text: Photograph by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images. 
   
   For three days last week, Rush Limbaugh ridiculed Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student who had argued that health insurers should be required to cover contraception. Then, on Saturday, under pressure from his advertisers, Limbaugh apologized. The apology addressed Limbaugh’s personal language about Fluke, whom he had called a “slut” (and from whom he had jokingly demanded “videos of all this sex posted online so we can see what we are getting for our money”). But it didn’t recant or rebut any of the ideas Limbaugh put forward during his rants against Fluke. And those ideas are worth examining, because, whether you love or hate Limbaugh, his impromptu monologues are a useful indicator of what many conservative Americans think. Let’s look at the questions he raised. 
   
   William Saletan Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other stuff for Slate. He’s the author of Bearing Right. 
   
   
   
   1. What’s the problem with contraceptive insurance: socialism or promiscuity? In his apology, Limbaugh said his objection was to socialism, not sex: 
   
   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. … 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. 
   
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   But that doesn’t square with what Limbaugh said during his Flukefest. “I will buy all of the women at Georgetown University as much aspirin to put between their knees as they want,” he joked Thursday. Later that day, Limbaugh repeated: “I'd buy all these women aspirins, put 'em between their knees, like Andrea Mitchell does.” On Friday, he reminded his listeners: “I offered to pay for aspirins.” 
   
   Limbaugh was jesting, but the undercurrent seemed real. Does he object to paying for pills, or just for pills that facilitate sex? 
   
   2. How much sex is too much? Fluke said birth control could cost a student more than $3,000 during law school. From this, Limbaugh somehow inferred that “she and her coed classmates are having sex nearly three times a day for three years straight, apparently.” In truth, Limbaugh has no idea how often Fluke has sex. But I can tell you exactly how many times Limbaugh used the phrase “so much sex” during his three days of attacking Fluke. The number is 23, and it rises above 30 if you include related phrases such as "sex-crazed coeds,” “sex-addict frequency,” “having sex so often,” “having sex so damn much,” “repeated, never-ending, as-often-as-she-wants-it sex,” and “sex anytime, as many times and as often as they want, with as many partners as they want.” If frequency reflects obsession, Limbaugh is obsessed with sexual frequency. Which raises the question: How much sex, in his view, is too much? 
   
   3. Is contraception a sex enabler? Limbaugh accused Fluke of asking the public “to pay for the things that make it possible for her to have sex.” He called this “thousands of dollars in taxpayer dollars to satisfy the sexual habits of female law students,” and he rejected the idea of subsidizing such “personal sexual desires and habits.” Referring to a woman who sought contraception, Limbaugh scoffed, “Here's a woman exercising no self-control. “ 
   
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   4. What consequences should a woman face for having sex? Twice on Thursday, Limbaugh criticized the idea of a “woman [who] wants unlimited, no-responsibility, no-consequences sex.” On Friday, he faulted people who want “sex without consequence” and “behavior that people want to engage in with no consequences.” What exactly did he mean? Does he think pregnancy is the proper consequence of sex? Does he think it’s wrong to block that consequence? Rick Santorum thinks so. Does Limbaugh agree? 
   
   5. Is pregnancy prevention a legitimate medical need? Twice, Limbaugh mocked the notion that women need birth control to avoid a “killer disease.” His tone was jocular, but he was essentially repeating an argument made by Catholic bishops: that pregnancy isn’t a disease, and therefore, contraception isn’t health care and shouldn’t be covered by universal health insurance. “This is a matter of personal choice. It's an elective activity,” Limbaugh protested. “They want to create a welfare entitlement program where we provide birth control pills, because pregnancy's an illness.” He also compared contraception to Botox, joking that “Botox-filled” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi had probably told Fluke: "Have you heard what Botox costs? I can relate!" Does Limbaugh think contraception is as frivolous as Botox? If not, how seriously does he regard it? 
   
   6. What responsibility should men bear? “Where are the guys here? Do they not have a role?” Limbaugh asked. “There are men involved, and that would mean there's some responsibility on the part of the men. Do they not have condoms? … What about these deadbeat boyfriends? … Where's their responsibility?” 
   
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   These excellent questions were lost in the outrage over Limbaugh’s “slut” remark. Let’s give him credit for raising them, and let’s press him for answers. If he doesn’t want the government paying for birth control, what steps would he take to enforce male responsibility? A DNA database would make babies traceable to their fathers. Would Limbaugh support that? If not, how would he hold deadbeat boyfriends accountable? 
   
