Advertisers rushed from Limbaugh, Romney perpetuated his plastic persona, conservative candidates campaigned on Super Tuesday, Obama orated on oil, Fox didn’t stick with the facts and the Ed Show covered it all.
Advertisers continued their rush from Limbaugh over the weekend, as the conservative radio host faced red-hot criticism for his inflammatory, sexist comments. Rush Limbaugh sparked a fire when he targeted Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke after she testified in front of Congress in support of affordable contraception.
On his nationally syndicated show last week, he called her a “slut” and a “prostitute,” firing off over 50 disparaging comments at Fluke, the women of Georgetown, and even Fluke’s parents.
After a number of sponsors pulled their spots from his program, Limbaugh issued a weak apology to Fluke via his website. On Monday, Ed said that Rush “didn’t really apologize for what he had actually done…this was a 3-day attack over 9 hours of broadcasting.”
But Ed wasn’t the only one critical of Limbaugh’s lame linguistics. Sandra Fluke saw through the dollar-driven request for forgiveness, saying on Monday, “I don’t think that a statement like this…changes anything.”
Democratic Strategist Krystal Ball launched a website aimed at boycotting Rush, which collected over 100k online signatures in just three days. In addition to a growing list of departed advertisers, at least two radio stations have said adiós to El Rushbo. Even some conservatives including Ron Paul and John McCain condemned Rush’s words.
Despite widespread disapproval, the three front running Republican presidential candidates couldn’t muster up a strong opposition to Limbaugh, who has gained a reputation as a kingmaker among the GOP. For a party already entrenched in an unpopular war on women’s rights, the lack of backbone displayed by Romney, Santorum and Gingrich will likely lose key female votes.
Romney can’t afford to lose any more votes if he hopes to have a prayer against Obama in November. In a pre-Super Tuesday rally, Mitt’s camp furthered his reputation as what Howard Fineman called “plastic and impenetrable wherever he goes.”
Attempting to connect with the voters of Tennessee, Romney awkwardly recited a William Shatner-esque rendition of a song about Tennessee pioneer Daniel Boone. Making matters worse, Ann Romney claimed in an interview that she doesn’t consider herself wealthy. On Monday’s Ed Show, Nation magazine correspondent John Nichols said, “Every time the Romneys try to reach out to ordinary folks, to try to play it real…it always comes apart.”
The Romney campaign was able to hold it together on Super Tuesday to win six out of ten primary/caucus states, though Santorum and Gingrich each claimed victories as well. A confident Romney aide said that “it would take an act of God for Mitt to lose.” Maybe the recent solar storms are a sign from the heavens.
Ed asked Democratic Strategist Bob Shrum on Wednesday who he thought shined brightest on the most important night of the primary season. Shrum replied, “I think Barack Obama was the big winner and the other big winner was the Democratic Party in 2016.”
With a divided GOP and sustained criticism from the right, Obama has begun ramping up his re-election campaign in recent days. At a manufacturing plant in North Carolina, Obama responded to Republican attacks, saying “The next time you hear some politician trotting out some three point plan for $2 gas, you let him know we know better.” On Wednesday’s show, Ed laid out the facts of Obama’s energy policy, with clear data showing that “since President Obama took office…total domestic oil output is up 8%.” Facts have never stopped conservatives from spewing wild claims. Fox News has latched onto the GOP’s anti-Obama energy, and has been pumping fear over its airwaves about rising gas prices. But just four years ago, Bill O’Reilly told his viewers that “The next time you hear a politician say he or she will bring down oil prices, understand it’s complete B.S.” On Thursday, Ed presented another example of Fox’s skewed reporting. During his show Wednesday night, Sean Hannity showed an “exclusive” video of Barack Obama when he was a student at Harvard. The footage was captured during a pro-diversity rally, and showed a young Obama hugging his professor after an eloquent introduction. According to Hannity, this video is concrete proof that the president has a long history of rubbing shoulders with radicals. In reality, as Washington Post Editor Eugene Robinson pointed out, “What you saw was a student at Harvard Law School embracing a professor at Harvard Law School.” Hannity and other conservative talking heads are desperate to poke a hole in the rising Obama reelection campaign, regardless of evidence and disregarding the facts. Where’s the B.S. now, Bill O’Reilly? Share your own thoughts and favorite moments from the Ed Show this week, and be sure to tune into the @EdShow weeknights at 8pET on @msnbctv.
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