Remembering Rush Limbaugh, America’s Anchorman

It is hard to believe that it has been four years since America lost the greatest of all time, Rush Limbaugh, mayor of Realville and America’s Anchorman.

And what a time would he be having now in a second Trump presidency, laughing at the Democrat derangement and cheering on the great federal reform. Rush Limbaugh was truly talent on loan from God, as he jokingly put it, and it feels as if God took back the gift too soon. El Rushbo, the “doctor of democracy,” singlehandedly launched alternative media and created multiple generations of American conservative warriors. Our nation owed him an immense debt, and he certainly deserved the Presidential Medal of Freedom that President Trump awarded him.

For the millions of all ages who listened to Rush over the years, it is remarkable that we all thought of him as our friend. For many of us who never met him or talked to him in person, his death left a gap in our lives and our hearts. For Rush Limbaugh really was unique and unrepeatable, an American original. There are other excellent show hosts, but Rush was the gold standard — literally. Who can forget the golden EIB microphone?

But Rush wouldn’t want us to mourn today. He was an eternal optimist, who brought hope to his fellow Americans even when the political outlook was blackest. Today we should remember his jokes, his laughs, his parodies, his witticisms. Thanks to Rush, America’s truth detector, we know to define a bigot as a “person who wins an argument with a liberal,” and that “Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of pop culture.” Rush kept “half my brain tied behind my back, just to make things fair,” and it is a tribute to Rush that alternative media — which used to consist basically of him alone — has now vanquished mainstream media.

Rush always believed it would happen. “Let me tell you who we conservatives are: we love people. When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don’t see groups. We don’t see victims,” he stated. And again, “Liberals measure compassion by how many people are given welfare. Conservatives measure compassion by how many people no longer need it.” Americans are finally realizing that the latter view is the only one that truly helps people become prosperous.

When I was a teenager dreaming of being a journalist, Rush Limbaugh was one of my greatest inspirations. I know many of my fellow journalists would say the same. And while Rush is gone, his legacy will never die. The patriotism he instilled, the love of history and country that he inspired, is something his listeners will always carry with them. In fact, it seems somehow particularly appropriate that today is Presidents Day, a day for honoring our greatest executive leaders, including Washington, Lincoln, and Grant. Rush wasn’t a president, but he educated and inspired the voters who elected the two greatest presidents of modern times, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Limbaugh taught new generations to love the heroes of our past.