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As MediaMorons  has noted, Media Matters ignored the meaning of the words “phony soldiers,” accusing Rush Limbaugh of using those words in reference to actual rather than fake soldiers “who support U.S. withdrawal” from Iraq. 

Media Matters stands by its assertion, despite the fact that Limbaugh has denied that his use of the words “phony soldiers” was in reference to real soldiers.

 On October 5, Media Matters issued a day-by-day “recap” on the issue, in which Media Matters repeated many errors and falsehoods from its previous week. Each of these errors is addressed specifically, below.  

Media Matters’ smear, asserting that Limbaugh used the words “phony soldiers” in reference to real soldiers, is contradicted by facts which Media Matters has not addressed. For instance, Limbaugh and his caller made an explicit distinction between “real soldiers” and “phony soldiers.” Moreover, neither Limbaugh nor the caller at any point asserted that support of U.S. withdrawal makes anyone “phony.”

     In the beginning of Media Matters’ “recap,” some of the words of Limbaugh and his caller are presented. The discussion, which was about people who support U.S. troop withdrawal relying on “phony soldiers” instead of “real soldiers” is very different from Media Matters’ characterization of it; again, Media Matters characterized it as a claim that “service members who support U.S. withdrawal” are “phony soldiers,” a claim which is not supported by the actual quotes provided by Media Matters itself.  

From Media Matters “recap”

Wednesday, September 26: On his radio show, Limbaugh gets into a discussion with a caller about people who oppose the Iraq war. “It’s not possible, intellectually, to follow these people,” he says. The caller replies, “No, it’s not, and what’s really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.” Limbaugh then interjects, “The phony soldiers,” to which the caller responds, “The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve.”

Up to this point in the Media Matters “recap,” Media Matters has quoted the Rush Limbaugh show accurately.

However, the next line in the Media Matters recap falsely states that Limbaugh talked about “how real soldiers want to be in Iraq.” On its face this comment would ordinarily be benign. However, Media Matters uses this statement which Limbaugh never made to falsely imply that Limbaugh defined “real” soldiers as being soldiers who “want to be in Iraq”–a false claim that feeds MediaMatters’ smear. In reality, it was not Limbaugh but the caller who stated that “real soldiers” want to be in Iraq. Limbaugh stated that soldiers who joined after the Iraq war started “joined to be in Iraq.” Limbaugh said nothing to imply that soldiers who do not want to be in Iraq are not real soldiers.

From Media Matters:

The two then go on to talk about how real soldiers want to be in Iraq.

The actual context, from the September 26 Rush Limbaugh show, continuing after the caller stated, “If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve”:

CALLER: They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they’re willing to sacrifice for their country.

LIMBAUGH: They joined to be in Iraq. They joined –

CALLER: A lot of them — the new kids, yeah.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know where you’re going these days, the last four years, if you signed up. The odds are you’re going there or Afghanistan or somewhere.

CALLER: Exactly, sir. And, and my other comment was…

Media Matters continued its “recap,” falsely implying that a morning update read by Limbaugh concerning Jesse MacBeth is unrelated to the issue of “phony soldiers” because Limbaugh did not “bring up” the morning update on MacBeth until “a full one minute and 50 seconds later.”

From Media Matters:

A full one minute and 50 seconds later — after the caller went on to discuss the purported presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and after Limbaugh thanked the caller for calling — Limbaugh brings up Jesse MacBeth, who had claimed falsely to have served in Iraq and witnessed atrocities.

Media Matters made substantial omissions of fact in their analysis; facts which directly contradict their claim.

First, Limbaugh did indeed tie the morning update to his comment about “phony soldiers”–by introducing the Update as an example of “talking about fake soldiers.”

From the September 26 Rush Limbaugh show:

Look, I want to thank you, Mike, for calling. I appreciate it very much. I gotta — let me see — got something — here is a “Morning Update” that we did recently talking about fake soldiers. This is a story of who the left props up as heroes. And they have their celebrities.

Most significantly, Media Matters failed to mention that immediately after Limbaugh used the words “phony soldiers” he attempted to find a copy of the Morning Update about MacBeth. The bulk of that “one minute and 50 seconds” was spent by Limbaugh in attaining the Morning Update copy.

