Our Journeys with Rush

On the anniversary of Rush's passing, we share our thoughts

Our Journeys with Rush

Today is the anniversary of Rush Limbaugh’s passing. While the great man is no longer with us, on the second anniversary of his passing, we wanted to share the impact that Rush made on our lives. One of us had the opportunity to meet the great man in person, the other only knew him through his words. Both of us were immeasurably impacted by Rush.

The Listener

My first memories of Rush Limbaugh come from when I was roughly ten years old. My dad had come home for lunch, something he did regularly, and had turned on the radio. I can still remember first hearing the sound of the late Mr. Limbaugh’s voice for the first time. I don’t remember what he said, other than it was something about how woeful the Republican party was. That registered with me.

I grew up in a conservative household. My parents and paternal grandparents were conservative Republicans, my maternal grandparents were Reagan Democrats. In my childhood mind, Republican meant good, and Democrat meant bad. But my dad was listening to some guy on the radio say the Republicans were not doing the right thing. As a kid who had volunteered for the Bush campaign just a few months before (to my eternal regret), I was confused. Why was my dad listening to a guy who said Republicans were weak? We were the good guys, right?

When I walked into the room, my dad turned the radio off. That made me even more curious. The next time I heard that voice, I sat at the top of the stairs and just listened. This time it was calling out the Democrats for their lunacy and desire to destroy America. Some senator or other had made a ridiculous comment on the “drive-by media” and Rush was taking it apart and showing how insane it was.  I had no idea what “drive-by media” meant but what the man on the radio was saying just made sense. I knew what a senator was, and my ten-year-old mind could not believe someone as intelligent and powerful (little did I know) could be so dense. Yet Rush had played the audio, so I knew they had said it.  So began my education in politics.

As a student, I rarely had time to listen to a full broadcast from behind the golden EIB microphone, but I would listen to segments with my dad at lunchtime, at first clandestinely, then openly as I got older. It was incredibly illuminating. We got a newspaper and it never talked about any of the things Rush was saying. I was a voracious reader and quickly began to realize that our local newspaper was part of the “drive-by media” that Rush so often chided for covering up for the left.

More importantly, I learned what a conservative was, what a leftist was, and how Washington politics worked. I learned that being a Republican did not mean you were one of the good guys, nor did it mean you had a spine. I learned that there were some leftists who were trying to destroy America and that they hated me and everything my family stood for. I learned that there were some leftists who had no interest in truth, just power. These revelations led me to begin to think more deeply about politics and elections. I began to educate myself about candidates, first for national, and later for local office.

Once I graduated college, Rush became a daily companion on my lunch break. I felt that the country was spinning wildly off course and Rush was one of the few voices of sanity. Everything I knew about how the country was supposed to work, fairly and without partiality, was being swept away. Rush provided both news and the background I needed to understand what was going on.  He felt less like a radio personality and more like a tutor, enlightening me about the political world. When I started working a night shift, the biggest benefit was being able to listen to Rush on my hour-long commute to work.  Even when my work changed again and I no longer had easy access to Rush’s live show, I still kept up with his work via clips on social media and periodic visits to the website when life allowed me time.

Because Rush was such a large part of my life, and my understanding of the world, he became something of an anchor to sanity. Even when my workplace was giving me DEI (diversity education inclusion) training, telling me I had to use preferred pronouns and let men go in the women’s bathroom, I had something to look forward to. If Rush was on the radio, there was still sanity somewhere in the world. In a sense, he represented hope as well. As long as Rush’s clear mind was still functioning, maybe people would start listening to him. Maybe the nation could still be saved.

Beyond just my attachment to him, Rush represented a massive political force. With his massive audience, he could mobilize opposition to the worst of the left’s machinations quickly and effectively. When the extreme left proposed some crazy scheme or other, Rush would be there to call it out. The political left hated Rush, but they also feared him. Because of his outsized political influence, he served as a societal anchor point. While the extreme left put tremendous effort into dragging the nation towards the abyss, Rush served as a significant political counterweight. When Rush passed away, that counterweight was removed and the acceleration toward the abyss has been obvious. His influence on American culture is unmatched by any other conservative figure, even Reagan. He singlehandedly created conservative talk radio and brought conservative thought to millions of people like me.

