NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > People and Politics > Rush Limbaugh’s McCarthy moment at last

People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Rush Limbaugh’s McCarthy moment at last

Posted on Saturday, March 03, 2012 at 08:08 PM

Larger Text

E-mail

68 Comments

RSS

Archives

Rush Limbaugh has four wives, the latest a thirtysomething year old who I’m sure loves him dearly for his extraordinary physique, and not his oceanfront Palm Beach mansion.

He’s also an admitted pill addict who nonetheless insists on lecturing to the rest of the world about matters of morals and human behavior.

Rush and Newt Gingrich share the same blind spot, the inability to connect the dots between their own scandalous private lives and the moralizing they carry on with in public.

This time Limbaugh has gone too far. His assault on a young woman, Sandra Fluke, defending contraceptive rights, when he called her a slut and a prostitute, was so personal that even the most hardcore Rush fans blanched.
___________________
READ MORE:
He’s the greatest living Irishman – and no, he’s not a movie star or a famous politician --- Archbishop Diarmuid Martin richly deserves the title

Irish American Andrew Breitbart, was a General in the conservative movement
__________________

The immediate impact was companies pulling their advertising from his top-rated radio show, and a nationwide move to boycott his program.

Amazingly, it has had the desired effect.

Limbaugh was clearly facing disaster over his comments, and has now rowed back from them in the most humiliating fashion possible for him.

Maureen Dowd, in her column in Sunday’s “New York Times,” asked a key question – does Rush Limbaugh have any shame?

The surprising answer to me and many others, is that he does – especially when his rich livelihood is threatened.

Limbaugh has refused to apologize for so many evil comments in the past that it comes as a seismic shock that he was forced to do so on this occasion.

It is his Joe McCarthy moment, the instance where a U.S. Army officer asked McCarthy at a hearing if he had any shame in blindly accusing so many innocent people of sedition and Communist sympathies.

Limbaugh has now reached that seminal moment himself, and the amazing fact is that Fluke, a 30-year-old Georgetown University law student, utterly unknown until a few days ago, is the person who brought him to his knees.

It was obvious when President Obama called Fluke to sympathize with her that public opinion had begun to flow hugely against Limbaugh.

In the best spirit of American politics, Obama decided to kick Limbaugh while he was down, and succeeded in extending the crisis by his call to Fluke.

It was a masterful stroke, and the exact opposite of that pander bear, Mitt Romney, who when asked about Limbaugh’s comments said he merely felt that Rush used a poor choice of words.

A poor choice indeed, and one that will haunt Limbaugh for the foreseeable future.

Finally the dragon has been bearded in his den, and Limbaugh may not recover from this blow.

If that is the end result, and a more civil discourse begins in American politics, this will be a great development.

Limbaugh has been humbled, but whether he is defeated remains to be seen.

E-mail

68 comments

Next Previous Page 3 of 5 pages

joanxis | Mar 04, 2012, 09:05 PM EST

Eiriamach, I totally agree with you.

Report abuse

joanxis | Mar 04, 2012, 09:02 PM EST

I knew that,indigome. Sorry if my post was confusing.

Report abuse

eileenkny | Mar 04, 2012, 08:48 PM EST

The man is garbage and he spews garbage. End of discussion.

Report abuse

SingleDonald | Mar 04, 2012, 08:36 PM EST

I deplore Rush Limbaugh's remarks, despite admiring some of his positions. These nasty comments represent a mostly bygone prejudice, against the female gender. I was raised in the era when a high premium was placed on a girl's virginity. "Nice girls" didn't do sexual things, especially not full experiences. Sadly, I referred to actress Vanessa Redgrave as a "slutty tramp", when she had a baby out of wedlock. Had I used my head, even then, I would have realized that her having the baby was better than her getting an abortion. Shortly thereafter, I learned more about female sexuality, and how much more complex it was than my own. I then realized that the respect all men should have for women can be reflected by us meeting their physical & emotional needs. If a girl wishes to remain virginal, we should respect that as well. It, however, is darn foolish to equate having consensual experiences with being a "whore". Prostitutes get paid; ordinary women seek intimacy for affection with a man. I'm happy most men, Rush excluded, are more enlightened today, concerning female sexuality.

Report abuse

badolan | Mar 04, 2012, 08:28 PM EST

Didn't Limbaugh get caught with a suitcase full of Viaga on his way to South America a few years ago. No joke. Hopefully, his latest wife insists that he use a condom so he won't give her anything (if he can get it up). What a fat hypocritical pig.

