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The Limbaugh controversy is not about insults

By Scott Tibbs, March 6, 2012

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. - 1 Corinthians 6:18

If you believe that the controversy over Rush Limbaugh calling a Georgetown law student a "slut" is driven by legitimate outrage over what Limbaugh said, I sincerely hope that you take along a trusted and discerning friend when you go to purchase a used automobile. Because you are a very naïve person.

This is not to defend what Limbaugh said. He was being intentionally provocative, partially to get attention and partially because he genuinely enjoys offending Leftists - who take the bait more often than not. He could have accomplished the same point had he not based his argument on insulting Sandra Fluke. I do not agree with the idea of being intentionally provocative for its own sake. Limbaugh issued an "apology" that wasn't an apology at all, because he did mean to say what he said and he did mean to be insulting.

But this has nothing to do with Ms. Fluke. This is a coordinated effort by the Democratic Party and allied groups to silence a major critic of Barack Obama ahead of a difficult election, where he may well be thrown out of office. This is about 2012 politics, not defending the honor of Ms. Fluke. If it were about the honor of Ms. Fluke, Limbaugh's enemies would be more concerned with shaming the men who are sexually exploiting her with no intention of caring for her in the future.

There was a time in this country, within my lifetime, where it would have been unthinkable for a woman to go before the U.S. Congress and admit to regularly having sex outside of marriage. It would have been unthinkable for a woman to go before the U.S. Congress and ask the federal government to force someone else to pay for her birth control so she can continue to have sex outside of marriage.

And before anyone starts whining about double standards, it is just as wicked for men to use a woman sexually with no intention of marrying her as for women to have sex outside of the context that God has established for sex - marriage. And please, let's not even pretend that Christians are opposed to sex. After all, the very first commandment in the Bible (Genesis 1:28) is to have sex. How exactly are we supposed to "be fruitful and multiply" without having sex?

But, once again, this whole ginned-up controversy has absolutely nothing to do with sexual morality, birth control, or offensive comments by a radio talk show host. This is about a bunch of authoritarians who cannot abide dissent trying desperately to silence one of the President's most prominent political opponents. Some on the Left are even raising the "fairness doctrine" again, hoping to use the federal government to censor Limbaugh and force radio stations to carry state-approved messages for the sake of "balance." And that effort must be intensely opposed.