Rush Limbaugh's Sponsors Are Jumping Ship

Limbaugh: Sandra Fluke is not a ‘slut’ or ‘prostitute’

By Dylan Stableford

Senior Media Reporter | The Cutline – 4 hrs ago

 

Limbaugh (AP/Chris Carlson)

Rush Limbaugh opened his syndicated radio show on Monday by reiterating the weekend apology he had made to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student whom the outspoken host had called a "slut" and "prostitute" for her testimony about contraception the week before.

"I descended to [the left's] level when I used those two words to describe Sandra Fluke," Limbaugh said. "I've always tried to maintain a very high degree of integrity and independence on this program. Nevertheless, those two words were inappropriate. They were uncalled for. They distracted from the point that I was actually trying to make, and I again sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for using those two words to describe her. I do not think she is either of those two words. I did not think last week that she is either of those two words."

He added: "It was way beneath me, and way beneath you. I was wrong. I genuinely apologize."


Limbaugh claimed he was not forced into issuing an apology to Fluke, despite calls from prominent conservatives—including House Speaker John Boehner and GOP candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum—to do so, as advertisers of his show fled in droves.

"The apology was sincere and heartfelt ... pure, simple, heartfelt," he said. "All the theories, all the experts are wrong."

Limbaugh's comments came a day after a seventh advertiser, ProFlowers.com, pulled its advertising from his radio show, following Quicken Loans, Sleep Train, Sleep Number, Citrix Systems Inc., Carbonite and LegalZoom. An eighth, AOL, announced on Monday that it would stop advertising, too.

"At AOL one of our core values is that we act with integrity," Maureen Sullivan, an AOL spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement. "We have monitored the unfolding events and have determined that Mr. Limbaugh's comments are not in line with our values."

[ RELATED: Twitter users lobby Limbaugh advertisers to drop business (or not) over Fluke controversy ]


But Limbaugh told listeners that pressure from advertisers did not lead to his apology.

"I reject millions of dollars of advertising a year, much to the chagrin of my ad sales team," Limbaugh said, "including General Motors. I made the decision [after the government bailout] not to accept [GM advertising] because you, the audience, comes first."

"We're going to replace those that leave," he said. "Fine, we'll replace [you]."

On Saturday, Limbaugh posted an apology to Fluke on his website.

"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," the statement read. "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."

Earlier Monday, fellow radio talk show host Don Imus dismissed Limbaugh's apology to Fluke as "lame," and suggested he sit down with her. "He's a fat, gutless loser," Imus said, "and if I'm running a radio station, he's not on it ... until he does that."

But in an appearance on "The View," Fluke said Limbaugh's initial comments were "personal enough, so I'd rather not have a personal phone call with him."

The National Organization of Women still wants to see him fired.

"When one of the leading commentators for the conservative Republican Party is out there using this vicious language against an ordinary young woman who simply wanted to testify before Congress—that goes so far beyond the pale," NOW president Terry O'Neil said in an interview on CNN.

"I'm not going to wait for apologies from the left," Limbaugh said, "for saying despicable things they say about us, about people like Sarah Palin. Don't expect apologies, they're never going to apologize."

"Talk about a double standard," Limbaugh intoned, after several callers complained that it was unfair he was forced into an apology. "Rappers can say anything they want about women [and] it's called art. And they win awards."

He added: "Forget about the double standard going away—it never will."

Gov Rick Perry Is A Defendant Of Confederate Flag

Perry once defended Confederate symbols

By WILL WEISSERT - Associated Press | AP – 1 hr 31 mins ago

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Eleven years ago, when the NAACP stepped up a campaign to remove the Confederate battle flag from statehouses and other government buildings across the South, it found an opponent in Rick Perry.

Texas had a pair of bronze plaques with symbols of the Confederacy displayed in its state Supreme Court building. Perry, then lieutenant governor, said they should stay put, arguing that Texans "should never forget our history."

It's a position Perry has taken consistently when the legacy of the Civil War has been raised, as have officials in many of the other former Confederate states. But while defense of Confederate symbols and Southern institutions can still be good politics below the Mason-Dixon line, the subject can appear in a different light when officials seek national office.

For Perry, now Texas governor for 11 years and in the top tier of Republican presidential candidates, a racial issue is already dogging him.

He took criticism over the weekend for a rock outside the Texas hunting camp his family once leased that had the name Niggerhead painted on it. Perry's campaign says the governor's father painted over the rock to cover the name soon after he began leasing the site in the early 1980s and says the Perry family never controlled, owned or managed the property. But rival Herman Cain, the only black Republican in the race, says the rock symbolizes Perry's insensitivity to race.

A related issue may rise this fall when Texas decides whether to allow specialty license plates featuring the Confederate flag. The plates have been requested by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a nonprofit organization Perry has supported over the years. A state board he appointed will decide.

The NAACP says its initiative against "glorification" of slave-state symbols remains ongoing. "The romanticism around the Old South," said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington Bureau. "It's a view of history that ignores how racism became a tool to maintain a system of supremacy and dominance."

Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner did not return messages seeking comment on the matter. But Granvel Block, the Texas Division commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the organization appreciated Perry's position on such issues. "I would give him high praise for saying it," Block said. "Honoring  your ancestors, it's something that the Bible teaches."

