Rush Limbaugh Leaves Open Airwaves and Empty Spaces

Driving home from his son’s first baseball game of this season, my Houston son asked me, “What did you think when Rush Limbaugh died?”

I turned the question back to him before sharing my thoughts.

“I thought about Pawpaw,” he said.

“So did I.”

Thoughts about my father-in-law, his grandfather, revolved around listening to Rush.

After lunch, J.D. would lie down on the towel-covered blue brocade sofa, readying himself to listen on his BOSE radio to Rush broadcasting from the EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) network. Rush’s voice filled the airwaves with political and cultural commentary and my father-in-law ate those words for dessert.

From the early years, Rush came across as provocative and adversarial. Controversy fueled ratings. (It still does.)

Rush had said, “Don’t ever measure success by how many people like you.”

Rush did his homework. He stayed current. He consumed volumes of information before speaking to listeners for a radio show that eventually aired for 3 hours each weekday afternoon. Rush gained a listener following that grew to an audience in the tens of millions. His show was originally broadcast on 200 radio stations and expanded to 4000 stations.

Mark Styne, who served as guest host for Rush on 3 separate occasions said, “The guy is in your head as you drive around . . . [there was] nothing like it.”

Whether on the radio in your car or in the privacy of your home, Rush transmitted ideas that got into people’s heads. From there, his words could traffic to listener’s minds and hearts.

Rush gained notoriety and won numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2020) and induction into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993. Rush was the first to rely on his own voice, broadcasting without another person talking to him. He had practiced since he was 9-years-old when he received a toy radio transmitter and got his parents to listen to his broadcasts.

Rush knew his audience and respected his listeners. People who knew Rush said he drew from his own middle America upbringing and believed in the inherent goodness in people.

Throughout his career as a radio talk-show host, Rush made as many enemies as he had followers. Yet, as captain of his own ship, he steered the course he had wanted to follow since early childhood.

“It’s my job, it’s my life, it’s my career, it’s my passion . . . I’m doing what I love. I think I’m doing what I was born to do . . . I’ve always thought, ‘I know generally what I want to do. I want to be in media, I want to be in radio.’ It’s what I love. It’s what I do best. And I’m open to all opportunities that come my way.”

Rush Limbaugh [1]

Glenn Beck quoted Rush as saying, “I don’t do my show for those who don’t listen.”

Compelling guidance for anyone who values the freedom to think for themselves, to share opinions, ideas, and ideals. Beck also said that Rush never wanted to cancel anyone.

Rush not only anticipated disagreement, he allowed space for dissent.

“Freedom will never go out of style.”

Rush Limbaugh

An Historic Parallel in Life and Death

On July 4, 1939, knowing he had a terminal disease, Lou Gehrig spoke before a massive crowd at Yankee Stadium, broadcast live over the radio.

Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse of baseball famed for his 2,130 consecutive-games-played streak, made one of the most memorable speeches in the annals of sports. Heartfelt and poignant, this man with less than two years to live shared his feelings to an enraptured audience that left tears rolling down the cheeks of all but a few. [2]

Rush Limbaugh could be called the Iron Horse of Radio.

In his final broadcast on December 23, 2020, Rush quoted the famed baseball player Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech. Rush echoed Lou Gehrig’s heartfelt words, telling his listeners, “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” [2]

Rush was an Enneagram 8, a challenger.

When Rush died on February 17, 2021, he left a void in radio air space that centered on freedom of speech. He had also paved the way for differing opinions.

Even sitting in the room with my father-in-law listening to Rush, I didn’t have to agree with Rush, or with my father-in-law. Only sometimes, the force of their opinions challenged me to think through some of my own.

And today, as I think about Rush Limbaugh who died at age 70, and my father-in-law who lived to age 84, I realize how much I miss their voices.

[1] https://www.biography.com/media-figure/rush-limbaugh

[2] https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/baseball-history/lou-gehrig-luckiest-man Read complete text of speech here and view actual video footage of Lou Gehrig on that historic day. Audio of Gary Cooper’s reenactment of Lou Gehrig’s speech in the film Pride of the Yankees. Babe Ruth and Bill Dickey played themselves in this 1941 film.