The fact that Limbaugh did not have a prepared copy of the Morning Update indicates that Limbaugh had not planned in advance to use the Morning Update in that day’s broadcast. The fact that Limbaugh immediately attempted to attain a copy of the Morning Update after saying “the phony soldiers,” indicates that Limbaugh associated his use of the words “the phony soldiers” with the Morning Update about “fake soldiers.”

After saying, “the phony soldiers,” Limbaugh set down his cigar and reached for a piece of paper. He proceeded to put his reading glasses on and soon thereafter turned away from the microphone and began scrolling through files on his computer screen. He motioned to staff, pointing his thumb toward the printer then pointing to the desk in front of him. He reached back for it but it wasn’t ready yet. After the update printed, Limbaugh reached over to the printer, grabbed the Morning Update and read it.

Also apparent in the Ditto-Cam footage is that the caller’s comment “They like to pull these soldiers” sounds like “they like the phony soldiers.” Limbaugh, who is deaf and relies on a cochlear implant to hear, responded, “the phony soldiers!”

It would not have been the first time Limbaugh’s disability prevented him from accurately hearing what a caller said. As Limbaugh explained on May 29, 2007:

Some words sound alike in my cochlear implant.

Ditto-Cam Video of Limbaugh finding and reading “fake soldiers” update

Media Matters continued its “recap” but skipping September 27, the day Media Matters put up their first post regarding Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” remark. In that post, Media Matters made no mention of Limbaugh’s reference to MacBeth–a decision Media Matters defended in a post the following day, September 28, claiming falsely that the number of words they had quoted ensured proper context. In reality, Media Matters quoted 985 words but only 78 of those words followed Limbaugh’s use of the words “phony soldiers.”

From Media Matters:

Further, contrary to Limbaugh’s assertion that Media Matters took him out of context, Media Matters’ item documenting Limbaugh’s comments included a 985-word transcript from the show along with 4 minutes and 38 seconds of audio.

Also absent from the “recap” is a Media Matters claim from the same September 28 post. In this claim, Media Matters inadvertently admitted that Limbaugh used the phrase “phony soldiers” in the context of referring to those who are pretending to be service members but are not–a fact contradictory to the premise of Media Matters’ smear.

From Media Matters:

Limbaugh’s assertion that he was talking only about MacBeth is further undermined by the fact that in a conversation immediately before the one in which Limbaugh referred to “phony soldiers,” he appeared to question whether a caller who had advocated withdrawing from Iraq had actually been a soldier, as he had claimed.

If true that Limbaugh was questioning whether the caller had served in the military rather than how the caller served in the military, it would contradict Media Matters’ claim that Limbaugh was attacking actual service members; it would also indicate that Limbaugh was indeed referring to those who pretend to be but are not “real soldiers.” This early claim of Media Matters has not been included in subsequent posts, despite the dominant role it played in Media Matters’ original “phony soldiers” smear on Limbaugh. In fact, Media Matters originally had the callers designated as “caller1″ and “caller2,” with “caller1″ having close to 30% more words in the transcript.

Media Matters began referring to the former “caller2″ simply as “caller” with no mention of “caller1.”

Media Matters continued its “recap,” falsely accusing Limbaugh of telling his audience that a clip he was about to play was of the entire “segment” from the previous day. In fact, Limbaugh did not describe the clip as being the entire “segment” from the previous day. Limbaugh used the word “entire” in reference only to the transcript that “led to this so-called controversy.” Limbaugh did include the entire transcript portion that led to the controversy. The section Limbaugh cut was in fact cut by Media Matters itself in the very post where the transcript “led to” the “so-called controversy” as Limbaugh expressed. In addition to the transcript that led to the “so-called controversy,” Limbaugh also included the context (that Media Matters had edited out of their post) of the “phony soldiers” remark.

