Companies have been under pressure to pull ads after Rush Limbaugh viciously attacked a Georgetown law student for her support of women's access to birth control. Salon.com's Irin Carmon reports.
Rush Limbaugh may have gone too far this time.
After three days of relentless personal insults against Sandra Fluke, a law student who testified before Congress about the need for birth control coverage, Rush has come under widespread criticism. Even President Obama called Fluke today to give her his support and encouragement.
So what? Yes, it's one thing to weather verbal criticism, but a whole lot different when dollars are attached.
Indeed, demands for Limbaugh's sponsors to pull their ads from his show have rocketed through cyberspace, similar to the one that forced the Susan G. Komen Foundation to rescind a decision to cut Planned Parenthood.
And at least four companies, Quicken Loans, Cleveland Cavaliers, and bedding retailers Sleep Train, Select Comfort/Sleep Number, bowed to the pressure.
Due to continued inflammatory comments� along w/valuable feedback from clients & team members� QL has suspended ads on Rush Limbaugh program
— Kelly@ Quicken Loans (@quickenloans) March 2, 2012
Two other advertisers, Pro Flowers and eHarmony, tweeted that they were re-evaluating their ad buys in the face of calls for a boycott of their services.
@utbrp We would like to assure you that we do not endorse the views expressed by Rush Limbaugh and we appreciate your feedback.
— ProFlowers (@ProFlowers) March 2, 2012
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All the advertisers should pull their ads and see how long he be on the air. Sounds like he is drugs again.
Time for re-hab. Hope he can afford it. Maybe his insurance company can find a loop-hole to drop him. Then who will be asking us to pay for something?
Rush will be on the air as long as there are people like the Koch Bros. to support him. We will see if his so called followers are willing to support his talk financially. I think not ,all talk no walk!
Tough. Now we'll see who the REAL right-wing financiers are.
There is no such thing as global climate change, And man has no effect on weather! Humm? Tornadoes late in the season and now earlier than ever and more of them.
How dare you! You're part of the global conspiracy to make environmentalists rich!
Seems there are so many super rich environmentalists!
Lush Rimjob has talked himself into a corner. But Fluke has held back so far, thus giving him a chance kiss and make up! Or will he continue his slander and tempt fate. And face real jail time? If he gets summoned I think he will have a fit and further make efforts to put himself in front of the judge. And if he incites action from his listeners he may one of the first to find out what the NDAA is all about.
See you in Gitmo RUSH!
I don't think she's giving him a chance to kiss and make up. I think she's giving him enough rope to hang himself.
There's gonna be so much rope they have to use the Sears tower!
Rush is a predator without any common decency..he proved what a pervert he is by his comment about viewing sexual videos..
Hopefully, Limbaugh (R-Fatass) will pay a heavy price for this.
I like the designation you gave him.
That's the same guy who spoke at the CPAC receiving standing ovations. I guess it sums up the view the conservatives have of women.... Pathetic.
i so want to see this a-hole go down. he's so putrid. vile.
Finally, but I fear it will just embolden those who are just like him. He has a soft
spot to fall somewhere. And so does the ilk who are just like him. COME OUT, COME
OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE! See who takes over the flower spot.
Just sad that someone has to make boogymen out of anyone who opposes their view. Youd think someone with the self proclaimed ego he has, would be capable of just brushing off remarks and testimony he doesnt agree with, but he doesnt. Something isnt right, either his ego is more vapid and shallow or his character is, but either way, I support people who speak out against the crowd, even if I dont agree with them. I respect courage. Speak out, even if your voice trembles. True courage is just that. Sitting behind a microphone taking cheap shots at someone who doesnt also have a microphone to speak out in return doesnt seem brave or noble or honorable, it seems rather immature and petty. I do hope if he must continue to do the things he does, that he can at least contain himself to only attack those who can engage him on equal and fair footing and go point for point with him so that everyone can learn and understand both sides of the issue. But to do this, unacceptable and not winning over anyone who wasnt already on his side to begin with. Clearly, its driving away moderates and even some conservatives with integrety.
