"Do the Right Thing
"By ANDREW ROSENTHAL
"Intolerance
and character assassination are so ubiquitous in political discourse
that it’s important to take note when someone calls out bad behavior,
withstands it, or bothers to apologize for it.
*****
"The next person who deserves a bit of positive attention is Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student.
"At a Congressional hearing in mid-February on the Obama administration’s new contraception rules, Ms. Fluke testified that birth control can cost women up to $3,000 over the course of law school. She also told the House Oversight Committee about a friend who was prescribed birth control pills as part of her cancer treatment (a common occurrence) but had to buy them herself because Georgetown’s health insurance did not cover it (also a common occurrence).
"She was eminently reasonable. But, this week, Rush Limbaugh attacked her repeatedly on his radio show. He twisted what Ms. Fluke said beyond recognition and claimed she was trying to get taxpayers to subsidize her sex life, which is entirely irrelevant to this conversation. Mr. Limbaugh called her a “slut” who wanted to be paid to have sex.
"(After he heard about Mr. Limbaugh’s comments, Mr. Obama called Ms. Fluke to thank her for backing his policies despite the onslaught, and to see how she was doing. I think he deserves praise, but he’s not one of the three because the effort cost him no political capital.)"
Earlier this week I expressed the idea of starting a fund to take Rush Limbaugh out for an afternoon of electric shock. Learning more details of how he twisted Ms. Fluke's testimony leads me to think a full day might be in order.
*****
"The next person who deserves a bit of positive attention is Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student.
"At a Congressional hearing in mid-February on the Obama administration’s new contraception rules, Ms. Fluke testified that birth control can cost women up to $3,000 over the course of law school. She also told the House Oversight Committee about a friend who was prescribed birth control pills as part of her cancer treatment (a common occurrence) but had to buy them herself because Georgetown’s health insurance did not cover it (also a common occurrence).
"She was eminently reasonable. But, this week, Rush Limbaugh attacked her repeatedly on his radio show. He twisted what Ms. Fluke said beyond recognition and claimed she was trying to get taxpayers to subsidize her sex life, which is entirely irrelevant to this conversation. Mr. Limbaugh called her a “slut” who wanted to be paid to have sex.
"(After he heard about Mr. Limbaugh’s comments, Mr. Obama called Ms. Fluke to thank her for backing his policies despite the onslaught, and to see how she was doing. I think he deserves praise, but he’s not one of the three because the effort cost him no political capital.)"
Earlier this week I expressed the idea of starting a fund to take Rush Limbaugh out for an afternoon of electric shock. Learning more details of how he twisted Ms. Fluke's testimony leads me to think a full day might be in order.
