Bringing out the big guns
There are some good reasons to be proud of Michigan politicians these days and Carl Levin is, in my opinion, one of them. Yesterday, as the powerful chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he supported a group of female veterans and called for the American Forces Network to drop Rush Limbaugh.
From CNN:
Sen. Carl Levin, the powerful chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday he would like the Armed Forces Network to drop the controversial Rush Limbaugh program from its service that provides radio and television shows to U.S. service members around the world.“I would hope the people that run it see just how offensive this is and drop it on their own volition,” Levin told CNN in an exclusive interview in the Capitol. […]
The liberal leaning advocacy group Vote Vets and other progressive voices in the blogosphere have called for the AFN to drop Limbaugh’s program.
Levin said he was “delighted” so many advertisers had pulled their commercials from the program.
I agree that this shouldn’t be legislated but am very pleased that Levin has added his voice to those of other affiliated with the military. The Stars and Stripes blog reports that women in the military are speaking out as well.
Advertisers have been bailing on conservative talk radio king Rush Limbaugh since his caustic comments about a female student, and now a progressive veterans group is taking aim, urging the Pentagon to kick Limbaugh off American Forces Network airwaves.In a statement circulated by the Democratic-leaning veterans political group VoteVets.org, four female veterans argue he has no place on military airwaves.
“Rush Limbaugh has a freedom of speech and can say what he wants, but in light of his horribly misogynistic comments, American Forces Radio should no longer give him a platform,” said the statement, attributed to Iraq veterans Miranda Norman, Kayla Williams, Robin Eckstein and Katherine Scheirman. “Our entire military depends on troops respecting each other – women and men.”
[Photo credit: Anne C. Savage. Used with permission.]
