Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

In Defense of Rush

Paul Theroux: Limbaugh deserves 'a pass' on slut-gate

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 11, 2012 4:05 PM CDT

(Newser) – Rush Limbaugh doesn't have many defenders these days, but Paul Theroux is crying foul over the reaction to Limbaugh's now-infamous "slut" remark. Sure, the shock jock's dismissal of Sandra Fluke was "offensive hyperbole," and "odd for the man whose idea of a good time is a week in the Dominican Republic with a bagful of Viagra," writes Theroux in the Daily Beast. But what about lefties who dismiss "George Bush as a chimp, and Sarah Palin as a skank"?

"You have to give Limbaugh a pass," Theroux says, "otherwise you lose the right to go on calling Gingrich and Eric Cantor pimps for Israel, and Rick Santorum a mental midget, and if you foreswear colorful, if not robust or wicked language altogether you might as well shut up." For Theroux's entertaining asides about America's obsession with sex, its inability to produce satire, and Limbaugh's role "as a gas bag on the sidelines," see the full column here.

Rush Limbaugh in action.
Rush Limbaugh in action.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
7%
3%
1%
26%
1%
63%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 144 comments
jsehgal
Mar 12, 2012 11:21 PM CDT
Free speech protects you from any reprisals from the government apparatus. It does not protect you from boycott by the society at large. Rush attempted to shut up a concerned citizen. Citizens are downsizing / outsourcing him as a result of his actions. This is a free market.
greenlantern1
Mar 12, 2012 8:36 AM CDT
Before CLEAR CHANNELS sponsored Rush Limbaugh, it sponsored Howard Stern!   Anyone want to defend him?
oldgoat
Mar 12, 2012 8:25 AM CDT
For one thing he is missing the point that Sarah wasn't an elected official, but instead a student testifying at a hearing.   I agree that the name calling of people needs to stop.  However Rush has a history of stepping on the line and this time over the line.  People are also forgetting that Rush said they should post video's of their sex.  So should he have to post video's of his sex since he gets Viagra?  There is no foul here except for Rush.
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne