Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was born on 12 January 1951 and is a radio host American , a political scientist and a conservative opinion leader influence of the conservative movement in the United States . He hosts the show “The Rush Limbaugh Show” which airs throughout the United States on “Premiere Radio Networks,” which is the radio talk show heard on more of the country.
He was born into a family with a long history of its involvement in Republican politics and began to work first at the age of sixteen, in a local radio station. In 1984, after a series of radio was near its various activities, Limbaugh began working as a political talk show host on radio of Sacramento , in California . His show received no invitation, operating exclusively on its political analysis as to its conservative editorial line. In 1988 he moved to New York where he began to lead the national broadcast of his radio program on WABC . His program began to be popular and was the beginning of his personal success and national fame.
In the 1990s, the success of Limbaugh exceeded the midpoint of the radio, to reach the press and television.
He published two books consecutively which quickly became bestsellers:
The Way Things Ought to Be (1992) Pocket Books ( ISBN 067175145X )
See, I Told You So (1993) Pocket Books ( ISBN 067187120X )
In 1992, Limbaugh published his first book, The Way Things Ought to Be , followed by See, I Told You So in 1993 a . Both were amongst the first titles of the bestseller list of The New York Times , The Way Things Ought to Be remained there for 24 weeks even two . Limbaugh later admitted that the text of his first book had been recorded and transcribed by John Fund, writer of the Wall Street Journal . In the second book, Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily was cited as a collaborator 3 .
From 1992 to 1996, Limbaugh animated talk show half an hour on television.
Limbaugh is a controversial figure in American politics and media. He frequently accuses the traditional American media to be included in a strong liberal current, Limbaugh criticized the liberalism of American politics and politicians and promotes conservative positions.
Summary
And family formation
Hudson Rush Limbaugh III was born in Cape Girardeau in Missouri , Mildred Carolyn “Millie” was born Armstrong and Rush Limbaugh Hudson, Junior. His father was a lawyer and a former fighter pilot of World War II who served in the theater of operations “China-Burma-India”. His mother was originally from Searcy , in Arkansas . The use of the name “Rush” is due to his grandfather to honor the maiden name of a family member, Edna Rush 4 .
His family includes many lawyers, including his grandfather, father and brother David Limbaugh. His uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. is a federal judge who was appointed by Ronald Reagan in the Eastern District of Missouri . His cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., is currently a judge on the same court, where he was appointed by George W. Bush . Rush Limbaugh, Sr., Limbaugh’s grandfather, was Missouri attorney, judge, special commissioner, member of the House of Representatives from Missouri from 1930 to 1932, and long time president of the Historical Society of Missouri 5 . The federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau also bears the name of Limbaugh in honor of his grandfather.
Education
Limbaugh began his radio career while still a teenager in 1967 in his hometown of Cape Girardeau , using the alias Rusty Sharpe 4 , 6 . He graduated from Cape Central High School in 1969. Because of her parents’ wishes to see him attend the University, he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University but left after only two semesters and one summer. According to his mother, “he failed in everything,” and “he seemed interested in anything except radio” ” 4 , 7 .
Date of birth of Limbaugh was ranked 152 th in the Lottery from the Vietnam War . But no one was sent from the rank 125. It was classified as “4-F” due to a knee injury in football is due either to a diagnosis of Pilonidal 4 , 8 .
Career
The 1970
After abandoning his studies at the University, Limbaugh moved to McKeesport in Pennsylvania . In 1972 he became a disc jockey of the “Top 40″ on WIXZ, a small radio station broadcasting on shortwave, however the station covering much of the region of Pittsburgh . He began a program in the afternoon and then occupied the niche in the morning, under the pseudonym “Jeff Christie”. Limbaugh moved again in 1973 for the Pittsburgh station KQV as a disc jockey in the evening, succeeding Jim Quinn. He was dismissed in late 1974, when the station was sold to Taft Broadcasting. Management would have told Limbaugh that his life would never win over the airwaves and should consider going to work commercially 4 . Of not finding another job in radio, Limbaugh returned to the family home in Cape Girardeau. He became a lifelong fan of the football team the Pittsburgh Steelers from the time of his life in the region 9 .
Until the late 1970s, Rush Limbaugh has found jobs in several radio stations of music before moving to Kansas City . In 1979, he left the radio and accepted a position as director of promotion for the baseball team Kansas City Royals 4 . He became an intimate friend of the star player George Brett, now retired, the two friends are also remained very close 10 .
