Speaker 1: The Life of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter one, narrated by America's
Speaker 1: Mayor Rudy Giuliani. I knew what I wanted to do
Speaker 1: when I was eight years old. How did I know? Well,
Speaker 1: you know the story. I hated school. It was prison.
Speaker 1: I just hated it. Here I'm locked in this place.
Speaker 1: I'm having to learn about whatever you learn about in
Speaker 1: first grade, you know how to pace things instead of in
Speaker 1: in the last place I wanted to be. So every morning,
Speaker 1: getting ready to go to this prison, this school, my
Speaker 1: mother had the radio one and she's listening to the guy,
Speaker 1: a local jock. And this guy sounds like he's having
Speaker 1: fun doing whatever he's doing. He's playing records, he's doing commentary,
Speaker 1: a little weather forecast. It's sound like he's having fun.
Speaker 1: That's how I want my day to be. I don't
Speaker 1: want to begin my day in drudgery and something I
Speaker 1: don't want to do. But I had no choice. You
Speaker 1: have to go to school. If ever a man was
Speaker 1: born for radio, it was Rush Hudson Limbaugh, the third.
Speaker 1: He entered this world in January of n right in
Speaker 1: the heartland of America, Cape Girardo, Missouri. He was born
Speaker 1: into a family of lawyers who enjoyed success at nearly
Speaker 1: every level, and he almost seemed destined to be the same.
Speaker 1: His paternal grandfather, Rush Hudson Limbaugh the First served as
Speaker 1: a United States ambassador. His father, Rush Hudson Limbaugh the Second,
Speaker 1: was a lawyer, as was his uncle, and even his
Speaker 1: younger brother David was also since gone on to becoming
Speaker 1: a best selling author. But no Rush had different plans.
Speaker 1: As you can imagine, a deviation from the family business
Speaker 1: wasn't received all too well. Even Rush would have said later,
Speaker 1: there's no way my dad could have anticipated that Rush
Speaker 1: would break all odds and being phenomenally successful, not going
Speaker 1: the conventional route. So in the end it just worked
Speaker 1: out for the best. Though Russia's family initially frowned upon
Speaker 1: his aspirations for a career in radio, they didn't completely
Speaker 1: ignore his passion for broad guest the age of nine,
Speaker 1: Rushwood broadcast from his own bedroom using a toy radio
Speaker 1: given to him by his parents that could only transmit
Speaker 1: throughout his house. There was a device called a Rimco
Speaker 1: carat Vlle and it was the most amazing thing. My
Speaker 1: parents got it for me for Christmas one year, and
Speaker 1: my mother actually dutifully put a radio on her lap,
Speaker 1: and I would go upstairs where the bedroom was, and
Speaker 1: I would have my photo. And you had to have
Speaker 1: an external microphone to put into the speaker of the
Speaker 1: phonograph that you were playing records on. You had to
Speaker 1: move the microphone to your mouth when you were doing
Speaker 1: DJ stuff, and then you'd hould the microphone near the
Speaker 1: speaker for the phonograph to play the record. And my
Speaker 1: mother would dutifully sit down there and listen to this,
Speaker 1: and that the quality was just was was horrible, but
Speaker 1: it allowed me to get started on on living out
Speaker 1: my my dreams. As time passed, Rush came to believe
Speaker 1: that his family had a change of heart about his
Speaker 1: pursuit of broadcasting. Even though the family didn't understand it,
Speaker 1: the fact that I hadn't quit it was enough for
Speaker 1: them to encourage me to stay in it, and I did,
Speaker 1: and all that happened happened, and it's it's been so rewarding.
Speaker 1: It has been so so meaningful to me, and there
Speaker 1: have been so many people that have made it possible.
Speaker 1: Among them all of you, thankfully for the rest of us,
Speaker 1: my friend Rush Hudson Limbo the third spent the next
Speaker 1: seven decades in his relentless pursuit of broadcast excellent, and
Speaker 1: he set the standard that will be very, very hard
Speaker 1: to beat. The Life of Rush Limbaugh Chapter two, narrated
Speaker 1: by Mark Stein. Rush Hudson Limbo the Third Land as
Speaker 1: his first job when he was just thirteen shining shoes
Speaker 1: at a Cape Gerardo barbershop. And our Betty was a
Speaker 1: pretty good shoe shine boy. But what he really wanted
Speaker 1: to be was that guy on the radio. For us,
Speaker 1: being a disc jockey represented more fun than a junior
Speaker 1: human being should be allowed to have. My wildest dreams
Speaker 1: when I was a young kid pretending to be a
Speaker 1: DJ on the radio. When I was eight years old,
Speaker 1: he fell in love with a toy radio transmitter that
Speaker 1: allowed him to broadcast inside the house two members of
Speaker 1: his family. Any kid who's wanted to be on the
Speaker 1: radio will know the thrill of making your own cassette
Speaker 1: tapes of you doing voiceovers over Frankie Avalon and the
Speaker 1: McGuire sisters or whoever's singles it was back then. But
Speaker 1: as one of those gazillions, it would be boss jocks.
Speaker 1: I certainly envy rushed that transmitter gizmo some kids have
Speaker 1: to make do with bringing an old baby monitor down
Speaker 1: for the attic was the most amazing thing. It's plastic.
