Last November Rush Limbaugh stoked the racially-tinged ignorance of the millions of “ditto heads” who tune in every day to his show by accusing Michelle Obama of exhibiting what he referred to as “uppity-ism”. This was how he described the graceful way the first lady returned the boos rednecks rained down on her during an official visit to a NASCAR racing event: she exuded irrepressible charm with a persistent smile.
That Rush claims dissing Michelle in this fashion was one of the proudest moments in his 20 years as a political shock jock is all you need to know about the nature, logic, and value of the bilge he bellows on his radio show. His only purpose in life seems to be to incite misguided outrage.
In his 1996 bestselling book, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, former comedian Al Franken, now the junior U.S. senator from Minnesota, exposed (with eviscerating humor) the galling hypocrisy and brazen lies that permeate the conservative gospel Rush Limbaugh preaches on his radio talk show every day.
(“Black Players Deny Limbaugh Membership in NFL Owners’ Club,” The iPINIONS Journal, October 16, 2009)
This is why I thought it would be reacting like a puppet on his string to vent outrage about him calling Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” for testifying before Congress last week about the importance of female contraceptives being included in her school’s health insurance plan.
In fact, my cynicism was such that when Rush issued a glib apology on Saturday “for the poor choice of words,” I dismissed it as follows:
[T]his bombastic, oxycontin-popping political bully did so with tongue firmly in cheek by making it clear that he’s only apologizing for not using whatever the politically correct words are these days for prostitute and slut….
(“Rush Apologizes for Calling Law Student a Slut [and] a Prostitute?” The iPINIONS Journal, Sunday 4, 2012)
What I could never have anticipated, however, is that Rush’s misogynistic rant against Sandra would incite a thousand times more national outrage than his racist rant against Mrs. Obama. Though, to be fair, it might help to cite a little more of what Rush said about Sandra:
So Miss 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. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.
(NBC News, March 1, 2012)
All the same, I suppose it’s a reflection of my sense and sensibilities that I am more shocked that advertisers, including AOL, are now abandoning Rush in droves – all claiming that these remarks do not reflect their values; whereas not a single one of them even expressed moral outrage after his remarks about Mrs. Obama. Should we infer then that racism is okay with them, but not misogyny?
In any event, I have no doubt that Rush would have relished the national outrage if it were limited to his perennial liberal nemeses (like NOW and Congressional Democrats). But when his sponsors and advertisers started jumping ship, he promptly took that tongue of his cheek and issued what he’s praying will be a career-saving apology.
Here, as reported today by the Washington Post, is a sampling of the 30 minutes of groveling he offered at the beginning of his show yesterday:
Those two words were inappropriate and uncalled for. They distracted from the point I was actually trying to make and again I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for using those two words.
Nonetheless, I remain convinced that this whole episode will turn out to be nothing more than a political asterisks – perhaps to be relegated to the dustbin of history as early as today by the 24/7 punditry that is already underway about the equally meaningless results of “Super Tuesday”. Got that?!
All the same, here are a few points that are worth bearing in mind:
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Hollywood casting directors could not have found a better protagonist to expose Rush for the political ogre he is (and has always been). For, far from looking like a slut, Sandra looked like she walked not out of law-school classroom, but straight out of a nunnery. Indeed, her angelic voice and serene demeanor gave the impression that no less a person than the Virgin Mary was calling for women to receive insurance coverage for their contraceptives – implying that only a dirty mind like Rush’s would make the uninformed correlation between birth-control pills and promiscuity. Actually, Sandra had the same impact when she appeared at that congressional hearing that Susan Boyle had when she appeared on American Idol. Because, despite her looks, Sandra is turning out to be a very smooth and savvy political operator for the cause of women’s reproductive and health rights.
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As his plea to retain his sponsors and advertisers demonstrates, the only thing that concerns Rush is the potential loss of lots of moolah. This is why Sandra should sue him for millions for libel.
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It is stupefying that even after the recent cat fight between the Susan G. Komem Foundation and Planned Parenthood, Republicans are still trying to politicize and even criminalize abortion rights.
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It is patently absurd for anyone to argue that a woman should not demand that her birth control pills receive that same coverage that Viagra pills and Vasectomies (i.e., male birth control) receive under her insurance plan. That men – especially Catholic bishops who should still be atoning for covering up the sexual abuse of little boys by Catholic priests – do not see this is simply incomprehensible. (These Neanderthals actually think they’re making sense by arguing that we should pay for them to have carefree, Viagra-fuelled sex, but that they should not have to pay for women to have the means to prevent unwanted pregnancies; not to mention all of the other health problems doctors routinely prescribe birth-control pills to treat or prevent….)
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It is plainly absurd for political pundits to argue that Rush calling Sandra a slut is no more offensive than comedian Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin a cunt. After all, Palin is a politician/public figure who has all of FOX News at her disposal to counter anything Maher says; whereas Sandra is a student who by sheer happenstance is now caught up in the rough and tumble of partisan politics. But are there liberal ogres who say equally offensive things about conservatives? You betcha!
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It was no fluke that Rush kept pronouncing Sandra’s last name, Fluke, as if it has no “e”. Because it was a deliberately demeaning pun which alluded to what he said he wanted to see her do on video in exchange for free contraceptives.
- I don’t normally advocate single-issue voting, but I don’t see how any woman can vote for any candidate who supports denying women fair and affordable access to birth control. For this would be just as absurd as a Black person voting for a candidate who supports denying Blacks fair and affordable access to bank mortgages. So, since those who share Rush’s misogynistic views about birth control are invariably Republicans, I fully expect 98 percent of women (the number who reportedly use birth control at some point in their lives) to vote for Democrats in November.
Thanks Sandra. Well done.
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