Whatever you think of Rush Limbaugh’s apology to Sandra Fluke, at least he said, “I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke... I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.” I encourage you to read his entire statement because it’s more of a CYA than any kind of graciousness. But what about Bill O’Reilly? He didn’t come right out and call Fluke a slut as Limbaugh did; he “merely” implied it.
As I wrote in my post about O’Reilly’s attack on Fluke, O’Reilly compared contraception coverage to providing drugs for addicts. He also suggested that Fluke's desire for contraception was tied to her loose morals:
“…Sandra Fluke believes that all of us should pay for her sexual activities… I’m asking this with all due respect, I am. You want me to give you my hard-earned money so you can have sex? Is that what you’re asking for? Good grief.”
And
“What about the concerns of Americans, in general, now forced to buy health insurance who don’t want to pay extra for Sandra Fluke’s social decisions? …To (Fluke and her supporters), sex is a potential health crisis so American taxpayers should now be responsible for what goes on in everybody’s bedroom. I don’t think I can make it any more vivid. This is a freedom issue. My freedom as an American is being encroached upon. The Obama administration is trying to force me and you to pick up the tab for what people do in their private time.
…Now the progressive colossus is demanding payment for Sandra Fluke so that she can go through Georgetown Law School with an active, healthy social life.”
As I previously wrote, it’s hard to believe O’Reilly didn’t make a calculated decision to denigrate Fluke for the sake of sexing up his own argument against contraception coverage in health insurance. While his attack was a bit less incendiary than Limbaugh’s, O’Reilly still came out looking like the same kind of prick.
So now that Limbaugh has acknowledged that he was wrong to characterize Fluke the way he did, shouldn’t O’Reilly do the same?
You can contact him at [email protected].
We don’t get to choose what our insurance pays for. I’m sure my premiums go towards covering lots of care that results from lifestyle choices with which I don’t necessarily agree.
Lung disease coverage for smokers
Type II diabetes care for the obese
Injuries due to reckless driving
To name just a few…
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/03/1070631/-It-s-Time-To-Take-On-O-Reilly-Too
The Emails are either a cut-paste of this (again, I don’t know if this is the original or a cut-paste itself), or a paraphrase.
I say go for it, and include Megyn Kelly because I’m not the only one sick of her slut shaming every time a woman sticks up for herself- especially given that she allowed rumours about how she got both her litigation positions and her Fox News show to boost her ratings faster.
And if anyone does successfully get them included, I say press until we get a sincere apology for once. Can’t speak for others, but I’m beyond ready to see the end of these annoyed little “Are you happy now? Yes? See ya!” non-apologies.
Most of the liberals/progressives who apologize for slurs do so, primarily because they face 24/7 attacks FROM THE RIGHT for daring to replicate the very things that the “conservatives” have been doing for years. OTOH, when a liberal/progressive apologizes, he doesn’t go about it either half-hearted or half-assed.
Go to your local radio station that airs his show and file a complaint against Limbaugh. The station keeps files of complaints and will review them. Visit FCC.gov to read about regulations of public airwaves.
Call and write letters to local sponsors of Limbaugh’s show and file a complaint. Also, write letters to the editors asking local sponsors to pull from his show.
This clown has a long, long history of race-baiting and anti-female bullying. It’s time to put a stop to it. The airwaves belongs to the public, not Limbaugh.
