In Memoriam, Rush Limbaugh

On February 17^th, which happened to be Ash Wednesday, the great radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh passed away.  I don’t usually let politics enter this blog, but Rush meant a lot to me.  I’m going to make an exception here, but I’ll minimize the politics.

Here is an obituary from FoxNews, “Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk radio pioneer, dead at 70.”  

 

Rush Limbaugh, the monumentally influential media icon who transformed talk radio and politics in his decades behind the microphone, helping shape the modern-day Republican Party, died Wednesday morning at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer, his family announced.

 

Limbaugh's wife, Kathryn, made the announcement on his radio show. "Losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life," she said. "Rush will forever be the greatest of all time."

 

The radio icon learned he had Stage IV lung cancer in January 2020 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Trump at the State of the Union address days later. First lady Melania Trump then presented America’s highest civilian honor to Limbaugh in an emotional moment on the heels of his devastating cancer diagnosis.

Seventy is just too young.  Oh gosh, I was choked up the minute I heard. He was just a comforting voice for over thirty years.  Rush was the King of Conservative Commentary!  It was not unexpected but goodness it’s still heartbreaking.  The Fox News article goes on to put it into perspective.

 

Limbaugh is considered one of the most influential media figures in American history and has played a consequential role in conservative politics since "The Rush Limbaugh Show" began in 1988. Perched behind his Golden EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Microphone, Limbaugh spent over three decades as arguably both the most beloved and polarizing person in American media.

 

The program that began 33 years ago on national syndication with only 56 radio stations grew to be the most listened-to radio show in the United States, airing on more than 600 stations, according to the show’s website. Up to 27 million people tuned in on a weekly basis and Limbaugh has lovingly referred to his passionate fan base as "Dittoheads," as they would often say "ditto" when agreeing with the iconic radio host.

 

In his final radio broadcast of 2020, Limbaugh thanked his listeners and supporters, revealing at the time that he had outlived his prognosis.

 

"I wasn't expected to be alive today," he said. "I wasn't expected to make it to October, and then to November, and then to December. And yet, here I am, and today, got some problems, but I'm feeling pretty good today."

He meant so much to the conservative movement. Not just for his influence but for his brilliance at articulating our positions, for his good cheer, and indeed for his good heart. I’m convinced he loved us all. He was one of a kind. I will be forever blessed for having listened to him.

Here is a video nice retrospective, again from Fox News.

There are so many remembrances, it’s hard to choose one to quote, but let’s go with Mark Steyn’s.  Mark frequently guest hosted for Rush.  On his website, Steynonline he called Rush “The IndispensableMan.” 

Usually, in this line of work, if you're lucky, you get a moment - a year or two when you're the in-thing - and you hope to hold enough of that moment as it slowly fades away to keep you going till retirement. Rush did something unprecedented in the history of TV and radio. Commercial broadcasting began in the United States in 1920: The Rush Limbaugh Show came along two-thirds of a century later, became the Number One program very quickly, and has stayed at the top all the way to today - for a third of the entire history of the medium. And throughout all those decades Rush and his show stayed exactly the same: a forensic breakdown of the day's news, punctuated by musical parodies, satirical sketches, and Rush's own optimism and good humor, even through this last terrible year.

Think about that.  For one third of the history of radio, Rush Limbaugh was the number one broadcaster.  I found this interview on 60 Minutes from 1991, just when he had become established as the giant of radio.  It’s great, despite the 60 Minutes’ bias.

Well she was wrong.  He lasted on top all the way through his career.  1991 is just around the time I started listening.  I had not realized how overweight he was back then.  When I first listened, I was hooked and in time he shaped my thinking.  He wasn’t bitter as some conservative radio talk show hosts, especially back then.  He was cheerful and positive and fun.

I want to close with Rush’s opening monologue from his end of the year 2020 program.  It wasn’t his last program, but it was the one he offered gratitude for everything.  It’s sixteen minutes long, but it’s a masterpiece of radio broadcasting, well deserving of the Excellence In Broadcasting (EIB) moniker he gave his radio show.  It’s well worth watching all sixteen minutes.

 

That voice.  I will so miss that voice.  It feels like I lost an old friend.  He is irreplaceable. I don’t know what we’re going to do without him.  He really did have talent on loan from God.  God has taken him back.  Eternal rest in peace for a good and decent man.