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Tributes to Rush Limbaugh
on the conservative Broadcaster's 20th Anniversary

Resource: Excerpts were taken from full length Tributes to Mr.  Limbaugh at Human Events Online

The left hand column note The Power of the  Human Voice if from LightBookproductions
 

Power of the Human Voice

Chief Justice John Roberts once joked, when he was younger, that the Constitution was "safe" for a while because the Supreme Court at that time had just taken their official recess. 

Now that the current liberal Dem controlled Congress has taken its August recess, we say, the American people are safe for a while from ineptitude and the scary possibilities of bad legislation being forced us.

Rush Limbaugh is primarily a broadcasting icon because he has for twenty years refused to allow his intelligent, entertaining and influential radio voice to become marginalized and snuffed out by liberal politicians and the mainstream media.

We believe the anti-American "Fairness Doctrine" should remain in the trash heap of misguided ideas where it has been for decades. 

Lately, liberals whose ideas cannot create any real forward traction with the vast majority of the American people,  have pressured their liberal comrades in Congress to try and reinstate the "Fairness Doctrine," which would essentially coerce media outlets to provide "equal" time for liberals. 

Liberalism continues to be a proven failure in the marketplace of ideas. 

Rush Limbaugh, as much as any one individual in the nation, simply with his voice, his intellect and a microphone, has helped lead the way in bringing liberals down to this pathetic point of failure, that is, trying to create government sanctioned control of the airways via laws that are, and would be in reality, the exact opposite of what the Fairness Doctrine is deceptively called.

from Congress...

Rep. Greg Walden
Rep. Mike Pence

Even today, Rush, as he’s known to his listeners, continues to cast the largest shadow over the talk radio business, and we salute him for his yeoman’s work in articulating conservative opinion about the world in which we live.
However, the freedom that Rush Limbaugh enjoys on the airwaves of America is under attack as liberals in Congress step up their efforts to restore the Fairness Doctrine.
 

As we have written before, the Fairness Doctrine is a dated regulation by which the federal government exerts control over political views expressed on the public airwaves. It is dangerous to suggest that a government bureaucracy would be a competent arbiter of free speech, yet under this rule, unelected FCC officials would have the authority to determine which speech is legal.
 

The Fairness Doctrine was created more than half-a-century ago under the notion that it would encourage policy discussion on the airwaves, but instead it stifled it and granted government officials in Washington, D.C. unprecedented power to regulate free speech.

When the Fairness Doctrine took effect in 1949, broadcasters responded by avoiding controversial issues completely, unwilling to jump through the logistical hoops and shoulder the financial burden of complying with such burdensome regulations. Talk radio was bland, monolithic and drew a meager following. Indeed, this was precisely the opposite of what a healthy democracy should want or expect from its radio press.

When the Reagan Administration finally repealed the Fairness Doctrine in the summer of 1987, no one could have predicted what would happen next.

The doors to an unencumbered exchange of ideas on the airwaves of America were flung wide open. Now, instead of having to heed onerous dictates of a bureaucracy that could levy stiff fines or revoke a station’s license for not airing the views regulators determined should be heard, producers of the talk radio industry needed only to comply with the desires and demands of the free market — control was wrested from the federal government and placed squarely in the hands of the American consumer.

As we approach the two-decade mark of Mr. Limbaugh’s dominant run in the post-Fairness Doctrine radio era, it’s worth noting just how many lawmakers want to shut down him and his colleagues — on the right and the left.

To enact a permanent ban on the Fairness Doctrine and to ensure that no President, present or future, will ever regulate the airwaves of America without Congressional approval, we introduced H.R. 2905: “The Broadcaster Freedom Act.” Yet, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not allow our legislation to come to the House floor for a vote.

She personally supports a revival of the Fairness Doctrine.