Report abuse

badolan | Mar 04, 2012, 08:24 PM EST

Limbaugh's latest repugnant comments pale in comparison to his grotesque imitation of Michael J. Fox's Parkinson disease. That was truly disturbing episode. However, Limbaugh fans will support him irregardless of what he says or does. His fans can rationalize his behavior even better than he himself can.

Report abuse

cillowen | Mar 04, 2012, 07:57 PM EST

rush is right - insurance paid by all of us for the pleasure of flukites. who knew it would come to this. guys now have a lady who'll guide them in pursuit of pleasure. A web site would do the trick. Fugget arresting johns and such free spirits.

Report abuse

sgrotzky | Mar 04, 2012, 07:15 PM EST

I am not surprised that so many of the people willing to call her a slut didn't even listen to what she had to say. She was talking about a friend who needed contraceptives to control an ovarian cyst. Her inability to have them covered by insurance, or ability to pay herself, cost her an ovary. Nowhere did she discuss sex in relation to herself, nor was it any of anyones business. But I do see the usual idiots out calling her a slut without reading anything about it. Nice job in looking like an ignoramus there guys.

Report abuse

seanomelb | Mar 04, 2012, 06:28 PM EST

Limbaugh is ignorant of contraceptives and how they work(and some posters here are just as ignorant).It matters not how many times a woman has sex or maybe taking the pill for other disorders,she only takes one pill a day.

Report abuse

eiriamach | Mar 04, 2012, 05:30 PM EST

Do the Limbaugh enlistees posting below have any idea how health insurance works? The person who uses the insurance pays for it. Ms Fluke's university charges a pretty penny AND makes it mandatory for law students to pay for it, yet the university refuses to offer insurance that covers contraception for women-- an expensive, MD-prescribed and MD- monitored form of reproductive health care. Gynecologists often prescribe it to treat serious health conditions, not just to prevent pregnancy! This is utter ignorance, misogynist and prurient as well: "he certainly was right about not wanting to pay for her extra curricular activities, and if we are paying for her 'jollies', we should get to see the video, though, by the looks of her, who'd want to watch it?" This sort of language is abusive of women! It is hate speech that does not belong on IC or any site that decent people might visit. This is the poison that Limbaugh spits regularly at the American public, and I find the posters below who spread it thoroughly offensive.

Report abuse

seanomelb | Mar 04, 2012, 04:45 PM EST

The ignorant defending the indefensible on this site is a sad indictment of the state of the GOP.Limpbaughs disgusting attack on the young lady was defended by O'Reilly,Hannity and other bottom dwellers. We all know the commonality between Limpbaugh,Hannity and Gingrich.

Report abuse

SeamusMartin | Mar 04, 2012, 04:37 PM EST

Bimbo should be Flushed down the toilet, like all other sh!t!

Report abuse

CelticQueenUSA | Mar 04, 2012, 04:29 PM EST

Just another idiot Republican venting his spleen but this time he ruptured it!!!! SHUT HIM OFF the radio. Stop listening to ANYTHING he says.

Report abuse

indigome | Mar 04, 2012, 04:12 PM EST

His ignorance affronts: "so much sex" costs no more than no sex - for oral contraceptives the $$$ are the same month in month out, but his own pandering for sponsor and income $$$ that led to this incident are even more egregious. He should be fired as the tasteless hate-mongoring idiot he so brazenly portrays. BTW joanxis, Ms Fluke was speaking of a classmate not herself.

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Mar 04, 2012, 03:27 PM EST

This man is a lowlife who makes millions distorting the news/facts for the GOP and corporate interests who benefit from their deregulation. He has been the major player along with Roger Ailes in dividing this country to total polarization. Anyone who follows and believes what this sub human spouts simply doesn’t want the facts to get in the way of their hate and bigotry. I for one am totally sick of the extreme gun toting, deregulating, polluting fringe having so much impact on policy. And you know who is to blame? Us. Only 10% at most turn out for primary elections and those are mostly the fringe voter as was witnessed by the screams from the audience during the past GOP debates. If we sit on the sidelines and allow hate mongers like this offensive lowlife to continue along with the bought and sold politicians he supports, we have only ourselves to blame.

Report abuse

Next Previous Page 3 of 5 pages