Rush Limbaugh's apology and the liberals' latest 'Fluke'

By Matt C. Abbott

Leave it to the politically-incorrect Rush Limbaugh to use a not-so-nice word (which, by the way, is not in the same category as a racial slur) to describe an apparently sexually-active liberal, and the left goes berserk.

Now they can smell blood; they can pressure advertisers — several have announced that they will cease advertising on Rush's program — and radio stations in an attempt to silence the popular conservative radio personality once and for all.

From Newsmax.com:

Rush Limbaugh slammed President Barack Obama for making a phone call to a Georgetown law student whose stand on contraception prompted the radio-talk-show host to label her a 'slut' on his radio talk show.

Sandra Fluke testified before a House committee last week about the high cost of female birth control, adding that the government should include contraception services as part of health plans. Fluke testified that some students spend more than $1,000 a year on contraception that is not covered by the university's health plans.

She attracted attention because the week before, the Republican-controlled committee had rejected a request that Fluke testify. Limbaugh said Fluke's insistence on wanting contraception made her a prostitute and the nation's taxpayers 'pimps' for paying for her contraception....

On March 3, Rush issued an apology for his word choice:

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.

I think Rush's apology is appropriate, all things considered. Granted, it likely is the result of angry advertisers, but still... Will the apology satisfy Rush's critics? Almost certainly not. Their ultimate goal is to silence the pro-life, pro-family opposition, which includes the Church.

Now, if only the obnoxious liberal commentators (i.e. Bill Maher) were forced to apologize for their numerous insulting statements and Catholic-bashing. The question is: Who will be next on the left's "hit" list, particularly if President Obama wins a second term?

I asked Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society, a nonprofit organization that "seeks to fulfill its mission by assisting and supporting education that is faithful to the teaching and tradition of the Catholic Church," to comment on the Fluke controversy.

Mr. Reilly responded:

Fluke and Georgetown are red herrings to distract from very serious violations of religious liberty. Those violations are obvious when we talk about faithfully Catholic colleges forced to insure both employees and students for sterilization, contraception and abortifacients. So Democrats have rallied around a sexually-active girl from a very secular university.

Georgetown already insures its employees for contraception, allows students to hand out condoms on campus, hosts The Vagina Monologues [an extremely vulgar play] and pro-abortion student groups, and does little to teach students sexual morality. At any of the faithfully Catholic colleges, a student wouldn't consider demanding payment for her exploits.

That about sums it up.

Kudos to Rush for standing up for the truth in this matter, just as he did in the tragic case of Terri Schiavo in 2005.

© Matt C. Abbott