Ralph Reed reached out to Rush Limbaugh via Twitter yesterday and accepted his apology. "Apology accepted. Let's move on," he said -- a magnanimous gesture had Rush Limbaugh actually apologized to Ralph Reed. Too bad that, despite the too-quick headlines, Limbaugh not only hadn't apologized to Reed -- he hadn't really apologized to anyone at all.
Instead, Reed and Limbaugh, with the backing of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, started up the ole vast right-wing fake apology machine -- designed to temporarily quell a too-hot controversy while at the same time not giving an inch.
Unfortunately for them, after too much use of the fake apology, people are catching on.
Although considered by some in the GOP to be a little too rough around the edges, Rush Limbaugh has always been considered a net asset to Republicans. Like fellow right-wing shock-jocks Glenn Beck and Bryan Fischer, he reaches a wide audience with toxic sludge that is ultimately helpful to the Republican Party, saying all the things that fire up the right-wing base, but that the politicians wouldn't want to be caught saying themselves. But Limbaugh has a peculiar kind of power -- no matter how outrageous his comments, members of the establishment Right tiptoe around him, afraid that his toxic words might one day be directed at them. George Will said it best: "They want to bomb Iran, but they're afraid of Rush Limbaugh."
The latest boot-up of the right-wing apology machine began when Limbaugh called Georgetown University law student and contraception coverage advocate Sandra Fluke a "slut," saying "She wants to be paid to have sex." And, as if contraception was sold by the gallon or the pound, he added, "She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception."
President Obama immediately stepped up, calling Fluke to check in and encourage her after she had been smeared on national radio.
Rick Santorum, in contrast, called Limbaugh's comments "absurd," but then reasoned that "an entertainer can be absurd... He's in a very different business than I am."
Mitt Romney's response was flimsier and even more timid. Asked about it while shaking hands at a rally, he said that it was "not the language I would have used." Apparently, he had no problem with Limbaugh saying that birth control advocates want the government to pay for them to have sex. He would just use different words.
Finally, Limbaugh himself fake-apologized. "I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke," he said -- before blaming the left and going on to repeat his accusation that she was "discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress."
"I wouldn't have use those words" is the new "I apologize if anyone was offended."
Ms. Fluke did not accept Limbaugh's fake-apology. Ralph Reed, however, accepted it on her behalf.
Republican leaders can't be responsible for everything that comes out of the mouths of every right-wing blowhard. But if they want to be president they can be expected to provide clear responses when comments like Limbaugh's are this outrageous, instead of hiding their heads in the sand hoping that the public exposure of these outrages will go away. How hard is it to say that women who advocate for insurance coverage for contraceptives should be heard and shouldn't be called prostitutes for stating their position on the topic? Is it really worth compromising basic decency to stay in the good graces of Rush Limbaugh?
The Republican Party is increasingly buoyed by a small base whose values are antithetical to those of most other Americans. If they want to survive politically, they are going to have to stand up and no longer be fake apologists for the likes of Rush Limbaugh.
Follow Michael B. Keegan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peoplefor
Menachem Rosensaft: Repudiating Limbaugh: A Matter of Integrity, Not Politics
Limbaugh: Sandra Fluke is not a 'slut' or 'prostitute' | The Cutline ...
WOmen know that the pill cost 4$ a month at walmart
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the depth of ignorance that people in this country have about their own hormones, much less the hormonal makeup of their opposite sex partner, because this is the only Western Democracy that thinks Abstinence Only education is good public policy.
Wow. And they claim that the GOP h8es women!!!
Republican men tend to not understand reproduction and female hormones... people like Rush Limbaugh, who seems to be under the impression that women take birth control every time we have intercourse, instead of once daily. GOP men think oral contraceptives work like ED medication... silly old goats that they are
FORCING a person to pay for another's behavior is the issue. I trust we can all unite on this simple principle? Electing politicians so we can take turns "screwing" one another makes zero sense.
If you want to know the issue, you should really change the channel.
There's no reason for this debate to exist, that's why she's being made fun of. Some insurance companies cover birth control, some don't. Nobody was stopping her from getting a plan that did cover it.
If democrats are so offended by this kind of language they should have taken issue to obama inviting common to the whitehouse.
By the way, if I'm not mistaken, most if not all colleges and universities require matriculating students to have health insurance.
-- Anyone who disagrees with me is immoral. By definition. Because I know everything.
-- Free speech for other people is worthless.
-- Some inconvenient aspects of reality force me to say things that sound like apologies.Don't worry, I don't mean it.
Stop playing politics about things like this. Both sides look for edges hoping that it will hurt the other. This continuing saga of meaningless gotcha's when the world is being torn apart is just so destructive.
How about if there's truly regret, that's what's communicated. And if there isn't, then silence reigns.
He is stronger than ever with MORE listeners..
They are trying to convince people that without this mandate, women won't have access to birth control. They are trying to convince people that birth control actually does cost a woman $3000.00 over the span of 3 years. They are trying to convince people that no ones insurance premiums are going to increase if this mandate becomes law. They are trying to convince people that even contraception for medical conditions are being denied. They are trying to convince people that the insurance companies WANT this mandate and it's the religious zelots who are stopping it. They are trying to convince people that without this mandate, contraception will be banned.
None of those things are true. And anyone willing to use their computer for anything other than pushing entitlement programs would know it.
Hey republican boys, how bout keeping it in your pants and stop seducing women to have sex with you? You know this would not be an issue if men could get pregnant. (I'd pay to see that happen!)
How about this.....I do not want to help pay for your lunch today. Now, are you seriously going to accuse me of trying to deny you access to food? I hope not because no one would take you seriously.