asmPolitics-500 [The Death Of Rush Limbaugh][Part 1]

 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/5998621002

Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio titan, has died of lung cancer at age 70

MARIA PUENTE | USA TODAY | 36 minutes ago

Rush Limbaugh, the talk titan who made right-wing radio financially viable in American media and himself a Republican kingmaker years before Fox News, died Wednesday, after he revealed in 2020 that his lung cancer was terminal. He was 70.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Kathryn, at the beginning of Limbaugh's radio show, from which he's been absent for almost two weeks.

A longtime cigar smoker who stocked the humidors in his homes and studios with the finest, Limbaugh succumbed to cancer after battling drug addiction and loss of hearing earlier in his career (he was deaf by the end and broadcast his daily show in spite of it). 

A Republican conservative and die-hard supporter of former President Donald Trump to the end, Limbaugh was among Trump's most important enablers of his failed effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election with baseless claims of voting fraud.

At one point in December, Limbaugh declared he thought the country was "trending toward secession,” then had to walk the comment back the next day. He wasn't advocating another civil war, he was only repeating what he had heard being said, he told listeners. 

After a mob of pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, provoking outraged sputtering from Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives alike, Limbaugh stood out in dismissing the controvery. 

"We're supposed to be horrified by the protesters," Limbaugh scoffed on his program on Jan. 7. "There's a lot of people out there calling for the end of violence...lot of conservatives, social media, who say that any violence or aggression at all is unacceptable regardless of the circumstances...I am glad Sam Adams, Thomas Paine, the actual tea party guys, the men at Lexington and Concord, didn't feel that way.”   

Love him or loathe him, few would deny that Limbaugh was one of the most influential commercial broadcasters, if not the most influential, in American history, says Michael Harrison, founder and publisher of Talkers trade magazine, which covers talk radio.

Harrison believes Limbaugh's legacy – his impact on public policy, on the national culture and on GOP politicians from the presidency on down – remains unmatched. 

“Limbaugh’s radio talent an dedication to the medium are unparalleled in the modern talk industry," he said. "At a time when the very future of radio and its talent pool could very much be on the wane in terms of cultural relevance and prestige, he raised it to a level of importance on a par with the most influential media platforms and players of our time.”