By all accounts i have seen, Limbaugh was a sweet lil' teddy bear off air. Sure, no doubt he had his little locker room talk when rolling with the big boys, but he didnt have to impress them. Limbaugh was the kingmaker. When conservative bigwigs hung out with Limbaugh, they had THEIR hands out, not the other way around.
That being the case, Limbaugh just did not give a shit. He would say ANYTHING on air he thought fit the character and the strategy. The guy could influence public policy with an hour of pretty good acting.
It's too bad he didnt use his talents for something better. But hey...the more nutso he got on air, the bigger the checks. You can guess the rest.