Don’t blame Rush Limbaugh.
The volcanic, conservative talk show host has found himself embroiled in controversy since last week when he disparaged a law school student who testified in support of a national health care policy that would compel her Catholic institution, Georgetown University, to offer plans that include birth control.
I won’t repeat what Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke. I’ll just label it as crude.
It offended me in several ways. First, I happen to be the father of a young law school student. I can only imagine the horror this young woman’s family experienced after Limbaugh decided to sacrifice their daughter on the altar of political partisanship.
Limbaugh could care less about Sandra Fluke. She was just the latest pawn in the persistent drumbeat of attacks against Barack Obama. He's the president, so he's the target. If you have to step on some innocent people along the way, so bit it. I guess you could call Fluke collateral damage.
Still, I don’t blame Limbaugh. This isn’t the first time he’s said something outrageous. It won’t be the last. That is, if more of his advertisers don’t bail on his show. So far seven have indicated they no longer wish to be linked to his invective.
So over the weekend Limbaugh apologized.
“My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir,” the radio host said on his website. “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choice.”
Limbaugh stopped insulting me a long time ago.
I’m tired of the partisanship that creates this kind of atmosphere, where people’s reputations can so easily be smeared in the hope of scoring political points.
Limbaugh is only sorry that the resultant conflagration is now endangering his incredibly lucrative schtick.
He’ll be back to his usual tricks in a few weeks, when he harpoons the next person who must be thrown on the altar of political sacrifices.
This is what Limbaugh does. And he’s very good at it. This time he simply took it too far. Even those of his own political ilk are dismayed at the words he used to describe Ms. Fluke.
Democrats should not appear to be so outraged. They do the same thing. So do newspapers, radio and TV stations.
We all want to get noticed. So we do and say outrageous things. And if someone gets hurt along the way, that’s the price we pay.
That is why nothing ever gets accomplished in Harrisburg or Washington, D.C., any more.
That’s because it is no longer about working together to get things done. It's about scoring political points. And eventually winning. Knocking off the person in power. And then watching it start all over again.
Democrats tried for eight years to take down George W. Bush. Republicans are now returning the favor to Barack Obama. It's not about right or wrong, left or right. It's about winning.
Last week I had a conversation with a reader who suggested we underplayed the story from Arizona of a new investigation into documents concerning President Obama’s birth certificate.
When I politely told the reader I don’t really give a damn about the issue, he seemed perplexed.
You’ll see when the truth comes out, he informed me.
I can’t wait.
For that, or the next political insult, or radio or talk show host who crosses the line.
I am not exactly immune to such things. Every day I get to sit here and select the story that will lead the website and our print edition. I would be lying to you if I denied that one of the considerations is which story is going to sell.
The best description of that kind of dilemma I’ver heard came from Zach Stalberg, the longtime editor of another local tab, the Philadelphia Daily News. He was taking heat for something the paper had done, and the general sentiment was that this time the paper had gone too far.
His response? “I don’t know exactly where that line is, but I can assure you of one thing,” he explained. “It’s one we look for every day.”
Rush Limbaugh knows where it is. He just stepped over it.
The volcanic, conservative talk show host has found himself embroiled in controversy since last week when he disparaged a law school student who testified in support of a national health care policy that would compel her Catholic institution, Georgetown University, to offer plans that include birth control.
I won’t repeat what Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke. I’ll just label it as crude.
It offended me in several ways. First, I happen to be the father of a young law school student. I can only imagine the horror this young woman’s family experienced after Limbaugh decided to sacrifice their daughter on the altar of political partisanship.
Limbaugh could care less about Sandra Fluke. She was just the latest pawn in the persistent drumbeat of attacks against Barack Obama. He's the president, so he's the target. If you have to step on some innocent people along the way, so bit it. I guess you could call Fluke collateral damage.
Still, I don’t blame Limbaugh. This isn’t the first time he’s said something outrageous. It won’t be the last. That is, if more of his advertisers don’t bail on his show. So far seven have indicated they no longer wish to be linked to his invective.
So over the weekend Limbaugh apologized.
“My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir,” the radio host said on his website. “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choice.”
Limbaugh stopped insulting me a long time ago.
I’m tired of the partisanship that creates this kind of atmosphere, where people’s reputations can so easily be smeared in the hope of scoring political points.
Limbaugh is only sorry that the resultant conflagration is now endangering his incredibly lucrative schtick.
He’ll be back to his usual tricks in a few weeks, when he harpoons the next person who must be thrown on the altar of political sacrifices.
This is what Limbaugh does. And he’s very good at it. This time he simply took it too far. Even those of his own political ilk are dismayed at the words he used to describe Ms. Fluke.
Democrats should not appear to be so outraged. They do the same thing. So do newspapers, radio and TV stations.
We all want to get noticed. So we do and say outrageous things. And if someone gets hurt along the way, that’s the price we pay.
That is why nothing ever gets accomplished in Harrisburg or Washington, D.C., any more.
That’s because it is no longer about working together to get things done. It's about scoring political points. And eventually winning. Knocking off the person in power. And then watching it start all over again.
Democrats tried for eight years to take down George W. Bush. Republicans are now returning the favor to Barack Obama. It's not about right or wrong, left or right. It's about winning.
Last week I had a conversation with a reader who suggested we underplayed the story from Arizona of a new investigation into documents concerning President Obama’s birth certificate.
When I politely told the reader I don’t really give a damn about the issue, he seemed perplexed.
You’ll see when the truth comes out, he informed me.
I can’t wait.
For that, or the next political insult, or radio or talk show host who crosses the line.
I am not exactly immune to such things. Every day I get to sit here and select the story that will lead the website and our print edition. I would be lying to you if I denied that one of the considerations is which story is going to sell.
The best description of that kind of dilemma I’ver heard came from Zach Stalberg, the longtime editor of another local tab, the Philadelphia Daily News. He was taking heat for something the paper had done, and the general sentiment was that this time the paper had gone too far.
His response? “I don’t know exactly where that line is, but I can assure you of one thing,” he explained. “It’s one we look for every day.”
Rush Limbaugh knows where it is. He just stepped over it.
Comments
Think of it as an experiment in free market economics.