Rush Limbaugh posted this statement (h/t HotAir):
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.
I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? 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?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.
My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.
The apology was needed because, while said in a joking and mocking way originally, the words had become the story, not the absurdly indulgent claim by Fluke that she was being deprived of some “right” to free contraception from a Catholic institution which she chose to attend knowing full well about the policy.
Fluke is no innocent, and there is every reason to believe creating a controversy was her goal and upending Catholic teachings at a Catholic school was her mission.
Fluke was, in many ways, merely mimicking Alan Grayson’s infamous speech that Republicans want sick people to die quickly. She deserved vigorous criticism for her conduct and her attempt to demonize those who disagreed with her on religious grounds.
But that did not make her a slut or a prostitute, it just made her wrong.
By apologizing for the use of certain words, while reiterating the absurdity of Fluke’s claims, Rush did the right thing.
Now let’s get back to getting Fluke and her supporters to understand the meaning of these words which they so wilfully ignore:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ….”
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Progressives love to romanticize primitive cultures and their practices.
In some parts of Africa and the Middle East they have an age-old custom that keeps their female law students (haha!) focussed only on their studies.
It’s called, “Clitoridectomy,” or “Female genital mutilation.”
Those girls hit the books hard. No dirty deed distractions for them!
The info on this practice is so very disturbing few go anywhere near it. Feedback from some NGOs have indicated widespread use where they least expected it .
Suzanne Mubarek got it outlawed in 2006 after the death of a young girl. 2006!
It’s amusing when people attempt to equate male and female circumcision. There is no functional equivalence between the two procedures or their outcome.
Well, professor, Fluke’s behavior, in her own words, make her out to be a person upon whom much derision should be heaped. Ms Fluke is very much the kind of person our mothers would have warned us against and the kind of person my sister, if I’d had a sister, would have been warned against her emulating or associating with.
So, Rush felt he should apologize to Ms Fluke for calling her a slut or a paid slut, but in fact Ms Fluke perfectly described her own actions as that of a indiscreet person, one who would well be described as a slut not too many years ago. Rush’s apology says much, positively, about him and does not gain Ms Fluke anything at all; her actions are well self-described; Rush’s words added nothing to change that self description by Ms Fluke.
“Ms Fluke is very much the kind of person our mothers would have warned us against …”
I dunno, Doug.
I think Ms. Fluke is the kind of girl a progressive boy would want to take home to meet his two mothers.
Oh, LukeHandCool, I disagree. Every progressive mother I know are double faced and double minded. They preach all the progressive doctrine but they want a “goooood girl” for their little Johnny; virgin or just one-boy used and has, of all things, pretty long hair!
Canusee,
Are you implying that Ms. Fluke is not a virgin?
Personally, with her dark eyes and hair, along with her flawless skin, I can picture her playing “Snow White” if Disney ever chooses to remake a non-animated version of the classic.
She’d be doing Doc and Happy and Dopey and Grumpy would no longer be Grumpy … and she’d rile up the kingdom to get all the peasants and all the animals in the forest demanding the evil queen provide free contraception …
Very 2012, don’t you think? I say bring that girl into the 21st Century and tell her to have fun! Lotsa fun!
And at the very end of the movie … the President of the United States calls her on the phone and tells her that her parents must be very proud of her!
LukeHandCool (who is thinking of a career change as a conservative screenwriter).
Bravo! I totally support your new career choice!
I do NOT think Rush should have apologized. Here is the full text of this Fluke discussion on his show March 1st.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/03/01/left_freaks_out_over_my_fluke_remarks
I’m sorry, but Rush Limbaugh is not a politician, and he is not the head of the Republican party. His shows are often times satirical and over the top. But the satire always has a stinging message.
The advertisers were cowards to pull off his show. None of the people who called them to complain even listen to Rush Limbaugh, so their bottom line would not be affected.
This was blackmail, straight up.
Never. Ever. Apologize unless you are wrong. Never. Ever. Apologize to calm things down. Never. Ever. Apoligize to stop the conversation. Never. Ever. Apologize for peace and harmony.
So disappointed in Rush. Wow, he buckled fast. What is up with that?
First, they came for the Komen Foundation and I did not speak out. Then, they came for Rush Limbaugh……..
Spot on.
You have seen the light.
I agree. We need to get this debate back to what the repercussions on the charities, hospitals, and schools that ObamaCare’s contraceptive mandate will have.
We can’t get Obama out of the Oval Office soon enough.
“We need to get this debate back to what the repercussions on the charities, hospitals, and schools that ObamaCare’s contraceptive mandate will have.”
They don’t want this. This woman is a distraction from the real issue. I am convinced that this whole kerfuffle, and Obama’s mandate on insurers to provide contraception, is an attempt to get the Catholics out of education and the health care business. Should that happen, the government would then have a nice infrastructure for additional government schools and Obamacare.
