Rush Limbaugh is now under the microscope for his outrageous on-air claim that soldiers who support our withdrawal from Iraq are "phony soldiers." Rush's comments have been widely condemned and, as you'd expect from the lying, smearing right, he's now claiming his remarks were taken out of context.

Apparently Rush believes he can escape controversy by just lying to his audience, and in defending himself Limbaugh went so far as to play a heavily edited audio excerpt -- claiming it was a complete transcript -- and then lie to his audience about what it says. The right wing blogosphere appears only too happy to extend the lie, especially with the sting of the racist, bigoted remarks of Fox News idol Bill O'Reilly still fresh on their cheek.

So let's examine exactly what Rush said. Keep in mind that Rush is claiming that phony soldiers [plural] was a reference to just one soldier, and not a smear against other soldiers who support our withdrawal. No. no -- Rush lies and claims he was only talking about one soldier.

I was not talking, as Contessa Brewer said here, about the anti-war movement generally, I was talking about ONE SOLDIER with that phony soldier [singular] comment...

Bullshit.

It's a blatant lie, and the dishonesty of the right has continued from there, with Chief Chickenhawk Rush Limbaugh himself doing the heavy lifting. Rush goes on to play an audio clip that he claims exonerates him, and the clip he plays, has a full minute and a half of audio removed from it.

That's right, Rush claims to be playing a transcript of what actually happened...

Media Matters had the transcript, but they selectively choose what they want to make their point. Here is -- it runs about 3 minutes and 13 seconds -- the entire transcript, in context, that led to this so-called controversy.

...but he's removed over a minute of audio, despite his claim that he's providing the "entire transcript" - more lies!

Nonetheless, Rush couldn't remove all of the references to soldiers [plural], and here's a short list of those references that remain in his heavily edited lie transcript:

CALLER: And what's funny is they never talk to real soldiers [plural]... they like to pull these soldiers [plural] out of the blue...

LIMBAUGH: (interrupting) the phony soldiers [plural]...

CALLER: (agreeing) the phony soldiers [plural] [...]

LIMBAUGH: Here is a morning update we did talking about fake soldiers [plural] [...]

LIMBAUGH: This is a story of who the left props up as heroes [plural], and they have their celebrities. One [singular] of them [plural] was Army soldier Jesse MacBeth. [...]

Limbaugh does indeed go on to detail his opinion of MacBeth, but it is clear from the multiple references to phony soldiers [plural] that he's referencing more than just MacBeth.

Right wing liars -- don't you just love them? [plural]

Update: Rep. Mark Udall (UT-D) is reportedly preparing to introduce a resolution condeming Limbaugh's attack:

110TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. Honoring all Americans serving in the Armed Forces of the United States and condemning the attack by broadcaster Rush Limbaugh on the integrity and professionalism of some of those Americans.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. UDALL of Colorado submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Honoring all Americans serving in the Armed Forces of the United States and condemning the attack by broadcaster Rush Limbaugh on the integrity and professionalism of some of those Americans.

Whereas on September 26, 2007, the broadcaster Rush Limbaugh told a nationwide radio audience that members of the Armed Forces who have expressed disagreement with current policies of the United States regarding military activities in Iraq are ''phony soldiers''; and

Whereas such a description constitutes an unwarranted slur on the integrity and professionalism of members of the Armed Forces who exercise their constitutional right to express their opinions regarding public policy in a manner consistent with good order and discipline: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Americans serving in the United States Armed Forces have volunteered for such service and have not been drafted for that purpose.

(2) Those who serve in the Armed Forces deserve the respect of all Americans for their willingness to undertake that service.

(3) Those who serve in the Armed Forces do not relinquish their constitutional right to express their opinions regarding public policy in a manner consistent with good order and discipline.

(4) The dedication and honor of Americans serving in the Armed Forces should not be impugned because of their exercise of such right.

SEC. 2. Congress --

(1) recognizes the service of all members of the Armed Forces serving in good standing and with honor to defend the United States, and the personal sacrifices made by them and their families;

(2) commits to judge the merits of the opinions of members of the Armed Forces regarding the policies of the United States, including those related to military actions in Iraq, without prejudice or personal bias, including refraining from unwarranted personal attacks;

(3) condemns in the strongest possible terms the personal attacks made by the broadcaster Rush Limbaugh impugning the integrity and professionalism of Americans serving in the Armed Forces who have expressed opinions regarding military actions in Iraq;

(4) honors all members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel serving in harm's way, as well as their families; and

(5) pledges to debate any supplemental funding request or any policy decisions regarding the war in Iraq with the solemn respect and the commitment to integrity that the sacrifices of these members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel deserve.

Here's additional reaction to Limbaugh's smear of troops who oppose the war as being "phony soldiers"...

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards criticized Rush Limbaugh on Friday for referring to some members of the military as "phony soldiers." [...]

Edwards and the campaign of fellow Democrat Chris Dodd took issue with the radio talk show host's characterization of Iraq war veterans who have spoken out against the war. Limbaugh was responding to a caller who argued that anti-war groups "never talk to real soldiers." [...]

Edwards called on Republicans to denounce Limbaugh in the same way they came down on Democrats after the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org ran an advertisement criticizing Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

"All these Republicans went running to the mic and the TV cameras when MoveOn ran their ad about General Petraeus. Now let's see if they really mean it," Edwards said. "Let's see if they'll speak out against Rush Limbaugh. Let's see if they'll challenge him about men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States."

Don't hold your breath on that one... but there's more:

{Democrat Chris] Dodd's spokesman, Hari Sevugan, also weighed in.

"It's ironic, if not remotely surprising, that Rush Limbaugh -- who makes his living shooting his mouth off -- would impugn the patriotism and service of American troops simply because they have voiced their opposition to this failed policy," he said in statement. "It's clear that he has no idea what the brave men and women of our armed forces are ostensibly fighting for."

and more...

Right Wing Nuthouse: "Having said that, Limbaugh is a goose for saying it. And he owes an apology not just to anti-war military people (and ex-military) but to the entirety of the United States Armed Forces."

The Jaundiced Eye: "Someone Take the Shovel Away from Limbaugh [b]ecause he's just digging himself in deeper with this sad attempt to clarify his troop bashing comments."

Seeing Limbaugh and his jack-booted squad of defenders lie to America (and deleting over a minute of audio while they lie claiming it's a complete transcription) then spin, spin spin - instead of just issuing a simple apology -- is amazing.

Edwards and Udall are, in my opinion, going too far asking Republican brass to denounce Limbaugh by drawling an analog to the right wing's reaction to the MoveOn ad. Conservatives were totally out of line asking Democrats to denounce the free speech rights of MoveOn, and Edwards is out of line here suggesting that Limbaugh's right to malign American troops who disagree with Republicans is worthy of condemnation.

It isn't - it's just par for the course when it comes to the "say anything - lie anytime" right wing media. Hang it out there and let Rush continue to lie in his defense if he wants to do that.

Nonetheless, Limbaugh indeed maligned members of our military, and owes them an apology as a result -- not more lies.