Sandra Fluke, the former Georgetown University law student who became embroiled in a national debate over whether women should receive free contraception from insurance companies, was named on Tuesday as one of 40 candidates for Time magazine's “Person of the Year.”
According to the magazine's website, the award “is bestowed by the editors on the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.”
Joining the recently graduated 31-year-old lawyer on Time’s candidate list are 2008 Person of the Year President Barack Obama, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 1992′s Man of the Year and former President Bill Clinton, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As part of its announcement, the magazine stated that Fluke “became a women's-rights activist in college and continued her advocacy as a law student at Georgetown.”
In addition, she was praised for her “poise and maturity” in dealing with criticism from the “right-wing media” and her influence on promoting reproductive rights as a key issue in the presidential campaign:
Fluke responded in a Twitter post that she is “Honored 2 b listed,” then accused the process of being sexist since “many govt officials listed-therefore few women.”
While many liberals hailed Fluke's inclusion on the list, many conservatives were not impressed.
“She became the face for the pro-abortion movement during the 2012 elections and the laughingstock of pro-lifers for her relentless push to force Americans to pay for her birth control,” Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com wrote.
Fluke is apparently unable to figure out how to purchase low-cost birth control from places like Target, Walmart or her local pharmacy. Still, Time magazine felt she was qualified enough to include her with legitimate newsmakers and leaders who are significantly more deserving of the award and recognition.
Ben Shapiro of Breitbart.com asserted that Fluke's inclusion on the list demonstrated that the national news magazine is losing what little journalistic integrity it has left.
“Just when you think Time magazine can't make any more of a mockery of itself, they nominate Sandra Fluke, contraception advocate extraordinaire, as a candidate in their Person of the Year 2012 poll,” he stated.
Fluke, of course, is the condom rights advocate turned Georgetown Law School martyr who testified before Congress about the hardships encountered by young female law school students who couldn't afford to pay for their own birth control pills.
“Leave it to Time to make her its Person of the Year.,” Shapiro added. “Of course, in the year of the dependent American voter, they might be right.”
Jim Hoff of the Gateway Pundit website also reacted negatively to the announcement.
“Time magazine has nominated Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student who demanded you pay for her $10 a month birth control pills, as Person of the Year.”
Last year, Time’s Person of the Year was “the Protester;” in 2010, they selected Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg; and in 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke received the honor.
Hoff agreed that the winner is not always the popular choice. “This will put her up there with Adolf Hitler and Yasser Arafat,” he stated.
Also chiming in on the odd selections that have been made by the magazine over the years was Megyn Kelly, host of the Fox News Channel program America Live, and her guest, radio host Lars Larson.
"So you got JFK with Person of the Year with Time, you've got Gandhi, and maybe now -- Sandra Fluke," Kelly stated.
"No," radio host Lars Larson replied. "JFK who said 'Ask not what your country can do for you?' And now we've got Sandra Fluke saying my country can buy me birth control for three years of law school." He then said it was "absurd" that Fluke "managed to spend $80 or $100 a month on birth control."
Jim Treacher of the Daily Caller site also pointed to bizarre selections by the magazine:
Back in 2006, Time magazine made “You” their Person of the Year. And you -- meaning you personally, not the Time version of “You” -- probably thought that was the silliest, most solipsistic candidate they could’ve possibly picked.
“You were right,” he added..”Until now.”
Treacher then rattled off a list of Fluke's accomplishments: “She demanded free stuff. Rush Limbaugh called her a rude name. Obama called to make sure she was okay. “
After stating that he had voted for her on the magazine's website, he added: “Consider it a protest vote. You know Obama’s going to win, because Time doesn’t want people thinking they’re racists.”
I have to agree with Treacher: The “honor” is Obama's to lose after coming back from negative polls in 2011 to win the White House in an unexpectedly strong showing. Still, this announcement has given Sandra Fluke another minute in the public eye after long ago using up all of her 15 minutes of fame.
