| AND NOW . . . Amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, with talent on loan from God...DA, at the cutting-edge of societal evolution, with half his brain tied behind his back — just to make it fair, the all-knowing, all-caring, all-sensing, all-feeling, Maha-Rushie! America's Anchorman, Truth Detector, and Doctor of Democracy. He is the man who runs America. He knows the Democrats like every square inch of his glorious naked body. He is ready to do what he was born to do . . . That's host. Get ready to do what you were born to do . . . That's listen. |
THE FIRST TIME.... I retired from LLNL in 1990 and on my first weekend of retirement, I found Rush Limbaugh on the radio. He was talking about sending bus tickets to the homeless so they could move to Charley Sheen's home town of Malibu, CA. I think the mayor called in objecting, but it sounded like a good idea and I was hooked on Rush. The wife and I had worked hard and only had time for the evening news and were brain washed by the "Drive-By" liberal news media. In the first 6 months of listening to Rush, we both learned more about politics than we had learned up to that time. I was beginning to understand what was going on in Washington and I could explain the difference between a Conservative and a Liberal. I had been a Conservative all the while, but hadn't really had time to think about politics with the clarity that Rush was using daily.
POLITICAL EDUCATION.... Rush was explaining "Baseline Budgeting", "Hillary's Health Care Plan", "Women farding in cars", "Newt's Contract with America", and all facets of politics. He was on a roll and I was becoming able to talk politics with anyone. My Dad was a long time Republican and I sent him the Limbaugh Letter for his birthday and he was extremely happy to read it and he also started listening to Rush.
RUSH AS A FRIEND.... Rush talks about things that he is interested in and he tells us what he thinks about them and there is an openness to his personality that is refreshing. In the process, listeners begin to know Rush as a friend. I have the feeling that it would be fun to sit down and chat with him just as if he were on old friend that was over for a visit. His confidence in what he says is reassuring and his empathy for understanding how other people feel about various human conditions is obvious to the dedicated listener.
THE NEW LISTENER.... It is his empathy for new listeners that makes him over explain certain details about each subject. He realizes there are new listeners all the time and he does not want them to feel like they have to be an insider to understand what is going on. For someone who listens most of the time, it gets a bit tedious, but for the new listener it is a blessing. Rush is reassuring Conservatives and converting Liberals and "Never-had-time-to-think-about-it" types into Conservatives. Many of the listeners have told Rush that when they first started listening, they didn't like him and his arrogance, but after a bit, they changed their view and the arrogance really turned out to be Rush's confidence in his views. When a person speaks confidently and logically, the listener is drawn into deeper thinking about the issue.
A STUDENT OF LOGIC.... Rush tells about his early years and sitting at his father's knee when he was discussing legal issues with other lawyers. What little Rush was doing, was learning logic and the art of debate at an early age. He was like a Tiger Woods, but his game was logic instead of golf. I like Rush's statement to his mom. She would tell him to eat all the food on his plate because people in China were starving. He ate all the food and then when he finished, he asked his mom if that had helped any of the people in China. My mom told me eat all my food because there were starving people in the world, but I did not challenge the logic of the argument like Rush did.
TWENTY MILLION LISTENERS.... Clinton called a Talk Radio Show, not the EIB, and complained that after 3 hours of Rush each day, there was no "truth detector". This was clear evidence that Rush was making inroads on the tight grip the Liberals had on their support and media spin. Clinton even went so far as to blame Talk Radio for OKC Bombing. I believe he even named G. Gordon Liddy by name. After Janet Reno was attacked in a congressional hearing by Conyers and Clinton jokingly claimed that 'Rush only stood up for her because he was a white guy', I remember Rush's apology to Clinton and it was very powerful. Rush could not, even jokingly, accept being called a racists and remain silent! In my view, getting the attacks from the Clinton administration was ample evidence that Rush was effective in what he was doing and redoubled my eagerness to listen to every program. Twenty Million listeners is a pretty good indication that people are getting information from Rush. That many people would not be attracted to idle chatter. I remember the day Rush said that he was "Going to support Clinton's election campaign". Remember that? It was a rouse to show how important honesty was. Then someone called in and questioned Rush as to why he was going to vote for Clinton. Rush claimed he had said nothing of the kind and that he was younger then and had never said that. People were so upset with him in one hour that they were calling up and canceling their subscriptions to the Limbaugh Letter, going to quit listening, and ready to hang up on him. All he had done was tell a minor Clinton type lie but people expected more because they had built a trust in Rush's honesty! They were expecting more from Rush than most (by the polls) expect from the president.
LAUGHING OUT LOUD.... The funniest time I remember was when he had a rule that to talk on the phone, women had to have a picture on file so that he could see who he was talking to. Rush was getting lots of pictures and really having fun and also getting many more women to call the program, which was his intent all along. Well, he had played "Tiptoeing Through the Tulips", by Tiny Tim for an environmental theme and someone claimed that he should get Tiny Tim's approval on using the song. While I was listening to this, I was on a Mule Deer hunt up in Oregon. I had a tiny AM radio with an earplug in one ear and was listening. I had just climbed out on a rock ledge overlooking a large area and was planning to observe for deer for the next hour or so. I was going to eat an apple, relax, hunt, and listen to Rush. Well, Tiny Tim was on the phone and Rush was talking to him about the song. Then Rush said that he needed a picture of Tiny Tim so that he could talk to him and Tiny Tim said he would Fax him one. I burst out laughing out loud. Rush was making fun of Tiny Tim and all the listeners knew, but Tiny Tim was oblivious of what was going on. It ruined the hunting spot, and I had to move on, still chuckling a bit.
DOWNSIDE.... Sometimes, Rush lets Liberals talk too long and after they have repeated themselves and start personally attacking Rush, I do talk back to the radio and tell Rush to "Get that Liberal A**H*** off the air". After you have heard a few of them and how they operate on feelings, without facts, and then start personal attacks, you would probably get impatient too.
FOUND FREE REPUBLIC.... I heard "Peter the Lawyer" (Peter Mulhern who now has the Washington-Weekly) the first time he was on Rush and then when he called the second time, Rush said that the transcript of the first call was on the Free Republic Web Site. It only took a few minutes to find the transcript on the site, but what was even more important, there was a list of discussions about what Peter had said. It was wonderful to know that there are so many other conservatives out there. It is thought provoking to read what these good people think without a liberal filter being applied by the news media. Each weekday morning I listen to Rush and surf the Free Republic. Free Republic and Rush is an awesome combo!
Varmint Al MENTIONED ON THE RUSH PROGRAM.... In early 1999, I was, and still am, adding each of Charlton Heston's speeches to the my web site so people could easily get access to read them. Well, Rush read part of Charlton Heston's Speech Winning The Cultural War and I believe he only read part of it. He told the radio audience that he was not going to tell them where the speech was on the internet and they could find it for themselves. After the break, a woman called in and said that she found it easily. She went to a search engine and found it on Varmint Al's Gun Rights & Politics Page! Here it is - listen to the clip. That was it! One fleeting moment on the program. My page got and extra 500-1000 hits that day. I also got mentioned on the FreeRepublic.com and got kudos for the posters there.
HOW CAN YOU FIND RUSH ON THE RADIO....Click on Official Rush Limbaugh Web Site to find out what stations have Rush in your area or listen online. Don't judge Rush by what someone says about him, including even me. Listening to a few programs is the only way to find out what Rush is all about.... Dittos from Varmint Al