The Sierra Club is one of the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the United States.^[2] It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president. The Sierra Club has hundreds of thousands of members in chapters located throughout the US, and is affiliated with Sierra Club Canada.

Mission[link]

The Sierra Club's mission is:^[3]

To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

Organization[link]

The Sierra Club is governed by a 15-member volunteer Board of Directors.^[4] Each year, five directors are elected to three-year terms, and all Club members are eligible to vote. A president is elected annually by the Board from among its members and receives a small stipend. The Executive Director runs the day-to-day operations of the group, and is a paid staff member. On January 20, 2010, the Club announced that its new executive director is Michael Brune, formerly of Rainforest Action Network.^[5] Brune succeeded Carl Pope, who continued in the role of chairman before stepping down in November 2011.

All club members also belong to chapters (usually state-wide, except in California), and to local groups. The state of California has 14 chapters. National and local special interest sections, committees, and task forces address particular issues. Policies are set at the appropriate level, but on any issue the Club has only one policy.^[6]

In addition to the members who are active as volunteers, the club has approximately 500 paid staff members. Many of them work at the national headquarters in San Francisco, California, but some work in the lobbying office in Washington, D.C. and in numerous state and regional offices.

All members receive Sierra magazine, a bimonthly glossy magazine describing the club's activities and spotlighting various environmental issues. Each chapter publishes a newsletter and/or schedule of activities, as do many local groups. The Sierra Club also has a weekly radio show called Sierra Club Radio.^[4]

History[link]

File:Petition and map from John Muir and other founders of Sierra Club.djvu

Journalist Robert Underwood Johnson had worked with John Muir on the successful campaign to create a large Yosemite National Park surrounding the much smaller state park which had been created in 1864. This campaign succeeded in 1890. As early as 1889, Johnson had encouraged Muir to form an "association" to help protect the Sierra Nevada, and preliminary meetings were held to plan the group. Others involved in the early planning included artist William Keith, Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan. In May 1892, a group of professors from the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University helped Muir and attorney Warren Olney launch the new organization modeled after the eastern Appalachian Mountain Club. The Sierra Club's charter members elected Muir president, an office he held until his death in 1914.^[7] The Club's first goals included establishing Glacier and Mount Rainier national parks, convincing the California legislature to give Yosemite Valley to the US Federal government, and saving California's coastal redwoods. Muir escorted President Theodore Roosevelt through Yosemite in 1903, and two years later the California legislature ceded Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to the Federal government. The Sierra Club won its first lobbying victory with the creation of the country's second national park, after Yellowstone in 1872.^[8]

In the first decade of the 1900s, the Sierra Club became embroiled in the famous Hetch Hetchy Reservoir controversy that divided preservationists from "resource management" conservationists. For years the city of San Francisco had been having problems with a privately owned water company that provided poor service at high prices. Mayor James D. Phelan’s reform administration wanted to set up a municipally owned water utility. He revived an earlier proposal to dam the Hetch Hetchy valley. The final straw was the water company's failure to provide adequate water to fight the fires that destroyed much of the city following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Gifford Pinchot, a progressive supporter of public utilities and head of the US Forest Service, which then had jurisdiction over the national parks, supported the creation of the Hetch Hetchy dam. Muir appealed to his friend US President Roosevelt, who would not commit himself against the dam, given its popularity with the people of San Francisco (a referendum in 1908 confirmed a seven-to-one majority in favor of the dam and municipal water). Muir and attorney William Edward Colby began a national campaign against the dam, attracting the support of many eastern conservationists. With the 1912 election of US President Woodrow Wilson, who carried San Francisco, supporters of the dam had a friend in the White House. The bill to dam Hetch Hetchy passed Congress in 1913, and so the Sierra Club lost its first major battle. In retaliation, the Club supported creation of the National Park Service in 1916, to remove the parks from Forest Service oversight. Stephen Mather, a Club member from Chicago and an opponent of Hetch Hetchy dam, became the first National Park Service director.^[9]

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Sierra Club served its members as a social and recreational society, conducting outings, improving trails and building huts and lodges in the Sierras. Preservation campaigns included a several-year effort to enlarge Sequoia National Park (achieved in 1926) and over three decades of work to protect and then preserve Kings Canyon National Park (established in 1940). Historian Stephen Fox notes, "In the 1930s most of the three thousand members were middle-aged Republicans."^[10]

The New Deal brought many conservationists to the Democrats, and many Democrats entered the ranks of conservationists. Leading the generation of Young Turks who revitalized the Sierra Club after World War II were attorneys Richard Leonard and Bestor Robinson, nature photographer Ansel Adams, and David Brower. Brower was 21 when he met Adams on a trail in the Sierras in 1933. Adams sponsored Brower for membership in the Club later that year, and he was appointed to the editorial board of the Sierra Club Bulletin. After World War II Brower returned to his job with the University of California Press, and began editing the Sierra Club Bulletin in 1946.^[11]

In 1950, the Sierra Club had some 7,000 members, mostly on the West Coast. That year the Atlantic chapter became the first formed outside California. An active volunteer board of directors ran the organization, assisted by a small clerical staff. Brower was appointed the first executive director in 1952, and the Club began to catch up with major conservation organizations such as the National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, and Izaak Walton League, which had long had professional staff.^[12]

The Sierra Club secured its national reputation in the battle against the Echo Park dam in Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, which had been announced by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1950. Brower led the fight, marshaling support from other conservation groups. Brower's background in publishing proved decisive; with the help of publisher Alfred Knopf, This Is Dinosaur was rushed into press. Invoking the specter of Hetch Hetchy, conservationists effectively lobbied Congress, which deleted the Echo Park dam from the Colorado River project as approved in 1955. Recognition of the Sierra Club's role in the Echo Park dam victory boosted membership from 10,000 in 1956 to 15,000 in 1960.^[13]

The Sierra Club was now truly a national conservation organization, and preservationists took the offensive with wilderness proposals. The Club's Biennial Wilderness Conferences, launched in 1949 in concert with The Wilderness Society, became an important force in the campaign that secured passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964.^[14] In 1960, Brower launched the Exhibit Format book series with This Is the American Earth, and in 1962 In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World, with spectacular color photographs by Eliot Porter. These elegant coffee-table books introduced the Sierra Club to a wide audience. Fifty thousand copies were sold in the first four years, and by 1960 sales exceeded $10 million. Soon Brower was publishing two new titles a year in the Exhibit Format series, but not all did as well as In Wildness. Although the books were successful introducing the public to wilderness preservation and the Sierra Club, they lost money for the organization, some $60,000 a year after 1964. Financial management became a matter of contention between Brower and his board of directors.^[15]

