Rush Limbaugh apologized to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student he has slimed on his nationwide radio program over the last three days of the week. When Rush apologizes for anything, it makes the news. It is a rare thing, like a butterfly in the dead of winter.
But his apology came off as weak, self-serving, and wasn't nearly enough to stop the outcry of his many critics. Nor did it seem to do anything to slow the decay of his advertising base.
Image created from Public Domain image of Rush Limbaugh's mug shot for his arrest for doctor shopping, with some creative work added by Bill Schmalfeldt.
A sentence-by-sentence examination of the apology proves he is sorry for one thing only, and that's for the trouble he's caused himself.
When Rush apologizes, he does it on his website so he won't have to answer questions. But still, the questions are there.
For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.
Odd. It sure seemed like you meant a personal attack. One does not call a young woman a prostitute and a slut as a point of casual conversation. It certainly was not meant as a compliment.
I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress.
Nobody was discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress, Rush. Ms. Fluke was talking about a friend of hers who needs birth control pills to ward off ovarian cancer. If avoiding a painful abdominal malignancy is your idea of personal sexual recreational activity, it makes the fact that you were married four times a bit easier to understand.
I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities.
Nobody cares what you think about the subject, Rush. And nobody was asking American citizens to pay for these social activities. The discussion is and continues to be, can an employer deny insurance coverage to a woman because she has a vagina and a uterus.
What happened to personal responsibility and accountability?
Many people think taking birth control is the paramount of personal responsibility and accountability, Rush. Should your insurance company have to pay for your cochlear implant made necessary by the hearing loss that experts say was likely caused by your prescription drug abuse?
Where do we draw the line?
How about if we start with advertisers pulling their ads from your show for any number of reasons. Your hypocrisy in the realm of prescription drug abuse for one. Your racist references would be another good reason. And your serial attack on women, that's just the icing on the cake. Speaking of which, if you had laid off the cake, Rush, you might not have had that heart scare a few years ago. Should your insurance company have had to pay for your lack of personal responsibility and accountability?
If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit?
Only idiots will debate that, Rush. Smart people will debate whether or not religious employers, or any employer, can deny health insurance coverage to people because they have a religious problem with the way that insurance is used.
In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone's bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.
You better get on the phone with Rick Santorum then, Rush. You support him, yet he talks about this kind of stuff "on a presidential level" every day!
My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir.
Humorous? Maybe in a third grade boys locker room would such a discussion be considered "humorous." What's next, Rush? Fart jokes? How about a few jokes about morbidly obese radio show hosts who sneak Viagra into the country in prescription bottles with someone else's name on them. I bet we could come up with some funny jokes about what your drug abuse did to your libido, Rush.
I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.
Yes, Rush apologizes and is sincere about it. Sure he is.
Nothing like having advertisers bolt from your radio show to bring on a bout of conscience.
Are you buying it? Carbonite isn't.
A Statement from David Friend, CEO of Carbonite as of 6:45pm ET, March 3:
No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.
That makes six. Others are considering jumping ship as well.
Oreck, Century 21, and AutoZone have been listed as advertisers by a number of websites, but each company has denied directly advertising on the program.
Several others have responded to overwhelming customer feedback by saying they would look into their current marketing strategies and whether they indirectly advertise through larger network ad buys on the radio stations that carry Limbaugh's show.
You can visit this site for a list of advertisers and others you can contact to tell them enough is enough as far as Rush Limbaugh and his misogynistic, homophobic, racist bigotry.
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Comments: 42 ( 14 removed by Bill Schmalfeldt )
How dumb do you believe the American Public to be???
Anyone that is having "hormone treatments" can get what they need, from PP.
This is absolute rubbish.
Certainly it is less superficial than erectile dysfunction, although your comrade-in-arms below is making a case for the need for "medical intervention" in that case.
Birth control pills have to be taken regularly to be effective for that purpose. A woman does not take more pills if she is having more sex. Limbaugh stupidly insinuates that using those pills infers a woman is a prostitute or having too much sex. He must think that they have to take a pill every time the have intercourse, like he does.
Not only is this a repulsive double standard, but it is another example of the drivel that conservatives have made popular through morons like Limbaugh and Beck. Judgemental, profane, small minded, bigotted, morons.
"dysfunction"
It is a treatable medical problem, Viagra is a medical treatment, the "pill" if used as a medical treatment would also be a reasonable comparison.
