After Rush Limbaugh referred to Georgetown University Law
Student Sandra Fluke as “a slut” on his radio program last week,
the Obama Administration wasted little time in coming to her
defense.
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney
confirmed that President Obama had spoken with Fluke. When Carney
was asked to describe their conversation, he
replied:
They had a very good conversation. I think he, like a lot of
people, feels that the kinds of personal attacks that she’s — that
have been directed her way are inappropriate. 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.
Although Rush would issue an apology the following day it
wasn’t enough for longtime Obama adviser David Axelrod who
said, “I think what Rush Limbaugh said about
that young woman was not only vile and degrading to her, but to
women across the country.”
So what do Messrs. Carney, Axelrod and, for that matter,
President Obama have to say for Bill Maher?
It is no secret that Maher despises conservatives
especially of the female variety. Nearly a year ago, Maher
delighted both himself and his left-wing
audiences when he
called Sarah Palin “a dumb twat” and “a
c—t” — words even harsher than the ones Rush used against
Fluke.
Let us remember that Carney lambasted Limbaugh for being
inappropriate towards Fluke because she is a “private citizen who
was simply expressing her views on a matter of public policy.”
Well, the last I checked Sarah Palin is a private citizen who
expresses her views on public policy. Does the Obama Administration
believe Palin should be afforded the same courtesy as Fluke? Do
they believe what Maher said about Palin was inappropriate? Or does
the Obama Administration believe that some points of view more
equal than others?
Let us also remember that Axelrod wasn’t satisfied with
Rush’s apology because what he said about Fluke “was not only vile
and degrading to her, but to women across the country.” So does
Axelrod also believe that Maher said things about Sarah Palin that
“were not only vile and degrading to her, but to women across the
country?”
Or has Bill Maher been granted a waiver by the Obama
Administration for saying degrading things about Sarah Palin and
other conservative women who do not agree with their policies?
Consider how Maher
bragged that he could get away with what he said
because he is on HBO while Rush is at the mercy of commercial
sponsors. This surely sounds like a man who has been granted
dispensation from the highest authority.
After all, it was with great fanfare last month that
Maher
donated $1 million to Priorities USA Action, an Obama Super
PAC. As the large check was being hauled out on
stage, Maher said to his audience at Yahoo headquarters in Silicon
Valley, “I think Mitt Romney’s going to get the (Republican)
nomination, and then I hope Obama beats him like a runaway
sister-wife.” Well, it’s good to know that a joke about domestic
violence (not to mention Mormonism) is such a hit with liberal
audiences. Of course, had Rush joked about domestic abuse (not to
mention Muslims) the very same audience would rise in unison to
accuse him of hate speech.
Now I, for one,
did not like what Rush said about Fluke. In one
fell swoop, he shifted the issue from the heavy handedness of
government in compelling religious organizations to provide
insurance coverage for contraceptives to the heavy handedness of
Rush Limbaugh in casting aspersions upon someone for taking a point
of view which differs from his own. His intervention was not
helpful and Rush was ultimately right
to make amends to Fluke. Unlike Axelrod,
I
accept both Rush’s apology and
his reasons for doing so. As Rush put
it:
I ended up descending to their level. It’s important not
to be like them, ever, particularly in fighting them. The old saw,
you never descend to the level of your opponent or they win. That
was my error last week.
Of course, it should come as no surprise that Axelrod
would not accept Rush’s apology. The Left has wanted Rush excised
from the airwaves for nearly a quarter century. Now Rush has
stumbled and they see blood in the water. So at this point,
the Obama Administration is about as willing to accept Rush’s
apology as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is willing to accept the
Obama Administration’s apology last week for the accidental Koran
burnings at Bagram Air Base.
Karzai wants to put American soldiers on trial
while liberals yearn to do the same with Rush. Both
proceedings would be sure to have all the fairness found in a
kangaroo court.
Unfortunately, I suspect that this double standard is not
likely to be raised by the White House Press Corps (with
perhaps the possible exceptions of Jake Tapper at ABC or Ed Henry
at FNC). If I were a member of that scrum, I would ask Jay Carney
the two following questions, “In light of Rush Limbaugh’s apology
to Sandra Fluke for his inappropriate comments, why didn’t you call
upon Bill Maher to apologize for his inappropriate comments against
Sarah Palin a year ago? Will President Obama now publicly call for
the Super PAC acting on his behalf to return the $1 million donated
by Maher?”
When it comes to Sarah Palin and other conservative women
being pilloried for expressing their views on public policy, I
don’t think the Obama Administration will put the money where Bill
Maher’s mouth is. In other words, the Obama Administration has no
waivers for conservative women like Sarah Palin.