1980 [ modify ]
In 1984, Limbaugh returned to radio as host of a talk show on “KFBK” in Sacramento , in California , where he replaced Morton Downey, Jr. 4 . In 1987, the repeal of the “Fairness Doctrine” by the Federal Communications Commission doctrine, which required that stations provide free air time for responses to all the controversy that had been posted on the antenna, has allowed radio stations to broadcast editorials without having to present opposing views. Daniel Henninger wrote, in “Wall Street Journal” that “Ronald Reagan tore down the wall (the Fairness Doctrine) in 1987 … and that Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim the liberation of East Germany of liberal media domination ” 11 .
The 1 st August 1988, after his success in Sacramento, Limbaugh drew the attention of the President of ABC Radio , Edward F. MacLaughlin, and moved to New York where he began his national radio program. It began a few weeks after the Democratic National Convention, and a few weeks before the Republican National Convention. The issuance of Limbaugh in New York was the model of talk show stations WABC , 770 AM , and remains the flagship station 4 .
The 1990
In December 1990, journalist Lewis Grossberger wrote in the New York Times that Limbaugh had “more listeners than any other talk show host” and described his style as “Professor alternating between serious and comic” 12 . The growing popularity of Limbaugh coincided with the first Gulf War, and its support for the U.S. war effort and the way he turned to ridicule peace activists. The issue has gained more popularity and was aired by other stations and affecting a wider audience, 650 radio stations in the country would rebroadcast his show.
In 1992, Democratic Senator from Arkansas, Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States. Limbaugh made the satire of Clinton’s political action and my First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton , as well as members of the Democratic Party. When the Republican Party won control of Congress after the 1994 elections, promoting the first year the Republican attributed to Limbaugh an honorary member during their caucus. This event strengthened it as an influential figure in national politics 13 .
2000s
Limbaugh shared his personal difficulties during the 2000s. At the end of 2001, and he recognized that it was almost completely deaf, but he continued his show. He was able to recover much of his hearing with the help of cochlear implants. In 2003, Limbaugh made a brief stint as a commentator on American professional football for ESPN . He resigned a few weeks into the 2003 season after making comments on the “quarterback” Donovan Mac Nabb, after a sports journalist was interpreted, and other colleagues, his critics as racist in the against Mac Nabb 14 . Another sports analyst wrote that the view of Limbaugh was shared by “many football fans and other analysts” and “… it was absurd to say that the sports media protect Donovan McNabb because that it was black ” 15 . In April 2006, Limbaugh was himself denounced and arrested “for the single charge of prescription fraud” 16 . His record was later expunged after a sentence of eighteen months of rehabilitation and payment of court costs was pronounced 17 .
The Rush Limbaugh Show
Emissions were broadcast Limbaugh for three hours each week from noon Eastern time, on both the short wavelengths (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). The program is also broadcast worldwide on “Armed Forces Radio Network.”
Radio programs have moved from medium wave (AM) Frequency Modulation (FM) in the 1970s because of the ability to stream music in stereo with better fidelity. Rush Limbaugh was the first animator to be franchised nationally in August 1988, at the time of declining shortwave. Limbaugh’s popularity paved the way for other talk shows conservative radio stations and is increasingly common on shortwave. In March 2006, WBAL in Baltimore became the first radio station in the country to abandon the program franchisee of national broadcast of Limbaugh 18 . In 2007, the magazine Talkers named Limbaugh again number one talk show hosts in its classification “Heavy Hundred”.
Limbaugh frequently mentions the EIB (“Excellence In Broadcasting”) network, but it is a mythical construct, as he told the New York Times in 1990 19 . In fact, his talk show was as a franchisee and was co-owner, Edward F. McLaughlin, former president of ABC who founded EFM Media in 1988, with Rush Limbaugh as the head appears. In 1997, McLaughlin sold EFM to Jacor Communications, which was eventually acquired by Clear Channel Communications. Today, Limbaugh owns the majority of talk show, which is franchised by Premiere Radio Networks.
According to a 2001 article published in US News & World Report , Limbaugh had an eight-year contract, worth of 31.25 million per year 20 . In 2007, Limbaugh won $ 33 million 21 . July 2, 2008, Matt Drudge said that Rush Limbaugh has signed a contract extension through 2016 at a level exceeding 400 million dollars a year, breaking all records all distribution media together 22 .
Incidents and Controversies
Incident relating to Parkinson’s Michael J. Fox
October 23, 2006, during his radio show, Rush Limbaugh mimicked the “DittoCam” (the webcam to the site of subscribers) physical symptoms that the actor Michael J. Fox had shown in a television commercial to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease 23 , 24 . He declared that “Fox was exaggerating the effects of his illness. He moves in circles with tremors, it is purely a role … It is really shameful on the part of Michael J. Fox. Either he did not taken his medication or he plays a 25 . ”
Michael J. Fox later appeared on CBS with Katie Couric and said he was actually dyskinesique at the time, a consequence of the antiparkinsonian medication 26 .
Parody “Barack the magic negro”
March 19, 2007, Limbaugh said in an editorial by David Ehrenstein in the Los Angeles Times , explaining that Obama put himself in the role of the “magic negro”, and that this explained his appeal to voters 27 . Then later, Limbaugh sang a song by Paul Shanklin called “Barack the magic negro” 28 , sung to the tune of Puff Magic Dragon 29 .
Controversial call on soldiers impostors
On 26 September 2007, during the broadcast of Limbaugh’s show, Limbaugh used the term “fake soldiers” by answering a listener who claimed the soldiers that issued critical participation of the United States to war in Iraq 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 The auditor stated that he was serving in the army for 14 years, said: “The media never talk to real soldiers. They like to shoot these soldiers coming back from nowhere and continuous jets to speak to the media. “Limbaugh interrupted, saying” fake soldiers. “The auditor i replied:” Soldiers false. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They no longer want to serve in Iraq . They accept their sacrifice , and are willing to sacrifice for their country 35 . After the listener had hung up, Limbaugh read the dispatch from the Associated Press describing the story of Jesse Macbeth. Macbeth had joined the army, but n ‘ had not completed his basic military training, he said alternative media that he and his unit had frequently committed war crimes in Iraq 36 , 37 . June 7, 2007, Macbeth pleaded guilty to the charge of false statements to against the Department of Veterans Affairs United States and was sentenced to five months imprisonment with a penalty of three years probation, 38 , 39 , 40 . Media Matters for America noted Limbaugh’s use the term “” phony soldiers “in an article on their website. The article suggests that Limbaugh would have said that all soldiers who disagree with the war in Iraq were” fake soldiers ” 41 , and their article received substantial media coverage when he commented in the speeches of presidential candidates John Edwards and Chris Dodd 42 . Limbaugh said that when he made that comment about “fake soldiers”, he spoke only of Jesse Macbeth and other soldiers like him who claimed to be soldiers as they were not, and that “Media Matters had often used to go out of their context the words” 43 . Media Matters Limbaugh had replied that Jesse MacBeth not mentioned in his radio show from 26 September 2007, during the minute and 50 seconds he had spent discussing “fake soldiers” with the listener 44 . The unedited transcript of the radio show in question is also available on the website of Rush Limbaugh 44 . unpublished transcript of the radio broadcast of 26 September 2007 is available on the website of Rush Limbaugh .
Operation Chaos
In an attempt to undermine the campaign of Democratic Party primary in 2008, Limbaugh encouraged his listeners to vote for the one who was the last in the race, an effort dubbed “Operation Chaos” 45 . In Ohio , Limbaugh encouraged his listeners to register as Democrats and vote for Hillary Clinton . In Ohio, voters at registration must certify that they are registered to the party for whom they vote in the primaries. Approximately 16,000 Ohio Republicans have switched parties for the election. The Attorney General of Ohio said it would be difficult to prove fraudulent intent of each voter 46 . Limbaugh declared that there was nothing wrong with Republicans to vote Democratic primary, especially since Democrats could vote for John McCain in Vermont , in New Hampshire , in Florida , and in other States , saying, “it becomes absurd. If it were not for the independents and Democrats, Senator McCain would not be our candidate 47 ! ”
Hoping that the factions of the Democratic Party would disunity at their convention, Limbaugh declared that “the ideal end of the operation that Chaos would continue until the Democratic Convention, and we have a repeat of the National Convention 1968 Democratic with burning cars, protests, fire, and riots and all that, the objective here is 48 .
Comments on Obama’s policies
January 16, 2009, Limbaugh read a letter during his radio show that he had received a request from a national media outlet: … “If you could send us 400 words on your hope for the Presidency of Obama, we need it for Monday night, that would be ideal. ” He replied, “I do not need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails. ” He said he did not want “the absorption of most of the private sector by the U.S. government as much as possible, since the banking business, the mortgage market, the automotive industry, health care . I do not want the government to be responsible for all these things. I do not want this to work. “He continued: “It is unfair to say so I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what brought us dangerously close to the precipice ” 49 .