The Sierra Club's most publicized crusade of the 1960s was the effort to stop the Bureau of Reclamation from building two dams that would flood portions of the Grand Canyon. Full-page ads the Club placed in the New York Times and the Washington Post in 1966 exclaimed, "This time it's the Grand Canyon they want to flood," and asked, "Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get nearer the ceiling?" The ads generated a storm of protest to the Congress, prompting the Internal Revenue Service to announce it was suspending the Sierra Club's 501(c)(3) status pending an investigation. The board had taken the precaution of setting up the Sierra Club Foundation as a (c)(3) organization in 1960 for endowments and contributions for educational and other non-lobbying activities.^[16] Even so, contributions to the Club dropped off, aggravating its annual operating deficits. Membership, however, climbed sharply in response to the investigation into the legitimacy of the society's tax status by the IRS from 30,000 in 1965 to 57,000 in 1967 and 75,000 in 1969.

Despite the Club's success in blocking plans for the Grand Canyon dams and weathering the transition from 501(c)(3) to 501(c)(4)status, tension grew over finances between Brower and the board of directors. The Club's annual deficits rose from $100,000 in 1967 and 1968 to some $200,000 in 1969. Another conflict occurred over the Club's policy toward the nuclear power plant to be constructed by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) at Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo, California. Although the Club had played the leading role blocking PG&E's nuclear power plant proposed for Bodega Bay, California in the early 1960s, that case had been built around the local environmental impact and earthquake danger from the nearby San Andreas fault, not from opposition to nuclear power itself. In exchange for moving the new proposed site from the environmentally sensitive Nipomo Dunes to Diablo Canyon, the board of directors voted to support PG&E's plan for the power plant. A membership referendum in 1967 upheld the board's decision. But Brower concluded that nuclear power at any location was a mistake, and he voiced his opposition to the plant, contrary to the Club's official policy. As pro- and anti-Brower factions polarized, the annual election of new directors reflected the conflict. Brower's supporters won a majority in 1968, but in the April 1969 election the anti-Brower candidates won all five open positions. Ansel Adams and president Richard Leonard, two of his closest friends on the board, led the opposition to Brower, charging him with financial recklessness and insubordination and calling for his ouster as executive director. The board voted ten to five to accept Brower's resignation.^[17] Eventually reconciled with the Club, Brower was elected to the board of directors for a term from 1983 to 1988, and again from 1995 to 2000.

Michael McCloskey, hired by Brower in 1961 as the Club's first northwest field representative, became the Club's second executive director in 1969. An administrator attentive to detail, McCloskey had set up the Club's conservation department in 1965 and guided the campaigns to save the Grand Canyon and establish Redwoods National Park and North Cascades National Park. During the 1970s, McCloskey led the Club's legislative activity—preserving Alaskan lands and eastern wilderness areas, and supporting the new environmental agenda: the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the Clean Air Act amendments, and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, passed during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. The Sierra Club made its first Presidential endorsement in 1984 in support of Walter Mondale's unsuccessful campaign to unseat Ronald Reagan. McCloskey resigned as executive director in 1985 after 16 and a half years (the same length of time Brower had led the organization), and assumed the title of chairman, becoming the Club's senior strategist, devoting his time to conservation policy rather than budget planning and administration.^[18] After a two-year interlude with Douglas Wheeler, whose Republican credentials were disconcerting to liberal members, the Club hired Michael Fisher, the former head of the California Coastal Commission, who served as executive director from 1987 to 1992. Carl Pope, formerly the Club’s legislative director, was named executive director in 1992.

In the 1990s, club members Jim Bensman, Roger Clarke, David Dilworth, Chad Hanson and David Orr along with about 2,000 members formed the John Muir Sierrans, an internal caucus, to promote changes to club positions. They favored a zero-cut forest policy on public lands and, a few years later, decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam. JMS was successful in changing club positions on both counts.^[19][20]

In September 2005, the Sierra Club held its first Sierra Summit in San Francisco. Approximately 1,000 volunteers from around the country, selected by their chapters and groups, were delegates; some nondelegate members also attended. There were seminars and exhibit presentations about current environmental issues and about techniques for more effective activism. Prominent guest speakers included Al Gore; Bill Maher; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; and Arianna Huffington.

In 2008, the Sierra Club endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President, citing "his strong record of support for clean air, wetlands protection, and clean energy."^[21]

Notable directors[link]

Outings[link]

In 1901, William Colby organized the first Sierra Club outing to Yosemite Valley. The annual High Trips were led by accomplished mountaineers (some of them Sierra Club directors), such as Francis P. Farquhar, Joseph Nisbet LeConte, Norman Clyde, Walter A. Starr, Jr., Jules Eichorn, Glen Dawson, Ansel Adams, and David R. Brower. Many first ascents in the Sierra Nevada were made on Sierra Club outings. Sierra Club members were also early enthusiasts of rock climbing and pioneers of the craft. In 1911, the first chapter was formed, Angeles, and it immediately started conducting local outings in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles and throughout the West. In World War II, many Sierra Club leaders joined the 10th Mountain Division, bringing their expertise to the war effort.^[24] Among them was Brower, who managed the High Trip program from 1947 to 1954, while serving as a major in the Army Reserve.^[25]

The High Trips, sometimes huge expeditions with more than a hundred participants and crew, have given way to smaller and more numerous outings held across the United States and abroad. The National Outings program conducts hundreds of outings, most of which are between 4 to 10 days in length. Local chapters, groups, and sections lead thousands of generally shorter trips in their regions and beyond (mostly hiking, but also including cycling, cross-country skiing, etc.). Inner City Outings groups help make wild places accessible to children who are only familiar with the urban environment.^[24]

Conservation policies[link]

The Sierra Club has official policies on many conservation issues. They group these into 17 categories: agriculture, biotechnology, energy, environmental justice, forest and wilderness management, global issues, government and political issues, land management, military issues, nuclear issues, oceans, pollution and waste management, precautionary principle, transportation, urban and land use policies, water resources, and wildlife conservation.

