Rush’s Reign on Rudeness

March 4, 2012 By Karen Spears Zacharias 19 Comments

Rush Limbaugh is sorry.

He’s also apologetic.

On Saturday, Limbaugh issued an apology (of sorts) for calling Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” after the Georgetown University Law student testified at a mock Congressional hearing about women’s health issues.

“I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress,” Limbaugh wrote. But, he noted, “I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.”

Rush Limbaugh: Liar, Liar, pants on fire. First the name-calling, then the lying. Surely, your mama taught you better than that. You didn’t mean it as a personal attack? (insert loud groan and eye roll here) Oh. Gimme a break.

They sent me a copy of their book. I hope they send it to Rush Limbaugh as well.

Nobody is fooled by Limbaugh’s half-hearted apology. Just a few short years ago, Limbaugh signed a $400 million contract making him the highest paid loud mouth in this nation’s history. After his crass remarks about Ms. Fluke evoked a social media backlash, Limbaugh’s sponsors began an exodus of Biblical proportions.

The only thing Limbaugh is really sorry about is that he has finally said the one thing that will likely lead to the demise of Rush’s Reign on Rudeness. He should have taken a page from the playbook of Don Imus, but then again, learning has never been Limbaugh’s strong suit. He’s always been much more inclined toward shouting matches and name-calling and bullying than he has in civil discourse.

I’ll bet Rush Limbaugh never read Toni Birdsong and Tami Heim’s book @stickyjesus: how to live out your faith online. Ms. Birdsong and Ms. Heim wrote the book to educate evangelicals on how to use social media as a tool of evangelism, but certain truths cited in the book are applicable for anyone: “Communication is the most important skill in life, but at the core of great communication, funny as it seems, is listening.”

But none of this is all that funny, actually. Those cochlear implants Limbaugh had implanted a few years back may have helped him overcome his deafness, but they did little in the way of helping him be a better listener.

Rush Limbaugh needs a time out. I hope Clear Channel sees fit to give him a nice long break from his role as this nation’s most obnoxious yammer-head.

I hope they stick him in a corner and refuse to let him say one word until he learns to be nice to others.

 

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  • Janet Nye

    I find it very odd that Mr. Limbaugh continued to ramp up his attacks until it began circulating through social media that he was employed by Clear Channel which is owned by Bain Capital which is closely linked to Mitt Romney. Apology came within hours.

    • AFRoger

      Great insight, Janet, if accurate. And of all the ironies, Rush always trumpeted the stations airing his show as the E.I.B. (Excellence In Broadcasting!!) Radio Network. Well….

      Many years agao, I made a prototype bumper sticker that said: Rush Is RONG!

      Maybe I should have actually produced them! :)

    • http://karenzach.com Karen Spears Zacharias

      Interesting Janet. I was unaware of the connection, altho, I obviously understood that the apology wasn’t forthcoming until the advertisers quit him.

  • Mary Bartram

    You go girl!!!! Favorite discription….yammer-head…Yes that be he….I think the drugs have affected his brain…The things we have listen to on TV. He is sorry alright…Sorry isn’t even a good word for it. Sad maybe. Yammer-head yes. If his mother is still alive she is laying on the floor. If she is dead she is turning over in her grave.!!!

    • http://karenzach.com Karen Spears Zacharias

      I suspect his mama would understand that his public persona is driven not so much by ethics as it is by money.

      • http://middletree.blogspot.com James Williams

        I agree here. He’s a cartoon character. No different than Howard Stern, in my eyes.

  • Anonymous

    Rush was wrong. Period! Exclamation point. He’s rude. Period! Exclamation point. For some people that was established years ago. Some people just now got it, and some never will. Can we move on to the real issues? Our country is on the verge of imploding with debt and political malaise. If this ends Rush’s Reign and brings us more civil and winsome spokesmen/women instead of polarizing lightning rods that line their pockets with political gold, we’ll all be better off. We need solutions, men and women with the character and vision to implement them and citizens willing to take their medicine.

    • http://karenzach.com Karen Spears Zacharias

      I think part of the answer is in your own remarks — men and women of character & vision. But to suggest that Rush’s remarks aren’t a real issue is to say that character doesn’t matter. I’m confused.

      • Anonymous

        Hi Karen, That was my point exactly. Character matters. Rush has proven over and over again he is deficient in this area. I don’t have much hope for people who haven’t gotten that yet. My comment was not meant as a criticism. I agree with you totally. Character matters.

  • http://faithwarming.blogspot.com/ April Terry

    What I don’t understand about his statement is why he would make a statement about talking about “personal sexual recreational” activites? Apparently, he didn’t even listen to the statement that Sandra Fluke made because she pointed out some very good reasons why birth control might be needed beyond the simple prevention of pregnancy. In fact, it was Rush who decided to drag the conversation into the gutter, and why did he get away with it? Who’s calling for his suspension, his removal? Where is the outrage? Maybe it is because the person he abused verbally was a woman?

