by Nicholas Contompasis
Please read, thx.
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012
To: XXXXXX
Subject: Let's rush Rush off the air
It's time to flex our economic muscles!
Join us in telling Rush Limbaugh's many corporate sponsors to withdraw their ads from Rush's show immediately!
Take Action
Dear XXXXX,
That's it. We need to rush Rush off the air. After directly lashing out at Sandra Fluke, the woman who was recently barred from testifying on what ended up to be an all male “expert” panel on birth control in Congress; and then quasi-apologizing, Rush Limbaugh is at it again.
Let's do a quick recap of what's happened so far: On his Wednesday radio show last week, Rush Limbaugh said this about Sandra Fluke's support of access to birth control, “What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute.” Then on his show last Thursday, Rush Limbaugh took it even further and said the following outrageous, sexist, and extreme statement: “If we’re going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.”[1] And then there was the quasi-apology on Saturday where he said his "choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir." [2]
And then not content to leave well enough alone, just yesterday Rush Limbaugh again questioned Fluke's invitation to testify in the first place while on his show, saying, "She doesn’t have any expertise.” [3]
Rush's misogynistic tirades are harmful. Our daughters see that when women speak up for women, they can be ridiculed, demeaned, and labeled "prostitutes." And what's even more outrageous is that many of the commercial sponsors of Rush's show are marketing directly to women.
It's time to flex our economic muscles. Women "control $12 trillion of the overall $18.4 trillion in global consumer spending,"[4] and companies tremble in their boots when their consumers speak up in a mass. Already a number of Rush's sponsors like AOL, ProFlowers, and Sleep Number have withdrawn their ads from his show [5], but many more advertisers remain.[6]
*Join us in telling the many remaining corporate sponsors of Rush Limbaugh's program to show women, their consumers, some respect by withdrawing their advertising from Rush Limbaugh's show immediately:
We'll deliver your petition signature directly to the corporate sponsors who are continuing to underwrite Rush's show. Let's teach Rush Limbaugh and his corporate sponsors that moms stand up to bullies. And if you target and try to silence us, or our daughters, there will be a high price to pay.
Too much is at stake to let this bullying continue. Birth control matters to moms and to our nation. Reliable birth control that permits women to responsibly control how many children to have, and when to have them, has been nothing short of a miracle -- not just for women and mothers, but for our country as a whole. It's improved the health of women and their families, as well as given women and mothers increased access to economic and political opportunities unlike any other time in history.
Women need access to birth control, not only to control how many children they have, but also for their overall health. At MomsRising we regularly hear stories from women like Sarah, who shared:"I had very bad endometriosis and had to begin taking birth control pills back when I was 18 years old - years before I was even sexually active. It was recommended I get laparoscopy surgery and use of birth control to keep the endometriosis at bay. So 17 years later, because of the medical use of birth control pills, my husband and I were able to conceive and have our daughter when I was both physically and financially ready. Had my employer had some moral objection to my use of birth control all those years, the damage caused by untreated endometriosis might have left me infertile."
Media figures and leaders increasingly seem to think it’s okay to behave in blatantly sexist ways as they try to limit women and mothers’ access to birth control--despite the fact that 99% of women in our nation have used birth control at some point in their lives
Rush Limbaugh, the media, and Congress need to hear that attacking women, and attacking crucial contraceptive health care for women, is off limits.
*Join us in telling the many remaining corporate sponsors of Rush Limbaugh's program to show women, their consumers, some respect by withdrawing their advertising from Rush Limbaugh's show immediately:
Your signature will be delivered to the corporate sponsors who are continuing to underwrite Rush's show.
Not only is it important to stand up for women like Sandra Fluke, who are standing up for us all, it's also important to stand up for increased access to birth control. Increased access to birth control is an important part of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (health care reform).
Mothers care deeply about their children, and we hear from members each day about how they're fighting for their children with their hearts and souls. Part of that fight is making sure we all have access to birth control: Giving parents control over planning their families allows them, in turn, to give their children the best futures possible.
Now is not the time to allow the voices of women to be silenced by intimidation from media bullies like Rush Limbaugh. Women’s voices must be heard!
Together, we are a powerful force for women and families,
-- Kristin, Donna, Joan, Ashley, Mary, Ruth, Elisa, Sarah, Monifa, Claire, and the whole MomsRising.org team
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