Land management[link]

Some Sierra Club members have urged the Club to be more forceful in advocating for the protection of National Forests and other federally owned public lands. For example, in 2002 the Club was criticized for joining with the Wilderness Society in agreeing to a compromise that would allow logging in the Black Hills in South Dakota.^[26]

Nuclear issues[link]

The Sierra Club opposes building new nuclear reactors, both fission and fusion, until specific inherent safety risks are mitigated by conservationist political policies, and regulatory agencies are in place to enforce those policies.^[27] The club currently opposes nuclear fusion due to its "probable" release of the hydrogen isotope, tritium.^[28]

Coal[link]

According to the Sierra Club, coal power plants are one of the nation's largest and dirtiest sources of energy, a leading cause of respiratory illness, and account for over 40% of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions. It argues that there are readily available alternatives to coal.^[29] A 2009 report commissioned by the Sierra Club concluded that the costs associated with coal mining in Appalachia are five times greater than its economic benefits to the region. The report concluded that residents of coal mining regions would be best served by transitioning away from economic dependence on coal.^[30]

Renewables and energy efficiency[link]

The Sierra Club advocates investment in wind, solar, and other renewable energy as well as restructuring energy markets to favor innovation, creation of green jobs, and efficient energy use.^[31]

Political activism and controversies[link]

Protecting rivers[link]

One long-standing goal of the Sierra Club has been opposition to dams it considers inappropriate. In the early 20th century, the organization fought against the damming and flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Despite this lobbying, Congress authorized the construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam on the Tuolumne River. The Sierra Club continues to lobby for removal of the dam, urging that San Francisco's water needs be accommodated instead by the re-engineering of the Don Pedro Reservoir downstream.

The Sierra Club advocates the decommissioning of Glen Canyon Dam and the draining of Lake Powell. The Club also supports removal, breaching or decommissioning of many other dams, including four large but high-cost dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington.

Blue-Green Alliance[link]

In June, 2006, the Sierra Club announced the formation of a Blue-Green Alliance with the United Steelworkers, the largest industrial union in North America. The goal of this new partnership is to pursue a joint public policy agenda reconciling workers' need for good jobs with mankind's need for a cleaner environment and safer world.^[32]

Population control and immigration[link]

This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (January 2009)

Some critics of the Sierra Club have charged that the club's views on population growth, and the efforts of some club members to restrain immigration, are a continuation of aspects of the Eugenics movement.^[33][34]

In 1969, the Sierra Club published Paul R. Ehrlich's book, The Population Bomb, in which he said that population growth was responsible for environmental decline and advocated coercive measures to reduce it. Some observers have argued that the book had a "racial dimension" in the tradition of the Eugenics movement, and that it "reiterated many of Osborn's jeremiads."^[35][36][37]

In 1978, John Tanton, former Chairman of the National Sierra Club Population Committee and former President of Zero Population Growth, founded the Federation for American Immigration Reform.^[37]

During the 1980s, some Sierra Club members, including Paul Ehrlich's wife Anne,^[35] wanted to take the Club into the contentious field of immigration to the United States. The Club's position was that overpopulation was a significant factor in the degradation of the environment. Accordingly, the Club supported stabilizing and reducing U.S. and world population. Some members argued that, as a practical matter, U.S. population could not be stabilized, let alone reduced, at the then-current levels of immigration. They urged the Club to support immigration reduction. The Club had previously addressed the issue of "mass immigration,"^[38] and in 1988, the organization's Population Committee and Conservation Coordinating Committee stated that immigration to the U.S. should be limited, so as to achieve population stabilization.^[39]

Other Sierrans thought that the immigration issue was too far from the Club's core environmentalist mission, and were also concerned that involvement would impair the organization's political ability to pursue its other objectives. In 1996, the Board of Directors accepted this latter view, and voted that the Sierra Club would be neutral on issues of immigration.^{[citation needed]}

The advocates of immigration reduction sought to reverse this decision through the referendum provision of the Bylaws of the Sierra Club. They organized themselves as "SUSPS", a name originally derived from "Sierrans for U.S. Population Stabilization" (although that name is no longer used since the Sierra Club objected to infringing the Club's trademark in the term "Sierrans"). SUSPS and its allies gathered the necessary signatures to place the issue on the ballot in the Club's election in the spring of 1998. The Board's decision that the Club would take no position on immigration was upheld by the membership by a three-to-two margin.^{[citation needed]}

The controversy resurfaced when a group of three immigration reduction proponents ran in the 2004 Board of Directors elections, hoping to move the Club's position away from a neutral stance on immigration, and restore the stance previously held.^[40] Groups outside of the Club became involved, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and MoveOn.^[41] Of the three candidates, two (Frank Morris and David Pimentel), were on the board of the anti-immigration group Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America^[42][43] and two (Richard Lamm and Frank Morris) were on the board of directors or the board of advisors of the Federation for American Immigration Reform;^[42] both had also held leadership positions within the NAACP.^[44] Their candidacies were denounced by a fourth candidate, Morris Dees of the SPLC, as a "hostile takeover" attempt by "radical anti-immigrant activists."^[41][45] The immigration reduction proponents won only 3% of all votes cast in the election,^[46] and the controversy subsided.

Related organizations[link]

Affiliates and subsidiaries[link]

The Sierra Club Foundation was founded in 1960 by David R. Brower.^[47] It is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that provides support for tax- deductible environmental action.

The Sierra Club Canada has been active since 1963.^[48] It is now an independent corporation with its own national structure and local entities throughout Canada working on pollution, biodiversity, energy, and sustainability issues.

In 1971, volunteer lawyers who had worked with the Sierra Club established the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. This was a separate organization that used the "Sierra Club" name under license from the Club; it changed its name to Earthjustice in 1997.^[49]

The Sierra Student Coalition (SSC) is the student-run arm of the Sierra Club. Founded by Adam Werbach in 1991, with 14,000 members, it purports to be the largest student-led environmental group in the United States.^[50]

The Sierra Club Voter Education Fund is a 527 group that became active in the 2004 Presidential election by airing television advertisements about the major party candidates' positions on environmental issues. Through the Environmental Voter Education Campaign (EVEC), the Club sought to mobilize volunteers for phone banking, door-to-door canvassing and postcard writing to emphasize these issues in the campaign.

