All of the statements Rush Limbaugh made about the amount of sex Fluke claimed she was having? They were false. Limbaugh's claims that Fluke was a 'slut' were specifically based (by Limbaugh, in Limbaugh's on word) on Limbaugh's erroneous claims that Fluke talked about the amount of sex she was having, or the cost of her contraception.
FR posters who have figured that out have asked on some threads "is Fluke going to sue Limbaugh?" In response, I briefly touch on defamation of a limited public figure.
"Briefly," because I'm as far from an expert on Times v. Sullivan and its progeny as anyone.
Truth is a defense in a libel suit.
If that will keep the story in the headlines and keep advertisers from the show and push Limbaugh off the air, of course she will sue.
Math is absolute.... with the testimony she gave, applied mathematically PROVES she is a slut.... at least according to the websters dictionary definition...
Sandra fluke is a PR prostitute, being pimped by the DNC.
She will do what they tell her.
The lawsuit will likely be against Rush and against each and every station that carries Rush. After all when you have Hoyer(sp?) and Obama on your side . . . .
Not a snow ball’s chance in Hell.
It’s called “discovery” and there is NO way she will go under oath and answer questions. Too many things about how her ‘testimony’ was arranged would be fair game.
Many of you know I had shoulder surgery and am working one-handed.
I lost part of the post (as far as I can tell acting under the influence of Percocet).
Fluke was probably a limited public figure. That's an indivudal those "thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved." Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 345.
I lost part of the post because of the mis-use of tags.
That’s a very astute analysis. In fact, the only part I disagree with you about is that conservatives feel Rush’s comments were demeaning. I’m conservative, and I don’t feel that way at all.
Once question: since you read the woman’s testimony (and I have no intention of doing so — I’m not big on having women publicly enthuse over promiscuity) can you tell us where Rush got the $3000 figure?
Of course she’s going to sue him, but it has nothing at all to do with the merits, or lack thereof of any legal action. The entire point is to attempt to link Rush to the Republican candidate, whoever that turns out to be in the minds of “moderate” and “independent” voters, and at the same time, create problems for the candidate with the base if/when he attempts to distance himself from El Rushbo.
Oh, and it also helps that we’re not talking about the crappy economy.
For the Rat machine, this is, in their minds, a “win win win”.
I think it’s going to backfire, because the left will enjoy the theater, but it won’t really put the fire in their bellies, because they see it for what it is: theater.
On the other hand, the activist right is really going to get pissed off, the harder the ‘Rat strategy gets pushed, because we see it as further evidence of the craven demagoguery of the left. Which is also what it is.
I think Rush should hire her as a spokesperson for Twoifbytea for one million dollars per year, with the stipulation that she pose for nude photos with bottles of tea. Thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy ;-)
Like the old joke, it’s just a question of negotiating the price.
No, she won’t sue.
First, an opinion cannot be libel or slander. It is an opinion.
Second, truth is a defense to libel or slander ... so, if she convinced a court that it was a factual statement (rather than an opinion), she’d have to endure the other side trying to prove she’s a slut. I doubt she’d want that adjudicated. It wouldn’t be pretty.
No chance.
SnakeDoc
Thanks for an intelligent discussion on this topic. I always like RUSH and this was the one time I was actually cringing listening to him. I watched some of her testimony and I couldn't understand why he was calling her a slut.
He clearly went over the line and I think it will sort itself out legally but I believe if she won some defamation suit she would deserve to win - I don't understand why he didn't realize how harsh it was to hear him speak like that.
Her testimony said she paid some huge amount for tuition and shouldn’t be expected to pay $3000 for birth control. She wants others to pay for it by having insurance pick it up...which means everyone’s insurance goes up to pay the cost of the drug plus administrative costs. That’s the nut of what Rush talked about.
A responsible person either says to themselves ‘I want to have sex and need to get protection and put it in my budget’, or says ‘wow, I may have to abstain until I can afford it.’ He tied her testimony to the similarities to prostitution. Then, when the math is done, and you add the amount of condoms one could purchase for $3000 it means multiple times per day every day.
The rest of her testimony was typical liberal sob stories that help justify more government.
Fluke keeps saying you can't get contraceptives from doctors...there's the untruth...Of course the doctor will give them for a condition including birth control but there are sometimes restrictions.
My doctor wouldn't write a prescription for me at age 35....because I smoked.....making me "stroke" material.
Her testimony(was it under oath?) was very slimy and dishonest. She testified that she represented other woman who were not identified and had not authorized her to speak for them. The stories she made up could never be verified. She also said female undergraduates were suffering financially and in other ways because they could not afford contraception. She said the cost of contraception for a law school student was $1000 per year or $3000 for the time in law school. Condoms cost less than $1 each, birth control pills are available for $9 per month. Tuition at Georgetown Law is over $20,000 per semester.
None of the articles talked about the specifics of her testimony.
Can someone get a list of Rush's sponsors who quit his show because of this? Someone should get the names and the contact information. Someone should draft a sample letter to send to them telling them how strongly we resent their cowardly political correctness and how we will NEVER use any of their products ever again and we will tell our friends not to buy their products.
The leftist MSM should not have the power to force sponsors to quit. We should tell these sponsors that they will pay a price for their cowardice.
wondering whether Fluke will sue Limbaugh for defamation or libel.
You are kidding right?
She is a political operative that has gotten what she wanted. She has served her purpose.
To sue would mean that she would have to prove that being called a slut was libel. Somehow I doubt she wants to go there.
In view of the volatility of the issue that she was testifying about, doesn’t that immediately make her a public figure?
Rush said what he said on his radio show and then he fully apologized on his radio show.
That would be taken into account it if came to damages and probably won’t gain her a large settlement either.
They will just have Eric Holder sic his lefty lawyer attack dogs on him.