Boehner calls Limbaugh remarks 'inappropriate'

House Speaker John Boehner distanced himself on Friday from Rush Limbaugh, calling the conservative radio host's words toward a women's rights advocate "inappropriate."

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, talks about a lunch meeting with President Obama to deal with rising gasoline prices, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 29, 2012.

Amid a growing media firestorm over comments Wednesday by Limbaugh toward Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law student who testified before a Democratic panel on the use of contraception, Washington's top Republicans said through a spokesman that Limbaugh was wrong.

"The speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement.

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The comment refers to Democratic fundraising efforts related to Limbaugh's comments, in which he called Fluke a "slut." Fluke had been asked to testify about the policy of Georgetown University, a Catholic college, toward covering contraception for students. Her testimony came amid a controversy in Washington in recent weeks regarding the extent to which religious institutions should be required to cover contraceptive services as part of their insurance policies, despite moral objectives to contraception.

"What does it say about the college co-ed [Sandra] Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex," Limbaugh said on his show. "What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute."

His comments quickly became political fodder for House Democrats, whose leader, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, decried Limbaugh's comments as "outside the circle of civilized discussion and that unmask the strong disrespect for women held by some in this country." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee additionally sought donations as a result of the outrage.

"I think my reaction was the reaction that a lot of women have had when, historically, they've been called these types of names and that really I think ... and that was initially, to be stunned by it, but then to quickly feel outraged and very upset by it," Fluke said about Limbaugh's remarks Friday on the TODAY show.

Sandra Fluke, the birth control activist called a "slut" and "prostitute" by conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, talks to TODAY's Matt Lauer about Limbaugh's comments and the failure of a GOP-sponsored amendment that would have allowed employers to opt out of providing contraception in health plans.

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mxcape21

I'm sure I made a Koolaide reference to you somewhere but I really don't remember it. You are right about the bitterness. I am extremely bitter about you left wing extremist spreading your lies and posting YOUR bigoted remarks. You can call me racist all day long if you want but it won't change the fact that you don't know me and that remark is based on YOUR politics. I intend to be on Newsvine everyday to challenge EVERYTHING you post that I think is false or misleading whether you like it or not.

    Reply#746 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 3:03 PM EST

    OK, I found it and I stand behind it. It was in response to your post

    #733

    All of you can click on that number if you would like to read it.


      #746.1 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 3:12 PM EST

      Wait a minute... You call people morons, idiots, etc., and then get all whiny about somebody going after you? Oh, and drop the crap about "false" or "misleading" - those appear to be your tactics, and it would not take much research on these pages to uncover that. Enough with the righteous indignation...

        #746.2 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 8:18 AM EST

        Dummy #1

        You and your leftist friends use those words. How about showing me where I used them.

          #746.3 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 10:47 AM EST

          Rick, you are a wonder; you call me "Dummy #1" than ask where you use those words. And you have used worse. Brilliant. Can't come up with cogent arguments, so you just use vitriol.

            #746.4 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 12:43 PM EST

            No, I call you Dummy#1 A. because it is true and B. I did not want to make you a liar. I knew you couldn't find any thing. When have you come up with a cogent argument?

              #746.5 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 4:53 PM EST

              Wait - allow me to stoop to a level of discourse you might appreciate...

              "I know you are but what am I?"

              • 1 vote
              #746.6 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 5:36 PM EST
              Reply

              If you don't want to comply with ACA as a business, buy a comparable plan and get a waiver.

              If you don't want to comply with ACA as an individual, self fund your medical expenses.

              I'm tired of people whining about handouts that don't exist. Every insurance plan covers services that may never be used or that we may object to. But when you buy into a cooperative plan, it's designed to serve every member, not just you as an individual.

              Your leadership is so flustered over this because it's not an issue than can win with honesty so they're lying to you and most of you are too lazy to look at how the plan actually works. So you regurgitate whatever garbage is handed to you by AM radio and conservative blogs.

              • 2 votes
              Reply#747 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 9:03 PM EST

              Can you provide a link because I have not seen one.

                #747.1 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 10:20 PM EST

                Good response, Rick! You nailed him there!

                Of course, it would also make it appear you are not even familiar with the legislation you keep whining about, but don't let that get in the way.

                "Rick, providing talking points and obfuscation for the world!"

                  #747.2 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 8:21 AM EST

                  Left Wing Nut Job

                  So you don't understand how the birth control pills will be provided for free either. That is a great cover up.

                    #747.3 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 10:14 AM EST
                    Reply

                    If Don Imus can get fired for a racial slur about black women basketball players, then Rush should lose his show for directly calling a young woman a "slut" on national radio.