Limbaugh later said that he wanted Obama’s policies fail, but not the man himself 50 . Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said: “He is my president, he is a human being, and his ideas and his policies are what matters to me” 49 .
Leader of the Republican Party
Limbaugh was the keynote speaker at the Conference of political conservatives in 2009; his speech drew widespread attention 51 . March 1, 2009 when Rahm Emanuel , chief of staff of the White House responding to a question of “Face the Nation” from CBS asking who represented for him the GOP, Emanuel said Limbaugh was his choice 52 , 53 , 54 .
In a speech broadcast on CNN on March 1, 2009 March 1, 2009, Michael Steele , Chairman of the Republican National Committee, said that Limbaugh was an “entertainer” and his rhetoric to the Convention was “incendiary” and ” ugly ” 55 . Steele later telephoned Limbaugh and apologized. Limbaugh said he would not run the RNC as a “sad sack state” 56 .
March 2, 2009, Limbaugh responded to Emanuel 56 and March 4, 2009, Limbaugh challenged President Barack Obama to come and debate on his radio show. Limbaugh offered to pay all expenses, including travel of the President, the food, shelter and safety 56 .
TV
Limbaugh also had a slot where he presented a television half-hour from 1992 to 1996, produced by Roger Ailes . The show addressed many issues similar to those of his radio show, and was recorded live. Rush Limbaugh said he preferred his radio show 57 at her TV show 58 .
Other media appearances
The first experiment of televised Limbaugh took place on 30 March 1990, when an invitation from Pat Sajak on CBS to talk about in the last part of his evening Pat Sajak Show . Activists of Act Up , in the audience 59 , heckled Limbaugh repeatedly to the point that Limbaugh delivering pre-recorded in studio, has ultimately not been released. In 2001, Sajak said the incident had been “legendary on CBS” 60 .
December 17, 1993, Limbaugh appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman 61 . Limbaugh also appeared as the guest star (playing himself) in a 1994 episode of Hearts Afire . It appeared in 1995 in the film Billy Crystal , Forget Paris , and in a 1998 episode of the Drew Carey Show .
Recent Developments
In 2007, Limbaugh made appearances on Fox News Channel in a short program, The 1/2 Hour News Hour , a series of parodies in presenting him as the future President of the United States. In these parodies, his vice president was his famous colleague of conservative politics Ann Coulter . He also made an appearance in an episode of Family Guy in 2009. In this episode, a parody of Star Wars , Limbaugh can be heard on the radio report, inter alia, that “intergalactic space Liberal” lived of climate change on the planet “Hoth” and that the administrative position of Lando Calrissian on “City of the Clouds” was the result of this administrative action.
His character has often been used as a model for a range of stereotypical talk show in television or in movies, including an episode of the Simpsons (as a host of conservative radio talk show host named Birch Barlow) as “Gus Baker” on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head , as “Lash Rambo” (host of the “perfection of broadcasting”) in an episode of The New WKRP in Cincinnati , and the role of “Fielding Chase” in Columbo derived from the movie “Butterfly in Shades of Grey”.
Following his TV show, Limbaugh has been recognized as wearing distinctive neckties. In response to viewer interest, Limbaugh launched a line of neckties 62 primarily designed by Marta, his wife at the time 63 . The sale of the ties reached over 5 million dollars last year of sale, but the line was abandoned.
In January 2010, “Chicago Second City” has announced a new production, Rush Limbaugh: The Musical, “a musical parody with pastiches repeating the success the program had obtained Rod Blagojevich Superstar in 2009 and that would be written and developed by the same creative team.
January 30, 2010, Limbaugh was part of the jury for the election of Miss America 2010 in Las Vegas 64 .
Views and opinions of Limbaugh
Personal definition of the conservative movement
Limbaugh wrote in 2005, an editorial page controversy in the Wall Street Journal in which he said:
I love being a conservative. We, the Conservatives are proud of our philosophy. Unlike our liberal friends, who are constantly looking for new words to conceal their true beliefs and are in a perpetual state of reinvention, we conservatives are proud of our ideals.
We are confident in our principles and energetic in order to advance. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, to Faith, a company that sees clearly, and National Security.
We support school choice, enterprise zones, tax cuts, the welfare reform, faith-based initiatives, political debate, the rights of owners and the war against terrorism.
And at the base of our movement, we worship and celebrate the most magnificent document ever ratified by any country in establishing the laws governing it – the Constitution of the United States . With the Declaration of Independence of the United States , which recognizes our God , and giving us the inalienable right to be free, we have the foundation upon which our government has built and has enabled us to flourish as people.
