Cowards and apologies that aren't

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John Cory

Reader Supported News

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04 March 12 - Saturday afternoon, the Huffington Post front page had a big orange headline that blared: "RUSH CAVES." A photo of Limbaugh was centered underneath the headline, and below Limbaugh's picture was a bright red caption: "I Sincerely Apologize to Ms. Fluke."

But Limbaugh's apology was not an apology; it was a lecture and a rationalization of the vile, mean-spirited invective that is his trademark.

I don't know why or what influenced Limbaugh to issue this statement. I can only speculate that the heat from sponsors, and perhaps from some GOP insiders, came to bear.

Look closely at his statement. The first paragraph is three sentences about his wrong choice of words and analogy of the situation and how "I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke."

That is a lie. Three days of personal attacks on Ms. Fluke was no accident.

The second and longest paragraph of Limbaugh's statement is a garbage-based lecture on morality, and the continued twisting of the issue into the phony theme of taxpayer-funded sex and some gibberish about sneakers. Even as he extols personal responsibility and accountability he plays dodge ball with his own accountability.

Please.

The last paragraph is two sentences ending with an apology for "the insulting word choices."

Where is your accountability and responsibility, Limbaugh? Nowhere does Limbaugh come close to uttering a true apology. He seems incapable of saying outright: "Ms. Fluke, what I said was not only wrong, it was reprehensible and evil and I apologize to you."

But this is not new for Limbaugh, or the network of poison-talk that spews across the AM radio dial and our television on a daily basis.

Limbaugh is the sacred icon for the likes of people like Erik Erickson who called retiring Supreme Court Justice Souter "a goat-f**king child molester." So entertaining was this guy that CNN just had to snap him up as an analyst.

A federal judge sent an insulting email about President Obama and doesn't seem to understand why no one gets the joke.

Rep. Joe Wilson shouted out, "You Lie!" during President Obama's State of the Union speech. But he was not the first Congressperson to insult a modern president. Rep. Dan Burton called President Clinton a "scumbag."

Limbaugh has paved the way for detestable folk like Joe Arpaio in Arizona, who just this week held a press conference to announce that his "posse" of investigators could pronounce President Obama's long-form birth certificate a fraud.

Limbaugh imitators are legion, as are the far-right networks and think tanks that support these hucksters of hate.

And it is profitable. Very profitable.

But let's be honest, none of this is new, nor would it be possible without the full embrace of the so-called establishment media. As long as ABC and CNN and NBC and all the rest of them continue to treat "trash" as "treasure" and provide a platform of acceptability then we will continue to be inundated with this bile.

Once you give hatred, personal ad hominem attacks, racism and lies validation as diverse opinion or equivalent political argument, you have lost decency and honesty and truth. You end up with nothing but a world of Limbaughs.

And, let us note for the record here, no major Republican or GOP leader publicly denounced vLimbaugh for his attacks on Ms. Fluke. They all found ways to cluck and tsk-tsk the entertainer - the "distraction" effect - as they all hid quietly away in the dark, waiting for FOX to defend Limbaugh and rally support from the true believers. In other words, the GOP was cowardly. Afraid of Limbaugh, but not women voters.

GOP silence is endorsement.

These people know no shame.

When they issue a statement of apology it is not an apology to the harmed, but an apology to the money-class and sponsors; an apology for any inconvenience and interruption their hateful words and broadcasts may have caused the steady flow of profitability.

This is the world of cowards and apologies that aren't.