President Obama Slams Rush Limbaugh, Compares Sandra Fluke to his Daughters
Declining to comment on advertisers, Obama condemns the radio host: "The remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse"
Rush Limbaugh rarely has anything nice to say about President Obama, and on Tuesday, the commander in chief served the conservative firebrand with a firm rebuke.
Having already reached out last week to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student that Limbaugh called a "slut" and a "prostitute" for wanting to testify on behalf of insurance-covered birth control, the President called out the host for using unacceptable language and intimidating young women.
"All good folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse," he said. "And you know, the reason I called Ms. Fluke is because I thought about my daughters, and one of the things I want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about, even ones I may not agree with them on. I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way.”
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Obama continued with the analogy, as well as with condemning Limbaugh.
"I do not want them attacked or called horrible names because they are being good citizens, and I wanted Sandra to know that I thought her parents should be proud of her," he said, "and that we want to send a message to all of our young people that being part of a democracy involves argument and disagreements and debate, and we want you to be engaged, and there’s a way to do it that doesn’t involve you being demeaned and insulted, particularly when you are a private citizen.”
While Limbaugh apologized -- perhaps nominally -- for the remarks on Saturday, the story has continued through the early part of this week thanks to the mass advertiser exodus from his show. He has also lost two syndicated stations.
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