Pentagon Accused of Giving Bum’s Rush to Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh has made it into the homes and automobiles of much of America, but getting into the Pentagon is different.

Although the ultraconservative talk show host might seem at ease among the nation’s military forces, the Pentagon has banned his programs from its Armed Forces Radio and Television networks because Limbaugh “presents only one point of view”--not to mention that GIs would rather watch sports and listen to music.

But the Pentagon’s refusal to open up the military airwaves to Limbaugh has angered a contingent of 70 congressmen. They contend that Defense Secretary Les Aspin and other Pentagon officials are censoring Limbaugh to protect a liberal agenda. They have demanded that Limbaugh’s program be made available to the service members and their families located in 134 countries around the world, as well as on ships at sea.

“Rush Limbaugh has been called by his liberal critics ‘the most dangerous man in America,’ ” said a letter to Aspin written by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) and co-signed by 69 other members of the House.

“It appears the liberal leadership at the Pentagon agrees with that ridiculous assertion,” Dornan said.

However Limbaugh’s spokesman in New York, Kit Carson, was careful Tuesday not to characterize the exclusion from the Pentagon broadcasts as politically motivated censorship.

“I wouldn’t have any comment on that,” Carson said. “But Rush would be thrilled and honored to be a part of Armed Forces Radio and TV. Rush’s admiration and support for the military is no secret.”

But Kathleen M. deLaski, speaking for the Pentagon, said that the reasons for the Limbaugh ban are more complex.

She noted that his radio talk show is three hours long--much too long for the armed forces network. “We’ve got one channel, basically, and limited amounts of time.”

Second, but perhaps most important, she said, is a new Pentagon survey indicating that GIs actually may not care much for Limbaugh.

“Demand is precisely the issue,” she said. “The Rush Limbaugh fans may be sad to learn that the latest survey of randomly selected military audience members showed that, at least for the Rush Limbaugh TV show, only 0.02% of them wanted it.

“I don’t think this is so much a swipe at Rush Limbaugh; it’s more of an issue of the interest in talk radio in general on our broadcast service.

“Apparently, only 3.9% asked for any talk radio show at all. The interest is sports and music, overwhelmingly.”

Further, Clifford H. Bernath, deputy assistant defense secretary for public affairs, said that, while they do not censor any program, air time is at a premium and must be “carefully and impartially selected from the best available American radio and television programs.”

“As for the Limbaugh television program, although it is only a half-hour program, we have been unable to find any other program that would reasonably balance its point of view,” Bernath wrote in a letter to Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.).

He cited other programs, such as “Oprah” and “Larry King Live,” which he said “make a credible effort to balance their programs with guests who present opposing points of view.”

But “the Limbaugh program presents only one view, that of Mr. Limbaugh, who normally has no guests on his program.”

But Dornan, in his “truly outraged” letter to Aspin, said that “the reason for spiking Rush Limbaugh is pure politics.”

The congressman said he has found admiration for Limbaugh and his radio and TV programs in visits to military bases worldwide. He said that spouses often send a week’s worth of Limbaugh videotapes to their lonely loved ones and that troops try to pick up his radio show on short wave.

“There is not even a close second,” Dornan said.