The Rush Limbaugh Show
Encyclopedia
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American
talk radio show
hosted by Rush Limbaugh
on Premiere Radio Networks
. Since its inception on August 1, 1988, The Rush Limbaugh Show has become the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States.
The listeners to the show are affectionately referred to as "Ditto-heads." Early in the show's run, listeners began to use the variations on the expression "ditto
" to speed up the beginnings of the calls, which typically (as on most popular call-in shows) tend to open with the listener excitedly expressing his or her gratitude to the host and his or her appreciation of the show.
An edited instrumental version of The Pretenders
' “My City Was Gone
” has been Limbaugh's theme song almost continuously since the start of his show. Briefly in 1999, Limbaugh stopped playing the song while negotiating with the song's writer, Chrissie Hynde
. Limbaugh now pays her one hundred thousand dollars per year, which she donates to the animal rights
organization PETA
.
The Rush Limbaugh Show airs on a network of approximately 590 AM
and FM
affiliate stations throughout the United States. Limbaugh also hosts his own online Internet streaming audio and video broadcast, through Streamlink
. This broadcast is restricted to members of Limbaugh's “Rush 24/7” service, but can also be heard on some stations' streaming audio feeds. Premiere Radio Networks
, a division of Clear Channel Communications
, the largest U.S. radio station owner, owns distribution rights to the program. The program is not heard on any stations in Canada
, although stations along the northern border of the United States give the show coverage in much of southern Canada. The show has never been carried on any satellite radio
service.
The show airs live on weekdays from noon to 3 pm Eastern time
. A few stations air it on tape delay. The program normally originates from Limbaugh's studios near his home in Palm Beach County, Florida
. In the early years of the program, it normally originated from the studios of WABC
in New York City
(the program's traditional flagship station), which still serves as the home to some of the program's staff and broadcast facilities. Limbaugh states that he avoids New York as much as possible due to that state's high taxes and that he spends an average of 15 days in the state, usually to keep updated with his staff and as a backup in the event of a hurricane (in the latter case, he is seeking an alternative location). Limbaugh also produces a "Morning Update," a 90-second monologue recorded after the show that airs on many of Limbaugh's stations the next morning.
An official weekend edition of the program, consisting of "best of" clips from the weekday show, entitled The Rush Limbaugh Week in Review, launched in January 2008.
George H. W. Bush
made an appearance on Limbaugh's show.
Charlton Heston
called into the show in 1995 to read from Michael Crichton
's book Jurassic Park.
Secretary of State Colin Powell
appeared on the show in November 2003 when Roger Hedgecock
was guest-hosting the show.
Former President
George W. Bush
has appeared six times on the program. The first time was during the 2000 presidential campaign. Then, in 2004, he "called in" to a live broadcast during the week of the 2004 Republican National Convention
to give a preview of his nomination acceptance speech. He called in again in 2006. The fourth time was April 18, 2008, when Limbaugh asked the White House to speak with Bush to thank him for the ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI
, which awed Limbaugh. The fifth call was during the show's 20th anniversary celebration, in which then-President Bush (and George H. W. Bush
and Jeb Bush
) congratulated Limbaugh. He appeared a sixth time for an interview regarding his autobiography, Decision Points
on November 9, 2010.
Vice President
Dick Cheney
has made multiple appearances.
In 2007, California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
called in to a live broadcast of the show a day after having called Limbaugh "irrelevant;" adding, "I'm not his servant. I'm the people's servant of California," on an appearance on NBC's Today show.
Other notable guests who have called into Limbaugh's show include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
, unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork
, economist Thomas Sowell
, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
, and television writer Joel Surnow
, who took calls about events in his show, 24
. In December 2006, Sylvester Stallone
made an appearance on the show to discuss his upcoming movie Rocky Balboa. On February 27, 2004, actor Jim Caviezel called into the program to discuss The Passion of the Christ
film, in which Caviezel played the role of Jesus Christ
. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin
(R-AK) also called into a show before a rally in October 2008 to discuss the election and the economic distortion and impact of Senator Obama's tax policy; Palin returned to the show in November 2009 to discuss her book Going Rogue
. Phil Gingrey
, a congressman who compared shows such as Limbaugh and Sean Hannity
to "throwing bricks" in January 2009, gave an interview on Limbaugh's show the next day.
Limbaugh has also had author and Washington Times columnist Bill Gertz
on his show to discuss Gertz's books as well as national security issues. In 2007, Limbaugh (among numerous other hosts) interviewed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
and was the first to interview Tony Snow
after his departure from his post as White House press secretary. He also interviewed NBC News
host Tim Russert
in 2004. In May 2010, country musician John Rich
reported for Limbaugh on the May 2010 Tennessee floods.
Limbaugh interviewed James Farrior
and Larry Foote
, both from the Pittsburgh Steelers
, and retired cornerback Rodney Harrison
on the Friday before Super Bowl XLV
. The show deviated from its usual "Open Line Friday" format to discuss the game that day.
Donald Trump
appeared on the show April 15, 2011; he offered to donate $100,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
, for which Limbaugh holds an annual radiothon.
for a homosexual-themed story), parodies (see below), and bumper music, most of which spans the classic hits
and classic rock
eras of the 1960s through 1980s (roughly corresponding to Limbaugh's time as a disc jockey). On occasion, Limbaugh will feature a particular song that he likes, which will often have a positive impact on the song's sales. For instance, after playing Waldo de los Rios
's version of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
, the album that contained the song briefly jumped to the top of Amazon.com
's sales charts.
Limbaugh recently discussed the process involved in selection of the "bumper music" (music clips at the beginning and end of segments transitioning to and from the show and paid advertisements) when a listener commented that artists like "The Pretenders" would not approve of the use of songs such as "My City Was Gone" as the band is decidedly liberal. Limbaugh mentioned that he selects music with some sarcasm taken into consideration. He also said that some bands had complained about his use of their music but since the "bumper music" clips he uses are less than 8 seconds the use of the music is legally considered "fair use".
from voice humorist Paul Shanklin
, in conjunction with a variety of political news examined on the show. These satires range from parodies
of well known songs to audio skits
in which the voices of politician
s are imitated by Shanklin. Such contributions from Paul Shanklin have been aired on the show since 1993. Some of these, such as "Barack the Magic Negro
(That's What the L.A. Times Called Him)," have gained considerable notoriety. From 1993 through 1997 a series of parodies written and performed by the similarly named Paul Silhan, including take-offs on Bob Dylan
tunes referred to by Limbaugh as the "Bob Zimmerman" songs, were also played on his show. (Bob Zimmerman is the birth name of Bob Dylan.) Paul Shanklin created his parodies by writing and then recording all the voices and instruments himself using simul-synch recording techniques. The six albums of Shanklin's Limbaugh parodies are available on the Web.
As with most commercial radio programming, The Rush Limbaugh Show has slots allotted for the local affiliates to fill with news segments, traffic, weather, and local commercials. The “Rush 24/7” live internet broadcast of the show usually fills these time slots with Shanklin's parodies.
Also on the Beavis and Butt-head
episode "Right On", they visit a conservative talk show host named Gus Baker, who resembles and talks like Rush, as does the character Birch Barlow in several episodes of The Simpsons
.
would always be favored over the New York Jets
, the Denver Broncos
would always be favored over the Pittsburgh Steelers
, the Carolina Panthers
would always be favored over the New England Patriots
and the Chicago Bears
would always be favored over the Kansas City Chiefs
.
. From comments Limbaugh has made on the air, it would seem he assists with research as part of preparation for the show and is in the control booth as the show is being broadcast. He co-hosted a Sunday night talk show, James and Joel, on WABC
with Joel Santisteban from 1992 to 1998. Snerdley is a pseudonym Limbaugh invented many years earlier when he was a disc jockey on WIXZ (when Limbaugh went by the name Jeff Christy); he would use the name Snerdley for supposed-listeners who would write or call in, usually professing to be big fans and part of the "Christy Nation". More recently, the name Snerdley has been used for his call screeners, both male and female. During a show in 2004, Limbaugh was not at the microphone for the last segment of the second hour (it was only about ten seconds), and Snerdley came on instead: "This is Bo Snerdley, Rush will be right back on the EIB Network." It was one of the very rare times his voice was heard on the program before 2008. "Bo" Snerdley screens callers at the Palm Beach Florida broadcasting location and in New York City. In February 2008, Snerdley, who is African-American, was appointed by Limbaugh as the show's Official Criticizer of Barack Obama
: "certified black enough to criticize" On the July 24th show, "Bo" was put on the air as the "Official Obama Criticizer", and spoke for roughly 5 minutes with Rush about the incident with Cambridge police. On October 16, he requested (and received) air time to air a five-minute rant, that criticized NFL players, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and media commentators who opposed Rush Limbaugh's potential bid on the St. Louis Rams.
