Rush Limbaugh

Rusty Gets His Start

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (known by the nickname "Rusty" as a child) was born in Cape Girardeau, Mo., in 1951.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 3. His actual first name, "Rush," came from his ancestor Edna Rush, whose maiden name was handed down to Limbaugh's grandfather, Rush Sr.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 1-2.The eldest Rush was a prominent local lawyer who practiced past 100 years-old.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 2.

As a kid, Rusty was ensconced in conservative politics and developed an obsession for the radio. His father was a fighter pilot during World War II who became a lawyer and head of the county Republican Party. He led then vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon around town during a 1952 campaign stop.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 2-3. When Rusty was growing up, his father would air his conservative views at the family dinner table, and provided a running political commentary during the evening news broadcasts.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 3, 8.

A music-lover, Rusty started listening to radio as a child, and envied how much fun the radio hosts seemed to be having.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 6 During St. Louis Cardinals games, he turned down the sound on the television and substituted his own play-by-play description of the action. He also conducted pretend radio broadcasts using a toy that allowed him to transmit his voice through the AM dial on his kitchen radio.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 6

Conveniently, his father owned a small portion of a local radio station, KGMO, which enabled the young Limbaugh to get a job working part-time as a disc jockey while he was still in high school. On air, he went by the name Rusty Sharpe.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 6-7. In the summer of 1967, just 16 years-old, he convinced his parents to send him to the Elkins Institute of Radio and Electronics, where he received a government radio license, which allowed him to DJ on weekends as well as after school during the week.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 7.

After graduating from high school in 1969, Limbaugh went on to college at Southeast Missouri State, but he failed several classes, including speech. He dropped out after a year because he felt that school was holding him back from pursuing his career in radio.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 10-13.

The Jeff Christie Years

In 1971, Limbaugh caught a break when he was offered a job at WIXC-AM in McKeesport, Pa., near Pittsburgh.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 19.  When he went on the air, Limbaugh went by the name Jeff Christie, which he viewed as easier to remember. He used the name in a number of radio jobs he held throughout the 1970s. At WIXC, he began to develop an on-air personality and pulled off pranks.  One time, he visited a local department store before a shift, and then called the sales associates during his show, and told them he was calling from a "picture phone" and described exactly what they were wearing.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 21-22.  He moved to the number-two station in Pittsburgh, KQV, in 1973, where he continued to hone his skills, but he was dismissed at the end of 1974 following a change in management.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 24-28.

After spending months back at his parents house, in 1975, he received an offer to do the afternoon show at KUDL, in Kansas City.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 28-29. It was while working there that he met his first wife, Roxy Maxine McNeely, who was a sales secretary at another local station, and they married in September 1977.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 32-33. But he lost his job soon after, and had yet another opportunity at the nearby KFIX go sour.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 34-37.

Having been fired from four different jobs in radio and feeling the pressure from his traditional father to pursue a different career path, Limbaugh put aside his ambitions and in 1979 took a job with the Kansas City Royals.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 37-38. As a director of group sales, Limbaugh organized special events and persuaded local businesses to have employee outings to baseball games.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 39. During his time at the Royals, he struck up a friendship with star third baseman George Brett.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 44-46. In 1980, his first wife filed for a divorce,Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 40. and in 1983, he married Michelle Sixta, who was working her way through college as an usherette for the Royals.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 46-47. Limbaugh left the organization in 1983,Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 49. but he was able to leverage a contact he made while working at the team to return to radio in November 1983, at Kansas City's KMBZ. This time, he used his real name.Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, pp. 50-51.

America Held Hostage

"My purpose is not to make more conservatives or register more Republicans, or to get invited to the White House for a state dinner, or any of those things," Limbaugh told Vanity Fair in 1992. "I simply want to be the best radio guy there is."Michael Arkush, Rush!: An Up-Close Look at Rush Limbaugh – America's #1 Radio and TV Talk Show Host, p. 218.