The organization maintains a publishing imprint, Sierra Club Books, publishing books on environmental issues, wilderness photographic essays, nature guides, and other related subjects. They publish the Sierra Club Calendars, perennial bestsellers, featuring photographs by well-known nature photographers such as Galen Rowell. They also publish the John Muir library, which includes many of their founder's titles.^[51]

The Wilderness Travel Course is a basic mountaineering class that is administered by the Sierra Club.

Restore Hetch Hetchy is an organization created by the Sierra Club to advocate the restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley.

See also[link]

	Environment portal
	Ecology portal
	Earth sciences portal
	Sustainable development portal
	Energy portal

Notes[link]

References[link]

• David Brower, For Earth's Sake: The Life and Times of David Brower (Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith Books, 1990) ISBN 0-87905-013-6
• Michael P. Cohen, The History of the Sierra Club, 1892–1970 (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988) ISBN 0-87156-732-6
• Stephen Fox, John Muir and His Legacy: The American Conservation Movement (Boston: Little, Brown, 1981) ISBN 0-316-29110-2
• Michael McCloskey, In the Thick of It: My Life in the Sierra Club (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005) ISBN 1-55963-979-2
• Tom Turner, Sierra Club: 100 Years of Protecting Nature (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991) ISBN 0-8109-3820-0

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sierra Club

• Official website
• Sierra Club Radio
• Sierra Student Coalition
• The Sierra Club Foundation

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Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh, 2009
Born	Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (1951-01-12) January 12, 1951 (age 61) Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S.
Alma mater	Southeast Missouri State University (did not graduate)
Occupation	Radio host, political commentator, author, television host (former)
Years active	1967–present
Spouse	Roxy Maxine McNeely (1977–1980, div.) Michelle Sixta (1983–1990, div.) Marta Fitzgerald (1994–2004, div.) Kathryn Rogers (2010–pres)
Website
www.rushlimbaugh.com

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( /ˈlɪmbɔː/; born January 12, 1951) is an American radio talk show host and political commentator. Since he was 16 Limbaugh has worked a series of disc jockey jobs. His talk show began in 1984 at Sacramento radio station KFBK, featuring his ongoing format of political commentary and listener calls. In 1988 Limbaugh began broadcasting his show nationally from radio station WABC in New York, New York. He currently lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, from where he broadcasts the The Rush Limbaugh Show, the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States.^[1][2]

In the 1990s Limbaugh's books The Way Things Ought to Be (1992) and See, I Told You So (1993) made The New York Times Best Seller list. Limbaugh frequently criticizes, in his books and on his show, what he regards as liberal policies and politicians, as well as what he perceives as a pervasive liberal bias in major U.S. media.

Early life[link]

Family and background[link]

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the son of Mildred Carolyn "Millie" (née Armstrong) and Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Jr. His father was a lawyer and a U.S. fighter pilot who served in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His mother was a native of Searcy, Arkansas. The name "Rush" was originally chosen for his grandfather to honor the maiden name of family member Edna Rush.^[3]

His family has many lawyers, including his grandfather, father and brother David. His uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. is a Ronald Reagan-appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. His cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., is currently a judge in the same court, appointed by George W. Bush. Rush Limbaugh, Sr., Limbaugh's grandfather was a Missouri prosecutor, judge, special commissioner, member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1930 until 1932, and longtime president of the Missouri Historical Society.^[4] The Federal Courthouse in Cape Girardeau is named for Limbaugh's grandfather.

Education and Vietnam draft[link]

Limbaugh began his career in radio as a teenager in 1967 in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, using the name Rusty Sharpe.^[3][5] Limbaugh graduated from Cape Girardeau, Missouri Central High School, in 1969. Because of his parents' desire to see him attend college, he enrolled in Southeast Missouri State University but left the school after two semesters and one summer. According to his mother, "he flunked everything", and "he just didn't seem interested in anything except radio."^[3][6]

Limbaugh was not drafted during the Vietnam War draft lottery, as his birth date's high rank (152) was well above the 125 rank below which service members were drafted. He was classified as "1-Y" (later reclassified "4-F") due to a pilonidal cyst.^[3][7]

Professional career[link]

1970s[link]

After dropping out of college, Limbaugh moved to McKeesport, Pennsylvania. In 1972, he became a Top 40 music disc jockey on WIXZ, a small AM radio station that reached much of the Pittsburgh area. He started with an afternoon show and later did mornings, broadcasting under the name Jeff Christie. Limbaugh moved to Pittsburgh station KQV in 1973 as the evening disc jockey, succeeding Jim Quinn. He was fired in late-1974, when the station was sold to Taft Broadcasting. Limbaugh was reportedly told by management that he would never make it as on air talent, and should consider going into sales.^[3] Unable to find another job in local radio, Limbaugh moved back home to Cape Girardeau. He became a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers from his time in the region.^[8]

For the rest of the decade Limbaugh took jobs at several radio stations, working in music radio, before settling in Kansas City. In 1979, he left radio and accepted a position as director of promotions with the Kansas City Royals baseball team.^[3] There he developed a close friendship with then-Royals star third baseman and future Hall of Famer George Brett; the two remain close friends.^[9]

1980s[link]

In 1984, Limbaugh returned to radio as a talk show host at KFBK in Sacramento, California, where he replaced Morton Downey, Jr.^[3] The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine—which had required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast—by the FCC in 1987 meant stations could broadcast editorial commentary without having to present opposing views. Daniel Henninger wrote, in a Wall Street Journal editorial, "Ronald Reagan tore down this wall (the Fairness Doctrine) in 1987 ... and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the East Germany of liberal media domination."^[10]

On August 1, 1988, after achieving success in Sacramento and drawing the attention of former ABC Radio President Edward F. McLaughlin, Limbaugh moved to New York City and began his national radio show. He debuted just weeks after the Democratic National Convention, and just weeks before the Republican National Convention. Limbaugh's radio home in New York City was the talk-formatted WABC, and this remains his flagship station (although Limbaugh now hosts his program from West Palm Beach).^[3]

1990s[link]

In December 1990, journalist Lewis Grossberger wrote in The New York Times that Limbaugh had "more listeners than any other talk show host" and described Limbaugh's style as "bouncing between earnest lecturer and political vaudevillian".^[11] Limbaugh's rising popularity coincided with the Persian Gulf War, and his support for the war effort and his relentless ridicule of peace activists. The program gained more popularity and was moved to stations with larger audiences, eventually being broadcast on over 650 radio stations nationwide.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected president of the United States. Limbaugh satirized the policies of Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as those of the Democratic Party. When the Republican Party won control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections, the freshman Republican class awarded Limbaugh an honorary membership in their caucus. This event confirmed him as an influential figure on the national political scene.^[12]

2000s[link]

Limbaugh had publicized personal difficulties in the 2000s. In late 2001, he acknowledged that he had gone almost completely deaf, although he continued his show. He was able to regain much of his hearing with the help of cochlear implants.

