Sometimes, life gets in the way of remembering anniversaries of various events. I am sad to admit to you that the one year anniversary of the passing of Rush Limbaugh almost got by me, and would have, too, absent the many notes that keep pouring in from my usual sources.
Contrary to the belief that was popular among Democrats for 30 years anyway Rush Limbaugh did not tell people what to think. That was not at all what the show was about. That is not why he was popular.
His true gift was that he was able to identify the mood of the majority of the country and to cast it into words on a level that nobody else could touch, even assuming they wanted to.
Lack of that ability, on networks such as Err America for example, and the rather ghastly shows like Mario Cuomo, (you may not remember he actually had a talk show for a while which failed miserably…. It’s death was far slower than it deserved.)
These failed because they failed to tap into what America was really thinking and instead tried to tell them what to think. The value signaling was a complete turnoff to the American people and the shows and networks suffered for it, and I think correctly.
Most of you are aware that I spent a few years behind the microphone, myself. From that experience I am fully cognizant of the amount of show prep required to do a successful show much less the kind of wildly successful shows he turned in day after day for 30 years.
Speaking personally, I am forever grateful to Donald Trump for having honored him at the State of the Union speech a couple years back. The look of gratitude on Rush Limbaugh’s face and on Catherine’s said it all to me.
There is certainly a great deal more about the man that can be said but I will resist that urge strong as it is.
Rush, you started something that cannot be stopped. In ever-increasing numbers people are standing up on their hind legs and demanding limitations on government and increased individual freedom. And if you look around, it’s gone worldwide.
And my friends that is Rush Limbaugh’s legacy.
