Rush Limbaugh scares Girl Scouts, satisfies Bill Maher

Rush Limbaugh's radio show sponsors are still fleeing, but he got support from liberal comedian/host Bill Maher after Limbaugh's apology.

UPDATE: Tuesday March 7, 2012---Politico.com reports that the number of advertisers who have pulled ads on Limbaugh's radio program has climbed to 39, but two new sponsors have emerged.

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Rush Limbaugh's advertisers are fleeing in great numbers. As of Wednesday morning, the total had reached 35 and among the latest to announce their departures are Capital One bank and the Girl Scouts of America, reported Politico.

The Girl Scouts spokesperson issued a statement that set forth its position which read in part: “Our decision to pull our advertising is due to the fact that current programming does not align with the Girl Scout mission."

There are others who just don't want to be associated with his program although they aren't among the list of 35. The rock band Rush has formally asked Limbaugh's producers to remove its music from playing on the air. Politico via Bob Cesca's website reported that a letter was sent from the band's attorney demanding he cease the use of his client's tunes.

Fear of association between the conservative talk show host and the Canadian band was cited as one reason for the request.

"The public performance of Rush’s music is not licensed for political purposes and any such use is in breach of public performance licenses and constitutes copyright infringement." "...the use of Rush’s music in this manner implies an endorsement of the views expressed and products advertised on the show..."

But Limbaugh is getting support from an unexpected source who is taking Democrats to task. Bill Maher tweeted his position on the "slut" comments. "Hate to defend #RushLimbaugh but he apologized, liberals looking bad not accepting. Also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout."

Maher, whose show "Real Time with Bill Maher" airs on HBO landed at the cable network after his show on the ABC network was canceled. At the time, Bill Maher hosted the late night talk show "Politically Incorrect."

Shorty after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 President Bush called the perpetrators "cowards". Maher took exception to it and made a point about military action taken by the United States. "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly."

Maher made the point that with a show called "Politically Incorrect" no one should have been surprised, but the national wound inflicted by Al Qaeda was too deep for many to understand Maher's point about cowardice.

Large sponsors such as Federal Express and Sears pulled their advertising but when ABC decided to end the show's run in May 2002, it denied a tie to the firestorm of criticism heaped on Maher. "

"We made a decision to go with straight entertainment programming in late night. That's just basically a scheduling opportunity that we felt over the long term had more potential." It ushered in the tenure of Jimmy Kimmel who remains in that late night time slot until today.

Expect to hear more from Bill Maher on Twitter this week and on this week's edition of "Real Time" regarding his beef with Democrats on the subject.

Image subject: Wikimedia Commons

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