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During his lengthy career in broadcasting, Rush Limbaugh has ignored the boundaries of decency on countless occasions, but he's never lost so many sponsors, so quickly, as he has over the last week.
Six days after the right-wing host's verbal assault on Sandra Fluke, Limbaugh no doubt enjoys the condemnations and attention, but can't be pleased with the reactions from those who pay his bills.
Many thought Limbaugh's initial apology was inadequate, and their outrage helped compel advertisers to pull their commercials from Limbaugh's program.
Two more national advertisers -- online giant AOL and tax service Tax Resolution -- said Monday that they were suspending their sponsorship of Limbaugh, bringing the total number of companies fleeing Limbaugh to nine. [...]
Whether Limbaugh's on-air apology will stanch further losses remains unclear. A boycott campaign on Twitter and online petitions urging sponsors to remove their ads continued to draw supporters Monday.
If one includes local advertisers in the overall count, Limbaugh has lost 11 sponsors. ThinkProgress' running count reached 12 late yesterday after Allstate Insurance pulled its ads, too.
Making matters slightly worse, two stations that have aired Limbaugh's radio show -- WBEC in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and KPUA in Hilo, Hawaii -- dropped the program yesterday. WBEC's general manager said yesterday, "This time he's taken it too far."
I guess the half-hearted, not-exactly-sincere "apology" didn't persuade the Republican's detractors that he felt genuine regret.
Of course, the news for Limbaugh wasn't all bad -- the Missouri Legislature will apparently still honor the right-wing broadcaster with a statue at the state capitol, giving him a place in the Hall of Famous Missourians. Limbaugh's bust will sit alongside the likes of Mark Twain, Harry Truman, and Walt Disney.
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Doesn't Bain Capital own Clearwater Channel? Is that why Willard gave a tepid response to Limbaugh's smear campaign?
Yes, clear channel = bain capital = mitt romney
And this fact is why, ultimately, neither Mitt nor any republican has a snowballs chance to win in 2012. Way to take down the party Rush; nice work...LOL.
Yeah well do not expect Ron Paul to point that detail out in a debate with Willard in VA...some is rotten in Denmark between those two...
the media is reporting Ron Paul's endorsement by Romney family members. I am certain Ron Paul will be Romneys choice for VP,no matter how much he denies it. They are tag teaming on the down low and I have only seen a few people mention this in the media. They never attack each other and now RP gets support from Romney family members, you think this is not a calculated move by Willard Romney? The Mormon machines is well oiled and trust me...their tentacles are long and busy...they own a huge number of fortune 500 companies and I would venture to say they are more powerful than the Jews because they give faithfully 10 % of their earnings to the church....a lot of Jews are not religious and the ones that are certainly aren't giving 10% of their income to the church. This country will change with a mormon president...scary.
Mormonism and the LDS should not be a part of the discussion on the path toward Mittens and the Mormons having the power of the presidency! We know this because the corporately owned media tell us so.
Regardless of the truth of what say! Are you sure that it is Ron Paul? I was under the perception that it was his son Rand Paul who is being touted as VP candidate.
This is what happens when ego trumps courage. I was hoping Limbaugh would do what's right for man's sake.
Instead he gave a G.O.Pology.
He gives men a bad name...It's what happens when ego trumps courage.
http://www.gopeabrain.com - Promoting GOP to GOPea Brain Status
I am all for religious freedom. But, I don't believe people understand everything about the Mormon Religion. He is high up in his church. He donates a great deal to his church. Someone needs to expose what the Mormons believe in. One thing I found out is all the men believe they can become a God. They believe that Jesus had alot of brothers and sisters and he wasn't really that special. They do these weird baptisms where the women all get into a huge bath together. The woman must submit to their husbands. Utah is one of the top states for spousal abuse. The world is trying to heal from the destruction that dictators have unleashed. Are we as Americans going to let a dictator like Romney be President. Try to ask The Mormon church anything? Why are they so secretive?
Why does it matter, really? I don't care what religion any of them are. The one thing I believe is that they believe what they believe and have every right to.
It's all the OTHER stuff that makes me crazy.
President Obama's use of "woman's rights" to impose Federal law on private corporations is brilliant politics but scary for America's future. It gives the Feds permission to intervene in individual, corporate and religious freedoms. He knows how to divide and conquer the electorate. Whether you are for or against contraception or Rush Limbaugh is not the issue. The issue is the Federal Government's ability to force private corporations to provide services at no charge It will set the precedent for Government intervention in other individual private areas. Where are the Founding Fathers when we need them? Be afraid of where this will take the Country. How many remember that freedom is the reason for the founding of America?
