Adding My Voice to the Uproar Against Rush Limbaugh

Like the rest of the country, male of female, I am completely outraged and appalled by Rush Limbaugh's comments made last Wednesday, February 29th against law student Sandra Fluke and I couldn't sit idly by and not add my voice to the uproar. This is egregious and shameful, and I am beyond infuriated that this kind of thing still goes on in our country. 

Now, was I surprised that Rush Limbaugh said something offensive and vehemently wrong? No, that's what he does. He's a professional asshole after all, and his 'public criticism' sub-category page on Wikipedia is longer than it's history page of the Soviet Union. But enough is enough. He's lucky he gets to wave the first amendment in our startled faces every time verbal diarrhea projects out of that filthy sewer he calls a mouth. 

Now, because this blog is regarding the media, I think I'm entitled to cover radio, though despite what anyone says, it is a dying medium. Alas, Rush's talk show still manages to reach and influence a huge amount of the nation's populace.

And just like he stands behind that great American tradition of Free Speech and Free Press, I would love it if Sandra Fluke would introduce him to that other great American practice - lawsuits. Under the constitution, what he said is protected, but I'm sure he'll get across the board 'guilty' verdicts from any jury following a defamation of character suit, and that wouldn't be punishment enough as far as I'm concerned. For someone who so openly and shamelessly preaches sexism, misogyny, and chauvinism, it's shocking that he still has a syndicated radio show. Now, it has been reported that no less than 8 sponsors have pulled advertising from his program, which is clearly a sign that you can't just say whatever the fuck you want in this country and not expect there to be ramifications such as public humiliation total loss of respect from your colleagues and peers. 

If you've been living under a rock, here's the gist of what happened the other day. Sandra Fluke is a 30-year-old graduate Law Student at Georgetown University (so right off the bat, you know that she's had more education than Limbaugh) who testified to the democratic members of the House of Representatives in favor of contraceptive being covered by health insurance clauses. A very important request to make, and something that should be seriously considered. Rush, being the classy, reasonable, and thoughtful gentleman that he is immediately took to the airwaves and called her, among other things, a 'slut' and a 'prostitute' and said, and I quote: 

"So, Ms. Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I'll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch". 

When I first heard this, there wasn't enough Pepto Bismol to keep my lunch down. He also made a sick joke about how abortion is akin to sticking 'an aspirin between your knees' and other things that I don't even want to repeat.

This broadcast was so hateful, that it made me seriously resent the first amendment and makes me wish that there was an exception clause in it at the very end; an asterisk with Rush's name next to it and state: 'Should apply to everyone except the following'. Of course, we as free citizens can just all do the clearly right thing and not listen to him, but that's not going to happen. He's popular specifically because he makes wildly outrageous and incendiary comments and then apologizes about them later to keep the money for his show rolling in. Of course he's going to be crucified in the court of public opinion, but that's what he wants. He wants to be able to call himself a martyr of free speech, when all he truly is, is a monger of hate speech, and a sorry excuse for a human being. 

All that aside, it's just a shining example how we as women in 'the free-est country in the world' are still second class citizens and are subject to this kind of torment and insult in this 'very progressive' society. It's a hypocrisy and Limbaugh is king of the hypocrites. By the by, he only apologized after severe public pressure to do so and threats of pretty much all of his sponsors to pull the money they invest in his show. So basically, he's not sorry and he did mean what he said.

Here's the transcript directly from his show. Listen at your own risk. If you vomit all over your computer and have to go to the apple store and replace the logic board  I'm not taking responsibility.

Really interesting article on Slate - 
Pills for Sluts? Six questions for Rush Limbaugh about sex, promiscuity, and contraception.