Rush Limbaugh: A Legacy
Rush Limbaugh receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump in February 2020. Source.
On Wednesday February 17th, conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh passed away at the age of 70 following his year long battle with stage 4 lung cancer. Limbaugh, born in 1951, was engulfed in politics even in his earliest years. His grandfather was an ambassador appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, his uncle a federal judge appointed by President Reagan, his father a local attorney, and his mother a staunch supporter of the local Republican party. Limbaugh began his radio career at a local station, partially owned by his father, but Limbaugh faced frequent complaints and opposition from his bosses. However, when the Fairness Doctrine Act, which provided for equal shares of public media time for opposing political views, was revoked by the Reagan Administration in 1987, Limbaugh was enabled to trailblaze a path for political commentators.
Limbaugh swiftly became a rising star among conservatives, as his radio show became nationally syndicated following the Fairness Doctrine’s elimination. His show was attributed by Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, and various other new wave Republicans to have had an immense impact upon the House election results in the early and mid 1990s. U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, while speaking with Limbaugh stated “Talk radio, with [Limbaugh] in the lead, is what turned the tide.” His stardom didn't stop there. Limbaugh made the jump to the medium of television with the aid of Fox News founder, Roger Ailes, in the early 1990s. His show pre-dated Fox News as a network, and given Fox News’ influence over conservative viewership, it likely served as a framework and precursor to what Fox News would embody as a network. On both his radio show and television debut, Limbaugh advocated for popular conservative policies and ideals: “deregulation, lower taxes on the wealthy, and muscular military intervention in the Middle East.” The spread of these ideas led to the proliferation of conservative news dialogue that we see today through the Ben Shapiro Show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Glenn Beck, and Micheal Knowles to name a few. However, this is not simply a unique phenomenon to conservative media, for there are countless counterpart shows on the liberal end of the spectrum as well.
Throughout Limbaugh’s career, he faced constant backlash over several controversial statements issued during his tenure in the public eye. He once, in an act of blatant and shocking racism, said that the newspaper composite of all wanted criminals resembled Rev. Jesse Jackson; he openly mocked the physical appearance of former First lady Michelle Obama; questioned Barack Obama’s patriotism and pioneered the “birtherism” conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States; and propagated the misinformation surrounding the security and results of the 2020 presidential election. These are only some of the most recent criticisms levied against him out of a nearly 33 year long term as a radio political commentator.
Ultimately, Rush leaves a mixed legacy behind. He vaulted American conservatism, and the spectacle of politics as a concept, into the mainstream. The elimination of the Fairness Doctrine Act is the sole reason for his notoriety, and with it, he was able to establish a daily listenership and millions of followers across the country. Since 1988, he has served as a trusted voice in many conservative households, and he created an avenue for others to follow in his stead. Often, however, his comments were ill regarded, made in bad faith, or outwardly offensive, reflecting a deep seated hatred of the Democratic party and pandering to a hyperconservative audience rather than journalism through the pursuit of facts. Limbaugh certainly played an instrumental role in creating the modern division of the United States political climate. However, without his popularity over radio, and on TV, setting the stage for Fox News, media dedicated strictly to conservative voices and concerns would likely have never existed.