This is flat out wrong. Limbaugh put the letter up for auction, not the Dems.

According to Rush's own website, he's matching the bid to go to charity. Anyone out there with an extra 10-20 million out there that can bust the bank of this big mouth?

This is why journalism is in free fall! Whether this article was meant to mislead or just ignorance, author got it totally wrong. The Democrats had nothing to do with putting this letter on Ebay. Senator Reid was on the floor this morning trying to get credit for something that he bashed Mr Limbaugh on. This is so spineless of him. Media, please get your act together.

ABC does it again, it's not the Democrats who put the letter up for auction, it was Limbaugh himself. He got the original letter from Mark Mays, the CEO of Clear Channel. Limbaugh has also pledged to match the amount raised by the letter and donate his own funds to the same charity. I just don’t understand why an average citizen with Internet access can get the facts right and ABC can’t.

As William said, this is why your business is tanking. You can't even bother to get the story right when the facts are widely and publicly available. You fail to mention that Limbaugh did NOT, in fact, call all soldiers who disagree with the war "phony". You fail to mention that Limbaugh is matching the donation. And you fail to get Limbaugh's quote in reaction to Harry Reid's attempt to salvage his reputation. This is disgraceful. More to the point, *YOU* are disgraceful.

Hmmmm...no mention of the fact that Rush is matching the winning bid. ABC, part of the "Drive By" Media, clearly wants ignorant readers to think that Reid and the Dems actually had something to do with this. Typical. Liberals and the henchmen in the left wing media are all liars.

Way to go Dems!!!

Wow. Way to go, Dingy Harry. Who would have thought you'd lower yourself to the point of taking credit for the brilliant PR - not to mention charitable - move Rush and the EIB Network made by putting your ridiculous and illegal letter up for bid on Ebay?

Well, I didn't see it coming, but I'm definitely not surprised. However, you may surprise me even further by offering to match the winning bid yourself; that might give you an ounce of authenticity as far as your sentiments regarding this letter. The only thing you've had to do with it is drafting and signing; money to the military didn't occur until RUSH decided to auction it off.

Remember - the DEMOCRATS did NOT intend for this letter to ever raise money for any charitable purpose. And y**t is going to be in possession of a hard copy of evidence that proves why Congress has an historically low approval rating, if this is how they choose to spend their time. Bravo, Mr. Limbaugh. Harry Reid, on the other hand, can kma

Harry Reid and the other 40 oh-so-patriotic senators are absolutely disgraceful. I hope their constituents remember their attempt to break the constitution when election time comes around.

Let's see if I have this right. Rush refers to an imposter that ABC first brings to light as a "phony soldier", Harry Reid gets all haughty and condems Rush for his perceived "unpatriotic" speech and gets 40 of his (Harry's) cronies to send this letter to Mr. Mays of Clear channel.

Rush put the letter on ebay and pledges to match what ever it brings. Now that the bid is over $2,000,000 "Old Dingy Harry" decides to take credit for the letter being on e-bay to begin with!!! Absolutely amazing!!This is so typical of ABC's trying their best to put spinless people like Harry Reid in the best possible light. They and He should be ashamed!!

Rush called civilians who PRETENDED to be soldiers the "phoney soldiers". You know this. Why must you continue to lie?

And the Democrats did NOT put this up for auction, it was 100% Rush's idea.

STOP YOUR LIES!!!!!

The EBay page was LITTERED with the TRUTH that this letter was a SMEAR LETTER from Harry Reid who attacked a private citizen from the floor of Congress! Harry Reid is DESPICABLE!!! The people of Nevada must wake up and demand a RECALL election! Who in their right mind would want someone like him to represent them now he has sunk THIS low?

"I don't know what we could do ..."

WHO IS "WE" Senator Reid? Or do you have a mouse in your pocket?

Would this charity be recieving four million dollars if Harry hadn't written the letter? NO

You got the article wrong. Reid had nothing to do with the auction and the fact that it brought 2million is because it demonstrates that dems will try to stop free speech when it hurts them. ABC stinks it up again.

Hary Reid needs to resign, he's a disgrace to the Senate. Heck, evry senator who signed it should resign. That means you Mrs. Clinton.

