The Rush Limbaugh Show

In 1984 Rush Limbaugh started as a regular talk show host on AM radio station KFBK in Sacramento, California, after several years in the music radio business. His success at KFBK led him to WABC in New York City during the late 1980s. Limbaugh became syndicated on August 1, 1988 through the company Premiere Broadcasting, and his success in the radio talk show industry has grown ever since. As the largest conservative radio talk show in the United States, The Rush Limbaugh Show currently has an estimated twenty million listeners daily. The show has been known to garner calls from such influential, conservative politicians as Vice President Dick Cheney. The political views espoused on the show have been known to help boost voter turnouts for candidates affiliated with the Republican Party, and Limbaugh's influence has been the subject of much political controversy as a result. Ranking Democrat leaders in Congress, such as former Senator Tom Daschle from South Dakota, have on occasion blamed the Rush Limbaugh show for the political climate in the United States, and some have called for a left-wing/progressive talk show on AM radio to counter Limbaugh's influence.

Show airtime

The Rush Limbaugh show airs on approximately 640 AM radio affiliate stations nationwide, including radio stations that simultaneously broadcast audio streams on the Internet. The show airs live on weekdays from 12 noon to 3 p.m. ET. It is aired from wherever Limbaugh happens to be, usually his flagship station WABC in New York City or his home in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Show format

The show is usually split between call-in segments and monologues by Limbaugh. On very rare occasions, Limbaugh will have guests on his show.

Notable guests

In 1992, President George H. W. Bush made an appearance on Limbaugh's show.

Vice President Dick Cheney has made more than one appearance.

In 2004, President George W. Bush "called in" to a live broadcast during the week of the 2004 Republican National Convention to give a preview of his nomination acceptance speech.

Theme song issue

Almost from the start of his program, Limbaugh used an edited and looped version of the powerful instrumental riff from The Pretenders' "My City Was Gone" as the theme to his show. This song was written by Chrissie Hynde to bemoan the effects of overdevelopment on her native Ohio. Limbaugh loved the riff, hated the message, and thought he could both attract listeners and annoy opponents by playing it.

When a landmark copyright case was decided in the 1990s, musical artists gained control over their works when performed thematically. Briefly in 1999, Limbaugh was forced to suspend playing the song while negotiating with Hynde. Hynde eventually decided to allow Limbaugh to use it, with Limbaugh paying Hynde approximately $500,000/year which she donates to the animal rights organization PETA. Hynde explained that she doesn't agree with Limbaugh but her parents are big fans. [1]

Program staff

Bo Snerdly: The program observer, also known as James Golden
Koko: The Rush 24/7 Internet site webmaster. This is a nickname, given by Limbaugh when Koko put a gorilla suit on for a gag on Limbaugh's TV show.
Brian: The EIB network broadcast engineer
Dawn: Transcribes caller comments.
H.R. Kit Carson: "Chief of staff" (Based in New York -- all the others are based at EIB Southern Command)
Johnny Donovan: The program announcer, sometimes voices some of Paul Shanklin's parodies.

Stand-ins for Limbaugh

Every so often, Limbaugh is absent from his show, whether for various personal reasons or because of extended trips. For instance, in early 2005, Limbaugh took a week-long trip to Afghanistan to report on postwar conditions; he's also participated in various celebrity pro-am golf events. On those occasions, Limbaugh allows "EIB certified talkshow hosts" to fill in for him. Typically, these hosts are well-known conservatives. Some of the hosts that have been used in the past include:

Mark Belling: Hosts a radio show on WISN in Milwaukee.
Sean Hannity: Seldom substitutes for Rush, as he is now host of his own 3-hour radio show; co-host of Hannity and Colmes.
Roger Hedgecock: Currently the oft used stand-in, and possibly the most popular. Former mayor of San Diego, CA.
Tony Snow: Seldom substitutes for Rush now, as he is now host of his own 3-hour radio show. Former host of FOX News Sunday. Current host of a two-hour segment on Fox News each Saturday.
Tom Sullivan: Talk show host from KFBK in Sacramento, CA (Rush's "adopted hometown").
Dr. Walter E. Williams: Economics professor, and former chair of the Economics Department, at George Mason University in Virginia.

On certain holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, when Limbaugh is absent and no substitute is available, a "Best of" show will air.

Parodies

Sometimes the Rush Limbaugh Show will air political parodies from talented voice humorist Paul Shanklin, in conjunction with a variety of political news examined on the show. These satires range from parodies of well known songs to audio skits in which the voices of politicians are imitated by Shanklin. Such contributions from Paul Shanklin have been aired on the show since 1993, before which the parody contributions were largely from Paul Silhan.

Callers

In earlier years the show frequently aired callers who disagreed with Limbaugh's points of view. When it came time to cut end the call, Limbaugh would play his "caller abortion" sound effect – the sound of a vacuum cleaner together with a woman screaming. Later, caller abortions were dropped as a device.

Subsequently, opposing callers became harder to find and Limbaugh would attempt to recruit them over the air, saying "Anyone who disagrees, call and you'll go to the front of the queue." This effort was not generally successful, and currently the vast majority of callers to the show are Limbaugh supporters. (This trend in caller profiles is common to other politically-oriented radio talk shows as well.)

