{"id":384944,"date":"2021-03-05T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?p=384944"},"modified":"2021-03-08T16:08:57","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T21:08:57","slug":"its-open-line-friday-what-was-your-limbaugh-lightbulb-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2021\/03\/05\/its-open-line-friday-what-was-your-limbaugh-lightbulb-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Open Line Friday! What Was Your Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

KEN: It is Open Line Friday. It\u2019s a special Open Line Friday. What was your Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment? We couldn\u2019t help but think about how many of those there were, and how many times people would be in school, in college, or maybe watching the news.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d see something, they\u2019d think it was legit, and then on their way home or at the lunch hour they\u2019d hear Rush actually give us the true facts on the issue. For many, that was a Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment. Go ahead and play cut 2, Mike.<\/p>\n

RUSH: If you think back… This is something I\u2019ve always said, think back as an adult to when you were in school. Think back to who your favorite teacher was — or your best teacher. It probably was not somebody you liked, but they got more out of you than you thought you had.<\/p>\n

They enabled you to learn more about yourself than you knew. They\u2019re rare. People that are that good at motivating and inspiring are rare. In many cases, you hope it\u2019s parents — and, in many cases, it is. But in a lot of cases, it happens outside the family as well or in some cases only.<\/p>\n

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KEN: How many times has Rush been that teacher? There were so many that I lost track of the beautiful phone calls a few weeks ago on this very show where men and women both would call and remember fatherly advice from Rush, because he became a father figure to many or a professor to many. We\u2019ve often said that imagine if the news media just shut up for a minute and listened.<\/p>\n

They could have learned some things from Rush and his analysis and the fact that so many people loved him. They could have learned something. But they were so busy, like they are doing now, banning and censoring and attacking. It\u2019s 800-282-2882. Open Line Friday. Let\u2019s go to the Dan, Oklahoma City. Dan, welcome to the EIB Network.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, thank you, Ken. Two things I want to say. First of all, one of the things that really put the nail in the coffin for me on where I stood economically, is when Rush had his TV show, he played John Kennedy giving a speech at the press corps and talking about how he was gonna lower taxes, I think by 40%, because there wasn\u2019t enough revenue going to Washington, D.C., and to stimulate the economy, that\u2019s how he was gonna do it.<\/p>\n

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Rush said that his cabinet went through the roof. They were mad. Kennedy just got up and said it without really consulting with them, and sure enough, it worked just that way. So that was a really enlightening point that I\u2019ve used many times. Another thing is I do a health and fitness radio show. I\u2019ve been doing it since March of 1997.<\/p>\n

I would not have that show if it wasn\u2019t for Rush, and yet Rush has… You know, I don\u2019t do a political show. I just teach people how to stay healthy. Rush is the best example of creation of wealth, \u2019cause not only did he cut a path through the jungle for people who want to do political conservative talk, but for people that had nothing to do with that.<\/p>\n

He created it. He made talk radio a viable outlet for so many people. People are doing shows about dogs, about cooking, all these different things that had nothing to do with politics but if it wasn\u2019t for Rush, it wouldn\u2019t make sense. So I wanted to thank him.<\/p>\n

KEN: You are spot on. Go ahead.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I wish I\u2019d gotten in to thank him on that and I wish he would have written… He may have. I haven\u2019t read his Rush Revere books. I wish he\u2019d have written on the creation of wealth, \u2019cause liberals, from my experience, sort of think there\u2019s one pie out there, and if I have more than the other person, that other person has less. Instead of understanding how wealth actually creates and expands for everybody.<\/p>\n

You know, as Ronald Reagan said, “Lifting the ships or…” That\u2019s John Kennedy, water rises that lifts the ships for everyone. And Rush is such an extraordinary example of that, just opening the outlets for all these different expressions and even people that probably don\u2019t agree with Rush now have ways of expressing it because of him.<\/p>\n

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KEN: Dan, I\u2019m so glad you called because you hit the nail on the head about the trailblazing nature of what Mr. Limbaugh accomplished. I love when you said “cutting the way you look at the jungle,” because that\u2019s exactly what had to happen. The minute Rush Limbaugh took off — meaning you, the listener, started to engage, there were 50 stations.<\/p>\n