                    Time to end this idiocy. Everyone should email his employers and protest:

                    LLowryMays@clearchannel.com

                    RandallTMays@clearchannel.com

                    lisacdollinger@clearchannel.com

                    • 1 vote
                    Reply#748 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 10:41 PM EST

                    I can't wait for when the Republicans hold that first ceremony where they all line up and take turns kissing Limbaugh's ass.

                      Reply#749 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 12:08 AM EST

                      Racist bigots Who must go;

                      Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Still questioning the President's birth certificate),

                      Montana U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull (Judge passing along racist Obama emails)

                      and Rush Lamebrain (Republican party Grand Poohbah, using public airways to broadcast hate, racism and misogynistic rhetoric) all must go!

                      To all of you bitter republican followers, your party is largely a party of racist with ulterior motives, we will never allow you to turn back the clock ....Deal with it!

                      Obama, Biden 2012 - it's a reality like it or not ;)

                        Reply#750 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 12:30 AM EST

                        inappropriate? the man or the words?

                        I never willingly listen to abusive or hateful talk. When one listens to negativity, think negatively, they are programming themselves to be negative.

                        As a man thinkth... I'll like to point out, too many old sayings, wise words, have fallen out of use to be replaced by hateful speech and people thinking they are "cute" drawing crosshairs.

                        Love is the most powerful force in existence. You can move mountains with love. I once was nice to someone while living overseas. He in turn gifted me with a box load of his precious comic books. some were even fiscally valuable.

                        I have many such stories.

                        I learned, since coming home from military life this saying "If you are a blessing, you will be blessed"

                        Some people in the public eye should learn this as well because this old saying "As above so below" is also true. People will follow your example.

                        A better world is possible, but it takes ALL OF US.

                          Reply#751 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 12:58 AM EST

                          WEEK OF JUNE 4, 2006

                          LEAD STORY

                          Wheelchair-confined Richard Paey committed almost exactly the same violations of Florida prescription drug laws that radio personality Rush Limbaugh did, with a different result: Limbaugh's sentence, in May, was addiction treatment, and Paey's, in 2004, was 25 years in prison. Both illegally possessed large quantities of painkillers for personal use, which Paey defiantly argued was (and will be) necessary to relieve nearly constant pain from unsuccessful spinal surgeries after an auto accident, but which Limbaugh admitted was simply the result of addiction. (In fact, if Limbaugh complies with his plea bargain, his conviction will be erased.) Paey's sentence now rests with a state Court of Appeal. [Tampa Tribune, 2-8-06]

                            Reply#752 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 5:02 AM EST

                            You forgot to mention that Paey was convicted of drug trafficking but it is a moot point anyway as Paley has received a full pardon from the governor.

                            Paey given full pardon; Crist orders him freed today

                              Reply#753 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 10:26 AM EST

                              This is a well thought out post by a liberal that has given me a lot of flack for supposedly misdirecting the subject and making stupid posts. I though maybe the rest of you could learn at as much as I did from it. For your convenience I have included a link to the thread.

                              Left Wing Nut Job

                              Geez.

                              #728.4

                                Reply#754 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 10:54 AM EST

                                Poor Rick. Yes, everyone, please click on his link and then follow the thread upward. It will be quite informative, but probably not in the way Rick assumes. But you go for it, Rick.

                                  #754.1 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 12:48 PM EST
                                  Reply

                                  Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. He has done it again by provoking a major controversy. The pro's and con's love every minute of it. Investigative reporting is fading away in the USA. It has been replaced by commentators pandering to our divided nation of dem and rep herd intellects pointing fingers at one another, and resulting in an impotent govt. We have o'reilly, olberman, hannity, hardball madden etc. Enjoy the show.

                                    Reply#755 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 11:19 AM EST

                                    Does anyone know of a website that is kept current regarding the advertisers/sponsors for Rush?

                                    I believe that there are about seven sponsors who have pulled the plug, so we don't want to punish them, all other things being equal.

                                    I think we need a current list of sponsors (I didn't see Hillsdale College on the list above, and I know they advertise with Rush, fishing for donors.), and their contact information, as well as a list of products they produce.

                                    This should include subsidiaries and anything the sponsors make money off of. You have to know every possible way in which you can hurt a company by not purchasing its products, and with holding companies, subsidiaries, etc., the relationship between a company and the product it sells may be somewhat murky.

                                    Then, everyone needs to start chain letters indentifying this website. You can then bookmark it and every morning look at it and figure out what not to buy. If 90% of the internet users can link to this website and act cohesively, it could be very, very powerful.

