Has Rush Limbaugh finally gone too far?
Has Rush Limbaugh finally gone too far? Has he said something so outrageous that it is actually damaging the conservative principles he espouses?
Those are relevant questions in the wake of the radio host/gadfly/provocateur鈥檚 labeling Georgetown University law school student Sandra Fluke a 鈥渟lut鈥� and a 鈥減rostitute,鈥� while urging her to make public video tapes of her intimate acts. Mr. Limbaugh made the comments after Ms. Fluke testified in support of mandatory employer health coverage of contraception in front of a nonofficial congressional committee.
鈥淚f we are going to have to pay for this then we want something in return, Ms. Fluke,鈥� Limbaugh said on his radio show earlier this week. 鈥淎nd that would be the videos of all this sex posted online so we can see what we鈥檙e getting for our money.鈥�
Fluke herself has said she was 鈥渟tunned鈥� by these remarks. In an appearance on聽聽on Thursday night, she said, 鈥淎ll [Limbaugh] needs to know is this is really inappropriate. This is outside the bounds of civil discourse.鈥�
Democrats and their political allies have rushed to her defense. Some 75 House Democrats have signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R) asking him to condemn Limbaugh鈥檚 words. The Women鈥檚 Media Center titled 鈥淩ush Limbaugh鈥檚 Sexism: Finally Too Much to Bear?鈥�
Meanwhile, some Republicans have noted that while they don鈥檛 support his rhetoric, they support the point about health insurance Limbaugh was trying to make.
鈥淎 law student is now a hardship case? She needs the rest of us to provide her with free contraceptives?鈥� said in a piece posted Friday morning on National Review Online.
Few commentators predict that Limbaugh will back down. He makes his living saying outrageous things: that鈥檚 how he attracts 20 million listeners a day, many pointed out. Even a nascent boycott of Limbaugh鈥檚 advertisers organized by opponents probably won鈥檛 faze him. (So far one advertiser, Sleep Train Mattresses, has pulled ads from Limbaugh鈥檚 show in reaction to the controversy.)
The problem, say some in the GOP, is that Limbaugh鈥檚 personal goals can conflict with the political goals he says he supports, and this may be one of those times. In pouring gasoline on a subject that was already a propane fire, he may have drawn attention to himself, but it鈥檚 possible he鈥檚 singeing Republicans who are standing close to the action.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 help,鈥� said Carly Fiorina, National Republican Senatorial Committee vice chairman, 鈥淭hat language is insulting, in my opinion. It鈥檚 incendiary and most of all, it鈥檚 a distraction.鈥�
Ms. Fiorina noted that the Limbaugh uproar had taken some attention away from Thursday鈥檚 vote in the Senate on the Blunt amendment, legislation that would have exempted religiously affiliated employers from providing employees with contraception.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a distraction from what are very real and important issues,鈥� said Fiorina.
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