WEBVTT - Kindness and Character 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:03.239 This episode of Russ Lumbaugh, The Man behind the Golden 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.960 E I B Microphone, includes an interview with Chad Elliott 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:10.720 recorded just three weeks ago in preparation for this release. 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.160 It's with great sorrow we share that Chad Elliot passed 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:18.079 away in June twelfth, just prior to this episode's release. 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:23.160 Our prayers and thoughts with Chad's family, friends, co workers, 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:30.280 and other loved ones at this very sad time. Um 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:32.920 Rush Lumba used to refer to himself as just the 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:35.839 guy on the radio, and to be fair, he was 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.199 on the radio, but he was far more than just 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:41.879 a guy. Over the years, as many of you know, 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:44.479 Rush raised a lot of money for various non profit 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:48.400 and charitable organizations, from relief to families of fallen heroes, 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.920 to Leakemia research and more. But those are things you've 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:53.880 heard about on the air. Those are the things that 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:57.560 Rush talked about. What you don't know, because Rush never 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:01.040 talked about it on the air, are the deeds that 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.640 he did for people off the air. And you know 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.720 he never wanted credit. He always would tell people or 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:12.200 tell those that he gave so generously too. Don't tell 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:16.880 anybody he didn't want people to know because it was 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:22.919 from his heart. Today, we're going to explore that generosity 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:28.160 that was so prevalent in Russia's character, and I'd like 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:32.000 to start this episode by telling you my own story 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:37.199 when Rush first came to w A b C. Before 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:41.720 the Russia Limbas Show became the mega success that it was, 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.400 when it was just the radio show with fifty six 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.520 stations and most people didn't know who Russia Limba was. 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:53.400 Yet Russia's spirit was still the same. I know this 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:57.200 because I'm one of the people that was affected by it. 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:00.840 I was a young guy in my third piece. For 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.600 those of you operating under the illusion that radio is 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.760 a high paying industry, well, when you're successful, it can 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.320 be very rewarding. But like a lot of media jobs, 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.880 if you're working behind the scenes, you're not making a 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.440 heck of a lot of money. You do it because 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.480 you love it. Well, I was one of those kids. 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.320 I loved what I did. I was in the media 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.079 and I wasn't making a hell of a lot of money. 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:28.000 Found myself in debt, so on the line talking to 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:33.000 bill collectors, not even aware that others could hear me. 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.680 And one of those others that did hear me was Rush. 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:41.480 I get a call over the intercom, James, can you 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.920 come back to my office? It's Rush. So I go 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:48.040 back to his office and he asked me to shut 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:54.440 the door. Rush said to me, you know, I'm not 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.320 trying to get in your business. I'm not trying to 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:02.000 intrude in your personal life. But I couldn't help. But 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:05.960 over here parts of your phone call, and I just 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.560 want to ask you, is everything okay? Are you? Are 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:14.600 you okay? Of course I'm embarrassed. You know who wouldn't be, 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.560 But I fessed up, you know, you know Russia. Look, 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:21.440 things are okay, but I'm having a little problem, you know, 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:25.440 money problems here and there. And he persisted, well, how 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:26.920 much you're gonna know for? How much are you in 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:32.520 debt for? And I reluctantly told him the amount. It 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.360 was about five thousand dollars on it all. And I 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:39.080 want to be really clear about something. Five thousand dollars 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:40.840 to me then was a lot of money to me. 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:43.920 Now it's a lot of money. He said, Look, I 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.160 want to tell you, Look, don't panic over it. Things 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:50.280 will work out. You're gonna be okay, and and don't 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:54.480 sweat it. Okay, so that little embarrassing session was over. 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.560 Go back to work, and let me just make it clear. 