For Limbaugh, Sexism And Political Commentary Are Intricately Connected

Rush Limbaugh, the self-proclaimed “defender and protector of American women and women worldwide”, is far from a defender or protector. Having previously referred to women at the National Organization for Women as whores to liberalism, re-titled Hillary Clinton as the “Sex-retary” of State" or better yet the “most cheated on woman in the world”, Limbaugh's derogatory, sexist comments about women appear to have no limit.

Limbaugh repeatedly discusses women through a hypersexualized lens in which women are babes, whores, “sex-retaries”, or entertainment items that “bring us beer and wear sexy clothes” during NFL games.

On today's show, he turned his sights on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

LIMBAUGH: Pelosi. Yeah, she's speaker of the House. Yeah, she got health care done. But is she smart? She's calculating. She understands how to put the fear of God in the people she's leading. But when it comes to really common sense right and wrong, is the woman smart? Folks, I swear, I listen to her and I -- there's no way this woman is smart. But she's very skilled and very talented at certain skill sets.

They said Hillary Clinton, I'll never forget, the smartest women in the world. Why? What did Hillary Clinton do but allow herself to get stepped on every day of her marriage but turn it around for her benefit? Was -- I mean, a lot of women wouldn't put up with one-tenth of what Hillary's husband did. A lot of women do. It's always -- when you talk about somebody who is smart it is always interesting to me who is calling them that. Who is telling us so and so is smart?"

Limbaugh's comments should not be dismissed as simply an attack on progressive politicians. Taking Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton as his targets, these comments play on stereotypes that portray women as calculating and manipulative. These remarks take away from what these two women have spent years building a series of accomplishments that are recognized not only in America but around the world.