PJ: Limbaugh attacked Ms. Fluke's character 46 times over three days*. He is criticized for using the words 'slut' and 'prostitute' but his personal attacks against this young woman go much further. The uproar isn't about a word, it is about a personal attack against a young woman who was excercising her right to free speech.
Now Ms. Palin is defending Mr. Limbaugh because of his right to free speech. She is also attacking (as ususal) 'the left' for getting, in her opinion, a free ride for similar abuses. Let's look at one instance in which Mrs. Palin has personal knowledge: When David Letterman told an off-color joke about one of Mrs. Palin's daughters, she was upset and her fans raised the roof with their disapproval, demanding that the network fire Mr. Letterman and calling upon sponsors to boycott his show. Mr. Letterman subsequently apologized on air**.
It is true that many in the political media have used derogatory terms to make their point or to get a laugh. Many have suffered suspensions for doing so. But to compare the use of a word to Mr. Limbaugh's campaign to vilify an individual goes beyond the principals of free speech that Mrs. Palin defends...and she should know better than to minimize the impact of Mr. Limbaugh's tactics.
* http://mediamatters.org/research/201203050022
** http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/letterman-apologizes-again-to-governor-palin-and-her-family/
Toronto Sun
Sarah Palin defends Rush Limbaugh
Says criticism 'the definition of hypocrisy'
Tim Molloy, Reuters
LOS ANGELES - Talk about a game changer — or at least a subject change: Sarah Palin says it’s the ”definition of hypocrisy” that Rush Limbaugh was pressured to apologize for calling a law student a “slut,” because “leftist radicals” are never made to apologize for offensive remarks.
Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke drew Limbaugh’s ire by testifying before Congressional Democrats about her belief that private insurance companies should pay for birth control. Advertisers and stations have dropped Limbaugh’s show despite his apology.
Speaking on CNN on Tuesday about the Super Tuesday primaries, Palin said he was exercising his freedom of speech.
“I think the definition of hypocrisy is for Rush Limbaugh to have been called out, forced to apologize and retract what it is that he said in exercising his First Amendment rights, and never is that — the same applied to the leftist radicals who say such horrible things about the handicapped, about women, about the defenseless,” Palin said.
She did not specify which “leftist radicals” had made offensive comments about the handicapped, women, or the defenseless. Palin is the mother of a special needs child, and also the subject of the HBO docudrama “Game Change,” which premieres Saturday.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/03/07/sarah-palin-defends-rush-limbaugh
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