Media Matters also falsely implied that the context included by Limbaugh (regarding Jesse MacBeth, a “fake” soldier) was unrelated to Limbaugh’s use of the words “phony soldiers.” In reality, Limbaugh’s reference to Macbeth was directly related to his use of the words “phony soldiers” as evidenced by the fact that Limbaugh cited his reference to Macbeth as an example of “talking about fake soldiers.”

From Limbaugh’s September 26 radio show:

Look, I want to thank you, Mike, for calling. I appreciate it very much. I gotta — let me see — got something — here is a “Morning Update” that we did recently talking about fake soldiers. This is a story of who the left props up as heroes. And they have their celebrities.

One of them was Jesse MacBeth. Now, he was a “corporal,” I say in quotes - 23 years old.

From the September 28 Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: I was not talking, as Contessa Brewer said here, about the anti-war movement generally. I was talking about one soldier with that “phony soldier” comment, Jesse MacBeth. They had exactly what I’m going to play for you. This is Michael J. Fox all over again. Media Matters had the transcript, but they selectively choose what they want to make their point. Here is — it runs about 3 minutes and 13 seconds — the entire transcript, in context, that led to this so-called controversy.

From Media Matters:

Friday, September 28: Responding to the controversy aroused by his “phony soldiers” comment, Limbaugh claims on his show that he had not been talking “about the anti-war movement generally,” but rather “about one soldier … Jesse MacBeth.” He then tells his listeners he will present to them the “entire” segment from the day before, so they can hear what he actually said. But the clip he airs actually cuts out a full 1 minute and 35 seconds of discussion that occurred between Limbaugh’s original “phony soldiers” comment and his subsequent reference to MacBeth, making it appear as though he had segued directly from “phony soldiers” to MacBeth, when this was not in fact the case.

Media Matters continued its “recap,” accusing Limbaugh of mischaracterizing his remarks about “phony soldiers” because “soldiers” is plural yet Limbaugh stated that he had only been “talking about” one phony soldier–Jesse MacBeth. However, Limbaugh did not say that there is or was only one “phony soldier”; Limbaugh said (September 28) that the one he “talked about” is a “genuine, convicted, lying, fake soldier.”

Limbaugh clarified, but Media Matters falsely asserted that Limbaugh “changed his story.” Media Matters did not dispute or otherwise refute Limbaugh’s supposedly “changed” story.

From Limbaugh’s September 28 show:

LIMBAUGH: Putting it all in context — I’m sorry you missed it. What I can tell you is that what you’re hearing on these shows is, is so incompetently, purposefully taken out of context. It’s something I never said. I was talking — I did say, “phony soldiers,” talking about an actual fraud named Jesse MacBeth, who is found –

CALLER: But you did say “soldiers” in plural, though, didn’t you?

LIMBAUGH: Yes, because there have been a number of these people, but they were not active duty — I was not talking about anti-war, active duty troops. I was talking about people who’ve been exposed as frauds who never served in Iraq but claimed to have seen all these atrocities, [unintelligible]. Claimed to be a Green Beret, he was an Army Ranger, he never was [unintelligible]. Claimed that he had a Purple Heart. He never got one. He was busted out of the Army in 44 days in boot camp. This is the guy I was talking about.

From Media Matters “recap”:

Limbaugh also claims he was “talking about one soldier with that ‘phony soldier’ comment, Jesse MacBeth,” when in fact he said not “soldier” (singular) but “soldiers” (plural).

Despite accusing Limbaugh of “changing his story,” Media Matters itself characterized Limbaugh’s reference to “phony soldiers” as a reference to a single soldier rather than “soldiers” plural, referring to the object of such attack as “a war critic,” (singular) claiming that the attack is on “his” (singular, male) patriotism and “his” (singular, male) service. In the same paragraph, Media Matters implied that their explanation is the only plausible one.

From Media Matters:

If this were the first, or second, or even third time this had happened, one might be able to come up with another plausible explanation. But what we heard this week with Rush Limbaugh was a replay of a record we’ve heard many times before: a war critic with a military record emerges, and the right responds by attacking his patriotism, arguing that his service wasn’t real, or both.