Please sign the petitions to get Rush Limbaugh off the air :
http://dccc.org/pages/waronwomen
http://www.dccc.org/pages/denounce-rush
Please participate in the boycott of Clear Channel and the sponsors/advertisers of Rush Limbaugh's Radio Show :
http://www.topplebush.com/boycott_rush.shtml
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002369972
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/rushbusted.html
Hear is an example of how boycotting really works It is a letter I received within hours of sending an email to this company regarding Rush Limbaugh :
A Message from Carbonite CEO, David Friend :
Hello,
Over the past two days we have received a tremendous amount of feedback on Rush Limbaugh's recent comments. I too am offended and very concerned about his comments. Limbaugh's remarks have us rethinking our future use of talk radio.
We use more than 40 talk show hosts to help get the Carbonite message out to the public. The nature of talk radio is that from time to time listeners are offended by a host and ask that we pull our advertising. This goes for conservatives like Limbaugh and progressives like Stephanie Miller and Ed Shultz. We even get customers who demand that we pull the plug on NPR. As an advertiser, we do not have control over a show's editorial content or what they say on air. Carbonite does not endorse the opinions of the shows or their hosts.
However, the outcry over Limbaugh is the worst we've ever seen. I have scheduled a face-to-face meeting next week with Limbaugh during which I will impress upon him that his comments were offensive to many of our customers and employees alike.
Please know your voice has been heard and that we are taking this matter very seriously.
Regards,
Dave
I'm gonna wait a little longer so he can dig the hole deeper! Maybe even take a few with him!
Patients is a virtue!
Revenge is dish best served cold!
This is not revenge. But I understand your ' kryptic ' remark.
This is justice. Pure and simple.
So far, two of his sponsors, AutoZone and Life Lock haven't made a comment yet. I may have to quit going to AutoZone. Guess who is a major owner of Clear Channel? None other than Bain Capital! What a small world!
OMG MJB ! It never ends does it ? But, so far at least 3 major corporations have pulled their ads not only from Limbaugh's show but from Clear Channel all together. This is the way we got rid of Glenn Beck. Bye bye Limbaugh.
OK - first off, I would NEVER listen to that sack of SH IT anyway - I don't do radio other than PBS and sometimes when I'm out in the middle of nowhere, whatever music happens to be on (usually, "C&W" - but it keeps me awake on the road)
The emphasis right now is to hit the BROADCASTERS right where it hurts - in the WALLET. For those of you so inclined as to listen to the bustard squawk, note the advertisers and report them so that the list can get out and people can AVOID DOING BUSINESS WITH THEM. IF business shows a drop, they WILL get a message. This tactic will work against virtually ANY rightwingnutrelgionazi controlled business and is many times more effective than picketing or other time consuming activity.
Take YOUR MONEY away from where their mouth is. Starve the bustards
Rush is a pervert who distorts the truth and wants to watch sex videos of young women. Please don't support this vile man anymore. TY
Maybe Rush can move his show to Topeka & join hands with Westboro Baptist Cult & The Koch Brothers! He's absolutely disgusting!
Rush should move to Topeka so he will be closer to Westboro Baptist Cult & The Koch Brothers! I can't find a word harsh enough to describe him! Disgusting!
Ed,
Please continue the campain against Rush Limbaugh's advertizers. With enough support, we can remove him just like we did Glenn Beck. I could easily call Rush all the horrible names he deserves but I refuse to step down in the same gutter where he broadcast from. But it is fair to say that he is just plain mean. We must make him responsible and accountable for his actions.
Rush (S)limebaugh(l) aka the Rev Jim Jones of the airwaves,and the Sultan of the republican/tea party would have to improve 100%just to be an a$$ hole.He's a racist women hater with the ideals of a sewer rat. Personal sliming of a 30 year old female college student for the purpose of attracting listeners is far over the line.His sponsors can say that he does not represent their views,but if they keep up their sponsorship,what else is there to believe?Local radio stations need to take a stand against their parent companies and put a stop to this psycho.
First off, let me say that I am not a Re-pube-lican or a Limbaugh supporter. I do not approve of the man's past or the majority of his life choices. This being said, Sandra Fluke made herself a very public target by testifying before Congress. Does this make Limbaugh's actions right? No. But it does make her a public figure instead of a "simple law student."