In 2003, Limbaugh had a brief stint as a pro football commentator with ESPN. He resigned a few weeks into the 2003 NFL season after making comments about the press coverage for quarterback Donovan McNabb that caused controversy and accusations of racism on the part of Limbaugh. His comment about McNabb was: "I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there's a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."^[13] For example, a sportswriter construed the comment as racist against himself and other sportswriters.^[14] Another sports analyst wrote Limbaugh's viewpoint was shared by "many football fans and analysts" and "it is ... absurd to say that the sports media haven't overrated Donovan McNabb because he's black."^[15]

In April 2006, Limbaugh turned himself in and was arrested "on a single charge of prescription fraud".^[16] His record was later expunged after 18 months of rehabilitation and paying court costs.

[edit] The Rush Limbaugh Show

Limbaugh's radio show airs for three hours each weekday beginning at noon Eastern Standard Time on both AM and FM radio. The program is also broadcast worldwide on the Armed Forces Radio Network.

Radio broadcasting shifted from AM to FM in the late 1970s because of the opportunity to broadcast music in stereo with better fidelity. Limbaugh's show was first nationally syndicated in August 1988, in a later stage of AM's decline. Limbaugh's popularity paved the way for other conservative talk radio programming to become commonplace on the AM radio. In March 2006, WBAL in Baltimore became the first major market radio station in the country to drop Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio program.^[17] In 2007, Talkers magazine again named him #1 in its "Heavy Hundred" most important talk show hosts.

Limbaugh frequently mentions the EIB (Excellence In Broadcasting) network, but this is a mythic construction, as he told The New York Times in 1990.^[18] In reality, his show was co-owned and first syndicated by Edward F. McLaughlin, former president of ABC who founded EFM Media in 1988, with Limbaugh's show as his first product. In 1997, McLaughlin sold EFM to Jacor Communications, which was ultimately bought up by Clear Channel Communications. Today, Limbaugh owns a majority of the show, which is syndicated by the Premiere Radio Networks.

According to a 2001 article in U.S. News & World Report, Limbaugh had an eight-year contract, at the rate of $31.25 million a year.^[19] In 2007, Limbaugh earned $33 million.^[20] On July 2, 2008, Matt Drudge reported that Limbaugh signed a contract extension through 2016 that is worth over $400 million, breaking records for any broadcast.^[21] A November 2008 poll by Zogby International found that Rush Limbaugh was the most trusted news personality in the nation, garnering 12.5% of poll responses.^[22]

Television show[link]

Limbaugh had a syndicated half-hour television show from 1992 through 1996, produced by Roger Ailes. The show discussed many of the topics on his radio show, and was taped in front of an audience. Rush Limbaugh says he loves doing his radio show^[23] but not a TV show.^[24]

Other media appearances[link]

Limbaugh's first television hosting experience came March 30, 1990, as a guest host on Pat Sajak's CBS late-night talk show, The Pat Sajak Show.^[25] ACT UP activists in the audience^[26] heckled Limbaugh repeatedly; ultimately the entire studio audience was cleared. In 2001, Sajak said the incident was "legendary around CBS".^[27]

On December 17, 1993, Limbaugh appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.^[28] Limbaugh also guest-starred (as himself) on a 1994 episode of Hearts Afire. He appeared in the 1995 Billy Crystal film Forget Paris, and in 1998 on an episode of The Drew Carey Show.

In 2007, Limbaugh made cameo appearances on Fox News Channel's short-lived The 1/2 Hour News Hour in a series of parodies portraying him as the future President of the United States. In the parodies, his vice president was fellow conservative pundit Ann Coulter. He also made a cameo in the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest" that year. More recent Family Guy appearances have been: the 2010 episode "Excellence in Broadcasting", and the 2011 episode "It's a Trap!", a parody of Return of the Jedi, in which Limbaugh can be heard on the radio claiming that, among other things, the "intergalactic liberal space media" was lying about climate change on the planet Hoth, and that Lando Calrissian's administrative position on Cloud City was a result of affirmative action.

His persona has often been utilized as a template for a stereotypical conservative talk show host on TV shows and in movies, including an episode of The Simpsons (as a conservative talk radio host named Birch Barlow), as Gus Baker on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head, as Lash Rambo (host of "Perfection in Broadcasting") on an episode of The New WKRP in Cincinnati, and as Fielding Chase in the Columbo spinoff film Butterfly in Shades of Grey.

As a result of his television program, Limbaugh became known for wearing distinctive neckties. In response to viewer interest, Limbaugh launched a series of ties^[29] designed primarily by his then-wife Marta.^[30] Sales of the ties reached over US$5 million in their initial sales year, but were later discontinued.

In January 2010, Chicago's Second City announced a new production, Rush Limbaugh: The Musical, a musical parody-pastiche following in the footsteps of 2009's successful run of Rod Blagojevich Superstar, which has been written and developed by the same creative team.