Speaker 1: It was about three ft long and two feet high,
Speaker 1: and it transmitted over a m within the confines of
Speaker 1: a I don't know, a small house. The quality was horrible,
Speaker 1: but it worked. At sixteen, Rush, with a little help
Speaker 1: from his dad, advanced from the toy transmitter to the
Speaker 1: real thing. He got an internship at KGMO fifty a m.
Speaker 1: And then the intern realized his childhood dream and got
Speaker 1: on the s spinning classes under the name Rusty Sharp.
Speaker 1: That's a fabulous radio monica, but only half true. In
Speaker 1: this case, Brush was always sharp and never rusty. Gerda
Speaker 1: was very steven. It's my hometown. How are you, sir?
Speaker 1: Good greetings from the city of Roses. Thank you, Thank
Speaker 1: you sir very much. It was six years behind you
Speaker 1: in school, but I used to listen to you on KGMO.
Speaker 1: I was the one that called every day and say, man,
Speaker 1: play in a got a davida? Will you? Once he
Speaker 1: was on the radio, he never looked back, working mornings
Speaker 1: and afternoons at KGMO. And then ed happened. Rusty Sharp
Speaker 1: got fired and kicked off the air, the first too
Speaker 1: many firings for Rush over the years, all of which
Speaker 1: setbacks he overcame and learned from on his way up
Speaker 1: to the One Gig, the third of a century engagement
Speaker 1: that ultimately only God could terminate him from. He wasn't
Speaker 1: your typical nineteen sixties teen age, didn't need and never
Speaker 1: sought the approval of the high school in crowd. He
Speaker 1: preferred to socialize with older, more mature friends. Although he
Speaker 1: won the admiration of his school's upperclassman with his quick
Speaker 1: wit and sharp mind and fearlessness in debate, he wasn't
Speaker 1: afraid to stand out to be contrarian. He refused, for example,
Speaker 1: ever to wear blue jeans. Come on, let's face it,
Speaker 1: it's looks like a b of ore, a sab. It's
Speaker 1: it's it's it's a prius. It's it's a liberal status symbol.
Speaker 1: Genes are liberal status symbols. At least they were. I
Speaker 1: know everybody wears them. Now it's another battle we've lost. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: They used to be a status symbol, carbalized our startorial splendor.
Speaker 1: That we run around looking like a bunch of hippies,
Speaker 1: And I'm not gonna do it. He had yet to
Speaker 1: finish high school, but already there was a Rush Limbaugh
Speaker 1: style and a Rush Limbo brand. After graduating from Cape
Speaker 1: Grado Central in nineteen nine, Rush was expected by his
Speaker 1: father to go to college, so he enrolled at nearby
Speaker 1: Southeast Missouri State University, but after only two semesters, Rush
Speaker 1: dropped out for good. Radio was calling, and Rush chose
Speaker 1: to pursue his dream, confident that it was about to
Speaker 1: become reality. The Life of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter three, narrated
Speaker 1: by On Hannity. After enduring a painful year of college
Speaker 1: at Southeastern Missouri University, young Rush Limbaugh he bid farewell
Speaker 1: to college life and then immersed himself into his next
Speaker 1: big radio job. After loading up his nineteen sixty nine
Speaker 1: Pontiac Leman's Rush headed east with dreams of making it
Speaker 1: big in the Iron City, and d J. Rusty Sharp
Speaker 1: from Cape Toronto, Missouri was soon reborn as Bachelor Jeff Christie,
Speaker 1: first hosting an afternoon drive shift and later holding down
Speaker 1: the morning show on Wixie thirteen sixty, known as one
Speaker 1: of Pittsburgh's premier top boardy radio stations, continues Rock and
Speaker 1: Goal seven three in the morning. I wish he silent
Speaker 1: God Bachelor Jeff Radio Network from just want to have
Speaker 1: a big hand for Mr and Missus Arnold PELUSI a
Speaker 1: couple of new members of Christy Radio Network this morning
Speaker 1: celebrating refrigerators. Jeff Christie lasted barely eighteen months on w
Speaker 1: i X before he was fired. I was in the
Speaker 1: fall of nineteen seventy two over what were described as
Speaker 1: quote differences over format. His departure from Wixie thirteen sixty
Speaker 1: quickly led to a bigger opportunity for Rush. S k
Speaker 1: H Jeff Christie and in early nineteen seventy three, Crosstown
Speaker 1: Top forty competitor k q V Radio Well, they hired
Speaker 1: him to be their new nighttime DJ. That afforded Rush
Speaker 1: an even bigger platform and another opportunity to further develop
Speaker 1: his on air persona q v V three g K
Speaker 1: Jeff Christy Rocky Radio Sean Friday Night justin minutes away
Speaker 1: from forteen not stop right now of statistics, Jeff Christie
Speaker 1: was beginning to hone future on air skills would eventually
Speaker 1: become the trademarks of Rush Limbaugh was excellence in broadcasting. Now.
Speaker 1: Rush would soon learn success in radio is kind of fickle,
Speaker 1: especially a station ownership change his hands and a dramatic
Speaker 1: turn of events the lame duck KQUB management will They
Speaker 1: pushed the new program director to fire Rush, and ninety
Speaker 1: days later Rush Limbaugh Jeff Christie was out of work.
Speaker 1: When I got fired, I thought I was finished. I'd
Speaker 1: give it my best shot. D J didn't work out.
