The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    tmccarthy0's picture

    Weasel Words

    By tmccarthy0 on Wed, 03/07/2012 - 6:47pm |

    "Those aren't the words I would have used."

    Wait, what? Yes that was Romney's response to a reporter when asked about the Limbaugh controversy. Really Mitt? I say those are Weasel Words!  Mitt don't you understand that saying that is worse than not saying anything at all! Dude seriously. Basically Mitt, you seem to be saying that you fundamentally agree with Rush, Inevitable Mitt is an inevitably weak candidate.

    I don't much listen to anything Rush Limbaugh says, he's been this way for more than 20 years. To this day I still believe it was worse when he referred to a young girl maybe she was 12 the way he did Chelsey Clinton. That was so much worse than this, he has never in his entire career discontinued the use of misogyny in the name of comedy for his act.  I even figured his apology if there ever was one would be half-assed, he wouldn't mean it and he would use his own form of weasel words to obfuscate the issue at hand. All that was predictable, and expected. I didn't expect Mitt Romney to basically support the premise of the Limbaugh attack on Fluke, that she was just a promiscuous person who should be discounted and excoriated for exercising her right to testify before congress as an American citizen.

    He and his staff can only be described as tone deaf to the issue at hand. Does Mr. Romney agree to the 46  other personal attacks on Fluke? Limbaugh spent an inordinate amount of time attacking Flukes parents, what is up with that? (OMG, OMG I linked to mmfa, it's a conspiracy) Wow Mitt, do you really agree with the Rush when he said that Fluke just wanted to be paid to have sex? Wait, you would have said it with different words or something, what words would you be using exactly anyway?  Just asking, cause maybe you should not have said anything at all if you weren't going to be as clear as the advertisers that have taken the opportunity to deliver the Karmic bitch-slap he so richly deserved. Do you also not know how contraception in the form of the pill works?

    Yes, Mitt Romney is the classic Eddie Haskell style weasel, he will tell you anything you want to hear if you are a Limbaugh conservative, ( i.e. deeply angry older white guy, who sees himself as a tough guy, who is fairly well off but for some reason wants to hold the mantle of the victim).

    On any number of occasions the entire country has witnesses the weasel behavior of flip flopping Mitt Romney. The quickest flip we've seen so far is the Blunt-Rubio flip, that one lasted a full 25 minutes I think before he flipped and made the claim that he is an idiot and he simply didn't understand the guy who asked him about Blunt-Rubio. I read somewhere that the McCain campaign had 200 pages of Mitt's flips. It isn't rocket science, everyone knows this, Mitt Romney has an opinion, if you would like to know what his opinion is, please  tell him what it ought to be. That is the word on Mitt, he he fundamentally has no real conviction other than he wants to be President. Therefore he is more than willing to be who you want him to be.

    Want him to be a chicken hawk, he will tell you he is ready to go to war against Iran. Want him to tell you the Massachusetts health care plan sucks x one million, no problem and he will deny that he ever said any different even if there is irrefutable evidence proving otherwise.

    Mitt is a  master weasel word smith, his  failure to differentiate himself from Limbaugh might just make women believe he doesn't like women either, just like Rush Limbaugh and further that he thinks Ms. Fluke deserved to be attacked for accepting an invitation to testify before congress on reproductive health. He just would not have referred to Fluke as a slut or prostitute. Well then, thanks for clarifying it Mitt, most women are going to remember this come November.

    Crossposted @TheAngriestLiberal

    Comments

    Well the Left does it all the time.

    Well the left unlike the right always use these tactics to abolish a working man's advertising.

    Even George Will kind of uses these rhetorical phrases prior to damning Rush as well as the inadequacy of the repubs to respond correctly to misogyny.

    I don't know.

    Maher has kind of come to the defense of rush and normally this would piss me off but Maher puts his money where is mouth is--by writing that check for a million bucks--and so I understand why and how Maher takes the position he has taken.

    I am contemplating the sins of the left lately, including my own shortfalls.

    But rush, time after time after time goes after the weaker, the poorer, the more defenseless, the easy targets in order to push up his ratings.

    rush actually cited the misogyny of the hip hoppers or rappers or whatever the stars of that genre are called today.