The pill used for birth control is NOT treating any medical ailment, a better case can be made to pay for condoms as they at least prevent STDs.
They're kind of funny ads, too. They generally depict men, apparently in their prime - in hyper-masculine settings - as impotent. However, the men actually using the drug likely appear more like limpbaugh, who obviously is not the "picture of health".
"He must think that they have to take a pill every time the have intercourse, like he does."
To be honest, it is understandable why he might think that, because any woman doomed to (god, do I have to say it?) with limpbaugh, probably has to take something - and a lot of it!!!
I wonder more about things that have a real possibility of effecting my life, like a president trying to ram legislation down the throats of the American people, a President who has backdoored carbon regulation with the EPA since we the people denied him the vote, the degradation of our freedoms by a congress and President who passed a bill giving the President the right to indefinitely imprison a citizen, effectively suspending habeas corpus.
But like I have already posted...Anyone who can get you progressives so riled up can't be all bad! LOL!
Gosh, Dan, I hadn't either, until you brought her into this picture, so to "speak....
"I wonder more about things that have a real possibility of effecting my life...."
Geez, Dan - do you have a kitchen sink you can throw into this "discussion"? Do you really mean that you have no other defenses of limpbaugh's comments, other than "progressives" just "hate" him?
"But like I have already posted...Anyone who can get you progressives so riled up can't be all bad! LOL!"
Yet "progressives" should only get a little riled up, right? If it is more than that - say, "progressives" and "independents" - and they start affecting limpaugh's advertising support - then "It's about your hate for Rush," right?
Well said, sir! WELL SAID!
Dan - seriously - I disagree with you on alot of stuff, but I never took you for a dittohead. Please!!! Say it ain't so!!!
Dan - limpbaugh's whole "shtick" is to drop controversial bombs into the public discourse. But you know the warnings that accompany fireworks. You can blow your own self up. And that is what he appears to have done.
"...no matter how much I support the development of renewable resources...."
Dan, what this isn't about is you.
"As far as Being a ditto head goes I don't listen to Rush much...."
Good - fortunately, then, for you, his demise won't affect you much."
I think you and your fellow progressives have a bit of an inflated view how much influence you wield.
Sorry Steve, despite your wishful thinking Rush is going to be just fine!
I actually doubt it. Limbaugh has been doing this for years. The buffoons who hang on his every word - and that of recently deceased antagonist Andrew Breitbart - actually reward him for being outlandish, disgusting, and dishonest. Every time he says something hate-filled his ratings go up as the far right wing bigots of the tea party set flock to support him.
Women should vote against the abject bigotry of Limbaugh and Santorum and others in the tea party extremist movement.
As should all the other "not the right kind of Americans" that the tea party so disdains and wants to remove the rights of, like the gay/lesbian/bi/trans community, like Muslims and every other religion that has been attacked by the tea party, like the middle class that the tea party has tried to increase taxes on, like the working poor that the tea party has targeted as "lazy" and tried to tax more, like the 99% of us who the tea party feels should pay more just so the super-rich 1% can pay less, like the people who actually work for a living making American cars so Mitt Romney's wife can own two Cadillacs despite Mitt's stated belief that the American auto industry should have been left to go bankrupt without any intervention.
The list goes on.
Every single person and group attacked by the tea party and their representatives like Rush Limbaugh should get out to vote this fall.
Every. Single. Person.
America is for all Americans. Not just the ones that the tea party thinks are the "right kind."
I've never seen advertisers abandon limpbaugh like they are now - but then, I've never paid that much attention to that universe, so I'm sure I can be wrong about it. There are certainly those, who double-down on his comments, who for some reason, "identify" with him. That's always been a mystery to me, since he is such a disgusting, obese, impotent, drug-addict.
"Every time he says something hate-filled his ratings go up as the far right wing bigots of the tea party set flock to support him."
Yeah, but I think they're losing public support. I can't imagine this is a good thing for them, politically.
"Women should vote against..."
Caution: please do NOT ever say (as a man) what women should or should not vote for or against - however much sense you think you're making.
"...the abject bigotry of Limbaugh and Santorum and others in the tea party extremist movement."
While I doubt that the whole tea party identifies with the likes of limpbaugh - some probably see how he hurts their cause - and I've seen one of their more reasonable leaders appear in a non-inflammatory setting (the Dylan Ratigan show) - I do think that the tea party's influence is shrinking. And episodes like this probably continue that trend.