The Tech Whisperer

On February 17, 2021, we all received news that forever changed our hearts.  That news was the end of a friendship that began over 30 years ago.  We all got the news that Rush had passed away from his cancer.  Many of us who worked with him day in and day out spoke by phone and video conference over the next few weeks, still shocked, but sharing our recollections of the past few decades, trying to sort out what was to come next.. for us and for a world without his voice.  It was only a short time ago that his birthday had been celebrated on the air, with Rush as was his custom, objecting to ‘the staff’ taking notice of the day.  

My personal and professional relationship with Rush started by accident.  I had seen him on TV, I had read his books and listened to the radio show as I drove from place to place during the day, but I had no idea that a simple computer migration would alter the next 30 years.

Rush had been working with a computer company and salesperson that he met one day on the subway, in the early days at the WABC studios, where the show originated from in NY.  That salesperson came to me, the new tech guy in his shop, and asked how I felt about possibly helping Rush with a new computer migration.  He was going from a Macintosh IIFX to a new Macintosh Quadra 700, both at the studio and home.  After I agreed, we scheduled a day for each migration to take place.  Two days later, Rush called me at the office to go over the details of each of the locations, what was of highest importance and he reminded me what I already knew after speaking with the salesperson and others at the company - - no one had performed a trouble free service call, tech support process for him – ever.  The challenge was before me.  We had decided to take care of the studio first.  A few days later,  I arrived at the WABC radio studios for the first time.  I arrived at 3pm, just as Rush was finishing his show for the day and after a few min, after he made sure he had everything he needed, I stepped up to his computer made notes of what was of paramount importance and went to work.  About 2 hours later, after I transferred all of his data and the things important for all of the extra devices critical to Rush’s day to day operations, I ran some tests… accessing Compuserve, AOL, being able to print and scan.  Then Rush sat down and simulated his daily routine, checking everything.  A few days later we repeated the process at his New York City apartment.  A week after that, I received a note from Rush complimenting me, informing me that this was the first time that a transition to a new machine went without a hitch.  I was later informed that no one else was to be allowed to revisit his tech issues and that I had best make sure that I remain available for all future needs.  Soon after that, I was introduced to the rest of the staff and assigned to handle their technology needs as well. 

Since that point, through the years, it was my honor, my responsibility to make sure that Rush’s tech needs were always met to the best of anyone’s ability.  Rush loved technology. That came through on the air in many different ways through the years.  Rush wanted the best and fastest things available, always on the bleeding edge of available technology.  His use of technology to assist with everything he did evolved as quickly as new things were introduced.  The fastest dialup modems gave way to dsl, then T-1 and then fiber optic connections.  The Mac Quadra 700 got replaced by G3 based Macs, then G4’s followed by Intel Macs and Mac Pro’s.  Machines all wound up networked, even between places – home and office became one functionally – long before most people had any idea of what a VPN or a remote connection was.  Rush adapted to new technology very naturally.   I always thought that had he had the time and desire, there was nothing he could not figure out.  Fortunately for the conservative movement, Rush prioritized his political and social analysis and commentary.  Tech was a hobby, conservatism was his vocation.  That said, on more than one occasion, his insights and understanding of how things function led to solutions to any technical issues he encountered, even if he could not fully resolve the particular issue itself.  

Together we discovered many issues that required computer manufacturers to sit up, notice and then fix a problem for all of their customers.  On more than one occasion, his on air platform cut through red tape allowing many issues to be recognized for faster resolution. 

Rush had a way of bringing out the best in the people that worked with him (and for him).  That came through in everything that he did both on and off the air.  That is probably what I have missed the most over the last two years.  I miss his take on the latest developments coming from all the different tech companies, find myself wondering what he would have said about ChatGPT, his thoughts of the developing metaverse – almost as much as it would have been great to hear his thoughts on the speaker selection in the House of Representatives and all else going on in society today.

When Rush passed, it was like losing a mentor. Undoubtedly many of you feel the same. Rush was a mentor to a generation of conservative thinkers.   As we said in our Substack intro “We do not have Rush’s talent, on loan from God, however we do have the words he left behind to guide us.”  We have so many years of his statements and pronouncements to remind us of the conservative path. Like the nation, we miss Rush Limbaugh.

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