Koko: The Rush 24/7 Internet site webmaster. This is a nickname, given by Limbaugh when Koko put a gorilla suit on for a gag on Limbaugh's TV show. His real name is George Prayias, and he is currently the webmaster for www.rushlimbaugh.com.
Brian: EIB network broadcast engineer.
Dawn: Transcribes caller comments onto a computer screen to aid Limbaugh, who hears via a cochlear implant
and therefore can sometimes have difficulties clearly understanding callers
Kit Carson: “Chief of staff”. Also known as “H.R.”. Screens calls when Limbaugh broadcasts from New York City, among other things.
Altamont: His duties consisted of call screening and board operations, and serving as backup when the others are out or unavailable. Left the show in spring 2006.
Johnny Donovan
: Program announcer. He sometimes voices some of Paul Shanklin
's parodies.
to report on postwar conditions; he's also participated in various celebrity pro-am golf events, especially when he represents his parent company, Clear Channel. On those occasions, Limbaugh allows “EIB certified talk show hosts” (sometimes called "Associate Professors from the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies") to fill in for him. Typically, these hosts are well-known conservatives, and since Clear Channel acquired the network which syndicates the program, they have usually been Clear Channel radio hosts.
: Host of The Mark Davis Show, a talk show on WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Texas
. First substitute hosted on March 4, 2008.
Mark Belling
: Host of The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show, a radio show on WISN in Milwaukee
.
Mark Steyn
: A Canadian journalist, columnist, and film and theatre critic. Since the removal of Jason Lewis from the substitute rotation in February 2009, Steyn's hosting has become more frequent.
Dr. Walter E. Williams
: Economics
professor, strong proponent of laissez-faire
capitalism, and former chairman of the Economics Department at George Mason University
in Virginia
. He most often hosts on Fridays and is a fan favorite.
Karl Rove
: Republican political consultant and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff to George W. Bush
. First substituted August 9, 2010.
Jed Babbin
: Editor-in-chief of the online version of Human Events
. Has so far only sub-hosted one episode (July 17, 2008). He has more recently substituted for other shows, but not Limbaugh's.
Glenn Beck
: In his first book, The Real America, he stated that "[a]fter doing a total of maybe 40 hours of talk radio, [he] was asked to host a national show." A photo showing him set up at Rush's studio follows the text. He has not hosted since.
"B1" Bob Dornan
: Dornan was a substitute host several times starting in 1991 and during Bill Clinton's first term as president. He still substitutes for other shows, but not Limbaugh's.
Matt Drudge
: Editor of the Drudge Report
and (at the time) host of his own Sunday night Clear Channel talk program. He hosted only twice during the 2003 drug controversy. His recent retirement from his Sunday night show makes him eligible to guest host the show again, and Drudge has stated that he will do substitute hosting in the future, although he has not specifically cited Limbaugh's show.
Bill Handel
: Host of The Bill Handel Show and Handel on the Law on KFI
in Los Angeles, California
. First substituted September 11, 2001. Limbaugh was unavailable, and with the infamous terrorist attacks
having taken place just hours before air, Handel, who was already broadcasting on an impromptu syndication network at the moment, continued to host for another three hours in Limbaugh's place nationwide. He would go on to host at least twice more before having a falling-out with Limbaugh.
Sean Hannity
: Host of Fox News' political debate show Hannity
, but Hannity has not subbed since his radio show
became nationally syndicated in 2001. The Golden EIB Microphone fell and hit the table at the WABC Radio studio the first time he guest hosted.
Roger Hedgecock
: Former mayor of San Diego, California
, and a talk radio host at Clear Channel talk station KOGO there. He was, as of 2007, the most used stand-in, and was also a fan favorite. The launch of Hedgecock's national show officially brings an end to Hedgecock's guest hosting for Limbaugh's show.
Jason Lewis
: Host of Radio Free Minnesota, a radio show on KTCN-AM 1130 in the Twin Cities, Minnesota
. Lewis was a regular substitute host from August 2007 until February 2009, when Premiere gave Lewis his own national show.
Chris Matthews
: News anchor and political commentator; substituted for Limbaugh on the program once during the late 1990s, and has never substituted again due to negative fan reaction because of his liberal political beliefs.
Michael Medved
: Medved was a substitute host from 1993–1998, when he got his own nationally syndicated radio show.
Mike Rosen
: Host of a radio show on KOA
in Denver
during the University of Colorado at Boulder controversy with former professor Ward Churchill
.
Paul W. Smith
: Talk show host from WJR
in Detroit, Michigan
. He first substituted as host of the show on December 13, 2005.
Tony Snow
: Former White House Press Secretary
for President George W. Bush
. He sometimes guest hosted during the 1990s before launching his own show on Fox News Talk
in 2002. Snow died from colon cancer in July 2008.
Tom Sullivan
: Talk show host on KFBK
in Sacramento, California
, who is also a financial advisor for Wachovia Securities, and the business news editor for KFBK. Limbaugh hosted his talk show locally on KFBK before going to New York City. He has not hosted in several years; the fact that he has taken his KFBK show national with Fox News Radio
would prevent him from guest hosting on the show for the foreseeable future.
Douglas Urbanski
: Theatre and film producer, frequent guest host on other shows, and "paying subscriber to Rush 24/7." Will be moving to his own show on Westwood One
in early 2011.
or Christmas
, a "Best of" show will air.
In addition, a portion of the show on the day before each Thanksgiving
is always set aside for a reading of the real story of Thanksgiving. During this segment, Limbaugh reads from a section of his book "See, I Told You So" regarding the first few years of the Mayflower
crew in Plymouth Colony
. Limbaugh asserts, based upon excerpts from the personal journal
of William Bradford
, that the pilgrims had attempted to set up an early form of communism
in the colony but failed, and when the colony went to a free enterprise
system the colony began to thrive. Limbaugh claims that the Indians were largely irrelevant to the situation. In addition, Limbaugh also reads from President George Washington
's 1789 National Thanksgiving Proclamation
.
In the event that Limbaugh cannot broadcast on the day before Thanksgiving (as occurred in 2006), a substitute host will read the excerpt.
, some of which he invented and some of which he popularized. Notable examples include:
Limbaugh also coins his own nicknames for various people in the news. Examples include:
Throughout the years on The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh has established several nicknames with which he describes himself on the air. Others also ascribe nicknames or titles and credentials that Limbaugh then uses for entertainment or political satire. Often Limbaugh furthers his schtick of "making (himself) look good" by giving himself accolades with phrases praising his own performance. Examples include:
for events in Limbaugh's life which may have impacted the show.
host on AM radio station KFBK
in Sacramento, California
, after several years of employment with the Kansas City Royals
and in the music radio
business, which included hosting a program at KMBZ in Kansas City. He succeeded Morton Downey, Jr.
in the time slot.
Based on his work in Sacramento, Limbaugh was signed to a contract by EFM Media Management, headed by former ABC Radio executive Edward McLaughlin. Limbaugh became syndicated on August 1, 1988 through EFM and his show was drawing five million listeners after two years of syndication. Lacking a name for the network during the early years, he coined the name "EIB Network," which has remained associated with the show even after joining an actual radio network.
In 1997, EFM was acquired by Jacor
Communications, a publicly traded company.
Later that year, Jacor merged with Premiere Radio Networks
.
In 1999, Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications
.
Currently, Clear Channel Communications through its Premiere Radio Networks subsidiary is the syndicator for Limbaugh's radio show.
Limbaugh and Clear Channel signed an eight-year, $400,000,000 contract extension in August 2008.
, told Rush Limbaugh
that he was photocopying a coworker's subscription to the Limbaugh Letter, Rush's monthly magazine that covers current events. The reason was that Dan's wife was not a fan of the show, and would not allocate the funds needed from the family budget to subscribe to the Letter. Limbaugh light-heartedly informed Dan that he disapproves his photocopying printed material, and offhandedly suggested that Dan organize a bake sale
to raise funds for a subscription, spoofing then-recent bake sales to raise funds to reduce the national debt.
After Dan's call ended, the next caller to the show noted that he felt Rush was a bit harsh, and that he intended to attend Dan's Bake Sale. Rush again dismissed the topic. The next caller noted that he would like to attend Dan's Bake Sale. Rush repeatedly announced they would take no more "bake sale" calls but the gig was on and everyone calling in for the next week or so put in a plug for Dan's Bake Sale.
Limbaugh never seriously proposed a Bake Sale and neither did "Dan." But the landslide of support for Dan and his bake sale was on. Eventually, some 65,000 people from all over the United States and as far away as Australia
showed up in Fort Collins for Dan's Bake Sale. Jay Leno
even made jokes about it on The Tonight Show
.
Limbaugh did attend, and had a brief presentation, giving Dan his first issue of his subscription.
Dan considered making it an annual event, but agreed with Limbaugh's assessment that the original just could never again be replicated.