I couldn't agree more with the responses sent in but I'm impressed that ABC News actually had the backbone to list all these letter.
Maybe ABC News should rewrite the article and make it accurate.

Harry Reid should get ZERO credit for this. It's terrible enough that members of the US Senate attempted to silence an American citizen's right to free speech, but to now try and take credit for the charity auction is staggering.

Sen. Reid has a lot of nerve. Along w/the MSM they smear Rush over the phony soldier comment, now they want to take credit for raising funds. Sen. Harkin,D-IA take the cake though. Harkin, speaking on the floor of the Senate no less, accuses Rush of being high on drugs. The same Sen. Harkin who FALSELY claimed to be a combat pilot in Vietnam. Talk about a phony soldier, phony Senator and phony American!

Credibility in news reporting has to be at an all time low! This is the reason you run into people making erroneous comments on stories; limited media outlets restrict individuals from getting the truth! In a perfect world, differing views about a particular story helps in having an informed dialogue. After it is all said and done, people are manipulated into believing a lie. Had I not follow the whole story and actually listen to Mr. Limbaugh; I too would have been grossly misinformed. Though this kind of reporting has been going on for years, lately it has been even more out of control. We live in such a media bias era that authentic news reporting is becoming a thing of the past. There should be a law against this kind of practice...shouldn't it?

The letter shows Senator Reid and the other signers as the demagogues they are. Now that he is trying to claim credit for the amount raised for a worthwhile charity, I will be waiting to hear how much of his money (not my tax money that I already know he likes to 'invest') he has donated. In other words, will he put his money where his mouth is?

Also waiting for ABC to get the story straight. Please hurry, I'm not young!

ABC needs to rewrite this article. It is all wrong. Whether intentional or not it is misleading at best.

Well I guess after reading all the comments enough said ABC SCREWS UP AGAIN!!!! I guess at least ABC covered it kinda. NBC and CBS still don't have even the wrong news on their website. When will these 3 companies start actually reporting the news.

As William and Well Informed stated. THIS IS NOT ANYTHING THAT THE DEMS DID. Rush Limbaugh is the one that deserves the credit to break the news of how pathetic the Dems are. Rush asked Harry Reid if he would match the bid, Reid was silent. He said nothing and will do NOTHING. The reporter needs to pull his head out of whereever it is and get the story staight. The charity will be getting an amazing 4.2 million for an amaging and wonderful cause. And the credit does NOT go to the Democrats, it goes to Rush Limbaugh, Clear Channel, Ebay, and Betty Casey. They are the ones you should pay tribute to. If the dems try to capitolize on this it will be one more straw to the camels back that will eventually come back to destroy them. That is what they do best...destroy. Get the facts straight ABC!!!

Sen. Reid's letter, signed by 40 other Democrat Senators, is valuable because it is a historic document; clear and unequivocal evidence of the worst ABUSE OF POWER by the Senate we have seen in this decade, possibly ever.

If the bid is actually legitimate, I would suspect that someone figures on a hellatious deduction for charitable contributions. Imagine their surprise when the IRS takes the position that they didn't make a contribution... they bought a historical document at fair market value.

How can everyone in the world get this story correct and not ABC. God, I miss Peter Jennings, he would have never let a story get out without the facts as this one has.

These idiots think they are above reproach....they will not match the bid...at least not unless they pass themselves a big raise...mmm..maybe teddy will say he left his in his wet pants?

I'm really disappointed by the reading comprehension skills of all the people condemning this article for not specifying that Rush Limbaugh put the letter up for auction. What does this line mean to you, "Rush Limbaugh himself put the letter up for auction on EBAY."?

Although the proceeds are going to a good cause, who really cares what Rush does or says? He became irrelevant years ago. Still, the fact that the letter was written in the first place indicates the signers' inappropriate priorities as members of Congress. Rush is free to criticize as he wants (but not free to illegally acquire prescription drugs).

This is classic liberal democrats. When in doubt, take someone else's credit for their work. Harry Reid is a disgrace to this country. He's nothing but a partisan who thinks nothing about the people of this country. He needs to resign. The bid about the "phony soldier" had to do with a literal phony soldier - he claimed credit for the sacrifice that others made for him. I cannot stand people like him. ABC news needs to rewrite this story to set the record straight, that is if you care to be anything beyond "phony journalism." It's up to you. This is a free country and Rush is taking advantage of the freedom to take something aimed at him to turn it into a blessing. God bless this nation.

