Longtime conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh announced on Monday that he is fighting “advanced lung cancer.” This is a devastating blow to the conservative movement and to the millions of listeners who have tuned in to listen to Limbaugh over the last few decades.
Limbaugh has faced a good deal of criticism over the last few years for his support of President Trump, and often with good reason. But Limbaugh’s conservative legacy cannot be understated. He ushered in a new era of conservative marketing in the radio industry, completely transforming the way talk show hosts communicate with listeners and generate audiences.
This back-and-forth reshaped the political landscape because Limbaugh gave long-ignored conservatives what they had been looking for: a voice, a representative, someone who would hear them out, while also telling them what they wanted to hear.
Limbaugh’s method of “infotainment,” as author Brian Rosenwald dubbed it, has been both a blessing and a curse. In one sense, it helped the Republican Party expand into the homes of millions of people who did not fit into the Beltway’s idea of intellectual conservatism. There is also an argument to be made that “infotainment,” or the ability to entertain while reaffirming ideological beliefs already held by listeners, has resulted in rhetorical laziness.
Though nearly every single pundit is guilty of this to a certain extent, it would be unfair to accuse Limbaugh of simply taking the easy way out. In 2016, for example, he took a chance on the dark horse candidate, and as a result, he’s been widely credited for Trump’s rise. It’s not that he endorsed Trump. But Limbaugh didn’t oppose him, either, unlike his fellow right-wing hosts, such as Mark Levin and Glenn Beck.
Limbaugh has been a staple figure in the conservative movement for decades, and I hope he continues to stand tall and fight through this cancer diagnosis. I remember hearing the unmistakable bass line of the Pretenders’ My City Was Gone long before I was interested in politics or conservatism. I might not agree with Limbaugh on everything, but I still owe him a lot. We all do.
