Limbaugh: Healthcare bill will be named in Kennedy's memory

Senator Edward M. Kennedy drew a standing ovation when he appeared at the White House healthcare summit on Thursday.

But radio show host Rush Limbaugh gave him another kind of greeting today, suggesting that the healthcare bill will be named in memory of Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer.

Continuing his criticism of President Obama, Limbaugh said Obama is failing to fix the economy "so he's moved on to healthcare. This is highly visible, it's news-leading, gets a great focus, plus it has the great liberal lion, Teddy Kennedy, pushing it."

"Before it's all over, it'll be called the Ted Kennedy Memorial Healthcare bill," Limbaugh said on his show.

Neither Kennedy nor Limbaugh have responded to the situation.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quickly launched a petition drive urging Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to denounce Limbaugh. The committee's executive director, Brian Wolff, called the remark "reprehensible" and "truly outrageous."

"Leader Limbaugh minimizes the struggle of hardworking Americans without access to affordable health care and demonizes a patriotic Senator who has spent his life fighting so that every person has the opportunity to live the American dream," Wolff said in a statement, calling the radio host by the moniker Democrats are using to suggest that Limbaugh is the leader of the GOP.

"Leader Limbaugh crossed the line.  National Republicans must stand up to their leader, Rush Limbaugh, and tell him that enough is enough." 

Americans United for Change, a liberal-labor coalition, added its outrage.

Jeremy Funk, a spokesman, said in a statement: “Even for someone with a long, sordid history of spewing sexist, racist, and disgusting rhetoric, Rush Limbaugh has really outdone himself this time with this wildly uncalled for and tasteless remark about ailing Senator Ted Kennedy. But as the undisputed leader of the Republican Party, the question is: will Congressional Republicans defend or admonish their leader’s latest antics? No one is holding their breathe for the latter.”