As More Sponsors Jump Ship, Rush Limbaugh Still On Defensive

Rush Limbaugh made an apology Saturday for crude remarks made on his radio show about a Georgetown University law student's congressional testimony. He claimed Monday that should be enough.

Some, increasingly including sponsors, disagree.

The conservative pundit jested Monday that even he got a busy signal dialing into his show to get in line with sponsors calling to abandon their support. Limbaugh issued a statement Saturday via his website claiming he regretted calling Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" last Wednesday because Fluke testified before an all-Democratic congressional committee that she supported federal regulations requiring that insurance providers cover contraceptives.

"For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack Ms. Fluke.

"I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit? In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone's bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.

"My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choice."

He added during Monday's show, "Those two words were inappropriate. They were uncalled-for. They distracted from the point I was actually trying to make."

On the previous Wednesday's show, Limbaugh reasoned following Fluke's testimony that if she "must be paid to have sex . . . What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute." He carried his attack a step further Thursday, proposing "So Miss Fluke, if we are going to . . . pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch." Fluke, who told The Daily Beast recently that she's considering legal action against Limbaugh, said during an appearance on ABC's "The View" Monday morning that Limbaugh's attack was "an attempt to silence [her]."

As of this past weekend, AOL, ProFlowers and Carbonite joined Quicken Loans, LegalZoom, Sleep Number and Sleep Train among the sponsors cutting off Limbaugh's financial support. David Friend, who runs Carbonite, issued a particularly pointed statement to Limbaugh.

"No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady," Friend said. "Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has no issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse."

Though he apologized, Limbaugh remained confident he'd replenish his advertising revenue quickly enough.

"I reject millions of dollars of advertisers a year much to the chagrin of my hard-working sales staff," Limbaugh said.