Al-Qaeda has a point." In Obama's world, America is guilty, or was, until he was elected. America is unjust. America is immoral. America has plundered the world and stolen resources for our own selfish capitalistic use. Don't forget in one of Obama's books, just as an aside here, when he's talking about the first job he had in the private sector, he felt like he was behind enemy lines. "

(snip)

"So Obama's sending in these 30,000 troops not to win anything, but to lay the foundation for pulling them all out. And the other troops that are there, not just these 30,000. This is the policy of a left-wing politician, not a serious commander-in-chief who leaves the strategies to the experts. I heard this this morning and some last night that he can't please anyone. We're not talking about pleasing anyone! It's a war, for crying out loud! There's a goal in war, it's to win it. We win, they lose. To hell with pleasing people! This is what I mean: "Al-Qaeda has a point." Like we have a policy that supports Israel and they don't like Israel, no wonder they're mad at us, they have a point. That's how he views the world."

(snip)

"Those who oppose victory are not morally equivalent to those of us who support it. This is the thing that frustrates me the most. There is no moral equivalence between victory and defeat. Just because somebody wants to lose does not mean they have an equal morality right to sit at the table and debate this. We're not about losing. If we're going to lose, don't send the troops. The people on the left are wrong about this and we are right, and we don't have to worry about how they feel. It's not a strategy for winning anything. Obama did not use the words "victory" or "win." And I hear, "Well what is victory, Rush, what is victory?" Come on, folks, have we descended to the point that we're going to argue with ourselves over what victory is? I'll tell you what it is. Victory is preventing our enemy, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11 from using Afghanistan again to hit us. And it was the Taliban that gave Al-Qaeda the safe haven that they needed."

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_120209/content/01125106.guest.html

Is this sort of speech good for troop morale, especially without equal time given to opposing viewpoints? What do you think?

[berni_mccoy]

1. Damn Good Question. K&R.

[timeforpeace]

21. To piss us off. Is it working?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. who is in charge of it?

[G_j]

3. agreed!

you would think it would be unacceptable.

[HopeHoops]

4. I registered RushOffAFN.com some time ago.

I haven't had time to do anything with it, but I will.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

5. HE IS A TOOL TO DUMB AMERICA DOWN

PRETTY EFFECTIVE HUH?

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. He shouldn't be, given his endless remarks about the CIC.

He is a disgrace to this country and all it stands for.

[charlie]

7. Because uniformed freepers howl like stuck pigs

if he's so much as moved around the clock, let alone pre-empted or considered for replacement.

[Suich]

8. K&R!

I've been wondering the same thing myself!

Thanks for posting this!

:)

[Gregorian]

9. H2SO911

Haha. I'm sorry I can't stop laughing. Sulfuric 911. That is brilliant.

I will read your post after dying here! And yes, why the hell?

[Better Today]

10. This is an excellent question, what's Obama thinking? They should

air independent military voices not the RW talking heads.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

22. I sure as hell didn't want to hear more military "voices" when I was in the military.

What's wrong with music and sports talk anyway?

[Better Today]

36. Fair enough, but surely not Limbaugh, and why hasn't Obama put an end to that?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

37. I have no earthly idea.

[Better Today]

38. Holey Toledo! Are you and I agreeing on something?!?!

pass the salts I've fainted.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

39. Miracles happen.

[Cid_B]

41. The answer comes in two parts..

1) He is one of the most popular programs on American radio and a significant portion of the listening audience of AFN wants him there.

2) If you remove the right wing stuff now, in 2012 or 2016 or whenever a Republican comes into office he has the justification to throw off Olbermann (as an example)

[Better Today]

42. Olbermann is on AFR, first I've heard of that. I have absolutely

no doubt that listening to people like Rush add to the escalation of their frustration, their aggressions, and ultimately their PTSD. He should not be a voice on AFR. If Olbermann is, perhaps he should not be either. They need, imo, straight news and entertainment, not political pundits.