Speaker 1: I didn't want to do anything else. This has been
Speaker 1: my one passion. And in a stinging rebuke that Rush
Speaker 1: would remember for decades, the station's general manager told the
Speaker 1: twenty something Rush Limbaugh that he would quote never make
Speaker 1: it in radio as an air talent, and that he
Speaker 1: should strongly consider the sales end of the radio business.
Speaker 1: I had an interview with a sales manager at a station.
Speaker 1: To the guy was a genuine lunatic. He's I'm just me.
Speaker 1: I'm interviewed for the job, and he's yelling and screaming
Speaker 1: at me about what his demands will be and what
Speaker 1: they are. And since he's I gonna face this every day. So,
Speaker 1: after three years of trying to make a go of
Speaker 1: it in Pittsburgh, while Rush was out of another radio gig,
Speaker 1: feeling defeated and dejected, the return to the security and
Speaker 1: comfort of his home in Cape Girardo, Missouri. Rush was down,
Speaker 1: but as we all know, far from out. His determination
Speaker 1: for success far outweighed the idea of failure. The long
Speaker 1: version here of telling you that this has been That's
Speaker 1: why I'm so fortunate I've I was able to end
Speaker 1: up doing what I think I was born to do.
Speaker 1: I've never had passion for anything else, I mean, career
Speaker 1: wise like I've got for this unforgettable. That's the impression
Speaker 1: that you, the Russia Limbaugh audience made with your support
Speaker 1: for Russia's last charitable effort while Rush was still with us,
Speaker 1: through the Stand Up for Betsy Ross campaign. Your generosity
Speaker 1: resulted in a five million dollar donation to the Tunnel
Speaker 1: to Towers Foundation. Rush said it best. We chose Tunnel
Speaker 1: to Towers to be the beneficiary of the campaign because
Speaker 1: we love the work they do and the story about
Speaker 1: how they started. When a family experiences significant loss the
Speaker 1: mother or father passes while serving our country, Tunnel to
Speaker 1: Towers steps in freeze that family of a major worry
Speaker 1: during their time of crisis. Tunnel to Towers pays off
Speaker 1: mortgages in full for these families and provides them with
Speaker 1: the comfort of a home when their world has literally
Speaker 1: been turned upside down. The foundation does the same for
Speaker 1: first responders and also build smart homes for our most
Speaker 1: catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. More heroes need your help.
Speaker 1: Do good by donating eleven dollars a month to Tunnel
Speaker 1: to Towers at T two t dot org. That's the
Speaker 1: letter T, the number two the letter T dot org.
Speaker 1: The Life of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter four, narrated by Mark Levine.
Speaker 1: Despite being fired from his first three jobs in radio,
Speaker 1: Jeff Christie a k A. Rush Limbaugh didn't stay down
Speaker 1: for long. He worked aggressively to return to the airwaves,
Speaker 1: and by nineteen seventy five landed the afternoon show at
Speaker 1: top forty k u d L in Kansas City. Still,
Speaker 1: Russia's time at k U d L was short lived,
Speaker 1: listening barely two years before he was let go. For
Speaker 1: the first time in his life, Russia had become disenchanted
Speaker 1: with radio. After serious thought, he chose to temporarily walk
Speaker 1: away from his dreams of a successful radio career. In
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, Rush set a new career course major
Speaker 1: League Baseball. Remember my father when I when I quit radio,
Speaker 1: was the happiest he ever was. I quit radio age
Speaker 1: of ye because I figured it burned out. That was
Speaker 1: playing records the son what does that mean? I mean,
Speaker 1: where's that gonna take you? When I got that job
Speaker 1: of the Cantony Royals, making thirteen thousand dollars, he was
Speaker 1: happier than he had ever been. Russia's four years with
Speaker 1: the Royals were successful. I had led to a lifelong
Speaker 1: friendship with Hall of Famer George Brett. After baseball, Rush
Speaker 1: returned to radio in three as the afternoon news and
Speaker 1: sports anchor at k m b Z Radio. The first
Speaker 1: time in his career used his given name on the airwaves,
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh. But he even boasted to his general manager quote,
Speaker 1: it's only a matter of time before you're going to
Speaker 1: fire me. Russia's prediction became his reality, and after less
Speaker 1: than a year at camb Z, he was out by four.
Speaker 1: Rush replaced Morton Downey Jr. In mid days on kf
Speaker 1: b K and Sacramento. Kf K was a perfect fit
Speaker 1: for Rush, and he was soon dominating the market in
Speaker 1: his time slot. I finally got to do a radio
Speaker 1: show of the way I wanted to do it the
Speaker 1: things that I cared about, the things I thought people
Speaker 1: would listen to, and it was basically just sharing my passions.
Speaker 1: I love sharing my passions. I come up with things
Speaker 1: or passion and I want everybody to know about it
Speaker 1: and want everybody experience it. I want everybody to agree.
Speaker 1: And it finally all came together for me in Sacramento, California.
Speaker 1: After three years of ratings success in Sacramento, Rush left
Speaker 1: KFBK to become part of Ed McLaughlin's newly formed e
Speaker 1: f M Media Network. Still, his departure from kf b
Speaker 1: K was better. Sweet. I'm just the guy on the radio.
