Fox Circles The Wagons Around Rush; Attacks Reid, Media Matters, And ‘The Left’

On the Senate floor yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) condemned right-wing standard bearer Rush Limbaugh for his claim that service members who support withdrawal from Iraq are “phony soldiers,” saying that Limbuagh “owes the men and women of our Armed Forces an apology” for his comments that “went way over the line.”

But instead of apologizing, Limbaugh attacked Reid, calling him a “nut” and saying that it is the senator who should apologize.

Following Reid’s comments, Fox News began blanket, unbalanced coverage of the controversy that almost always offers Limbaugh’s spin. Beginning last night and continuing today, Fox overwhelming featured guests who supported Limbaugh. Some examples from Rush’s defenders:

Bill O’Reilly: “In addition to me, Rush Limbaugh is a favorite target of these gutter snipes who distort hours of talk radio, hoping to create false controversies.”

Sean Hannity: “Phony battle and total mischaracterization of Rush Limbaugh’s comments.”

Brian Kilmeade: “The transcript backs [Rush] up.”

Ann Coulter: “Rush was absolutely right, what he was talking about.”

Rick Santorum: “There is no story here. It’s very clear what Rush said.”

Watch a compilation of Fox’s pro-Rush coverage:[Open in new window]

As ThinkProgress has noted, Limbaugh’s argument that he was only referring to a single soldier, rather than pro-withdrawal troops as a whole, is severely undermined by his inclusion of Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) as an example of a “phony soldier.”