Among those legislators who have taken to the press, pining for the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine are Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Representative Maurice Hinchey, and Senator John Kerry. On June 26, 2007, Senator Kerry told the Bryan Lehrer Show that “the Fairness Doctrine ought to be there.” According to Senator Kerry, free speech and free expression are apparently dangerous, but the reality is that the liberal Left reserves that designation only for speech with which they disagree.

Because Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer and the rest of the Democrat Leadership refuse to put this critical legislation on the calendar, we filed a discharge petition – which, if signed by 218 Members of Congress, would force an up-or-down vote on the Broadcaster Freedom Act.

It has been almost a year since we filed that discharge petition, and to date, almost every House Republican has signed the petition but not a single House Democrat has joined us. If 218 Members sign, a vote on this legislation would be forced, the bill would pass, and it would effectively stop the movement to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.

What should not be lost amidst this legislative limbo is that the course that the Democrat Party seems to be charting is the truly dangerous scenario: government bureaucrats empowered as judge and jury, sequestered away in some office in Washington, DC, reviewing endless tapes of any and all opinionated broadcasters such as the iconic Rush Limbaugh and rendering decisions on what is “legitimate” dialogue on what they deem to be “controversial” topics.

The scene above may seem like something straight out of 1984, but we are reminded on the 20th anniversary of the Rush Limbaugh Show that we’re only two decades removed from such absurdity.

Should the liberals succeed in their effort to re-impose the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ they will inflict great damage on the First Amendment and send talk show hosts -- left, right and center -- packing. Freedom of speech is one of the most cherished pillars of our society and nowhere would its loss be more keenly felt than on the airwaves.

If the Broadcaster Freedom Act is brought to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, we have every confidence it will pass, because when freedom gets an up-or-down vote in the People’s House, freedom always wins.

On the 20-year anniversary of Rush Limbaugh’s radio debut, the best present we can give him is to spike the Fairness Doctrine once and for all.


Mr. Walden is a Republican Congressman representing Oregon.


Copyright © 2008 HUMAN EVENTS. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts from tributes to Rush Limbaugh by prominent conservatives

Marji Ross...At Regnery, we often say that TV watchers like TV, but radio listeners are the real book buyers. So, for the past 15 years, we have prioritized talk radio above all other media for our authors.

The debates are more interesting, the discussion is more meaningful, and the results speak for themselves. And we know that, if Rush ever talks about one of our books, we see an immediate spike in demand. His listeners, along with the listeners to dozens of other great shows, are motivated to learn more about the world around them, and to take an active role in improving their lives for themselves and their families.

We also know, here at Regnery, that talk radio would not be thriving today were it not for Rush Limbaugh. From the beginning, Rush understood the very same principles we use to turn books into best-sellers, namely: it’s not enough just to identify your audience, but the real power of effective communication is when you actually like your audience. When you care about what they care about, when you care about what they have to say. That is, in large part, the recipe for our success. And the master chef is Rush Limbaugh.

Marji Ross is President and Publisher of Regnery Publishing.

Rush Limbaugh...Well, I think the bond of loyalty that this audience has expressed and demonstrated to me has caused me to have a different view of the audience as a broadcast professional than I ever had as simply a disk jockey.  I didn’t do my first talk show until 1984…Serious talk show in 1984 in Sacramento. That’s when my success track began and the whole concept of respecting their intelligence and respecting their loyalty and considering them a family and treating them that way has, I think, had an immeasurable impact on the way I approach the program each and every day and the way I judge each program’s success factor.

Rush Limbaugh from an interview with Human Events Editor Jed Babbin

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Jim Bohannan...Of course, the hallmark of Rush Limbaugh is controversy, and he got that in spades from day one. I tried googling "hate Rush Limbaugh" and got thousands of hits. For example:

"El Rushbo is a disgrace to the media, journalists, broadcasters, and the HUMAN RACE. Period."