Speaker 1: When I started this thirty years ago. I never envisioned
Speaker 1: any of this happening. What I wanted to become was
Speaker 1: the best radio guy in the country, and I had
Speaker 1: this great opportunity. I could be me, I could be honest,
Speaker 1: I could talk about whatever I wanted to talk about,
Speaker 1: and there was nobody that could tell me I couldn't.
Speaker 1: And I have, folks, I have to tell you it
Speaker 1: is the greatest blessing that I've ever had, is to
Speaker 1: have the opportunity I do each and every day. The
Speaker 1: life of Rush Limbaugh Chapter five, narrated by Megan Kelly
Speaker 1: In A retired radio executive named Edward F. McLaughlin decided
Speaker 1: to use his golden parachute from ABC Radio Networks to
Speaker 1: form his own brand new talk radio network apt LEE
Speaker 1: titled e FM Media. After meticulous planning for a successful launch,
Speaker 1: McLaughlin knew he needed more than just a talented host,
Speaker 1: but a force behind the mic and cast a wide
Speaker 1: net in his search. A hot tip led him out west,
Speaker 1: where a thirty eight year old talk radio host was
Speaker 1: burning up the airwaves of Sacramento, California. There are any
Speaker 1: number of people Ed McLaughlin could have chosen, but I've
Speaker 1: fortunately met some people along the way after moving the
Speaker 1: Sacramento that Ed McLaughlin knew and trusted implicitly and when
Speaker 1: he was looking unbeknownst to me, I don't know any
Speaker 1: of this is going on. My name is in the
Speaker 1: list of people he should look into. He could have
Speaker 1: picked any This was his guy, and McLoughlin made him
Speaker 1: an offer leader described as impossible to turn down. Rush
Speaker 1: Limbaugh created the capital of California for the bright lights
Speaker 1: of the Big Apple. He relocated to New York City
Speaker 1: and established first a local ten am to noon show
Speaker 1: on w ABC Radio, Rush Limball in New York. Twenty
Speaker 1: minutes after ten back to the Fallows, we go, Vinny, Hello,
Speaker 1: I'm glad you're with us, all right. I wanted a
Speaker 1: California Beats name. Go no No, I'm originally Beach Names
Speaker 1: in New York. Limbaugh's early days were an unqualified success,
Speaker 1: even with the challenge of a meddling program director who
Speaker 1: unsuccessfully tried to get Rushed to change what would become
Speaker 1: his signature on air style, Rush being Rush dug in
Speaker 1: and ultimately prevailed. After his first shows on w ABC
Speaker 1: Radio went off without a hitch. Rush's mentor and new boss,
Speaker 1: Ed McLaughlin proudly recalled after hearing his first show the quote,
Speaker 1: I knew he could handle it. Ed McLaughlin never wavered
Speaker 1: a single time. He never asked me to tone it down,
Speaker 1: to change things, to do whatever to accommodate this complaint
Speaker 1: or that safe to say, Rush Limbaugh more than just
Speaker 1: handled it. He crushed it. People credit me with this,
Speaker 1: but I couldn't have done any of this if it
Speaker 1: hadn't been for Ed McLaughlin. Ed McLaughlin saved DAM Radio
Speaker 1: by investing in it. Fast lane to nationwide syndication for
Speaker 1: the Rush Limbaugh Show was just around the corner. It
Speaker 1: really hit me how damn lucky I am and have been.
Speaker 1: I try to never ever forget it. The Life of
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh, Chapter six, narrated by Glenn Beck. The landscape
Speaker 1: of national syndication of daytime talk radio shows was lonely
Speaker 1: compared to the daytime syndication space of today. The idea
Speaker 1: of the time was bold and full of risk. But
Speaker 1: Ed McLaughlin knew intimately the power of spoken word radio,
Speaker 1: and he knew the time to strike was then you
Speaker 1: have a giant in the radio business. Ed McLaughlin, who
Speaker 1: retires from ABC, is given two hours of satellite time
Speaker 1: to fill as he wishes. He could have chosen to
Speaker 1: do anything with these two hours. He could have played music.
Speaker 1: He could have done you know, polka, he could have
Speaker 1: done Chinese opera. But he believed in the power of
Speaker 1: spoken word radio. He believed it could win. So on
Speaker 1: August one, nationwide syndication of the Rush Limbop program began.
Speaker 1: The initial offering was two hours a day, and fifty
Speaker 1: six brave stations stood with Rush as true believers and
Speaker 1: loyal affiliates. On day one. It took off. It took
Speaker 1: off faster and bigger than anybody had expected. It took
Speaker 1: off and exploded the way you dream about. The flagship
Speaker 1: station of the Rush Limbaugh program was seventy W a
Speaker 1: d C in New York. In the beginning, Rush also
Speaker 1: hosted a local show from ten till noon, and then
Speaker 1: his national radio program from noon to two pm Eastern
Speaker 1: every day on the inaugural affiliates scattered all across America.
Speaker 1: The reason I had to do that was that we
Speaker 1: started with fifty six stations. That's not enough stations for
Speaker 1: national advertisers to care. And I faced for a year
Speaker 1: and a half derision and criticism and mockery and all
Speaker 1: after what I was trying to do and the way
Speaker 1: we did it. The reason I had to do that
Speaker 1: in New York show is because that's where we were
Speaker 1: given three minutes an hour to sell national advertising. So
Speaker 1: we were able to tell advertisers their commercials would be
Speaker 1: heard in New York City. Because if you couldn't do
Speaker 1: that back then, you couldn't have a nationally syndicated program.
