It is with sincere condolences that I extend my thoughts and prayers to the Limbaugh Family on the passing of Rush Limbaugh early morning on February 17, 2021. As they are family it almost seems intrusive to say that we all feel a stinging loss, but the fact is this. We do.
If you are a conservative, a Republican, and even a Libertarian, you recognized Rush as someone who spoke truth to power even as he exposed the power to the everyman in an attempt to sound the alarm. If you are a Democrat or a Progressive, you recognized Rush as a potent foe whom you were inclined to treat with respect and, at the very least, caution.
If you are a conservative or a constitutionalist pundit or analyst – and especially if you are in the new or independent media, you recognize (as I do) that we owe a great debt to Rush because he blazed a trail in a usually closed door “boy’s club.” In the end, ironically, the “boy’s club” needed him…as they say, “the mountain came to Moses.”
Then there are the political talk show hosts, both on-air and podcasters – and not just conservative, constitutionalist and Libertarian podcasters either. Every political podcaster out there owes a debt of gratitude for what Rush accomplished over the years. He created the rubric for the genre; the intellectual “clock” for the show.
But the communications aspect of his life was only one facet. In the end, Rush was a confidant and kitchen cabinet advisor to presidents and high-level political leaders in the conservative movement. He reached this plateau because he wasn’t an “ass kisser.” He spoke his mind and his opinions, his analysis of the situations, were thought out to the end game, a rare ability inside The Beltway.
I admit, I have a unique perspective being someone who has a finger in all of the pies above. But what makes my perspective on Rush one of great respect and admiration is the fact that I am good friends with his first cousin, Andy. In fact, he is my partner on a podcast.
Through him I have been afforded a fleeting glimpse of the integrity that runs throughout the Limbaugh Family; the love of country, the respect for truth and honor, the duty to responsibility and obligation. It is an aspect of a very close and private family that Rush shared with his listeners and the country. And we are all better for it.
Today, on the day of Rush’s passing, my heartfelt and sincere condolences are with the Limbaugh Family, both immediate and extended. I can say with certainty that his listeners – his on-air family – are suffering a great loss; a void.
And while the malcontents and disrespectful ideologues of the Progressive and radical Left spew their animosity during a time when they should be silent, what their hatred really acknowledges is their anxious exhale at the gatekeeper leaving the gate.
Rush is leaving incredibly large shoes to fill, and those shoes come with an obligation to truth, to introspect, to communication, and to selflessness in the pursuit of freedom and the guarding of liberty. The task is weighty and not for the faint of heart. It requires dedication, devotion, and dignity.
If we are to pick up the colors, we must understand the need to humble ourselves to a higher principle and the purity of the cause.
The gatekeep has left the watchtower. It is our turn at the watch.