Posted on 01/11/2008 12:50:51 PM PST by writer33
Every once in a while, a person comes along that leaves an indelible mark on America’s soul, forever changing the country’s direction. This person makes such an impact that they change the balance of power in America, leaving a legacy that even historians have no choice but to take notice.
There were times during his forty-year radio program that it seemed all was lost. After Hillary Clinton’s election to the Presidency in 2008, the American economy sunk into a recession.
With a Democrat majority in congress, Hillary Clinton was able to pass and sign into legislation the largest tax hike in American history. The change she had promised had come, sweeping in an unprecedented American depression. Unemployment rose to forty-percent.
The Fed tried to counter with lowering interest rates and increasing the money supply. Nevertheless, small businesses closed, corporations laid off people in the hundreds of thousands, and almost all the advertisers pulled their ads from Rush’s radio program.
Clinton immediately pulled all the troops out of Iraq, forcing the Iraqi government to survive on its own. Terrorists staked a claim to the country, regained a foothold and killed hundreds of thousand of Iraqis.
Oil companies were legislated out of business. Americans were forced to wood burning stoves in the winter. Wood, however, was only allowed to be burned two hours per day to protect the environment. Alternative energies were being pursued, but the depression slowed the progress of renewable energy sources, as well as spurring a lack of investment.
At first, guns were sold with trigger locks until they were outlawed during Clinton’s second administration. All unused private property was confiscated by the government under the new eminent domain laws.
A national healthcare program was passed and signed into law, forcing all Americans into socialized medicine. It took months to get a doctor’s appointment. It took nearly a year for significant surgery. Many died on waiting lists.
Social Security went bankrupt, and seniors were forced to compete with younger workers for jobs. Many seniors died broke and homeless on the streets with family members unable to feed and clothe them.
Most of the small banks were forced to close without the funds for the required reserves. Industry grinded to a screeching halt, leaving most Americans walking to work or riding bicycles.
Rush was forced to divest himself of all stocks and bonds. He sold his home in Florida, and moved his radio program back to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, which limited him to a mere 50 radio markets.
As America sunk further into a deeper and deeper recession, the “lone beacon of optimism” survived the Fairness Doctrine. Demanding excellence, he drove optimism back into the American people, winning the White House and both houses of Congress back in one of the largest landslides in American history.
Both short term and long term tax cut stimulus packages were passed by Congress in record time. America began to grow, clawing its way out of “The Great Clinton Depression,” and catapulting its way back as the lone superpower. Industry thrived as Americans became proud of their country again.
At the end of his forty-year run, the Democratic Party had become all but defunct, save a few liberals on college campuses. He died as one of the richest men in America in the wealthiest nation in the world. His indefatigable opposition resurrected America, leaving a legacy of conservatism unequalled in the twenty-first century.
Now, as I stand at his eulogy, I admit that I was wrong. Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was not "The Passion." He wasn’t the passion of conservatism, nor was he the very pulse, pounding through the veins of a nation. He was much more than that.
He was the embodiment of conservatism and American ideals, living the fullest of lives. To Rush, service to his country meant advancing the conservative agenda. This cause forever changed the course of events in America—a course that would ultimately place conservatives back in power, promote liberty and establish—once again—a new media for the United States.
To understand Rush H. Limbaugh III, you only needed to take a look at Ronald Reagan, Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr. and the patriarch, Rush Hudson Limbaugh. These men were largely responsible for creating "the most dangerous man in America."
Rush Limbaugh held Ronald Reagan "as one of the greatest presidents of all time and certainly in his lifetime." There was no greater president in the twentieth century than Ronald Reagan. He personified patriotism and all that America stood for. He conquered the Soviet Union, crushing the "Evil Empire," and loosening the communist jaws on the world without firing a single shot. He battled Russia, making critical strategic moves without launching a single missile or invading a single country. President Reagan’s policies allowed America to flourish while overcoming an enemy bent on taking over the world.
It was Rush’s belief that Reagan "was so effective, so effusively optimistic," that it spawned a personal hatred of the man. Rush H. Limbaugh III adopted those principles in his radio and television shows. Rush, like Reagan, held the notion that it is the American people, working together as individuals that make this country great. It was those fundamentals that threatened and then created the visceral hatred by liberals.
Rush felt that by limiting government and unshackling the American people—by giving them their God given freedom—that no one can stop this great country. Those beliefs were fostered by his father and grandfather, men that believed in the Founding Fathers and the indomitable human spirit.
In an excerpt of a speech given many times, Rush’s father, Rush Limbaugh, Jr. talked about the Founding Fathers. "Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war," he said. "Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another, the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. Their honor, and the nation they sacrificed so much to create, is still intact."
The speech, “The Americans who Risked Everything,” was included as an article supplement to the September 1997 issue of The Limbaugh Letter. In a forward to publishing the piece, Rush said, "I can think of no way to celebrate this nation’s legacy, than by publishing a speech written by my father. He delivered the oft-requested address locally a number of times, but he never saw it in print. My dad was renowned for his oratory and for his original mind; this speech is, I think, a superb demonstration of both. I will always be grateful to him for instilling in me a passion for the ideas and lives of America’s Founders, as well as a deep appreciation for the inspirational power of words…which you will see evidenced here."