Speaker 1: In a matter of months, the program expan ended to
Speaker 1: three hours of daily national syndication, airing noon to three,
Speaker 1: and the program's rapid growth demanded more attention and focus
Speaker 1: from Rush, ultimately leading to the end of his local
Speaker 1: midday program on w ABC. ED McLaughlin's brilliant bet on
Speaker 1: daytime syndication paid off, exceeding even the wildest expectations of
Speaker 1: his now superstar host Rush Limbaugh. The show's growth was unstoppable,
Speaker 1: reaching an unprecedented five hundred national affiliates in only three years,
Speaker 1: and that's a number that only continued to grow in
Speaker 1: the thirty that followed. Hey, James Golden here. You might
Speaker 1: remember I told you a few weeks ago that my
Speaker 1: Pillow had sent me their entire collection. Well, you know what,
Speaker 1: it's amazing. They are so luxurious, and it's time that
Speaker 1: you experienced some of that luxury. To My pillow makes
Speaker 1: more than pillows. I love the pillow. I sleep on
Speaker 1: it every night. But you know what else they have.
Speaker 1: They have sheets that are simply incredible. They're smooth, they're soft,
Speaker 1: they're comfortable. I look forward to getting to bed every
Speaker 1: night under these sheets. Get yourself a set of these.
Speaker 1: They're called Geza sheets. They come with a sixty day
Speaker 1: comfort guarantee. You get pillows, you get sheets. Oh did
Speaker 1: I mention the slippers. They're incredible slippers. There is a
Speaker 1: level of comfort from My Pillow products that you simply
Speaker 1: have to experience low. Going to my pillow dot Com,
Speaker 1: click on the new radio listener specials. Use the promo
Speaker 1: code icon. That's I C O N. You'll find lots
Speaker 1: of incredible office there right now. That's my Pillow dot
Speaker 1: Com promo code icon. The Life of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter seven,
Speaker 1: narrated by Neil Vortz. When you think about what it
Speaker 1: means to be inducted into the Paul of Fame, you
Speaker 1: might think first of legendary names like Ruth Aaron, maybe
Speaker 1: Montana Marino. Here's a few more for you, Freed Harvey Limbaugh.
Speaker 1: That's right, members of the Radio Hall of Fame, and
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh is obviously right there a member. But unlike
Speaker 1: the others who typically have to wait until the end
Speaker 1: of their careers, it was clear early on that the
Speaker 1: Hall needed to make room for Rush. After only five
Speaker 1: years of syndication and overwhelming record breaking success, he became
Speaker 1: part of a prestigious class of inductees in nineteen For
Speaker 1: a guy from Cape Girardo Missouri, fired from his first
Speaker 1: seven radio jobs before finding any sort of success behind
Speaker 1: the microphone. The entire experience was nothing short of humbling.
Speaker 1: So many standards of excellence have been set by previous inductees,
Speaker 1: including tonight's, that all I can hope to do is
Speaker 1: try to approximate them as I go through my career,
Speaker 1: and if I am one day judged to have done
Speaker 1: and I will consider it to have been worth it.
Speaker 1: In the success, I say what I say to the
Speaker 1: American people, and any chance I have a chance to
Speaker 1: speak to them, I do, and I am so grateful
Speaker 1: and so honored. Regardless what I mean to them, I
Speaker 1: am certain that I will never mean as much to
Speaker 1: them as they mean to me. After patiently waiting through
Speaker 1: a critical introductory speech from Sally Jesse Raphael based on
Speaker 1: their political differences, Rush confidently strolled up to the podium
Speaker 1: and delivered an acceptance speech full of class, grace, and gratitude.
Speaker 1: Into speech, he offered his thanks to the American people, family,
Speaker 1: and colleagues, and ironically, enough is competition and those who
Speaker 1: disagreed with you. When I came to New York, there
Speaker 1: was one man I said, here's the standard. That's what
Speaker 1: I'm up against. Here's who I consider my competition to be.
Speaker 1: If Larry King had not shown that syndicated talk programming
Speaker 1: would work, I wouldn't have had the chance. I thank
Speaker 1: Larry King as well. I thank all of you, Thank
Speaker 1: you so much for allowing you to run along. No
Speaker 1: matter if you're an athlete, a musician, or a broadcaster,
Speaker 1: being inducted into the Hall of Fame is usually the
Speaker 1: crowning achievement of a long career, finished as you head
Speaker 1: off in the sunset. But for Russia Limbaugh, it was
Speaker 1: only the beginning, with still more than twenty five years
Speaker 1: of excellence and broadcasting to come. The Life of Russia Limbaugh,
Speaker 1: Chapter eight, narrated by Mary Madaline. You wouldn't note at
Speaker 1: the time, but in election a battle for the ages
Speaker 1: was born, and not between incumbent President George H. W.
