Rush Limbaugh has apologized (in his way) for comments about Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke (whom he called Susan and identified as a college coed). Here is his statement, posted to his show’s website. Ms. Fluke recently testified as at a House Steering and Policy Committee hearing chaired by Nancy Pelosi, after Republican Darryl Issa refused to allow her to appear before his committee as a witness, calling her “unqualified.” Ms. Fluke’s testimony’s concerned the funding of contraceptives (such as birth control pills) for females; as she noted, student insurance policies do not pay for such prescriptions. Mr. Limbaugh reacted to the content, and apparently what he thought were the politics, of her statement. He referred to her as a “slut” and a “prostitute.”
After outrage from the Democrats, tentative criticism from Republican presidential candidates, and pullouts from advertisers on Mr. Limbaugh’s talk show, including Sleep Comfort and AutoZone, he finally issued a statement, saying he didn’t “mean a personal attack,” and in an “attempt to be humorous,” he had chosen the wrong words.
In the March 4th New York Times, Maureen Dowd discusses the storm over Republican denial to allow Ms. Fluke to testify before a Congressional committee, a later invitation to her to testify before another House panel, and Mr. Limbaugh’s remarks about her. As you’ll recall, both panels held testimony to consider the issue of taxpayer payments for contraceptives. Here’s a link to Ms. Fluke’s testimony before the House Steering and Policy Committee.