On January 30, 2010, Limbaugh was a judge for the 2010 Miss America pageant in Las Vegas.^[31] In early 2011, Limbaugh was the subject of the third season of Golf Channel's The Haney Project, in which instructor Hank Haney coached him in eight episodes.^[32]

Views[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rush Limbaugh

In his first New York Times best seller, Limbaugh describes himself as conservative, and is critical of broadcasters in many media outlets for claiming to be objective. He has criticized political centrists, independents, and moderate conservatives, claiming they are responsible for Democrat Barack Obama's victory over Republican John McCain in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and inviting them to leave the Republican party. He calls for the adoption of core conservative philosophies in order to ensure the survival of the Republican party.^[33][34][35]

James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times quoted Limbaugh as saying after the 2008 election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States that the Democrats will "take your 401(k), put it in the Social Security Trust Fund."^[36]

African-Americans[link]

Limbaugh has been noted for making controversial race-related statements with regard to African-Americans. He has drawn connections between African-American appearance and criminality on several occasions, once opining that all newspaper composite pictures of wanted criminals resembled Jesse Jackson, and another time that "the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons."^[37][38] While employed as what he describes as an "insult-radio" DJ, he used a derogatory racial stereotype to characterize a black caller he could not understand, telling the caller to "take that bone out of your nose and call me back."^[38] In March, 2010, Limbaugh used the similarity of recently resigned Rep. Eric Massa's surname to the slavery-era African-American pronunciation of "master" to make a pun on the possibility that Gov. David Paterson, New York's first African-American governor, would pick Massa's replacement: "Let's assume you're right [caller]. So, David Paterson will become the massa who gets to appoint whoever gets to take Massa's place. So, for the first time in his life, Paterson's gonna be a massa. Interesting, interesting."^[39]

Limbaugh has asserted that African-Americans, in contrast with other minority groups, are "left behind" socially because they have been systematically trained from a young age to hate America through a widespread movement headed by figures such as Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, and Barack and Michelle Obama.^[40]

Capital punishment[link]

Limbaugh supports capital punishment, saying "the only thing cruel about the death penalty is last-minute stays."^[41]

Drug abuse[link]

Limbaugh has been an outspoken critic of what he sees as leniency towards criminal drug use in America. On his television show in October 5, 1995, Limbaugh stated, "too many whites are getting away with drug use" and illegal drug trafficking. Limbaugh proposed that the racial disparity in drug enforcement could be fixed if authorities increased detection efforts, conviction rates, and jail time for whites involved in illegal drugs.^[42]

In 2006, the Palm Beach County State Attorney charged Limbaugh with doctor shopping to obtain OxyContin. The State Attorney subsequently reached an agreement with Limbaugh in which the charge was dropped after Limbaugh agreed to pay $30,000 to defray the investigation cost and to complete an 18-month therapy regimen with his physician.^[43]

Environmental issues[link]

Limbaugh is critical of environmentalism and climate science.^[44] He has disputed claims of anthropogenic global warming, and the relationship between CFCs and depletion of the ozone layer, saying the scientific evidence does not support them.^[41] Limbaugh has argued against the scientific opinion on climate change saying the alleged scientific consensus "is just a bunch of scientists organized around a political proposition."^[45] Limbaugh has used the term "environmentalist wacko" when referring to left-leaning environmental advocates.^[46] As a rhetorical device, he has also used the term to refer to more mainstream climate scientists and other environmental scientists and advocates with whom he disagrees.^[47]

Limbaugh has written that "there are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492," a claim that is disputed by the United States Forest Service and the American Forestry Association, which state that the precolonial forests have been reduced by about 24% or nearly 300 million acres.^[48][49]

Feminism[link]

Limbaugh is critical of feminism, saying that "Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society."^[50] He also popularized the term "feminazi", referring to about two dozen feminists "to whom the most important thing in life is ensuring that as many abortions as possible occur."^[51] He credited his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics at George Mason University, with coining the term.^[52]

Iraq prisoner abuse[link]

On the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, Limbaugh said, "This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation ... And we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time."^[53][54]

Use of entertainment props[link]

Limbaugh utilizes props to introduce his monologues on various topics. On his radio show, news about the homeless has often been preceded with the Clarence "Frogman" Henry song "Ain't Got No Home."^[55] For a time, Dionne Warwick's song "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again" preceded reports about people with AIDS.^[56] These later became "condom updates" preceded by Fifth Dimension's song, "Up, Up and Away (in My Beautiful Balloon)."^[55] For two weeks in 1989, on his Sacramento radio show, Limbaugh performed "caller abortions" where he would end a call suddenly to the sounds of a vacuum cleaner and a scream. He would then deny that he had "hung up" on the caller, which he had promised not to do. Limbaugh claims that he used this gag to illustrate "the tragedy of abortion" as well as to highlight the question of whether abortion constitutes murder.^[57] During the Clinton administration, while filming his television program, Limbaugh referred to media coverage of Socks, the Clintons' cat. He then stated, "But did you know there is also a White House dog?" and a picture of Chelsea Clinton was shown. When questioned about it, Limbaugh claimed that it was an accident and that without his permission some technician had put up the picture of Chelsea.^{[58][59][60][61][62][63]}

Claims of inaccuracy[link]

Some groups and individuals have criticized Limbaugh's accuracy. The July–August 1994 issue of Extra!, a publication of the progressive group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), alleges 50 different inaccuracies and distortions in Limbaugh's commentary.^[64][65] Others have since joined FAIR in questioning Limbaugh's facts. Al Franken, a former comedian and current Democratic Senator of Minnesota, wrote a satirical book (Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations) in which he accused Limbaugh of distorting facts to serve his own political biases.^[66]

Limbaugh has been criticized for inaccuracies by the Environmental Defense Fund. A defense fund report authored by Princeton University endowed geoscience professor Michael Oppenheimer and professor of biology David Wilcove lists 14 significant scientific facts that, the authors allege, Limbaugh misrepresented in his book The Way Things Ought to Be.^[67] The authors conclude that "Rush Limbaugh ... allows his political bias to distort the truth about a whole range of important scientific issues."

On October 14, 2011, Limbaugh questioned the U.S. military initiative against one of the most wanted men in the world Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), based on the assumption that they were Christians. "They are fighting the Muslims in Sudan. And Obama has sent troops, United States troops to remove them from the battlefield, which means kill them." Upon learning about the accusations leveled against Kony, which included kidnapping whole schools of young children for use as child soldiers, Limbaugh stated that he would research the group. ^[68][69] The show's written transcript on his website was not changed.^[69][70]

Charitable work[link]

Leukemia and lymphoma telethon[link]

Limbaugh holds an annual fundraising telethon called the "EIB Cure-a-Thon"^[71] for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.^[72] In 2006, the EIB Cure-a-Thon conducted its 16th annual telethon, raising $1.7 million,^[73] totaling over $15 million since the first cure-a-thon.^[74] According to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society annual reports, Limbaugh personally contributed between $100,000 and $499,999 from 2000–2005 and 2007,^[75] and Limbaugh claims to have contributed around $250,000 in 2003, 2004 and 2005.^[76] NewsMax reported Limbaugh donated $250,000 in 2006,^[77] and the Society's 2006 annual report placed him in the $500,000 to $999,999 category.^[75] Limbaugh donated $320,000 during the 2007 Cure-a-Thon,^[78] which the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society reported had raised $3.1 million.^[79] On his radio program April 18, 2008, Limbaugh claimed to pledge $400,000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after being challenged by two listeners to increase his initial pledge of $300,000.^[80]

