Sandra Fluke Responds To Rush Limbaugh 'Slut' Comments

[Sage Ninja]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...6pLid%3D140233

Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law student Rush Limbaugh labeled as a slut and a prostitute for her beliefs about access to birth control, responded on MSNBC's The Ed Show Thursday night.

"Initially, you're stunned, but then very quickly, you're outraged, because this is historically the kind of language that is used to silence women, especially when women stand up and say that these are their reproductive health care needs and this is what they need," Fluke said to Ed Schultz.

Fluke entered the spotlight earlier this month when she attempted to speak before the House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on religious liberty and the birth control rule, and Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) refused to let her, saying she was unqualified to speak on the issue.

Fluke was invited to speak for the Democrats and was going to be the only woman on the panel. Three Democrats, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), walked out of the hearing as a result.

Limbaugh made the argument on his radio show Wednesday that Fluke's desire for birth control was a promotion of casual sex.

"What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke [sic] who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex -- what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute," Limbaugh said. "She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."

Rep. Maloney told the Huffington Post after Limbaugh's comments became public that she was aghast.


"If the far right can attack people like Sandra Fluke, women are going to be afraid to speak because they're going to be called terrible words. It's an attempt to silence people that are speaking out for women," Maloney said.

75 House Democrats sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) urging him to condemn the language. Friday Boehner responded in an email saying the remarks were inappropriate, but he stopped short of condemning them.

“The speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in an e-mail Friday morning.

Since launching its 'War on Women' campaign last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised $1.1 million.

Fluke said on The Ed Show that she wanted to thank all the Congressional members and women across America who have reached out and supported her.

"It really has meant a lot to me. And I think to women across America. But in answer to your question, I don't really see why anyone would not condemn this type of language," Fluke said.

She also said she would return to Capitol Hill again to testify if asked.

"Well, I think what I'm going to be doing from here on out is just continuing to do what I have been, sharing the stories of the women who contact me and really trying to make sure that their voices are being heard."

oh boy. I'm not sure how I feel about the birth control debate, but I will say that I've always found Rush Limbaugh completely obnoxious. What is worse is that any time I ride in the car with my father I have to listen to him for the duration of the drive.

[Barkworm]

I think it is really sad that so many people support the ridiculousness and stupidity that is Rush Limbaugh.

[ToTheNines]

Rush Limbaugh is a disgusting stooge and a hypocrite.

That being said, birth control is a luxury not a right. If your bust ass can't afford condoms, you have bigger things to worry about.

[Falconhood]

"Lil Rush" on Talk Radio (a parody) used the word "slut" 100 times yesterday...hillarious!

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

Originally Posted by Barkworm

I think it is really sad that so many people support the ridiculousness and stupidity that is Rush Limbaugh.

Rush is no worse than people like Steven Colbert or Jon Stewart.

[愛]

Oh boy, here we go.

[Jester]

*sits and waits for the keys to come out on this thread.*

And if anything Rush is as bad as Olberman. Colbert and Stewart are comedians, Rush is a pundit.

[joe-eyeball]

Rush is A BIG, FAT, FILIBUSTERING WINDBAG!!! Unfortunately there are many more mouthpieces just like him.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by joe-eyeball

Rush is A BIG, FAT, FILIBUSTERING WINDBAG!!! Unfortunately there are many more mouthpieces just like him.

And on both sides...

[joe-eyeball]

Originally Posted by Jester

And on both sides...

Precisely why I said there are many more like him. I have no interest in affiliating myself soley with either side.

[Falconhood]

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha

Rush is no worse than people like Steven Colbert or Jon Stewart.

Agreed, or the worst: Bill Maher. That guy is a moron.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

Originally Posted by Jester

*sits and waits for the keys to come out on this thread.*

And if anything Rush is as bad as Olberman. Colbert and Stewart are comedians, Rush is a pundit.

Sorry it's impossible to tell if Colbert and Stewart are trying to be humorous or not.

In any case, Rush did issue an apology, so case closed.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha

Sorry it's impossible to tell if Colbert and Stewart are trying to be humorous or not.

In any case, Rush did issue an apology, so case closed.

Oh, don't get me wrong, Colbert and Stewart have an agenda at times, but they also go after anyone, as long as it's funny.

[Sage Ninja]

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha

In any case, Rush did issue an apology, so case closed.

yes he did:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...6pLid%3D140345

After a media and political firestorm, Rush Limbaugh issued an apology on Saturday for calling student Sandra Fluke a "slut" on his radio show this week.

Fluke, a law student at Georgetown University who was advocating for health insurance plans to cover the cost of contraception, became the target of a series of attacks by Limbaugh. Besides calling her a "slut," he also called her a "prostitute," said that he wanted her to make sex tapes and post them online, and speculated that she only had a problem paying for contraception because she was having "so much sex."

