Dying today at age 70 of Stage-4 lung cancer, Rush Limbaugh was indisputably the king of conservative talk radio, starting his rise to stardom in 1983 at Sacramento’s KFBK where he launched the Rush Revolution, fashioning his show, his ideas, his political philosophy, his homespun patriotism from his idol President Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States. Few, if any, mention Reagan’s ubiquitous influence on Rush, whose KFBK radio show skyrocketed to fame, eventually moving to syndication at WABC in New York, then to WOR. Limbaugh said from a young boy he wanted a career in radio, after getting his first transistor radio, a big deal in the days when AM radio was a major channel for news and entertainment. After getting that radio, there was little Rush’s parents, Rush Hudson Limbaugh, an attorney, and Mildred Carolyn [Armstrong] Limbaugh could do.
Rush came from a long line of attorneys and federal judges in Missouri, including his brother David Limbaugh, an attorney, author and political commentator, all of whom worshiped Reagan, flourishing in their careers during the 40th president that made conservatism a patriotic word, inspiring generations of young people. Reagan, himself, unlike Rush, rose from poverty in Missouri during the Great Depression to be inspired into politics by none other than John F. Kennedy. While that seems odd, since Democrats claim JFK as their liberal icon, Reagan used JFK’s spirited brand on “New Frontier” idealism to mold his own vision of liberty, freedom, capitalism and rugged individualism, something Rush preached daily on the radio. AM Radio gave Rush the platform he needed to popularize his radio brand, borrowed heavily from Reagan’s populist brand of conservatism.
Rush was despised by liberals because he controlled the radio audience during the Clinton years, when Reagan became a distant memory after Alzheimer’s Disease took him off the national stage. But as Reagan faded, Rush took the mantle of American conservatism, outlining daily priorities and unabashedly challenging the President Bill Clinton and his progressive First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Rush was relentless pursuing the Clinton’s for eight years, eventually getting former President George W. Bush elected, calling himself a “compassionate conservative.” Former President Donald Trump wasted no time last year after Rush announced Feb. 3, 2020 that he was suffering from Stage 4 lung cancer, giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the Feb. 4, State of the Union speech. Trump recognized that without Reagan, without Rush’s massive AM Radio secular audience, he would not be president.
When you think about Trump’s widespread appeal as a non-politician, real estate tycoon and reality TV star, Reagan and Rush helped craft his political persona and philosophy that he sold to the public in 2016 presidential campaign. Rush was one of the first celebrities to endorse Trump’s general presidential election campaign, having initially endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) in the 2016 GOP primaries. Rush became Trump’s biggest backer after he beat his Decmorat rival former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. While Rush was not the male Chauvinist portrayed by Hillary, Rush referred to her as the “FemiNazi,” for her authoritarian views on feminism and women’s liberation. Rush took the Reagan Revolution, morphed it into his syndicated radio show and revolutionized conservative talk radio, relentlessly preaching conservatism to the biggest audience in talk radio history.
Rush was sometimes accused of gaslighting his audience, not believing what he preached on the airwaves. “I always say my real purpose is to attract the largest audience I can, and hold it for as long as I can, so I can charge confiscatory advertising rates,” Rush told NPR in 2007, quipping to the interviewer. Rush became the richest talk radio show host in U.S. history worth an estimated $500 million. When Rush told his audience that he had “talent on loan from God,” he wasn’t kidding, delivering his blistering attacks on the Clintons and eventually Obama with hilarious political satire, earning his place Aug. 25, 1993 in Radio Hall of Fame. Rush’s voice was pitch perfect, never wavering one iota, even after going deaf, receiving a cochlear implants Jan. 3, 2002. Like Reagan, Rush was the most trusted voice in America to conservatives, carrying on the mantle of Reagan’s Revolution for his radio career.
Hated by liberals for his conservative misogyny, racism, xenophobia and homophobia, Limbaugh laughed his notoriety all the way to the bank. “Every time I’ve said that, it’s ‘Oh, he’s just say that! He doesn’t care what he says! He’s just trying to generate a big audience! And that’s not true. The benefit here is, I have the freedom to be entirely honest about my passion,” Rush told NPR in 2007. Rush told the Radio Hall of Fame that his success came from entertainment. That’s certainly something the Reagan and Trump understood, watching both delight audiences, never forgetting to laugh a little at themselves. When Rush made headlines and got a rise out of liberals, he knew he did his job. Explaining his magic, “And there’s a lot of schtick and a lot of humor to it. But one thing that I don’t do is make thins up or say things I don’t believe, just to cause a reaction. Because that takes no talent,” Rush said.