I would like to apologize for dick durbin's existence. History will long remember the democrat leaders for thier lies and distortions, and the mainstream media for keeping the hate alive and making a dirty buck off it.

Wow. I don't hear you whiny conservatives boo-hoo when your propaganda channel Fox "news" distorts information. I also don't hear any Repubes running home crying to mommy when your President Dubya lies on a daily basis.

Mr. Wolf you are a liar. A flat out liar. If there is anyone that is "phony" it is you sir. I understand that the news weatherman can be wrong most of the time but you take the cake. I hope your editor reviews the comments on this story and reconsiders your ability to provide objective news reporting. In two words I can sum up your story "PHONY REPORTER"

At least ABC mentioned it, the Others do not even have it at all.

Reid, ABC both are wrong, ClearChannel's Head is MR MAYS not May, so I guess Harry 's close "friend"...ooops nope, he even got his name wrong in his speech...say Harry, Match the offer, like Mr. Limbaugh

why is anyone here saying that abc is claiming or insinuating that rush didnt put the letter on ebay himself? wheres your reading skills? the article clearly states that rush himself put the letter on ebay . i quote... " Rush Limbaugh himself put the letter up for auction on EBAY. Limbaugh sits on the board of the foundation." i personally dont see any need for further clarification or explanation of the previous sentence whatsoever.

clearly, this is one of the reasons the republican party keeps getting in/staying in power , they have a large group of semi intelligent voters/zombies that cant understand a simple sentence. easy to confuse the dense and thats what the republicans count on.

i know public school education did you wrong but jeez.

please try to read and comprehend the written english language correctly before you trumpet out your unbridled ignorance (en masse) for all to see.

Harry Reid is a complete Jackass. He is now trying to take credit for Rush Limbaugh's smart action to turn Harry Reid's abuse of government letter into a charity for our troops. Harry Reid who tried to get a "private citizen" fired for something he didn't say is now trying to take credit for Rush Limbaugh turning it around on him. Harry Reid is dispictable and you people in Nevada must be the dumbest people on Earth to send this guy to Congress. Please take him back, he is a total creep.

conservatives already know all the tricks of the IRS, and just let the IRS make it official that the Reid, et al., letter is indeed an HISTORICAL DOCUMENT, and its value will triple!

Cris: Rush Limbaughr irrelevant? Why then a letter from Dingy Harry and the 40 thieves about what Limbaugh might have said? It was heard by millions of his loyal followers. I heard the whole program, and anyone who says that Limbaugh impuned the troops - including troops who express disagreement with the war, is an unmitigated liar.

I can't believe people actually take what Rush Limbaugh says seriously. You people know he's a drug addict right?

And Mrs. Clinton wants to be commander in chief? Buuwwaahahahahaha! NOT!

Harry Reid is an out and out liar. He had nothing to do with the letter going on eBay. NOTHING! The lib media is running with the Reid version knowing the letter has been on eBay for SEVEN FULL DAYS yet have been ignoring it. This is about an abuse of power by Senate Democrats and ALL Who Signed (yes, Hillary Rodham Clinton signed it too) should be fined the bid amount or forced to leave office. The Senators are dispicable and Harry Reid just raised "dispicable" to a new level. And the lib media (ABC included) just joined them.

ABC continues to mischaracterize,twice in this article alone, Rush's use of the term "phony soldiers."

I regularly write Republican Senators and Congressmen urging them to challenge the media openly, to question the premise of their questions and not allow mischaracterizations such as what happened to Rush to happen to them. I urge anyone reading this,to do the same.
Until they turn the tables on the media, the media will continue to selectively spoon feed us only what they want us to hear. Thank God for conservative talk radio and the internet.

LOL LOL
Rush and Clear Channel's show of mockery & disrespect sure did backfire.

Once again, the democrat's media lapdogs, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN refuse to report the whole truth and parrot whatever the democrat leadership tells them to say.
Rush called the people who claimed to be Vietnam/Iraq/World II verterans and never served, 'phony soldiers'. Like the guys that were supposedly throwing their medals over the whitehouse fence with John Kerry but never served in the military. Oh yeah, and Kerry never threw his own medals over the fence either.
There are other names for the soldiers that oppose the war, but not phony soldiers.