We, the conservatives are never stronger than when we are advancing our principles 65 .
Balance sheet and diverse opinions
In one published in the bestseller list of New York Times , Limbaugh is defined as a preservative, and is critical vis-à-vis broadcasters many media asking them to be more objective. He criticized the political centrists, independents and moderate conservatives, saying they are responsible for the victory of Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain in the presidential elections of 2008 and he invited them to leave the Republican Party. It calls for the adoption of serious and sincere the basic philosophy of conservatism to ensure the survival of the Republican Party 66 , 67 , 68 .
Limbaugh is an opponent of ecology and climatology 69 . He has challenged the analysis anthropogenic of global warming , and the relationship between CFCs and the depletion of the ozone layer , claiming no scientific evidence has demonstrated 70 . Limbaugh attacked the scientific advice on climate change, saying the so-called scientific consensus is just a group of scientists organized around a political dogma. You can not get consensus in science … they think the consensus is the only way to convey their ideas because people will think, “Oh, but all these wonderful people agree 71 . Limbaugh has also used the term ” Wacko environmentalists “in reference to the lawyers left the environmentalists 72 . As a rhetorical device, aussi He Has Used the term to more mainstream Refer to climate Scientists and Other Environmental Scientists and advocates disagrees with Whom ET 73 .
Limbaugh is staunchly anti-feminist, stating that “Feminism was established to provide women with easier access to positions within the company.” 74 He also popularized the term “féminazie”, referring to about two dozen feminists “for which the most important thing in life is to ensure that the highest number of abortions can be performed 75 ,: “Féminazie: adjective largely unknown because most of the time is pronounced” feminist . “No, boobala [sic]. A féminazie is a feminist for whom the most important thing in life is to ensure that abortions occur in as many as possible. There are fewer than twenty-five known féminazies United States … ” It credita his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics at George Mason University, the invention of the adjective 76 .: “I prefer to call them feminists most abhorrent what they really are: the féminazies. Tom Hazlett, a good friend who is an economics professor highly regarded and appreciated at the University of California at Davis, coined the term to describe any woman who tolerates such single point of view that of militant feminism. I use to describe women who are obsessed with perpetuating the modern-day holocaust: abortion. There are 1.5 million abortions per year in our country … “ Limbaugh has always taken a tough stance against illegal immigration 77 .
Limbaugh is a supporter of the death penalty , saying: “The only thing cruel death penalty is that it does not last longer than a minute.”
About the Scandal of the prison of Abu Ghraib , where Iraqi prisoners had been tortured and ill-treatment, Limbaugh declared: “This is no different from what happens at the opening of the skull and bone … And we will destroy the lives of military personnel and hamper our military effort, then we’ll really overwhelm them because they had a good time. You know, these people are shot every day (referring to U.S. personnel engaged in military service in Iraq). Speaking of those people who have taken such a moment, have you ever heard of emotional release 78 , 79 , 80 ?
Limbaugh asserted that African-Americans, unlike other minority groups, are “left behind” in society because they have been systematically trained at a young age to hate America by a movement led by figures such as Jeremiah Wright , William Ayers , and Barack and Michelle Obama 81 .
James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times quoted about Limbaugh, the election of Barack Obama in 2008 as 44 th President of the United States as what the Democrats’ taking your retirement savings system “to put in Security social ” 82 .
About various
Rush Limbaugh uses theatrical techniques in the presentation of his monologues whatever the subject. When issued, news about the homeless are frequently preceded by the song “Clarence Frogman Henry,” Is not Got No Home “(or” I do not have a house “) 83 . Once the song Dionne Warwick “I Know I’ll Never Love This Way Again” (I’ll never love this way) has been covered before in a musical documentary on patients suffering from AIDS 84 These later Became “condom updates “Preceded by Fifth Dimension ‘s song, “Up, Up and Away (In My Beautiful Balloon).” 83 For two weeks in 1989, during his radio show in Sacramento, Limbaugh practiced abortions of “sound” when he wanted to end a call with an auditor, by passing on the air the sound of a vacuum cleaner followed by a cry. He denied then that he did not hook the listener, he had promised to no longer do. Limbaugh says he used this gag to illustrate “the tragedy of abortion” and to highlight the problem of abortion is, according to him, a murder 85 .
