A Rush too far

How come Glenn Beck suffered boycotts and eventually got the boot from Fox News Channel for his outrageous comments about American politics, while radio's Rush Limbaugh -- who can be just as over-the-top at times -- has received a free pass? I think a lot of it was just that Limbaugh -- a radio talker since the end of the Reagan era -- has been around for so long he's managed to establish a baseline of bad behavior. When you make repeated comments about "Feminazis" or racially charged remarks and stay on the air, the bar gets raised...or is it lowered?

But is it possible that after all these years, El Rushbo has finally gone too far?

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, already under fire from Democrats over his language in discussing a Georgetown University law student who testified about contraception, ratcheted up his rhetoric on Thursday, saying the student should post an online sex video if taxpayers are forced to pay for contraception.

Limbaugh on Wednesday had referred to student Sandra Fluke as a "slut" for supporting a requirement that health insurance cover contraception. On his radio show Thursday, Limbaugh went a little further:

"So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch."

The word "slut" shouldn't be used in any rational discourse (remember, MSNBC's Ed Schutlz was suspended -- as he should have been -- for calling radio talker Laura Ingraham "a slut") but it's even worse when the most-listened-to radio host in America uses it to go after a law student -- who's done nothing wrong except express an opposing political viewpoint. Locally, WPHT -- which dumped Beck and Sean Hannity -- should be ashamed for still airing this trash.

Tonight there's serious talk about a boycott of Limbaugh's sponsors. I'm not so sure if that's the answer -- boycotts are rarely effective (although Beck may have been an exception) and come off as little heavy handed even when the boycotters are clearly on the right side. On the other hand, let's just say I'm not going out of my way to buy anything from Pro Flowers, Domino's Pizza or Auto Zone any time in the near future, either.