- Drew Berquist - https://www.drewberquist.com -

Rush Limbaugh Dead At 70

It is rare that this space hosts an obituary. Though many deserve it, the events of the day often overshadow their passing. Not this time.

Radio show host, American patriot, and conservative leader Rush Limbaugh died Wednesday morning. He was 70 years old. He died from lung cancer. He is survived by his wife Kathryn.

Though it may seem a dim memory at this point, during the 1990s Limbaugh was the conservative movement. Though his show was only several years old, after the defeat of Bush the Elder in 1992 by Bill Clinton, conservatism, and to a great degree the Republican Party, was rudderless. Limbaugh not only provided direction, but he did it with clarity and humor. He so got under the skin of the Left one leftist named him “the most dangerous man in America.” Limbaugh wore it as a badge of honor.

In the early 90s I called into his show once or twice. It was the devil to get connected. However, once I was put through Limbaugh was sharp in conversation and jovial in delivery. I even went to a taping of his television show in New York. He was as good in person as he was on radio.

His background was simply American. He grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Limbaugh started in radio at the age of 16 and never looked back. His parents said that radio was the main thing on his mind when he was young. Like many great men, he was singularly focused and that stoked the fires of ambition. That ambition was to take him to great wealth, national prominence, and many accolades.

Rush Limbaugh was a five time winner of the Marconi Award from the National Radio Hall of Fame. In 1992 former President Ronald Reagan called him “the number one voice for conservatism in our country.” He was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2020 President Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. These were all richly deserved.

Limbaugh leaves behind a fragmented party and movement. But he had seen that before. His leadership, voice for freedom, and sense of humor had led conservatism out of quagmires in the past. As such, he will be very sorely missed.