President Obama calls Sandra Fluke

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Earlier this afternoon, Sandra Fluke received a personal phone call from President Obama, two days after she was called a "slut" on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. Ms Fluke attends the prestigious Georgetown University (a Jesuit school) and its president released earlier today a letter of support for Ms. Fluke, strongly critical of Mr. Limbaugh's comments, calling them "vile and misogynistic." Ms. Fluke broke the news about her call from the President during an interview on Andrea Mitchell's show. Fluke was the woman who was to testify before the Republican House Committee hearing but was denied by Darryl Issa, who instead had an all male panel testify on the subject of birth control and freedom of religion. A week later, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi held a non-binding hearing and asked Ms. Fluke to appear. Rush Limbaugh went on the offensive on his radio show and "...demanded that Fluke release tapes of her having sex in exchange for the contraception that she argued should be covered by employers." Fluke said the President's phone call was completely unexpected and added "What was really personal for me was that he said to tell my parents that they should be proud. And that meant a lot because Rush Limbaugh questioned whether or not my family would be proud of me. So I just appreciated that very much."

Joe Scarborough, a former conservative Republican member of the United States House of Representatives stated in an interview, he's had several conversations with what he described as "fire breathing conservatives" going into panic mode over the recent news cycles painting Republicans as opposed to women's rights and birth control when instead they are allowing President Obama off the hook, and thinks the election will be lost because of the focus on issues that don't matter, and were settled years ago.

It seems that the some in the Republican party are so intent on pushing it more to the right, at the expense of moderate and women voters, the chances of winning the Senate back (Olympia Snowe's retirement all but guarantees that her seat will go to a Democrat), or winning the White House are going to be severely crippled (this has happened already in a key state, Virginia, which has seen a significant movement by independent and women voters from Romney to President Obama because of the forced ultrasound amendment for abortions). While Rush Limbaugh doesn't speak for all conservatives obviously, he is the face for one of the largest audiences in talk radio, and the massive condemnation, he's now receiving should wake him up, or at least give him pause for making such reckless statements

Comments

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Class act.

[its-anya.livejournal.com]

Obama, what a babe.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Well, what he actually said was “What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We’re the pimps.”

Now, he absolutely went too far here. There's no question. But the implications are largely different from how it's presented in the OP, and the point that he was trying to make here gets lost in the shuffle badly enough by Limbaugh's stupidity, never mind the misstatements involved.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Bah, Limbaugh is probably crowing that he can drive the president's priorities, which is some appreciable power. It would be such a stunning move if he should apologize, but I suppose they will be ice-skating in hell first.

[muscadinegirl.livejournal.com]

Why does anyone listen to Lush Lamebrain anyway?

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Don't know, but he has one of the largest audiences in radio.

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

I unfortunately know people who still do...

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

While Rush Limbaugh doesn't speak for all conservatives obviously, he is the face for one of the largest audiences in talk radio, and the massive condemnation, he's now receiving should wake him up, or at least give him pause for making such reckless statements.

Thank you for one of the most balanced and neutral statements regarding Limbaugh that I've seen in liek... ever. Truly.

Makes me want to actually discuss the issue instead of the bombast.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

I appreciate that! Thanks so much! ;)

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I think Republicans should listen to Joe Scarborough, if they know what's good for them.
They are seriously shooting themselves in the foot with these efforts, while they could get somewhere with moderates and indies
on other issues.

As for Obama's action in reg. to Sandra Fluke. Now that sort of thing just works, positive, smart and wonderful for the image of the party.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

One conservative on Twitter put it in a way that makes complete sense, and I''m paraphrasing because I can't find the tweet, but if the story is about contraception and sex, the right loses. If it's about bad mandates, the right wins. Limbaugh is playing right into the hands of the left wing point of view on what's really an issue about religious freedom and the role of government, and he should be smarter than that, but it's probably more realistic that he truly doesn't care.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

President infringes on religious freedom, so, clearly, we need to talk about what names a radio host calls people.

I hope Rush just had one of *these moments*

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

The most famous incident in the hearings was an exchange between McCarthy and the army's chief legal representative, Joseph Nye Welch. On June 9, the 30th day of the hearings, Welch challenged Roy Cohn to provide U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Jr. with McCarthy's list of 130 Communists or subversives in defense plants "before the sun goes down". McCarthy stepped in and said that if Welch was so concerned about persons aiding the Communist Party, he should check on a man in his Boston law office named Fred Fisher, who had once belonged to the National Lawyers Guild, which Brownell had called "the legal mouthpiece of the Communist Party".[82] In an impassioned defense of Fisher that some have suggested he had prepared in advance and had hoped not to have to make,[83] Welch responded, "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness ..." When McCarthy resumed his attack, Welch interrupted him: "Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" When McCarthy once again persisted, Welch cut him off and demanded the chairman "call the next witness". At that point, the gallery erupted in applause and a recess was called.