Media Matters continues its “recap,” contradicting its claim that Limbaugh used the words “phony soldiers” in reference to “service members who support U.S. withdrawal” by asserting that, on September 28, Limbaugh added Congressman John Murtha “to his list of phony soldiers”–implying that Murtha was not already on the “list” despite the fact that Murtha is a service member who supports U.S. withdrawal.

From Media Matters:

Limbaugh also states during his program, “And by the way, Jesse MacBeth’s not the only one,” adding to his list of “phony soldiers” Congressman John Murtha, a Vietnam combat veteran and recipient of a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts whose service on active duty and in the Marine Reserve spanned 37 years before he retired as a colonel.

Continuing its “recap,” Media Matters accuses Limbaugh of comparing veteran Brian McGough to a suicide bomber. In reality, as can be seen in the words which Media Matters itself quotes from Limbaugh, Limbaugh characterized McGough as an innocent victim of those who want to sacrifice his reputation in order to spread the falsehood that Limbaugh referred to McGough and other service members as “phony soldiers.” At no point did Limbaugh compare McGough to a suicidal person or a murderer.

From Media Matters:

Tuesday, October 2: After the group VoteVets.org airs a television advertisement in which a wounded Iraq veteran, Brian McGough, criticizes Limbaugh for the “phony soldiers” comment, Limbaugh compares McGough to a suicide bomber. “He discusses his service in Iraq, the wounds he suffered there,” Limbaugh says, “and he says to me in this ad, ‘Until you have the guts to call me a “phony soldier” to my face, stop telling lies about my service.’ You know, this is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media in a TV ad to walk into as many people as he can walk into.”

Media Matters concluded its recap by falsely implying that Limbaugh compared Media Matters’ posting of audio and transcripts of The Rush Limbaugh Show to the actions of Josef Stalin. In fact, Limbaugh never stated that his reason for showing a picture of Josef Stalin with Media Matters’ logo across his chest had anything to do with Media Matters posting audio and transcripts.

Thursday, October 4: Displaying his ongoing commitment to reasoned discourse, Limbaugh puts up a picture on his website of Josef Stalin sporting Media Matters’ logo on his chest. Because posting audio and transcripts of Rush Limbaugh so people can see what he says is pretty much like heading up one of history’s most brutally repressive regimes and murdering 20 million or so people. Just about, anyway.

     As previously noted, Media Matters falsely accused Rush Limbaugh of using the words “phony soldiers” to describe actual service members. 

      On September 29, Media Matters claimed that Limbaugh’s reference to “phony soldiers” did not follow a discussion of Jesse Macbeth, apparently because the statement from a caller to which Limbaugh responded did not mention Macbeth by name.  Media Matters has not attempted to dispute the fact that Macbeth is indeed a fake soldier–a fact apparent due to Macbeth’s claims of having served active duty when in fact he did not.
 
Limbaugh used the term “phony soldiers” after a caller alluded to all phony soldiers, including Macbeth. The caller said that those who advocate troop withdrawal do not talk to “real soldiers” but to phony ones. After Limbaugh clarified that the caller was indeed referring to “the phony soldiers,” the caller affirmed that he had indeed been referring to “the phony soldiers,” which includes Jesse Macbeth.

LIMBAUGH: There’s a lot more than that that they don’t understand. They can’t even — if — the next guy that calls here, I’m gonna ask him: Why should we pull — what is the imperative for pulling out? What’s in it for the United States to pull out? They can’t — I don’t think they have an answer for that other than, “Well, we just gotta bring the troops home.”

CALLER: Yeah, and, you know what –

LIMBAUGH: “Save the — keep the troops safe” or whatever. I — it’s not possible, intellectually, to follow these people.

CALLER: No, it’s not, and what’s really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they’re willing to sacrifice for their country.

As previously noted, Rush Limbaugh was smeared September 27 by Media Matters, who claimed falsely that Limbaugh referred to service members as “phony soldiers.”

  Media Matters on September 28 further attacked Limbaugh, claiming falsely that Limbaugh had described a clip as constituting the entire segment in question:

Limbaugh purported to air the “entire” segment in question from the September 26 broadcast of his show.

In reality, Limbaugh had referenced only the transcript that “led to” the controversy. At no point did Limbaugh claim that the clip constituted the entire “segment.”