Whether or not he viewed himself as a radio personality first, Limbaugh's large national platform led to growing political influence. Limbaugh was reaching an audience of millions of conservatives who felt their views were not being represented on network and cable news as well as in mainstream newspapers (which Limbaugh refers to as the "drive-by media.") Political talk radio, as it is known today, did not exist before Limbaugh, and some have gone as far as to say he saved the AM dial.Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008.During the early part of the decade, Limbaugh released two best-selling books, The Way Things Ought to Be (1992) and See, I Told You So (1993).

In June 1992, President George H.W. Bush invited him to be an overnight guest at the White House,Michael Arkush, Rush!: An Up-Close Look at Rush Limbaugh – America's #1 Radio and TV Talk Show Host, p. 215. and the president appeared on Limbaugh's show a month before that year's election as part of an effort to shore up his support among the conservative base,Michael Arkush, Rush!: An Up-Close Look at Rush Limbaugh – America's #1 Radio and TV Talk Show Host, p. 216.which had grown disenchanted with the first Bush over his decision to break his 1988 campaign pledge and sign a tax increase in 1990.

The day after Bill Clinton won the 1992 election, Limbaugh said, "This show becomes the focus now of the loyal, honest and good-intentioned, well-intentioned opposition to the monolithic power which will descend upon Washington, D.C."Paul D. Colford, The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God, St. Martin's Press, 1993, p. 214. At the start of Clinton's presidency, Limbaugh opened each show declaring, "America Held Hostage," and announced the days until the end of Clinton's term. Every day, he picked apart Clinton's agenda, commented on the wave of scandals that ensued, and mocked Clinton, often by impersonating the president’s voice.

Limbaugh's influence would reach a crescendo during the 1994-midterm elections, during which he heavily promoted soon-to-be House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s (R-Ga.)  "Contract With America." His ability to bypass the traditional media and reach the conservative base was credited with helping boost Republican turnout. After the GOP retook control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years, the party made Limbaugh an honorary member of its freshman congressional class.Katharine Q. Seelye, "Republicans Get a Pep Talk From Rush Limbaugh," The New York Times, December 12, 1994.

Following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, President Clinton blasted "promoters of paranoia and purveyors of hate and divisiveness" on the public airwaves. While the White House denied it at the time, Limbaugh seized on the comments as an attack on conservative talk radio in general, and him specifically.Todd S. Purdum, "Terror in Oklahoma: The President; Shifting Debate to the Political Climate, Clinton Condemns, 'Promoters of Paranoia,'" The New York Times, April 25, 1995. "Let me tell you who my audience is," Limbaugh said on a half-hour late night television show he had at the time. "My audience is the rescue teams trying to save lives in Oklahoma. My audience are the law enforcement officials who are trying to bring to justice these lunatics who blew up the building. My audience is made up of the people who've lost loved ones, who've had members of their families wounded and injured. The people who make up my audience are mainstream Americans who are as repulsed by this as you or anyone else is.""The Clinton Administration Blames Rush for the Oklahoma City Bombing," Transcript, May 12, 1995.

Hearing Loss and Drug Addiction

In 2001, as President George W. Bush reclaimed the White House for Republicans, Limbaugh was facing the first of several personal travails that he would encounter during the decade. That year, he began to lose his hearing, and eventually his condition deteriorated to the point where hearing aids no longer helped and he had to conduct his show for two months without being able to hear anything. After receiving a cochlear implant, he improved dramatically, although his hearing did not return entirely.Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008.

In 2003, Limbaugh's name first surfaced in news reports of an investigation involving black-market sales of prescription painkillers.Susan Candiotti, "Limbaugh mostly mum on reports of drug probe," CNN.com, October 4, 2003. In 2006 in Florida, Limbaugh was charged with "doctor shopping" for painkillers, and made a deal that enabled the charges to be dropped after 18 months if he underwent rehabilitation for his addiction. He checked into the Meadows clinic in Wickensburg, Ariz., and returned to his radio show after a six-week absence.Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008.  

