For some reason listening to a rich guy gripe about rich people problems did not hold any sort of appeal. I saw him once walking down the street in West Palm Beach with an actual entourage of toadies puffed up like some kind of rock star. What the hell does a guy like that know about the problems of the working class people he exhorts to vote for plutocrats?
Maybe you should ask him- or listen when he's talked about his journey to fame and fortune. He has a pretty compelling story to tell, but, he rarely talks about his past IMS. He started, after dropping out of college, as a baseball announcer- he isn't a lot different in background than Andrew Wilkow though Wilkow did get a degree in journalism from a college in Fla.
Early life
Limbaugh was born on January 12, 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri to parents Rush Hudson Limbaugh Jr. and Mildred Carolyn (née Armstrong) Limbaugh. He and his younger brother David were born into the Limbaugh family; his father was a lawyer and a U.S. fighter pilot who served in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His mother was from Searcy, Arkansas. The name "Rush" was originally chosen for his grandfather to honor the maiden name of a family member, Edna Rush.[8]
Limbaugh is partly of German ancestry.[9] The family includes many lawyers, including his grandfather, father and brother; his uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr., was a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. His cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., is a judge in the same court, appointed by George W. Bush. Limbaugh's grandfather, Rush Limbaugh Sr., was a Missouri prosecutor, judge, special commissioner, member of the Missouri House of Representatives in the 1930s and longtime president of the Missouri Historical Society.[10]
In 1969, Limbaugh graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School.[citation needed] He played football.[11][12] During this time, at age 16 he worked his first radio job at KGMO-AM, a local radio station in Cape Girardeau. He used the airname Rusty Sharpe having found "Sharpe" in a telephone book.[8][13] Limbaugh later cited Chicago DJ Larry Lujack as a major influence on him, "the only person I ever copied."[14] Because of his parents' desire to see him attend college, he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University but dropped out after two semesters. According to his mother, "he flunked everything [...] he just didn't seem interested in anything except radio."[8][15] Biographer Zev Chafets believes that a large part of Limbaugh's life has been dedicated to gaining his father's respect and approval.[16]
Career
1971–1988: Early radio career
In February 1971, after dropping out of university, the 20-year-old Limbaugh accepted an offer to DJ at
WIXZ-AM, a
Top 40 station in
McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He adopted the airname "Bachelor Jeff" Christie and worked afternoons before moving to morning drive.
[17] The station's general manager compared Limbaugh's style at this time to "early
Imus".
[18] In 1973, after eighteen months at WIXZ, Limbaugh was fired from the station due to "personality conflict" with the program director. He then started a nighttime position at
KQV-AM in Pittsburgh, succeeding
Jim Quinn.
[19] In late 1974, Limbaugh was dismissed after new management put pressure on the program director to fire him. Limbaugh recalled the general manager telling him that he would never land success as an air personality and suggested a career in radio sales.
[20] After rejecting his only offer at the time, a position in
Neenah, Wisconsin, Limbaugh returned to living with his parents in Cape Girardeau.
[19] During this time, he became a lifelong fan of the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
[21][22][23]
In 1975, Limbaugh began an afternoon show at the Top 40 station
KUDL in
Kansas City, Missouri. He soon became the host of a
public affairs talk program that aired on weekend mornings which allowed him to develop his style and present more controversial ideas.
[24] In 1977, he was let go from the station but remained in Kansas City to start an evening show at KFIX. The stint was short-lived, however, and disagreements with management led to his dismissal weeks after.
[25] By this time, Limbaugh had become disillusioned with radio and felt pressure to pursue a different career. He looked back on himself as "a moderate failure [...] as a deejay".
[26] In 1979, he accepted a part-time role in group sales for the
Kansas City Royals baseball team which developed into a full-time position as director of group sales and special events. He worked from the
Royals Stadium.
[27] There he developed a close friendship with then-Royals star third baseman and future
Hall of Famer George Brett; the two remain close friends.
[28] Limbaugh claimed that business trips to Europe and Asia during this time developed his conservative views as he considered these countries having lower standards of living than the US.
[29]
In November 1983, Limbaugh returned to radio with a year's stint at
KMBZ-AM in Kansas City. He decided to drop his on-air moniker and broadcast under his real name.
[30] He was fired from the station, but weeks later he landed a spot on KFBK-AM in Sacramento, California, replacing
Morton Downey Jr. The show launched on October 14, 1984.
[31] The repeal of the
Fairness Doctrine—which had required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast—by the
FCC on August 5, 1987 meant stations could broadcast editorial commentary without having to present opposing views.
Daniel Henninger wrote, in a
Wall Street Journal editorial, "
Ronald Reagan tore down this wall (the Fairness Doctrine) in 1987 ... and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the
East Germany of liberal media domination.
Rush Limbaugh - Wikipedia