[Cid_B]

45. Olberman is on AFN TV...

I am uncomfortable with that whole premise. Soldiers are voters and political junkies (like yours truly) just like civilians. The idea comes across like our fragile little minds shouldn't be exposed to the things that the "adults" have decided are too racy for us.

edit: forgot some letters

[Common Sense Party]

93. So you think it's okay that soldiers risk their lives, get shot at, have people try

to blow them up with IEDs...but it's dangerous for them to...listen to OPINIONS?

Guess what. You don't get to decide what our military listens to or watches. Neither do I. We're civilians.

If the troops decide, en masse, that they don't want pundits and blowhards on AFN, then the military will drop them. If some people want to listen to Limpballs, that's their choice, not ours.

[crazyjoe]

54. is the president in charge of the content on AFR ?

[Better Today]

60. He is CIC so yeah, I think so.

[Common Sense Party]

94. I think he has much more important things to do than micromanage what

our troops listen to on the radio.

[kelly1mm]

11. Because he is popular with the troops.

He is popular with the troops just like he is popular with the general public. Does NOT mean he is correct, just popular. AFN generally puts on the most popular shows on it's networks. If that's what they want to hear I say let them. The troops are not children.

[Doctor_J]

15. NO, they generally put on partisan ultra-right-wing hacks

using my tax dollars. even a, er, person such as yourself should see that this is wrong.

Face it, the country would be a lot better off if Limpballs had been Berg'd 15 years ago.

[MrsCorleone]

17. Is he really all that popular with the troops & the general public? Or, do his

transnational sponsors just carpet bomb every solitary market with his show just for the heck of it, regardless of ratings? Afterall, he is just PR for the largest industries and nothing more.

[kelly1mm]

40. Apparently he has 20+ million listeners per day. Link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-listened-to_radio_programs

Since all the top 10 slots are conservatives with Bortz being at 4.5 million, the "strongest" left leaning talk show host has, at maximum, just under 25% of his listener ship.

[B Calm]

50. There is over 305 million people who live in the United States. So

20 million listeners, which I don't believe, is a small fraction of the population!

[FBaggins]

56. It IS a small percentage...

But it's one of the largest audiences out there - if that's not big enough then no program would make the cut

[bulloney]

59. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

Clear Channel has Limbaugh on in every market where they own radio stations, to the point where his show overlaps itself in adjacent markets where I live.

When you "carpet bomb" markets with this program, you'll get impressive-looking listenership numbers. At the same time, you reduce the chance of having any "progressive" programs occupy the airwaves.

Like another person noted, 20-million listeners is not that large of a percentage in a nation of over 300-million. I also question if these people are listening to Limbaugh because they agree with him, or because it's what's running in workplaces, or if you disagree with him, but just want to hear his outrageous comments of the day.

[Swamp Rat]

26. He's not popular with the soldiers I know.

And I only know a few people in my city who listens to the draft-dodging puss bucket.

After all the un-American crap he's said, I doubt if Limpballs can walk the streets safely anymore.

[Golden Raisin]

32. But isn't our tax money

paying for the Military Radio Networks? If so they should not be pushing any one view. However, I'm not sure of my facts here. Perhaps the Military Radio is privately run and not a governmental operation. I just don't know. In any event, there are plenty of freepers and bonafide far-right-wing zealots in the Pentagon and Defense Department who want to keep the soliders in the field indoctrinated and propagandized. I'm sure Rush is like mother's milk to them.

[Nikki Stone1]

12. Is it just me or does Rush appear to be back on his, uh, meds?

The speech at CPAC and the recent interview with MSNBC (the one where he looks like Archie Bunker) both show a restless Rush with wild eyes who can barely sit in his seat.

[charlie]

13. Every time he loses weight

he loses it FAST. 50-60 pounds in a matter of months.

Yeah, he's fried on something again.

[Nikki Stone1]

18. Speed (diet pills) would explain some of that.

So would a lot of other things. He'd be better off having gastric bypass.

[charlie]

23. He'd be the size of a garden gnome

if they'd just let the hot air out of him.

[Nikki Stone1]

28. Well, he's got the face for it.

:D

[Octafish]

14. Because the Pentagon still has too many loyal to Gen. Edwin Walker?

You, know...John Bircher-types.



¡Hola, Compay! ¿Com'andan?

[phasma ex machina]

16. Deleted.

[spanone]

19. k&r

[anigbrowl]

20. I don't know. Has anyone thought to write and ask them?

I would if I cared, but I don't.

