Rush Limbaugh is the ultra-conservative pillar of American talk radio. Even for a talking head, Limbaugh is often offensively verbose. After Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke testified at a congressional hearing in favor of the Obama administration's mandate for employee insurance to cover birth control costs, Limbaugh called her a "slut" and a "prostitute."
He alleged that, in asking Georgetown's health insurance to cover contraception, she was asking in effect to be paid to have sex.
"She's having so much sex that she can't afford the contraception," he said. (It's also worth noting that while blasting Sandra Fluke, Limbaugh got her name wrong — he called her Susan.)
After the ensuing firestorm, which involved a social media movement anchored by the Twitter sign #boycottrush and nine of his show's sponsors backing out, Limbaugh issued an apology. He conceded in his statement that his choice of words was "not the best," and that the entire situation was the result of a poor attempt to be "humorous."
Limbaugh's unfathomably stupid stance on sex and birth control obviously does not represent the stance of the party he champions. Though many Republicans oppose the mandate, we're certain very few of them would argue that women who benefit from it should be obligated to distribute videotapes of their sexual activity, as Limbaugh stated.
Nevertheless, Republicans must realize that once one of their four presidential prospects has beaten the others into submission, President Obama and the Democrats will be standing across the ring. And on issues like this, they must tread carefully. The primaries have devolved into such a tedious and vicious affair that the longer-term plan — toppling Obama and the Democrats — may not be at the forefront of Republicans' minds right now.
The reason the ice is so thin on the issue of birth control, as opposed to differences in economic policy, is that economics doesn't have the same type of personal effect that health issues do. On issues of birth control, the further a group finds itself drifting to one side, the more voters it stands to lose from the moderates that represent the difference between a win and a loss in November. And the Republicans as a whole may find themselves sliding too far toward Limbaugh, at least in the eyes of the general public.
The ascent of Rick Santorum to the front of the primary pack has hurt the Republican Party in a similar fashion, and the damage may be irrevocable when it comes to the November general election. And, on the off-chance that Santorum is the nominee, his pitiful attempt at defending Limbaugh will do him no favors in the eyes of the many Americans who already view his social positions as medieval. When asked to comment on Limbaugh's remarks, Santorum feebly replied that "an entertainer can be absurd."
As GOP strategist Alex Castellanos insightfully remarked, "Republicans being against sex is not good. Sex is popular." Castellanos was likely thinking specifically of sex's popularity among the youngest voters. In developing an image of an anti-sex party, the Republicans are setting themselves up for a beating at the Democrats' hands when it comes time to win the youth vote, especially that of young women.
To win a general election, one must appeal to a majority of the population. In fighting battles for the highly conservative voters, the Republican image may be drifting too far toward the unviable wing that Limbaugh inhabits. Whether the ideology has changed at the core of the party may not even be relevant anymore.
To say that Rush Limbaugh crossed the lines of civility doesn't begin to describe it. Republican leaders should be calling for his show to be pulled from the airwaves. Instead, by meekly denouncing him, as Mitt Romney did by saying that Limbaugh's comments were "not the language I would have used," they are essentially saying that what was said wasn't that far out of line.
By November, Republicans will bitterly regret standing by and doing nothing while Limbaugh defined their agenda on matters of birth control. And if they fail to separate themselves from these extremists in the future, the party may become as outdated as the sex policies they appear to be defending.