From the September 28 Rush Limbaugh broadcast:

Here is — it runs about 3 minutes and 13 seconds — the entire transcript, in context, that led to this so-called controversy.

Despite the fact that the portions not included in Limbaugh’s clip had nothing to do with the phony soldiers, Media Matters falsely stated as part of their headline on September 28:

Limbaugh selectively edited “phony soldiers” clip

Media Matters repeated the falsehood in another post on September 28, stating:

Rush Limbaugh selectively edited an audio clip of the September 26 exchange while calling it “the entire transcript” of the segment.

Again, the transcript cited by Rush was only claimed by Rush to be the transcript of what led to the “so-called” controversy in question; Rush never claimed it to be an entire transcript “of the segment.”

Media Matters took the accusation one step further, claiming in a headline on September 28:

Like radio show, transcript on RushLimbaugh.com selectively edits his “phony soldiers” comments

The transcript cited however was from Limbaugh’s September 28 broadcast in which Limbaugh was playing the transcript that “led to” the controversy surrounding the use of the words “phony soldiers.” Not surprisingly, the transcript on RushLimbaugh.com was an accurate transcription of what had been said on the September 28 Rush Limbaugh show.    

On the September 26 broadcast of his radio program, Rush Limbaugh used the words “phony soldiers” in reference to people who are not “real soldiers” but pretend to be soldiers when speaking to media. Limbaugh was correcting a caller who had referred to them as “soldiers.” Without mentioning  the fact that Limbaugh cited Jesse MacBeth, who has been exposed as a phony soldier (which Media  Matters has not disputed), Media Matters on September 27 falsely stated that Limbaugh had used the words “phony soldiers” in reference to “service members who support U.S. withdrawal.”

From Media Matters September 27:

During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq “phony soldiers.” He made the comment while discussing with a caller a conversation he had with a previous caller, “Mike from Chicago,” who said he “used to be military,” and “believe[s] that we should pull out of Iraq.” Limbaugh told the second caller, whom he identified as “Mike, this one from Olympia, Washington,” that “[t]here’s a lot” that people who favor U.S. withdrawal “don’t understand” and that when asked why the United States should pull out, their only answer is, ” ‘Well, we just gotta bring the troops home.’ … ‘Save the — keeps the troops safe’ or whatever,” adding, “[I]t’s not possible, intellectually, to follow these people.” “Mike” from Olympia replied, “No, it’s not, and what’s really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.” Limbaugh interjected, “The phony soldiers.” The caller, who had earlier said, “I am a serving American military, in the Army,” agreed, replying, “The phony soldiers.”

After their smear against Limbaugh was exposed on the September 28 Rush Limbaugh radio program, Media Matters defended its September 27 decision to omit Limbaugh’s reference to Jesse Macbeth by falsely implying on September 28 that Limbaugh’s reference to Macbeth was unrelated.

 From Media Matters September 28:

Limbaugh did not refer to MacBeth during his September 26 broadcast until one minute and 50 seconds after making his “phony soldiers” comment, and at no point on that show prior to making his “phony soldiers” comment did Limbaugh refer to any actual fake soldiers.

In reality, Limbaugh’s reference to Macbeth was directly related to his use of the words “phony soldiers” as evidenced by the fact that Limbaugh cited his reference to Macbeth as an example of “talking about fake soldiers.”

From Limbaugh’s September 26 radio show:

Look, I want to thank you, Mike, for calling. I appreciate it very much. I gotta — let me see — got something — here is a “Morning Update” that we did recently talking about fake soldiers. This is a story of who the left props up as heroes. And they have their celebrities.

One of them was Jesse MacBeth. Now, he was a “corporal,” I say in quotes - 23 years old.

Moreover, Media Matters’ implication that Limbaugh’s reference to MacBeth is irrelevant is further debunked by the fact that it was the caller, not Limbaugh, who changed the subject temporarily:

LIMBAUGH: Another Mike, this one in Olympia, Washington. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Hi Rush, thanks for taking my call.

LIMBAUGH: You bet.