So John - what's your point? Sen. Byrd was a grand dragon of the KKK, Al Gore lied about inventing the internet, Harkin lied about serving in Vietnam. Because he was an addict, does not discredit him from responding to attacks and turning it into a benefit? The fact is that liberals cannot have compete in the arena of new ideas. Because everytime they do, they lose because no one wants a Stalinist socialist state.

Not very good reporting here. You left out several facts, like that Rush challenged the sens to match his donation. They've been silent about this, but now Reid is making out like he's somehow involved in raising the money.

The "phony soldiers" comment was purposefully misconstrued by these dishonest politicians to mean anyone in uniform who disagrees with the war. Anyone who keeps track of the news and blogosphere knew to whom Rush was referring; the few fruadulent soldiers who've popped up and been praised by the left. Most notably that Macbeth character and the Scott Thomas guy who wrote a highly questionable 'diary' from Iraq for a lefty rag.

Reid was knowingly being dishonest then, and he's being dishonest now. It's nothing but pure, shameless spin for politics' sake. Just more proof that partisan dem politicians are willing to throw truth and ethics overboard in favor of lies and phoniness, for the sake of their agenda.

And to the chap 'bah' who posted above me - who do you think teaches public school? All partisan dems!

"No mater what, Democrats are going to make a ton of money for a charity off their political vitriol."

Huh? 'Democrats' are going to make? Let's be honest here shall we? Democrats didn't make A THIN DIME! Rush Limbaugh is the SINGLE PERSON who saw the opportunity to throw in the FACE of these losers and he ALONE made and he ALONE is also giving the 'ton of money'. Saying democrats had anything to do with it is like giving Hitler credit for the heroism of our troops when they landed at Normandy!
.....
Kerry signed the letter. He's worth over 800 million; did he match the fund? A lot of the signers have money - NOTHING from them but silence.

Chris, that's right; Rush is no longer relevant. That's why 20 million people listen to him and he's yet to be discredited. That's why the stations capture record advertising revenues. Keep it coming.

How does ABC come to the following conclusion "Democrats are going to make a ton of money for a charity off their political vitriol" when it was Rush who put up the letter for auction and made the matching funds commitment. Maybe they know that the 41 senators, who signed the letter, are going to do the right thing and match the bid price like Rush! Next we will probably see ABC claim to be fair and honest in it's reporting.

hey jon c.

they do find their "heros" in the strangest places dont they? evidently rehab centers are a pretty good place to start the hunt for a "good" republican candidate,(what an oxymoron that is!) and then again i hear some of them prefer public toilets for anonymous homosexual encounters too...they are indeed a rather diverse (and perverse) lot .

yup ,i really want those kinds of people to be the moral compass of this nation

those honest, respectable republicans and their loyal intellectual constituents with their upright american values and ethics... ...snicker snicker...

;]

ABC please have the integrity to note that you have changed the post. The original post was incorrect giving the democrats credit for putting the letter on ebay. It is now correct. This has caused some confusion in the posts. I agree that there are still significant facts omitted. Without such notification, it is not much wonder that the media is not trusted.

The Reason all these libs are angry about this is they hate that she had more than 2 million to spend on charity. What needs to happen is, 90% of her assets needs to be taxed (tax being a word meaning theft by a government) and have it put into “free” healthcare. Or perhaps they should demand a “fairness” doctrine for charitable giving and have half of the 2.1 mill put into another equally deserving non-profit like... oooh, just pick one at random... how about moveon.org? They need money too, especially after having to pay full price for their piece of trash, childish, attack add. Moveon spends untold amounts attacking the military and Rush Spends untold amounts (his own 2.1 Million contribution just being a small part of what he does) to help them. Democrats see Moveon as equivalent to Rush? Nope, they probably feel Moveon helps the troops more.

OldTrooper,

Rush became irrelevant when he was busted for illegally acquiring prescription drugs. When he takes a moral hard line and then is busted for immoral activity, he becomes a hypocrite, he is no longer relevant, his moral/ethical authority is completely gone. Only fools believe the words of hypocrites?

Because of Rush's irrelevancy, Reid and the other signers embarrassed themselves by even bothering to address the situation. Rush is free to say what he wants, and people who favor hypocrites are free to listen to him.

