Tilley: I may have called a woman a slut when I was younger

The fallout over Speaker of the House Steve Tilley's decision to enshrine talk show host Rush Limbaugh in the Hall of Famous Missourians continues to be a sore point with many in the state.

A diary on the Show Me Progress blog indicates Tilley met with a dozen representatives of Students for a Better Missouri, did not allow the session to be recorded and videotaped (you don't want those things winding up on YouTube, after all) and answered their questions about the Limbaugh decision:

One of the male students asked if the way a person is chosen for induction should be changed to avoid controversy, but Tilley did not respond to the question, instead again saying he believed his choice to induct Limbaugh was the correct choice. 

Several in the group said the words, and the continued use of those words,  by Limbaugh used when talking about Fluke - "slut", "prostitute", "whore" - were offensive and abusive to all women, and told Speaker Tilley it would be a poor reflection on the State of Missouri, and that it would seem Missouri condoned this treatment of women, if the State went forward with the induction.  Tilley said Limbaugh's comments, while unfortunate, would not deter anyone from coming to the State Capitol.  One woman said she would not feel welcome in the Capitol if the bust is placed in the Hall of Famous Missourians.  Tilley said that was unfortunate but did not feel it would stop any others from going to the Capitol. 

When asked if he had ever called a woman a slut, Tilley said he could not remember if he had. "Maybe when I was younger I might have," he said.