[Octafish]

24. Wes Clark asked that he be dropped.

Take Rush Limbaugh Off Armed Forces Radio

Unlike you, anigbrowl, Wesley Clark doesn't want the troops under the sway of a NAZI propagandist.

[havocmom]

25. Yes, as a matter of fact. Been asking for years.

His program on AFR violates the Hatch Act.

[FLDCVADem]

30. How so?

Not a fan of Limbaugh's in any way, shape or form, but having served for 20 years in the military and now as a federal employee, I'm well versed in the Hatch Act. How is this a violation?

[Swamp Rat]

27. Too bad you do not care.

:(

[Nikki Stone1]

29. Oh, I like that one, Swamprat.

Very accurate.

[Swamp Rat]

31. Thanks, and about what charlie said above:

I find his face more porcine than gnomish.

oink! :D



:hi:

[Nikki Stone1]

33. OK, I'll have to concede to you on that one.

:rofl:

[anigbrowl]

81. Frankly, I think that troops in theater know a lot more about the reality of war than Rush does

and so I doubt he is taken all that seriously. But more significantly, it's not like Limbaugh and Hannity are the only political cotnent on AFN. They also feature Ed Schulz, carried Al Franken's show (until he quit to run for the senate), Alan Colmes, NPR news...in short, AFN is quite similar to what you'd have if you reinstated the fairness doctrine, in my opinion. If it wasn't Rush it'd be some other rightie who we'd no doubt find equally obnoxious.

[eppur_se_muova]

34. Swampy, normally I applaud your work, but this time ...

... I just have to point out that you got the face on the wrong end! :D (The spewing green gunk stays, though)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

35. Because it's useful to make the troops mean and dumb

so that they won't question stupid missions.

[Common Sense Party]

90. Are you saying our troops are "mean and dumb"?

If not all of them, what percentage do you consider "mean and dumb"?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

92. I didn't say they were--I said the idea was to MAKE them mean and dumb

Having seen the effect that right-wing talk radio has had on certain family members of mine, I know that it is capable of making people mean and dumb by encouraging hatred and getting them to mistrust other sources of information.

[Mithreal]

43. Damn good question. Let's do something about it. K & R

[western mass]

44. because corporate Democrats are not on our side

and they don't give a damn.

[Ichingcarpenter]

46. He's on AFR because the democrats are in power now

Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia are still battling for control

Democracy.......what a concept

[melm00se]

47. it's because

AFN is for the benefit of the troops not the American civilian market.

If the troops want Limbaugh on there, he is on there. if they don't, he won't.

there are plenty of other things wrong with the world, many far more serious than Limbaugh's show status and outlets.

[Ichingcarpenter]

52. Bullshit

He indoctrinates the troops.

[Vinnie From Indy]

53. Not hardly!

Limbaugh is only on AFN because the GOP during the Gingrich years put him there.

[vadawg]

64. yup hes there because the troops want him to be on there, no matter what people on the outside say

hes popular with the guys listening to AFN, until the day comes when the troops no longer want him on the air he should be able to stay. Its their radio station and they should get to choose what they listen to...

[Swamp Rat]

79. Prove it.

Provide all the evidence you need to prove "the troops" + "want him to be on there" is true. Make sure you divulge the method and procedure by which you've defined "the troops" and "want him to be on there," and how and why these terms and concepts are combined to form your conclusion. I'm sure others are interested to know too.

I'm interested because some of the military personnel I know can't stand Limbaugh, and others mostly ignore him. I only know two, gung ho right wingers who love Limbaugh, but one doesn't count because he was kicked out of the military during boot camp (the other is insane).

My cousin (active duty, multiple tours) says they mostly like to listen to music and sports while in Iraq/Afghanistan, or while on base stateside.

[tabasco]

83. You're a fake Marine

STFU.

[Enthusiast]

48. The lowest scum.

Pure Fascism burns in his black heart. A Joseph Goebbels wannabe.

And yet The Democratic Party is so timid that they allow this Tokyo Rose to spew to impressionable young troops on armed forces radio.