Senator Reid:

Rush Limbaugh pledged to "put his money where his mouth is" and match the winning bid of over $2 million. He also challenged you and the other 40 signatories to do the same.

Having spoken so eloquently this morning about the positive benefits of this auction and the worthiness of the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, do you and your colleagues have plans to "put YOUR money where YOUR mouth is?" I'm sure this charity could make good use of the extra $82 million!

Getalife,

I guess you're one of those people who believes the words of hypocrites. You can see my previous post about people who favor hypocrites. The fact that there are 20 million listeners proves nothing about their intelligence. Far more than that believed the lie about WMD in Iraq. That certainly didn't make it right. I saw right through the administration's smoke screen, just like I see through Rush's rhetoric. How about you?

The "phony soldiers" comment maliciously misconstrued by shamefully dishonest politicians. Thank God every soldier, sailor and airman knows to whom Rush was referring; the few fruadulent soldiers who've popped up and been praised by the left. Most notably that Macbeth character and the Scott Thomas guy who wrote a highly questionable 'diary' from Iraq for a lefty rag.

We live in dangerous times when crooked Democrat lawmakers (that's a joke) can be so frivolous with the contitution.

Z. Byron Wolf.......YOU should check the facts and leave your liberal bias out of work you represent to be accurate! This piece is disgustingly and most likely purposely "flat out wrong!" ABC should be ashamed!

It is amazing how you media people cover for the Democrats' lack of patriotism.

This whole issue proves that Rush is right about you.

OK, whoever wrote this is a moron... My fellow democrats didn't "make a ton of money for a charity."

What a idiotic statement. The bidder and Rush made the money for the chairty. All my representatives did was make fools of themselves and play right into Rush's hands.

I'm glad this is finally over. Now Rush can focus on keeping Hillary from representing the middle class.

Did anyone notice that after Harry Reid offered his support, the bidding died? His support did nothing to help raise money and might have actually served to kill it, hurting a charity. Just goes to show, even when the Dems loose on an issue they always find a way to piss on your shoes on the way out. Kind of like how Clinton pillaged the White house in 2000, Classy

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Glad to see the "24percenters" are frothing at the mouth!

Ahhhh, the memories of the 90's...reminds me of all the Republican's constant and rabid comments about anything Democratic (which meant Clinton during those years...)

Being out of power sucks, doesn't it? But remaining out of power will suck even worse!

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Hillary could never represent the middle class. She's to busy trying to win a power struggle and keep the lower class beholden to the socialist state.

Great quote from Dan, "It is amazing how you media people cover for the Democrats' lack of patriotism." This is one of the fundamental differences between the modern Republican and Democratic mindsets, the Republicans no longer believe that difference of opinion is acceptable. Either you believe what they believe, or you're unpatriotic. This poisonous idea is truly anti-American.

Thanks to Jon C. for reminding us of other anti-American events that have taken place under the current administration.

When it's time for the American Citizen to reclaim our government the names and signatures on this list will be the ideal place to start! Term Limits Now!

I'm glad this is finally over. Now Rush can focus on keeping Hillary from stopping no bid contracts.

At least we do police our own side. Yes Sen. Larry Craig is a disgrace, but all republicans are calling for his resignation. We do try to hold ourselves to a standard. We don’t live up to it all the time, but at least we have one. How about William Jefferson Democrat who hid thousands in his freezer? How many democrats came out against him? He isn't the only one either.

Stupid, stupid democrats. Did you lower the bar just to keep it a fair fight? Are you just a bunch of clowns on a policical bus running on hot air without a map? After the mess Mr. Bush has made to his party, you had to flush your brains to compete? Geeez !

ABC shows how liberal they really are!!
Way to go Rush and keep up the good work!

ABC is making it worse for themselves. The more I listen to Rush the more truth I get. Fox is the most accurate thorough and unbias. They actually have reporters that don't ask Hillary what to write next!

Does anyone have a copy of the original text of this embarrassing piece of work? They changed it faster than John Kerry’s voting record when it started getting slammed for its string of inaccuracies, distortions, and outright lies. It was the Dems idea to auction the letter? They selected the charity the money would go to? That the Dems would make money for a charity…? Wow.

