Sexist Screed Gone Too Far-Now Rush Must Go
It’s Women’s History Month. Let’s make Rush Limbaugh history. Here’s one action you can take. Scroll down to the bottom for more actions, and updates as they come in. His sponsors are bailing fast, thanks to you!
Politico Arena asks:
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been heavily criticized by the Georgetown University law student who he called a “slut” after she testified on Capitol Hill about women’s access to contraception.
“I’m not the first woman to be treated this way by numerous conservative media outlets, and hopefully I’ll be the last,” Sandra Fluke said on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show.” “This is really inappropriate. This is outside the bounds of civil discourse.”
Although Limbaugh infuriated Democrats by calling Fluke both a “prostitute” and a “slut,” he has shown no signs that he’ll issue an apology.
Should Limbaugh issue an apology? Or will the media firestorm blow over?
My Response: No apology is good enough. Rush must go. Period.
Women have had to put up with his “feminazi” epithets for far too long, but now, his labeling an upstanding young college student a “slut” and a “prostitute” for claiming her moral and human right to the very contraceptive coverage that allows millions of women to be sexually responsible should get him bounced from his host seat forever.
This woman-bashing is at its core about fear of women, especially women with power to determine the course of their own lives. Limbaugh has revealed the ugly sexism that underlies the warped logic of proponents of the Blunt amendment, the recent VA forced ultrasound bill, insurance coverage of contraception, and opposition to just about anything that might allow women to function as equal citizens.
If Don Imus lost his job over his “nappy headed ho” comment, then surely, as Rachel Larris at the Women’s Media Center put it, Rush Limbaugh’s latest insults to women are “Finally Too Much to Bear.” Limbaugh’s vicious, misogynist screed is profane beyond the bounds of decency.
March is Women’s History Month. Time for women to make Rush Limbaugh history.
Here’s the link to my original post on Politico…
Update and more action information 3/3/12:
Your voice makes a difference. Carbonite just peeled off:
For people who have asked about how to influence Limbaugh’s sponsors to dump him, here is heartening news-go thank them:Carbonite Online Backup
A Statement from David Friend, CEO of Carbonite: A Statement from David Friend, CEO of Carbonite: “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. 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. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.”Other sponsors that have dropped Rush thus far are Quicken Loan, Sleep Mattress, and Sleep Mode.
Sign the petition to urge ProFlowers to dump Rush if you haven’t already done so, as they are holding out.
Find a more complete list of sponsors and advertisers that you can boycott or/and write to to urge them to stop sponsoring him.
Update 3/4/12: You all rock!
Here’s today’s Limbaugh update from @jljacobson at RH RealityCheck: ProFlowers has suspended their advertising on Limbaugh’s show, which is no small feat because … ProFlowers is owned by Liberty media and according to Forbes there are strong and direct ties between Liberty and Koch Brothers, as well apparently, with Bain Capital…. what a web!.
Here is a piece that lists all the sponsors who’ve dropped Limbaugh.
And here is a piece at Forbes.com that puts together the links between various actors.
This is great news, but don’t stop yet. Compliment the advertisers that dropped Rush, keep the pressure on those that are still recalcitrantly supporting his sexism, and remain vigilant about all sexism in the media.
Onward!
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.
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It will be interesting to see what kind of firestorm this latest episode of Limbaugh lunacy engenders. Unfortunately I doubt he will be kicked off the air; this kind of crap is not unusual for him. One big reason he has been so popular is his feminazi shtick, which appeals to a lot of men who hate feminists. In my eyes, he crosses the line of civil discourse and decency on a regular basis. It is almost as though that is what he gets paid to do.
However, he has already lost some of his sponsors, and if that continues, his EIB network may collapse. Radio stations will not carry him if he loses too many of his sponsors, so putting pressure on his sponsors might be the best way to end the career of this foul windbag.
Oh but there is a feeling in the air that people are fed up, tired of being abused by this jerk, sick of his hypocrisy, done with the meanness.
That is what he *is* paid to do. And he’s paid to do it on the public airwaves we provide to his employers.
I like a bit of controversy, but not at the expense of others. Rush is a nitwit (as our the bullies that love him). Sometimes, you have to speak to people in the language they understand, in his case, that would be his advertising “partners”….
Rush needs to go, yes, but women need to step up, too. It is shocking to me how many women support him and don’t think he did anything wrong! We need to stop allowing people to call us sluts, bitches and whores. Those words should be just as offensive and should not be used.
I meant to say that those words should be just as offensive as words like the “N” word and homophobic slurs such as the “F** word.
I would like to be able to compliment a sniper who is responsible for ‘taking out’ Rush Limbaugh and everyone like him.
Absolutely, we must take action and send a message loud and clear that it is unacceptable to speak or treat any woman this way.
Limbaugh is a frightened little man who operates by instilling fear in others. Don’t forget that he WANTS you to react like this, so he can then start calling you all sorts of inappropriate names. Perhaps ignoring him is the best approach.
I agree he is a little man, in many ways, however if the knowledgeable of us don’t point out absurdity where it exists, the unaware won’t become aware. If I never would have read the things I’ve read that taught me about how women have been treated in the world over time, I may have never known, and may not have questioned until I was too old to do something or care about it – and would not have taught my daughter how to be aware.
So I say to everyone, speak up and speak LOUDLY! If you recognize this ass for what he is, then regardless of your education level/speaking abilities, you will be understood very well by all. We know how to be civil – he and his employers do not. They’re only motivation is $$$.
Thanks Gloria for sharing this on facebook.
THIS SLUT VOTES!!!!!
[…] show bloviator Rush Limbaugh calls 30-year-old Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a slut for advocating insurance coverage of contraceptives. Republican National Committee chair Reince […]