Who says capitalism doesn't work anymore?

[Nitro Express]

Rush Limbaugh's mouth is taking a bite out of his wallet.

Nine advertisers and a radio station in Hawaii dropped his show after he called a law student a "slut" and a "prostitute."

One of the most popular radio shows in the country on Monday lost advertisers including AOL Inc. and Tax Resolution Services Co.

The tax firm helps people who have disputes with the IRS. It spends some $9 million a year on radio advertising, according to ratings firm Nielsen, and its website carries endorsement from conservative talk radio personalities Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, as well as Limbaugh himself.

"You don't need to fight this fight alone," Limbaugh is quoted as saying on the Tax Resolution site. His endorsement was still up on Tax Resolution's site on Monday afternoon.

CEO Michael Rozbruch said the statement about dropping Limbaugh was easily issued — but changing the website will require a meeting later in the week.

Limbaugh apologized over the weekend for his comments about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke after she testified to congressional Democrats that her Jesuit college's health plan should cover her birth control.

KPUA, an AM station in Hilo, Hawaii, said it is dropping Limbaugh's show immediately.

The statement by station owner New West said the Limbaugh incident "crossed a line of decency" and didn't live up to the station's standards.

"We are strong believers in the First Amendment and have recognized Mr. Limbaugh's right to express opinions that often times differ from our own, but it has never been our goal to allow our station to be used for personal attacks and intolerance," station owner New West said.

Limbaugh joked on Monday that he got a busy signal when he called his show because of the advertisers who are abandoning it.

Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks Inc. hosts Limbaugh's show. His on-air contract runs through 2016.

Premiere Radio said in a statement Monday that it respects Limbaugh's right to express his opinions. It said that, "in an attempt at absurdist humor to illustrate his political point, Mr. Limbaugh used words that unfortunately distracted from the message he was trying to convey."

The company said Limbaugh did the right thing by "expressing regret for his choice of words and offering his sincere and heartfelt apology to Ms. Fluke."

Fluke said Monday that Limbaugh's apology changes nothing and that Americans have to decide whether to support companies that continue to advertise on his program.

The advertisers that have backed away from Limbaugh's program represent a broad range of industries, from technology to financial services to retailers.

AOL, an Internet portal that runs the TechCrunch blog and the Huffington Post, said Monday that Limbaugh's comments "are not in line with our values."

Other companies that say they have left the show include flower delivery service ProFlowers, mortgage lender Quicken Loans, the maker of Sleep Number beds, mattress retailer Sleep Train, software maker Citrix Systems Inc., online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company LegalZoom.

Allstate Corp. said it bought ads on Limbaugh's show by accident.

The insurer at first told people who asked on Monday that it didn't buy ads on Limbaugh's show. But it said on Facebook that it learned during the day that its ads actually were running with the program. It said an advertising vendor had bought the ads in error and its advertising strategy never included ads on Limbaugh's show.

Allstate said on Facebook that it regretted "providing mistaken information" about its ads and has asked the media buying firm to stop advertising on Limbaugh's show "in keeping with our original advertising plans and strategies."

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment operates more than 850 radio stations in the U.S., and Premiere says it's the largest radio content provider in the country, syndicating programs to more than 5,000 affiliate stations.

Clear Channel has declined to say how much revenue it stands to lose from advertiser defections. Its parent company was taken private in 2008.

All I can say is Rush, remember when you got drunk and fucked that elephant last night?

[Dr. Love]

Congress needs to pass laws to stop things like this! I need the government to protect me from people saying such horrible things!

[Nitro Express]

We need congress to enact laws to shut themselves up before they do anymore damage.

I tell ya it would just be cheaper to send the congress and the president on vacation for a few years than to let them work in Washington. I mean you can buy a pretty good vacation for all of them for a lot less than five fucking trillion dollars.

[FORD]

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[Seshmeister]

If capitalism really worked it would have shot Rush Limbaugh in the face years ago...

[Nitro Express]

The insurance rates aren't going to go down. Obamacare limits the amount of insurance companies that can provide insurance and the prices for care will go up. It's just that the government will now force you to pay their premiums. The dumb thing is most companies will just pay the pentalty instead of buying the insurance because it will be cheaper.

So what we will actually get is less people covered and less choices on care.

The bill was written by some colluded insurance companies that greased enough palms in Washington. Nothing more. It doesn't matter if the government forces the insurance companies to pay for whatever, most people will just pay the fine not to have insurance because they can't afford the premiums. So basically you have to now pay the government to be uninsured and also, they are raiding medicare to pay for this scam. Wake up people.

