Posted on 08/01/2018 6:26:11 PM PDT by vannrox
In honor of the Rush Limbaugh Show reaching 30 years old today, I would like Freepers to post and collect their memories. Memories of when they first listened to the Rush Limbaugh Show, and why you kept on listening to it.
I'll start...
It was 1993. Bill Clinton was elected and he was on television, and the radio discussing his budget. He was talking about all the great plans that he had to remove man from space, end the "boondoggle" of the "Freedom " space station, and mothball the space shuttles so the money could be used "for the children". He was promoting what a great boom to the American worker that NAFTA and extended relations with China would be. He talked about how he was going to restore ethics to Washington, DC.
Every show and every radio station was gushing with praise for this man. It was sickening. The women looked like they were fawning and near fainting near him. The men was nodding vigorously and everyone was talking in excited tones about how America will lead the world by undoing Reaganism.
There was only one man who had a contrary view. That was Rush Limbaugh.
So while the rest of America praised the new America led by Clinton, and was looking forward to the new trade agreements with NAFTA and China, I was huddled in my living room, listening to Rush on the radio on a dark and stormy West Virginia night. Only Rush gave voice to how I felt.
Below is what I wrote on the Rush thread, earlier today::
“””””Rush— when you first came on the radio, on WABC, in my area, I had always been listening to other political hosts.
When you came on, that first day, one thing you said, at the beginning, was that you would not be doing guests and interviews.
What?? I just looked at the radio, and said “ how long will YOU last???
Boy was I wrong!! Wasn’t long before I realized you didn’t need anyone. You were unique in yourself.
Many more years to you! You are the best!
1992, summer. Saw his TV show. Was very impressed and found myself watching someone saying exactly what I was thinking already.
In 1993, I found his radio show while driving to work.
The one thing I heard was that he was giving information not available anywhere else. Nowhere. The Internet wasn’t alive much, so I was relying on Rush to give information and perspective I didn’t have access to otherwise.
Saw a big write-up in one of the Detroit papers about 25 years ago. The next afternoon I started listening, and the rest is history.
January 1990. NEVER forget it. I was CEO of a small, very successful technology corporation and we had just moved our corp. offices. My top VP, a P.E. with an MBA, & a fantastic conservative, told me I HAD to listen to this conservative guy on the radio.
I NEVER listen to talk radio of any kind, period. I told him I did not like listening to talkers. He kept persuading me until I turned on Rush.
I will never forget it. 5 minutes and I wasn’t just in awe - I was hooked. For the first time in my life I could not turn the radio off! I could not believe I actually listened to some stranger talk for over an hour - and could not wait to hear what he said next.
Next day I became addicted. Began listening daily. Could not wait for Monday’s for Rush to come back. That was 18 1/2 years ago.
Yes, there have been a few times I disagreed with Rush. But not many. I do indeed believe he is a gift from God, and has so influenced our nation - perhaps more than any individual in my life - in the recovery and maintaining of conservative truth. He is fearless with the truth, and probably the most convincing, articulate, and logical voice in our world.
I think without Rush we would not have Trump.....we’d be watching the 2nd 8 years - and probably the final ones- in the destruction of our nation under Hillary.
I truly feared for our nation when he went deaf. I didn’t think we could take the loss. But God, in a sense, raised him from the dead, and gave him back to us.
I cannot thank the Lord enough for this man. Perfect? No. Only the Lord Jesus was perfect. But the most influential man of the last 3 decades.
I trust the Lord to keep him with us for at least another decade.
The Lord knows we need him.
Who else can be a counter-balance to the dominance of the communist media and their Democrat party minions?
I loved Paul Harvey as a teen.
Good Day...
The parody ads were great.
Spatula City was swiped from the movie UHF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbCWmY0eqY
I believe the host was Larry Elder of 970 KABC AM in Los Angeles.
Anyhow, I recoiled, upon realizing what I was being exposed to, but soon began to root for the liberal callers who were trying to match wits with him. Didn't take long for me to become impressed with Larry's ability to knock them out, one by one. He literally destroyed every argument thrown at him with facts, logic, common sense, and a good dose of cheerfulness.
