July of 1988. Running down the I-5 in California from MCB Camp Pendleton to MCAS El Toro in a little government-owned pickup truck. Air conditioning? Well, the windows roll down. Radio? AM only.
That was fine by me as I liked local AM radio stations. I would listen to the local NPR call-in programs on my runs to El Toro. A few years later I would be listening to Larry King's late-night radio program while working my second job delivering pizzas for Dominos.
At this point, I was a young Sergeant of Marines making a monthly (give or take) run to El Toro for office supplies*. I had figured out years earlier that my life was going to depend on the wise actions of the United States Congress. I had also figured out that the Democrats running the US House and who were periodically in charge of the US Senate were bereft of wisdom.
News reports that praised the latest national programs were frustrating for their lack of consideration for why past national programs had failed. Equally frustrating was reporting on initiatives that were at best band-aids and at the worst created "unexpected consequences" that could have been predicted by anyone with a lick of common sense. Such consequences caused problems greater than the initial initiative was intended to solve.
Problems that would require yet another national program. Predictably. You can't just have Congresscritters sitting around doing nothing, can you? [Spoiler - Sí se puede!]
In a sea of AM radio programming that ignorantly advocated for government action, Rush was a surprising breath of fresh air. I was hooked. I was a week 1 dittohead.
Fortunately, my various jobs allowed me time to listen to Rush while I was working. I listened. I also read. A lot. Ask my family. My original blog was filled with things that I had researched to get the facts to support my positions. Sometimes my positions changed as a result.
Rush suggested at one point that you have to listen to his show for months in order to understand it. I would go a little further and suggest that you had to listen to his show for at least a couple of years to understand him.
Listening for just a day or a week isn't nearly enough. Rush would gently roll a stink bomb down the aisle and then spend days or weeks riffing off of it to make a larger point.
He endorsed Bill Clinton for President in 1992.
For about 5 minutes.
He then denied that he had ever endorsed Mr. Clinton when he came back from the break. He pointed out that whatever was said, it was in the past and had nothing to do with the current moment. Rush had crystallized Bill Clinton's character, or lack thereof, in those few minutes.
But you had to listen to his show for months to understand that Rush's message was larger than a 5-minute gag.
Years of listening were needed to get through the showman front that Rush projected during his show. You had to catch those moments when he would set aside the bravado and the persona and speak from his heart. He truly wished every person to have the opportunity to experience themselves at their greatest abilities. He understood that the most important part of that equation was the individual. No government program is ever going to turn an underachiever into a success if that individual is unwilling to do the work that creates success. No government program will deny success to an individual that is willing to put in the work to create success; although an awful lot of elected Democrats would like to try.
One of the better examples was his inspiration for Dan's Bake Sale. Back in the day, Rush had a newsletter. It cost $24 per year. I didn't subscribe. This guy "Dan" calls from Fort Collins, CO. He says that he can't afford it, and would Rush just give him a subscription.
At the time, schools were holding bake sales for the ostensible purpose of raising money to fund schools. Bill Clinton clucked his tongue over the tragedy of schools holding bake sales. Eventually, some of the proceeds from those bake sales were sent to Bill Clinton because "Bill Clinton will fund schools". Spoiler - Mr. Clinton kept the money and school funding wasn't changed.
Rush handed Dan a golden ticket. He said "hold a bake sale" suggesting that he could raise enough money to purchase a subscription. Essentially, do the work to earn the money and the subscription will be worth all that much more to you.
Dan from Fort Collins did just that. And dittoheads jumped in. With that kind of national exposure, everyone that was close to Fort Collins, and a great many who were not, wanted to participate. Restauranteurs from New Orleans called Dan to see about setting up a booth so they could sell food. The event exploded.
Dan sold out of cookies in no time flat. He purchased his subscription. And tens of thousands of people had a great day in Fort Collins, CO. Imagine if Dan had stopped worrying about just selling cookies.
Being handed a golden ticket is not a guarantee of success. It is an opportunity. What happens after that is up to the individual.
A second example would be the current Fox News personality, Tammy Bruce. Tammy started out in radio broadcasting as a left-leaning feminist. She was told that Rush was an awful person. Then she met him and found out who he really was. Her story is worth reading.
I stopped being a regular listener in roughly 2002 for a couple of reasons. His bits didn't always land well. A few years earlier he had done a bit about the dog that lived in the Whitehouse. Chelsea Clinton's photo was used in the bit. While few things were off-limits to Rush, this one should have been. There were other examples.
By 2002 it was apparent that Rush was unwilling to pursue the fiscal conservativism that he had been preaching for roughly 15 years when Republicans had the majority in the House and Senate as well as a Republican as President. The GOP in Congress was attempting to spend money like drunken sailors on shore leave. Apologies to my Squiddly Diddly friends. (Less than a decade later, Democrat politicians said "hold my beer".) Rush elected not to criticize political friends over issues that he would regularly criticize politicians on the left.
Rush didn't hold the feet of elected Republicans to the fire. We didn't get a balanced budget. We didn't get any meaningful reduction in the number of federal agencies, departments, and assorted conclaves.
If he was unwilling to advocate for the same principles when his allies were in office and positioned to actually achieve those objectives, then perhaps my time was better spent elsewhere. I have only listened to his show a few times a year since that time.
I've listened a little more frequently over the last year. Rush announced that he had stage 4 lung cancer last January. Every show might be his last.
I just happened to catch a show where he was in the studio just after Christmas.
Roughly half the nation is feeling hurt, bemoaning the coming Biden Presidency, caught up in all of the conflict raised in the wake of the election.
Rush reached for confidence. He spoke of his love for America. He expressed humble gratitude for the opportunities that he has received by living in a nation that stands for individual liberty. He supported perseverance and opposed violent "revolution".
Rush happily advocated for doing the difficult work needed to foster an American vision of liberty that is rooted in our Constitution. Making such a vision a reality would be sweeter for having done the right work rather than taking destructive shortcuts.
Rush Limbaugh knew that death walked but a few paces behind and chose to cheerfully encourage the rest of us to be better people in pursuit of better ends.
He long ago set my inquisitive mind free from the constraints imposed by media bias and popular culture. This opportunity to consider all of the political options was his gift to me. I hope when I die that others will not see that as a wasted opportunity.
Fair winds and following seas, Rush.
*Those damned asterisks. In the 1980s, there was no such thing as the Internet. Military organizations couldn't just go to an office supply store for pens, paper, tape, etc. A central organization bought such stuff and units were tasked with sending someone to get what was needed. Office supplies were kept in a locked area to prevent pilfering. It was my part-time job as an expediter.
Now the astute observer would note that MCB Camp Pendleton is located at the north end of San Diego County in California and that MCAS El Toro was (formerly) located near Irvine, California. It was roughly a 45-60 minute drive from my command location to the El Toro office supply "store". Why wouldn't I just go to the "store" on Camp Pendleton?
That would make too much sense. The problem was that I was in the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. All of our funding flowed through the 3rd MAW. Thus we were required to shop at the 3rd MAW office supply store. The stores on Camp Pendleton were operated by the 1st Marine Division or by the base. Wing units were not a part of either organization.
If you want to know why I mistrust the efficacy of government programs, I can only point to my experiences in the world's finest fighting force; the United States Marine Corps. Congress mandates that the Corps operate according to rules that make Calvinball seem to make sense.
And the American military is the most effective part of the US government!
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