Your comments would make even Joe McCarthy blush....
Rush has two choices: a) Convince his listeners that he is the ultimate truth warrior, political correctness be damned, and say "screw the advertisers". or b) cower before the PC police and concede that his bluster is just a bagful of profitable miasma. My guess is he'll do the latter, and his viewers will respond, "that's OK. We like professional wrestling, too."
That isa a very interesting comparison. I give you the floor. So he is "entertainment", is that it?
Which means that he's also fake.
I don't see how one can equate political correctness to human decency. Rush can say whatever he wants. However, if he says something asinine and rather stupid, we have as much right to exercise our First Amendment to call him out for it.
IMO political correctness is ALL about respect for others. Sometimes it is taken to extremes. I think "domestic engineer" was demeaning to people with MIT degrees, but its original intent was certainly to honor the efforts and skills of homemakers. What Rush and other Republicans do is to dismiss the very effort to show respect.
OK wait there is certain language that should probably never be uttered even by a shock jock (if that is what we want to call Rush).
Problem with this definition is, he wants it both ways: a self-righteous, highly moral right wing conservative watch dog of our insanely irresponsible government.
Next problem with this is: he has proven that he has moral problems himself. They seem to disappear when he apologizes, like misuse of prescription drugs, hiring illegal immigrants to do his bidding at his home, etc.
It also seems that as long as Democrats exist, we can and MUST blame that party for all the short comings of the entire government. And yes, conservative listeners believe every word he says, apparently.
Although for the most part Ii am "conservative" I don't feel Limbaugh represents my thinking, and I never quote him. I wish we would go away.
Now we reach a really sticky point: calling less conservative, or demonically liberal CITIZENS of this country words like "The family dog", Slut and prostitute.
His readers of course will hang on every word, and he will not be "censored" and his ugly biases will continue to be heard around the country, he will continue to corrupt the idea of decency, and live a life of luxury, supported by the conservative party, who by themselves believe wealth belongs to the few, and the rest should just "get a job."
Where your analysis falls short is that virtually the entire Republican party uses Rush-like hyperbole to demonize liberals because their own economic (and foreign policy) ideas don't stand up to rational debate. If you disagree, name a respected expert who defends the laffer curve, climate denialism, the Bush doctrine, supply side economics as defined by Paul Ryan. People like Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman don't count, since they aren't around to see the specific details at play these days.
"I wish we would go away."
Typo or Freudian slip?
So do I.
I do believe he has been censored
Rush Limbaugh, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Michael Moore, and Sean Hannity are all cut from the same antiquated cloth. Race baiting, misogynistic dinosaurs who need to be swept into the dustbin of history. STAND UP AND FIGHT the political and media establishment hellbent on the preservation of their own self-centered outdated ideology and overblown paychecks. This includes FOX, Current, CNN , and MSNBC! Think for yourselves. The truth is out there, go find it on your own!
Nice job troll! Maybe you should get a job with ABC, CBS, or NBC. You do an excellent Both sides do it!
Al Sharpton, REALLY? I think not.
Unfortunately buell there actually is a difference, and we are standing up and fighting, we've had enough of the right wing zealots trying to impose their religion, their racism, their sexism, their sense of natural superiority and their ignorance on the rest of us as they raid the public treasury and steal the future from generations unborn, its a never ending fight because the forces of evil are rich, powerful and able to pay minions to keep them in power by harming their neighbors and relatives. The truth is that regardless of what you believe politically there is a basic standard of human decency that is required to live with other human beings before they banish you. When the right wing starts behaving close to that basic standard of human decency they might have a leg to stand on when they complain about left wing insults
I know that I certainly remember all the hyberbolic insults and bigoted rhetoric that Michael Moore spews, and it sure sounds EXACTLY like Rush's diatribes ........right? They're the same, right? Moore supports Occupy, Rush hates Sluts. How can we even tell the two apart??!!
Michael Moore and Rush are not cut from the same cloth at all. Rush spews his daily lies about the left daily for three hours not using facts or tact. Michael Moore uses facts in a documentary film style. Maybe he is saying things you don't want to hear because they are based on facts but never confuse the two people. So when you keep asking.....right it is because you are trying to find someone to agree with a faulty reasoning on this matter. I don't see how you think that Michael Moore supporting Occupy, a movement to demand some fair playing rules in this country and Rush hating sluts of which Sandra Fluke is about as a equal argument about similar issues. About as similar as cake and horse manure
Rush started by calling an individual a slut and continued to attack her for three straight days. He finished on the third day by saying he wanted her to provide him with pornographic video.
