LIMBAUGH: Now, I understand people are going to be offended, but I've had a policy all my life not to worry about offending people because it's going to happen. LIMBAUGH: The fewest number of words you can use to convey a point, the more power the point has.įOLKENFLIK: Limbaugh told me he believes people take offense to try to silence his beliefs. There were a lot of Nazi comparisons, actually. Limbaugh compared feminists to Nazis, Hillary Clinton to Nazis, Democrats to Nazis, anti-smoking activists to Nazis.

Over the years, he routinely questioned Barack Obama's patriotism and mocked Michelle Obama's physique. She can direct the House, all while a kid is sitting on her lap at the same time.įOLKENFLIK: And he called a graduate student a slut after she urged Congress to ensure medical insurance covers birth control. LIMBAUGH: I wonder when she loses next if she'll go back to the kitchen.įOLKENFLIK: Here was his take on Nancy Pelosi as she became the first female speaker of the U.S. He could also be crude, cruel and offensive towards his targets, especially women. LIMBAUGH: I always say my real purpose is to attract the largest audience I can and hold it for as long as I can so I can charge confiscatory advertising rates.įOLKENFLIK: Again, this is Limbaugh from 2007. You were the voice that everyone else could follow. At a Heritage Foundation event, new Congresswoman Barbara Cubin handed Limbaugh a plaque with the legend, Rush was right.īARBARA CUBIN: Talk radio with you in the lead is what turned the tide, Rush. Two years later, during the Clinton era, Limbaugh served as a megaphone for conservative Republicans who took over the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. But the one thing that I don't do is make things up, say things I don't believe just to cause a reaction because that takes no talent.įOLKENFLIK: In 1992, Limbaugh's clout was felt for the first time on the national scene as he backed a conservative firebrand, Patrick Buchanan, in a primary challenge to President George H.W. LIMBAUGH: And there is a lot of shtick and a lot of humor to it. RUSH LIMBAUGH: But there's a whole psychology of doing the program the way that I do it.įOLKENFLIK: Limbaugh spoke to me in 2007 about his show.

He had stops in Sacramento and New York City before becoming a national sensation. He started out in local radio almost five decades ago as a music DJ, was fired after a bit for infusing his broadcast with his conservative take on the day's news. His father was an attorney, his mother active in local Republican politics. Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was born in 1951 in Missouri. He was courted and hailed as a political force by Republicans, including former President Donald Trump.ĭONALD TRUMP: I am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.įOLKENFLIK: Limbaugh repaid the favor a few weeks before the 2020 election, turning hours of his broadcast over to the embattled president for a virtual rally after Trump had contracted COVID-19. KATHRYN ADAMS LIMBAUGH: Losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life.ĬHANG: NPR's David Folkenflik tells us of his life.ĭAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Rush Limbaugh often called himself an entertainer but cast himself as a conservative alternative to the mainstream media, attacking taxes and regulation, calling for strong military intervention in the Middle East. (SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, 'THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW') His wife, Kathryn, shared the news on his show. He influenced Republican politics for more than a generation, and he equally offended millions with his slashing rhetoric. He sparked a wave of imitators on radio and on TV. The conservative radio talk show host drew an estimated 20 million listeners each week at his peak. Before online influencers, before Fox News, there was Rush Limbaugh.

Rush limbaugh radio