                                    This is one good chance to get rid of Rush, possibly for good. You can bet the people paying him aren't going to waste three hours of airtime a day on someone who isn't bringing in any income. Actually, I should rephrase that and say that they aren't going to waste that airtime if something else could make a lot more money. We don't have to cut Rush's sponsor money to zero, all we have to do is cut it well below what someone else could almost certainly make. When his employees calculate that they could make a lot more money with someone else, he won't last too long.

                                    We need to make sure that sponsors look at an association with Rush almost certainly resulting in a signifcant loss of corporate income.

                                    This website needs to be kept up-to-date and 100% accurate so that sponsors know that if they stop sponsoring him, bad stuff will stop happening to them, and if they continue to sponsor him, the consequences will have a 99% chance of being major loss of income. For most corporate guys, a 5%-10% drop in sales is "Major". Don't think it has to be a 50% drop in sales to get their attention. Sometimes, even a few percentage points drop will cause a panic, e.g., a high overhead, low profit margin business.

                                      Reply#756 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 1:44 PM EST

                                      Rush is losing this battle...as of this morning 7 advertisers have dropped him and major pressure is on the others to jump ship. (Allstate, AOL and US Armed Forces are still onboard)

                                      In the past I too would have felt others (advertisers) would just filed the void. This time we may see Rush treated much like Mussolini just before the Italian people (who had adored him) turned on their leader and hung him on a street lamp post. Rush will not be strung up, but his pocketbook will be on fire like never before and women will never ever forget his slur... PS- Marketer's know woman tend to make the buying decisions in most households; not men. Rush has truly stepped on a marketing landmine and thus the reason House Speaker, John Boehner, distanced himself on Friday. Suddenly Palm Beach is looking like an island...

                                      • 1 vote
                                      Reply#757 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 1:51 PM EST

                                      LOL.

                                        #757.1 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 5:04 PM EST
                                        Reply

                                        The reproductive rights organization H*yas for Choice is not officially recognized by the University as its positions on abortion are in opposition to University policy, prompting the asterisk in "Hoyas". While not financially supported by the school, they are allowed to meet and table on university spaces. Maybe the Democrats will force the University to fully fund this group, after all, private institutions should have no say in how they spend their money. Individuals should have no say either. The government should set up a budget for every family and individual. None of us should ever spend a dollar unless it has been approved by the Obama administration!

                                        Something is wrong with the Obama-bots if they don't support this! Now, go buy some overprice healthcare insurance! I don't care if it's against your religion to see a doctor or go to a hospital, you still have to buy healthcare because it's the law! Next, we will pass a law to buy a Chevy Volt to help out Government Motors sales! Then, buy a house or go to jail! Fix the "housing crisis". For now on, you are only allowed to buy tickets to basketball games. Baseball games, football games, and soccer games will all be outlawed just like light bulbs!

                                          Reply#758 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 5:01 PM EST

                                          Unfortunately, Georgetown DOES offer insurance with coverage for contraceptives, just not for students - faculty and staff only. Sorry if that messes up your argument. Seems a bit discriminitory, though, doesn't it?

                                          What is Government Motors and what on earth do they have to do with Chevy or the Volt? Oh, I get it - you're using a talking point. Got it. When a real argument can't be made, refer to the script.

                                          Please refrain from the use of lies and deception to try to prove your side of things.

                                            #758.1 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 5:43 PM EST
                                            Reply

                                            A college student, and women has made Rush look like an foul-mouth ranting idiot...LOL! He must be taking a mega dose of hydrocodone to endure the humiliation...a young women bested the mighty (in his mind) Rush!

                                            I do believe this is Rush's "waterloo"....he will be gone, not soon enough, but this is the beginning of his end.

                                            • 1 vote
                                            Reply#759 - Mon Mar 5, 2012 9:28 PM EST

                                            "Don't make me pay for your birth control!" "Stop having babies you can't afford!" "Abortion is murder!"

                                            Either the far right doesn't really know how babies are made, or they really think women shouldn't be allowed to have sex.

                                              Reply#760 - Tue Mar 6, 2012 10:53 AM EST

                                              Read "rights of the colonists" by Sam Adams (1772) "the only sects which he thinks out to be, and which by all wise laws are excluded from such toleration" (religious-)," are those who teach doctrines subversive of the civil government under which they live. The Roman Catholics.are excluded by reason of such doctrines as these, that princes excommunicated may be deposed, and those that they call heretics may be destroyed without mercy..." A main reason people came to America for religious freedom was to avoid persecution by the Catholics so maybe we shouldn't be so supportive of allowing Catholic bosses to dictate health care decisions to their employees. The Catholic Church controls a huge part of the national economy related to hospitals, health care, education, etc. It's not just about "freedom of religion" for parishoners....

