DeGette Asks House Leadership To Condemn Limbaugh Remarks

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1) joined 74 colleagues in sending a letter to House Speaker John Boehner asking him to repudiate the offensive and obscene remarks made by Republican talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh's remarks, in which he levels personal attacks against a young woman who had the courage to offer her perspective on women's health, can be found here. The full text of the letter is available below.

March 1, 2012

The Honorable John A. Boehner

Speaker

United States House of Representatives

H-232 United States Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner:

We write today to request that Republican House leadership repudiate the comments made by Rush Limbaugh, host of The Rush Limbaugh show, regarding Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke. Ms. Fluke was denied the opportunity to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and later spoke out before a meeting of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. On his February 29, 2012 show, Mr. Limbaugh repeatedly used sexually charged, patently offensive, and obscene language to malign the character of this courageous young woman who has chosen to be the voice for many of her peers.

This kind of direct attack on a private citizen is unacceptable. Mr. Limbaugh is as free as any American to speak his mind about the political and social issues of our time, but using his radio show as a means for blatantly insulting a hard-working American with obscene and indecent language because he disagrees with her personal choices is an abuse of the public airwaves. As leaders of the House that initially denied Ms. Fluke the right to speak, the republicans have a special obligation to condemn the atrocious and hurtful words spoken by Mr. Limbaugh.

Sincerely,

For a full list of the letter’s signers, please click here.