Radio provocateur Rush Limbaugh dies at 70. ‘Conservative movement lost an icon’

Rush Limbaugh, who became a conservative icon through his radio show, died Wednesday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 70.

A native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Limbaugh became a pioneer in radio. His nationally syndicated “The Rush Limbaugh Show” launched in 1988 with a heavy focus on conservative politics. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year after he announced he had cancer.

Limbaugh jumped to national fame while in Sacramento, California, with his run on KFBK from 1984 to 1988 catapulting him to a larger audience. He took his jokes about Sacramento suburb Rio Linda with him to the national stage.

Limbaugh leaves a legacy within the radio industry and politics. His show was the most listened to talk radio broadcast in the country, according to USA Today.

But his controversial views were often polarizing, racist and misogynistic. One of his frequent targets was former President Barack Obama. In 2008, he chuckled on air after a caller compared the president to cartoon monkey Curious George. He often referred to feminists as ‘feminazis’ and called AIDS ‘the Rock Hudson disease.’

His influence was critical in helping Republicans take over Congress in 1994, ultimately resulting in the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton.

There was an outpouring of support on social media Wednesday after the news of his death.

Limbaugh briefly left radio in 1979 to work for the Kansas City Royals as director of promotions before returning to radio in the ‘80s as an on-air host at KFBK in Sacramento.

He is a member of the Radio Hall of Fame and National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

When Limbaugh received the Medal of Freedom last year, then-President Donald Trump said Limbaugh was “beloved by millions of Americans.”

In 2006, Limbaugh was arrested following a three-year investigation in a prescription fraud case. A plea deal was later reached, as Limbaugh sought treatment for drug addiction, according to ABC News.

After the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Limbaugh dismissed the notion that the rioters should be condemned and compared them to the colonists that sparked the American Revolution, The Hill reported.

This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Radio provocateur Rush Limbaugh dies at 70. ‘Conservative movement lost an icon’."