NOW President Calls Out Limbaugh's “Hate” and “Bullying” Tactics

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

National Organization for Women president Terry O'Neill today criticized Rush Limbaugh's new Facebook fan page, “Rush Babes for America,” or as Limbaugh called it on his show on Tuesday, the “National Organization for Rush Babes.”

In an interview with Politico's Dylan Byers, O'Neill said:

“I don't think conservative women want to associate themselves with his hate. I don't think they would want to associate themselves with his bullying. ...I don't think conservative women would want to associate themselves with his vitriolic attacks.”

In announcing the fan page on his radio show, Limbaugh attacked NOW as a “faux-feminist group,” saying:

LIMBAUGH: Sometime later this month, the femi-Nazis are going to be working with Media Matters for America and kicking off some giant program, some coordinated plan, to have me taken off the air under the premise that women hate this program, and that this program is an unfriendly environment for women, that this program laughs at, impugns, makes fun of women.

Of course, the flaw in this is that the National Organization for Women thinking that they speak for women. If there was ever a group that speaks for an almost infinitesimal minority of women, it's the NAGs.

“NAGS” is Limbaugh's “pet name for the NOW gang,” which stands for “National Association of Gals” -- a term he shared with listeners during a June 2004 show.

Limbaugh said that his fan page would be “dedicated to the millions of conservative women who know what they believe in: family, American values, and not being told by faux-feminist groups how to think.”

Politico reported that O'Neill “said that conservative women, while they may agree with Limbaugh on matters of policy, would not support his 'bullying,' citing his recent attacks on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, who he referred to as a 'slut' and a 'prostitute.' " O'Neill added:

“I think there are extraordinarily few people who agree with what he said about Sandra Fluke. ... I don't think women want to watch Sandra Fluke having sex in a video tape for the sexual gratification of men.”

Limbaugh's fan page was apparently a response to NOW's “Enough Rush” campaign, which the organization launched on April 19 “to deliver the powerful message to Rush Limbaugh and his apologists that bullying is no longer profitable.”