Rush Limbaugh: 1951-2021

He was the sole inspiration for my becoming politically conservative *and* a radio show host. And now he's gone. 

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."

I've shared the story before of how I first heard Rush's radio program (kind of on accident) in early 1992. His show was syndicated here in the Twin Cities on talk station AM 1500 KSTP, the same station that happened to broadcast the then local NHL team Minnesota North Stars. After having listened to a Stars game one evening in my car, the station's settings remained on AM 1500 until I had an occasion to drive somewhere the following weekday afternoon. When the radio came on, I heard someone who came across as insufferably arrogant. "Talent on loan from God" was how he described himself. I soon learned I was listening to Rush Limbaugh, someone whom two of my best buds were encouraging me to check out. However, I had flatly refused their recommendation given I was a committed (or so I thought) Democrat voter. Nevertheless I stuck with Rush that day and found him oddly intriguing. It wasn't until his TV show debuted a few months later that I became a full-fledged "ditto head." And after vowing to never pick up another book upon graduating from college, I purchased (and read cover-to-cover multiple times) his first book The Way Things Ought to Be. 

This political transformation of mine didn't come without peril. My newfound beliefs alienated my staunch Democrat father and paternal grandmother. In fact, I recall a contentious incident one evening at my grandparents' home. When it was time for Rush's 10:30 PM TV show, I sneaked into the kitchen to watch his program on the little black and white television in there (No way my dad and grandma would acquiesce to changing the channel on the main TV in the family room). About five minutes into that night's show, my grandma walked into the kitchen to see what I was watching. She immediately switched off the TV, exclaiming that "piece of s**t Limbaugh" is not to be on in her house. I figured she was just having fun with me until I attempted to turn the television back on. You would have thought she was a Secret Service agent protecting the President of the United States from assassination as I walked towards the TV. However, such angry reactions from my family over Rush's political opinions only fortified my admiration of him. 

As I became more passionate about conservative politics, I needed an outlet far more productive than arguments with my family. Starting this blog in 2004 (and regularly posting since late 2005) was certainly a welcome platform. But my side hustle on AM 1280 The Patriot, of which I've been blessed with for almost ten years, was everything I could have hoped for as I became more engaged in politics. Everything I am and have (within the context of conservatism) is due to a man I've admired for nearly thirty years but was never blessed to meet in person. And if you read the sentiments from the myriad conservative talkers on the air these days, all will inevitably point to Rush as the trailblazer for what has been a dominant industry (i.e. conservative talk radio) for decades. 

Thank you again, Rush. We'll miss hearing you but the legacy you've left will press on. 

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