Much of it quickly degenerates into spluttering profanity. Often, it completely backfires, most notably when Harry Reid and 41 of his fellow Democratic senators signed a letter urging Rush's bosses to reprimand him for a "phony soldier" comment Limbaugh made on-air. That letter was put up for bids on e-Bay and raised 2.1 million dollars. Rush matched the money, which sent 4.2 million dollars to the kids of military personnel and law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

Rush Limbaugh is certainly not above legitimate criticism. His well-documented personal life isn't perfect. When he first attained prominence he was notoriously thin-skinned, although I think the calluses and scar tissue have grown over the years.

But that's serious nitpicking.  If that talent isn't on loan, Rush must at least have a lease arrangement with God.

Jim Bohannon is a host with Westwood One Radio whose "Jim Bohannon Show" and "America in the Morning" are heard on over 500 radio stations nationwide. He's a member of the Radio Hall of Fame.

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Excerpts from tributes to Rush Limbaugh by prominent conservatives

Karl Rove...His greatest accomplishment was to completely remake American politics by offering an alternative to the three major networks, CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Here was a man of conservative principles rocking the airwaves with irreverent, honest, and unapologetic monologues, thumbing his nose at the formality of the networks, and, in a funny and memorable way, taking the mainstream media to task for the liberal bias that clouded their reporting.

He’s an original thinker, a reader and a voracious consumer of information who draws on unchanging principle to apply those facts to the world he sees.

But more important than Rush’s voice is how he encourages his listeners to advocate their views and values with a similar enthusiasm. If Rush engages on an issue, it gives others courage to engage.

Mr. Rove, formerly the senior adviser to President George W. Bush, is an analyst for Fox News and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek.

Mark Levin...When I was a teenager, my dad used to say that the media in this country are so biased and so liberal that we conservatives needed to figure out a way to buy a big newspaper or television network so our views could have a voice. That was 35-40 years ago. Today, we have Rush Limbaugh. He is our voice. He is the counter-weight to the liberal media complex.

Rush didn't have to buy a newspaper or television network to be heard. By the force of his brilliance and talent, he took the dying AM radio band and turned it into the most consequential and thriving media forum in the nation. Everyday at noon eastern time, millions and millions of Americans tune into the Rush Limbaugh Show to listen to Rush deconstruct the day's events, skewer the liberal mind-set, and educate about America's greatness.

There is also the private Rush Limbaugh. Despite his enormous fame and busy schedule, Rush always has time to listen, give the best advice he can to those who solicit it, and lend a helping hand when needed. He is extraordinarily generous to many charities, including those which support our troops, law enforcement, and battle cancer.

His example gives us the courage to stand up for our principles and face down the vitriol of too many of our adversaries. And that’s what a leader does -- a conservative leader and a leader in the radio industry.

Mr. Levin is author of the New York Times bestseller, "Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America."
 

David Limbaugh...He gave traditional Americans their voice back, legitimizing and validating their heartfelt convictions and values. But he didn’t just defend conservative principles. He boldly, aggressively and unapologetically attacked the sacrosanct tenets and assumptions of liberalism and skewered its abundant hypocrisy on public airways that had heretofore been theirs alone. He did it with confidence, flare, intelligence, and humor, directly at their expense. And they permanently hate him for it, with a white hot, bitter intensity.

David Limbaugh is an attorney, syndicated columnist, and Rush Limbaugh's brother.
 

Ann Coulter...But the moment Rush became a huge success, liberals said he was just in it for the money!

Yes, what surer path to fame and fortune than announcing that you are a conservative and taking on the entire mainstream media while being repeatedly fired?

By being the first and the most successful public conservative, Rush made it leagues easier for those of us who followed him. Among other things, he flushed out liberals and forced them to deploy all their idiotic talking points against him. By now, we’ve heard the same denunciations so often, we can lip-sync liberal attacks on us.

Ann Coulter is Legal Affairs Correspondent for HUMAN EVENTS and author of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors," "Slander," ""How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)," "Godless," and most recently, "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans."

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