The Perfect Limbaugh Storm?

Probably not, but suddenly his woman-hatred provokes condemning comments! I can't quite believe this.

To put that into perspective, I have written about that little turd in our societal punch bowl for years* and it has been like shouting into a barrel. I sound good to me and that's about it.

Now that I got that cup of bitterness down (and used up all proper vessel metaphors) let me share my happiness on Mr. Viagra getting into at least a little trouble:

True to form, Limbaugh responded to Fluke’s testimony by calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute.” And a few of his sponsors aren’t happy about it. In the wake of criticism, Sleep Train Mattress Centers is pulling its ads from the radio show. “Thank you for your concern. We are currently pulling all our ads with Rush Limbaugh,” the company tweeted.
Sleep Number beds also announced that it is pulling ads from the program. “Recent comments by Rush Limbaugh do not align w/our values, so we made decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program,” an employee of the company tweeted. Quicken Loans later on Friday followed suit, pulling ads over Limbaugh’s “inflammatory comments.”

Whether ProFlowers will or not remains to be seen.

President Obama chimed in:

President Obama injected himself Friday into the controversy over Rush Limbaugh's comments about a Georgetown University student who testified on contraceptive coverage -- effectively elevating the issue, with some Democrats even trying to raise money off it. 
The president called the student, Sandra Fluke, on Friday afternoon to express his disappointment in the "personal attacks" against her, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.
Limbaugh, on his radio show earlier this week, had called Fluke a "slut" following her comments in favor of mandatory contraceptive coverage. 

"The fact that our political discourse has become debased in many ways is bad enough. It is worse when it's directed at a private citizen who was simply expressing her views on a matter of public policy," Carney said. 
He said Obama called Fluke to express disappointment about the attacks and "thank her" for exercising her right to speak out. 
The phone call came as lawmakers across Capitol Hill were weighing in, and as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee incorporated Limbaugh's comments into its fundraising campaign.

And the Republican politicians are finally following suit:

House Speaker John Boehner's office earlier in the day scolded Limbaugh. Though Boehner opposes the mandate, spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement that "the speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate" -- in reference to Limbaugh's remarks.

If you think "inappropriate" is a rather cowardly adjective to choose in this context, what do you think of Saint Ricky's comments?

Of Limbaugh, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said: “He’s being absurd, but that’s you know, an entertainer can be absurd. He’s in a very different business than I am.”

So Santorum thinks that calling women sluts and demanding to see videotapes of them having sex is just absurd entertainment? This is the Saint Ricky of the late twelfth century who believes that women in the labor force was a serious mistake, who believes that artificial birth control is sinful?

He has sold out there as the moral conscience of us all, the throne he is demanding for himself.

We shall see what happens on this issue. It's pre-elections and women's votes matter. But that alone doesn't explain the sea change. I think that comes from some kind of partial awakening among the American women. I hope so, at least.
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*Since 2003!