Detection of inaccuracies 
Some groups and individuals have openly questioned the accuracy of about Rush Limbaugh. In its issue of July-August 1994, Extra! , which is published as part of a progressive movement, the FAIR, seeking to promote fairness and accuracy in journalism about, has recovered more than fifty inaccuracies and / or various distortions in Limbaugh’s comments 86 , 87 . From other media or individuals have joined the FAIR investigating the facts and about Limbaugh. Al Franken , a songwriter, wrote a satirical book ( Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations translatable “Rush is a Limbaugn triple idiot and other observations) in which he accused Limbaugh distort the facts to serve his own political bias 88 . “Media Matters for America”, a progressive non-profit, real media watchdog group, was also critical attitude -a-vis its ethics 89 .
Limbaugh has been criticized for errors by the Environmental Defense Fund , a nongovernmental organization working in the field of environmental protection. A report prepared as a defense fund by Professors David Wilcove and Michael Oppenheimer, both professors of biology at the prestigious Princeton University specializing in science Lands lists fourteen major scientific facts which, according to the two authors were deliberately distorted by Rush Limbaugh in his book The Way Things Ought To Be (The way things should be done ” 90 . The authors conclude that “Rush Limbaugh … allows his political bias to distort the truth a series of scientific questions important. ”
Charities
Telethon for leukemia and lymphoma
Limbaugh is the host of an annual telethon fundraiser called the “EIB Cure-a-Thon” 91 Leukemia & Lymphoma for Society (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) 92 . In 2006, the “EIB Cure-a-Thon” completed its 16 th telethon, raising one million July 1 to $ 93 , 94 and claiming to have totaled more than $ 15 million to $ donations since its first edition ” 95 . According to annual reports of the “Leukemia & Lymphoma Society”, Limbaugh would have helped him personally donations between between $ 100 000 and $ 499 999 from 2000 to 2005 and would have provided $ 320 000 in 2007 96 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Limbaugh and said he personally contributed to the tune de250 000 dollars in 2003, 2004 and 2005 96 , 97 . NewsMax reported that Limbaugh donated $ 250 000 in 2006 98 , but that the Company’s annual report classed him, for that year in 2006, among donors and between $ 500 000 $ 999,999 96 Limbaugh made a donation of 320 $ 000 in fiscal year 2007 99 as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society said it had reached $ 3.1 million in donations. Rush Limbaugh finally made a donation of $ 400 000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society after two listeners had to challenge his initial pledge of $ 300 000 100 .
Rush Program: Adopt a soldier 24 hours a day / 7 days 7
Limbaugh’s website created a page where the American soldiers could register for a free subscription to the premium online service of Limbaugh, Rush 24/7 , through memberships purchased by donors who buy a subscription (at a price reduced) as a gift 101 .
Foundation for Support of Marine Forces of the Act
Limbaugh conducts an annual campaign to benefit the Foundation Marine Forces of the Act to raise money to distribute scholarships to children of Marines and police and / or agents who died in the line of duty 102 , 103 . The foundation has received a record 2.1 million eBay auction in October 2007 after Limbaugh was on sale a letter critical against him signed by 41 Democratic senators and promised to match the selling price 104 .
Privacy
Limbaugh has been married once, 24 September 1977, with Roxy Maxine Mac Neely, a sales secretary at radio station WHB in Kansas City in Missouri . They married at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau , Missouri . In March 1980, Roxy Maxine Mac Neely filed for divorce for irreconcilable differences. They were officially divorced reported July 10, 1980 4 .
In 1983, Rush Limbaugh married Michelle Sixta, a student and usherette at the Stadium Club Team of the Kansas City Royals . They divorced in 1990, Michelle and remarried the following year 4 .
May 27, 1994, married Marta Fitzgerald Rush Limbaugh, an aerobics instructor for 35 years he had met via the online service CompuServe in 1990 105 . They married at home of the Supreme Court of the United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas officiated 105 , 106 . They separated June 11, 2004 107 . Limbaugh announced on the air, “Marta has consented to my request for divorce, and we agreed to seek an amicable separation, this platitude seems quite irrelevant: As I said, this is a personal matter and I want that to continue. I did not intend to say more about it on the air “The divorce was finalized in December 2004 108 . In September 2004, Limbaugh started dating a new TV personality, Daryn Kagan, the couple separated in February 2006. [7] It would have a relationship with Kathryn Rogers, a programmer in Florida since 2007.