“I thank God for my addiction,” he said after treatment. “It made me understand my shortcomings.”Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008.

In 2004, Limbaugh's third marriage, to Marta Fitzgerald, ended in divorce.Scott McCabe, "Limbaugh, third wife parting after 10 years," Palm Beach Post, June 12, 2004.

"Barack the Magic Negro"

Throughout his career, Limbaugh has made controversial statements that have been branded as insensitive and racist by critics, but fiercely defended by his fans. One recent example came in March 2007, when he aired a parody song titled, "Barack the Magic Negro," which was set to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon" and featured a singing Al Sharpton impersonator.http://www.entertonement.com/clips/5...he-Magic-Negro Limbaugh came under a firestorm of criticism,"Latching onto L.A. Times op-ed, Limbaugh sings 'Barack, The Magic Negro,'" Media Matters, March 20, 2007.  but the host explained that he was merely mocking an op-ed that appeared in The Los Angeles Times. The column described then-candidate Obama as a folk figure known as "The Magic Negro" who had emerged to "assuage white 'guilt'" over slavery and segregation.David Ehrenstein, "Obama the 'Magic Negro,'" The Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2007.

Operation Chaos

By February 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had all but sewn up the Republican presidential nomination, and Limbaugh decided to wreak havoc in the Democratic primaries. He unveiled "Operation Chaos," which was aimed at convincing his listeners in the remaining primary states to register as Democrats and vote for then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), thus extending the primary season and weakening the eventual Democratic nominee, then assumed to be Obama. While it's impossible to know, some analysts insisted that Limbaugh swung the hotly-contested March 2008 Texas primary into Clinton's column. And 2004 Democratic presidential nominee and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) later accused Limbaugh of "tampering" with the Democratic primaries.Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008.

The $400 Million Man

In July 2008, Limbaugh signed an eight-year contract extension with Clear Channel Communications subsidiary Premier Radio Networks that was valued at $400 million, according to news reports.Brian Stelter, "A Lucrative Deal for Rush Limbaugh," The New York Times, July 3, 2008. The deal lasts through 2016, which ensures him a perch for the remainder of the Obama administration, even if the president serves two terms.

A 2008 New York Times profile written just before Limbaugh signed the lucrative deal described Limbaugh's 24,000 square-foot beachfront mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., which is his main residence. These days, Limbaugh mostly broadcasts his show in a nearby studio now rather than from New York.  He also has a taste for expensive cars and owns a Gulfstream G550 airplane that he said cost him $54 million.Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008. Limbaugh said that one of the saddest aspects of his life is that his father, an aviator, was not alive when he acquired the plane.Rush Limbaugh, "Aviation and Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.," Transcript, "The Rush Limbaugh Show," February 13, 2009.

"First and foremost I’m a businessman," Limbaugh told the New York Times. "My first goal is to attract the largest possible audience so I can charge confiscatory ad rates. I happen to have great entertainment skills, but that enables me to sell airtime.”Rush Limbaugh, "Rush's First Televised Address to the Nation: Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Speech."

The Future of the GOP

The recent debate over Limbaugh's influence, at its core, is a debate over the path the Republican Party should take in the wake of two successive election defeats in 2006 and 2008.  Some argue that demographic patterns and changing attitudes among younger Americans mean that the so-called Reagan Coalition of limited government advocates, national security conservatives, and values voters, is no longer viable.

But Limbaugh intends to use his powerful microphone to make the case that Republicans lost elections by abandoning small government principles and nominating McCain in 2008, who Limbaugh does not view as a true conservative. 

"How do you get rid of Reagan from conservatism?" Limbaugh asked rhetorically during his February 2009 CPAC speech. "The blueprint -- the blueprint for landslide conservative victory is right there. Why in the hell do the smartest people in our room want to chuck it?"Zev Chafets, "Late Period Limbaugh," The New York Times Magazine, July 6, 2008.