Does anyone really wonder why the credibility of ABC, CBS, CNN, et al is in the toilet? (Swirling right next to the moral fiber rich intellect of all the libs who commented above)

No Chris. I take the word of someone who is willing to be checked for accuracy each and every day. I take the word of someone who is willing to admit he did something wrong and that he sought forgiveness. I can hardly say that about your band of fugatives. Gee, then I would have to tell the advertisers that they are wasting their money on idiots huh? I think those who are willing to spend the money advertising on a show are the ones who recognize that the listeners have a fair degree of intelligence, don't you think? Besides, I'm glad to hear that Air America has done a booming business. Oh no? Really, they're bankrupted? Why? No one is listening? The listeners won't buy their load of crap? Keep talking... someone might hear you.

I'm not sure I understand why everyone is so upset. Harry raising over 4 million for a charity is a good thing, right?

Very disappointing story,

I was just getting back to checking ABCNews regularly as they are the better choice over CNN and MSNBC, but now I see now that their ratings are on the rise, they are back to their old tricks: Lies and "info left-outs" for their stories again.

I guess it's back to Foxnews again.

Dingy Harry should be "drubbed" out of office. He used the power and prestige of the U.S. Senate, and taxpayer money, to attack, and to silence, a private citizen.

This is exactly the kind of event that our forefathers were trying to protect us from. A government that has morphed itself into a tyrranical body. Not, a government of, for and by the people.

ABC News Journalism at it's finest! Rush Limbaugh took a letter that was completely founded on fabrications and turned it into something really good for the children of fallen soldiers and police officers of our country. What did Harry Reid do to deserve the dubious honor that ABC bestowed upon him?

Mike D -- Excellently put, my man...excellently put.

Mr Limbaugh asked all 41 of the democrats to match his charitable contribution. So far NONE seems to be the number that feel charitable. Figures, can't put their money where their considerable mouths are.

Hey abc democrat "news", your reporter forgot to mention what is happening to the millions of dollars? What is the total amount raised and where is it going? Maybe get a real reporter to "dig into this story" and do some actual work for a change. I'm sure you didn't leave out 90% of the facts because you're democrats promoting other democrats and unable to writing anything that is unflattering to the democrat party. ....and where are the quotes from the call? If you "insist" that he said what you're claiming - lets see it? ....oh, that's because you'd have to alter his words and then you'd be the one in front of a judge paying the millions of dollars to Rush? Good work - free interns are fine as writers for most stories but you may consider employing adults eventually.

OK, Getalife, I get it. You believe Rush's words, just like you believed the lie about WMD in Iraq. That was so accurate! And by "band of fugtives" I guess you mean my political party. I am a registered Republican. So I guess were you referring to the Republicans? I can see from my criticism of this situation why you might think otherwise, but it is with pain that I write, "the Republicans no longer believe that difference of opinion is acceptable." What you don't realize is that above all, I am an American. I am free to agree with whomever I want, just as I am free to criticize whomever I want. That is why my comments criticize Reid and the hopelessly pathetic Rush Limbaugh. I believe in what is just and true, not what representatives from my registered party tell me I should believe. I feel embarrassed that my party has sunk so low by committing so many unethical acts. In other words, I think for myself. Try it sometime, you might like it. If that's too taxing on you, you can keep listening to that pathetic pill popper.

To Jesse:

You wrote: "this is flat out wrong. Limbaugh put the letter up for auction, not the Dems."

What are you smoking?

The article even quotes Reid acknowledging Limbaugh putting the letter up for auction (on Ebay): "But without qualification Mark May, the owner of the network that has Rush Limbaugh, and Rush Limbaugh should know that this letter that they're auctioning is going to be something that raises money for a worthwhile cause.

Jesse: please read or read carefully before posting.

This article is more democrat propaganda. It does state in the 5th or 6th paragraph that Limbaugh did put the letter on e-bay but it also makes Harry Reid look like the good guy here when he's the buffoon that started this whole thing. The article also clearly states that the letter was written to condemn Linbaugh for calling the troops who oppose the war "phoney soldiers". This is an outright lie and ABC knows it. The troops he called phoney are the ones who lie about their service and try to claim benefits they are not entitled to. Another case of slander by ABC...but what should we expect...