Don't know if you noticed. Know who the big loser here is? Carbonite, the sponsor with the Cream-O-Wheat spine who threw Rush under the bus. Their stock is off more than 20% since dumping the Limbaugh show.
It should be noted that Carbonite wasn't the only stock to slide on Tuesday,
all markets were
down significantly at the close.
Comparing Fluke to Hill is a stretch. To begin with, Anita Hill was an attorney, admitted to the bar. She worked for Clarence Thomas, who'd been nominated to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Hill could hardly have been called a liberal, having quite a pedigree; a distinguished education and having worked for Thomas, who was at the time of his nomination the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. It was Clarence Thomas who played the victim in hearings before the Senate Confirmation Committee when he used the "high tech lynching" line to challenge his critics.
Fluke is a law student. There's no "he said/she said" in her case. There is only hard, factual evidence, that being Limbaugh's statements about Fluke and
acknowledging that he made those comments in two successive shows. Millions of listeners heard those comments and they were recorded by some. Smoking gun.
Limbaugh at first apologized (lamely.) Then Monday, he offered further apologies on three occasions in one show. He admitted using the words "slut" and "prostitute. Said Rush, “I chose the wrong words… my choice of words was not the best… I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.” You wonder if Romney (he of Bain-Clear Channel-Premier) called Rush and had a "come to Jesus" conversation with him.
El Rushbo also claimed Fluke must be having plentiful sex. Limbaugh commanded Fluke to post the encounters he envisioned her having on the Internet because
he wanted to see them. That may have been the most egregious comment, not only because of what was said, but what was implied. Imagine Rush charging
your daughter with having constant sex and ordering
her to post videos on the 'net. Who the frack is this guy?!
Millions of listeners heard Limbaugh's words and yet, while democrats and republicans, liberals and conservatives denounced Limbaugh, some people for whatever reason, took issue with Fluke and declared Limbaugh the victim of "the liberal media." Bizarro World.
An estimated 25+ companies have cancelled active flights, future flights or proposed flights on Limbaugh's show. To some, a client who discontinues sponsorship may seem spineless; to others, it's a statement of ethics and purpose. If the sponsor knows that cancelling commercials may result in a backlash, cancellation might even be considered noble.
I'd venture this will be more than a speed bump or pothole for Rush. There are millions of people who've said "enough is enough," and many of those are true Eisenhower Conservatives who feel the Republican party has been hi-jacked and so firmly held hostage by the far right that Nixon and St. Ronald wouldn't recognize it.
Defenders of Limbaugh might want to consider how they might respond if Limbaugh called their wives, girlfriends or daughters a "slut" or "prostitute." To small market operators, how would local clients respond if a celebrated local talker called an average citizen, say a woman from Livonia or Bergen, a "slut" and "prostitute?" Apologies would no doubt be plentiful and very likely more than a few local clients would walk away from the station. Would that too be a bump in the road?
Now comes the question of Fluke suing Limbaugh for slander. I am not an attorney, nor have I played one on TV, radio, message boards or my high school play, "To Kill A Mockingbird." Fluke has every right to sue Limbaugh, as would you or I, if our character and reputation were defamed. Fluke isn't a celebrity. She's a private citizen. Celebrities can be ridiculed without claim to slander, but only to an extent. There are lines that cannot be crossed.
Apologies by the perpetrator can help side-step a lawsuit, but even three may not mitigate the damage done to Fluke. In fact, some would say the apologies reinforce her standing should she sue Limbaugh. Some attorneys (a few of them genuine conservatives) have suggested that Fluke
should sue Limbaugh for two reasons. One, they're sick and tired of good Republicans and a large measure of the party being forced to cow-tow to a guy who never graduated from even a two year college. Second, if nothing more, they'd like to put him through the grueling process of being deposed by a competent, aggressive attorney. (We can only hope Gloria Allred is too busy with her many other clients.) I'm told depositions are sometimes more grueling than trials. Such an action, more than judgment for punitive damages, would be justice served, especially if Fluke's parents are permitted to sit in on the deposition. I am told in most cases, such a sitting isn't permitted.
Three words, Mr. Limbaugh: "Squirm baby, squirm."
Nothing like whacking a hornet's nest first thing in the morning!