Marine Corps–Law Enforcement Foundation[link]

Limbaugh conducts an annual drive to help the Marine Corps–Law Enforcement Foundation collect contributions to provide scholarships for children of Marines and law enforcement officers/agents who have died in the line of duty.^[81][82] The foundation was the beneficiary of a record $2.1 million eBay auction in October 2007 after Limbaugh listed for sale a letter critical of him signed by 41 Democratic senators and pledged to match the selling price.^[83] With the recent founding of his and his wife's company Two if by Tea, they have pledged to donate at least $100,000 to the MC-LEF beginning in June 2011.^[84]

Personal life[link]

Limbaugh has been married four times and has no children.^[85] He was first married at the age of 26 to Roxy Maxine McNeely, a sales secretary at radio station WHB in Kansas City, Missouri. They were married at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Limbaugh's hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri on September 24, 1977. McNeely filed for divorce in March 1980, citing "incompatibility." They were formally divorced on July 10, 1980.^[3]

In 1983, Limbaugh married Michelle Sixta, a college student and usherette at the Kansas City Royals Stadium Club. They were divorced in 1990, and she remarried the following year.^[3]

On May 27, 1994, Limbaugh married Marta Fitzgerald, a 35-year-old aerobics instructor whom he met on the online service CompuServe in 1990.^[86] They were married at the house of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who officiated.^[87] They were separated on June 11, 2004.^[88] Limbaugh announced his divorce on the air. The divorce was finalized in December 2004.^[89] In September 2004, Limbaugh became romantically involved with then-TV personality Daryn Kagan, and they broke up in February 2006.^[90]

On December 30, 2009, while vacationing in Honolulu, Hawaii, Limbaugh was admitted to Queen's Medical Center with intense chest pains. His doctors attributed the pain to angina pectoris.^[91]

He dated Kathryn Rogers, a party planner from Florida, for three years^[92] before he married her on June 5, 2010.^[93][94] During the wedding reception after the ceremony, Elton John entertained the wedding guests for a reported $1 million fee; however, Limbaugh himself denied that the $1 million figure was accurate on his September 7, 2010, radio show.^[95][96]

Through a holding company, KARHL Holdings (KARHL meaning "Kathryn and Rush Hudson Limbaugh"), Limbaugh launched a line of bottled iced tea beverages, entitled "Two if by Tea"^[97] after a line from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride."^[98]

Prescription drug addiction[link]

On October 3, 2003, the National Enquirer reported that Limbaugh was being investigated for illegally obtaining the prescription drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone. Other news outlets quickly confirmed the investigation.^[99] He admitted to listeners on his radio show on October 10, 2003, that he was addicted to prescription painkillers and stated that he would enter inpatient treatment for 30 days, immediately after the broadcast.^[100] Limbaugh stated his addiction to painkillers resulted from several years of severe back pain heightened by a botched surgery intended to correct those problems.

A subsequent investigation into whether Limbaugh had violated Florida's doctor shopping laws was launched by the Palm Beach State Attorney, which raised privacy issues when investigators seized Limbaugh's private medical records looking for evidence of crimes. On November 9, 2005, following two years of investigations, Assistant State Attorney James L. Martz requested the court to set aside Limbaugh's doctor–patient confidentiality rights and allow the state to question his physicians.^[101] Limbaugh's attorney opposed the prosecutor's efforts to interview his doctors on the basis of patient privacy rights, and argued that the prosecutor had violated Limbaugh's Fourth Amendment rights by illegally seizing his medical records. The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement in agreement and filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Limbaugh.^[102][103] On December 12, 2005, Judge David F. Crow delivered a ruling prohibiting the State of Florida from questioning Limbaugh's physicians about "the medical condition of the patient and any information disclosed to the health care practitioner by the patient in the course of the care and treatment of the patient."^[104]

On April 28, 2006, a warrant was issued for his arrest on the charge of doctor shopping. According to Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the sheriff, during his arrest, Limbaugh was booked, photographed, and fingerprinted, but not handcuffed. He was then released after about an hour on $3,000 bail.^{[105][106][107]} After his surrender, he filed a "not guilty" plea to the charge. Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge if Limbaugh paid $30,000 to defray the cost of the investigation and completed an 18-month therapy regimen with his physician.^[108]

Limbaugh asserted that the state's settlement agreement resulted from a lack of evidence supporting the charge of doctor shopping. Under the terms of the agreement, Limbaugh may not own a firearm for eighteen months and must continue to submit to random drug testing, which he acknowledges having undergone since 2003.^[109]

Before his addiction became known, Limbaugh had condemned illegal drug use on his television program, stating that "Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."^[110][111]

Roy Black, one of Limbaugh's attorneys, stated that "Rush Limbaugh was singled out for prosecution because of who he is. We believe the state attorney's office is applying a double standard."^[112]

In June 2006, Limbaugh was detained by drug enforcement agents at Palm Beach International Airport. Customs officials confiscated Viagra from Limbaugh's luggage as he was returning from the Dominican Republic. The prescription was not in Limbaugh's name.^[113]

After he was released with no charges filed, Limbaugh joked about the incident on his radio show, claiming that he got the Viagra at the Clinton Library and was told they were blue M&M's. He also stated that "I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it."^[113]

Cigar aficionado[link]

In the early 1990s, when the cigar boom was gaining momentum, Limbaugh was seen frequently with a cigar in hand and by the end of the 1990s, cigars had become Limbaugh's staple in many public appearances. Often starting segments of his show with the phrase, "Amid billowing clouds of fragrant and aromatic first-, second-, and sometimes third-hand premium cigar smoke" as well as mentioning a story print-out in his "formerly nicotine-stained fingers", cigars became a common topic of discussion. In the spring of 1994, Limbaugh appeared on the cover of the magazine Cigar Aficionado and shared the story of his conversion to cigars. He has since been a frequent participant in many events such as "The Big Smoke", hosted throughout the year by the magazine. Limbaugh has participated in many charity cigar auctions hosted by the magazine, and is known to talk frequently with his listeners about his and their cigar interests, preferences and recommendations. "I think cigars are just a tremendous addition to the enjoyment of life."^[114] He is also frequently seen in his studio smoking a cigar during his show.

