Sympathy for Rush Limbaugh

As you knew they would, feminist critics of Rush Limbaugh have overshot. Conor Friedersdorf, who has long been a critic of Limbaugh’s rhetoric, is on the case:

 There is no bigger critic of the man than me. I am nevertheless appalled by the prominent liberals who want the state to use its coercive power to silence him. Writing at CNN.com, Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem actually compare the talk radio host to Josef Goebbels before arguing that if Clear Channel won’t drop him the FCC should throw him off the air because his broadcasts aren’t in the public interest. In a separate effort, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred has sent the Palm Beach County state attorney a letter urging that office to prosecute Limbaugh under an antiquated law that treats as a misdemeanor speaking about a woman and “falsely and maliciously imputing to her a want of chastity.”

Neither effort is likely to succeed. And thank goodness. The precedents these women would set are orders of magnitude more damaging than any offensive remark that Limbaugh has uttered.