[chron-job.livejournal.com]

The religious right is the only significant access that Republicans have to the working class. They will continue to pander to them in ways that seem self destructive, because loosing them would mean revealing that they are merely the business interest party; and that will, in the long run, hurt them more.

[404.livejournal.com]

Average three year cost to go to Georgetown Law: over 60k

Three years of contraception according to Ms. Fluke: 3k

She says working one summer will pay for her whole three years of contraception.

I don't see how she is hurting and is asking the government to step in.

[paft.livejournal.com]

She isn't talking about herself.

Did you even listen to her testimony? And students have other bills to pay you know.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

LOL

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

Women's health issues. The issue liberal groups pretend to care about while not really caring.

A million women can die today in Africa and no one bats an eye but because Jane L Smith can't get an abortion at 8 months into a pregnancy the world must take heed.

There should not be any mandate for birth control from any insurance companies. Birth control for the purposes of controlling birth isn't a health care issue.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Lulzy, but thanks anyway.

[weswilson]

Let's be clear about this entire issue.

Insurance is required by law to carry cover certain procedures. Many of these could be considered offensive or disgusting or a unacceptable... thing like AIDS medication, treatment for sexually transmitted disease, treatment for drug addiction, and a host of other questionable practices. No religious person is forced to use those services, and the money going into the insurance pools is diluted by thousands and thousands and thousands of other contributors.

Health care companies do not segregate the money that comes in, so even if your employees are forbidden contraception, your money is bundled with other companies who do. Complaining that your money is spent on these services is like complaining that your Outback bill is spent on cocaine... only in that case, it likely is.

Religious affiliated institutions are employers before they are churches. As employers, they will be required to provide a particular level of health care coverage. The money that goes into that insurance plan is the employee's, not the employer's. They do not have the right to dictate the morality of how that money is spent. And as we've already discussed, corporate insurers are not going to insulate dollars from flowing within their coffers, so the argument that it is forcing employees to pay for something they will not use is highly fallacious.

People in insurance pools pay for the births of children from unprotected sex all the time. The idea that the opposite is a desecration of religious values is preposterous.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

</discussion>

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

So why's Obama need to campaign again? He should let the GOP call gays pieces of Satan, women sluts and calling for loads of amateur porn, that fat fascist fuck Arpaio re-animate the shuffling zombie of Birtherism, and let them hoist themselves by their own petard.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

It is a part of Obama's campaign. It's Clinton's impeachment all over again. We started with legitimate question of law and ended up with discussing sex. No wonder George Stephanopoulos brought up this question first at GOP debate way before the whole issue came up.

[thies.livejournal.com]

If it's so important to them they can move to the Vatican City and live governed solely by Christian law.

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

What Limbaugh said was inexcusable, but is Obama going to make a phone call to everyone everytime someone gets their feelings hurt by a Conservative? Not for nothing, but I bet Brian Terry's family would appreciate a phone call from Obama, especially if it meant they could get some answers.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Who the Hell is Bryan Terry and why should anyone care?

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

I didn't read the massive amount of comments, so this might have been mentioned already.

Reddit is going after Rush's advertisers. So far, five are out:

http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/qeqx3/reddit_i_believe_it_is_time_to_organize_lets_take/

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Wasn't someone saying a little while ago how this doesn't matter?

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Newsflash: Birth control can be used for something other than sex. Shocking, I know.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Someone suggested Rush doesn't know how birth control works (based on his phrasing suggesting that you need more pills the more you have sex, which is pretty horrific, considering Rush's own VAST personal experience with pharmaceuticals WINK WINK).

[allhatnocattle.livejournal.com]

It seems everyone from Rush to everyone commenting here has the opinion that being a prostitute is a bad thing. Whatever happened to good old American Christian values? Everyone pays for sex in one way or another... most of us do so willingly.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

You're such a horrible human be.....
...oh wait. This actually makes sense.

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

All the ridiculousness of the contraceptive debate aside, I think it was important to mention, as the Georgetown University president has, that even if you do not agree with the position you don't have to attack the person. If you can't bring anything to the table in opposition to her position, then calling her a "slut" only confirms it. To me it proves that Rush has no substance, it proves that he is nothing but a shock jock in an age when people are tired of shock jocks.

[404.livejournal.com]

I am actually proud that an OP that has generated more than 600 replies has not ended up with one or more people being either carded or banned!

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

All the cards were occupied elsewhere (http://www.thosefunnypictures.com/resize.php?file=pictures/8970/Squirrels-Playing-Cards.jpg).