                                              • 1 vote
                                              Reply#761 - Tue Mar 6, 2012 8:56 PM EST

                                              In away Rush is right,it is a harsh word but it is true, she's just another person that wants other's to pay here way.Wake up america the left is trying to destroy our great country and we all know who there leader is.

                                                Reply#762 - Tue Mar 6, 2012 10:22 PM EST

                                                To call Limbaugh`s tirade "inappropriate" is inappropriate. It was a deliberate and wilful false parody meant to discredit the young woman. Limbaugh figured he could do whatever he wanted, and this time it didn`t work. No woman should even consider voting Republican. BTW, I saw Obama`s press conference today and thought it very well done. He seems more presidential every time I see him. I`m entirely comfortable with voting for him.

                                                  Reply#763 - Tue Mar 6, 2012 10:35 PM EST

                                                  Yep inappropriate is mild. It should have been lets just say a word that will get my post deleted on Newvine. I would have forgiven the word in this one case. I guess they still haven't learned their lesson so no go on compromises huh. Kinda what I thought. Just curious would you really trust a church hospital handling BC especially one that is so so SO adamant against it.

                                                  Have you been hearing the saber rattling on Iran? If I have it correct Santorum, Gingrich, and Romney are in. Paul says stay the heck out. Obama says sanctions. Israel says sanctions are not quick enough. Is that what you get? It seems Iran is a more important issue to the right than birth control and Rush, but they are a 3-1 split. I wonder why. You would think someone was trying to start a world war or something. You would think if they stopped focusing on the war and started focusing on jobs they would find that Canada is flipping out about our Patriot act policy which may be preventing jobs from a traditionally friendly neighbor.

                                                  At least Ron Paul came out in favor of birth control and called out Rush as not being sincere. Unfortunately I think I would have accepted some stronger terms from Ron Paul too. I am kinda with Kelly Clarkson though it is kinda hard not to like a peaceful little dude even if he does want to provide additional pamphlets on some annoying medical procedures.

                                                    #763.1 - Wed Mar 7, 2012 1:29 AM EST
                                                    Reply

                                                    I think Boehner is ready to become a Democrat. He's about had it with the right wing radicals in his party--they are just plain too stupid to work for in any negotiation.

                                                      Reply#764 - Wed Mar 7, 2012 6:32 PM EST

                                                      Good, he's next to useless anyways, so he might as well be a Democommie.

                                                        #764.1 - Thu Mar 8, 2012 6:54 PM EST

                                                        so he might as well be a Democommie.

                                                        as opposed to a Republonazi?

                                                          #764.2 - Fri Mar 9, 2012 8:05 PM EST
                                                          Reply

                                                          What a joke. Boehner calls Limbaugh remarks 'inappropriate.' These are two peas from the same pod. That's like calling the cettle black. Rushy is Johnny's voice of the GOP.

                                                            Reply#765 - Thu Mar 8, 2012 11:36 AM EST

                                                            IT'S BUSHS' FAULT; I don't listen to Rush, maher, oscumba, cnn, and about to give up Fox News because it seems to be the oscumba show. Seems each time I go to Fox , there's oscumba or some democrap skewing their b.s. All you libotards must like Rush, you quote his every word, making him more popular.

                                                            The U.S. is 16 trillion in debt, we will soon go the way of greece, that is the real problem, wake up and smell the depression.

                                                              Reply#766 - Thu Mar 8, 2012 12:13 PM EST

                                                              I'll bet John Boner's daughters use birth control that was paid for by some insurance company, so that put his daughters in the same catagory as Miss Flute according to the Lord and savior of the GOP party,Limbaugh. Funny thing is Boner wouldn't argue or defend his daughters use of birth control against the GOP GOD Limbaugh.

                                                                Reply#767 - Thu Mar 8, 2012 12:14 PM EST

                                                                this Guy BOEHNER, should stick to the business of running this Country, which, in case he hasn't been paying enough attention, is in SERIOUS Trouble, because of, POL-I-TIC-IANS, like HE is. So quit worrying about overblown Media Bull@!$%#, and get to work fixing some of the MANY Problems our Country is engulfed in, or perhaps YOU, BOEHNER, should also find a new occupation, which you might be competent in, and take your Golfing Buddy, Obama, with you. . Get your Priorities in Order already, and DO YOUR JOB.

                                                                  Reply#768 - Thu Mar 8, 2012 6:52 PM EST

                                                                  Hopeless. Life on the web seems kinda phoney right now I can not trust too much out here. I think the discussions on American's Elect seem more real. I am beginning to trust that President Obama is better at being a politician than I expected.

                                                                    Reply#769 - Thu Mar 8, 2012 10:17 PM EST
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