Rush Limbaugh

 

I was never a ditto head.

But, like many out there, it was listening to Rush that converted me to a lifelong philosophy of conservatism.

Well, that’s not exactly correct, at least according to an early memory I’m quite fond of that took place when I was about 12 or so. I was laying on the living room floor (no doubt paging through my Beloved Physics Book) while my parents watched the Reagan Carter debate. Whenever Reagan spoke, I simply felt good; whenever Carter said something, I felt the exact opposite. Now, it could be Reagan’s stage presence, his smooth voice and warm persona. But I felt safe and comforted listening to the man. Though the ideas discussed soared over my head, I knew Reagan and his ideas were … just right.

A few years passed, me blissfully unaware of politics, political theory and political theater (much more preoccupied with the shifting familial landscape of divorced parents), and before I knew it, I was at college. Where I was bombarded 24/7 with anti-Reagan propaganda and full-flung liberal ideology. Man! And this was the 80s! I truly feel sorry for what conservative students today must face.

Soon after, young idiot I was, I cast my first legal vote in a presidential election for Michael Dukakis. And then, like many indoctrinated liberal students, did not vote in any state or local elections for another four years. Then, I decided, after careful research and rumination, to cast my vote for this new up and coming politician: Bill Clinton. “Hey man,” I recall saying to a friend at the time, “Bush is just for big business, and Clinton isn’t!”

A couple more years passed with me preoccupied with friends, a semi-serious girlfriend, a full-time garage band seeking greater success, and business school at night followed by physics classes at a local university. Then, in the spring of 1993, I listened to one Rush Limbaugh broadcast in my car during my lunchbreak.

I’d heard of him before. My bassist, way back in 1989 or 90 or so, recommended me to him, but I brushed it aside. Conservatives were squares, man. Now pass me a beer, and don’t forget to book the rehearsal studio – gotta work on the new songs for the gig next week.

After my tentative first listen that brisk sunny March day, I felt a little weird. A small chink in the cornerstone of my belief system might have been quietly and softly knocked a little out of place. To reassure my liberal persona I made fun of Limbaugh to another friend, and we both had ourselves a good chuckle. This Rush guy certainly was no Howard Stern!

A little while passed – can’t say how long – but I listened again. And again, and again. I was listening in the car at lunch, and this soon followed with listening to him with headphones on the radio at my desk. My reversion to conservatism was soon barreling ahead and out of control.

In the fall of 93 I voted against New Jersey’s longtime senator, Frank Lautenberg. My candidate lost, but it was a major milestone for me. I voted Republican. And every election since, I either voted Republican or third-party.

Why?

Well, without digressing into a personal political treatise, what Rush said simply made sense. I felt he was for the little guy, the small businessman, the man trying to make a living for himself and his family, in ways more authentic than any Democrat talking point. I believed HE believed his message, and his message made SENSE to me. It echoed back to debate Reagan. It just felt right in my gut. And more importantly, I understood the logic of his arguments.

(Course, it didn’t hurt that I had a religious conversion around the same time. As long as abortion is a non-negotiable in the Democrat party platform, I will NEVER vote for them.)

Like I said earlier, I was not a ditto-head. There were only two periods in my life where I listened to him with any regularity. First was probably 94 to 96 or so. At this time I also bought and read his two books, and yes, they did shock me at the time. Primarily because they said things – Rush said things – that no one else in the media was saying. The second period was when I was out of work for most of 2010, when I was having my lung surgeries. During those two phases I listened to him a couple times a week, for most of the three-hour show. But the years in between I would only listen, perhaps, a couple times a year.

I admire his success. I admire his courage. And though he was lacking somewhat in the personal morality department, he was a firm Pro-Life advocate and did much and raised much money for charity. I enjoyed every hour spent listening to him, and thank him for letting me know it was okay to be a conservative.

Rest in peace, Rush.