The Eleven Lessons of Rush Limbaugh (EXCELLENT READ!)

It has been two long years since I wrote the essay; Rush Limbaugh is "The Passion." Since, conservatives have reelected President Bush, retained both houses of Congress, and are threatening to reform the out of control Supreme Court of the United States. These labors have shown that Americans support the conservative ideology, largely because of its guiding principles, not the vehicle behind that ideology.

It is the same with Rush Limbaugh. A little over two years ago, Rush Limbaugh announced his addiction to prescription drugs. The media, the Palm Beach prosecuting attorney, and some conservatives were ready to walk Limbaugh down the gang plank to the feasting sharks below. This isn't all that common in today's America. Charges are made and it is automatically assumed that the person is to be burned at the stake. The prosecutor has to be right. This is not a partisan vehicle for agendas. Rather than throw myself on my sword, I waited until Roy Black's appearance on Hannity & Colmes, January 27, 2004.

The facts of the story emerged—emerging with passion—and it soon began to appear that the only thing Rush Limbaugh was guilty of was having a prescription drug addiction. Being addicted to prescription drugs was hardly a crime. If anything, it only proved to make Limbaugh all the more human, and even more American. Those torturous days between Roy Black's appearance and his victories in court have shown a man that will stop at nothing to advance the conservative agenda. Limbaugh's radio show—"The Passion"—hands down daily lessons for conservatives, rebuking liberalism and the mainstream media. He continues to be steadfast in his approach, remaining on top of the radio world. Never has he been so popular. Never has he been as strong as he is today. Never has he been so steadfast in his conservative zeal. He is supported by Americans, conservative Americans that share those same guiding lessons he handed down. I am just one American, echoing those sentiments of these lessons taught by Rush Limbaugh. These lessons are:

(1) America is guided by moral laws, having an origin in God. Conservative Americans are guided by the principles handed down by the Founding Fathers. These principles are rooted in the Judeo-Christian ethic, and our laws our governed by a morality that could only come from God. It is our sworn duty as conservatives to continue this tradition. It is this America that the Founding Fathers envisioned and it is this America that Limbaugh advocates.

(2) Variety is the sole characteristic of the American civilization. Conservative Americans fight tyranny and the uniformity that it creates. Liberalism, in its warped philosophy, wishes to make all Americans the same. Conservative Americans know that America can only be great if individuals are allowed to prosper in their unique differences.

(3) Americans have a right to their personal property, rewards achieved through their abilities. Conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh, know that for America to be great, Americans must be rewarded for their achievements. Different achievements require different rewards. America can never prosper if achievements are taken away by tyranny or an out of control judiciary.

(4) American freedom and economic gain are forever connected. There can be no vitality rooted in liberalism. At the root of economic leveling is liberalism. Americans must be able to gain economically to achieve true freedom.

(5) Courts and prosecutors are full of danger. Courts and prosecutors can spread tyranny through irrational and unconstitutional rulings. Conservatives know that power unchecked is corrupt, and that courts must exhibit the limited power that the Constitution gives them. They know that a partisan court or prosecutor can be as dangerous to Americans as an invading force.

(6) American history is replete with wisdom. The conservative American believes that we must govern ourselves by the traditions handed down by our Founding Fathers. It is through their wisdom, writings and Constitutional teachings that we will prosper. It is their moral relativism and divine truth that separates liberals from the great minds of American history.

(7) America needs true community. The conservative knows that through its community, its churches and volunteer organization that it can breed a healthy, thriving community. A community that will set examples for the world. Conservatives at their essence are not selfish, but rather are beacons of spirit in their communities.

(8) America should set an example in the 21st Century. It is inalienable rights granted by God that set men and women free. Therefore, the American conservative knows that it should not dominate the world, yet set an example of liberty that all should long to cherish.

(9) Men and women are not perfect. Political institutions are made of imperfect men and women. Law cannot solve all the problems in America; instead, it tends to complicate uncomplicated matters. Solutions—known by conservatives—can be presented through community far greater than through government. Because imperfection is scene everywhere, it is the conservative that knows Americans are better off left alone.

(10) Men and women are completely and irrevocably different. Conservatives know that the gap between sexes cannot be attained through legislation. The traditions of the American family have been handed down for over 200 years, separating these differences between men and women through society. It is not the role of government to act in trying to eliminate those differences; rather it is economics and the community that will continue to demonstrate the roles between the sexes. At the end of the day, conservatives know that a man is a man and woman is a woman, and that women should be celebrated for being women, not men.

(11) Political reform can be disastrous. Conservatives know that sudden and swift political reform in government—whether it is a courtroom or in a legislative body—can be disastrous. Reform must be made slowly to conserve a society and its moral traditions. It must be welcomed before it is accepted by America. Conservatives know that in such sweeping change as Roe vs. Wade that Americans are no better off than before the judicial activism that forced Americans to change. It is this kind of policy that is inherently dangerous to the American citizen and should, in itself, be struck down so that it can be determined by the American people.

