Swift-Boating a 12-year-old

He’s at it again. The Rush Limbaugh Smear Machine is in high gear.

First he smeared all members of the military who don’t support the war in Iraq by calling them “phony soldiers.” Then he smeared an Iraq veteran by comparing him to a “suicide bomber.” And now he’s gone after 12-year-old Graeme Frost, accusing him and his parents of lying, just because they dared oppose George Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation.

How low can you get? Here’s a kid who, along with his sister, almost lost his life in a 2004 automobile accident. And Rush calls them phonies because they go to private schools and live in a good neighborhood. Maybe Rush expects them to live under the freeway, otherwise they don’t deserve healthcare.

The fact is, Graeme and his sister both have scholarships. His parents make a combined income of about $45,000 — and neither gets health insurance at work. And they paid $55,000 for their house in 1991 — probably less than Rush spends every day on illegal drugs — and it’s worth $265,000 today. We’re hardly talking Rockefeller here.

Why is it that conservatives can’t let anybody disagree with George Bush without trying to destroy them personally? Are they really that insecure? Or are they just naturally mean?

Let’s see: soldiers in uniform, an Iraq vet and a 12-year-old kid. Watch out, Grandma. Rush is coming after you next!