Her appeal to Congress to have contraception paid for by tax-payer dollars is simply unconstitutional. Sex is a voluntary action entered into by individuals, and if those individuals wish to use contraception, they should pay for it themselves. If these law school students are not able to afford the $3000/year version of contraception they are using (as stated in Fluke's testimony), there is always the option of going to Planned Parenthood. They may not have the selection of options that may be available through a private practice, but they are much less expensive. PP literally gives condoms away for free.
Asking our lawmakers to force the American people to pay for the optional recreational exercises of individuals through tax dollars is just plain selfishness on the part of this woman and any who think in the same way. I know this will piss off a lot of people, but think about it before you respond. You will be paying for this woman, and anyone else who uses the government's free contraception, to have sex as often (and with as many different people) as she pleases. This will be an additional tax payment out of your own pocket that will do nothing except allow people to have less personal responsibility.
Your body. Your choice. Whose responsibility?
Having been and RN who worked in a Post Partum Unit I can tell you that many times birth control is absolutely essential for some women. This is an issue to be determined by the woman and her doctor.
Another point of view - as long as boys/men convince girls/women to have sex with them and who refuse to use condoms, there will be pregnancies occuring and the responsibilities that accompany those pregnancies and the children born of them must be placed on both the mother and the father - not just the woman as it is now.
Adam you got it all wrong,we're not talking strictly single women having a good time.This is about married women also that do'nt want to have a child every 11/2 years,what do you tell them,abstain from sex?Or put an aspirin between their knees.Or use the rythm method that may or may not work.Also contraceptives can be used for medical reasons.Put it this way,if studies showed that viagra could be used to treat heart disease,would you deny coverage to a man because he might get a "woody"?I do'nt think so.
Who ever said she was having sex willy nilly all over the place? Almost 40% of the women who use it do so for medical reasons, not for contraception. Aside from that, women and men who choose not to have fifteen children in a row use it for family planning--the wife is not having sex often and with everyone in the neighborhood. You act like Planned Parenthood has a grab bag of cheap birth control pills in their office. Do a little more research on that one.
I don't know if you are married, but I guess you're planning to keep having kids until your wife wears out. More likely, you will partake of your wife's right to use birth control, and hopefully she will be able to get it through your insurance. This has nothing to do with contraception or insurance and everyone knows this. It has to do with women's rights.
Paying for contraception (which as a senior citizen haven't used in years) is not something I obsess over when I pay my health insurance bill every month. That's like saying I won't pay for COPD medications because the person shouldn't have smoked, or I won't pay for your diabetes medicine because you shouldn't have gotten so fat and unhealthy ,or if you have AIDS due to a blood transfusion, it's your own fault for having that dang open heart surgery, etc, etc. If you're an alchoholic or a drug addict, my money is paying for your rehab. SO WHAT!!!
Whenever you, Adam, go to the doctors for any reason, I am paying for it. That's fine with me. Contraception is no different than any other prescription, except for those who want to tie it to the Religious Rights war on women's rights. I'm just trying to give you some information so that you can understand this all better. As far as you saying that Sandra Fluke made herself a public target. She, as well as any US citizen, has the right to talk to Congress. That should't make her a "target" by anyone, and doesn't make calling her a "slut" OK in any way. She spoke up because she asked to be on the "men's panel" that spoke against contraceptives on a religious platform, and was refused. Religion should have nothing to do with women's rights.
Insurance aside--If a congressman decided to ban condoms for religious reasons there would be an uproar from men. The only difference would be that women would stand up for your rights with you--because they know it's wrong.
adam,
thank you for your very un-understanding viewpoint in regard to Sandra Flukes.
it is very difficult to remain calm in the face of the repeated blogs here by men who are repeating what they have heard by limbaugh, oreilly, or hannity; at least that is how you sound.