0:03:57.560 --> 0:03:59.840 I wasn't working for Russia at this point. I hadn't 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:01.920 even been rotated on his shows. This was during the 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.480 stage when I was still just feeding in news stories 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:06.720 once in a while that I thought he would be 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:12.960 interested in. The Next day, I'm sitting in the newsroom 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:16.679 in a calm, James, can you come back to my office. 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:24.040 It's Rush. I go back to his office. Russ has 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:30.039 shut the door. I shut the door, and he hands 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:37.680 me an envelope. Is He says, this is for you. 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:44.200 This is uh, this is not alone. This is a gift. 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.520 Please don't tell anybody, but I did this for you. 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:54.640 But I'm doing this because you're a good guy, and 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.240 good guys deserved to have good things happened to him 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:02.560 once in a while. M open up the envelope and 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:10.560 there's to check in there for five thousand dollars. Rush. 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.640 I wasn't working for Rush. Rush wasn't trying to buy 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:20.600 my friendship because we were already friends. Rush was generous 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:27.000 to his heart, into his soul. It is something that 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:31.159 I will never forget. It is something that I have 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:35.000 tried in my way to make sure that I have 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.839 the same kind of generosity to people that I see 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:42.440 that are in need where I can help, because it 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:46.400 affected me so deeply. Now I want you to think 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:52.520 about something I've watched, and I've heard all of these 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:58.320 accusations about Rush Limbob from his political detractors over the years, 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.640 people that don't know him, people that never listened to him. 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.720 And one of the things that particularly has upset me 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:09.359 over the years as a black guy, as an African American, 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:17.440 a proud African American, is to hear my friend Rush 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:24.240 called a racist. This is a man who didn't have 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:29.280 a racist bone in his body. He wanted his staff 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:33.159 to be excellent, so he got excellent people. It just 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:40.520 so happened we had a very diverse staff. Gay, straight, black, white, Asian. 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:42.719 Didn't matter as long as you were good at what 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:46.919 you were doing. But Russia's heart was extended to people 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:50.280 that he could help. Here's this little black kid from 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:55.279 Queens we met just months before. This is before Rush 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:59.440 the multimillionaire. This is before Rush the guy that's the 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:01.760 king of the broadcast world. This is a guy who's 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:07.400 struggling to make it up the chain himself. Rush Limbaugh 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:13.680 had one of the most generous hearts of anyone I 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:18.160 have or will ever meet in my life. And that's 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:24.520 my story. Whether you listened every day you are at 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.240 the E I V Network and the Rush Limball program 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.360 heard on over six hundred great radio stations for every 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.560 now and then nation's leading radio and talk show. The 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.040 most eagerly anticipated program in Americans are the stories you've 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:38.640 never heard from the people behind the scenes who knew 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:41.880 him best and loved him most. Rush lim Ball having 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.320 more fundly human being, it could be allowed to have 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:47.960 Rush Limbaugh, the man behind the Golden E I V Microphone, 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:53.280 hosted by James Golden. Hey, James Golden here, you know 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:56.080 what It's time that you treat yourself to a little 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.120 bit of luxury. You know the company, It's my pillow. 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.360 But what you may not know is that my pillow 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:06.960 makes more than just the incredible pillows that have captivated America. 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:12.520 They make sheets. And these aren't just any sheets. These 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.679 sheets are smooth, they're soft, They're comfortable. You'll look forward 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.280 to getting under these sheets every night. I know I do. 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:24.920 My pillow Geeza sheets have a luxurious feel you're going 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:30.320 to love. Get yourself the luxury. Get a set of 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:33.119 these sheets. They come with a sixty day comfort guarantee. 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:38.320 Pillows Sheets. Don't forget the incredible slippers from my Pillow. 