Those fundamentals were passed from the patriarch, Rush H. Limbaugh, Sr. to Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.—in turn—passing them to Rush Limbaugh III. Rush believed his grandfather’s values, integrity and dignity were largely responsible for allowing his family to live a Norman Rockwell painting for most of their lives.
In an April 9, 1996 broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh TV Show, Rush said about his grandfather, "He worked all the way through school. From grade school through high school—paid his way through college doing carpentry work, waiting tables, assisting Methodist ministers as best he could. His family was farmers. He plowed the fields every morning before school. It was that, I think, which gave him a strong physical constitution that enabled him to go through his life with such energy. He argued sixty cases before the Missouri Supreme Court. He wrote, in effect, the book on probate law in Missouri in 1955. He was an ambassador to India in 1958 at the request of the United States State Department. India was recently liberated and he was asked to go to lecture on American constitutionality and the legal system in this country. And he accepted all of these assignments and opportunities with great pride and great relish. He was a patriot. I last spoke to him a couple of months ago, and all he cared about was the future of the country…"
Those were the ethics handed to Rush Limbaugh III. Rush Limbaugh, Sr. executed his duties faithfully as well, in the hopes of a greater America. And in that noble effort, he passed his values and work ethic along. Rush took those principles and combined them with his God given gift of speech. He took his ability to use words and put them to work for conservatism and America’s sake. He was a titan in the field of politics, yet remained humble to the very end. He was vilified for his positions. From abortion to Social Security, he remained optimistic, even when the assaults seemed insurmountable. Through “The Great Clinton Depression,” divorce and a prescription drug addiction, he continued to fight socialism and retained faith in the greatest country in the world, America.
Now that Rush is gone, America will forever miss him. In America, we seem to forget how important people really are. We have a tendency to lash out at our own, despite their success or all they’ve accomplished, never embracing them when we should. You’ve heard, "He’s not on his game today. He’s boring, not the same old Rush. He’s just not as good as he used to be."
Those mutterings are from Americans that long forgot what America was like before Rush Limbaugh’s broadcasts. Would America have climbed out of “The Great Clinton Depression” without him? Thank God we never had to find out. He prevailed, cutting the heart of socialism out of this country. And he did it very simply, by endorsing a conservative agenda, an agenda that propagated liberty—spreading like a wildfire through the "New Media." The fire grew until the mainstream media was brought to its knees.
The man responsible was Rush Hudson Limbaugh III. It all began in 1984, in a radio station in Sacramento, California. The work ethic, values and principles—those values actually held by the majority of the American people—had finally been validated in a broadcast, a huge voice on the "Golden EIB Microphone." If history is kind—and it will be through God’s grace—it will not just judge Rush Limbaugh as a great man, but judge him as a man responsible for breaking the grasp of socialism on America. It will judge him as a man that helped found the new truth.
We’ve often heard, "Conservatism works, every time it’s tried." And we are here to thank you, Rush, for your greatness. We’re here to thank you for The Way Things Ought to Be and See I Told You So. We’re here to thank you for keeping us sane during the Clinton administration, for battling liberalism, socialism and tyranny. We’re here—at your funeral—to thank you for The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Limbaugh Letter and for the Rush Limbaugh Television Show.
I would personally like to thank you for changing my life, for giving me the confidence to pursue my goals, never giving up when things looked bleak. Thank you for remaining optimistic through your darkest hours and for giving me that same optimism. Thank you so much for adhering to the principles of the Founding Fathers, for supporting the troops and for your love of America. And thank you, most of all, for your humor, your gentle nature and your never ending belief of capitalism. You were an inspiration to millions of Americans. Thank God you were there when we needed you the most.
Before we lay you to rest, on this day, January 12, 2028, I would like to leave you with a quote from President George Washington. “And you will, by the dignity of your Conduct, afford occasion for Posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to Mankind, had this day been wanting, the World had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.”
Happy Birthday, Rush Limbaugh, America forever thanks you and will never forget you. The tears stung my face as I woke to the sound of my alarm clock.
Thank you, sir!
Happy Birthday, Rush Limbaugh, ping!
Happy Birthday, Rush Limbaugh, ping!
Sorry if you got pinged twice, ping list!
Tomorrow is Rush’s birthday ... and my wife’s birthday. Coincidence, or providence?
Incidentally, its also Howard Stern’s birthday.
Happy 57th, Maha Rushie.
H
When is Rush going to get behind the only real conservative out there???!!!! Duncan Hunter!!!
Happy Birthday, Rush. You beat me to 57 by three months.
BTTT
BTTT
Let’s go Cowboys!!!
Can always use the double bump from a double ping!
>> When is Rush going to get behind the only real conservative out there???!!!! Duncan Hunter!!!
Hunter’s certainly conservative. I’d question whether he’s really “out there”, though.
Rush doesn’t endorse in the primaries ... but his praises of Thompson today were about as close as he’ll ever get.
H
Happy Birthday Rush!!!
>> Let’s go Cowboys!!!
Right on, buddy!
Lest, we’ve also struck on Limbaugh’s single area of consistent inaccuracy ... he’s a Steeler’s fan.
H
Happy Birthday Rush! We can not let the light of conservatism be blurred by the fog of liberalism.
2028??? May it be much further into the future!
I'd agree with that one. Much further.
That was hilarious when his staff brought in the birthday cake today.
Happy Birthday, Rush!
Can you think of a candidate that exhbits conservative principles? I know I can.
:-)
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