Then there were a hundred, then there were 200, and you know the rest of the story. The minute that happened, everybody was freaking out. I love the fact that you brought up Kennedy\u2019s speech because if Kennedy were around today, as you know, he\u2019d be a conservative. Strong military. Stay out of people\u2019s business around the world.<\/p>\n

Lower taxes; people are incentivized to work more. Don\u2019t penalize them when they succeed. Those are all what Dan just pointed out about the pie analogy, which so many conservatives know about. There\u2019s this myth that, like Dan said, if your neighbor is doing real well, somehow he\u2019s taking it out of your pocket. It\u2019s just the opposite of that, and I just wish it was being taught more in schools. One of the coolest things for me, as a Rush listener over the decades, was hearing young people call and learn conservatism firsthand.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

KEN: We are looking for your Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment, that Rush comment or segment where you realized, “Oh, my gosh. This guy gets it! (sputtering) I… I gotta… I gotta continue listening to this guy. I gotta spread the word about this guy.” Let\u2019s go to the free state of Texas. This is Casey. Hi, Casey. You\u2019re on the EIB Network.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hi. How are you?<\/p>\n

KEN: I\u2019m feeling good all under. I\u2019m so glad you called.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Good. My lightbulb moment is kind of a different one. I was driving down the highway in 1992, and I was home from college with my dad, and I heard Rush talking about how women belong behind an ironing board and some other stuff —<\/p>\n

KEN: (laughing)<\/p>\n

CALLER: — and I was like, “Who is this guy?” I couldn\u2019t believe it. You know, here I am trying to get through college, and he\u2019s talking about how I belong behind an ironing board. But it took me a couple years to come around, to understand his sense of humor — and, boy, do I miss it.<\/p>\n

KEN: Isn\u2019t it phenomenal, though, how many people won\u2019t even take the time like you did? You had wisdom then and, of course, your father did for having it on but —<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yes. (giggles)<\/p>\n

KEN: — not take the time to appreciate conservative humor. We are among the most self-effacing… We like to make fun and have a blast with everything. It\u2019s such a… Not only is it an icebreaker, but it\u2019s such a learning tool. Like you know now exactly where Rush Limbaugh stood on everything and he wrapped it in that hyperbole for effect because he\u2019s an entertainer.<\/p>\n

He said in an interview I saw… I saw an interview 10 years ago, I forget what show, and he said, “At the end of the day, it\u2019s show business. It\u2019s great that people are learning, but they need to laugh and be entertained,” and here you are.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Definitely. It took me awhile to figure it out, but when I started hearing about feminazis and other stuff, I started laughing and understood it. But he taught me a lot, and I do miss him. But can I say one other thing just real quick?<\/p>\n

\"\"KEN: Sure.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I don\u2019t know if people are aware of this, but The Sunrise Movement is out there, and I think they\u2019re the ones guiding Biden\u2019s climate agenda. Last night on a webcast, they were talking about how they want $10 trillion over 10 years —<\/p>\n

KEN: (whistles)<\/p>\n

CALLER: — and they want that to be passed by the end of April. So —<\/p>\n

KEN: Oh. Wow.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yeah. It\u2019s crazy. And Ayanna Pressley was on the call, but, yeah, $10 trillion over 10 years, and they want $50 million federally paid union jobs created.<\/p>\n

KEN: Well, this was —<\/p>\n

CALLER: So it\u2019s worse than we think.<\/p>\n

KEN: I want to thank you, Casey, \u2019cause it was a lovely call. It was a bonus call. We got the Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment and we also got the update out of Texas. One of the things that I found so confusing about the agenda of the left is why would you not want America to be energy independent? It\u2019s a simple question.<\/p>\n

I think if you have any liberal friends left… I have very few friends in general. No, liberal friends. If you have liberal friends, ask them that question. Why would you want us to be dependent on a Middle Eastern country or a South American country or whatever? Nothing against those countries. Let me ask you this: As conservatives, you don\u2019t like to be dependent on anybody.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like to be dependent on anyone. The more dependent you are — and I\u2019m gonna say the S-word. It\u2019s gonna trigger some people, especially white woke men. The more dependent on someone you are, the closer you get to the definition of being a slave, and that is the furthest thing from conservatism. Rush was such an evangelist of preaching responsibility, thinking with your own brain.<\/p>\n