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.840 They're available from my Pillow. They have a level of 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:46.000 comfort you need to experience. Log on to my pillow 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:49.440 dot com clicking on the new radio listeners specials and 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:53.720 use promo code icon. Lots of incredible offers there. Now 0:08:53.760 --> 0:09:04.720 that's my pillow dot Com promo code icon. You know, 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:09.120 national disasters are a terrible thing for all those affected, 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:11.959 all those that get swept away in their miss and 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:16.000 almost ten years ago to the date, there was a 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:21.559 natural disaster that will never forget Joplin, Missouri. Today, we're 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.560 gonna be speaking with Chat Elliott, who's the operations manager 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:30.840 of k z r G in Joplin, because the story 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:37.720 involves Rush, Rush and Catherine. Chad, Welcome to our podcast series. 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:39.760 It's an otter to be here. Thank you so much 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.480 for having me today. Well, Chad, let me, let me. 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:45.520 Let's talk about what happened. You were working at the 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:50.800 news talk Giant in Joplin, Missouri, k z RG. Tell 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:55.200 us what happened ten years ago and e f five 0:09:55.440 --> 0:10:00.920 tornado towards Chaplin apart. About a quarter of town was destroyed. 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:06.560 A hundred and sixty one people passed away parish that day, 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:11.520 and it happened so quickly and there was really no 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.040 time to prepare. We were on the air that day 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:18.760 telling people take cover. That looks to be a pretty serious, 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:23.840 bad situation. Uh, but we had no idea of what 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:27.840 we were going to really see in the coming minutes. 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:33.880 It happened about five pm. It was a Sunday, was 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:40.000 and the Joplin High School UM graduation was happening that 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:45.000 day at our college here in town, Missouri, Southern State University. 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:51.320 And just as the graduation was ending and people were leaving, 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:55.800 and the tornado sirens went off and people were getting 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.600 in their cars trying to leave, and there were people 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.360 in Pact did at that time they were struck by 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:07.520 the tornado. Um, you just don't realize how bad a 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.679 situation is. You know, you see it on TV, you 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:14.640 hear about it on the radio, about devastation that comes 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:19.320 from hurricanes and tornadoes, But until you've been in a 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.640 situation like that or at ground zero, you don't really 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:28.640 you can't really fathom what it's like. I just remember 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.400 being on the air and just trying to warn people, 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:35.160 and the phone calls started coming in. People were panicked. 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.200 You had you could hear it in their voices that 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:42.240 there was something really really wrong that or that had 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:45.840 taken place in Joblin. They would tell us the hospital 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:49.000 was wiped out, the hospital's gone, and you're thinking the hospital. 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.240 Wait a minute, wait, well, how do you cope with that? 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:55.960 How did people cope with their hospital being destroyed in 0:11:56.000 --> 0:12:00.960 the middle of this horrific tornado. It was chaos, utter chaos. 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:05.240 People were uh, just trying to get well, really trying 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:06.400 to get out of their homes. There are a lot 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.720 of people trapped in their homes at this point. Thankfully 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:12.160 we have a second hospital, we have to. We have Freeman, 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:14.800 and we have Mercy here in Chown in town, but 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:16.880 at the time it was Mercy St. John's and St. 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:22.559 John's was wiped out. I was destroyed. Um. Just horrific situation. 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:26.120 I remember trying to get home. My home was struck 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:28.920 and I'm trying to get home because I was on 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:32.760 the air telling this story, letting people know to take cover, 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:38.840 and my wife sent me a text message, Um, it said, honey, 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:42.480 I love you. I see the tornado, and then that 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.200 was it. That was the last thing I heard from 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:48.640 my wife until I could get home. It took me 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.760 thirty minutes, and I only live about three minutes from 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.440 our radio station, so it took me thirty minutes to 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.040 get home. Because power lines were down, I had to 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.920 park my car, I had to shim me underpower lines. 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:04.560 And I went through the destroyed hospital and I saw 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:09.400 people leaving that hospital in backs of pickup trucks. Uh. 