Find anything like that on the left or even on the right.
A continuous three day attack on a young college student who was entirely a model of civil discourse.
Our political system is pretty far gone as far a civil discourse but find anything like that.
There is no equivocating this
Further destroying the equivalency argument: when the left goes off the deep end, it's usually related to a specific action/crime, i.e calling Bush a war criminal for authorizing torture. The only thing the young lady do/did was testify before congress on the health benefits of birth control methods in matters unrelated to sexual encounters. For that, Rush attacks her for things she didn't do on matters she wasn't talking about. Out of touch with reality.
The Missouri legislature is going to put a statue of Rush in the Missouri Capital along side the likes of Mark Twain, Walt Disney and Harry Truman? Kind of makes a Missourian like me wonder what ever happened to the Democratic party in these parts. I get fundraising calls from National Democrats but Missouri Democrats are never going to receive any of the money. Too bad we abandoned Dean's 50 state strategy and are focusing all our money on Democratic strongholds. This could be a giant year for Democrats and they are fighting from a cowering crouch.
Not to worry. I am sure someone will deface it. He does not belong to be displayed next to humans anywhere.
Good for Missouri, it will be there beside Arizona, Tennessee and Illinois as state legislatures turned into looney bins.
I would be a strong supporter of putting a bronzed statue of Rush in the Missouri capital building. They would not even need to stuff him before they dipped him in the bronze to make me pleased.
As a former MO resident, I'm very disapointed that they would put a statue of such a hate-filled, morally corrupt, controversial person in the capitol bldg. Just because someone is famous or rich does not mean they should be honored with a statue. He is not a good role model.
Yeah- it's an embarrassing time to be a MO resident. We moved to STL from NYC and recent events just make us shake our heads in disbelief. Running a primary that doesn't count and now a statue of a misogynistic, racist, hypocritical... I could go on but you get the idea.
And let's not forget the anti-puppy mill law which we voted to enact but the lawmakers overturned. Sigh.
Yep, I've previously lived in MO & VA, and I'm trying to decide which is worse and most embarrassing.
The Limbaugh statue will probably spend several hours a day ridiculing the Twain, Truman, and Disney statues.
Rush and Mark Twain. Really, Missouri?
Mark Twain became a yankee for good reason!
Why is the left after Limbaugh's scalp?
Where, oh where, is all this 'tolerance' I've always heard about from leftists?!? Where is the 'open-mindedness' that I've heard is such a supposed hallmark of leftism??
My gosh, the man calls a woman a 'slut' and a 'prostitute' - and the left goes ballistic with sudden 'outrage' - outrage that, of course, never existed when Bill Maher, Ed Schultz - and a host of others - called certain women foul names.
No 'war on women' talk when bile poured out of their mouths - and still does....
Maybe a cursory reading of liberal Kirsten Powers's latest column might put things into better perspective..... she says it better than I can:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/04/rush-limbaugh-s-apology-liberal-men-need-to-follow-suit.html
Bull crap yet again. And highly sexist by the way. See, those "attacks" are related to actual actions, you know, reality. When Rush went off on Fluke, he was off in fantasy land making stuff up. Calling a woman stupid for acting stupid is not sexist. Calling a woman a prostitute for testifying about women's health is.
isnt if ironic how Flute is sooo simular to Klute ?? just say'n
maybe it was Rush bad hearing...
Why are we still giving this phat phuck any air time? He needs to be fired and sent to St. Helena where Napoleon died so we never have to hear from him again.
(Is that even far enough?)
He is not in the least constructive. What he knows about women and/or their reproduction wouldn't fit on the head of a pin. He is a complete TOOL. He owes that young woman more than a backhanded apology. I am also going to look for ALL of this jerks sponsors and boycott anything I can. I feel like the very air is tainted ...lol
I guess this is example #893 of 'tolerance' from leftists towards someone they personally disagree with?.....
Tolerance of hatred and stupidity, no, not on my agenda.
Sounds good, Jon.
Are you thus 'intolerant' of most of the comments on Rachels's threads from left-wing posters - since they're loaded with posts that fit your description?
What's even more appalling. There are three people who are supposed to be honored by Missouri: Rush is scheduled to enter the hall of fame alongside.... Dred Scott and Buck O'Neil. Shameful. Dred Scott fought for freedom. Buck O'Neil fought for equal rights. And Rush...who called a young woman a "slut."
