She is a public figure, and Rush already issued 2 apologies in a couple of days. A suit will backfire on the Dims, so it won’t happen.
It might not happen, if only for the reason that Fluke is getting camera-shy. But if she did sue, it would keep the media talking about what the Left wants.
No, she is not.
I'm not certain you realize how steep the test is to be a pubic figure under Times v. Sullivan. A public figure is like a celebrity or politician. You have to be pervasively involved in public affairs to be a public figure. Did you know who Sandra Fluke was when she was speaking before those Democrats? Had she pervasively appeared in the public eye, involved in public affairs, before then? Nope. She isn't a public figure.
There is a category of persons, for the purposes of defamation, called limited public figures. You can become a limited public figure in a number of ways. When it comes to seeking publicity, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted a Federal Court of Appeals' definition for that. It's someone who has:
thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved."
But even that's not a slam dunk that says Fluke is a limited public figure. Federal law says you have to conduct a 'particularized determination.' It's factual.
And federal law says you can't take into account any of the notoriety that Fluke got as a result of Limbaugh's comments - not his comments, or the publicity she got as a result of his comments. So you have to consider whether, when she finished reading her statement before the Democrats, and before Rush said a word, was she well-enough known to be considered a limited public figure? Someone so public that people could and should freely talk about her without worrying about adhering to normal standard of professionalism or fact-checking?