Categorized | Business, Entertainment

Big Island radio station KPUA pulls Rush Limbaugh show

Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

Big Island radio station KPUA (670 AM) has pulled The Rush Limbaugh Show ‘effective immediately’ according to a Chris Leonard, President and General Manager of KPUA parent company New West Broadcasting.

Limbaugh has been at the center of a firestorm of media attention after remarks he made about Georgetown Law Center student Sandra Fluke.

On Feburary 23, 2012 Fluke testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee to talk about women’s health and contraception.

On Wednesday (Feb 29) Limbaugh called Fluke a ‘slut’ and a ‘prostitute’ during his radio show and followed up on Thursday (March 1) with additional statements.

Rush Limbaugh Show (2/29/12): What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke [sic], who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.

Rush Limbaugh Show (3/1/12): So, Ms. Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I’ll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.

On Saturday (March 3) Limbaugh issued an apology:

Rush Limbaugh: 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 on 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 choices.

On Monday (March 5) Leonard released a statement:

Chris Leonard: “We have always encouraged spirited discussion about national and local issues on KPUA and from time to time those discussions may be deemed by some to be objectionable. We are strong believers in the first amendment and have recognized Mr. Limbaugh’s right to express opinions that often times differ from our own, but it has never been our goal to allow our station to be used for personal attacks and intolerance. The most recent incident has crossed a line of decency and a standard that we expect of programming on KPUA whether it is locally produced or a syndicated program like the Rush Limbaugh show.

While much of the national debate regarding this issue is now being framed in political terms, the decision for us is one of decency and responsibility. Regardless of one’s political views on the issue being discussed, we feel the delivery was degrading and the continued comments over several days to be egregious. As a result, we are discontinuing the Rush Limbaugh program on KPUA effective immediately.”

A number of national advertisers of The Rush Limbaugh Show have pulled their advertising after receiving numerous calls and emails regarding Limbaugh’s comments. As of Monday (March 5) the following clients have pulled advertisments from The Rush Limbaugh Show: AllState Insurance, AOL, Carbonite, Citrix, LegalZoom, ProFlowers, Sleep Train, Sleep Number, Quicken Loans.

A Statement from David Friend, CEO of Carbonite as of 6:45pm ET, March 3:
“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. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now 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.”

10 Responses to “Big Island radio station KPUA pulls Rush Limbaugh show”

  1. vet2640 says:

    I am not a regular listener of KPUA radio, but when I saw that Mr. Chris Leonard pulled this hate monger off the air, I must say, “THANK YOU” Chris Leonard, for doing the right thing. Good job!

  2. Sensibility says:

    Rush represents the Inevitable uprising of the middle class in this country…and it will be violent

    • Baron says:

      The person who posted a few replies using my name just got banned from commenting.

      While we encourage spirited discussion we do not allow overly personal attacks.

      Also we will not tolerate someone impersonating another person. We can understand that some folks may feel the need to be anonymous but spoofing their identity won’t be allowed here. I consider identity theft to be serious business to be reported to the authories and if the person decided to take it further, like telephone harassment then that would be a Class C felony.

      aloha,
      Baron

  3. haole rot says:

    A big loss for all 5 KPUA listeners.

  4. Kathryn Murphy says:

    Kudos and Cheers to KPUA for being the first affiliate in the country to cancel Rush Limbaugh.

    KPUA Supports Daughters of Pele.

  5. Diana Liuzzo says:

    Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can’t figure out why anyone would listen to that guy!!!

  6. Angela says:

    I, along with many of my conservative friends here in Hawaii, will miss the Rush talk show. We are hoping to get him back on the air. If you don’t like him, may I suggest not listening? Perhaps the owners will put him back on if their ratings go down. If not, then we will listen to him elsewhere.

  7. Gregg says:

    Wow,
    Isn’t it amazing how people in this state call themselves liberal and democratic but will remove something that they find offensive, while at the same time, be furious for right wing fanatics who try and do the same. First of all, let me say, while I am a conservative, I cannot stand Rush Limbaugh and think he is a complete idiot. Guess how I deal with his show, I DON”T LISTEN TO IT! To drop the show just illustrates how short sighted and unwilling you are to allow for others opinions.Let idiots like Limbaugh and Imus stay on the air as they are their own worst enemy. Quit lying to yourself Hawaii liberals. You are just as anal retentive as the rest of us.

  8. Dabigragu says:

    Now that the dust has settled the truth comes out. Always does.
    This was somewhat of a knee-jerk move on the part of the radio station’s management. Then again it’s Chris’ station, he can do what he wants, to his own demise. Do your homework, this was a political setup. Sandra Fluke is an activist, she has been one for several years. Besides wanting free pills, which is not a practice of safe sex, Ms Fluke also supports free transgender surgery, also to be paid by tax payers. Really?
    TV’s Bill Maher calls Sarah Palin a “Cun*” while on air, at the same time left-wing radio host Ed Schultz calls Laura Ingraham a “Talk Show Slu*” No one pulls any ads, No FCC violations and No apology was ever offered up. Not one mention by the lame stream media about these prior violations coming from this political camp on several occasions. What a joke we have become.

  9. Greg says:

    I wonder what the ad rate is now during that time slot.

    But Now I get Rush on tunein radio on my droid so I don’t care.

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