Rush, We Hardly Knew Ye

Even though I am a card-carrying Liberal Democrat, and proud of it, I have always made it a point to tune in to Rush Limbaugh for a few minutes each week.  Just to hear what the "other side" is ranting about. 

Of course, sometimes he makes me so angry, especially when he makes up ridiculous lies about the President, Democrats, and accomplished women whom he constantly calls "FemiNazis," that I have to switch to WHYY or KYW for relief.  But I must confess to having enjoyed the overwhelming criticism of Limbaugh which has come in the wake of his atrocious attacks on a young female law student who happened to have quietly testified on the need for health care coverage to include contraception for women.  Not that the all-male Republican panel allowed a single woman to testify on birth control.  Perish the thought. 

But the Democrats held their own hearing, inviting women to testify, after the Republicans shut them out of the process.  And Sandra Fluke bravely went before television cameras to explain that a number of women need birth control pills to control some other medical condition, and not for contraceptive reasons.

I checked with some physican friends, and Sandra was absolutely correct.  And take out your copy of The Handmaid's Tale, the futuristic novel which saw a theocracy in place of America, consigning women to one of two roles: wife or handmaid (sex slave).  Neither one had any rights whatsoever.

Horrible thought, using women as either maids or handmaids, right?  But that must have been what the Republicans had in mind when they lined upl their anti-birth control speakers.

So Rush has now lost about 50 sponsors - only some of them have withdrawn "temporarily."  So they probably plan to come back and reach the now 14 million listeners, down from 20 million, after the smoke clears.  If it ever does.

How does a Rush Limbaugh, who was nailed for illegal filling of prescriptions, and who is on his fourth wife, become a pillar of morality in our society?  Well, look at all the crooks like Oliver North and the Watergate guys who ended up making a fortune as radio talk-show hosts after serving time in jail.

American believes in second chances - for select folks.  I, however, would not give Rush Limbaugh a second chance to use the air waves to destroy someone.  Let's hope his sponsors feel the same way.