Speaker 1: Bush and its challenger, a young, smooth talking Democratic governor
Speaker 1: from Arkansas. That election was over. Now at this point
Speaker 1: a political chess match for the ages began between that
Speaker 1: very governor, now President elect Clinton, and the hero of
Speaker 1: this story, talk radio icon Brush Limbaugh. It is it's
Speaker 1: fundamental to remember that here are the Clinton's admitting their
Speaker 1: paranoia because they did know how to deal with a
Speaker 1: non supportive media, and all it was was just me
Speaker 1: on the radio and some other local talk show guys
Speaker 1: in the Wall Street Journal at a trull page, and
Speaker 1: they're acting like it is the biggest threat to their
Speaker 1: existence ever. In the process, and Russia became the number
Speaker 1: one voice of Conservatism, a mantle literally passed on by
Speaker 1: none other than President Ronald Reagan himself in a treasured
Speaker 1: written letter. Russia's political savvy, combined with an uncanny reality
Speaker 1: based ability to make the complex understandable, helped the Party
Speaker 1: of Reagan get back on track. In fact, with Russia
Speaker 1: at the helm, the GOP one long shot landslide victories
Speaker 1: across the fooded plane, up and down the ballot, plus
Speaker 1: the House majority for the first time in over a
Speaker 1: half a century, now known as a Republican revolution in
Speaker 1: it was the peak. It was huge. I'll tell you
Speaker 1: what shocked me, and it really did. Clinton was flying
Speaker 1: into St. Louis In on Air Force One. He's doing
Speaker 1: an interview before he arrives with the morning crew at
Speaker 1: camel X, our affiliate St. Lucie, starts complaining about me
Speaker 1: you got Rush Limpball coming up here. When you guys finish,
Speaker 1: you can come up at News. You a three hours,
Speaker 1: three hours say whatever he wants, and nobody's gonna say
Speaker 1: anything other way, And no trick, Detective. Here's the President
Speaker 1: of the United States, for the biggest bully pulpit in
Speaker 1: the world, complaining about some guy in the radio for
Speaker 1: three hours. It's no coincidence that the Rush Limbaugh program
Speaker 1: is you note actually began during the Reagan administration, and
Speaker 1: though the Clinton ears were filled to the brim with
Speaker 1: easy fodder for Rush to feast on, he spent the
Speaker 1: years after battling a misperception that the show's success was
Speaker 1: primarily built on the daily Melo drama dished up by
Speaker 1: the Clintons. In reality, the show's popularity exploded long before
Speaker 1: the presidency was even a twinkle in Bill Clinton's eye.
Speaker 1: I can't tell the number of people who believe that
Speaker 1: this program arose to its current heights because Bill Clinton
Speaker 1: won the elect This program got off the ground and
Speaker 1: became the most listened to radio talk show in three
Speaker 1: years before Bill Clinton never thought about running for In
Speaker 1: the end, Rush reminded his listeners that his program never
Speaker 1: depended on the party that was in power. I've often
Speaker 1: had a phrase, my success doesn't depend on who wins elections.
Speaker 1: I can't control who's gonna win elections anyway, regardless who's
Speaker 1: in the White House or not. By the way, just
Speaker 1: because your team wins doesn't mean they don't screw up
Speaker 1: the whole objective hears to have a good show, Rush
Speaker 1: Limbaugh hosted far more than a good show. In fact,
Speaker 1: for decades after the Clinton administration had come and gone,
Speaker 1: he proudly carried the conservative tords forward, both on the
Speaker 1: air and off the air. For the Life of Russia Limbaugh,
Speaker 1: Chapter nine, narrated by George Mary. The nineties drew new
Speaker 1: lines in the political battlefield, ultimately leading to a hotly
Speaker 1: contested two thousand presidential election. But by the time George W.
Speaker 1: Bush was inaugurated and the dust began to settle, the
Speaker 1: era of compassionate Conservatism seemed poised for smooth Saley. The
Speaker 1: Clinton presidency was in the rear view mirror, the House
Speaker 1: had a Republican majority, and because Conservatives were riding high,
Speaker 1: Russia's critics predicted, without anyone to complain about, his show
Speaker 1: would soon be on the decline, and then on a
Speaker 1: clear Tuesday morning, everything changed. Debris is just falling off
Speaker 1: the building. I mean it's under looking at the trade
Speaker 1: towers exactly what it happened. We need to unite, We
Speaker 1: need to understand together. September eleven, two thousand one profoundly
Speaker 1: impacted America, the Bush presidency and Russia limpus. All different
Speaker 1: sets of emotions start taking over. Then in the course
Speaker 1: of the next few weeks, learned that I knew people
Speaker 1: who lost people, family members and friends of the World
Speaker 1: Trade Center. They are still not the same. The tone
Speaker 1: of politics changed on a dime, and Russia's audience grew
Speaker 1: dramatically as Americans turned to a familiar, soothing voice to
Speaker 1: calm the chaos, pick up the pieces, and move America forward.
Speaker 1: The Bush White House also recognized the breach of his program,
Speaker 1: as both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney became
Speaker 1: regular contributors. Welcome back to the program the Vice President,
Speaker 1: Dick Cheney, Mr Vice President, thank you as always, it's
Speaker 1: a it's an honor and a delight to have you
Speaker 1: here with us. Talk to you again. After two successful
Speaker 1: terms and despite expertly guiding America through an unprecedented crisis
Speaker 1: early in his administration. President Bush left Washington with waning
Speaker 1: popularity and a missed harsh criticism. In the years that followed,
Speaker 1: Rush tried to set the record straight the Bush was
Speaker 1: a solid leader dealing with mind eleven of it. How
Speaker 1: in the world you go from that perception to go
Speaker 1: to being approval, hated and reviled. You do that by
Speaker 1: letting the media to story you are not fighting back
Speaker 1: and not getting political because you don't want to sully
Speaker 1: the office or whatever. To the end, Russell Limbaugh had
Speaker 1: profound respect for his friend President George W. Bush and
Speaker 1: his stewardship of the American presidents. Bush has been rehabilitated.