. The article discussed the controversy surrounding the fact that American Forces Radio and Television Service
(AFRTS), (which describes itself as "[providing] stateside radio and television programming, 'a touch of home', to U.S. service men and women, DoD civilians, and their families serving outside the continental United States"), carries the first hour of Limbaugh's show. Melvin Russell, director of AFRTS, defended Limbaugh's presence, by pointing to Limbaugh's high ratings in the US: "We look at the most popular shows broadcast here in the United States and try to mirror that. [Limbaugh] is the No. 1 talk show host in the States; there's no question about that. Because of that we provide him on our service." In addition, AFRTS produced a ballot
of radio
and television
shows asking troops worldwide, "Who do you want that we don't at present carry?" The Rush Limbaugh Show was not listed on the ballot, but won the vote as a write-in by the troops. A later poll by Lund Media Research found that a majority of soldiers preferred that talk show programs be replaced by hip hop and rap stations, bringing into question the future of content such as the Rush Limbaugh Show on AFRTS.
Critics have pointed out that other programs, such as the eight-million listener per week Howard Stern Show, are absent from AFRTS. (This statement was made before Stern left for satellite radio in 2006.) Other claims—for example, that there is no political counterbalance to Limbaugh on AFRTS—have been rebutted by Byron York
, a columnist for the predominantly conservative National Review
: "American military men and women abroad have access, for example, to the talk show of liberal host Diane Rehm
... Jim Hightower
and CBS News anchorman Dan Rather
." Another possible political counterbalance to Limbaugh is Harry Shearer
, who emphasizes his presence on AFRTS at the end of every episode of his satirical Le Show
.
On June 14, 2004, U.S. Senator
Tom Harkin
(D
-IA
) introduced an amendment to the 2004 Defense Authorization bill that called for AFRTS to fulfill its stated goal of providing political balance in its news and public affairs programming. The amendment passed unanimously in the Senate. Limbaugh responded by calling the move "censorship". On his June 17 radio show, he commented that: "This is a United States senator [Tom Harkin] amending the Defense appropriations bill with the intent being to get this program—only one hour of which is carried on Armed Forces Radio—stripped from that network." The amendment never became law. As of 2005, the first hour of Limbaugh's show is still on AFRTS. Limbaugh visited US forces in Afghanistan
in 2005.
This treatment of The Rush Limbaugh Show proved to set a precedent for Congressional debate on AFRTS content. The Ed Schultz
show, a liberal talk radio show with over one million listeners a week, was originally scheduled to be broadcast on AFRTS on October 17, 2005. It was subsequently pulled, with some alleging political motivation, which was later debated in Congress. A few weeks after this debate, AFRTS added Schultz to the line-up along with other talk show hosts: Al Franken
and Sean Hannity
.
showed in a television commercial raising awareness of Parkinson's disease
. He said "[Fox] is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." Three days later, on October 26, Limbaugh denied that he was ridiculing Fox, stating that, after seeing Fox without his medication, "I [was] stunned because I [had] never seen Michael J. Fox that way." Limbaugh said that he was "mov[ing] around like [Fox] does, but never once was I making fun of him. I was trying to illustrate for my audience watching on the Dittocam what I had seen."
Fox later appeared on CBS
with Katie Couric
and said he was actually dyskinesic
at the time, a condition that results from overmedication.
However, Fox has admitted that he has, at times, deliberately not taken his medication—such as in an appearance the U.S. Senate—in order, he claimed, to demonstrate the effects of Parkinson's disease. During Limbaugh's October 26, 2006 show he said, in a discussion with a caller, "[I]n his own book [Lucky Man: A Memoir], he has written in chapter eight that before Senate committees he goes off the medication so that people can see the ravages of the disease."
editorial by David Ehrenstein
which claimed that Barack Obama
was filling the role of the "magic negro", and that this explained his appeal to voters. Limbaugh then later played a song by Paul Shanklin
entitled "Barack the Magic Negro," sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon".
. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country." Several minutes later, after the caller had hung up, Limbaugh read from the AP story describing the story of Jesse Macbeth
. Macbeth joined the Army but did not complete basic training, yet claimed in alternative media
interviews that he and his unit routinely committed war crimes in Iraq. On June 7, 2007, Macbeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and was sentenced to five months in jail and three years probation
. Media Matters
noted Limbaugh's use of the term "phony soldiers" in an article on their website. The article suggested that Limbaugh was saying that all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq War were "phony soldiers", and was discussed in speeches by Presidential candidates John Edwards
and Chris Dodd. Limbaugh said that, when he had made the comment about "phony soldiers", he had been speaking only of Macbeth and others like him who claim to be soldiers and are not, and that "Media Matters takes things out of context all the time". Media Matters pointed out that Limbaugh did not mention Jesse Macbeth on his September 26 radio show until one minute and 50 seconds after talking about "phony soldiers" with the caller." The unedited transcript of the radio show in question can be found on Rush Limbaugh's website.
Limbaugh later said that he wants to see Obama's policies fail, not the man himself. Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said, "He's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me."
; his speech attracted widespread attention. On March 1, 2009, CBS's Face the Nation
asked White House Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel
who he thought represented the Republican Party; Emanuel named Limbaugh as his choice.
In remarks aired by CNN
on March 1, 2009, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele said that Limbaugh is "an entertainer" and his rhetoric at the convention was "incendiary" and "ugly". Steele later telephoned Limbaugh and apologized. Limbaugh stated he would not want to run the RNC in its "sad sack state".
On March 2, 2009, Limbaugh responded to Emanuel, and on March 4, 2009, Limbaugh challenged President Barack Obama
to a debate on his radio program. Limbaugh offered to pay all of Obama's expenses including travel, food, lodging, and security. On March 6, Limbaugh told Byron York of the Washington Examiner
that his ratings for his radio show had significantly increased since he had begun criticizing the Obama Administration.
temporarily cross over to vote
in the Democratic
primary and vote for Hillary Clinton
, who at the time was in the midst of losing eleven straight primary contests to Barack Obama
. Limbaugh has also cited the open primary
process in the early primary states of New Hampshire
and South Carolina
, which allowed independent voters to cross over into the Republican primaries to choose John McCain over more conservative candidates (such as Fred Thompson), as an inspiration.
At the point in which Limbaugh announced his gambit, Obama had seemed on the verge of clinching the Democratic nomination. However, Clinton subsequently won the Ohio
primary and the Texas
primary (while losing the Texas caucus and the overall delegate split) with large pluralities from rural counties; thus reemerging as a competitive opponent in the race. Statistics released by the state of Texas show Hillary Clinton won the primary due to a large number of Republicans crossing over to vote for her. Whether these voters were Operation Chaos Operatives or simply Republicans who preferred Clinton is impossible to tell.
On April 29, 2008 Limbaugh declared an "operational pause" in Operation Chaos, saying that Obama's defeat in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary and fallout from statements from Obama ally Reverend Jeremiah Wright
could have damaged his campaign to the extent superdelegates would shift to Clinton's side. Determining Obama had weathered that storm, Limbaugh lifted the pause the next day and renewed his call for his listeners to vote for Clinton in the upcoming Indiana
and North Carolina
primaries. Obama won the North Carolina primary but was narrowly defeated in Indiana, where Clinton won decisively in rural counties that normally vote Republican in presidential elections.
The overall legality of Operation Chaos in several states, including Ohio
and Indiana
, is disputed. In Ohio, new party members are required to sign a pledge of loyalty to the party they join for a minimum of one year, making participation in "Operation Chaos" a possible felony
(election falsification) in that state. However, the state attorney general there refused to press charges on anyone, saying that it would be nearly impossible to enforce because of difficulties proving voter intent and concerns that a loyalty oath would violate freedom of association
.
Limbaugh did not endorse a candidate for most of the 2008 primaries; he spoke highly of Rudy Giuliani
, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney
, but was vocally against the candidacies of John McCain
and Mike Huckabee
. After Giuliani and Thompson quit the race, Limbaugh, among many other talk show hosts, put his support behind Romney. It was after Romney's departure from the race on February 5 that Limbaugh began aggressively pushing the Operation Chaos plan.
Limbaugh revived Operation Chaos with a twist in late October 2010 by urging Democratic voters who felt that Hillary Clinton was "screwed out of the nomination" to stay home and not vote. This has been coined by Limbaugh as Operation Reverse Chaos.
In October 2010, a conservative website announced the commencement of an Operation Chaos-inspired plan, "Operation Alaska Chaos," to counter Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski's write-in campaign.
Radio in the United States
Radio is one of the major mass media of the United States.-History:The beginning of regular commercially licensed sound broadcasting in the United States in 1920 ended the print monopoly over the media and opened the doors to the more immediate and pervasive electronic media...
talk radio show
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
hosted by Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
on Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
. Since its inception on August 1, 1988, The Rush Limbaugh Show has become the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States.