I don’t think this is about getting the Catholics out of Health and Education. I think it is about getting them to not accept federal fundings (which I think they should if they want to be ‘seperate’). This would free up lots of money and most of the institutions would recover/recoup and provide services which would give the government a financial break or “cost cut”. They would be charities and not the hated private sector, on a technicality, and thus still allowed under the new regime. It is a financial move. As long as schools accept federal dollars (which loans and grants are-think fafsa) they really have no right to insist on being separate. They choose to sell their souls or abdicate their separateness when they accept the monies and must accept the rules that go along with the contract of the monies distribution. This is where the government is trying to push them…..Still functioning but seperate and using their own church/community coffers.
Canusee, you might be right and I hope you are. I would hate to see them disappear from education and health care.
I am reminded of MA, and the gay marriage issue there. Catholic charities were going to be forced to place children into the homes of married gay couples. Rather than go against their principles, they closed down their adoption centers. The reason Romneycare didn’t affect them is that the self insured were exempt from the mandate. That won’t be the case with Obamacare.
The right and necessary thing to do.
Mind you, Rush has been fighting “feminazi’s” since I first tuned into his radio show in the late 80’s.
One of his pet peeves, if you will-
I’m sure he knows this apology will mean absolutely nothing to the left.
Which is why he should never have apologized.
And he could call her a lying slut, which she is — At least according to my mother’s and grandmother’s slut scale.
oops should have been under Rosalie’s comment below.
Actually, he could call her a liar, which she is.
And he could call her a lying slut, which she is — At least according to my mother’s and grandmother’s slut scale.
(know duplicate comment but this is where it belongs/intended.
Getting the left to understand the Constitution is mission impossible. Beating them in the election is my goal.
This whole thing is a fraud. She is not 23;she is 30. The Center for Reproductive Justice is just another radical pro-abortion advocacy group.
Rush has the full weight of the media, and social media, coming down hard on him. Rush’s advertising sponsors are walking away, and WaPo wrote an editorial today attempting to encourage more of them to walk.
When I read the editorial my thoughts were, “this is a threat. If the GOP leadership did not lean on Rush hard enough that he apologizes, then WaPo will make life for Republicans (and Rush) even harder than it already does”. That may not be a fair interpretation, but that’s what I took away from it.
Bill Maher’s entire career consists of making unfunny misogynistic statements about conservative women, including once calling Sarah Palin a c#nt. There were no WaPo editorials demanding the Democratic Party leadership tell Maher to tone it down. And that disgusting filthy pig Maher just donated $1 million to Obama’s SuperPac.
There was no public outcry from Democrats, or WaPo editorials, when Keith Ogremann called Michelle Malkin a “mashed up bag of meat with lipstick”.
The WaPo editorial board justified its demand that the GOP denounce Rush in part because Rush is so closely associated with the Republican Party. The board suggested it was their moral duty to rein him in – to make civil discourse less coarse. Isn’t Ogremann as closely associated with the Democrat Party as Rush is to the Republican Party? How does referring to Michelle Malkin as a “mashed up bag of meat with lipstick” contribute to civil discourse? So why didn’t WaPo demand the Democrat Party call Ogremann out for his insulting remarks about Malkin?
I suppose WaPo might say that Sarah Palin and Michelle Malkin are public figures and pundits. They are not really private citizens. They can take care of themselves, ulike the “private citizen” Sandra Fluke. Except that Charles and David Koch are about as private as you can get. But Obama’s campaign is sending out fundraising letters demonizing and mischaracterizing them soley to stoke hate and advance a political agenda. No WaPo editorials about those “private citizens” being used as political pawns.
The double standards will never end as long as we have an activist press that is wholly aligned with the Democrat Party. It’s just the way it is. Sigh.
Yes, all true. And I miss Breitbart more every hour.
I wish he’d used the word “fool” instead. In fact, almost any other word would’ve been better.
But he changed the subject himself by making it about sex as opposed to responsibility. And now, the issue is dead. Nice going, Rush.
Well, considering how much talking he does per year, as he noted in his apology, it’s frankly remarkable that he hasn’t blown it this badly before. He just had his Shirley Sherrod video moment.
Rush took the conversation where it is — sex is a recreation, a past time, a choice, an activity, a sport, a desire, and as such should not be paid for with taxpayer money (which means the government) It is not a right. It is extracurricular activity that takes money, time, and equipment. It is not about contraception. Rush kept it where Fluke kept it. She tried to keep the conversation in the realm of sex/contraception to gain for further funding and advocacy for an altogether different agenda. It backfired. Rush kept the discussion right where she placed it. And purchasing birth control for sex 11 time per day, every day of the year is a slut; or a whore if someone else is paying for it. Rush’s remark about video and watching is, again, sticking to her argument. It is about as much as pay-for-view. What are taxpayer paying for? Where is the end product we are paying for? A video sounds about the correct product when studying what we would get for our money.
Under another post, commenter SmokeVanThorn said,
“The most surprising aspect of this story is that Obama called her before Bill Clinton did.”
Well, TMZ is now reporting on a phone call from President Clinton to Ms. Fluke in which he is said to have asked her, “How would you like to make your parents twice as proud?”
Rush is an entertainer. He depends on you listening to advertisements. Any conservative thoughts actually expressed are just a plus. This maks him undistinguishable from, oh say, David Letterman.
