Rush Limbaugh apologises over ‘slut’ slur

Now this does not happen often – so listen carefully. Rush Limbaugh, the man to whom contrition and moderation might as well be in an alien tongue, has said sorry, for grossly insulting a young law student who had testified about birth control on Capitol Hill.

The incident sparked a political firestorm, after Limbaugh branded Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” who was essentially asking to be paid to have sex, after she argued that health insurance coverage should include free access to contraceptives.

Everyone, from President Obama to a slew of senior Republicans, roundly condemned his misogynistic diatribe, and at least nine companies announced they were pulling their advertisements from his radio show.

I sincerely apologise to Ms Fluke for the insulting word choices. Rush Limbaugh

Last night, Limbaugh finally bowed to the pressure, issuing an apology on his website: “My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir”, he wrote. “I sincerely apologise to Ms Fluke for the insulting word choices.”

He claimed he had always tried to illustrate “the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week”. Except in this case, nobody was laughing.

Telling it like it is

Let us just remind ourselves what Fluke actually said in her testimony: she talked about students who ran health risks because they could not afford to pay for their own birth control – nothing to do with their sexual proclivities.

And as MSNBC host Rachel Maddow pointed out, Limbaugh did not seem to understand how birth control even works. Women do not take the pill every time they have sex, she said, it’s a daily dose. “You’re bad at this, Rush Limbaugh! You don’t even understand how babies are made, let alone how people can have sex without making a baby… you biologically don’t get it.”

It was not all humble pie, of course. Limbaugh defended his position on the controversial birth control debate. “I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress,” he wrote, adding that he did not think it should have “reached presidential level.” Is Limbaugh is implying that Congress should not discuss issues like abortion or same-sex marriage either?

Republicans’ women problem

What this whole sorry saga does reveal is a huge political problem for the wider Republican Party, in an election which is rapidly becoming dominated by a social conservative agenda, hurling all sorts of moral issues into the mix. It is an agenda, oft dubbed the Republicans’ war on women, which is driving large numbers of female voters away.

Take free contraception coverage, the issue Ms Fluke was testifying about, and which the GOP is intent on repealing. The latest poll, by CBS and the New York Times, shows 72 per cent of women voters think insurance companies should provide it. Mess with that kind of landslide, at your peril.

You’re bad at this, Rush Limbaugh… you biologically don’t get it. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC host

It does not stop there. Rick Santorum, declaring birth control is harmful to women. Efforts in a series of GOP-run states to restrict abortion laws, including South Dakota, where they are considering a Republican backed clause expanding the definition of “justifiable homicide” that would, in theory, legalise the murder of a doctor who performs abortions, on the grounds that it would prevent harm to a foetus.

And while the GOP aproved a House measure to end all federal funding for the Planned Parenthood organisation, whose health centres are used by around 3 million women every year, a Republican Congressman from Indiana is proposing a spending bill to provide birth control for wild horses.

For the Democrats, it is a source of easy political capital. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee emailed supporters, urging them to “Stand strong against Rush Limbaugh” by donating to party funds. Women voters, especially independent ones, are flocking to Obama’s side. The kind of women voters who decide elections.

In search of civility

None of this sorry saga reflects well on the current political scene, in a country where vast numbers of Americans are already frustrated by constant political gridlock. The boss of one firm which pulled its sponsorship from Limbaugh’s show this week, Carbonite’s CEO David Friend, has announced he is keeping his sponsorship well away, despite the apology. “We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilised political discourse.”

In 2012, however, there is a national politics overwhelmed by a confusion of religion, morality and absurdity: not just Limbaugh’s “three hours a day, five days a week”, but around the clock. Straightforward political discourse would be a start. Civility? At this moment, in this bitterly fought election battle: a distant dream.

Felicity Spector writes on US politics for Channel 4 News