"Every single person and group attacked by the tea party and their representatives like Rush Limbaugh should get out to vote this fall."
And I hope they do. I think this episode has helped in that regard.
America is for all Americans. Not just the ones that the tea party thinks are the 'right kind.'"
Yep. everyone has a seat at the table. It's a much happier place that way.
He brings big ratings, which means ads will continue.
Yeah, but I think they're losing public support. I can't imagine this is a good thing for them, politically.
It's more about ego. Otherwise inconsequential people feeling that they have power. An interesting psychological study.
Caution
Agreed. Obviously my meaning was that women should vote. As should men. And all of us should stand up to hate and bigotry. There is no place for either in America. It's not who we are, despite the unfortunate evidence that would suggest otherwise.
America is for all Americans. Not just the ones that the tea party thinks are the 'right kind.'"
Yep. everyone has a seat at the table. It's a much happier place that way.
Yes, all of us are Americans. The tea party seems not to realize that as they attack everyone who isn't the "right kind of American" in their eyes.
Yep, these buffoons are out there defending Limbaugh just like they defended Andrew Breitbart's deceit, defended violent imagery in political campaigns, defended outright lying, defended birther bigots, defended anti-Muslim/anti-women/anti-gay bigots, and on and on.
Then harass those who point out the bigotry.
All for everyone to see.
Oh, there's the occasional idiotic assertion that ours is a faked outrage (mine felt pretty real to me, but...), but there is not one of these courageous nimrods who can bring himself (they ARE mostly male, which oughta tell 'em SOMETHING) to actually DEFEND Rush-the-Pig Limbaugh. Diversion and attacking the victim becomes the order of the day.
Can't really blame 'em for it, I guess. The thought of actually defending Rush has to be a pretty gut-churning prospect. But piling on the victim of his foul and vicious diatribes? Pretty cowardly, fellas... pretty cowardly.
Call it political prestidigitation.
Just seems cowardly to me that not one of 'em mounts an active defense of their supposed hero. Hell, there are people on this site, as we write,
defending Breitbart... BREITBART f'r th' luvva Pete, but not a one for Limbaugh. What you describe is a passive/aggressive defense of the bloviator Pig, I guess, but it's not ACTIVE.
If you want to defend Rush Limbaugh's comments, do so. Your adhominem attacks on those who find him to be a disgusting pig are not furthering the discussion, but seem designed to get reactions from people. That is the definition of trolling. As most of my comments on this and every other subject I've written about are trolling comments from you, I will ask this one time only to cease and desist. Add something to the conversation, or go away.
Do we understand each other?
I will treat people with the same as they treat others.
"Pointing out right wing racism, homophobia, sexism, misogyny and the lies told by conservatives"
My pointing your hate and hypocrisy is mild compared to your attack!
You calling it right wing racism, homophobia, sexism, misogyny and the lies told by conservatives....Does not make it so. Without posted, cited and linked-to evidence.
So I'll expect to see this post of yours soon vanish.
But even more so, the debate it's self was egged on, expanded and spread via media interviews given by three of the four Republican nominee candidates pandering for votes among those of the Catholic and Evangelical religious faiths.
For sure, Rush Limbaugh needs to be brought to account for his trashing of not only Ms. Fluke, but for his derogatory remarks against all women. However, in assigning the blame, we need to place that blame where it really belongs and not only on some half baked, loud mouth entertainer who is on his third marraige, a man who was fired from his one and only television talk show after just one season on the air, who is also an admitted drug abuser and confirmed liar.
Rush Limbaugh was, and constantly is, only trying to make himself relevant to his listening audience. Because he knows that the longer he goes without any controversy surrounding himself, the less relevant he becomes, even to his ardent supporters. If all the hollabaloo created by Limbaughs antics finally get him fired, so be it, he deserves it a thousand times over.
However, his firing (if it should come to pass) will not fix the situation of the Catholic Church's continuous attempts at interferring in how our country's governing of it's citizens, nor our law making and the afforded Constitutional rights of our country's peoples. Neither will his demise from the airways bring Santorum, Gringrich and Romney to answer for their unethical involment in the spreading of the problem for their individual personal gain, unless we as a majority of American citizens continue to speakout and stand our ground by demanding their individual public apologies.