Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pauses on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 7, 2011, while meeting with the media after the Democratic policy luncheon.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday night that Rush Limbaugh is losing credibility and called the nation’s most popular talk radio host’s comments about a law school student “embarrassing for our country.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, the Democratic majority leader said “mainstream Republicans don’t accept all this crazy stuff taking place.”
“What we need are the Republicans to get back to where they were,” Reid said on the liberal show. “We don’t have Republican leaders who can lead them down the path to bring about real change in the country.”
Limbaugh last week called Georgetown Law School student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” on his radio show. She had testified before Congress regarding women's access to contraception through health insurance.
After the comments blew up into a controversy and some sponsors abandoned him, Limbaugh issued an apology on his website on Saturday and addressed the issue on his show on Monday.
The written statement said, in part: "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."
Fluke called Limbaugh’s statements insufficient.
Reid and Limbaugh have tussled in the past. In 2007, Reid authored a letter to the Clear Channel Communications boss asking Limbaugh to apologize for using the term “phony soldiers,” which Limbaugh's critics claimed was directed at Iraq War veterans who supported withdrawal from the country.
Reid's letter to Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays was auctioned off for $2.1 million by Limbaugh, who declared victory over the Senate Democrat.
On Monday, Reid was asked by O’Donnell if Limbaugh's treatment of Fluke would deter citizens from testifying before Congress.
“You cannot have something like this take place. It’s embarrassing for our country. It’s embarrassing to Congress ... You can’t do that to women in America anymore,” Reid said.
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