UPDATE: PRO FLOWERS DUMPS LIMBAUGH:
PROFLOWERS STATEMENTAt ProFlowers, our mission is to delight our customers with fresh and long lasting flowers, and that is our singular focus each and every day. We do not base our advertising decisions to align with any particular political view or opinion as our employees and customers are as diverse as the USA. Mr. Limbaugh’s recent comments went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company. As such, ProFlowers has suspended advertising on The Rush Limbaugh radio program.
I could have turned a blind eye to Limbaugh’s demeaning comments about Sandra Fluke like, “Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You’d call ’em a slut, a prostitute or whatever,” and “She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception.” Because he’s an idiot and he says stupid things. It was the comment below that creeped me out so much I got out my pitchfork and actively sought out his advertisers.
“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.”
In the former comments, he was exercising his free speech and he more alluded to Fluke being a “slut” or a “prostitute.” The final death knell went beyond free speech and opened the curtain behind a bizarre stream of consciousness that made me sick to my stomach. We’ve seen the wizard and, well, he seems like a demented old man instead of a thought-provoking right wing pundit. I’m a visual person. Going from calling someone a slut to imagining him sitting in a room with other sweaty, old men watching women have sex because they paid for their birth control was more than my mind’s eye could bear.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who resented the visual image. Limbaugh’s sponsors are cutting him loose. Social media is making the boycott much more open and businesses in an economy like ours can’t take the chance of being seen as a cohort watching videos with him and condoning the creepiness of his remarks.
Quicken Loans: Due to continued inflammatory comments– along w/valuable feedback from clients & team members– QL has suspended ads on Rush Limbaugh program
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A Statement from David Friend, CEO of Carbonite as of 6:45pm ET, March 3:
“No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.”
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Over the past day, we’ve heard from many great Citrix customers about our advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Show. These customers have expressed their growing concern that some of his recent comments seem inconsistent with the core values Citrix has always stood for – humility, integrity and respect.While Citrix obviously does not control any show’s content or endorse opinions of their hosts, we do take the concerns of our customers seriously. When they are upset about something, we listen. After careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue our advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Show.Sincerely,Brett Caine
SVP and GM, Online Services Division
Citrix
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Limbaugh did apologize (kind of):
My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.
Again, it wasn’t his “word choices” for Fluke I took issue with, although I didn’t think they were nice. I’m still trying to rinse out my brain from the Limbaugh scene of him and his buddies watching videos of college girls. Yuk! My prediction is that he enters rehab and tries to make a comeback. My other prediction is it won’t work. I know women. It takes a lot to get us united. Once we are, we change the world.
You can follow the demise of Limbaugh’s empire at Citizen Soapbox. This isn’t the first time Limbaugh’s advertisers have been challenged. I think it will be the last.