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.760 There were nurses holding uh saline bags in the air 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.640 over these people while they're trying to load them in, 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:18.960 and people were more bloodied. It was it was like 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:22.320 a war zone, is the best way I could describe it. 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.319 So I'm making my way through this situation here. I'm 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:28.240 trying to find out do I have a home, Do 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:30.360 I have a wife? Do I have a daughter? Still, 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.760 and trying to get through town. And I go through 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:39.200 the hospital, and I hear the oxygen shooting into the air, 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:43.600 uh and natural gas also shooting into the air. You 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:48.640 can hear so candlestick waiting to go up if a 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:52.360 spark was were to happen. At that point, I noticed 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:56.360 that this this park. All the grass was gone. The 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.400 tornado sucked all the grass off the ground. It was 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:03.280 just as mud at this point. And I just remember 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:06.800 vivid things like that popping back into my mind here 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.560 ten years later. So I finally make it up to 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.880 my neighborhood and the homes are gone. So I keep 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:16.360 walking a little bit further, a little bit further, and 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:19.440 I see, okay, the homes are totally gone at one 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.520 end of my street. And then I start seeing some 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.000 homes that are still standing. I get to my home. 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.280 The roofs ripped off, and my wife is standing with 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:33.520 our daughter in the middle of the street. Thank god 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:39.320 they survived, but our home obviously was destroyed. Many people 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:47.400 didn't survive that day. The building is gone, joshable, people 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.680 trapped in their cars. I see cars scrumpled. The building 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.080 is just the windows are blown out. Oh my lord, 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.200 we've got power lines down all along here on Range Line. Uh. 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:01.320 They definitely people need help here tonight. Good Will is destroyed. 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.400 There are buildings missing, Josh. Right now, I see water 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:08.440 shooting up the building right now. There there's so much damage. 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:10.920 I cannot stress it enough. Please, if you don't need 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.880 to be out tonight, stay home, power lizer down everywhere. 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:16.440 There are people that are there have got to be 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:19.360 injured right now. There are probably people's topitalities right now. 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.000 People are trapped and buildings. There are Billy's missing that 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:25.160 used to be here. They're totally gone, wiped away from 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.680 the foundation. And this is a major hit. We have 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.840 taken a major hit here in the city of Joplin, 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:35.600 and there are people that are needing help. Sixty one 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:42.120 people died, many many others injured, and that's physically injured. 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.840 We're not talking about those whose psyche was injured by 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:51.840 going through all of this. Everybody in Joplin, everybody, every 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:58.000 single person had to be affected emotionally by what was 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:02.840 going on in your town. Rush and Katherine saw those pictures, 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:09.360 We saw the coverage, and the relief efforts got underway, 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:14.120 and Rush and Katherine decided they wanted to help. What 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:20.320 do you remember about that, Well, I remember Rush was trying. 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.080 He was kicking off two of by tea uh, and 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:27.680 he was looking for a location to come and host 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:34.000 an event, and he chose Joplin. He's I remember he 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:38.560 was on stage at the Fourth of July celebration and 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:43.880 he said that he chose Chaplin Um because of our perseverance, 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:48.400 because of our belief in our country, and how we 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:51.640 took ourselves and and picked ourselves up by the bootstraps 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:55.720 and we did what it was necessary to bring Choplin back, 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.960 to make Chaplin whole again as best as we could. 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:02.800 That was one of the interesting things here in Joplin, 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.240 the debris UH and all of the storm damage. With 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:08.960 a third of town destroyed, we had a lot of damage, 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.040 and we were able to clean that up in record time. 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.200 You had FEMA talking about they were just so surprised 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:17.600 by that, and I think that intrigued Rush, and that's 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:21.800 one of the reasons why Rush came to Joplin. And 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:25.359 it was a very hot day. I do remember that 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:27.639 on July the fourth year in Choplin, it was almost 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:32.120 a hundred degrees UH. And the tea was a welcome sight. 