Speaker 1: In the eyes of the drive by media, Bush is gracious. Now.
Speaker 1: What's missing in this transformation, of course, Bush the evil,
Speaker 1: to Bush the gracious is the acknowledgment that he has
Speaker 1: always comported himself this way. Despite the relentless attacks these
Speaker 1: past eight years, George W. Bush has been a class act.
Speaker 1: He considered Bush a strong leader who was unfairly defined
Speaker 1: by his opponents, and for his part, George W. Bush
Speaker 1: had a mutual respect for Rush, and a statement after
Speaker 1: his death, Bush praised Russia's belief in God and country
Speaker 1: as an indomitable spirit with a big heart like his
Speaker 1: father forty one before him. Perhaps the same could be
Speaker 1: said about number forty three, The Life of Russia Limbaugh,
Speaker 1: Chapter ten. They're rated by Scott Bao. In November fourth,
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, America made history by electing its
Speaker 1: first black president, and known for his signature cutting edge
Speaker 1: analysis and insight Russia. Limbau was quick to explain how
Speaker 1: Barack Obama was able to convince so many Americans to
Speaker 1: vote for him. In fact, Rush was very detailed as
Speaker 1: to why Obama's election victory was so decisive. The main
Speaker 1: reason Obama was elected was a bunch of people in
Speaker 1: this country very distressed and fed up but the ongoing
Speaker 1: allegation that they and the rest of the country were
Speaker 1: a bunch of racists and bigots, and they believed that
Speaker 1: if they participated in electing the first African American president,
Speaker 1: that they could do away with that charge, They could
Speaker 1: do away with that notion, that idea. I firmly believe
Speaker 1: that the vast majority outside of the Democrat for the
Speaker 1: vast majority of white votes for Obama were made with
Speaker 1: that hope. After eight years of conservative leadership by the
Speaker 1: President George W. Bush. Rush was eager, willing, and ready
Speaker 1: to resume his role as chief concerned of critic in
Speaker 1: opposition to the Obama regime. As he frequently labeled, it
Speaker 1: fits what the hell else is it? But not a regime.
Speaker 1: It didn't take long for Rush to start making waves
Speaker 1: with only four little words just before inauguration Day. I
Speaker 1: hope he fails. I wanted Obama to fail so that
Speaker 1: my country would not. I wanted Obama's liberal agenda, his
Speaker 1: socialist community organizer agenda, to fail. I did not, and
Speaker 1: never have and never will want America to fail. Never,
Speaker 1: no way. I wanted America to be saved. Rush soon
Speaker 1: found plenty more to criticize and what became the signatures
Speaker 1: of the Obama administration, from Obamacare to the closing of GIBMO,
Speaker 1: the Iran nuclear deal, to Obama's border tactics, and much
Speaker 1: much more for Russia, Limbaugh, the Obama years were chocked
Speaker 1: full of policies and bad politics. The Dissect for tens
Speaker 1: of millions of listeners daily and throughout Obama's two terms
Speaker 1: in office, rushed to great pride in telling his listeners
Speaker 1: that he had no doubt the President was one of them.
Speaker 1: As he often explained on air, not only was Obama
Speaker 1: paying attention to him, he was fixated on the Republicans
Speaker 1: are only concerned about what's on Fox News or what
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh is saying, and Democrats are looking at the
Speaker 1: New York Times or Huffington Post. So Obama comes into
Speaker 1: office telling Republicans that they can't listen to Rush Limbaugh
Speaker 1: anymore and get things done. That's just not how it
Speaker 1: happens in Washington. And he's leaving office having failed to
Speaker 1: remove one of his main impediments from his equation, and
Speaker 1: that would be me. So after eight years, Obama he
Speaker 1: comes into office with me living rent free in his head,
Speaker 1: and I'm still there. It could be said today that
Speaker 1: during the Obama administration, Rush Limbaugh was at his best,
Speaker 1: staunchly defending conservative principles and standing up for America and
Speaker 1: its exceptionalism. But in the end, whether at his best
Speaker 1: or even on a bed day, a few could touch
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh. The Obama chapter was but just eight years
Speaker 1: of more than third of unprecedented broadcast excellence. The Life
Speaker 1: of Russia Limbaugh Chapter eleven, narrated by Nick Searcy. After
Speaker 1: the election of Barack Obama in two thousand and eight,
Speaker 1: Russia Limbaugh was immediately concerned for the direction America was headed,
Speaker 1: as he intuitively sensed the growing loss of freedoms and
Speaker 1: liberty to come over the next eight years, and as
Speaker 1: the end of the Obama regime neared, Russ's listeners trusted
Speaker 1: him more than ever as Conservatism's most vocal champion and
Speaker 1: opinion maker. As a well known businessman, a non political
Speaker 1: outsider started gaining steam in a long shot bid for
Speaker 1: the Republican presidential nomination, Rush made clear where his priorities stood.
Speaker 1: Whatever you think I'm advocating, it's not because I care
Speaker 1: what happens to the Republican Party. I care about what
Speaker 1: happens to America, and I know that any more of
Speaker 1: what we've had the last eight years, it's gonna be America.
