As Reported by Associated Press

 

The back story..
On February 16, 2012, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held a hearing on infringement of religious liberty and contraceptive mandates, entitled “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?”. This hearing was seen as one concerning religious freedoms by Republican members and one concerning Women’s health by Democratic members.
Sandra Kay Fluke, a law student and woman’s rights activist enrolled at Georgetown University Law Center testified before Democratic members of the House of Representatives on why she believed free contraception is generally essential. She argued in favor of requiring all private insurance plans to cover contraception coverage, even religious institutions. She argued that over the three years as a law student, birth control could cost $3,000 in some cases. She continued that the lack of free contraception would induce many low income students to go without contraceptives and that women’s free health clinics cannot meet the need.

She then discussed the consequence of such policies, anecdotally citing a friend with poly cystic ovary syndrome. While the condition was “covered by Georgetown insurance”, getting treatment was difficult because of the policy. According to Fluke, her friend was denied coverage, even with a verified condition from her doctor. She also added that this is not a rare event for women with these medical conditions under insurance plans that did not coverage contraception. She then stated that she wanted equal treatment for women’s health issues and did not see the issue as being against the Catholic Church.

On February 29, 2012, in rebuttal to Fluke’s testimony, conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh berated Fluke and the women of Georgetown University using misogynistic slurs for three days on his radio show. This resulted in widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum including the president and a loss of some advertising support. Three days later, after several sponsors had deserted his show, Limbaugh apologized. He later attacked his critics, saying “I acted too much like the leftists who despise me. I descended to their level, using names and exaggerations. It’s what we’ve come to expect from them, but it’s way beneath me.” His apology itself has been criticized and rejected by Fluke as well as some commentators, politicians and businesses who have continued to pull their advertisements.

Now, fast forward almost a week later and Rush Limbaugh’s mouth is taking a bite out of his wallet.

Nine advertisers and a radio station in Hawaii dropped his show after he called a law student a “slut” and a “prostitute.”

One of the most popular radio shows in the country on Monday lost advertisers including AOL Inc. and Tax Resolution Services Co.

The tax firm helps people who have disputes with the IRS. It spends some $9 million a year on radio advertising, according to ratings firm Nielsen, and its website carries endorsement from conservative talk radio personalities Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, as well as Limbaugh himself.
“You don’t need to fight this fight alone,” Limbaugh is quoted as saying on the Tax Resolution site. His endorsement was still up on Tax Resolution’s site on Monday afternoon.

CEO Michael Rozbruch said the statement about dropping Limbaugh was easily issued — but changing the website will require a meeting later in the week.

Limbaugh apologized over the weekend for his comments about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke after she testified to congressional Democrats that her Jesuit college’s health plan should cover her birth control.

KPUA, an AM station in Hilo, Hawaii, said it is dropping Limbaugh’s show immediately.

The statement by station owner New West said the Limbaugh incident “crossed a line of decency” and didn’t live up to its standards.

“We are strong believers in the first amendment and have recognized Mr. Limbaugh’s right to express opinions that often times differ from our own, but it has never been our goal to allow our station to be used for personal attacks and intolerance,” station owner New West said.

Limbaugh joked on Monday that he got a busy signal when he called his show because of the advertisers who are abandoning it.

Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks Inc. hosts Limbaugh’s show. His on-air contract runs through 2016.

Premiere Radio said in a statement Monday that it respects Limbaugh’s right to express his opinions, and said that “in an attempt at absurdist humor to illustrate his political point, Mr. Limbaugh used words that unfortunately distracted from the message he was trying to convey.”

The company said Limbaugh did the right thing by “expressing regret for his choice of words and offering his sincere and heartfelt apology to Ms. Fluke.”

Fluke said Monday that Limbaugh’s apology changes nothing and that Americans have to decide whether to support companies that continue to advertise on his program.

The advertisers that have backed away from Limbaugh’s program represent a broad range of industries, from technology to financial services to retailers.

AOL, an Internet portal that runs the TechCrunch blog and the Huffington Post, said Monday that Limbaugh’s comments “are not in line with our values.”

Other companies that say they have left the show include flower delivery service ProFlowers, mortgage lender Quicken Loans, the maker of Sleep Number beds, mattress retailer Sleep Train, software maker Citrix Systems Inc., online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company LegalZoom.

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment operates more than 850 radio stations in the U.S., and Premiere says it’s the largest radio content provider in the country, syndicating programs to more than 5,000 affiliate stations.

Clear Channel has declined to say how much revenue it stands to lose from advertiser defections. Its parent company was taken private in 2008.

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