CALLER: I have a retort to Mike in Chicago, because I am a serving American military, in the Army. I’ve been serving for 14 years, very proudly.

LIMBAUGH: Thank you, sir.

CALLER: And, you know, I’m one of the few that joined the Army to serve my country, I’m proud to say, not for the money or anything like that. What I would like to retort to is that, if we pull — what these people don’t understand is if we pull out of Iraq right now, which is about impossible because of all the stuff that’s over there, it’d take us at least a year to pull everything back out of Iraq, then Iraq itself would collapse, and we’d have to go right back over there within a year or so. And –

LIMBAUGH: There’s a lot more than that that they don’t understand. They can’t even — if — the next guy that calls here, I’m gonna ask him: Why should we pull — what is the imperative for pulling out? What’s in it for the United States to pull out? They can’t — I don’t think they have an answer for that other than, “Well, we just gotta bring the troops home.”

CALLER: Yeah, and, you know what –

LIMBAUGH: “Save the — keep the troops safe” or whatever. I — it’s not possible, intellectually, to follow these people.

CALLER: No, it’s not, and what’s really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they’re willing to sacrifice for their country.

LIMBAUGH: They joined to be in Iraq. They joined –

CALLER: A lot of them — the new kids, yeah.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know where you’re going these days, the last four years, if you signed up. The odds are you’re going there or Afghanistan or somewhere.

CALLER: Exactly, sir. And — and my other comment was — and the reason I was calling for — was to report to Jill about the fact that we didn’t, didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction. Actually, we have found weapons of mass destruction in chemical agents that [inaudible] been using against us for awhile now.

I’ve done two tours in Iraq. I just got back in June and there were many instances of — since [inaudible] not know what they’re using in their IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. They’re using mustard artillery rounds. The vx-artillery rounds in their IEDs.

Because they didn’t know what they were using, they didn’t do it right, and so it just kind of — it, it didn’t really hurt anybody but there are — those munitions are over there, it’s just — it’s a huge desert. If they’ve buried it somewhere, we’re never gonna find it.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know, that’s a moot point for me right now –

CALLER: Rush –

LIMBAUGH: — the weapons of mass destruction. We gotta get beyond that. We’re, we’re there. What — who cares if, if — we all know they were there and, and Mahmoud [Ahmadinejad, Iranian president] even admitted it in one of his speeches here about — talkin’ about Saddam using the poison mustard gas or whatever it is on his own people — but that, that’s moot, right? What, what’s more important is all this is taking place now in the midst of the surge working.

And all of these anti-war Democrats are getting even more hell-bent on pulling out of there, which means that success on the part of you and, and your colleagues over there is, is a great threat to them. It’s just, it’s frustrating and maddening, and it is why they must be kept in the minority.

Look, I want to thank you, Mike, for calling. I appreciate it very much. I gotta — let me see — got something — here is a “Morning Update” that we did recently talking about fake soldiers. This is a story of who the left props up as heroes. And they have their celebrities.

One of them was Jesse MacBeth. Now, he was a “corporal,” I say in quotes - 23 years old.

In this post titled Drudge’s false headline on Clinton health care plan: “HEALTH INSURANCE PROOF REQUIRED FOR WORK”, Media Matters distorted

On September 18, the Drudge Report, the website of Internet gossip Matt Drudge, featured the lead headline “HEALTH INSURANCE PROOF REQUIRED FOR WORK” under a picture of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). However, the Associated Press article to which the headline linked did not report that Clinton’s recently proposed health care plan would require people to show proof of health insurance “for work.”

Media Matters says that Clinton did not recently propose a requirement of proof of health insurance for work, but neither did the Drudge Report’s headline. The headline merely says “health insurance proof required for work” under Clintons picture, which implies that is a goal of the Senators with no mention of recent proposal.

Just 2 sentences later, Media Matters proves the Drudge Report headline is 100% accurate and in keeping with journalistic standards:

The AP article also stated that Clinton “said she could envision a day when ‘you have to show proof to your employer that you’re insured as a part of the job interview — like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination,’ but said such details would be worked out through negotiations with Congress.”