[Unchainme]

I'm going to get criticized for this stance. but, I feel it's one I need to take.

First off, let me start off with this.

What limbaugh said was wrong, and to degrade a woman like this is wrong. That's how I was raised as a kid. So, I am no way endorsing his comments. I disagree with them entirely.

But, the entire effort to get his sponsors taken away because of one stupid comment, that he apologized for, and took the time out personally to apologize for. Is, with out a doubt wrong. Trying to silence Limbaugh because you disagree with what he is, is without a doubt wrong.

JESUS, We're in time where our civil liberties are being taken away, There's a Christian fucking BIGOT trying to win a major political party nomination, there's people out of work, there's people who are selling our voice to the highest bidder in congress AND THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT?

GET. YOU'RE. FUCKING. PRIORITIES. RIGHT.

I could give less of a shit what Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Randi Rhodes, Alex Jones, Bill Maher, Bill O'Reilly, Mike Malloy, Keith Olbermann, or any other asshole says on the air.

and yes, if the shoe was on the other foot (meaning someone who was socially/economically liberal), I'd be in full support of any of those aforementioned.

So long as they're not saying things like "Kill 22 year old college kids in ohio", or "go fuck little kids", I could careless. If I disagree with that person, and they annoy that much, I won't listen.

and may I mention something? You're going after limbaugh saying this stupid shit (which he at least showed some sympathy towards the women he insulted), how about the fact that on the local christian station on the fm dial, I've heard this women spout her dumbass bigotted takes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMIdYtj5ECI

Want someone to go after? this women has been more than asking for it. Her words right here, are FAR MORE DANGEROUS than what Limbaugh said.

[FORD]

Repukes are always preaching "Let the (so called) free market decide". I'm about 99% sure I've heard Mush use those words himself. So if his sponsors pull the plug on his ass for a horribly bigoted misogynist statement, so be it. It's certainly not the first dumb, classless thing he's ever said, or even the only bigoted comment, for that matter.

Personally, I would rather he was taken off the air from low ratings, which would be the case if three right wing corporations didn't own nearly every radio station in every major market, and nobody can nationally compete with him for that reason.

Used to be that Thom Hartmann would beat Limbaugh in every individual market where both shows aired at the same time. Of course now Thom has moved his show to afternoons, so he's no longer the direct competition, unless right wing stations air Mush on tape delay.

[Seshmeister]

Bill Maher made the point which I also did myself recently when a right wing guy got a lot of shit in the UK, that it's easy to argue for free speech when it's something you agree with any way, the important time to do it is when you disagree with what is being said.

[Unchainme]

Personally, I would rather he was taken off the air from low ratings, which would be the case if three right wing corporations didn't own nearly every radio station in every major market, and nobody can nationally compete with him for that reason.

Used to be that Thom Hartmann would beat Limbaugh in every individual market where both shows aired at the same time. Of course now Thom has moved his show to afternoons, so he's no longer the direct competition, unless right wing stations air Mush on tape delay.

Bingo.

Have no problem with that argument.

I for one would love to see some competition. Clear Channel sucks balls. Not only on the AM side, but the FM side too.

Imagine taking the nation's best rock station, and turning it into shit. That's what clear channel did.

[Unchainme]

Bill Maher made the point which I also did myself recently when a right wing guy got a lot of shit in the UK, that it's easy to argue for free speech when it's something you agree with any way, the important time to do it is when you disagree with what is being said.

I always felt of all things, Ron Jeremy made an excellent point about the issue. "Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like, it protects speech you hate".

[FORD]

Bingo.

Have no problem with that argument.

I for one would love to see some competition. Clear Channel sucks balls. Not only on the AM side, but the FM side too.

Imagine taking the nation's best rock station, and turning it into shit. That's what clear channel did.

Clear Channel isn't even so much a radio corporation as it is a political monster that manipulates radio stations on the side. It was literally founded with BCE money just in time for the launch of Chimpy's first campaign, and dominated 1/3 of all radio stations by the time of his 2004 campaign.

More recently they were acquired by Bain Capital - a corporation founded by one Willard Mittens Romney. So how did the new Mittenized Clear Channel kick off election year 2012?? By turning Green 960 - in San Francisco no less - into a right wing station. Oh they don't advertise it that way. In fact they claim to be "balanced" because they still air progressive programming. Just not in the daytime. And AM radio is literally unlistenable after sundown, of course.

When Obama is re-elected, you can bet that Mittens will probably sell off Clear Channel to the KKKoch Brothers, so it will be in place for whatever shill they buy to run in 2016.