Independence, independence is a critical part of conservatism. It is a building block of conservatism. So would you rather have, you know, a little bit more but all of it was given to you — or, worse, all of it was taken from someone else and given to you? Conservatives are not comfortable with that, and I never could understand that. That\u2019s why the American First thing always confused me.<\/p>\n

To me, it was refreshing. Because when you look at most people, whether it\u2019s taking their kid to a Little League game, whether it\u2019s their alma mater… I mean, look, I know there\u2019s a lot of college graduates in this audience. I graduated from North Carolina State. But some people are so over the top, right? They\u2019re so over the top with their team.<\/p>\n

You know, it\u2019s been 78 years; their whole car is covered with stickers. They\u2019re wearing all the stuff. You know the person, right? They want that team to win no matter what. “I hope my team pounds that other team into the ground!” They\u2019re yelling at the TV set. You get 45-year-old women that could go and coach college football, they know so much about their team.<\/p>\n

Yet when you say to those same people, America needs to be first. We have to have the brightest minds. We have to have the best educational experiences. When we invite people into our country, we love the fact that they want to immerse themselves in what is the greatness of America. They look at you like you\u2019re crazy. They\u2019ll be all, “I don\u2019t know about that. Isn\u2019t that…?” It\u2019s no different than saying, “Go team. I hope you destroy the other team.” We just have to transfer some of this enthusiasm into the historical greatness of our country.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

KEN: What was your Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment? Let\u2019s go to Mary in Cleveland, Ohio. Hi, Mary. You\u2019re on the EIB Network.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hi, Ken. I\u2019m a 10-year listener, first-time caller. First of all, I\u2019d like to say mega dittos — mega eternal dittos — to our Rush and prayers to Kathryn. I am a police officer here in Ohio in a small town. I work second shift, and my parents came from Mexico about 60 years ago. We always voted Democrat because that\u2019s what we were supposed to do.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what my dad told us to do and that\u2019s what we did. Every day when I would come on shift, I would go to the station, and our maintenance man would always be listening to Rush. I would sometimes just shake my head and say, “Why do you listen to him?” and he said, “Have you ever listened to Rush Limbaugh?” I said, “Oh, he\u2019s a blowhard” or a know-it-all or I don\u2019t know what things I said to him. But the maintenance man said, “Do me a favor, please. Listen to one show.” That was the lightbulb. Ten years of listening to Rush after one show.<\/p>\n

KEN: One show.<\/p>\n

CALLER: One show. And then the next day I found out to the next show and then the next day and then the next day. And then 10 years later, I feel lost… I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m afraid for our country. I mean, he was my beacon. He —<\/p>\n

KEN: But you are not lost. You are a leader. You called up, you\u2019re in law enforcement, you\u2019re a woman, and you\u2019re a conservative American leader. I mean, that\u2019s how you just spoke. You just spoke as if Rush Limbaugh was speaking. So that\u2019s what happened over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I mean, the way people describe Rush as just a gentleman. You know, as I was listening to him, he didn\u2019t put the left down. He never did. He didn\u2019t have to do that. He was just such a kind soul and a gentleman, and he\u2019s going to be so greatly missed. And I\u2019m afraid for our country. But I am thankful and appreciative for the time we had with him. And I certainly appreciate all you do as well, Ken.<\/p>\n

KEN: Well, thank you for that. And, Mary, we want to thank you and remind you that there are millions of people that feel the same way you do. And you are in a position where your knowledge is touching people in such a positive way. It\u2019s thrilling to hear from law enforcement, and you\u2019ve uplifted everybody today.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

KEN: Open Line Friday. What was your Limbaugh Lightbulb Moment? Scott in Columbia, Missouri. Scott, welcome to the EIB Network.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hey. (garbled) My first time would be actually I was in college watching late-night TV, and I saw Rush\u2019s show and his one-week anniversary show —<\/p>\n

KEN: I remember that. (laughing)<\/p>\n

CALLER: The minute I saw it, it was so funny. He was like celebrating that he made it one week, he had a one-week anniversary.<\/p>\n