Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
February 18, 2021
Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu
'Perhaps the witch/devil holding the gavel will invite you to her house for ice cream'
Rush Limbaugh was Trump before Trump.
The trailblazing conservative radio icon, who died Wednesday, spent decades perfecting smash mouth and scorched-earth politics and building the angry Republican base that powered the 45th President to the White House. Without Limbaugh, Fox News may never have found a foothold either — he basically invented the right-wing propagandizing that now fills the network’s evening schedule.
Limbaugh’s unmistakable tones were once everywhere in heartland America, wafting out of the windows of cars and trucks during a three-hour daily show that was mostly a monologue castigating liberals and the “drive-by” media. (This might not be recognized as radio outside America, in countries still quaintly striving for political balance on the air.)
The Missouri-born former DJ was a disciple of Ronald Reagan, the 1980s President who revolutionized the conservative movement, and blasted the left “with half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair." His listeners, mostly conservative men, felt that they had finally found someone who understood them and spoke for them when he lashed out at media and political “elites” — stirring exactly the feelings that Donald Trump would exploit in 2016. In return, they made him fabulously wealthy. His salary often hit $50 million annually, and he lived on a Florida compound with his own private jet.
Limbaugh also eased the way for Making America Great Again in another way: the vitriolic banter he poured into his golden microphone was racist, sexist and laden with false conspiracy theories. He gave voice to the anxieties of his fan base, with jokes that jeered at top black athletes, mocked foreign languages and attacked women on their looks, including then-teenager Chelsea Clinton. He lost several major advertisers after declaring a Georgetown law student a "slut," but devout listeners kept drinking it in.
Liberals reviled him as a hateful blowhard and a bigot. Democratic presidents vented about him. Republicans flattered him outrageously. After Limbaugh fell ill with cancer, Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to cheers from Republicans and disgusted silence from Democrats.
Millions of Americans who grew old with Limbaugh will mourn the self-described “America’s Anchorman.” Millions more will bemoan a legacy that has much to do with America’s current political estrangement.