Limbaugh's comments caused advertisers to flee from his show, and even prompted President Obama to weigh in. The statements also became an issue in the Republican presidential race.

Limbaugh — who has a long history of making incendiary remarks, and is not known to take them back — issued the rare apology on Saturday afternoon, saying he was "sincerely" sorry about his "insulting" characterization of Fluke. But he maintained that the birth control debate was about "personal sexual recreational activities," not any broader health questions, and compared contraception to sneakers.

Even as he walked back his comment, though, there were signs that Limbaugh is not out of the woods yet. Another advertiser, Carbonite, posted a message on Facebook saying that it was ending its sponsorship of his show.

"No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady," CEO David Friend wrote. "Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show."

Below, read Limbaugh's apology in full:

"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."


Whether Limbaugh's apology will quell the controversy remains to be seen, but for some, it wasn't enough. The company Carbonite announced that it won't reinstitute ads that it had pulled earlier in the week. And at least one organization wasn't buying Limbaugh's choice of words:

"Rush's apology wasn't actually an apology," said Shaunna Thomas, a co-founder of UltraViolet, an online advocacy organization that does grassroots work on women's issues. "He did little more than continue to expose himself as the anti-woman and offensive media personality that he is. Our campaign to pressure advertisers to drop their sponsorship of his show will continue next week. No radio show that attacks women should be rewarded with advertising dollars. And more than 84,000 of our members who signed a petition in the last day agree."

[Cure]

I guess this situation is a real FLUKE, EH?! lolololololololololz i h8 you guyz

[Barkworm]

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha

Sorry it's impossible to tell if Colbert and Stewart are trying to be humorous or not.

You are such a sad, old person...

[Hannah]

What I think is most terrifying about this is that Rush has no idea how birth control works. You don't buy single pills and pop them before or after you have sex. It's a prescription drug- and he really just does not get that.

I'm so pleased that Obama called this woman. He does a lot of things I don't care for but lately I've been very proud to call him my president.

And seriously? **** anyone who says insurance shouldn't cover birth control. Having control of my body is my right.

[Leo656]

To make an extreme counter-point, though, if a person becomes - solely through their own actions, mind you - an alcoholic, or a drug addict, should taxpayers have to pay for their rehab? *I* had nothing to do with it, and quite frankly don't care if they "get help" or not, and if you asked me up front to pay for it I'd say no, I refuse to physically pay for the consequences of someone else's actions, actions I was not involved in and heavily disapprove of.

It's different, but it's what he meant when he asked "What about personal responsibilty?" Shouldn't people have to, at least some of the time, pay for their own "mistakes"? Even if casual sex can't be considered "a mistake", because I *definitely* don't think it is, some people don't like it, and would have a huge problem if you said to them "I want you to pay for my birth control". So they simply don't want to magically have their taxes pay for it, either. Makes sense if you ask me.

Plus there's the whole line between preventative and curative medicine. When you're asking other people to pay for things you *technically* don't need, or wouldn't need if you had done something differently, things get tricky. Taxpayer-funded cancer treatments, sure, makes sense. Taxpayer-funded liposuction? Absolutely not.

These are all different from the birth control issue BUT they're related in a broad sense. Personally, a lot of people I know and may or may not have known "biblically" have benefited from planned parenthood clinics, etc. So I'm not sure about how I totally feel, but at the same time I totally understand why people would be against it. It does encourage promiscuous behavior... anyone who says otherwise is full of it, the entire point is so you can f*ck around and not have babies, maybe some people do the "one guy/one girl" thing still but I find it's not very realistic for anyone over the age of 15 to believe in monagamy, but that's a whoooole other topic.

I personally don't get why anyone actually pays attention to Rush, Colbert, Stewart, or anybody of their ilk to begin with, because a lot of these things that happen are just to distract everyone from the fact that it's an election year and the economy still sucks. I do agree with Rush 100% though, that all this talk about "social issues" right now is stupid, because none of it matters unless people are going back to work. I hate how people get so worked up over stuff like this; they're working you, it's an act. Whenever there's an election, people talk about emotional issues like contraception and gay marriage, but once you're IN office all that matters is economics. So why even talk about anything else, except to avoid questions about why things ain't fixed yet?

But on the whole, I prefer Bill O'Reilly. Just sayin'.

[Jester]

One thing that I've wondered in this whole debate is, "What about STDs?" The argument is all about potential pregnancy and government paying for prescription birth control pills, but those only stop one possible problem of "unprotected" sex. Is it because if you want to prevent an STD you can buy a condom at the corner store for a quarter, or get them free from a clinic? Don't those things work to avoid pregnancy as well? It's seems like asking to government to use tax dollars to cover prescription codeine cough syrup, when you can buy a bottle of Robitussin over the counter that does the same thing.

[Falconhood]

How many times do I have to tell him "Don't call chicks 'broads'"?