Media blame Rush Limbaugh in IRS scandal

Joe Kovacs - WND.com

PALM BEACH, Fla. – As the probe continues into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative and tea-party groups, it has been revealed the practice started coming to light in early 2012, but was ignored or suppressed by the national media.

The New York Times is now linking radio powerhouse Rush Limbaugh as one of the key reasons the press corps did not cover the emerging scandal.

The Times reported in its Wednesday edition that in the first week of March last year, "Rush Limbaugh, the conservative icon and radio host, called a Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke, a 'slut' for her comments about the availability of birth control. The fallout from that consumed Washington, and Mr. Obama eventually called Ms. Fluke."

Limbaugh wasted no time mocking the Times, the self-proclaimed paper of record, for not reporting the real news of significance.

"They were so busy, that all of Washington was so absorbed with that story that they missed everything else going on that week and during that period of time. And during that period of time is when it was discovered that the IRS was investigating itself over targeting tea-party groups," Limbaugh said Wednesday.

"So the New York Times, in a story this morning, is trying to blame me for the media not uncovering the IRS scandals before the elections. Now I've heard everything! This takes the cake. I have now surpassed Bush, folks, in terms of being responsible for things that have gone wrong. I've got to put a notch in belt on this one or something."

Limbaugh noted found it ironic because he said national news pundits often say he's "irrelevant and inconsequential."

"The media … couldn't be bothered with any of the news about the IRS a year ago because of me," he said. "I was so distracting, I occupied so much of their time, the story was so fascinating, they had blinders on. They were unable to let any other news story in."

He also said there's no doubt the suppression of the IRS story had an effect on the 2012 presidential race.