Saturday, March 3, 2012

Rush Job

I had no intention of writing this post when the story first broke.  I figured it would be the usual drill… Overfed blowhard Rush Limbaugh would cause a stir by saying something stupid, get some press and then backtrack by saying he was an entertainer and was just kidding.

But the longer this storyline played out this week, the madder I got, until here I am; angrily pounding out a screed about this degenerate attention whore.

I don’t want to go into a blow by blow of this story; I’m sure everyone knows who did and said what.  (Or you can click here for a fairly complete synopsis.)  But suffice to say; in commenting about Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student that the Democrats asked to testify about the cost of contraception (and was refused permission to do so by the Republicans), he literally called her a slut and a prostitute.  As the outrage began to build among thinking, rational people across the country, rather that reeling it back, he doubled down, continuing his verbal assault on the young woman’s character and morality.

Normally I still wouldn’t be writing about it because he is just so obviously and provably wrong.  And I’m sure even HE knows he’s wrong on the facts.

Even a cursory search of the story will tell you that Ms. Fluke was taking birth control pills for a medical reason involving hormones.  It had nothing to do with sexual activity.  She was to testify about the prohibitive cost of the prescription relative to her meager income as a grad student. 

Limbaugh knew this, but made it about sex anyway.  Sex sells, and it’s red meat for his overwhelmingly white, male, under-educated followers.  (OR, white, male, filthy rich and willing to justify anything in order to keep it that way.)

In pushing the sex angle, he went on about how much sex she must have had in order to justify so much birth control.  Obviously, it doesn’t matter how much sex one has for the pill to work.  You take one a day for as long as you need it.  It doesn’t matter if you have sex every hour, once a day, once a month or once a year.  The cost of being one the birth control pill is the same. 

Rush knows this too.  Hell, he’s been married four times; he knows how birth control works.  (Although I will allow that with him, birth control may merely consist of him taking his clothes off.)
What do they mean, “in 2014?”

Why would he labor a point that’s so off the mark that a junior-high school kid could pick it apart?  (You know, IF he were allowed to attend his health class that cover sex ed.) 

At the moment, public pressure has resulted in a number of sponsors cutting their advertising with his show.  I guarantee that he is not worried about that.  Those sponsors will be right back as soon as the heat dies down.  And in the meantime, other advertisers have stepped in. I wouldn’t mind knowing who is still advertising there, but not so much that I’d actually listen to his show.  I wouldn’t listen to that horse’s ass if a $20 bill sprung, ATM-like from the radio, for every minute I was tuned in.  What good is money if you keel over because your brain exploded?

Some Republicans have issued half-hearted rebukes, but nothing with teeth.  Boehner’s flak tied in a mention about how it is also wrong for the Dems to be using this issue to raise funds.

[blink]

Right.  Like the Republicans aren’t issuing email after email, pleading for funds because the Democrats are trying to steal our religious liberty by making everyone wear condoms.  “The Sluts are coming!  The Sluts are coming!

So what’s Limbaugh’s game here, besides getting himself talked about all over the media? Perhaps he has a “Trading Places” type bet with Dick Cheney.  Maybe Rush bet that he could make a juicy but ridiculous assertion, double and triple-down on it and come out none the worse for wear on the other side.  And if some girl’s life gets turned upside down as a result, who gives a rip?  As far as he’s concerned, she’d deserve it for having the audacity to try to testify on birth control and be female at the same time.

I really feel for Ms. Fluke.  I mean, here she was, trying to do what’s right for her country and her gender, fighting against a stacked deck just to be allowed to testify, which she was asked to do!  Then out of nowhere comes this jowly attack dog slinging mud at her with ludicrous accusations and smears.

That’s why I’m so happy that President Obama made it his business to call her and offer words of encouragement.  It’s the very least he could do for a woman that just gift-wrapped a can’t-lose campaign issue for him.  If I were Obama, I’d find her a job with Kathleen Sebelius in the Department of Health and Human Services.  Or as a campaign spokesperson.

Whore?  Slut?  I don’t think so. 

And I can line up some expert testimony on that, for the next Senate hearing.
Former Steelers kicker, Jeff Reed, who knows a thing or two about sluts.

23 comments:

Dazee Dreamer said...

Well said. This story makes me livid.

bluzdude said...

This story should make any rational person livid. I hope you're not alone.

I think she should sue his ass. You don't get to just broadcast to millions of people that someone is a whore, with zero to back it up. Not without repercussions, anyway.

Scarletdreams said...

Love this Bluz. You tell it like it is. Can't stand that man. sighs.. shakes head.

bluzdude said...

Thanks, Dani. The guy has no redeeming value. At all.

Judie said...

For a man who barely made it out of high school, and got fired from every job he ever had before he realized that being a sociopath was the only way he could make a living, and has had several wives, and probably way more sex than he deserves, Rush "The Big Fat Putz" Limburger should be covered with pitch and set on fire for his evil attempt to rile up the undereducated conservatives who listen to him. How's that for a run-on sentence, Bluz??