[Cid_B]

62. Thank goodness we have you...

... to save our impressionable young minds from the evils of the world.

Christ.. how condescending can you get? We are grown adults and a significant portion of the listening audience likes it so he stays.

[HughMoran]

71. How many Limbaugh supporters do we have in this thread?

Seems we got some cleaning up to do here...

[Enthusiast]

74. Fundamentalist Christians, especially

the young ones in the military, have never had an original thought. Yet you think it is fine for Limbaugh to tell them President Obama, their commander and Chief, is a traitorous communist stealth Muslim socialist racist out to destroy the nation. And this is good for moral?

Cid_B, who are you, and why are you on DU?

[Enthusiast]

49. Remember the Dixie Chicks?

Under Cheney/Bush rule they were essentially banned for saying unkind things about the ruler, er President.

[Cobalt-60]

51. We need a replacement for L*mbaugh

Someone his current fans would like more.
The main portion of his appeal is validation of ignorance.
That really appeals to the ignorant, as we've all seen.
Perhaps if the rest of his fans could be peeled away,
the Ignorance lovers wouldn't be enough to keep him on.
It will have to be some kind of entertainment, perhaps
a radio version of "Hee Haw".
It's a shame this isn't TV. A look at the original
Hee Haw girls could make most men forget L*mbaugh in
seconds.

[FBaggins]

55. Wrong question

He's there because the listeners of that station want him there.

The better question is why so many of them want to listen to him.

[Swamp Rat]

80. No, right question, and your question should also be explored.

One does not preclude the other.

[FBaggins]

85. You're saying that Armed Forces Radio

shouldn't consider what the armed forces want to listen to?

[Swamp Rat]

89. That would be a silly thing to say, and I hope you are not suggesting it.

[tblue37]

57. Especially when more progressive radio shows are specifically banned. nt

[kelly1mm]

66. Do you have a link for the assertion that "progressive shows

are specifically banned"? From my experience AFN plays what is popular period. Unfortunately, the top 10 radio talk shows by ratings are all conservative leaning. I know there was much discussion here about why this is when AirAmerica was spiraling down. Sad but true.

[tblue37]

58. Oh, and K&R! nt

[spanone]

61. the military has been compromised by politics

[SallyMander]

63. I know a lot of good toads

who would be hurt by this comparison. :P

[Swamp Rat]

76. Yeah, me too, but Bane Toad is a human/swine/toad hybrid made in a clandestine lab.

No offense to toads and pigs - they are innocent victims. ;)

[alfredo]

65. If someone kicked the shit out of Rush, all that would be

left is his hearing aids.

[Orsino]

67. So the troops don't figure out who has *really* victimized them. n/t

[mrbarber]

68. If soldiers want to listen to Rush..

They have all the right in the world too. I don't think soldiers need us to hold their hands and tell them who they can or can't listen to.

[HughMoran]

70. It's sponsored by the government and I don't think they get a vote

Your suggestion that they "want" to listen to this crap is ridiculous. How do you know?

[Common Sense Party]

91. How do you know they don't? That's equally ridiculous.

AFN plays LOTS of different shows. Limbaugh is a very small part of the total programming there. It's not like any troops are FORCED to listen to Limbaugh, or Hannity, or Ed Schulz, or even Ryan Seacrest.

AFN also offers a variety of radio programming over its various frequencies throughout the world. Not only is there local programming (with sailors and soldiers as disc jockeys), but there is satellite programming, as well. Music programming spans Classic Rock, Rhythmic R&B, Jack FM, Techno/Trance and country music. Ryan Seacrest's AT 40 and the American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks are broadcast weekly over AFN Radio. In addition to music, AFN broadcasts syndicated talk radio programs such as Car Talk, Kim Komando, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Motley Fool Radio Show, A Prairie Home Companion, Dr. Laura, Sports Overnight America, and other programs from National Public Radio and other sources. Letters From War by Mark Schultz was the #1 song on AFN in 2004. Weekly religious ecumenical programming on Sunday's includes First Radio Parish Church of America with Rev. Peter Panagore.

