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Ladies and gentlemen, we had a call on August 7th, two weeks ago. It's taken awhile for this letter to reach us here. If you send mail to the EIB Network, it goes through four different places, screening process and all that before it finally ends up here in my hands. This letter has actually taken five days, which is an improvement. August 16th. It's from the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers union.
Dear Mr. Limbaugh:
As the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers I write in response to an exchange you had with a fellow letter carrier on August 7th on the broadcast of your show. The exchange was also posted on your website. I'm afraid that you and the letter carrier from "Sarasota" have misled your listeners about the National Association of Letter Carriers and its approach to the 2008 presidential election. Once you know the facts I am sure you will take the time on your next broadcast to correct the record.
(Laughing) I love getting letters from union thugs. I just do. Here's the next paragraph.
During this show a self-described conservative letter carrier named Kimberly complained that her union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, has solicited only Democrats in an issue survey of the candidates now running for president. The responses of that survey were included in the National Association of Letter Carriers monthly magazine along with an endorsement ballot for members to express their views on the candidates. In response, you, Mr. Limbaugh, charged that, quote, "They think that they can hide from you the fact that there are Republican candidates." You went on to say, "It's what I mean. They think you are stupid. They think you're not going to notice this." Unfortunately, Mr. Limbaugh, the caller was mistaken and would have known it had she read the magazine, and you were offensively mistaken to say that the National Association of Letter Carriers thinks its members are stupid. As the attached copy of the article from the August issue of the Policy Record makes clear on page 22, the National Association of Letter Carriers sent its issue survey to all announced candidates for president in May, Democrats and Republicans alike. |
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Seven Democratic candidates responded, but not a single Republican candidate did so. I was disappointed by the lack of GOP responses because the National Association of Letter Carriers is a bipartisan union (clearing throat loudly) that has supported both Democrat and Republican candidates to Congress over the years. We support candidates who support the interests of working letter carriers and working people in general regardless of their party affiliation. I can assure you, Mr. Limbaugh, the National Association of Letter Carriers does not think its members are stupid, and we would never attempt to fool our members on any matter. If we did, we would not be the best organized open shop union in the nation. More than 90% of all city letter carriers voluntarily belong to the National Association of Letter Carriers. The fact is, we're a democratic union, with a small d. Our members will guide which candidate to support for president. But you know how Republican candidates expect to win the support of hard working letter carriers (giggling) when they lack the courtesy to respond to a simple issue survey. Not all Republicans show such a lack of respect, but far too many do. On the air you said, "This is where the Democrats are missing the boat." I respectfully submit that the only party missing the boat is the GOP. I look forward to your on-air apology and your clarification. I am sure you will post the correction on your website as well.
Sincerely,
William Young, president, National Association of Letter Carriers.
Well, Mr. Young, I am able to put historical perspective to your note. You are damn right, I apologize. I am sorry. Please forgive me. It was just a caller. I'll take the heat, but the caller obviously was misinformed, I'm sorry. Please. We'll post this on the website and please forgive me. I didn't mean it! I just didn't mean it! |
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 BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: This is Norm in Pinion Hills, am I pronouncing that right, California?
CALLER: Yeah, Pinion Hills.
RUSH: Pinion Hills. That's Snerdley's fault. Forgot to put the "i" in there. Thanks for the call, sir.
CALLER: Thank you. Listen, you gotta take back that apology that you gave to Mr. Young, the union thug.
RUSH: Yeah?
CALLER: The gal in Sarasota, she got it right. She probably just generalized too much saying they're stupid. The union does depend on people to be politically ignorant.
RUSH: Well, I forget who said they're stupid. I think we both did. I said what the union thinks, based on what she told me --
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: -- that the letter carrier members are stupid if they think they're going to not notice that there were no Republicans. He said the Republicans didn't offer, didn't react to the offer to put position statements in their magazine.
CALLER: Well, you ought to fire off a letter requesting the postal record that they put out in September-October of the last election cycle, and the 2004 election, and you'll see that these aren't people who are running, these are people who the union is recommending to vote for.
RUSH: Yeah?
CALLER: And you'd be hard-pressed to find a Republican in there, if there's one. I'm talking state, national, they tell you all the way around who they're supporting. And financial records. How about who they're giving their money to?
RUSH: Well, we know that.
CALLER: So for him to sit there and say that they were given an opportunity, he's just blowing smoke.
RUSH: Well, let me read the last paragraph of his letter to me in which he asked for an apology. He said: "The fact is we're a democratic union. Our members will guide which candidate to support for president." What does that mean, our members will guide which candidate?
