After coming under heavy criticism for exploiting the death of comedian Robin Williams to attack “political leftists,” radio host Rush Limbaugh responded to the uproar by lashing out at Media Matters and the “leftist media” for highlighting his remarks. 

During the August 12 broadcast of his show, Limbaugh tied Williams' death to what he described as the “leftist worldview.”  Discussing media accounts of Williams' suicide, Limbaugh said that the “survivor's guilt” mentioned as a possible contributing factor is “a constant measurement that is made by political leftists in judging the country”:

Right here it says that one the contributing factors to Robin Williams deciding to kill himself was “survivor's guilt.”  It's in the headline.

I read that and I thought, “Survivor's guilt?  What? What survivor's guilt? What?” So I read it, and it turns out that three of his closest friends, the story says -- Christopher Reeve, John Belushi, and Andy Kaufman... The source, unnamed in the story, said that Robin Williams felt guilty that he was still alive while his three friends had died young and much earlier than he had. 

He could never get over the guilt that they died and he didn't. 

Well, that is a constant measurement that is made by political leftists in judging the country.  It's outcome-based education: 2 + 2 = 5.  “That's fine until the student learns it's 4.  We're not gonna humiliate the student by pointing out that he's wrong.  If he figures it out, cool.  We're gonna take the fast learners and we're gonna slow them down so that they don't humiliate the kids that don't learn as fast as they do.  It's just not fair.”

Limbaugh's comments were widely reported by numerous media outlets. On his August 13 broadcast, Limbaugh responded to outrage over his comments by denying that he had “accused Robin Williams of committing suicide because he was a liberal,” and blaming the negative response to his comments on Media Matters and the "leftist media.

Limbaugh has used similar tactics for years to escape responsibility for his commentary - - at times he even claims his offensive statements were an intentional "media tweak," a comment deliberately intended to draw attention from reporters.

In a rare exception, after coming under heavy criticism in 2012 for describing then-law student Sandra Fluke as a “slut” and a “prostitute,” Limbaugh “sincerely apologize[d]” to her, saying he “did not mean a personal attack” by launching 44 personal insults at her over three broadcasts. Those comments led to a massive advertiser boycott of Limbaugh's program that continues to this day.