Dependencies to prescription drugs
October 3, 2003 the “National Enquirer” Limbaugh announced that he was questioned after illegally obtained prescription drugs: it was narcotic analgesics, the oxycodone and the hydrocodone . Other media have quickly confirmed this information 109 . Rush Limbaugh admitted October 10, 2003 in front of his listeners on his radio show he had an addiction to painkillers on prescription and said he would follow a detox a month, immediately after issuing 110 . Rush Limbaugh stated his addiction to painkillers that occurred years ago as a result of severe back pain that had been intensified by surgery, originally scheduled to correct these problems, which had failed.
A subsequent investigation, launched by the Prosecutor of the Palm Beach County , revealed that Rush Limbaugh had violated the laws of the State of Florida relating to the regulation of prescription drugs, the prosecutor raised the confidentiality and allowed the investigators to enter the medical staff Limbaugh seeking evidence of regulatory violations. On 9 November 2005, after two years of investigations, Assistant Attorney, James L. Martz has asked the court to subrogate the rights of the doctor-patient confidentiality vis-à-vis Rush Limbaugh and enable the State of Florida to interview his doctors, the reason being “I have no idea if Mr. Limbaugh, again, made a crime ‘ 111 . Rush Limbaugh’s lawyer opposed the intentions of the prosecutor to question their doctors based on respect for the right to privacy of patients and argued that the prosecutor had violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the rights of Rush Limbaugh illegally seizing his medical records. The “American Union for Civil Liberties’ has issued a statement to this effect, supporting this view and has filed a case of” amicus curiae “in support of the defense of Rush Limbaugh 112 , 113 . December 12, 2005, Judge David F. Crow issued a decision prohibiting the State of Florida to interview physicians Rush Limbaugh “on the patient’s medical condition or any information disclosed by the practitioner during patient care and treatment.”
Photograph of Rush Limbaugh when he was arrested by the Police of the County of Palm Beach County in April 2006
April 28, 2006, Rush Limbaugh and his attorney, Roy Black, went to the prison of Palm Beach County after a warrant had been issued against him for having procured drugs without a prescription 114 . Teri Barbera, spokeswoman of the Sheriff, said that during his arrest, Limbaugh was photographed, that his fingerprints had been found but he was not handcuffed. Rush Limbaugh was released after about an hour after posting bail of $ 3,000 115 , 116 , 117 . After his surrender, Limbaugh pleaded “not guilty” against the charges which he was accused. Prosecutors have agreed to lift their charge if Limbaugh paid $ 30 000 to cover the cost of the investigation ended and if a therapy regimen of 18 months with her doctor. Limbaugh said the settlement agreement of the state resulted from a lack of evidence supporting the charge of purchasing drugs without prescriptions. Under the agreement, Limbaugh may not also possess a firearm for a period of eighteen months and must continue to submit to drug research, acknowledges that controls have suffered since 2003 118 .
Before its dependence is known, Limbaugh condemned the illegal use of drugs during his television program, stating that “drug use, some might say, destroyed this country. But we have laws against the sale of drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs …. And so if people break the law by taking these drugs, they should be accused, be convicted and imprisoned they should be ” 119 , 120 .
Roy Black, a lawyer for Rush Limbaugh said that “Rush Limbaugh was sued by the charge) because of what it is. We believe that the prosecutor’s office applies a double law” 121 .
In June 2006, Rush Limbaugh was detained by agents of the DEA ‘s international airport at Palm Beach . Customs officials confiscated Viagra found in Limbaugh’s luggage returning from the Dominican Republic . The prescription was not in the name of Limbaugh.
After he was released from the charges dropped, Limbaugh joked of the incident on his radio show, claiming that he had received Viagra Presidential Center William J. Clinton and the Clinton Library and they were like blue M & M’s . He also said “I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Desire, I could not speak of it as” 122 .