Conservatism is not just the concern of the rich. Rather it is more representative of the modest American. All Americans derive benefits from this great Republic. It is therefore fitting and proper that all Americans should determine their role within this community.

Conservatives know that for liberty to flourish it is best to limit the growth of the federal government, keeping its power checked to prevent absolute corruption. These eleven lessons have been handed down to me. I cherish each and every one of them. I gladly celebrate Rush Limbaugh's success. For if it was not for Rush Limbaugh, I may never have discovered conservatism. I would still be dwelling in that miserable purgatory called liberalism.

It is hard for some conservatives—those that have always been conservatives—to appreciate the true impacts of the accomplishments of Rush Limbaugh. Many can remember his first broadcasts. Many celebrate him, thanking him when they call on his show. There are those that still wish to throw him to the wolves because of imperfection. Those individuals have obviously never been locked within the suffocating grasp of liberalism.

So, today, January 30, 2005, I celebrate those eleven principles handed to me by Rush Limbaugh, and congratulate him on two great years of broadcast excellence since the invasion of his civil liberties.

I, one conservative American, then ask this question: What does Rush Limbaugh mean to you?

Chris Davis is the author of Elective Decisions and In Defense of Liberty, two political thrillers from the Whiskey Creek Press.

Thanks for the ping to your excellent and thought provoking article.

Writer33 asks, "What does Rush Limbaugh mean to you?"

TonyRo76 provides an excellent answer, "As heroes go during the span of my life so far, Rush is up there with Ronald Reagan. Both have changed the world." Post 114

I would like to echo TonyRo and add a couple of thoughts of my own. And I would like to begin by asking some relevant questions.

Where and how would conservatives get their own thinking re-enforced or validated on a daily basis if it were not for Rush? Rush pioneered or created conservative talk radio. Virtually every other successful conservative talk radio host owes their opportunity to the ground broken by Rush.
If it were not for Rush, how would conservatives even know that there are so many other conservatives out there?
And if it weren't for Rush, how would conservatives know that conservatism doesn't represent the right wing fringe, but rather actually represents the mainstream of American thinking?
Why did Newt Gingrich and the 1994 Republican Freshman address and acknowledge Rush Limbaugh as the "MAJORITY MAKER"?
What did Ronald Reagan have to say about Rush? I think you will find the answer surprising.

I would like to take issue with a small part about the last of Chris's points: "Political reform can be disastrous." In fairness to Chris and his elaboration on the point, I believe that it is clear that he was not trying to say that "reform" itself can be disastrous, but rather that sudden or dramatic reform without thought to a period of time for adjustment could be disastrous. Having said that, I would like introduce a couple of my own thoughts about "What Rush means to me?"

America is the land of opportunity and Rush is a shining example and beacon of hope of what every American can achieve if they are committed to being the best that they can be and never quit in the face of adversity. Rush tells and retells his own story for a reason. A relentless committment to excellence, an unwavering pursuit of the truth, and doing what you love are the stepping stones to being the best that you can be and the means to discover your own path to your own personal happiness.

I would like to echo Reaganghost and thank him for pinging this ball to me.

A few years later at the beginning of his second term, President Reagan realized America had arrived at moment in history where it was possible that he could set the stage for the US to win what he had described in a “Time for Choosing” as a “war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars.” President Reagan made the decision to leave to his successors the task of forcing government back within the Constitutional limits defined by the Founders while he focused on defeating the Soviet Union.

Now, a quarter of a century later, only modest progress at best, has been made on President Reagan's unfinished task of forcing government back within its Constitutional restraints. The Reagan Renaissance has completely eluded us and both the promise (we will preserve for our children this the last best hope for man on earth) and the danger (or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness) remain as possibilities. Like the passengers on the unsinkable Titanic, most Americans don't or can't see the iceberg ahead. Hidden from their view is an inverted mountain of unfunded liabilities that grows larger and closer with each passing day. It will remain undetected as long as government doesn't have to write checks that it can't afford the payee to cash, but in the fall of 2008, a seemingly endless line of 78 million people will begin to form. Each one will stop paying Social Security taxes and will be expecting to start cashing a monthly Social Security check. In 2012, these same 78 million people are going to start expecting Medicare to issue checks to cover their medical expenses. Over the next thirty years, the government is going to be required by law to issue bad checks totaling $55 trillion dollars. I have used the term “bad checks” because under current law and current economic projections the revenue from taxes and other sources of income to government will be $55 trillion less than the amount the government is going to be required by law to pay.

