Right-Wing Radio Host Melanie Morgan Lashes Out At This Blog
October 2, 2007 -- 6:11 PM EST // //
Sometimes the winger antics can descend so deep into low comedy that all you can do is kick back with a stiff one and enjoy a hearty chuckle at it.
Case in point: Right-wing talk show host Melanie Morgan, who's been aggressively defending Rush Limbaugh over his "phony soldiers" comment, saying that his remarks were taken out of context, etc., etc. You may remember Morgan from last year, when she said that if New York Times executive editor Bill Keller were convicted of treason over press coverage, she'd have "no problem" if he were sent to the "gas chamber."
Well, yesterday Morgan strung up the hangman's noose on the air once again. This time, the target was yours truly.
Morgan ripped into the author of this blog in an extended radio tirade, slamming me for spreading a "smear" campaign against Rush because I've been writing about the controversy over Rush's comment. With her usual class and subtlety, she called this blog "The Horse's Ass," adding that Rush critics are "slimebags." Morgan's long segment on the Rush controversy was graciously emailed our way by blogger Spocko's Brain; we'll bring it to you in a bit.
But a funny thing occurred to me about the segment: Nowhere did she appear to read to her listeners the actual exchange between Rush and his caller where he used the "phony soldiers" phrase, so that they could make up their minds for themselves. She only discussed Rush's reference to a specific fake soldier much later. Maybe she did read them the relevant phrase at some point other than in that excerpt. I just don't know one way or the other.
So I emailed Morgan the key "phony soldiers" exchange from the transcript and asked her a fairly straightforward question:
Have you ever read this exchange, in full, to your listeners, so that they could judge for themselves what Rush's meaning was? If not, do you have any intention of reading it aloud to your listeners? And if not, why not?I've finally gotten my answer from Morgan: She's refusing to say.Reason I ask is, I linked to Rush's transcript, and told readers of Rush's claim that he was referencing fake soldiers. So, I let my readers make up their own minds. Have you done this?
Morgan's reply was to email over a statement reiterating her defense of Rush and her attack on his critics. There was no mention of Rush's actual quotes, no mention of whether she'd ever shared them with her listeners or intended to do so in the future, no answer to this simple question. She concluded: "I won't have any further comments beyond this."
Doesn't get any clearer than that.
Look, maybe Morgan has read her readers the exchange, or intends to. If she did, or does in the future, we'll be the first to post it -- guaranteed. Meanwhile, a transcript of her attack on this blog is after the jump.
To reach the homepage of this blog, where you can see many more posts, click here.
Ladies and gents, here's Melanie Morgan:
The smear campaign has been spread along by Greg Sargent. He has a blog called "The Horse's Mouth," or as I call it, "The Horse's Ass." This is a guy who emailed me while I was on the air one day about the comments that I made about Bill Keller of The New York Times. How I said that I believe that anybody who publishes or leaks information in a time of war should be charged with treason. And of course Greg Sargent then takes it even further, and makes headline news by taking more comments that I made out of context, saying that I'm calling for the execution of Bill Keller of The New York Times. This is how these people work. They're such slimebags. It's just disgusting.