Show airtime and format
The Rush Limbaugh Show has a format which has remained basically unchanged since the program began. The program airs live and primarily consists of Limbaugh's own monologues, based on the news of the day, interspersed with parody ads, phone calls from listeners and a variety of running comedy bits (some live, some taped). Limbaugh also does a few live commercials during the show for certain sponsors, and he also sometimes promotes his own products, such as his political newsletter, The Limbaugh Letter. He only occasionally features guests, but once in a while a politician or a fellow political commentator will appear on the show. An 800 number is announced for incoming calls from listeners. However, Limbaugh generally takes far fewer calls per show than most other national talk programs.The listeners to the show are affectionately referred to as "Ditto-heads." Early in the show's run, listeners began to use the variations on the expression "ditto
Ditto
Ditto may refer to:In printing:* Ditto machine, a type of small printing press, or dittos, the copies they producedIn media and popular culture:* Ditto , an annual science fiction fanzine convention...
" to speed up the beginnings of the calls, which typically (as on most popular call-in shows) tend to open with the listener excitedly expressing his or her gratitude to the host and his or her appreciation of the show.
An edited instrumental version of The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
' “My City Was Gone
My City Was Gone
"My City Was Gone" is a song by the rock group The Pretenders. The song originally appeared in October 1982 as the B-side to the single release of "Back on the Chain Gang"; the two-sided single was the comeback release for the band following the death of founding bandmember James Honeyman-Scott...
” has been Limbaugh's theme song almost continuously since the start of his show. Briefly in 1999, Limbaugh stopped playing the song while negotiating with the song's writer, Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
. Limbaugh now pays her one hundred thousand dollars per year, which she donates to the animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
organization PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
.
The Rush Limbaugh Show airs on a network of approximately 590 AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
and FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
affiliate stations throughout the United States. Limbaugh also hosts his own online Internet streaming audio and video broadcast, through Streamlink
Streamlink
Streamlink is a subscription-based service of Premiere Radio Networks for various programs such as Coast to Coast AM, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Jim Rome Show and The Glenn Beck Program.-Coast to Coast AM:...
. This broadcast is restricted to members of Limbaugh's “Rush 24/7” service, but can also be heard on some stations' streaming audio feeds. Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
, a division of Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, the largest U.S. radio station owner, owns distribution rights to the program. The program is not heard on any stations in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, although stations along the northern border of the United States give the show coverage in much of southern Canada. The show has never been carried on any satellite radio
Satellite radio
Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...
service.
The show airs live on weekdays from noon to 3 pm Eastern time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. A few stations air it on tape delay. The program normally originates from Limbaugh's studios near his home in Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
. In the early years of the program, it normally originated from the studios of WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(the program's traditional flagship station), which still serves as the home to some of the program's staff and broadcast facilities. Limbaugh states that he avoids New York as much as possible due to that state's high taxes and that he spends an average of 15 days in the state, usually to keep updated with his staff and as a backup in the event of a hurricane (in the latter case, he is seeking an alternative location). Limbaugh also produces a "Morning Update," a 90-second monologue recorded after the show that airs on many of Limbaugh's stations the next morning.
An official weekend edition of the program, consisting of "best of" clips from the weekday show, entitled The Rush Limbaugh Week in Review, launched in January 2008.
Notable guests
In 1992, PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
made an appearance on Limbaugh's show.
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
called into the show in 1995 to read from Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
's book Jurassic Park.
Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
appeared on the show in November 2003 when Roger Hedgecock
Roger Hedgecock
Roger Allan Hedgecock is a conservative talk radio host and former mayor of San Diego, California. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Hedgecock still resides in San Diego...
was guest-hosting the show.
Former President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
has appeared six times on the program. The first time was during the 2000 presidential campaign. Then, in 2004, he "called in" to a live broadcast during the week of the 2004 Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
to give a preview of his nomination acceptance speech. He called in again in 2006. The fourth time was April 18, 2008, when Limbaugh asked the White House to speak with Bush to thank him for the ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, which awed Limbaugh. The fifth call was during the show's 20th anniversary celebration, in which then-President Bush (and George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
) congratulated Limbaugh. He appeared a sixth time for an interview regarding his autobiography, Decision Points
Decision Points
Decision Points is a memoir by former U.S. President George W. Bush. It was released on November 9, 2010, and the release was accompanied by national television appearances and a national tour. The book surpassed sales of two million copies less than two months after its release.-Content:Bush's...
on November 9, 2010.
Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
has made multiple appearances.
In 2007, California Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
called in to a live broadcast of the show a day after having called Limbaugh "irrelevant;" adding, "I'm not his servant. I'm the people's servant of California," on an appearance on NBC's Today show.
Other notable guests who have called into Limbaugh's show include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
, unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
, economist Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. A National Humanities Medal winner, he advocates laissez-faire economics and writes from a libertarian perspective...
, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
, and television writer Joel Surnow
Joel Surnow
Joel Surnow is an American writer and producer best known for being the creator of the television series 24 and La Femme Nikita. He also produced the Fox News Channel The 1/2 Hour News Hour.-Biography:...
, who took calls about events in his show, 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. In December 2006, Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
made an appearance on the show to discuss his upcoming movie Rocky Balboa. On February 27, 2004, actor Jim Caviezel called into the program to discuss The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
film, in which Caviezel played the role of Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
(R-AK) also called into a show before a rally in October 2008 to discuss the election and the economic distortion and impact of Senator Obama's tax policy; Palin returned to the show in November 2009 to discuss her book Going Rogue
Going Rogue: An American Life
Going Rogue: An American Life is a personal and political memoir of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President. The book became a New York Times #1 bestseller in its first week of release, and remained there for six weeks...
. Phil Gingrey
Phil Gingrey
John Phillip "Phil" Gingrey, is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is located in the northwestern suburbs of Atlanta.-Early life, education and career:...
, a congressman who compared shows such as Limbaugh and Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
to "throwing bricks" in January 2009, gave an interview on Limbaugh's show the next day.
Limbaugh has also had author and Washington Times columnist Bill Gertz
Bill Gertz
Bill Gertz is an American editor, columnist and reporter for The Washington Times. He is the author of six books and writes a weekly column on the Pentagon and national security issues called "Inside the Ring". During the administration of Bill Clinton Gertz was known for his stories exposing...
on his show to discuss Gertz's books as well as national security issues. In 2007, Limbaugh (among numerous other hosts) interviewed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
and was the first to interview Tony Snow
Tony Snow
Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow was an American journalist, political commentator, television news anchor, syndicated columnist, radio host, musician, and the third White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush. Snow also worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and...
after his departure from his post as White House press secretary. He also interviewed NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
host Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
in 2004. In May 2010, country musician John Rich
John Rich (musician)
John Rich is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist...
reported for Limbaugh on the May 2010 Tennessee floods.
Limbaugh interviewed James Farrior
James Farrior
James Alfred Farrior is an American football player who currently plays as an inside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Virginia, and played with the New York Jets from 1997 to 2001.-Early years:Farrior was born...
and Larry Foote
Larry Foote
Lawrence Edward Foote, Jr. is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan....
, both from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, and retired cornerback Rodney Harrison
Rodney Harrison
Rodney Scott Harrison is a retired professional football player of the National Football League. Harrison played safety for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots...
on the Friday before Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
. The show deviated from its usual "Open Line Friday" format to discuss the game that day.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
appeared on the show April 15, 2011; he offered to donate $100,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society , founded in 1949, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of...
, for which Limbaugh holds an annual radiothon.
Music
The Rush Limbaugh Show uses music as a significant part of the show. This comprises "Updates" (songs usually played at full length leading into a particular themed story, such as "Ain't Got No Home" by Clarence "Frogman" Henry for a story about homeless people or an eccentric New Wave version of "You Don't Own Me" by underground artist Klaus NomiKlaus Nomi
Klaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
for a homosexual-themed story), parodies (see below), and bumper music, most of which spans the classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
and classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
eras of the 1960s through 1980s (roughly corresponding to Limbaugh's time as a disc jockey). On occasion, Limbaugh will feature a particular song that he likes, which will often have a positive impact on the song's sales. For instance, after playing Waldo de los Rios
Waldo de los Rios
Waldo de los Ríos was an Argentine composer, conductor and arranger.De los Rios was born as Osvaldo Nicholas Ferrara in Buenos Aires into a musical family; his father was a musician and his mother a well known folk singer; he studied composition and arranging at the National Conservatory of Music...
's version of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote....
, the album that contained the song briefly jumped to the top of Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's sales charts.
Limbaugh recently discussed the process involved in selection of the "bumper music" (music clips at the beginning and end of segments transitioning to and from the show and paid advertisements) when a listener commented that artists like "The Pretenders" would not approve of the use of songs such as "My City Was Gone" as the band is decidedly liberal. Limbaugh mentioned that he selects music with some sarcasm taken into consideration. He also said that some bands had complained about his use of their music but since the "bumper music" clips he uses are less than 8 seconds the use of the music is legally considered "fair use".