Speaker 1: But it's not going to be the America you and
Speaker 1: I know. As then candidate Donald J. Trump took off
Speaker 1: on a meteoric rise, the mainstream media and political pundits
Speaker 1: were dumbfounded by his success and his refusal to play
Speaker 1: by the usual tired set of rules. But Russ knew
Speaker 1: early on that Trump was different and why he connected
Speaker 1: with the American people. He's real, he isn't phony, he
Speaker 1: is not politically correct, and he's fearless. He's not afraid
Speaker 1: to tell people what he actually thinks about other people
Speaker 1: or things. Trump is showing that the things the Republican
Speaker 1: parties afraid of are baseless. They don't need to be afraid.
Speaker 1: With his signature insight, Limbaugh told his listeners why the
Speaker 1: experts were failing to understand the man who was promising
Speaker 1: to make America great again. Despite the scores of critics
Speaker 1: and doubters, Trump never gave up, and he campaigned relentlessly
Speaker 1: right until the early morning hours of election day, November eight,
Speaker 1: two thousand sixty. So is that officially Tuesday November? Did
Speaker 1: you ever think you'd be hearing amazing speech like it?
Speaker 1: Around close to one o'clock in the morning, A we
Speaker 1: phrase and as America came alive the next morning, it
Speaker 1: discovered Trump had shocked the world with a decisive win
Speaker 1: over Hillary Clinton. For his part, Rush became one of
Speaker 1: President Trump's most vocal advocates throughout his presidency and the election.
Speaker 1: He saw Trump as a uniter who would be good
Speaker 1: for America in the long run, he is out trying
Speaker 1: to get as many people in this country as he
Speaker 1: can to join his movement. He's not trying to lose.
Speaker 1: He's not trying to clean things up and make the
Speaker 1: party something that it isn't. He's trying to rename it,
Speaker 1: reshape it so that it is a party of victory.
Speaker 1: And what's the slogan, make America great again? America first.
Speaker 1: Everything he's talking about is real. The outcome of the
Speaker 1: last presidential election of Russia's lifetime didn't produce the results
Speaker 1: for which he had hoped. And if the world ever
Speaker 1: needed his insight and commentary, it does today more than ever.
Speaker 1: But if you listen close, even though the golden E
Speaker 1: i B microphone sits empty, through the speakers of radio
Speaker 1: stations across the country, you can still hear the man
Speaker 1: we knew and loved for more than thirty years. The
Speaker 1: voices offering their opinion on the radio now may be different,
Speaker 1: but the footsteps in which they follow undoubtedly belonged to
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh. The Life of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter twelve, narrated
Speaker 1: by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. I have to tell
Speaker 1: you something today that I wish I didn't have to
Speaker 1: tell you. That's how Rush began to break the news
Speaker 1: to you, to us on February that he had been
Speaker 1: diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, and for the first time
Speaker 1: in more than thirty years, we had to confront the
Speaker 1: reality that he wouldn't be there middle of our day forever.
Speaker 1: Most people might have walked away from their professional life
Speaker 1: for good at that point, especially somewhat of his means,
Speaker 1: but not Russia. Limball determined as ever, he dug in
Speaker 1: for the long haul, no matter how painful or difficult
Speaker 1: it would get. I thought about trying to do this
Speaker 1: without anybody knowing, because I don't like making things about me.
Speaker 1: But there are going to be days that I'm not
Speaker 1: going to be able to be here, and you know me,
Speaker 1: I'm the mayor of real film. This has happened, and
Speaker 1: my intention is to come here every day I can.
Speaker 1: But what else would you expect. This is a man
Speaker 1: whose passion for his craft was unparalleled, a man who
Speaker 1: taught us that no matter how many times you get
Speaker 1: knocked down or in his case, even fired seven times,
Speaker 1: you keep getting up and pushing forward until you reach greatness.
Speaker 1: Be humble, grateful, and share your success with others, helping others,
Speaker 1: even if you don't expect or want credit publicly for it.
Speaker 1: The legacy of Russia Limball and its surface, might be
Speaker 1: that he was a groundbreaking broadcaster who had a m
Speaker 1: radio or a savvy intellectual who knew politics had started out,
Speaker 1: both things true he surely was, But his bigger legacy
Speaker 1: will live on even brighter behind the scenes, with the
Speaker 1: people who knew him best and loved him most. Checking
Speaker 1: with a mother on his staff before asking her to
Speaker 1: travel to make sure her daughter didn't have any events
Speaker 1: at school she wouldn't want to miss. Quietly helping an
Speaker 1: employee pay off some debt or replace a broken down vehicle,
Speaker 1: sending ten, twenty or fifty thousand dollars to someone he'd
Speaker 1: never met, whose stories he found and touched his heart.
Speaker 1: You know, I have a philosophy. There's good that happens
Speaker 1: and everything that may not reveal itself immediately, and even
Speaker 1: in the most dire circumstances, if you just wait, you
Speaker 1: just remain open to things, the good in it we'll
Speaker 1: reveal itself. And that has happened to me as well.
Speaker 1: These are the lesser known measures of the man behind
Speaker 1: the Golden e I B microphone. On air, it was
Speaker 1: talent on loan from God, but off the air his
Speaker 1: character resolved and warm, loving heart. That was all Rush
Speaker 1: Hudson Limbaugh the third with integrity on loan from Nobody,