What was it David Letterman called Palin’s daughter?
maks = makes. Need an edit function, WordPress.
I will still joke about it…
Self denunciation leads to political purity. The members of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be glad to provide a framework in which impure political thinking can be eliminated through self examination and political re-education.
Apologies work with liberals about as well as with Muslims.
They don’t ever forgive.
They always want a blood-letting or a pound of flesh or better yet, off with your head.
Exclusive video: Rush Limbaugh apologizes in person to Sandra Fluke and her friends.
[…] 2: Professor Jacobson’s take on the Limbaugh apology. This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← The closest I […]
NONE of this would have happened if Rush had done the right thing weeks ago, acknowledged Newt as the only conservative that could win, and not gone full-court-press to try to rehabilitate the candidacy of Rick Santorum.
A rare Limbaugh mistake, IMNHO.
We live in a very strange time, when words may not be spoken, though they express exactly what they have meant for ages.
She may-or-may-not be a slut in the sexual sense (I think she has portrayed herself that way), but she is most certainly a political/ideological slut in that she will say or do anything to advance the agenda.
Rush just said what we all were thinking!
I like to have a delicious, nutritious piece of fresh fruit most days. This helps keep me healthy and should be paid for by my health insurance…so why is it not? Maybe I need to visit Congress.
This military wife has a thing or to to say, http://www.jammiewf.com/2012/obama-sponsor-bill-maher-hey-im-allowed-to-call-sarah-palin-a-c-nt/
Oops, this is the correct link…. (of course other is good, too.)
try again http://lucyemersonblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/obama-favors-students-getting-paid-to-screw-while-screwing-over-troops/
I wonder how long before it comes out that Ms. Fluke is really a 30 year old utero-facist feminist and a lesbian who really does not need contraception.
Who says she has a preference?
This will, at least, provide an excellent object lesson.
Watch and see how many now raising the hue and cry credit Rush for his apology.
Watch and see how many call out Maher or Schultz for calling Conservative LADIES the same or worse.
But DO NOT hold your breath.
Not attacking your post but societies that widely practice female genital mutilations give girls only primary education .
Interestingly those in the ME that don’t mutilate female genitals eg Iran do give girls education. These girls have full genitals but are required to cover up mega.
Further those ME societies that do allow flesh exposure s eg Egypt including Coptics Africans are big on this stuff.
A paradox .
This was to Luke’s opening post.
Then I started to think of Huma & Hillary Anthony & I got distracted.
Women in law school, and in the practice of law, have worked for decades to be taken as seriously as their male counterparts. Ms. Fluke has just done tremendous damage to these professional women, characterizing them (at least at Georgetown Law) as nymphomaniacs who have no control over their libidos, and who will not take any responsibility for their own sex lives.
She has just turned into sex objects every woman who attends Georgetown Law- the very characterization that women lawyers have fought so hard to dispel.
As the feminists enter another revenue generating cycle, it may be time for another SlutWalk.
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Limbaugh doesn’t seem to align himself with this pledge. His attack on Newt’s supposed attack on capitalism destroyed Newt’s surge going into Florida, leaving us with a big-government eastern liberal and a big-government, pro-union rust-belt nobody. Neither of which has embraced the sovereign nature of individual freedom and liberty.
This was it folks, this was the test of our lifetimes; sadly, it appears that we have failed our test.
I think you might be right.
He himself handed the Democrats his head on a plate .
If they got to Rush – is it time to leave this formally great nation?
One of the youngsters, overhearing adults talk about the state of the country, asked, “If we get to be a Communist Country will we move to a country that is not?” Are there any republics left?
I think these free loaders are saying that contraception is a woman’s right and therefore it ought to be free. Even if their absurd notion of rights is accepted, it doesn’t follow that because something is a right other people have to give you the tools to exercise that right. If so, then I have a right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court backs me up on that. Do I get a free gun?
If Ms. Fluke gets lots of free contraception because she has sex a lot, well I shoot a lot. I want a free gun, say once a month? Kind of a twist on the one-gun-a-month idea.
What’s unfortunate is that Fluke and her dingbat “testimony” should have been ignored in the first place, and none of this would have been necessary.
[…] Professor Jacobson reminds us what the real lesson is: Now let’s get back to getting Fluke and her supporters to understand the meaning of these words which they so wilfully ignore: […]
A woman needs $1,000 in birth control per year and she isn’t a slut? That’s a lot of needful activity there…
The apology was the first mistake Rush has made in this affair. Breathed a little more life into the victim culture.
Once an organization opens its doors to the public for business, then it has to abide by all the rules other businesses do. You may disagree with these rules, and work to change them, but it is not a matter of religious freedom. For instance, your religion may forbid men associating with women, but once you enter the marketplace, you have to serve everyone, men and women alike.
[…] language, “the use of “slut” or “prostitute” even in an analogy was inappropriate, as Rush has acknowledged. It also distracted from the attack on religious freedom which is the heart of the […]
[…] but nonetheless, the use of “slut” or “prostitute” even in an analogy was inappropriate, as Rush has acknowledged. It also distracted from the attack on religious freedom which is the heart of the […]