[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ADVERTISERS PLAY A ROLE IN POLITICS

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, last night, I rested very well on my Sleep 
Number bed knowing that the company had pulled its ads from Rush 
Limbaugh's show.
  In light of Limbaugh's recent misogynistic attack on Georgetown 
student Sandra Fluke's fight to obtain affordable, legal birth control 
for women, I have been drawn to the important part that advertisers 
play in politics.
  The use of airwaves to spread hatred of women is wrong. Those 
advertisers who support broadcasters who do so are nothing less than 
accessories to the crime. Advertisers' money keeps these vitriolic and 
hateful shows and hosts on the air.
  Talk radio has gone too far, and it's long past time that advertisers 
take the initiative and recognize that shows they support often spread 
lies and hateful speech. I commend those advertisers who pulled their 
ads from this show, and I await those who follow. Companies like Sleep 
Number will keep my business, and my next order of flowers will come 
from ProFlowers.
  But this isn't just about Mr. Limbaugh's recent, as he called it, 
``insulting word choices'' as his substandard apology stated; it's 
about every advertiser who chooses to endorse the spread of hateful 
words and misinformation on America's airwaves.

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