In the first half of 2012, Sandra Fluke went from being an unknown student at Georgetown University Law Center to a leading advocate for contraception rights and a rising star within the Democratic Party.
Her trajectory began with a fight over congressional testimony. She’d been denied the opportunity to testify before a House panel about the need for insurance companies to cover contraception. The exclusion ticked off Democrats, who noted that only men were on hand to discuss an issue with a disproportionate impact on women. The Democrats held their own panel with Fluke and others. Republicans declined to show up.
For a day or two, Fluke thought the entire controversy would be a footnote in the Obamacare fights -- another hearing gathering dust in the C-Span archives. But then Rush Limbaugh targeted her: He went on his radio show, butchered her name, and called her a slut. The rest, as they say, is history.
But Fluke wasn’t necessarily supposed to speak before the panel in the first place. If it weren't for another student’s class schedule, she could still be just another unknown policy wonk today.
At that time, Fluke was part of a group of people on campus who were, as she described it, "concerned about the lack of comprehensive reproductive health care coverage on our insurance for students." The group had explored a few avenues for speaking out, as well as the possibility of filing a lawsuit, but concluded that working through the Affordable Care Act was the best path forward. They held a press conference at the National Press Club, which got the attention of lawmakers.
When the invitation came to testify, they had to decide who would go. Fluke explained to "Candidate Confessional" why she was chosen.
"You want the honest answer?" she said. "Somebody had class at that time… That was certainly part of it. I actually skipped immigration law to go and testify."
Perhaps the same sequence of events would have transpired if it were some other Georgetown Law student who had gone to the Hill that day. But Fluke handled the Limbaugh incident with a unique bit of mettle. She told the podcast she "felt very strongly that we could not allow it to in any way appear that this had been successful in silencing me or silencing other people who were speaking out on this issue."
President Barack Obama took notice. He called Fluke to express his sympathies and to thank her for speaking out. A top-flight Democratic communications firm signed on to help her with her new fame, the Democratic National Committee came calling about a speaking gig at the convention, and Fluke eventually caught the political bug.
This podcast was edited by Christine Conetta. Listen to it above or download it on iTunes. And while you’re there, please subscribe to, rate and review our show. Make sure to tune in to next week’s episode, when our guest will be Rev. Jesse Jackson on his 1984 and 1988 runs for the White House.