It took almost two hundred years for government to accumulate its first trillion dollars of debt and less than another thirty years to accumulate the next 7 trillion. Government is going to encounter the leading edge of this “invisible” $55 Trillion dollar mountain of bad checks before 2016. President Reagan told us, “No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income... and that Plutarch had warned, 'The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." History and the Founders warned us that all democracies end in bankruptcy or hyperinflation whenever the public learns to vote itself “benefits”.

After the fiasco of the 1990 budget deal resulted in the Republican loss of the Whitehouse in the 1992 election, President Reagan passed the torch of the sacred fire of liberty to Rush. Newt's Contract with America and commentary from the Majority Maker produced the 1994 Republican Revolution. There have been some small gains since and two recent significant Supreme Court appointments, but by and large conservatives have not achieved any more epic victories. Most people reading this, and maybe even Rush himself, believe that either Rush is at or maybe even past the pinnacle of his career.

Quite by accident, in 1997, as a retired physician doing research on golf, I came to the realization that all modern golf clubs have design flaws that interfere with how the brain and body function together to swing the golf club and I was able to determine how to remove the interference. As luck would have it, it turned out that it might not be possible to protect my designs with patents, and without patents, no major manufacturer would even discuss my designs. Without patents, brand name protection looked like my best option to attain what Warren Buffet calls a “sustainable competitive advantage”. Shortly thereafter on a trip to visit our grandchildren, my wife and I were listening to Rush when he started talking about his new found love affair with golf. Thinking this a match made in Heaven, Excellence in Golf was born, at least in my own mind. Three years and two close calls later, I was even farther from contacting Rush and making EIG a reality, because both close calls ended in failures in which I managed to alienate people close to Rush, in fact, the very ones upon whom he relies, his brother David and his chief of staff, Kit Carson. Chagrined, but still undaunted, I realized that I needed to focus my attention on what mattered most to Rush if another opportunity to contact him ever presented itself again. I tried to put myself in Rush's shoes and began to think about what he could do with the mountains of money that EIG could produce. The Reagan Wing of the Republican Party was born and the Reagan Renaissance began to come into view. It has taken another two years to form a clear picture of how Rush Limbaugh, and maybe only Rush Limbaugh, can restore the Constitution. Rush, your best years are still ahead of you.

President Reagan knew that America was coming to the cross roads, “we will preserve for our children this the last best hope for man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.” He knew America would have to make a choice, renaissance or ash-heap. Rush, President Reagan knew that you were going to play a major role in making that choice. Rush, you can make the Reagan Wing of the Republican Party possible, and the Reagan Wing can restore the Constitution to get the government off the backs of the American people. Unshackled from the chains of government, the American people will produce another renaissance that could be the greatest period of peace and prosperity in the history of the world, the Reagan Renaissance. Whether purely by chance or whether the Divine Hand of Providence still guides the United States, America is the last best hope of man on earth, and Rush, like it or not, you have become the last best hope of the United States. Rush, the choice is yours to make, ash-heap or renaissance. What is it going to be?

Ronald Reagan picked up the torch of freedom in 1964 in a nationwide televised speech designed to be a last ditch effort to resurrect the Goldwater campaign. This was the most important speech ever delivered by Ronald Reagan and the most important political speech since the Gettysburg Address. President Reagan proclaimed his mission to save the United States by cutting the size of government in order to get government off the backs of the American people. "We have come to a time for choosing; we will preserve for our children this the last best hope for man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.....history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening."

President Reagan's mission is the same as FreeRepublic's. Both remain unfinished. The Reagan Wing of the Republican Party is the surest and quickest way ever devised to restore the Constitution in order to get government off the backs of the American people. Rush can create and implement the Reagan Wing more easily and more quickly than any other person. Here is what every individual Freeper and FreeRepublic as an entity can do to prevent the "thousand years of darkness" and to ensure that the Reagan Renaissance becomes a reality:

Freepers and FreeRepublic can endeavor to make Rush aware of the Reagan Wing and how it can restore the Constitution.
If you are a successful caller to Rush's show, tell him about the Reagan Wing, tell him where he can find it on the Internet, and ask him to check his emails for the subject: Reagan Wing
Every Freeper and every conservative interested in seeing the Constitution restored can and should send Rush an email every day asking him to lead this effort.
Please click here to send such an email to Rush.

If Rush gets an average of ten thousand emails a day, conservatives need to click the link and send at least that many emails every day to reach a reasonable chance for it to rise to his level of awareness. Please paste the following link into the message body: http://padre-island.us/padre-island.us/publicfolder/phase4/conservatives/sitemap.htm

And before you hit the send button, please add your personal request to Rush asking him to please make the choice that President Reagan clearly wanted Rush to make when he passed the sacred torch of liberty to Rush thereby making it possible for Rush to be able to light the path to freedom for the rest of us

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