    And so I detest rush.

    Who really took after Laura Bush, who has attempted to defile Laura Bush on the left?

    I bring this up because of rush's relentless slander of our present First Lady, a woman who has never caused rush any harm; a woman who has never attacked the right on any personal basis; a woman who (with the help of her mother) raises daughters and attends charity events?

    All anyone has to do in order to document this side of rush is to go to Mediamatters.com. It is all there. They have a staff who listen to this jack ass day in and day out. They even listen and tape his right wing anti-American substitutes.

    Colin Powell only voted for Barack because he is Black.

    Barack is a NAZI.

    Women who seek to have their voices heard are feminazis.

    I think sometimes that rush just takes his 'fan mail' and turns it around.

    Can you just imagine how much hate mail this misogynist/racist/corporate oligarchist receives in one day? How many death threats?

    He wakes up four or five days a week, reads his repub talking points sent to him via fax or email and begins his three hour rant.

    He is fat, ugly, old (who isn't), angry, uncharitable, full of hubris, rich beyond the expectations of the greatest tsars who ever resided on this planet, and without any religious faith whatsoever. And yet he will attack people for being fat, he will attack people for being rich, he will attack people for ignoring facts, he will...well he will attack people for being him.

    I don't know any more.

    I mean we cite him, we quote him and we reproduce his video presentations and we are just helping him.

    I have stated before that I met uneducated ex cons up here in the middle of nowhere who feel that it is unfair to attack the late Timothy McVeigh.

    And no matter what happens to our economy or our neighborhoods or our boundaries there are ten million people who would follow this self educated moron to the trenches in order to fight anyone who has something bad to say about the guy.

    It is like these Jesus sites where someone will claim that Jefferson was born again or that the Christ rode on dinosaurs.

    To finish my rant; rush was caught this time. Rush was really challenged this time; most probably the first time.

    I watched his defense this week following the three days of dirty diatribes against a wonderful young woman last week. He was visibly shaken in my estimation.

    Rush was semi-apologetic (with reservations like Will) but he is arguing that he is not through even though he has lost almost 50 big advertisers claiming that he has thousands waiting in the wings. If this did not bother him, if he was not worried about his place in the world of MSM, why would he spend so much time informing his audience that everything was okay?

    After four years of following this monster, he was visibly hurt.

    Sorry.

    I have been thinking about this moron and writing about this moron for too long a time.

     


    by Richard Day on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 3:38am

    Holy crap dick, you hate him, you really really hate him! LOLz. Yeah, I don't really like Rush, but it's Mitt who is the real weasel, because he just can't bring himself to say anything negative about Rush.

    He  simply wouldn't have used those words, so he definitely agrees with the gist of what Limbaugh said. Well then, good to know! That makes him a weasel wordsmith but not in a good way.

    I love your rant! That was awesome reading. laugh


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 9:38am

    Hey Tmac, couldn't agree more that 'Myth' is at the bottom of the dung heap.  Once again, he's deflecting because Bain Capital has major ownership in Clear Channel and Romney's huge monthly stipend from them includes (according to reports and published contractual language) revenue derived from the CC investment which equates to receiving cash from Rush's program.  One cannot call out Rush without dinging Bain.  So, suffice to say, until and unless an actual journalist or We, The People, confront this en masse and force the issue, Romney will continue to run away from this whole debacle.


    by Aunt Sam on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:05am

    Well that is a good point Auntie. There is that connection as well. I wonder if Bain will simply cut the Limbaugh show from Clear Channel to save Clear Channel... hahahahahahahaha.

    But it seems no Republican, with the exception of John McCain who clearly hates Rush Limbaugh, will say anything negative about Limbaugh, they fear him, just like George Will says. I love that their titular leader is a big oaf.