Although I reside in VT, I just emailed Governor Jay Nixon (D) suggesting there must be many other deserving individuals other than Rush to honor with a statue who haven't offended the majority of women in the United States with shocking and loud comments. http://governor.mo.gov/
Most surprising to me is that up until this moment, AOL and Allstate found Mr. Limbaugh and his hateful, divisive rhetoric worthy of their financial support.
Although I am far from an expert in the area, it is my understanding that advertising minutes are purchased in blocks of time through media buyers on behalf of groups of clients and not by an individual company directly.
Allstate has stated that they didn't even know their ads were airing on his show, and that is quite possible. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and credit for being appalled. Could be same with AOL and many other companies.
Just another problem with the whole advertising business. Radio and TV networks are NOT in the entertainment business; they are in the advertising business. $$$$$$ drives it all. That's why boycotting Clear Channel's advertisers works. As long as LimpBalls brings in the ratings and ratings brings in the ad $$$$, then he will have a show. While I agree with the protest, the unfortunate side effect is publicity for his show which may increase his ratings and attract new advertisers.
I am extremely PROUD of Ms. Fluke for NOT accepting his apology. I hate to see victims of him and others forgive and forget after such a LAME apology, in a situation like this one. EMAIL YOUR LOCAL STATION THAT CARRIES THE LIMBAUGH SHOW, and tell them you aren't listening anymore.
I think that Rush Limbaugh to Missouri ranks alongside what McCarthy does to Wisconsin. Some 'famous sons' just don't measure up to others.
Mark Twain, Walt Disney, and Harry Truman will be exceedingly proud to have this wonderful example of humanity join them, no doubt.
So thankful to hear that our letters to his sponsors have been effective! This is an on-going process- he's been allowed to behave in this manner, with impunity, for 20 years. Keeping the pressure on will be key.
Dear God:
On behalf of the human race, I sincerely apologize to You for the role our sin of omission has played in allowing Rush Limbaugh to for long trash Your "image and likeness" in the form of our humanity.
Please forgive us, for we have yet to fully commit, effectively organize, and use our collective power to confront Limbaugh's enablers at Disney, ABC, Clear Channel, et al and finally force them to scrub clean the air You so generously bequeathed us by permanently retiring from the airwaves the toxic turpitude and bigoted filth whose source is Rush Limbaugh, those like him, and their principle benefactors and beneficiaries.
Give us the strength to be resolute in purpose, persistent in practice, and joyful in solidarity as we drive from "Your House" AND our own "People's House" the rest of the sociopaths, pharisees, false prophets, idolators, money changers and polluters who've looted the treasures of our humanity and treasured earth.
Amen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Ronald%20B.%20Robinson/rush-limbaugh-radio-stations-drop-show-fluke_n_1322609_139329077.html
Yes! These hypocritical HOT AIR BAGS, including RUSH LIMBAUGH, who are misquoting facts, encouraging hatred and intolerance should be forced to pay a price! Can't wait for Glenn Beck, Shawn Hannity, Bill O'Riley, Sarah Palin and the likes to get their due, also! They can't debate an issue honestly because they're too damn stupid, so they have to embellish with lies and distortions!!!
So grateful for honest, intelligent journalists such as yourself, Rachel! Love you!
May cooler heads prevail. I know that I am done with people on Fox trying to entertain me. We as Americans should demand the truth especially when it concerns the lives of so many. If you are fooling around trying to make a buck you need to step down maybe go into the acting business Politics is no place especially now, when the world is fragile, to play around for personal gain. The American people are on to their kind and we're not gonna sit back and watch them make a mockery of our country. If they had any intellegience at all they would all walk off of Fox News and the like. Won't get fooled again.
The only hatred and intolerance I see are on threads like this. Just a cursory reading tells me this is 'bile central'...
Rush Limbaugh is actually a closet Liberal he tries to hide behind his crazy entertaining muses but, he should fess up. The men in the white coats are coming for him. I think he eats too much and suffers from the sin of gluttony not to mention greed. Maybe he knows he's on the way out like the Tea Party who will take him and the Republican party down with them. I just hope that no children heard him. The way he talks is very unconservative.
Honoring a person with a statue, holiday, etc., should be done only when there is a broad consensus. In this case, I doubt that exists for a statue of Rush Limbaugh. Maybe Missouri will wake up before they put up a statue of Rush.
Rush will not be taken off the air so long as he has 15 million listeners and a lot of advertising dollars coming from his program. What would do Rush in would be some sort of extreme scandal that would turn his listeners against him. He appeals to angry people and there are enough of them to go around for all of talk radio. Eventually he will fade in popularity as his demographic group ages and he becomes dated.