Your Hot Arizona Auntie

bluzdude said...

I think that's a great idea for a pay-per-view special. Of course the resulting grease fire may take out a couple of acres, but it will totally be worth it.

sherry stanfa-stanley said...

"Birth control may merely consist of him taking his clothes off." HA! You'd think, wouldn't you??

Now, days later, he's apologized. With such sincerity.

And Santorum looks to be ahead in Ohio.

I'm starting to fear we can run but we can't hide.

bluzdude said...

I'm sure he got laid the same way the uglier rock musicians did... because they've got money and fame. But still... ewwww.

I'm sure he formed his "apology" to provide the maximum amount of ass coverage for the least amount of actual apologizing. Because he will never admit he's wrong about anything, ever.

The answer isn't to hide, but to fight. Loudly.

injaynesworld said...

Excellent, my friend. Apology or not, I'm betting this ain't over. Limbaugh may have stepped over a line he can't now erase. A girl can hope.

bluzdude said...

His apology was bullshit; a non-apology apology. She should totally sue his ass for slander. Or libel... which ever it is for spoken words.

The Imus situation occurred to me as well. But Rush is a bigger cash cow. (and regular cow as well) I'd be surprised to see his employer take any action at all.

His listeners will never revolt because they agree with him. The only recourse is via his advertisers, who drop him and stay that way. But given the attention span from this country's media and consumers, the odds of that are minuscule. His sponsors will be back just as soon as the heat is off.

Judie said...

I'll be willing to bet that most of his listeners are men who are ignorant enough to believe that women should be barefoot and pregnant and at their beck and call 24 hours a day. Why is it again that insurance pays for Viagra?? Can anyone tell me, for God's sake?

Judie said...

Just a quick comment before I head out to PT: More advertisers are pulling out of The Rush Limbaugh show. I hope they all do! I knew it was just a matter of time before he started screwing up again!! Such an arrogant prat, that one!!!

Unapologetically Mundane said...

I do give "entertainers" a lot of leeway and try not to get offended by things that are clearly meant to poke fun or push the envelope, but . . . those comments were just idiotic, and no amount of sponsor abandonment is going to punish him appropriately.

Anonymous said...

Have you read Sandra Fluke's testimony? She was testifying for many students who had no voice. One was a lesbian students who needed contraception to control the growth of ovarian cysts. Slut, indeed.

Here's a good article that calls Limbaugh's claim of huge ratings into question. Nobody knows how many people listen to radio.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/rush-limbaugh-ratings_b_1320144.html

bluzdude said...

Arrogance doesn’t begin to describe it.

The telling sign will be how long the sponsors stay away. I’m telling you, they’ll be back as soon as the temperature lowers. Bigots buy bedding too!

bluzdude said...

Right. Was that really entertaining? Calling a girl a slut? Perhaps on a 5th grade playground.

I still wonder about his game here. He knew exactly what he was doing, and what the result would be. That’s why he kept at it for 3 days. He got his name all over the media and is now trying to (half-heartedly) dial it back. He apologize if her feelings were hurt, which is not exactly the same as admitting that he said something wrong.

“Inappropriate words?” It’s not the words, Rush, it’s the vile and hateful thoughts behind them.

He is anything but sorry, other than as a sorry-assed individual.

bluzdude said...

Yeah, radio ratings are hard to quantify because they're completely "diary" based. Whoever gets a ratings diary can put whatever they want in it and it is turned into ratings.

Ms Fluke's testimony on behalf of others just makes it that much more willfully malicious when he attacked her over personal issues that were not relevant.

A Beer for the Shower said...

I appreciate that you're always on top of your game when it comes to doing the occasional political bitchslap. Agreed, I wouldn't listen to Limbaugh if my radio shat twenties, either. Because that'd just be like 'tha debil' making payments for my soul in ATM increments.

bluzdude said...

Thanks, B.

Every once in a while I'll get trapped in a car with RL on (usually driven by my prior boss, who listens to talk radio), and I feel like a rat trapped in a microwave.

I just try not to explode all over the glass.

Cher Duncombe said...

Great post, Bluz! As of now he has lost 12 sponsors. May they keep leaving this scum.

bluzdude said...

Thanks Cher.

He may be in more trouble that I thought... I read the link that Carpetbagger provided this morning (after I'd already answered his comment) and learned that the 20 million listeners" number that he bandies about is basically pulled out of his ass. There is no quantifiable data that back up his audience claims.

He needs those advertisers more than I thought. Hope that they stay gone.

Deb K said...

I am overjoyed that at this time, he's definitely heading toward doing an Imus (hope it's not just wishful thinking). There are 36 sponsors reported as having withdrawn their advertising. http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/03/02/436852/rush-limbaugh-advertisers/?mobile=nc.

bluzdude said...

I bet we can look forward this week to hearing all about his "victimhood" at the hands of those mean old Liberals that don't know how to take a joke.