    • http://karenzach.com Karen Spears Zacharias

      Well, April, 24 hours later, it seems Rush is getting his comeuppeance.

  • http://middletree.blogspot.com James Williams

    Rush was rude, out of line, and his words are indefensible. That said, this became a big story because the press decided to make it a big story. I have heard many similarly harsh things come out of the mouths of various folks on the Left and Right, usually without this kind of backlash.
    I just read recently that Jeanine Garafalo (probably spelled her name wrong) said that anyone who voted against Obama in 2008 did so because they don’t want a black man in office. This false accusation is an outrage. In fact, isn’t being a racist worse than being promiscuous? Why is the press not jumping on that false accusation to the extent that they are highlighting Limbaugh’s “slut” accusation?

    • http://karenzach.com Karen Spears Zacharias

      I disagree, James. Media didn’t make this a big story. Rush personally and viciously verbally assaulted a woman simply because he disagreed with her politics. This isn’t any less news that a pastor burning the Koran, or Arizona kicking undocumented workers to the curb. Hate-mongering is always news and always should be … Can you imagine if media refused to cover the march on Selma?

      • http://middletree.blogspot.com James Williams

        Karen, I’m not complaining that they reported on Rush’s gaffe. My problem is that the press doesn’t reported equally rude statements made by those who are politically on the opposite side of Rush.

  • Tina Kaye

    While I do not condone the choice of words that Rush Limbaugh used in describing Ms. Fluke, I simply cannot understand the level of hypocrisy from left thinking people.
    For instance, where was the outrage when insult after insult was hurled at Sarah Palin. She is also a woman who was treated absolutely despicable by many people because her belief system differs from those on the left. I believe that the whole Rush incident is being used by the Obama Administration and his groupies in the media in an attempt to gain the votes of women and deflect us all away from his dismal record as President. Rush Limbaugh has issued an apology and I don’t remember ever hearing an apology from anyone on the left. And might I just ask…..who are you to judge whether or not Rush’s apology is sincere?

    • http://karenzach.com Karen Spears Zacharias

      Tina: Why do you make this about an “us” and “them’ argument? Do you suppose that if Obama had said the same thing about Ms. Fluke that I wouldn’t be equally appalled or outraged?
      Rush Limbaugh has made a significant living by playing to the fears of many. I refuse to participate in that sort of group mentality, I don’t care who is preaching it, or what their politics are.

      Having raised four kids, having had to settle more than a gazillion fights in the process, I think I’m a pretty fair judge of when an apology is sincere or not. I think being a mom qualifies me to make that kind of call. I know when a child is truly sorry or when they are just trying to suck up to me. When there is money or reward attached to that apology, I think that makes the entire thing suspect.

      • Tinakaye

        And as the Mom of four kids does it concern you on any level that the argument for having Insurance companies pay for contraceptives is being made by a single woman who claims that she is having so much sex that she cannot afford to pay for her own contraceptives? Where is the outrage for the lack of morals on the part of this young woman? Are we going to hear an argument next from an alcoholic who continues to drink and drive that the insurance companies have to continue to provide auto insurance to him and that the tax payers are obligated to pay for it? I believe that most Americans agree that if a person is going to participate in a certain lifestyle that they alone are responsible for funding that lifestyle and that they alone are responsible for the consequences.

        It is the lack of “common sense” thinking that many Americans are baffled by and that is why Rush’s comments about Ms. Fluke resonated with many despite the unfortunate way that he described her. I too, am the mother of multiple children and I don’t think that I am qualified to judge another’s motives for that reason alone. I can agree that one could jump to the conclusion that Rush is not sincere because of the sponsors dropping him. However, his comments, the apology, and the decision by many to think his apology is less than sincere does not negate the fact that this “incident” is being used for political purposes by the left, including Ms. Fluke. I don’t believe that we need to try to silence a person simply because we disagree with their views. I would not want anyone to try to shut down your blog even though we obviously don’t see eye to eye. Freedom in our country is far more important and I think that there is room for many different opinions.

  • John Mark

    Karen, I know this is old news. I have hesitated to comment, but here goes. Rush is rude and more than occasionally crude. If he suffers in some way for this, fine. I have no sympathy for him. I would simply suggest that he represents a symptom of a pervasive problem; first, that the day of reasonable dialogue seems to be over. And secondly, that we tend to be selectively indignant where these kinds of offenses are concerned. Since this whole flap happened, I have read a number of things that have been said about Sarah Palin, and they are indeed reprehensible (yes, most of them are written to at least implicitly defend Limbaugh). I would hope as Christians we might call for washing out every potty mouth with lye soap, and not just those we find personally offensive. This is not “us against them” unless it is “us”-we who would call for a return to decency and order in politics, social comment, “news” reporting, such as it is these days, and simply refuse to tolerate “them”–those who insist in dragging us all into some kind of verbal gutter if we listen to them. I am not an activist by nature, so I really don’t know how this could be done. But I do think we should look at the big picture–we are in dissolution where political and social comment is concerned, and should ask for an elevation of tone from all news commentators, or whatever they call themselves.