So it turns out that Rush Limbaugh is upset about the cretinous San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, or rather he's not so much upset with Filner as he's upset that he thinks Filner is getting away with something that Rush couldn't, or … something? It's not clear. Rush
is certain, however, that like all other news that happens on the planet this event merely underscores how put-upon Rush Limbaugh is and how everyone is always mean to him for no reason. Transcript, via
ProgLegs:
So everybody's trying to sweep it under the—this guy coulda probably called 'em sluts and nothing woulda happened to him. Ahem. We have 30 seconds to decide whether we want to let that go or cancel that out. We're gonna let that one go. Staff approves of that one, fine and dandy, it's there. […]
You compare this, this is actual abuse, this is actual discrimination, textbook discrimination, textbook abuse. And there is not one reaction of note anywhere. And you compare that to the just out of control, nonsensical reaction to a word that was accidentally used and apologized for, and I tell you, it is stunning."
Rush is talking about the multiple days when he obsessed over the likely sexual proclivities and motivations of Sandra Fluke, a woman who had the temerity to testify in front of a congressional panel as to why providing contraceptives coverage in health insurance plans might be a pretty damn good idea after all. The only lesson he has apparently taken from the incident is that it is wrong to call someone a "slut" on the radio, but that the word was "accidentally used" by someone using his mouth and his staff were big jerk faces for not bleeping it out but it was "apologized for" by someone who may or may not have been him so that should have been the end of that.
When he first "apologized" for muttering that one word in his otherwise days-long outburst of frothing rage over an American citizen saying things he did not like, Jed put together a little clip of just some of the smears he directed at her, seen above. Whether it counts as "textbook abuse" is something to be decided by the reader. Rush Limbaugh's abilities to see himself as the victim of every situation, however, is truly impressive—he's definitely got the conservative id captured, that one. If I did something wrong, it's not my fault; if you complain about it, it's because there is a worldwide conspiracy against me; if anyone else does anything wrong, it proves at I am awesome in comparison. Yes, yes. It's all about you.
I'm not sure I see where he's seeing a double standard, though. I think Filner is a sleaze who dose not deserve office and he should resign; I think Rush Limbaugh has long been a sleaze who does not deserve to make millions of dollars as the main cog in the conservative crap machine. Nevertheless, they both retain their jobs, a demonstration of just how low our standards for political figures are and just how rotten you can be and still manage, just barely, to get away with it.