Parodies
Sometimes The Rush Limbaugh Show will air political parodiesParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
from voice humorist Paul Shanklin
Paul Shanklin
Paul Shanklin is an American conservative political satirist, impressionist, comedian, and conservative speaker...
, in conjunction with a variety of political news examined on the show. These satires range from parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of well known songs to audio skits
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
in which the voices of politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s are imitated by Shanklin. Such contributions from Paul Shanklin have been aired on the show since 1993. Some of these, such as "Barack the Magic Negro
Barack the Magic Negro
"Barack the Magic Negro" is a song by American political satirist Paul Shanklin who wrote and recorded it for the Rush Limbaugh Show as satire after it was first applied to presidential candidate Obama by movie and culture critic, David Ehrenstein, in a Los Angeles Times op ed column of March 19,...
(That's What the L.A. Times Called Him)," have gained considerable notoriety. From 1993 through 1997 a series of parodies written and performed by the similarly named Paul Silhan, including take-offs on Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
tunes referred to by Limbaugh as the "Bob Zimmerman" songs, were also played on his show. (Bob Zimmerman is the birth name of Bob Dylan.) Paul Shanklin created his parodies by writing and then recording all the voices and instruments himself using simul-synch recording techniques. The six albums of Shanklin's Limbaugh parodies are available on the Web.
As with most commercial radio programming, The Rush Limbaugh Show has slots allotted for the local affiliates to fill with news segments, traffic, weather, and local commercials. The “Rush 24/7” live internet broadcast of the show usually fills these time slots with Shanklin's parodies.
Also on the Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
episode "Right On", they visit a conservative talk show host named Gus Baker, who resembles and talks like Rush, as does the character Birch Barlow in several episodes of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
Environmentalist wacko picks
Limbaugh will occasionally perform a comedic bit called “environmentalist wacko picks” on his last show prior to the weekend during the NFL season. He predicts the outcome of upcoming football games based on how an "environmentalist wacko" would assess the teams' mascots. The mascot that is the least offensive to an "environmentalist wacko" is the projected winner. For example, the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
would always be favored over the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
would always be favored over the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
would always be favored over the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
would always be favored over the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Program staff
Bo Snerdley: The official "program observer" and call screener. His real name is James GoldenJames Golden (radio personality)
James Golden, under the pseudonym "Bo Snerdley," serves as call screener, producer, and engineer for the syndicated Rush Limbaugh radio talk show...
. From comments Limbaugh has made on the air, it would seem he assists with research as part of preparation for the show and is in the control booth as the show is being broadcast. He co-hosted a Sunday night talk show, James and Joel, on WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
with Joel Santisteban from 1992 to 1998. Snerdley is a pseudonym Limbaugh invented many years earlier when he was a disc jockey on WIXZ (when Limbaugh went by the name Jeff Christy); he would use the name Snerdley for supposed-listeners who would write or call in, usually professing to be big fans and part of the "Christy Nation". More recently, the name Snerdley has been used for his call screeners, both male and female. During a show in 2004, Limbaugh was not at the microphone for the last segment of the second hour (it was only about ten seconds), and Snerdley came on instead: "This is Bo Snerdley, Rush will be right back on the EIB Network." It was one of the very rare times his voice was heard on the program before 2008. "Bo" Snerdley screens callers at the Palm Beach Florida broadcasting location and in New York City. In February 2008, Snerdley, who is African-American, was appointed by Limbaugh as the show's Official Criticizer of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
: "certified black enough to criticize" On the July 24th show, "Bo" was put on the air as the "Official Obama Criticizer", and spoke for roughly 5 minutes with Rush about the incident with Cambridge police. On October 16, he requested (and received) air time to air a five-minute rant, that criticized NFL players, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and media commentators who opposed Rush Limbaugh's potential bid on the St. Louis Rams.
Koko: The Rush 24/7 Internet site webmaster. This is a nickname, given by Limbaugh when Koko put a gorilla suit on for a gag on Limbaugh's TV show. His real name is George Prayias, and he is currently the webmaster for www.rushlimbaugh.com.
Brian: EIB network broadcast engineer.
Dawn: Transcribes caller comments onto a computer screen to aid Limbaugh, who hears via a cochlear implant
Cochlear implant
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing...
and therefore can sometimes have difficulties clearly understanding callers
Kit Carson: “Chief of staff”. Also known as “H.R.”. Screens calls when Limbaugh broadcasts from New York City, among other things.
Altamont: His duties consisted of call screening and board operations, and serving as backup when the others are out or unavailable. Left the show in spring 2006.
Johnny Donovan
Johnny Donovan
Johnny Donovan is an American radio announcer and producer at New York's WABC .He grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, nicknamed "Sarge," after his father's former rank in the United States Army...
: Program announcer. He sometimes voices some of Paul Shanklin
Paul Shanklin
Paul Shanklin is an American conservative political satirist, impressionist, comedian, and conservative speaker...
's parodies.
Stand-ins for Limbaugh
Every so often, Limbaugh is absent from his show, whether for various personal reasons or because of extended trips. For instance, in early 2005, Limbaugh took a week-long trip to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to report on postwar conditions; he's also participated in various celebrity pro-am golf events, especially when he represents his parent company, Clear Channel. On those occasions, Limbaugh allows “EIB certified talk show hosts” (sometimes called "Associate Professors from the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies") to fill in for him. Typically, these hosts are well-known conservatives, and since Clear Channel acquired the network which syndicates the program, they have usually been Clear Channel radio hosts.
Recent substitute hosts
Mark DavisMark Davis (talk show host)
Mark Davis is an American radio host, newspaper columnist, and political commentator. His local talk show, The Mark Davis Show, airs on weekdays from 8:30 AM to 11 AM on WBAP in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, and his popular column is published in The Dallas Morning News...
: Host of The Mark Davis Show, a talk show on WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. First substitute hosted on March 4, 2008.
Mark Belling
Mark Belling
Mark Belling is a conservative radio talk show host for 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Belling hosts a three-hour weekday radio program, The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show, which is regularly rated No. 1 for the afternoon-drive time slot...
: Host of The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show, a radio show on WISN in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
.
Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn is a Canadian-born writer, conservative-leaning political commentator, and cultural critic. He has written five books, including America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, a New York Times bestseller...
: A Canadian journalist, columnist, and film and theatre critic. Since the removal of Jason Lewis from the substitute rotation in February 2009, Steyn's hosting has become more frequent.
Dr. Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams, is an American economist, commentator, and academic. He is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author known for his libertarian views.- Early life and education :Williams family during childhood...
: Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
professor, strong proponent of laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
capitalism, and former chairman of the Economics Department at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He most often hosts on Fridays and is a fan favorite.
Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
: Republican political consultant and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. First substituted August 9, 2010.
Former substitute hosts
By general rule, a person who currently has a national radio show on a network other than Premiere is not eligible to substitute host on the program. Premiere hosts are technically exempt from this (e.g. Matt Drudge and Jason Lewis), but are still used very rarely.Jed Babbin
Jed Babbin
Jed Babbin is a former United States Deputy Undersecretary of Defense who served during the first Bush administration in the United States, and is the author of the political book Inside the Asylum as well as Showdown and In the Words of Our Enemies....
: Editor-in-chief of the online version of Human Events
Human Events
Human Events is a weekly American conservative magazine. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence...
. Has so far only sub-hosted one episode (July 17, 2008). He has more recently substituted for other shows, but not Limbaugh's.
Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
: In his first book, The Real America, he stated that "[a]fter doing a total of maybe 40 hours of talk radio, [he] was asked to host a national show." A photo showing him set up at Rush's studio follows the text. He has not hosted since.
"B1" Bob Dornan
Bob Dornan
Robert Kenneth "Bob" Dornan is a Republican and former member of the United States House of Representatives from California and a vocal advocate of pro-life and social conservative causes....
: Dornan was a substitute host several times starting in 1991 and during Bill Clinton's first term as president. He still substitutes for other shows, but not Limbaugh's.
Matt Drudge
Matt Drudge
Matthew Nathan Drudge is the American creator and editor of the Drudge Report, a news aggregation website. Drudge is self-described as being conservative and populist. Drudge has also authored a book and hosted a radio show and a television show.-Early years:Matthew Drudge was raised in Takoma...
: Editor of the Drudge Report
Drudge Report
The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website. Run by Matt Drudge with the help of Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt, the site consists mainly of links to stories from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many...
and (at the time) host of his own Sunday night Clear Channel talk program. He hosted only twice during the 2003 drug controversy. His recent retirement from his Sunday night show makes him eligible to guest host the show again, and Drudge has stated that he will do substitute hosting in the future, although he has not specifically cited Limbaugh's show.
