When Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” repeatedly, all Mitt Romney could say was that “it’s not the language I would have used.” Asked later about Limbaugh, Romney added, “I’m not going to weigh in on that particular controversy.”
While Romney refused to issue a strong condemnation of the language used by Limbaugh, he’s far more willing to do it against liberal pundit Bill Maher:
In an appearance on the Sean Hannity radio show, Romney said, “Frankly, what Bill Maher said, and I finally read the transcripts, I was offended, outraged that a person would say that on TV and would not have been called on the carpet before now and not apologized for it. To have the Obama campaign retain a million dollars from Bill Maher, it is simply outrageous. I don’t condone that kind of language and particularly in a public setting, a TV setting.… It’s just gone way beyond the pale.”
Maher used a crude epithet to describe Sarah Palin, an act which ThinkProgress criticized him for. Defending his language about Palin, Maher said, “ To compare that to Rush is ridiculous – he went after a civilian about very specific behavior… I used a rude word about a public figure who gives as good as she gets.”
Why is Romney willing to give Limbaugh a pass while claiming Bill Maher is “beyond the pale”? As Romney himself said, “Well, you know, I find it hard to disagree with Rush Limbaugh on topics.”
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