The Confederate battle flag has been chief target for the NAACP. The organization called for a boycott of South Carolina in 2000 for flying the banner over its statehouse. The state moved the flag to a capitol memorial. In 2003, Georgia replaced its state flag, which included the Confederate battle standard, with one that combined other elements from previous state flags. Other institutions have scaled back their displays of Confederate heritage. The University of Mississippi retired Colonel Rebel as its on-field mascot.

In January 2000 the NAACP asked Texas to remove the Confederate battle flag from plaques in the entryway of a building housing the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, saying it undermined the notion of judicial equality. One of the 11-inch by 20-inch bronze plaques featured the seal of the Confederacy and the other the image of the battle flag and quotations from Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Perry wrote to the Sons of Confederate Veterans in March 2000 that, "although this is an emotional issue, I want you to know that I oppose efforts to remove Confederate monuments, plaques and memorials from public property."

"I also believe that communities should decide whether statues or other memorials are appropriate for their community," Perry wrote in the letter, one of several obtained by The Associated Press under a public information request. "I believe that Texans should remember the past and learn from it."

He added, "We should never forget our history, but dwelling on the 19th century takes needed attention away from our future in the 21st century."

Perry elaborated publically on the issue, saying, "I think you've got a slippery slope when you start saying we're going to start taking down every plaque or monument."

He wasn't the only prominent Texan defending the plaques. Then-Gov. George W. Bush, himself running for president, initially said they should remain but then reversed himself and authorized the state's General Services Commission to replace the plaques with new ones saying equal justice is available to all Texans "regardless of race, creed or color."

The floor of the Texas Capitol's rotunda still bears the seal of the Confederacy, and statues on the grounds memorialize Lee and Confederate soldiers. But civil rights organizations consider the battle flag the most objectionable symbol.

Public officials in Texas, as well as in the other Southern states, are called upon periodically to honor Confederate causes because related organizations observe its anniversaries. Block said the Sons of Confederate Veterans was founded in 1896 and has 2,500 members statewide. Also active is the Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

In a 2005 letter, Perry welcomed attendees of a benefit hosted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. "By learning about the past," he wrote, "we honor our ancestors' memories and contributions, and appreciate the people and events that preceded the present." Perry's great-great-grandfather David H. Hamilton fought at Gettysburg with the First Texas Infantry.

Two years later, Perry issued a "Message from the Governor" honoring Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross on what would have been his 169th birthday. He noted Ross' service as a Confederate brigadier general, two-time Texas governor and president of what became Texas A&M University, calling him "one of the greats on whose shoulders our modern day Texas rests." The Sons of Confederate Veterans maintains a college scholarship fund in Ross' honor — despite accusations that Ross was behind the murder of black prisoners of war in Mississippi.

Today, Block's organization wants to use the Confederate flag license plate to raise money to pay for markers on Confederate soldiers' graves. "I know that to some people it's an issue," he said. "But our purpose is to honor our ancestors and to educate the public on the true cause of the war."

The state Department of Motor Vehicles board tied 4-4 in an April vote because one of its members, Ramsay Gillman of Houston, was absent. Gillman then died and Perry chose a new appointee, Raymond Palacios Jr. of El Paso.

Palacios declined to comment on the issue. Members won't vote on the plate until at least Nov. 9. A similar request from the Sons of Confederate Veterans was denied two years ago, but the criteria have been expanded, opening the door for approval this time. Texas has approved 276 specialty plates.

Perry hasn't commented. "This is a matter before the board," said Lucy Nashed, a governor's office spokeswoman.

Matt Glazer, executive director of Progress, Texas, a left-leaning advocacy group, said of Block's organization: "If they want to put a sticker on their car, or fly the Confederate flag at their home or business, that's up to them. But the state itself should not associate itself with this racist relic."

Obama releases full birth cert, proves "birthers" wrong

By Rachel Rose Hartman

 

The White House on Wednesday morning released the president's long form birth certificate (pdf) in an attempt to put "birther" questions to rest.

"The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn't good for the country. It may have been good politics and good T.V., but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement.

The president had released his certificate of live birth in 2008, but many "birthers" said the absence of a long form birth certificate prompted questions about Obama's birthplace of Hawaii. In recent weeks potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has brought birther questions into the forefront of the media.

"At a time of great consequence for this country--when we should be debating how we win the future, reduce our deficit, deal with high gas prices, and bring stability to the Middle East, Washington, DC, was once again distracted by a fake issue," Pfeiffer said. "The President's hope is that with this step, we can move on to debating the bigger issues that matter to the American people and the future of the country."

Obama admitted at a White House press conference following the document's release Wednesday morning that he's been both amused and puzzled by the degree to which his place of birth has become an issue.

The president echoed Pfeiffer's statements saying that Americans and their representatives need to come together to solve issues such as how to "invest in our future" while tackling the federal deficit and federal debt:

But we're not going to be able to do it if we are distracted. We're not going to be able to do it if we spend time vilifying each other. We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers.

Though the president didn't mention Trump by name, Obama noted that when he announced his deficit plan this month, his birth certificate, not our country's economic future, dominated the news that week.

Trump on Wednesday took full credit for the release.

"I feel I've accomplished something really really important and I'm honored by it," Trump said at a press conference held during his pre-scheduled visit today to New Hampshire. Trump noted that people have long been requesting the document, but Trump was the only one who got the president to release it. Trump suggested Wednesday this development will boost his own potential presidential candidacy.

Trump said he and others are still going to have to assess the document's authenticity. We're "going to look at it. We have to see if it's real, if it's proper," Trump said. But he added that he's "sure it's the right deal" and is looking forward to moving on to more important issues such as OPEC and China.