On December 5, 2005, liberal/progressive Ed Schultz from Jones Radio Network and conservative talk show host Sean Hannity were added to the radio programs provided by the AFN Broadcast Center to its affiliate stations. The addition of Al Franken's show soon followed but was replaced by the Alan Colmes show when Franken started his Senatorial campaign.

On April 24, 2006, AFN Europe launched AFN The Eagle, a virtually 24-hour-a-day radio service format initially modeled after "Jack FM" but most recently a "Hot AC" format. This replaced ZFM, which had more of a CHR flavor. When the Eagle was launched AFN Europe took control of what local DJs could play.

Altogether, AFN produces 10 general-use streams for AFN stations to use. Of these, seven are music-based, two are sports-based, and one is a general news/talk channel, which also features live play-by-play of american sports. (it's also the one heard on shortwave, if the shortwave radio has Single sideband (also known as SSB) installed). How these stations use these formats is up to them. These formats are:

Hot AC (young adult alternative/80's and 90's)
Z Rock (new rock)
DriveFX (trance/techno)
Country (country/western)
Gravity (urban rhythmic)
Classic Rock
Jack FM (80, 90's)
Voice Channel (mainly NPR programming and sports programming from FOX, ESPN, and the Sporting News; this channel also broadcasts many talk shows, such as Rush Limbaugh and Ed Schultz.
ESPN Plus (sports programming from ESPN and Sporting News Radio)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Forces_Network

[HughMoran]

69. Good question - it's like having a mutineer recruiting for an overthrow

It's insane that they allow this hate-spewer attempt to destroy the moral of the troops.

[omega minimo]

72. Because he is the Voice of Big Business

[clear eye]

73. Good question. n/t

[ClayZ]

75. K and R

:patriot:

[Swamp Rat]

77. Warning! Achtung! Peligro! ... Beware DUers!

Warning!: If Bane Toad starts to wobble his head in circles, faster and faster, and starts making a sound like, "... robble ... robble ... excellence in broadcasting ... robble, robble, robble ... E-I-B ... robble, robble, robble ... Clear Channel Radio ... robble, robble, robblerobble... robblerobblerobblerobblerobblerobble!!!", that means he's about to spit deadly venom. :hide:

[Joe Chi Minh]

78. To European eyes, the right-wing in the US is an ongoing Monty Python show.

Lunacy is its stock-in-trade.

[liberation]

82. As an Air Force brat, I remember growing up listening to the base's AF Radio

Back then they were playing the Dr. Demento show. How things have changed....

[walldude]

84. I'm not buying this bullshit that "they want him on there"

I didn't give a flying fuck about talk radio till I was at least in my mid 30's. When I was a soldiers age the only thing the radio provided was music. I somehow doubt things have changed much and I doubt that after spending a day on patrol the troops want to listen to any whiner on the radio, right or left.

[Swamp Rat]

95. Me neither

:hi:

[47of74]

86. That fat ass drug addict is about as useful for morale as

...Lord Haw Haw or Lord Hee Haw were back in WW II.

[GreenTea]

87. Duh-cuz the Pentagon, D of D is filled w/ right-wing imperialist war mongering thugs same as Pigman

And they make all the decisions...

And they all believe in corporate fascism and world domination...while the pigman Limbaugh keeps his uninformed, uneducated listeners on the same page, jacked-up with misguided patriotism as the led astray become cheerleaders for the corporate and military elite supporting their war "games" their multi-billion dollar "toys" all to "liberate" the world resources & keep the world's slave/workers oppressed - Great fun & profit for a very few....like the pigman!

[blues90]

88. I wish I had an answer .

I am not in the military and don't have their voice. Perhaps it's the same mix in the military as it is in the states. Some soldies may for good reason Hate Rush and others may like Rush.

All I can say is at the very least the soldiers should be offered the view of the few who are on the liberal radio shows so they have a choice. At least then they can decide for themselves and maybe some will turn the pigman off, if enough did perhaps Rush would just go the hell away.

The problem with Rush the few times I have listened is he makes sense if you don't see the reality of the entire picture.

We have a corporate owned media and most of the money is fed to rush and the like.

I can only say I just wish people would be given the truth on all issues , why is this so difficult? I would guess that money over rides all else when it should not.

[20score]

96. Right on! Too late to rec, but here's a kick.