Rush to Censor.

I haven't listened to Rush in years. I'm not in the car in the afternoon anymore, so I just haven't caught him. But after the Democrats launched their smear campaign on him, I started listening again. I had forgotten how clear and concise and funny he is.

Brent Bozell has an excellent article over at Townhall how Rush has been vindicated and he makes excellent points, which I will get to in a moment. But I think it's important to stop and think for a minute about what happened.

The Democratic congress went after a private citizen. I know they think if they can censor Rush then they might have a better chance in '08. And Rush isn't the only one they want to shut up.

Imagine for a moment if Republicans had tried to get Air America off the air when it began? Of course, we never would call for that. We aren't afraid of the opposite view. It's ironic, isn't it? That the same people who scream about wiretapping to catch terrorists seem to have no problem with the Democratic arm of the government going after a private citizen.

The Democrats could not have chosen a more ridiculous charge. As Brent points out, Rush has been an unrelenting supporter of the Military:

"A day doesn't go by when he isn't praising our military on his radio program. He's visited the troops on the battlefield in Afghanistan and brought comfort to our wounded at the Walter Reed Army hospital. He's raised and donated millions to military charities. It is no wonder that he is the single most popular personality on the Armed Forces Radio Network."

There is no doubt what this is about. Media Matters, MoveOn and other leftwing organizations are trying to shut Rush up. They don't want to debate the issues on the merits. They want to censor the opposite view.

That is what the smear on Bill O'Reilly was about as well. As Brent rightly points out:

This is no accident, and no coincidence. Yesterday, it was MoveOn. Today, it's Media Matters. This is the far left at its repugnant worst, perfectly content to destroy a man's reputation through dishonest attacks if it will further its agenda. Josef Stalin would be proud of this movement.

More:

But this won't stop the left. Tomorrow it will be Sean Hannity, or Mark Levin, or maybe Laura Ingraham. This group plays for keeps.

Brent is right about that:

"Rep. Henry Waxman has asked his investigative staff to begin compiling reports on Limbaugh, and fellow radio hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin based on transcripts from their shows, and to call in Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin to discuss the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

Scary stuff. Scary.

This should be a concern for all of us.