   You raised good questions, Rush. You’re on the air three hours a day. Let’s hear your answers. 
   
   William Saletan's latest short takes on the news, via Twitter: ||||| Rush Limbaugh isn’t the only conservative who bashed Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law student who advocated in favor of requiring insurance companies to cover contraception. Actress Patricia Heaton, of Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle fame, attacked Fluke via Twitter. 
   
   And now Heaton’s Twitter account has been deleted. Smells like a PR clean-up to us. Perhaps her bosses at ABC were worried that, as with Limbaugh, the nasty remarks would cause advertisers to flee. Maybe Heaton herself was wary of the backlash. Some of her many tweets about Fluke: 
   
   G -Gal: you’ve given yer folks great gift for Mother’s/Father’s Day! Got up in front of whole world & said I’m having tons of sex- pay 4 it! If every Tweaton sent Georgetown Gal one condom, her parents wouldn’t have to cancel basic cable, & she would never reproduce – sound good? Hey G-Town Gal: Plz let us also pay for your Starbucks, movie theater tickets, and your favorite hot wings combo deal at KFC! Anything else? 
   
   More of Heaton’s deleted tweets can be found on Crooks & Liars, Angry Black Girl, and Fanity. ||||| Patricia Heaton is a Coward 
   
   Patricia Heaton, star of ABC’s The Middle, high-tailed it off of Twitter recently, presumably because she could not defend the nasty and misogynistic insults that she lobbed at Sandra Fluke. She also encouraged her “Tweatons” to lob at Ms. Fluke. 
   
   Unfortunately for her, in connection with one of my posts on Oink-Gate, I took a screenshot of her Twitter stream. Here it is: 
   
   Sorry, Patricia. You can run away from your words, but you cannot hide from them. The Internet is forever. ||||| Actress Patricia Heaton is perhaps known for her roles in the sitcoms "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The Middle". She's also an outspoken conservative (not that rare a breed in Hollywood, no matter what Fox News says) who isn't afraid to dip her toe into her frequently factually incorrect political advocacy. For example, she was happy to film a commercial in response to Michael J. Fox's support for a Missouri stem cell research bill by warning against the evils of human cloning and human egg harvesting for profit. 
   
   And she's at it again, this time echoing Rush Limbaugh in castigating Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student who was prevented from testifying in front of Issa's panel discussing the Obama administration's mandate that contraceptive care be offered to all employees free of charge. Heaton tweeted on Wednesday to her 65,000 followers that if each of her "Tweatons" (a portmanteau that cannot be scorned enough) would just send the "Georgetown Gal" a condom, then "her parents wouldn't have to cancel basic cable and she wouldn't reproduce". 
   
   The American conservative: Keepin' it Klassy, as always. 
   
   Predictably, this set off a firestorm on Twitter, one for which Heaton may not have been prepared. I mean, really, how dare people take offense to her attacking a college student she doesn't know for daring to express concern about her reproductive rights? 
   
   Hey Tweatons: progressives are extremely sensitive and delicate. They are also humorless. Treat them gently & don't try to joke w/them. 
   
   Yeah, it's our humorless nature that's the problem. It's not that Heaton is armed with no facts, is passing judgments against others and bullying a college student for no other reason than her own ignorant views.
target: – Patricia Heaton apparently agrees with Rush Limbaugh when it comes to Georgetown student and birth control advocate Sandra Fluke. The Everybody Loves Raymond actress tweeted a series of attacks aimed at Fluke last week, then deleted her Twitter account, Mediabistro reports. Some of the highlights, as preserved for posterity by Crooks & Liars, Angry Black Lady, and Fanity: "If every Tweaton sent Georgetown Gal one condom, her parents wouldn’t have to cancel basic cable, & she would never reproduce – sound good?" "G-Gal: you’ve given yer folks great gift for Mother’s/Father’s Day! Got up in front of whole world & said I’m having tons of sex- pay 4 it!" Hey G-Gal! Change major to Health Sciences, then look at pix of people w/syphilis, gonorrhrea [sic], herpes, and chlamydia! Instant birth control! "Hey G-Town: stop buying toothpaste, soap, and shampoo! You'll save money, and no one will want to sleep with you!" "Hey G-Town Gal: Plz let us also pay for your Starbucks, movie theater tickets, and your favorite hot wings combo deal at KFC! Anything else?" Want more on the topic? Click to read six questions for Limbaugh on sex and contraception.