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:15am

    Ironically, Clear Channel is experiencing (and has been) some negative financials which according to public records and investor gurus,  is in large part due to having to pay the huge outlay of cash due Bain.  Supposedly they can squeak by now, layoffs, etc., but the large balloon due in 2014 (billions I think) may be their waterloo.  Another reason they are keeping Rush 'cuz he still is their largest cash cow (no pun intended).


    by Aunt Sam on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:26am

    Excellent, Mac.  I would say this was typical Rush but this time he went over the top, even for him.  Thanks for the Media Matters list of the 46 nasty comments he made about Sandra Fluke over a period of three days.  Three days! 

    As of this morning over 40 advertisers have jumped ship, but Rush says it's all good.  Knowing how we are and how limited our collective attention spans are, it probably will be.  But I'm not giving up on this, and I hope women everywhere, on all sides, don't give up either.

    Mitt will have to eat his mealy-mouthed words, or else.  And Obama, for once, is lapping it all up and taking full advantage of the Hoo Haw.  Loved what he said about wanting his daughters to be able to voice their opinions without being insulted or attacked.  It was the right tone at the right time.  Of course, the Republican attack machine is working overtime trying to build a case for these attacks on women, but they'll fail.

    Michele Bachmann is going around telling everyone Obama is just one step away from limiting the number of babies women in this country can have.   All because he wants to mandate the ability for women to have access to free birth control.   It's one thing after another, isn't it? 


    by Ramona on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 8:03am

    Thanks Mona! I love that mmfa has documented absolutely everything. The other interesting part is how the folks at the Daily Caller, (I was in a weird twitter fight with one of their writers) are super paranoid about the conspiracy that the Whitehouse uses research done by mmfa... hahahaha doesn't everyone, they have done some top-of-the-line research, I use their stuff all the time!

    I also believe this is going to hurt Romney in the fall, seriously. Women aren't going to forget. Me, I am on a mission to help them remember!

    Yes I saw Michele Bachmann, OMG, OMG forced contraception! God you are right, it really is one thing after another isn't it! Yikes!


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 9:45am

    Rush's more recent defense is that rappers can say anything and are not criticized. If Rush wants to align himself with misogynistic lyrics used by some hardcore rappers, so be it. It is his free speech right. He should be aware that President Barack Obama, the Reverend Al Sharpton and the late Dorothy Height among a host of others have called out rappers who use lyrics that debase women.

    Bill Maher is advising Liberals to accept Rush 's non-apology apology. I think Ms. Fluke gets to determine whether the apology is accepted. Rush indicated that the problem was that he used the language that Liberals use to describe Ms. Fluke. By accepting the non-apology, Fluke would be agreeing with Rush's premise. Mahrer should stick to his rants against Christianity and saves the big issues for grown- ups, like Ms Fluke.

    I have considered Limbaugh an idiot since his attacks on Amy Carter and Chelsea Clinton. Limbaugh will move on to attack Obama, some random Black, Latino or woman and the ditto- heads will laugh in agreement. Mahrer should realize that if Liberals accept Limbaugh's non-apology, Conservatives will still not respect them. Others will view the rejection of the non-apology as finally showing some backbone.

     


    by rmrd0000 on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 9:13am

    Hey rmrd!  I fully expected Rush to say something about rappers. Cause he believes that he should always drag race into any discussion he has about himself, "they are worse than me he laments".  It is because he  truly believes he is an artist at the level of say, Common, (a true artist), he dreams of that, he wants that, but he is a talentless hack.

    The mind is funny, how it's spent on gettin' it [money].

    That in my mind is Common's ode to Rush.


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 9:59am

    It was published late yesterday that two of Rush's new sponsors are the sugar daddy website (older rich men, younger women hookups) and Ashley Madison site (ah, it's a perfect match for a Rush advocate).  But, allegedly two of those who 'went away' are 'begging' to come back into the fold.  I'm thinkin' ProFlowers for one, but not announced yet.

    Although all of these people are counting on our short attention span, waiting for the storm clouds to fade away, I, for one am in for the duration. 

    For those who aren't aware, Life Lock has declared themselves Rush fans and still support him.  One of my friends here has canceled their subscription with LL due to this.  But, until I told her, she was unaware.  

