The term is IOKIYAR or, It's OK if you're a Republican."" It means Republicans have carte blanche in attacking others' patriotism, and represents the partisan double standard that exists today in Washington. Last week, we saw a classic example from the always-loathsome Rush Limbaugh.
When MoveOn.org called Gen. David Petraeus ""General Betray Us,"" you would have thought the apocalypse had come. Republicans, including Limbaugh, berated Democrats who refused to denounce the ad and The New York Times for running it. The rallying cry went like this: ""How dare you question the patriotism of our general! That's borderline treasonous!""
Let's take a look back to last Wednesday. Limbaugh - that bastion of patriotism who effectively gave MoveOn.org the idea for its ad by labeling Sen. Chuck Hagel ""Senator Betray Us"" in January - referred to soldiers who want to pull troops out of Iraq as ""phony soldiers.""
Of course, Republicans in Congress immediately went back to the rallying cry: ""How dare you question the patriotism of our soldiers by calling them phony! That's borderline treasonous!"", right? If you believe that, then you're living in a dream world - where Republican talk show hosts are held to the same standards as liberal organizations. Nope, here we play by the IOKIYAR standard.
Let's ignore for a second that Limbaugh, who never served in the military, had the gall to say this. Instead, let's talk about the kind of people Limbaugh refers to as phony.
First, there are the seven soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who wrote a New York Times Op-Ed in August criticizing the war. A few weeks ago, we found out two of these soldiers died.
As Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org, wrote in a Daily Kos diary, ""Will Rush call up their grieving parents and tell them that they should stop crying, because they were just 'phony soldiers?'""
Or how about John Kerry? When he ran for president in 2004, the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and many other Republicans smeared him for his military service, claiming he lied his way to multiple medals including the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, delegates wore bandages with little purple hearts on them, mocking Kerry's service and effectively calling him a ""phony soldier.""
Also, when Limbaugh responded by saying he ""was taken out of context,"" he went on to include Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Penn., on his list of phonies because he dared to believe the charges that Marines killed civilians at Haditha. Murtha earned the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in Vietnam after voluntarily joining the Marines in 1952.
Perhaps the absurdity of Limbaugh's remark can be seen best in the case of former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland. As Bill Clinton pointed out last week on CNN, the GOP has no right to feign ""outrage"" about the MoveOn.org ad when they ""ran a television ad in Georgia with Max Cleland, who lost half his body in Vietnam, in the same ad with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.""
Cleland, who received the Silver Star and the Bronze Star, was one of 29 Senate Democrats to vote for the Iraq War and has since called that vote ""the worst vote"" he cast. I wonder, is he a ""phony soldier"" under Limbaugh's definition?
To think the GOP has any right to call out an ad in a newspaper when, since the Iraq War started, they have characterized anyone standing against President Bush's failed policy as unpatriotic, un-American or ""phony,"" is absolutely ludicrous.
Many top Democrats have since blasted Limbaugh for the comments, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-N.V., who said it was ""so beyond the pale of decency that it cannot be left alone.""
Limbaugh, who claims he was taken out of context, responded by calling this a ""smear,"" and saying: ""This is a great illustration of the liberals and the Democrat Party playbook for '08, which is underway now.""
Of course when Democrats say something like this, essentially questioning Limbaugh's patriotism and calling him a ""phony,"" then it's a smear. You know why? Because it's only OK if you're a Republican.
Erik Opsal is a senior majoring in political science and journalism. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com