Sandra Fluke is not only telling a personal story about a friend of hers who lost an ovary because she didn't have access to contraception through her insurance, but she is speaking out for all women, women who do not have access to Planned Parenthood, women who cannot afford birth control, women who have medical conditions related to their "female parts" that have nothing to do with preventing pregnancy, and for women who DO NOT WANT TO GET PREGNANT.
this is not about Fluke being a slut, a whore or a prostitute. i never heard her say at any time that she wanted contraception available TO HER for the purposes of not getting pregnant, although to most women that is REASON ENOUGH.
her appeal to congress to have contraception paid for by tax dollars is simply unconstitutional,
yet catholic churches and tax dollars have been going to pay for men's sexual pleasure ever since viagra/cialis was invented. they also pay for vasectomies.
when the catholic church and tax dollars pay for men's sexual pleasure, i believe we should talk about the fairness of that when YOU THINK having a uterus is a "pre-existing" condition, as do MOST insurance companies. a few cover contraception, but as a general rule, THEY DO NOT.
Sandra Fluke was not talking about birth control for recreational activities, though men already have that benefit through their insurance companies and tax dollars. she was talking about her friend who needed contraception because she had cysts on her ovary. she was denied coverage for this, EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T FOR BIRTH CONTROL PURPOSES, AND SHE LOST HER OVARY (her friend is GAY).
as i have said here before, 2 women having sex does not cause pregnancy.
Sandra is gay. therefore, her sexual practices do not cause pregnancy. she (we) do not want old white men, or men in general, telling us what to do with our bodies.
do you also object to the coverage of viagra and vasectomies, or is having a uterus a "pre-existing" condition?
you are entitled to your opinion, but please arm yourself WITH FACTS.
getting pregnant or not is DEFINITELY a womens health issue. Too bad men cant get pregnant or contraceptives would be 100% covered by every insurance company. Maybe wimen should just tell ALL men NO!!!
What Pro Flowers really means is that although they don't endorse his views they don't seem to mind what he said. Many sponsors say that they don't advertise on Limbaugh's show, however they are affilliated with Clear Channel, which his show is a part of. Interestingly, Bain Capital owns Clear Channel. Yes, that is the company that comes up quite often with Mitt Romney. You can find some good information on this on www.infowars.com .
It's time for all women everywhere in this country to take a strong stand against Rush and all of the Politocrats who are attacking the freedoms for women that were gained over years of hardship and work. Bill O'Reilly likened insurance companies paying for birth control for women to his having played high school foot ball and that no one bought his equipment. Not even in the same catagory.
Providing free or low cost birth control that is prescribed by a doctor specifically for an individual patient is definately a part of that woman's health care. It is not women asking to be paid for sex. Perhaps more of us need to let men know that if they won't use condoms, they simply won't get sex!
Since this issue is so big, I propose that we women force the government and those sponsoring bills to allow employers to instruct the health insurance companies they use to provide benefits to their employees to not pay for birth control for women, to also prevent those same companies from paying for Viagra for men.
And, while we are at it - STOP GIVING PRISONERS VIAGRA PAID FOR BY MY TAX DOLLARS!
I call for a boycott of all the companies who have pulled their ads from Limbaugh's show.
knock yourself out vick - there are more people with "progressive attitudes" than rightwingnutreligionazis. That FACT will be made VERY apparent in November when the GOTP gets thrown under the BUS
since you set up the account in the last 2 days, who are you a RE-REG of anyway?
Just found this on the Proflowers website....no wonder they won't drop their ads, they are actually having a special for Rush supporters! This company does not support women...they need to go!
ProFlowers Rush Limbaugh Codes, Coupons, & Discounts
For all you Rush Limbaugh listeners out there: use your radio code by clicking the microphone and entering your code. But - if you don’t remember the specific offer named on the show, you can still save up to 20% by using the offers listed below on this page! Just click on one of the offers, and your discount will be applied at checkout – no code required. Because you are visiting the official ProFlowers site, we guarantee the success of our offers. Send gorgeous fresh cut flowers, arrangements, & other bouquets and gifts.
Wow, Cathy, I didn't know that Pro flowers were so supportive of blind and misogynistic men. That is sad. I will never order from them. My Mom used to work for them, and the hours and practices that they held were mean to their workers anyway. They would give them hours that were so crazy, they didn't have a good schedule at all, working at hours during the middle of the night, and in early morning, etc. so they never got more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time.
He has now lost 7 sponsors including Pro Flowers... There is a list on msn homepage article on who have pulled their ads from his show.
Ed you're such a liar... lol. So when do we start a nationwide boycott of Rachael Maddows sponsors for her lies?