[John Robertson]

Which is, we will never be able to pay back Rush Limbaugh. Can you ever thank someone enough for saving your country? He WAS a "voice in the wilderness," as he calls himself, when he first started. Now there are dozens of nationally syndicated CONSERVATIVE radio talk show hosts. Virtually every region has its share of regional conservative radio talk show hosts. Yeah, from sea to shining sea.

He took one of the oldest mass medias, radio, and made it part of the new media. He made it the leader of the new media. Along comes the net, Fox News, and the blogosphere, and we are in the midst of an information dissemination revolution that has taken the power away from the old media. NY Times and company keep flailing, but their partisan biases are countered by the new media in SECONDS.

Imagine, if you will, a world in which there were NO countervailing force to the big three networks, and the big three or four newspapers. Exactly: WE would be in the wilderness. They were a monolith that controlled how the majority of Americans think, act--and vote.

We came through. Thank Rush. Thank God.

[jan in Colorado]

Ditto

[Conservative4Ever]

First time I listened to Rush was in August of '88. I could not believe my ears...this guy was thinking like I was thinkin. I was not alone in a sea of liberals. Thank you Rush for changing the media and giving conservatives a long overdue voice. God bless America.

Red

[TheForceOfOne]

I listen to Rush everyday and many times he has put things in perspective for me when I got upset or worried about what the left was saying or doing. Rush has been a political mentor for me. I am still quite the novice at politics but I still feel he has taught me a lot. Those who do not listen mischaracterize him. Rush does speak tongue in cheek sometimes but it makes the point and he backs what he says with facts and audio clips not just here-say. Rush may be right of center but there is no comparison to the rejects on the left at such radio stations as AirHead America Radio.

[A knight without armor]

I am an original Ditto Head and always will be.

Rush is the gold standard.

Thank you and God Bless you, Rush.

[shield]

Jesus saved America through many many people. ;o)

[Libertina]

I remember the first time I said to myself
"Rush is right."
We love you Rush!

[FreeReign]

Have We Thanked Rush Limbaugh For Saving America?

Yes we have -- on every trip he makes to the bank.

[traviskicks]

As a diehard liberal I spent three hours a day listening to Rush over the summer when I was a beach gaurd because it was the only news show around.

I was already starting to doubt my beliefs, and (hopefully) would have found the truth anyway, but still, I am sure Rush helped me speed the process up.

thanks Rush!

[gorush]

We used to live aboard a sailboat in the pacific northwest and were quite isolated. We moved back to Wisconsin in '91. I was listening to the now momentarily famous "Sly" of Aunt Jemima fame. It was the first time I had ever heard Limbaugh's name, and of course from Sly it was always spoken with venom.
While building our home, I of course listened to the radio. I ran across Rush's dulcet tones one day, and have been a big fan ever since. In that first broadcast I recognized that I was a conservative..a very fast metamorphosis. I attempted to share my discovery with my friends...I have new friends now.

[Varmint Al]

This is a few years old, but expresses my appreciation of Rush:

A Tribute to Rush Limbaugh

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 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 is 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 Web Page! 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.

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[Utah Binger]

Thanks Rush!

Started listening while he was still in Sacramento. Found him while on the lonely stretches of Interstate 5 as a salesman on the road. He gave me the talking points I needed to refute the idiots in a couple of Bay Area joints where I hung out. Later, he converted my wife, a lifelong democrat, when she would join me on some of the long trips and I controlled the car radio.

My dear wife is now a huge proponent of conservatism with a very serious ability to handle the libs. Recently gave her "How to Talk to a Liberal" by Coulter. I love it when she reads passages out loud with vigor.

THANKS RUSH, YOU PROBABLY SAVED MY MARRIAGE

[CTGOPPER]

My husband and I started listening to Rush during the summer of 1989 and have been regular listeners ever since. As many of the others have said, it was so refreshing back then to know we were not alone in our blue state of Connecticut! We always laughed when others were so critical of him even though they never listened, obviously not understanding his sarcasm and quick wit.

[leprechaun9]

How about we place him on Mount RUSHmore?

[conservativecorner]

I have listened to Rush from the beginning, and how right you are. He truly was a voice in the wilderness in those early days, but I also know that God has perfect timing in all things. It was surely Providence that provided Rush to this country in our hour of dire need just as God provided great men during the birth of our great nation. God bless Rush and his millions of listeners out there.

[tophat9000]

Rush was the first to develop a leg of the conservatives Alt media "triad"... Talk Radio
Jim Rob and FR was first to develop the second leg... The Internet
And Fox with the third... Cable TV

[wagglebee]

BTTT!

[Tribune7]

Thank-you-Rush bump

[austinmark]

MegaDittos to Mister Big, Secret founder and leader of the "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy".
Thank GOD, for "Loaning" talent to Rush, who is the reason for Modern Conservatism's strong foot hold and dominance in modern politics.
Rush gave Conservatives a national voice, and now 17 year's later, many of us are moving Conservatism forward with Passion and Conviction!- yet, must remember not to grow listless-n-sleepy, as has been the case for generations.

Thanks' Rush, we couldn't have gotten it done with out you!

[Bubbette]

Agreed. There has been a lot of Rush bashing the past few years...the man is definitely not a saint, but you are 100% right. Where would we be without him?! Though some people on this forum have turned him off, I thoroughly look forward to his show, learn from him, and admire his broadcasting skills 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. He is insightful more than not, causing me to see a subject from a more unique perspective. Yeah, some of his stuff causes me to drift, but his comments on Dr. Rice and the liberal racist remarks, then reminding us about the firestorm his remarks about McNabb caused, really brought the hypocrisy into sharp contrast.

Rush-New Media Man of the Year 2004

[Pahuanui]

Yeah, OK.

Wake me when a talking head, of any political stripe or particular media, 'saves' anything other than a paycheck for themselves.

Pay him back by thinking for yourself.