He also shook my whole worldview of the left vs right political dynamic.
I was so impressed wth Larry, that I began seeking out other evil right wing talk radio shows to quench my newfound thirst for truth. I'm pretty sure I found El Rushbo within the first few days of looking. He soon became a fixture on my radio dial, and still is today.
In late 1989, I was in my Mom’s car and she was listening to Rush. I said to her “how can you listen to this liberal crap?” And she said “I don’t think Rush is liberal.”
I had never heard a conservative commentator before so it took over an hour to convince myself Rush was indeed conservative. I’ve listen to 90% of Rush’s shows since and I am a better man for it. Thank you Rush Limbaugh.
And I think what Rush did for talk radio and the conservative movement set the stage for Trump to do the exact same thing for conservatives in the political world. I love Trump and Rush.
I saw the ads on Denver TV promoting the coming of his TV show. “Most dangerous man in America!” Started watching to see what he was about and was hooked. Great education for someone who had never considered politics one way or the other.
WABC radio Monday July 4, 1988
1992, on the recommendation of my then college age son I turned on wabc 77 radio, New York, and heard Rush for the first time. He was the cure for my “deep” political depression. :-)
“Two for the price of one” kept reverberating in my head, it was awful, but knowing that I was not alone helped a great deal.
Happy Anniversary Rush and EIB!!
Summer 1988, 560 KSFO. I was a high school kid and it was a lazy Saturday afternoon rerun show. I had picked up a pizza and was just loafing and listening to the radio. This guy came on and making fun of liberals and it was awesome and hilarious. In those days, Rush also had a great radio voice, much stronger and fuller then. He could have been doing movie trailers like Don LaFontaine.
I can’t say I remember exactly what the date was, but it had to be back in the early days of the first Clinton administration. I was quickly hooked and used to tape his TV show religiously. I even had a web site for awhile called “Ditto Headquarters” to discuss his show. I still own the vanity plate “DITTOS” which resides on my C5 Corvette.
Ahh the power of Radio... Rush is the master of it.
Its like a personal chinwag!
Good on Trump for calling him today!
Does anyone here recall a story Rush told about him and his brother as kids sending prank telegrams to some baseball manager travelling from city to city with his team?
Something about meeting with a famous player at the time or something like that?
I was in grad school. I had read, either in the Nation, the New Yorker, or The Progressive, about this radio guy who was against everything I thought I stood for, who had a nice presentation but was evil. There was something called Rush-rooms out in the mid-west where the great “unwashed” listened to him.
So I was driving in to class and I searched the dial and found him, this had to be 91 or so. I listened and each time I was in the car, I listened more.
He used the term “feminazis” and said things that I had not ever heard said out loud. I found him funny and a bit subversive, in a nice way.
Since we had just adopted two black infants, I was just beginning to learn how racist the left really was, and he provided an interesting counterpoint.
I have listened to him throughout the years.
Although he can stop hawking wares on his show, and let them go to regular commercials, I find I turn him off when he is selling stuff. And I hate when he segues into selling while talking about other more political things. Ingraham does that too. They would be much better off running a series of real commercials at set times with more talk in between.
A few months after that my husband and friend drove to Myrtle Beach to play golf. During the night, to keep them awake, they listened to cassette tapes of Rush's previous few days' programs. (Probably illegal - sorry, Rush!). They've both been hooked since then also!
I first heard Limbaugh in the summer of 1988 while tiling my bathroom. He did a local hour on WABC in addition to his national show, right before the great Bob Grant.
It was the ties. Asked someone who was wearing one and was told it was from this dude on TV. Tuned in and never tuned out, from TV to AM radio and now 24/7 podcast.
I was home schooling my daughter, age 11...We listened to Rush the 1st hour during lunch and for the 2nd hour I gave her a subject called Current Events for Social Studies and we listened to Rush for that hour and she took notes ...I gave her a quiz on the events he mentioned..she became an expert on politics...the Conservative/Republican kind...
She loved him...In 1993 we went to Dan’s Bake Sale in Fort Collins and she sang the National Anthem and God Bless America..one week after her 14th birthday...
:)
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