CALLER: He means the ones who go along with the union mantra are going to vote for whatever the union recommends.
RUSH: See, what he's saying is the members will do that, not the thug leadership. He's saying the members will guide which candidate to support for president.
CALLER: The members don't write the postal record, they receive it.
RUSH: Yeah, and then he writes, "I don't know how the Republican candidates expect to win the support of hard-working letter carriers when they lack the courtesy to respond to a simple issue survey. Not all Republicans show such a lack of respect, but far too many do."
CALLER: Well, he's got a snapshot in time. You can go back the last 20 years, who are they recommending in their postal record?
RUSH: I understand. In the context of his complaint -- we're talking about William Young, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers -- we got this call from a woman in Sarasota, and she said that there were no Republicans in this particular issue giving their issue statements. She was under the impression, probably because of the way the union does lean, that the Republicans weren't given a chance. Mr. Young said, yes, they were, they just didn't respond.
CALLER: Well, how come --
RUSH: He's not going to write me a letter saying that's not true and have me read it on the radio. So the question is, why didn't Republicans respond, do you think? Waste of time?
CALLER: Yeah, probably. They probably didn't think they'd get in there. Who edits the thing? How do you know they didn't?
RUSH: (Laughing.) It's a good point. How do we know they didn't? You know, what about this, Norm. What about maybe the Republicans did respond and their responses just got lost in the mail?
CALLER: Yeah, obviously, yeah. It happens!
RUSH: (Laughing.) All right. Thanks for the call, Norm, appreciate it. |
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BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Richard, Beaumont, Texas, you're next. Welcome, sir, to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Thank you very much, Rush. It's sure good to talk to you.
RUSH: You bet, sir.
CALLER: Okay, I just want to thank Mr. Young for giving us another contract.
RUSH: Okay, wait, wait, wait. Hang on just a second. I need you to slow down here so I can understand you. You want to thank Mr. Young for what?
CALLER: Another contract. We just negotiated another contract.
RUSH: Oh, we're back to the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers here.
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: He just negotiated another contract for you. Are you a letter carrier?
CALLER: Yes, I am.
RUSH: Okay, and you want to thank him for that?
CALLER: Yes, I thank him for that, but also I'm going to let you know that I don't agree with his politics or the union's politics.
RUSH: Well, what are you going to do?
CALLER: I'm going to vote on the right side.
RUSH: But are you going to tell anyone? Well, you just did tell us. You're a brave guy.
CALLER: So I've just told you that. I've been in the union for about 11 years. I don't vote the way they recommend us to vote.
RUSH: Well, so long as it stays a recommendation, you're safe.
CALLER: Right. Right. And so, you know, that's just what I wanted to say.
RUSH: I appreciate it, Richard. Thanks very much. Richard, are you still there?
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Yes. Were you being serious when you thanked him for negotiating a contract?
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: It's a good contract?
CALLER: It's a good contract. Normally we go to binding arbitration, but this time we didn't have to go to binding arbitrations, they negotiated a good contract.
RUSH: Great. That means the taxpayers get screwed again. Well, congratulations.
CALLER: No.
RUSH: (Laughing.) Well, who pays the letter carriers? Thanks, Richard. |
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BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Joe in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Semper fi to you, Rush.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: I'm a letter carrier. I've been a letter carrier for 38 years, and candidate Bush back in 2000 did submit to the union paper, and he scored second to Algore. I think Gore was in the high 20 percentile, and I think President Bush was like close to 20 percent. Ever since then there has not been another Republican in our union magazine. I think the union was kind of upset that he scored so well. There's a lot of us conservatives in the postal service.
RUSH: I'm actually thrilled what is happening here, the way this is falling out today, because this show is obviously number one in the letter carriers union.
CALLER: Yes. Well, thanks to you we've converted several people at our office alone over the last couple elections.
RUSH: That's fabulous. You know, it's not surprising that Bush would be rated second, though, of letter carriers that would be rating the responses. I don't know who else would have been there in 2000. I don't know whether there was a third-party candidate --
CALLER: Algore and I forget the other candidates.
RUSH: You figure Gore would win in a union publication where the members are rating the responses of the candidates. But what you're saying is Bush got pretty close to him?
CALLER: Yes, he did. Scarily close I guess, too scary for the union that put another Republican in there, I believe.
RUSH: It's amazing how many letter carriers today do not believe William Young, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. |
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