Bill Handel
Bill Handel
William Wolf Handel is the director and founder of the Center for Surrogate Parenting and an AM radio personality in Los Angeles, California....
: Host of The Bill Handel Show and Handel on the Law on KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. First substituted September 11, 2001. Limbaugh was unavailable, and with the infamous terrorist attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
having taken place just hours before air, Handel, who was already broadcasting on an impromptu syndication network at the moment, continued to host for another three hours in Limbaugh's place nationwide. He would go on to host at least twice more before having a falling-out with Limbaugh.
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
: Host of Fox News' political debate show Hannity
Hannity
Hannity is a television show on the Fox News network, a replacement to the long-running show Hannity & Colmes. It is hosted by conservative political pundit Sean Hannity....
, but Hannity has not subbed since his radio show
The Sean Hannity Show
The Sean Hannity Show is a talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity on Citadel Media and Premiere Radio Networks. The program is broadcast live every weekday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m...
became nationally syndicated in 2001. The Golden EIB Microphone fell and hit the table at the WABC Radio studio the first time he guest hosted.
Roger Hedgecock
Roger Hedgecock
Roger Allan Hedgecock is a conservative talk radio host and former mayor of San Diego, California. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Hedgecock still resides in San Diego...
: Former mayor of San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and a talk radio host at Clear Channel talk station KOGO there. He was, as of 2007, the most used stand-in, and was also a fan favorite. The launch of Hedgecock's national show officially brings an end to Hedgecock's guest hosting for Limbaugh's show.
Jason Lewis
Jason Lewis (radio host)
Jason Lewis is an American radio talk show host and political commentator. His show is currently syndicated nationally on the Genesis Communications Network. His radio show was previously broadcast locally for 10 years on KSTP in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, until Lewis...
: Host of Radio Free Minnesota, a radio show on KTCN-AM 1130 in the Twin Cities, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Lewis was a regular substitute host from August 2007 until February 2009, when Premiere gave Lewis his own national show.
Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
: News anchor and political commentator; substituted for Limbaugh on the program once during the late 1990s, and has never substituted again due to negative fan reaction because of his liberal political beliefs.
Michael Medved
Michael Medved
Michael Medved is an American radio host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle, Washington-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S...
: Medved was a substitute host from 1993–1998, when he got his own nationally syndicated radio show.
Mike Rosen
Mike Rosen
Michael "Mike" Rosen is an American radio personality and political commentator. He is the host of The Mike Rosen Show on talk radio station 850 KOA in Denver, Colorado, as well as a weekly opinion columnist for The Denver Post and previously a weekly opinion columnist for the Rocky Mountain News...
: Host of a radio show on KOA
KOA (AM)
KOA is a clear channel, news/talk radio station serving the Denver-Boulder and Colorado Springs, Colorado markets. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is nicknamed "the Blowtorch of the West" for its 50,000 watt signal.KOA was originally owned by General Electric and began...
in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
during the University of Colorado at Boulder controversy with former professor Ward Churchill
Ward Churchill
Ward LeRoy Churchill is an author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1990 to 2007. The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government...
.
Paul W. Smith
Paul W. Smith
Paul W. Smith is the morning drive-time host at Detroit, Michigan's WJR radio. As a clear-channel station on 760 AM, WJR can be heard throughout the Midwest, and Smith's program is known throughout the region...
: Talk show host from WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He first substituted as host of the show on December 13, 2005.
Tony Snow
Tony Snow
Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow was an American journalist, political commentator, television news anchor, syndicated columnist, radio host, musician, and the third White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush. Snow also worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and...
: Former White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
for President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. He sometimes guest hosted during the 1990s before launching his own show on Fox News Talk
Fox News Talk
Fox News Talk is a satellite radio channel that showcases talk shows and news reports from Fox News Channel personalities, along with other Fox News and talk programming...
in 2002. Snow died from colon cancer in July 2008.
Tom Sullivan
Thomas M. Sullivan
Tom Sullivan is a business news anchor for the Fox Business Network, who also hosts a syndicated radio talk show on the Fox News Radio network....
: Talk show host on KFBK
KFBK
KFBK is a radio station in Sacramento, California broadcasting on a frequency of 1530 kHz. KFBK is a class A clear channel station, formerly designated as a class "I-B" station, sharing 1530 with WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio...
in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, who is also a financial advisor for Wachovia Securities, and the business news editor for KFBK. Limbaugh hosted his talk show locally on KFBK before going to New York City. He has not hosted in several years; the fact that he has taken his KFBK show national with Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network programmed by Fox News Channel.- History :In 2003, Fox News began syndicating one minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided five minute newscasts at the top...
would prevent him from guest hosting on the show for the foreseeable future.
Douglas Urbanski
Douglas Urbanski
Douglas Urbanski is an American theater impresario, raconteur and film producer.Urbanski is a business partner with actor Gary Oldman and he also runs a talent management firm, DMG...
: Theatre and film producer, frequent guest host on other shows, and "paying subscriber to Rush 24/7." Will be moving to his own show on Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
in early 2011.
Holidays
When Limbaugh is absent and no substitute is available, most frequently on major holidays such as ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
or Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, a "Best of" show will air.
In addition, a portion of the show on the day before each Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
is always set aside for a reading of the real story of Thanksgiving. During this segment, Limbaugh reads from a section of his book "See, I Told You So" regarding the first few years of the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
crew in Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. Limbaugh asserts, based upon excerpts from the personal journal
Of Plymouth Plantation
Written over a period of years by the leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation is the single most complete authority for the story of the Pilgrims and the early years of the Colony they founded...
of William Bradford
William Bradford (1590-1657)
William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation...
, that the pilgrims had attempted to set up an early form of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the colony but failed, and when the colony went to a free enterprise
Free enterprise
-Transport:* Free Enterprise I, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1962 and 1980.* Free Enterprise II, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1965 and 1982....
system the colony began to thrive. Limbaugh claims that the Indians were largely irrelevant to the situation. In addition, Limbaugh also reads from President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's 1789 National Thanksgiving Proclamation
National Thanksgiving Proclamation
The National Thanksgiving Proclamation was the first formal proclamation of Thanksgiving in America. George Washington, the first President of the United States, made this proclamation on October 3, 1789, in New York City:-See also:*...
.
In the event that Limbaugh cannot broadcast on the day before Thanksgiving (as occurred in 2006), a substitute host will read the excerpt.
Jargon
Limbaugh uses his own on-air jargonJargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
, some of which he invented and some of which he popularized. Notable examples include:
- "Caller abortion" (Limbaugh's term for disconnecting an unwanted caller, accompanied by the sound effects of screams, a vacuum cleaner and a toilet flushing);
- "The Chi-Coms" (The Communist Chinese government);
- "Club Gitmo" (The U.S. prison for terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and a reference to Club MedClub MedClub Méditerranée , commonly known as Club Med, is a French corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. It is considered the original all-inclusive resort.-Foundation:...
/Club FedClub FedIn North American English, Club Fed is a term that describes a prison whose accommodations are less severe than many other prisons. The term is a pun on the "Club Med" chain of all-inclusive resorts.-Differential treatment for white-collar offenders:...
); - "Drive-by media" (The mainstream media, analogous to "drive-by shooting");
- "Environmentalist wacko" (A militant environmentalist activist, or group thereof (such as Greenpeace and ELFEarth Liberation FrontThe Earth Liberation Front , also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".The ELF was founded...
)) - "FeminaziFeminaziFeminazi is a term popularized by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Feminazi is a portmanteau of the nouns feminist and Nazi. The term is used pejoratively by some U.S...
" (a portmanteau of "feminist" and "Nazi" that Rush uses to describe a specific subset of radical feminists); The term is only applied to those who want to ensure that the maximum number of abortions takes place. - "The four corners of deceit": (used in the context of discussing global warming: Government, universities, science, and state-media );
- "The Ninth Circus Court of Appeals" (The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, noted for its size and for its controversial decisions that are reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court more often than any other U.S. circuit court.) - "Operation Chaos" (An effort promoted by Limbaugh to cause chaos in the Democratic Party primaries by encouraging Republican voters to either cross over or change parties in order to vote for whichever candidate is trailing, thus prolonging the primary process);
- "State-run media" (Limbaugh's more recent term for the Mainstream mediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, particularly since Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
assumed office in January 2009)
Limbaugh also coins his own nicknames for various people in the news. Examples include:
- "Banking Queen" (Limbaugh's term referring to the Chairman of the House Finance and Banking Committee, Barney FrankBarney FrankBarney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
); - "Calypso Louie" (Limbaugh's nickname for Louis FarrakhanLouis FarrakhanLouis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
); - "David 'Rodham' Gergen" (his nickname for David GergenDavid GergenDavid Richmond Gergen is an American political consultant and former presidential advisor who served during the administrations of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He is currently Director of the Center for Public Leadership and a professor of public service at Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is...
