Fiorina: Rush Limbaugh's comments about student "insulting," "incendiary"
California Republican Carly Fiorina said Friday it is "insulting" for radio host Rush Limbaugh to call a student activist a "slut" and "prostitute" because she is pushing for employers to pay for contraception.
"That language is insulting in my opinion," said Fiorina, who launched an unsuccessful Senate bid against longtime California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer in 2010, on "CBS This Morning."
"It's incendiary and most of all, it's a distraction. It's a distraction from what are very real and important issues," the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard said.
At least one advertiser, The Sleep Train, has pulled its advertising from Limbaugh's radio show as a result of his comments.
"We don't condone negative comments directed toward any group. In response, we are currently pulling our ads from Rush with Rush Limbaugh," the mattress retailer said via Twitter.
Limbaugh has come under fire in recent days for comments he made Wednesday about Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law School student who had hoped to testify earlier this month in a House oversight committee hearing on the White House contraception rule.
Fluke, a women's health activist who says her friend lost an ovary due to lack of contraceptive care, was turned away from the hearing by Republican leadership, but told her story in a mock congressional hearing later in the month. In her testimony, Fluke largely discussed the high cost of contraception and the important medical benefits it can offer women.
Limbaugh on Wednesday called Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" on his radio show. He doubled down on the comments Thursday, saying he thought it was "hilarious" that the "left has been thrown into an outright conniption fit" as a result of the remarks.
"The reaction that they are having to what I said yesterday about Susan Fluke -- or Sandra Fluke, whatever her name is -- the Georgetown student who went before a congressional committee and said she's having so much sex, she's going broke buying contraceptives and wants us to buy them," Limbaugh said on his show. "I said, 'Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You'd call 'em a slut, a prostitute or whatever.'"
Fluke, in her testimony, was making a larger point about her belief in the importance of providing women with free contraception, and stressed the "vital medical service" it provides to women in addition to birth control.
After Democrats urged House Speaker John Boehner to repudiate Limbaugh's remarks on Thursday, his spokesman released a short statement Friday calling Limbaugh's language "inappropriate." But the spokesman suggested Democrats were attempting to capitalize on the issue monetarily.
"The speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel in the statement.
On Thursday, Boehner had declined to comment on Limbaugh's remarks.
Fiorina, who opposes the White House rule on contraception, said she thought Limbaugh's remarks were "completely distracting."
"You know, the Senate had an important vote yesterday. There are some who are calling this a vote on a woman's right to choose and a woman's access to contraception. I think that's fundamentally backwards," Fiorina said. "This is a vote about protecting the conscience clause, which used to have broad bipartisan support. That's a hugely important issue in this country. So those kinds of comments are completely distracting."
In an interview with NBC on Friday, Fluke said she was "stunned" and "outraged" by Limbaugh's comments.
"I think my reaction was the reaction a lot of women have had historically when they've been called these types of names: Initially to be stunned by it, and then to quickly feel outraged and very upset," she said.
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I hate that the far right and the far left cannot really even talk to each other, at least as portrayed by the media. It's just attack, attack, attack. Ms. Fluke never made comments about her sexual life and even spoke of one of her friends that needs birth control for reasons far from sex all together; for a legit medical reason. You are free to say your opinion, and in your position, share it with a large number of people. You do have a lot of what I believe to be valid concerns and ideas and I have the same ones, along with some others. So many of your points get lost when you throw in these extra so called facts, that the discussion turns to hateful attacks and away from idea generating conversation. You create fear, not debate.
With most birth controls, you don't need more or less based on how much or little sex you are having. I can have sex 500 times in a month or not even once and I'm still just popping one pill a day. You think it "absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress." You give your listeners a good sound bite and make them believe that's what her statement was all about, completely ignoring the medical issues she addressed. If you believe taxpayers shouldn't pay for birth control because people have to have "personal responsibility and accountability," then are you also saying that smokers should not have lung cancer treatments covered or anyone that's obese should not have their high blood pressure or Type II Diabetes medications covered? You pose a great question, "What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit?"
I visited your Facebook page and tried to engage in conversation with your supporters. People were writing far more hateful and evil things than I ever could have. I violated no comment policy yet I was banned from your page and all of my questions deleted. I attempted to find out why they had their beliefs and engaged in a healthy debate about those beliefs and issues. Which was quite challenging, I must say since most comments were just repeating your sound bites regarding Ms. Fluke having so much sex that could not afford her birth control anymore. Once I finally engaged a few of your supporters in what we agreed was a healthy debate, I was deleted and banned. You have your free speech to spread your opinions, sir, so where might I ask is mine? One of your supporters friended me on Facebook to ask where I went and he was disgusted at your team's actions. He still defended you, but he thought I was one of the more rational people posting and I was doing what I could to keep liberal and conservative attacks at bay to focus on a healthy debate. When someone who has supported you for years defends you to his liberal daughter, to me, and I'm sure many others, is even concerned that I was denied the right to free speech, I think you crossed a line someone in your position shouldn't.
In the post on your page that I was commenting on you asked a few questions, that at the time I was posting, I wasn't even addressing. I'd like to now.
"What can I do to the women of America?...Do I have the power to regulate their behavior? I do not...Is there one bit of freedom that I can deny them?...They want to blame me as being the person they should fear, when in fact the people doing all these things I just said I have no power to do, the Democrat Party is doing. That's who everybody's afraid of in this country."
What can you do to the women of America? You can poison your listeners (an opinion I'm entitled to) with your opinions that you seem to portray as fact and you can silence a fellow citizen from engaging your supporters in a debate about issues and beliefs so that I cannot even understand where they are coming from, nor do they get the chance to learn that of me. You do not have the power to raise my taxes, but you do have to power to inform and sway millions of voters. You play them like a puppet master, in my opinion, sir. You may not have "the power to look into their personal lives and leak information to the media", but you sure are leaking your opinions and do your best to have others believe them to be fact. Both liberals and conservative media in this country are doing this, you are not alone.
You want a country where you have the right to spread your opinion. I am asking for the right to ask questions and engage in a debate about ideas and beliefs, and occasionally even a fact or two. You, sir, given your position, have that right, give me mine back.
The other leading repubs who have made statements (Palin, where are you?)are obviously afraid of this bag of vomit and give milk-toast treatment to the incident.
http://www.whatthefolly.com/2012/02/23/transcript-sandra-fluke-testifies-on-why-women-should-be-allowed-access-to-contraception-and-reproductive-health-care/
If you read it, you will see there is no reference to anything sexual whatsoever, much less any indication of this woman lacking morality in any way.
Regardless of your party affiliation, or lack thereos, if you condone Limbaugh's sexist and slanderous attack on this woman, you prove to any and all all that you support baseless attacks on others and are a sexist as well.
The message: sexism makes one a good repub.