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:36.239 We really enjoyed it, and we had some groups of 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:40.000 people that came out and helped Rush and Russia's team 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:44.879 distribute the tea to the to the community. It was 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.879 standing room. There wasn't a lot of room. People were everywhere. 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:52.600 Just a chance to hear Rush speak. You may not 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.480 know it yet but you are the essence of what 0:17:55.600 --> 0:18:03.359 the father had. You are You are the epitomey. You 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:08.600 are the people who make this country work. What happened 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:13.440 here is something that you are going to a race. 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.520 You're gonna build back. It is going to get fixed, 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:18.960 It is going to be rebuilt. It's going to be 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.600 better than it ever was. You are going to show 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:29.120 the rest of the country how it's done. You represent 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:33.919 the best of what this country has to offer. You 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:37.800 understand the principle of hard work and self reliance. You 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:42.520 understand the difference between self interests and selfishness, and you 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:46.119 are not selfish. You are all gonna be working in 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.639 your own self interests to rebuild your lives, and in 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:52.399 the process, everybody else's lives will be will rebuild right 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:56.320 along with yours. We are all part. We are all 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.160 part of a great part of this country that understands 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.359 the kind steps of hard work and self reliance, respect 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:05.960 for our neighbors, love, doing the best we can, playing 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:09.359 by the rules, understanding none of us are perfect, but 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:13.840 we're there for each other when times requiring. Joplin, Missouri, 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:21.920 you are defining that the world Cowe's he truly cared 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:26.160 about the people of Joplin. Being from Missouri as uh 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:31.720 Rush was, he really cared about what was happening and 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:35.760 the recovery effort here in Joplin, and I remember he 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:41.439 made a sizable donation to Joplin's recovery effort, and it 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:48.240 was just beautiful expression of love that Russian Catherine could 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:52.240 have done. And just coming here and and bringing some 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.520 a distraction. I think I've described it that way for 0:19:56.560 --> 0:20:01.320 the last few years, is a distraction from what we've 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.119 been dealing with because a tornado of that magnitude, a 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.080 storm of that magnitude, it really affects a lot of 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:12.320 a lot of people. And we were still I mean, 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:16.920 we're forty three days post tornado, and we were trying 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:19.280 to clean our lives back up and get things back 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:22.080 on the right path, and it just seemed like every 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:26.199 day it was a burden, one thing after another. Rebuilding 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:28.560 we were trying to rebuild at that time. But Rush 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:32.400 coming was such a distraction, is such a welcomed distraction 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:35.560 from the chaos that we had been living for the 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:38.480 last forty three days. At that point, we're gonna have fireworks, 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:40.240 And I believe there was a band that was gonna 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:44.560 play uh and Rush was going to come out and speak. Uh. 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:47.560 So kind of the festivities were set up. Rush was 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:51.119 concerned about the vendors and you know about their loss 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:54.639 because he was there handing out too by tea. So 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.080 he went and made sure every vendor was taken care 0:20:58.119 --> 0:21:03.159 of monetarily. I bet they were surprised. Absolutely. You know. 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:05.959 One of the things we heard in in town at 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.679 that time was why why are we bringing in someone 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:12.720 like Rush Limbaugh to speak to the crowd. And we 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:15.399 would always this would not only at that time, but 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:19.240 years later, you know, you would. You didn't hear from 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.760 Hollywood or the big celebrities coming in. We didn't have 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:26.200 any of that. And there were no donations by anyone 0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:30.400 else of of that magnitude, nothing like what Rush did. 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:34.600 Rush's contribution to Joplin, he really did care and he 0:21:34.680 --> 0:21:38.359 was here and he made sure Joplin was taken care of. 0:21:39.119 --> 0:21:41.280 So what are you going to do. What I'm gonna 0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:47.679 do is keep the spotlight on Joplin, Missouri and how 0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:51.920 you were overcoming something that was just throwing your way. 