, Presidential adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton and now CNN commentator); - "Dingy Harry" (nickname for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidHarry ReidHarry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, analogous to Dirty HarryDirty HarryDirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
); - "The Fruit of Kaboom Bomber" (Umar Mutallab, a Muslim Nigerian citizen who attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear while aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253Northwest Airlines Flight 253Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
on Christmas Day, 2009; a parody of Fruit of the LoomFruit of the LoomFruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
brand clothing); - "Lindsey Grahamnesty" (Republican SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Lindsey GrahamLindsey GrahamLindsey Olin Graham is the senior U.S. Senator from South Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously he served as the U.S. Representative for .-Early life, education and career:...
, a portmanteu referencing Graham's support for the "Amnesty Bill"Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, or, in its full name, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was a bill discussed in the 110th United States Congress that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for the approximately 12 to...
); - "The Loser" (Presidential candidate Michael DukakisMichael DukakisMichael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
);
Throughout the years on The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh has established several nicknames with which he describes himself on the air. Others also ascribe nicknames or titles and credentials that Limbaugh then uses for entertainment or political satire. Often Limbaugh furthers his schtick of "making (himself) look good" by giving himself accolades with phrases praising his own performance. Examples include:
- "Maha-Rushi" (from Maharishi, a great sage);
- "Defender of Motherhood" (socially conservative stance, including opposition to abortion);
- "Having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have."
- "Serving humanity just by being here, and it doesn't matter where here is."
- "Half my brain tied behind my back, just to make it fair."
- "Talent on loan from God"
- "The views expressed by the host on this program documented to be almost always right 99.6% of the time."
- "On the cutting edge of societal evolution."
- "Titular Head of the Remains of the Republican Party";
- "Doctor of Democracy"
- "Your guiding light"
- "Don't doubt me!"
- "Meeting and surpassing audience expectations on a daily basis."
- "Harmless loveable little fuzzball and all around good/nice guy" (the nickname Limbaugh created for himself in response to the claim that he is the "most dangerous man in America").
Show history
This section details only events which were primarily about the show and not about Limbaugh himself; of course, because Limbaugh and his show are so intertwined, it can be difficult to separate the two. Please see Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
for events in Limbaugh's life which may have impacted the show.
Radio syndication
In 1984, Limbaugh started as a regular talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host on AM radio station KFBK
KFBK
KFBK is a radio station in Sacramento, California broadcasting on a frequency of 1530 kHz. KFBK is a class A clear channel station, formerly designated as a class "I-B" station, sharing 1530 with WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio...
in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, after several years of employment with the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
and in the music radio
Music radio
Music radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries...
business, which included hosting a program at KMBZ in Kansas City. He succeeded Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format on his program The Morton Downey Jr. Show....
in the time slot.
Based on his work in Sacramento, Limbaugh was signed to a contract by EFM Media Management, headed by former ABC Radio executive Edward McLaughlin. Limbaugh became syndicated on August 1, 1988 through EFM and his show was drawing five million listeners after two years of syndication. Lacking a name for the network during the early years, he coined the name "EIB Network," which has remained associated with the show even after joining an actual radio network.
In 1997, EFM was acquired by Jacor
Jacor
Jacor Communications was a media corporation which owned a large number of radio stations in the United States. Inside the radio industry, Jacor was seen as one of the most competitive broadcast companies in history. Jacor's re-image in 1996 created the slogan "The Noise You Can't Ignore".Jacor was...
Communications, a publicly traded company.
Later that year, Jacor merged with Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
.
In 1999, Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
Currently, Clear Channel Communications through its Premiere Radio Networks subsidiary is the syndicator for Limbaugh's radio show.
Limbaugh and Clear Channel signed an eight-year, $400,000,000 contract extension in August 2008.
Dan's Bake Sale
The initial idea for Dan's Bake Sale was conceived on the The Rush Limbaugh Show in 1993. One caller, "Dan" from Fort Collins, ColoradoFort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
, told Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
that he was photocopying a coworker's subscription to the Limbaugh Letter, Rush's monthly magazine that covers current events. The reason was that Dan's wife was not a fan of the show, and would not allocate the funds needed from the family budget to subscribe to the Letter. Limbaugh light-heartedly informed Dan that he disapproves his photocopying printed material, and offhandedly suggested that Dan organize a bake sale
Bake sale
A bake sale is a fundraising activity where baked goods such as doughnuts, cupcakes and cookies, sometimes along with ethnic foods, are sold. Bake sales are usually held by small, non-profit organizations, such as clubs, school groups and charitable organizations...
to raise funds for a subscription, spoofing then-recent bake sales to raise funds to reduce the national debt.
After Dan's call ended, the next caller to the show noted that he felt Rush was a bit harsh, and that he intended to attend Dan's Bake Sale. Rush again dismissed the topic. The next caller noted that he would like to attend Dan's Bake Sale. Rush repeatedly announced they would take no more "bake sale" calls but the gig was on and everyone calling in for the next week or so put in a plug for Dan's Bake Sale.
Limbaugh never seriously proposed a Bake Sale and neither did "Dan." But the landslide of support for Dan and his bake sale was on. Eventually, some 65,000 people from all over the United States and as far away as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
showed up in Fort Collins for Dan's Bake Sale. Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
even made jokes about it on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
.
Limbaugh did attend, and had a brief presentation, giving Dan his first issue of his subscription.
Dan considered making it an annual event, but agreed with Limbaugh's assessment that the original just could never again be replicated.
Rush to Excellence Tours and Cruises
In the 1990s Limbaugh sponsored several Rush to Excellence Tours, or "concerts" featuring him at venues across the country, including the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan. He also sponsored Rush to Excellence Cruises on ocean liners.Armed Forces Radio controversy
On May 26, 2004, the article "Rush's Forced Conscripts" appeared on the online news and opinion magazine Salon.comSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
. The article discussed the controversy surrounding the fact that American Forces Radio and Television Service
American Forces Network
The American Forces Network is the brand name used by the United States Armed Forces American Forces Radio and Television Service for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide...
(AFRTS), (which describes itself as "[providing] stateside radio and television programming, 'a touch of home', to U.S. service men and women, DoD civilians, and their families serving outside the continental United States"), carries the first hour of Limbaugh's show. Melvin Russell, director of AFRTS, defended Limbaugh's presence, by pointing to Limbaugh's high ratings in the US: "We look at the most popular shows broadcast here in the United States and try to mirror that. [Limbaugh] is the No. 1 talk show host in the States; there's no question about that. Because of that we provide him on our service." In addition, AFRTS produced a ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows asking troops worldwide, "Who do you want that we don't at present carry?" The Rush Limbaugh Show was not listed on the ballot, but won the vote as a write-in by the troops. A later poll by Lund Media Research found that a majority of soldiers preferred that talk show programs be replaced by hip hop and rap stations, bringing into question the future of content such as the Rush Limbaugh Show on AFRTS.
Critics have pointed out that other programs, such as the eight-million listener per week Howard Stern Show, are absent from AFRTS. (This statement was made before Stern left for satellite radio in 2006.) Other claims—for example, that there is no political counterbalance to Limbaugh on AFRTS—have been rebutted by Byron York
Byron York
Byron York is a conservative American columnist for the Washington Examiner, Fox News contributor, and author who lives in Washington, D.C.-Career:...
, a columnist for the predominantly conservative National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
: "American military men and women abroad have access, for example, to the talk show of liberal host Diane Rehm
Diane Rehm
Diane Rehm is an American public radio talk show host. Her program, The Diane Rehm Show, is distributed nationally and internationally by National Public Radio. It is produced at WAMU, which is licensed to American University in Washington, D.C....
... Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower
James Allen "Jim" Hightower is an American syndicated columnist, activist and author.-Life and career:Born in Denison, Texas, Hightower came from a working class background. He worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as...
and CBS News anchorman Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
." Another possible political counterbalance to Limbaugh is Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, who emphasizes his presence on AFRTS at the end of every episode of his satirical Le Show
Le Show
Le Show is a weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by satirist Harry Shearer.The program is a hodgepodge of satirical news commentary, music, and sketch comedy...
.
On June 14, 2004, U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Tom Harkin
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-IA
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
) introduced an amendment to the 2004 Defense Authorization bill that called for AFRTS to fulfill its stated goal of providing political balance in its news and public affairs programming. The amendment passed unanimously in the Senate. Limbaugh responded by calling the move "censorship". On his June 17 radio show, he commented that: "This is a United States senator [Tom Harkin] amending the Defense appropriations bill with the intent being to get this program—only one hour of which is carried on Armed Forces Radio—stripped from that network." The amendment never became law. As of 2005, the first hour of Limbaugh's show is still on AFRTS. Limbaugh visited US forces in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
in 2005.
