Unless you have been asleep or out of the country without Internet access for nearly a month, you are quite aware that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recently sent a letter -- signed by 41 Democrat Senators, no less! -- to the CEO of Clear Channel, one of the leading radio networks in the country.

In said correspondence, Reid et al complained about Rush Limbaugh's comments concerning "phony soldiers."

In an almost epic quid pro quo -- that is for everyone not affiliated with mainstream media outlets ignoring the truly delicious side of this story! -- Limbaugh got the original version of this letter and put it up for auction at the Internet site eBay.

*****Update: Auction ended with bettyc588 -- apparently a real eBayer with an actual transaction history as opposed to some rumors being spread about phony bidders (pun intended!) -- getting the letter for $2,100,100. Also of note: Reid is now taking credit!

*****Update II: Learn about who bettyc588 is at end of post!

As of 7:37 PM EST, the bid for said item is $851,100 and climbing:

Current bid: US $851,100.00

End time: 17 hours 54 mins (Oct-19-07 10:00:00 PDT) Shipping costs:

Free
Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service
Service to United States
(more services)

Ships to: Worldwide

Item location: Los Angeles, CA, United States

History: 198 bids High bidder: y***t ( 92 )

If you wish to follow the bidding, go here.

Think our media will report this historic auction?

Yes, that was a rhetorical question.

*****Update II: Rush discussed who the winning bidder was today during his program (full transcript here):

The winning bidder is -- and this is subject to the receipt of funds, of course -- a wonderful woman named Betty Casey. She is a trustee of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation. She gives significant sums of money to hospitals, hospices, colleges, and private schools. These include the Eugene B. Casey Diabetes Education Center at Suburban Hospital, the Eugene B. Casey Swim Center, and the Eugene B. Casey Academic Center, and the Casey Home Hospice in Rockville. She has also donated tens of millions from the foundation and her personal funds to the Washington Opera. Betty Casey has been a listener to this program since its interception. She's a huge fan. We would expect nothing else -- and we cannot thank her enough for her support in this, and I am honored, and proud, and happy to be matching her $2,100,100. We also want to give thanks to eBay Giving Works, for allowing us to break their website in the closing moments of the auction. We were trying to get the latest bid amount in the last ten seconds, and on three different computers, we got a "system down" message. We broke eBay! I don't know that anybody has ever broken eBay. As such, we have heard from south Florida lawyers, ladies and gentlemen, who suspect that there might be a hanging-chad scenario here. We, of course, are going to just flick that away as we would a Lake Erie midge during a New York Yankees game in the American League Divisional Series Playoffs. Auction Cause also is an outfit we want to thank, because they managed all of this on eBay. They were our consultant, prequalifying bidders and developing the auction. So thanks again to Betty Casey, who is a trustee of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, a fan and listener of this program from the beginning. It's $2,100,100 for the Harry Reid letter and this attaché case from Zero Halliburton.

BTW: Rush has decided to match her donation:

So the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, it's now official, is going to get in excess of $4.2 million because I am matching Betty Casey's bid on eBay -- $4.2 million. I asked Senator Reid to match and all the other senators who can afford to do so. I haven't heard from them on that.

Those interested in reading the full transcript of what Reid said on the floor of the Senate today regarding this matter should go here.

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.