Rush Limbaugh

Guide Note

Conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh hosts the daily Rush Limbaugh Show, syndicated nationally by Clear Channel.

Fast Facts

1. Born January 12, 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
2. Listenership: Up to 20 million per week
3. 2003: Revealed prescription drug addiction
4. Famous for smoking cigars
5. Carried on over 650 radio stations, as well as the Armed Forces Radio Network

Limbaugh started doing radio as a teenager, broadcasting under the name "Rusty Sharpe." Through most of the '70s, he worked as a DJ on music radio, before taking a break to work with the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

In 1987, the FCC ended the policy known as the "Fairness Doctrine," which demanded that media utilizing the public airwaves (such as radio) to air editorials must provide time for contrary opinions.

This meant that Limbaugh, currently working in talk radio at KFBK in Sacramento, California, could introduce his personal opinion and style into his show. His audience grew quickly, and soon he was broadcasting the nationally-syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show out of New York City.

Limbaugh's support was considered instrumental in the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, and incoming representatives called themselves "The Dittohead Caucus," appropriating a term for his listeners. More recently, Limbaugh has introduced a proposal called "Operation Chaos," in which he encourages listeners to vote for whichever Democratic primary candidate is currently behind in the polls, in the hopes of extending the fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as long as possible.

Because Limbaugh's style is purposefully aggressive, even humorously so, many of his on-air statements have sparked controversy. During the 2006 midterm elections, he mocked a political ad featuring Parkinsons-afflicted actor Michael J. Fox, touting Claire McCaskill's support for stem cell research, and implied that Fox was faking symptoms to engender sympathy.

Limbaugh's personal life is not without scandal as well. The National Enquirer reported on October 3, 2003 that Limbaugh was addicted to prescription painkillers (a charge Limbaugh confirmed to listeners a week later), and in April of 2006, he was arrested for "doctor shopping" to obtain the pills. Later that year, he was detained at Palm Beach International Airport after Viagra pills prescribed under another name were found in his luggage.