This treatment of The Rush Limbaugh Show proved to set a precedent for Congressional debate on AFRTS content. The Ed Schultz
Ed Schultz
Edward Andrew "Ed" Schultz Is an American television and radio host and a liberal political commentator . He is the host of The Ed Show, a daily news talk program on MSNBC, and The Ed Schultz Show, a talk radio show, nationally syndicated by Dial Global, promising "straight talk."-Early...
show, a liberal talk radio show with over one million listeners a week, was originally scheduled to be broadcast on AFRTS on October 17, 2005. It was subsequently pulled, with some alleging political motivation, which was later debated in Congress. A few weeks after this debate, AFRTS added Schultz to the line-up along with other talk show hosts: Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
and Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
.
Michael J. Fox controversy
On the October 23, 2006, broadcast of his radio show, Limbaugh imitated on the "DittoCam" (the webcam for Web site subscribers to see him on the air) the physical symptoms actor Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
showed in a television commercial raising awareness of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. He said "[Fox] is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." Three days later, on October 26, Limbaugh denied that he was ridiculing Fox, stating that, after seeing Fox without his medication, "I [was] stunned because I [had] never seen Michael J. Fox that way." Limbaugh said that he was "mov[ing] around like [Fox] does, but never once was I making fun of him. I was trying to illustrate for my audience watching on the Dittocam what I had seen."
Fox later appeared on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
with Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
and said he was actually dyskinesic
Dyskinesia
Dyskinesia is a movement disorder which consists of effects including diminished voluntary movements and the presence of involuntary movements, similar to tics or choreia. Dyskinesia can be anything from a slight tremor of the hands to uncontrollable movement of, most commonly, the upper body but...
at the time, a condition that results from overmedication.
However, Fox has admitted that he has, at times, deliberately not taken his medication—such as in an appearance the U.S. Senate—in order, he claimed, to demonstrate the effects of Parkinson's disease. During Limbaugh's October 26, 2006 show he said, in a discussion with a caller, "[I]n his own book [Lucky Man: A Memoir], he has written in chapter eight that before Senate committees he goes off the medication so that people can see the ravages of the disease."
"Barack the Magic Negro" parody
On March 19, 2007, Limbaugh referred to a Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
editorial by David Ehrenstein
David Ehrenstein
David Ehrenstein is an American critic who focuses primarily on issues of homosexuality in cinema.-Life and career:Ehrenstein was born in New York City. His father was a secular Jew with Polish ancestors, and his mother was of African American and Irish descent. His mother raised him in her...
which claimed that Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was filling the role of the "magic negro", and that this explained his appeal to voters. Limbaugh then later played a song by Paul Shanklin
Paul Shanklin
Paul Shanklin is an American conservative political satirist, impressionist, comedian, and conservative speaker...
entitled "Barack the Magic Negro," sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon".
Phony soldiers controversy
During the September 26, 2007, broadcast of Limbaugh's radio show, Limbaugh used the term "phony soldiers" when speaking to a caller who had brought up soldiers who criticize the war. The caller, saying he was currently serving in the Army for 14 years, said, "They never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media." Limbaugh interrupted, "The phony soldiers." The caller continued, "The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country." Several minutes later, after the caller had hung up, Limbaugh read from the AP story describing the story of Jesse Macbeth
Jesse Macbeth
Jesse Adam Macbeth is an anti-war protester who falsely claimed to be an Army Ranger and veteran of the Iraq War. He lied in alternative media interviews that he and his unit routinely committed war crimes in Iraq. Transcripts of the video were made in English and Arabic.According to the U.S...
. Macbeth joined the Army but did not complete basic training, yet claimed in alternative media
Alternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
interviews that he and his unit routinely committed war crimes in Iraq. On June 7, 2007, Macbeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and was sentenced to five months in jail and three years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
. Media Matters
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
noted Limbaugh's use of the term "phony soldiers" in an article on their website. The article suggested that Limbaugh was saying that all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq War were "phony soldiers", and was discussed in speeches by Presidential candidates John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
and Chris Dodd. Limbaugh said that, when he had made the comment about "phony soldiers", he had been speaking only of Macbeth and others like him who claim to be soldiers and are not, and that "Media Matters takes things out of context all the time". Media Matters pointed out that Limbaugh did not mention Jesse Macbeth on his September 26 radio show until one minute and 50 seconds after talking about "phony soldiers" with the caller." The unedited transcript of the radio show in question can be found on Rush Limbaugh's website.
Comments on Obama's policies
On January 16, 2009, Limbaugh read a letter on his radio show that he had received a request from a national print outlet: ... "If you could send us 400 words on your hope for the Obama presidency, we need it by Monday night, that would be ideal." He responded, "I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails." He explained that he didn't want "absorption of as much of the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work." He continued, "What is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here."Limbaugh later said that he wants to see Obama's policies fail, not the man himself. Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said, "He's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me."
"Leader of Republican Party"
Limbaugh was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Conservative Political Action ConferenceConservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
; his speech attracted widespread attention. On March 1, 2009, CBS's Face the Nation
Face the Nation
Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
asked White House Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
who he thought represented the Republican Party; Emanuel named Limbaugh as his choice.
In remarks aired by CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
on March 1, 2009, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele said that Limbaugh is "an entertainer" and his rhetoric at the convention was "incendiary" and "ugly". Steele later telephoned Limbaugh and apologized. Limbaugh stated he would not want to run the RNC in its "sad sack state".
On March 2, 2009, Limbaugh responded to Emanuel, and on March 4, 2009, Limbaugh challenged President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to a debate on his radio program. Limbaugh offered to pay all of Obama's expenses including travel, food, lodging, and security. On March 6, Limbaugh told Byron York of the Washington Examiner
Washington Examiner
The Washington Examiner is a free daily newspaper published in Springfield, Virginia, and distributed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz....
that his ratings for his radio show had significantly increased since he had begun criticizing the Obama Administration.
Operation Chaos
In late February 2008, Limbaugh announced "Operation Chaos," a political call to action with the initial plan to have voters of the Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
temporarily cross over to vote
Party Raiding
Party Raiding is the term for members of one political party voting in another party's primary in an effort to either nominate a weaker candidate or at the very least prolong divided support between two or more contenders for that party's nomination .Party raiding can only occur in jurisdictions...
in the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary and vote for Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, who at the time was in the midst of losing eleven straight primary contests to Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Limbaugh has also cited the open primary
Open primary
An open primary is a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. In a traditional open primary, voters may select one party's ballot and vote for that party's nomination. As in a closed primary, the highest voted...
process in the early primary states of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, which allowed independent voters to cross over into the Republican primaries to choose John McCain over more conservative candidates (such as Fred Thompson), as an inspiration.
At the point in which Limbaugh announced his gambit, Obama had seemed on the verge of clinching the Democratic nomination. However, Clinton subsequently won the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
primary and the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
primary (while losing the Texas caucus and the overall delegate split) with large pluralities from rural counties; thus reemerging as a competitive opponent in the race. Statistics released by the state of Texas show Hillary Clinton won the primary due to a large number of Republicans crossing over to vote for her. Whether these voters were Operation Chaos Operatives or simply Republicans who preferred Clinton is impossible to tell.
On April 29, 2008 Limbaugh declared an "operational pause" in Operation Chaos, saying that Obama's defeat in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary and fallout from statements from Obama ally Reverend Jeremiah Wright
Jeremiah Wright
Jeremiah Alvesta Wright, Jr. is Pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ , a megachurch in Chicago exceeding 6,000 members...
could have damaged his campaign to the extent superdelegates would shift to Clinton's side. Determining Obama had weathered that storm, Limbaugh lifted the pause the next day and renewed his call for his listeners to vote for Clinton in the upcoming Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
primaries. Obama won the North Carolina primary but was narrowly defeated in Indiana, where Clinton won decisively in rural counties that normally vote Republican in presidential elections.
The overall legality of Operation Chaos in several states, including Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, is disputed. In Ohio, new party members are required to sign a pledge of loyalty to the party they join for a minimum of one year, making participation in "Operation Chaos" a possible felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
(election falsification) in that state. However, the state attorney general there refused to press charges on anyone, saying that it would be nearly impossible to enforce because of difficulties proving voter intent and concerns that a loyalty oath would violate freedom of association
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
.
Limbaugh did not endorse a candidate for most of the 2008 primaries; he spoke highly of Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
, but was vocally against the candidacies of John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
. After Giuliani and Thompson quit the race, Limbaugh, among many other talk show hosts, put his support behind Romney. It was after Romney's departure from the race on February 5 that Limbaugh began aggressively pushing the Operation Chaos plan.
Limbaugh revived Operation Chaos with a twist in late October 2010 by urging Democratic voters who felt that Hillary Clinton was "screwed out of the nomination" to stay home and not vote. This has been coined by Limbaugh as Operation Reverse Chaos.
In October 2010, a conservative website announced the commencement of an Operation Chaos-inspired plan, "Operation Alaska Chaos," to counter Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski's write-in campaign.