What You Mean "We"...

Greetings from the Left Coast! Back on October 3, we talked about the Phony Phony Soldier Controversy, and the unprecedented letter that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 40 other Democrats sent to Mark Mays, the CEO of Clear Channel Communications. The letter asked Mays to publicly repudiate comments allegedly made by Rush Limbaugh (Clear Channel is the syndication partner for Limbaugh's show) and ask Limbaugh to apologize for them. The short story is that the comments had been taken out of context and distorted, as anyone with half a brain could tell.

So...a week or so ago, Mark Mays made the original of the letter available to Limbaugh, who posted it for auction on eBay, with the proceeds to go to the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation, a charitable group that provides financial assistance to the children of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement officers. The auction closed yesterday - for $2,100,100! This amount broke - in fact, more than doubled - the record for an item sold through eBay Giving Works - previously, the most expensive item sold was a Harley-Davidson from Jay Leno that went for a little over $800,000 back in 2005.

Shortly before the auction closed, Harry Reid took the Senate floor to apologize to Mark Mays, Rush Limbaugh, and all of the American people for the egregious abuse of power this letter represented, and promised to resign his senate post and spend the rest of his life raising money for charitable organizations that benefit the families of our fallen soldiers.

Hahahahahahaha....hahahahahahaha....*gasp*...hooooooooo!*pant*...*pant*...heheheheeeee. Golly, sometimes I just crack myself up! Of course he didn't do any of those things! Are you kidding me?

Well, actually, he did go to the Senate floor, and he did talk about the auction, and said it was "very, very constructive." "What could be a more worthwhile cause?" he said. "Never did we think that this letter would bring money of this nature," said Senator Reid. (emphasis added) Well, that's got to be the understatement of the year! Yeah, I'm sure it never entered into your wildest dreams, Senator, that the letter could backfire on you to this extent. He went on to say, "I don't know what we could do more important than helping to ensure that children of our fallen soldiers and police officers who have fallen in the line of duty have the opportunity for their children to have a good education."

So, let me get this straight: I guess now we are supposed to thank Senator Reid, because if he hadn't written this letter smearing Rush Limbaugh, then it couldn't have been auctioned off for all this money that's going to a good cause. You do understand, don't you Senator, that the only reason this letter was worth anything is that it represents one of the most outrageous abuses of political power in recent memory? That's what gives it the kind of historical value that would make someone pay over $2 million for it. Apart from that, Senator, I'm not sure anyone would give a plugged nickel for one of your letters.

I remember a rather tacky old joke (politically incorrect by today's standards, I'm sure) about the Lone Ranger and Tonto. Seems that they found themselves one day surrounded by hostile Apaches with no obvious way of escape. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and said, "Well, Tonto, looks like we're really in trouble this time!" To which Tonto replied, "What you mean 'we,' white man?"

Rush Limbaugh, by the way, has pledged to personally match the $2,100,100 selling price, thus doubling the donation to the charity. He made this pledge when the letter first went up for auction, and called on Senator Reid and the other forty signatories to do the same. They've all been strangely silent on that issue. If they (or you) would like to donate, they (or you) can just go to http://www.mc-lef.org/Index.asp. The link is right there on Rush Limaugh's home page for their (and your) convenience. But until Senator Reid puts his money where his mouth is, pardon me for asking: "What you mean 'we,' Senator?"

Thanks for listening.