    And FYI, Maher's tirade with the c word was before an audience at one of his 'performances' in a theater before a small audience and was not broadcast on the airwaves.  Not condoning his usage of the term towards any woman, but (IMO) to compare this to Rush's diatribes is akin to a stink bomb versus an assault by a large group of crazed whackos armed with tasors set on high voltage.


    by Aunt Sam on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:21am

    This site?


    by jollyroger on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:45am

    Thanks JR, hadn't seen that!


    by Aunt Sam on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 1:03pm

    Not that there's anything wrong with organizing community property principal on an hourly basis

    by jollyroger on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 1:26am

    I look forward to hearing Rush pitch the sugar daddy site signing off: "I'm not only a spokesman but I'm also a client. ..." (pace, hair club for men...)

    by jollyroger on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:54am

    Lifelock was fined millions by the FTC for scamming the public, their CEO had his identity stolen 13 times according to Wired.com. The service is for knuckeheads and suckers, which pretty much comprises the audience for Rush.


    by NCD on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 7:18pm

    hold the mantle of the victim

    He's positively whimpering this week...

    by jollyroger on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 11:02am

    I think Josh Marshall has it right about Mitt when it comes to this kind of thing.  All Mitt really cares about is limited regulation and low taxes on high earners and capital gains.  That's his ideology.  When it comes to social issues, I doubt he cares much beyond what will get him through the primary without totally hobbling him in the general.  Is he a social conservative in his personal life?  No doubt.  But I don't think he cares a ton about what you or I might do.  So his response to such things is always half-assed.  He'll defend Rush because he thinks it's dangerous not to and because, in the end, he doesn't care if somebody is pilloried as a slut.


    by Michael Maiello on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 12:21pm

    Ahh interesting analysis Des, very interesting. I tend to agree with that; Mitt cares about money, and that is just one more thing he has in common with Rush Limbaugh.

    I mean he didn't make that much last year, on $384,000.00! Hardly enough to get by on!


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 12:57pm

    tma, update: Limbaugh rebuffs attempt by Sleep Train to get him back

    http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/08/4323061/limbaugh-rebuffs-attempt-by-sleep.html


    by Aunt Sam on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:26am

    Thanks for the link. I have been following threads over at Daily Kos and the ladies are also putting pressure on their local AM stations. Also been contacting local advertisers and expressing their dislike of Rush's slander. His numbers are up this week because people are curious over this. Ratings come out next month for radio stations. Advertisers will be looking at that and may sit it out until then. Local stations provide a portion of the advertising dollars during his program. There was dead air time during local broadcast ads here today. He will survive this but damaged.

    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 4:05am

    Update. ..Premiere sent a memo to all its affiliates, listing 98 advertisers that don't want to run ads during Limbaugh and several others like him. Advertisers don't want to be associated to shows that upset their choice target group, women 24 to 55 age group. 85% of all spending decisions are made by that group.

    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 03/10/2012 - 3:17am

    Wow, that is a big deal Momoe. I just read at huge article at Think Progress about exactly that issue and that company, Premiere. Wow, I hope this spells the end of hate radio, or at least blunts the impact it has had on our politics.

    But they are right it is women who do the shopping for the household.

    Thanks for the update!


    by tmccarthy0 on Sat, 03/10/2012 - 1:20pm

    I have been following Tom Taylor Radio-info News Letter this past week. He seems to have all the inside skinny on the Limbaugh Show. I stumble on to it last Sunday trying to get info on how advertising is done on radio. From what I understand is that 9 minutes out of every 30 minutes is advertising. Half of it comes from Rush national sponsors and the other half the local station fills. Local stations have heard from their communities on their websites and Facebook pages. Also local advertisers have received the same response causing some to pull advertising. The radio-info news letter on February 28, did a piece on a poll done by Harris. The poll rated Limbaugh with the highest negative rating at 41% with only a 21% positive rating among Republicans in that sample. This was before the backlash started. Advertising agents live mostly by the numbers and April is rating sweep time for radio. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The American Heart Association has pulled their public service announcement from Rush's flagship station WABC. Even charity PSA's are sensitive to this backlash. They don't want to lose donations and support for their charity.

    by trkingmomoe on Sun, 03/11/2012 - 12:45am