Deafness
Rush Limbaugh has described himself as “totally deaf to 100%”. [41] In 2001, the medical profession he was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease of the inner ear (AIDC), which in the Within three months, made her completely deaf right ear and left ear severely deaf. “I can not hear the television. I can not listen to music. I am, for all practical purposes, deaf – and it happened in three months. ” [109] On 19 December 2001, the ear, nose and throat of the “House Ear Clinic” in Los Angeles were able to restore some of his hearing due to the placement of a cochlear implant. Limbaugh has benefited from the placement of an implantable medical device: a Clarion CII Bionic Ear. [110] In 2005, Limbaugh was forced to undergo plastic surgery because of a wink, a side effect of the laying of their cochlear implant. [111]
Cigar lover
In the early 1990s when the fashion for cigars gained momentum, Limbaugh was often seen with a cigar in hand and in the late 1990s, cigars had become almost constant during the many public appearances by Rush Limbaugh . Often, the sequences of its program were interspersed with the phrase, “floating among the clouds of fragrance and flavor of the first of the first cigar smoke, even second and sometimes third cigar smoke,” and the words of a story printed in his “old nicotine stained fingers”, cigars have become a main topic of discussion. In the spring of 1994, Limbaugh appeared on the cover of People magazine “Cigar Aficionado” and are told the story of his passion for cigars. Since then, he frequently participated in numerous events such as “The Big Smoke”, or was invited throughout the year by the magazine. Limbaugh has participated in numerous charity auctions organized by cigar magazines, and is known to talk frequently with his listeners about his and their cigar interests, preferences and recommendations. “I think cigars are the most valuable amenities to enjoy life.” [112]
Hospitalization for chest pain
On 30 December 2009, while vacationing in Honolulu , Hawaii , Limbaugh was taken to Queen’s Medical Center where he was admitted in serious condition with chest pain. [113] An angiogram found no sign of heart disease [114].
Awards and Recognition
A month after the defeat of George HW Bush against Bill Clinton in 1992, Ronald Reagan sent a letter to Rush Limbaugh in which he thanked him “for everything you do to promote the Republican and Conservative principles … [and] you became the number one voice for conservatism in our country 123 .
Limbaugh was in 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2005, winner of the “Marconi Radio Award” as the radio personality franchisee of the year (awarded by the National Association of Broadcasters), joining the “Bob & Tom Show “while only four other presenters got four times the Marconi Prize. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993.
In 2002, the magazine Talkers ranked Rush Limbaugh as the greatest radio broadcaster of all time 124 Rush Limbaugh is the radio host the highest paid of his profession 125 .
March 29, 2007, Limbaugh was the first leader to receive the Prize “William F. Buckley, Jr.” Media, assigned by the “Media Research Center”, an analysis group of conservative media 126 .
January 5, 2008, the conservative magazine Human Events reported that their “Man of the Year 2007″ is none other than Rush Limbaugh 127 .
On 1 December 2008, the magazine “TV Guide” has announced that Limbaugh was named among the top ten most fascinating personalities of the United States in 2008 following his participation in a special broadcast of Barbara Walters aired December 4, 2008 on ABC 128 .
February 28, 2009, after his “first address to the nation” proclaimed a 90-minute, broadcast live on CNN and Fox News or deferred on the string “CSPAN” Limbaugh was rewarded with the “Defender of the Constitution Award “and an original document signed by Benjamin Franklin , from the conservative movement “Conservative Political Action Conference” (CPAC), for having “defended the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States … Rush Limbaugh is for America, exactly what Benjamin Franklin was to the Founding Fathers … we will succeed if we listen to Rush Limbaugh ” 129
Zev Chafets, whose book “Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One” is expected soon in the course of 2010, wrote, after the first primary of the 2010 U.S. election season, that Limbaugh was the intelligence and mind at the base of the rebirth of the Republican Party after the election of President Obama in 2008. In May 2010, in an article in “New York Times,” Chafets attributed among others to defeat Arlen Specter in the Senate, having been appointed by Limbaugh as “just Republican by the name”. He noted, moreover, that Sarah Palin , the most applause was fed to an aphorism borrowed from Limbaugh saying the Republicans were not only the party of “No!”, but that of “Hell, no!” (For the grace of God, no!) More generally, Chafets wrote that Limbaugh had favored the party of “No!” Ronald Reagan , hard-line conservative Republicans, six weeks after the inauguration of Barack Obama, playing a role fundamental to promote the “Tea Party Movement” 130 .
Public perceptions
The measurement of the audience share of Rush Limbaugh is uncertain. Arbitron has never released national evaluation on Limbaugh and said that this work was complicated, costly and time to establish it. Arbitron has never attempted to aggregate all data to its audience and according to their spokesman, Thom Mocarsky, “There is no economic incentive for others to do the analysis” 131 .
In a March 2007 Rasmussen poll, 62% of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Rush Limbaugh, while 33% of respondents had a favorable opinion 132 . More recently, in a February 2009 survey, 46% of respondents had a favorable opinion of Rush Limbaugh, while 43% considered negatively, with 10% uncertain 133 . In a Gallup poll of February 2010, 45% of respondents said they had an unfavorable impression of Rush Limbaugh, 28 percent having a favorable opinion. The ditch was important supporters, the Republicans favor Limbaugh between 60% and 23% against the Democrats disapprove 63% against 6% 134 .
Music video by Everclear performing AM Radio.