Limbaugh Calls Student "Slut;" Asks For Sex Tapes From All Women
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – South Florida conservative firebrand Rush Limbaugh has double-downed on vile language he used against a Georgetown University law student who was initially refused a chance to speak before Congress in support of employers being mandated to cover contraception.
Limbaugh had originally called the student, Sandra Fluke, a "slut" and a "prostitute."
While that stirred up some, Limbaugh expanded on his original comments Thursday saying, "So miss Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."
But proving just how much of a stranglehold Limbaugh has over the members of the Republican Party, only a handful of GOP leader to date that have come out in opposition.
House Speaker John Boehner called the remark "inappropriate," but immediately took a shot at Democrats who might try to fundraise off the remark.
GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Limbaugh is being "absurd" in his comments.
CBSMiami reached out to Senator Marco Rubio's office, but didn't receive a response on the issue.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and more than 75 Democratic lawmakers have called on Republican colleagues to condemn Limbaugh's attacks. Still, Republicans fear the wrath of Limbaugh coming down on them and have not stepped out of sync with the conservative firebrand.
Fluke was blocked from testifying before an all-male Republican congressional panel discussing contraception and religious freedom. She later testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy committee.
Fluke responded to Limbaugh's crude comments late in the day Thursday saying:
"Unfortunately, numerous commentators have gone far beyond the acceptable bounds of civil disclosure. No woman deserves to be disrespected in this manner. This language is an attack on all women, and has been used throughout history to silence our voices. The millions of American women who have and will continue to speak out in support of women's health care and access to contraception prove that we will not be silenced."
Republicans have continued to push the issue of preventing insurers from covering contraception, but it's an issue so far they've found little traction on. Polls show that a majority of Americans and even a majority of Republicans support the recent action by President Barack Obama to mandate insurance companies to cover the costs of contraception.