Please sign the petition to get Rush Limbaugh off AFN radio. For those of you who don't know, AFN is Armed Forces Network. It is paid for with our tax dollars. They provide American TV & radio programs for our military and their families who are stationed overseas. It is often the only stations in english that they recieve. AFN TV & radio does not have any commercials, so no sponsors to protest. In place of commercials, they have government produced public service announcements.
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/sec-panetta-get-rush-limbaugh-armed-forces-radio-now-no-tax-money-abusive-divisive-insulting/p439GWMm
Signed!
Thanks!
Thanks for this link.
As to AFN having no "sponsors," that's not quite true. US Taxpayer are the sponsors and as such we have the right to express our displeasure. Let's make the noise LOUD.
I find it most displeasing to learn that this is the tripe that our fighting men and women listen to. THIS is what they are fighting for? This really needs to change.
Ahhh...censorship.
Rather than giving the people the freedom to listen to what they want to - or don't want to - you'd rather just take Limbaugh off the air, because YOU don't like him.
Must be reflective of that 'tolerance' and 'open-mindedness' I've heard so much about from the left....
Not censorship. Trust me, there is no shortage right leaning news coverage and shows on AFN. In most military buildings if there is a TV showing the news, it is tuned to Fox news. The President is the Comander in Chief of our military and Rush is completely disrespectful to him and to the office of the President. He promotes the birther movement, racism, bigotry, hatred of women, hatred of gays, and goes off on every thing Obama does (foreign & domestic policy) just because he hates him. Our military are serving our country under the direct command of the President, and Rush directly undermines the President's leadership. He should not have a taxpayer financed AFN voice for that. The military stationed overseas who really want to listen to him can do so via the internet. Freedom of speech is the freedom to say what you want, not the right to have a radio show on a taxpayer financed station, or in any public forum. Taxpayers and the military have the right to say they don't want to pay for Rush to spew his filth or that they don't want him on their radio station.
It's sad how the party of intolerance whines when they start facing the consequences of their own actions. Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.
Didn't Rush say "so what if advertisers leave, there are more to take their place?"
Russ Limbaugh is a bully. We spend so much time trying to teach our kids not to be bullies -- and how to react if they are bullied in school. We teach them the consequences of bullying (suicide, murder, etc.). We try to help them accept themselves and others as valuable to the overall order of life. To allow Rush Limbaugh to bully adults and get away with it, and to have sponsors pay him to do it, is misguided in the least, and deadly (allowing him to use his microphone as a weapon of mass destruction). Where are the Bush investigators who found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Surely they will find Rush to be a weapon of mass destruction. Then we can use shock and awe to eliminate him - from the airways.
It doesn't matter if the apology is "sincere" or not. It's like someone saying he is sorry for beating the hell out of you for no reason. What he did was abusive. And the abuse extended beyond the one person he insulted. What he was saying was that any woman who thinks that her insurance coverage should include birth control is a slut. Those people are our moms, our sisters, our daughters, our friends and ourselves. He's smart enough to understand the historical implications of what he said ... that he wants to go back to a time when women's sexuality was under the scrutiny and control of men like him. He is assuming that his listeners share this view, or he wouldn't have said it. He's promoting the view that any woman who asserts control over her own body is a bad woman. Apologizing by saying that his words were not "the best" is a joke.
I am born and raised in Missouri and proud that many famous people also call or called Missouri their birthplace. The "statue" is actually a "bust" and unfortunately only one person in the state government (a Republican office holder) made that decision to "honor" this very poor example of Missourians. Under our TV stations blogs many more people are against this decision than for it. We need to keep pressuring Gov. Nixon to do whatever he can to stop this process. I sincerely hope this hater of people's rights can be evicted from our State Capitol before he gets this bust installed.
Some ancient Roman once said, "Force without mind falls of its own weight." I'm amazed at how long Limbaugh has stood without falling. But then, it took the Soviet Union 70-some years. There is still hope in Mudville.
I am angry to know that our Speaker of the Missouri House can select people without the general will of the people or any type of nominating process for honor in the capitol rotunda. A bust of this mean spirited, hypocrital, namecalling, divisive individual, does not deserve to have his bust in the same area as Mark Twain, Harry Trueman, or George Washington Carver. Shame on Mr. Tilley for giving Missouri a black eye with the approval of a Limbaugh bust in such an honorable place. I am embarrased for our state.