Deafness[link]

Rush Limbaugh has described himself as being "100%, totally deaf".^[115] In 2001, he was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED), which, in the span of three months, rendered his right ear completely deaf and left ear severely deaf. "I cannot hear television. I cannot hear music. I am, for all practical purposes, deaf – and it's happened in three months."^[116] On December 19, 2001, doctors at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles were able to successfully restore a measure of his hearing through cochlear implant surgery. Limbaugh received a Clarion CII Bionic Ear.^[117] In 2005, Limbaugh was forced to undergo "tuning" due to an "eye twitch", an apparent side-effect of cochlear implants.^[118]

Controversies[link]

Armed Forces Radio[link]

On May 26, 2004, a Salon.com article criticized the presence of the Rush Limbaugh Show on American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).^[119] The article opposed the AFRTS carrying 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; 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.^[120]

Michael J. Fox[link]

In October 2006 Limbaugh said Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, had exaggerated the effects of his affliction in political TV ad advocating for funding of stem cell research. Limbaugh said that Fox in the ad had been "shameless" in "moving all around and shaking", and Fox had not taken "his medication or he's acting, one of the two". ^[121] Fox said "the irony of it is I was too medicated", adding that there was no way to predict how his symptoms would manifest. Limbaugh said he would apologize to Fox "bigley and hugely...if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act".^[122] In 2012 Fox said Limbaugh in 2006 had acted on "bullying instincts" when "he said I faked it. I didn't fake it", and said Limbaugh's goal was to have him marginalized and shut down for his Stem Cell stance.^[123]

Phony soldiers[link]

Media Matters' reported radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh in 2007 saying that Iraq war veterans opposed to the war as "the phony soldiers." Limbaugh later said that he was speaking of, Jesse MacBeth, a soldier who falsely claimed to have been decorated for valor but, in fact, had never seen combat. Limbaugh said Media Matters was trying to smear him with out of context and selectively edited comments. After Limbaugh published what he said was the entire transcript of phony soldiers discussion, Media Matters said that over a minute and 30 seconds of the transcript was omitted without "notation or ellipsis to indicate that there is, in fact, a break in the transcript."^[124][125] Limbaugh said during the minute and a half gap Media Matters had pointed out, he was waiting for relevant ABC news copy on the topic, and the transcript and audio edits were “for space and relevance reasons, not to hide anything.”^[126]

Comments on Obama's policies[link]

On January 16, 2009, Limbaugh commented on the Obama presidency, "I hope he fails."^[127] Limbaugh later said that he wants to see Obama's policies fail, not the man himself.^[128] Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said, "He's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me."^[127]

Sandra Fluke comments[link]

On February 29, 2012, during his show, Limbaugh called Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a "slut and a "prostitute", based on her testimony before House Democrats. Fluke was appearing in support of mandating health insurers to cover contraceptive costs. Limbaugh said:^[129][130]

"[Fluke] essentially says that she must be paid to have sex -- what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."

During and following his continued branding of Fluke as a slut for the next two days, Limbaugh lost several national advertisers, and political figures, including President Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner, voiced disapproval.^[131] On March 3 Limbaugh apologized to Fluke for some of his comments saying his "insulting word choices" were meant to be "humorous", and that he never thought she was a slut or a prostitute.^[132][133] Fluke rejected the apology as dubious and inadequate.^[134]

Awards and recognition[link]

A month after Bill Clinton's defeat of George H. W. Bush in 1992, Ronald Reagan sent Limbaugh a letter in which he thanked him "for all you're doing to promote Republican and conservative principles ... [and] you have become the Number One voice for conservatism in our Country."^[135][136]

Limbaugh was the 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2005 recipient of the Marconi Radio Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year (given by the National Association of Broadcasters), joining the syndicated Bob & Tom Show as the only other four-time winners of a Marconi award. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1993.

In 2002, Talkers Magazine ranked him as the greatest radio talk show host of all time.^[137] Limbaugh is the highest-paid syndicated radio host.^[138]

On March 29, 2007, Limbaugh was awarded the inaugural William F. Buckley, Jr. Award for Media Excellence, by the Media Research Center, a conservative media analysis group.^[139]

On January 5, 2008, the conservative magazine Human Events announced Limbaugh as their 2007 Man of the Year.^[140]

On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Limbaugh was selected as one of America's top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.^[141]

On February 28, 2009, following his self-described "first address to the Nation" lasting 90 minutes, carried live on CNN and Fox News and recorded for C-SPAN, Limbaugh received CPAC's "Defender of the Constitution Award", a document originally signed by Benjamin Franklin, given to someone "who has stood up for the First Amendment ... Rush Limbaugh is for America, exactly what Benjamin Franklin did for the Founding Fathers ... the only way we will be successful is if we listen to Rush Limbaugh".^[142]

Zev Chafets, whose book Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One was published May 25, 2010, wrote after the first primaries of the 2010 U.S. election season that Limbaugh was "the brains and the spirit behind" the Republican Party's "resurgence" in the wake of the 2008 election of President Barack Obama. In his May 20, 2010, New York Times op-ed column, Chafets pointed among others to Sen. Arlen Specter's defeat, after being labeled by Limbaugh "Republican in Name Only," and to Sarah Palin, whose "biggest current applause line—Republicans are not just the party of no, but the party of hell no—came courtesy of Mr. Limbaugh." More generally, Chafets wrote, Limbaugh has argued the party-of-no Ronald Reagan conservative course for the Republicans vigorously, notably since six weeks after the Obama inauguration, and has been fundamental to, and encouraging to, the more prominently noted Tea Party movement.^[143]

Works[link]

• The Way Things Ought to Be (1992) Pocket Books ISBN 0-671-75145-X
• See, I Told You So (1993) Pocket Books ISBN 0-671-87120-X

In 1992, Limbaugh published his first book, The Way Things Ought To Be, followed by See, I Told You So in 1993.^[144] Both became number one on the New York Times Best Seller list, The Way Things Ought to Be remaining there for 24 weeks.^[145] Limbaugh acknowledges in the text of the first book that he taped the book and it was transcribed and edited by Wall Street Journal writer John Fund. In the second book, Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily is named as his collaborator.^[146]

References[link]