http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13051.html">House to take up Limbaugh resolutionPosted September 29th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I’ve just learned that
Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) will be introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on Monday condemning Rush Limbaugh for his “phony soldiers” remark.This is significant because it has the potential to dramatically up the stakes in this fight. If the Democratic leadership allows it to go for a vote, it will force all the Republicans in the House to either vote for it, against it, or skip the vote — and to pass judgment on the powerful conservative talk show host’s contention that troops who don’t support President Bush’s war policies are “phony soldiers.”
It will also potentially present the Dem leadership with a not-so-easy choice. Many people will naturally call on the leadership to allow the resolution to come to a vote, which is not necessarily something the leadership might want, since it could look like a tit-for-tat reso in retaliation for the measure condemning MoveOn. It also is potentially problematic for some in the leadership because there is an internal sentiment that it’s not Congress’ job to go around denouncing the remarks, however reprehensible, of private citizens.
snip->
On the other hand, Glenn Greenwald presents a compelling case: “Several people express the unquestionably valid concern that it is inappropriate, even McCarthy-ite and dangerous, for Congress to start formally condemning private political speech. That is true, and if we had a healthy political system, that would not happen. But, as the MoveOn vote demonstrated, we have the opposite of a healthy political system, and it is thus far preferable — for reasons I set forth here — to ensure that a corrupt standard is applied equally rather than allow it to be applied by one political faction against another.”
More...>