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.200 So thank you all very much. You have a great future. 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:59.600 You are Americans. We are all Americans. I remembers all 0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:18.119 stop and you whatever you want to be. In each episode, 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:21.560 we continue to document the biographical journey of Russia's life, 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:25.120 narrated by some of his friends and colleagues. Today, we're 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:28.720 pleased to welcome, like Russia, man of strong conviction, a 0:22:28.920 --> 0:22:34.560 uniquely talented broadcast host, Glenn Beck. The Life of Russia Limbaugh, 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:40.919 Chapter six, narrated by Glenn Beck. The landscape of national 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:46.240 syndication of daytime talk radio shows in was lonely compared 0:22:46.280 --> 0:22:49.960 to the daytime syndication space of today. The idea of 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:53.919 the time was bold and full of risk. But Ed 0:22:54.000 --> 0:22:58.159 McLaughlin knew intimately the power of spoken word radio, and 0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:01.119 he knew the time to strike was then you have 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:05.200 a giant in the radio business. Ed McLaughlin, who retires 0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:08.480 from ABC, is given two hours of satellite time to 0:23:08.520 --> 0:23:11.760 fill as he wishes. He could have chosen to do 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:14.119 anything with these two hours. He could have played music. 0:23:14.160 --> 0:23:18.119 He could have done you know, polka, he could have 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:21.280 done Chinese opera. But he believed in the power of 0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:27.479 spoken word radio. He believed it could win. So on 0:23:27.520 --> 0:23:33.520 August one, nationwide syndication of the Rush Limbop program began 0:23:35.280 --> 0:23:38.480 The initial offering was two hours a day, and fifty 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:42.959 six brave stations stood with Rush as true believers and 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:47.240 loyal affiliates. On day one, it took off. It took 0:23:47.280 --> 0:23:53.680 off faster and bigger than anybody had expected. It took 0:23:53.720 --> 0:23:59.440 off and exploded the way you dream about. The flagship 0:23:59.480 --> 0:24:02.240 station of the Rush Limbaugh program was seventy seven w 0:24:02.480 --> 0:24:05.440 a d C in New York. In the beginning, Rush 0:24:05.560 --> 0:24:09.160 also hosted a local show from ten till noon, and 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:12.920 then his national radio program from noon to two pm 0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:17.440 Eastern every day on the inaugural affiliates scattered all across America. 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:19.639 The reason I had to do that was that we 0:24:19.680 --> 0:24:22.800 started with fifty six stations. That's not enough stations for 0:24:22.920 --> 0:24:26.920 national advertisers to care. And I faced for a year 0:24:26.960 --> 0:24:30.360 and a half derision and criticism and mockery and all 0:24:30.359 --> 0:24:33.240 that for what I was trying to do and the 0:24:33.280 --> 0:24:35.240 way we didn't. The reason I had to do that 0:24:35.280 --> 0:24:38.160 in New York show is because that's where we were 0:24:38.200 --> 0:24:41.639 given three minutes an hour to sell national advertising. So 0:24:42.080 --> 0:24:45.080 we were able to tell advertisers their commercials would be 0:24:45.200 --> 0:24:48.040 heard in New York City. Because if you couldn't do 0:24:48.160 --> 0:24:54.360 that back then, you couldn't have a nationally syndicated program. 0:24:54.359 --> 0:24:57.320 In a matter of months, the program expanded to three 0:24:57.359 --> 0:25:01.560 hours of daily national syndication R noon to three, and 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:05.960 the program's rapid growth demanded more attention and focus from Rush, 0:25:06.240 --> 0:25:09.720 ultimately leading to the end of his local midday program 0:25:09.800 --> 0:25:15.080 on w ABC. ED McLaughlin's brilliant bet on daytime syndication 0:25:15.320 --> 0:25:19.440 paid off, exceeding even the wildest expectations of his now 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:25.360 superstar host Rush Limbaugh. The show's growth was unstoppable, reaching 0:25:25.400 --> 0:25:30.320 an unprecedented five hundred national affiliates in only three years, 0:25:30.960 --> 0:25:33.480 and that's a number that only continued to grow in 0:25:33.560 --> 0:25:39.040 the thirty that followed. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has 0:25:39.040 --> 0:25:44.200 been supporting America's heroes since nine eleven, on America's darkest day, 0:25:44.760 --> 0:25:48.880 so many people gave their lives for us. The foundation 0:25:49.359 --> 0:25:53.360 carries forward a legacy of courage and heroism by honoring 0:25:53.560 --> 0:25:58.840 first responder and military heroes, great Americans who protect our 0:25:58.880 --> 0:26:04.160 communities and our freedom, and they're willing to die for 0:26:04.240 --> 0:26:07.560 you and me. When these heroes are killed in the 0:26:07.600 --> 0:26:11.080 line of duty and young children are left behind, Tunnel 0:26:11.160 --> 0:26:15.199 to Towers pays off their mortgage to lift the financial 0:26:15.280 --> 0:26:21.440 burden and bring these families much needed stability. For catastrophically 0:26:21.480 --> 0:26:25.840 injured veterans and first responders, Tunnel to Towers builds mortgage 0:26:25.880 --> 0:26:30.640 free smart homes. It gives them back their independence. America's 0:26:30.680 --> 0:26:35.159 heroes and their families need your help. Join Tunnel to 0:26:35.280 --> 0:26:38.840 Towers on their mission to do good in their honor. 0:26:39.280 --> 0:26:42.639 Donate eleven dollars a month by going to t T 0:26:42.720 --> 0:26:48.120 t dot org. That's t the number two T dot org. 0:26:48.720 --> 0:26:52.040 You are the most generous audience there is, and we 0:26:52.240 --> 0:27:01.400 thank you for your support. Our other guests today from 0:27:01.400 --> 0:27:05.000 the E I B Network Scott Hennan of W D, A, 0:27:05.240 --> 0:27:07.640 Y and FAGO. Now this was something of a surprise. 0:27:07.720 --> 0:27:12.560 Scott was interviewing me about the podcast and he revealed 0:27:12.560 --> 0:27:16.280 a story about Russia's generosity that we just had to 0:27:16.400 --> 0:27:19.880 include in this episode. When you hear it, you'll know why. 0:27:20.280 --> 0:27:23.000