Jargon

Rush Limbaugh uses his own on-air jargon, some of which he invented and some of which he merely popularized:

A–D

Adult beverage: Alcoholic beverages, stated as such to avoid offending parents while on-air.
Algore: Former Vice President Al Gore. This nickname was originally used in a parody of Count Dracula involving "Count Taxula" (voiced so as to sound like Bill Clinton) and his loyal servant "Algore" (as in Igor). The nickname "Algore" was used extensively on the show during the U.S. presidential campaign in 2000.
Ashley Wilkes: 2004 presidential candidate and former general, Wesley Clark. Ashley Wilkes was a male character on "Gone with the Wind," described by Limbaugh as being somewhat of a "candy-ass."
Assume room temperature: To die, pass on.
Baghdad Jim: Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA).
Bubba: William Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States.
Black helicopter crowd: Conspiracy theorists
Breck Girl, The: 2004 vice presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards (D-NC).
Calypso Louie: Louis Farrakhan. This nickname was coined on the show in the context of his involvement in the Million Man March and refers to Farrakhan's career as a calypso singer before his religious conversion.
Chris Dodd, of waitress sandwich fame: Derived from an accusation that Senator Dodd (D-CT) sexually assualted a waitress with Senator Kennedy (D-MA) in a Washington, D.C. restaurant.
Clinton Library and Massage Parlor: The Clinton Library.
Clinton News Network, The: CNN
Club Gitmo: The U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba that holds suspected terrorists. Limbaugh believes that the terrorists are treated better than they deserve and that they live in better conditions than many servicemen in Iraq. Limbaugh has started selling a line of "Club Gitmo" clothing through his website.
Congressional Windbags: Loquacious congressmen who call for investigations and hearings when they are partly to blame.
Congressman William Jefferson Democrat Louisiana: Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA). Limbaugh always referred to Jefferson in this manner after Hurricane Katrina to make it a point that he did not amplify the fact that Congressman Jefferson is African-American. He did this to separate himself from the remainder of the media, which he claimed was making entirely too big of an issue of the fact that the population of New Orleans is predominantly black, and thereby blaming a delayed federal response time to the disaster on racism.
Dafizut: Deficit. Limbaugh would say this in parody of its pronunciation by then-Senator James Sasser of Tennessee in 1993.
Demonstrating absurdity by being absurd: Rush's way to parody, poke fun at, and debunk notable liberal figures. Limbaugh uses exaggerated responses to "point out the utter fatuousness of the liberal philosophy".
Dingy Harry: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
Dittoheads: Faithful listeners to The Rush Limbaugh Show.
Drive-by caller: A caller with an excellent point who does not have time enough to engage in on air discourse.

E–I

EIB: Excellence in Broadcasting Network
EIB Northern Command: Limbaugh's studio/broadcast complex in New York City.
EIB Southern Command: Limbaugh's studio/broadcast complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Emotional punditry: Advocacy for a particular objective using purely emotional pleas with little regard for logical arguments for/against the objective.
Environmentalist Wacko: A militant environmental activist, usually a Democrat, but sometimes a Green Party member, who is usually a member of PETA and/or other environmentally sensitive organizations.
Feminazi: Militantly pro-choice feminists.
Ferret-like Columnist, The: Paul Krugman, a columnist for The New York Times.
For those of you in Rio Linda or Palm Beach County…: This phrase is often used by Limbaugh as an introduction to an explanation of somewhat complicated subjects (and sometimes even simple subjects), insinuating that the listenership in Rio Linda, California is not very bright. This practice began after Limbaugh drove through Rio Linda and saw trash and cars on cinder blocks in front yards and he sarcastically stereotyped the residents as ignorant hillbillies needing extra help to understand concepts. Since the Florida butterfly ballot controversy during the 2000 Presidential Election, Limbaugh has also used West Palm Beach instead of or in addition to Rio Linda.
Formerly nicotine-stained fingers: Limbaugh's fingers, referring to his former cigarette-smoking habit. (Limbaugh still smokes cigars.)
Frenchurian Candidate, The: 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). See also "Jean Francois Kerry". The nickname parodies the title of the 1962 movie The Manchurian Candidate; a remake was released during the 2004 election campaign.
Fringe kooks of the Democratic Party: The ultra-left wing elements inside the Democratic party.
Fruited Plain, The: The United States of America.
General Dinkins: Former Mayor of New York City David Dinkins.
Governor Coomo: Former Governor of New York Mario Cuomo. Limbaugh uses this nickname in parody of the way Rev. Jesse Jackson pronounces Cuomo's name.
Golden EIB microphone: Limbaugh's microphone, which guest hosts have confirmed is actually made of gold
Gorbasm: A now dated reference to the mainstream media's perceived fawning obsession with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
Hand grenade with the bad haircut, The: Ross Perot
Hardboiled: The show Hardball with Chris Matthews.
Hillary Rodham Rodham: Former US First Lady and current US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). This name coined when Clinton demanded that the press use her maiden name in all references to her after her husband Bill Clinton was elected to the US Presidency in 1992. Limbaugh has since used this to imply that Clinton has been politically campaigning for US Presidency ever since 1992, at the expense of nominally estranging her from her husband. Limbaugh claims (tongue-in-cheek) that he uses the double Rodham to help publicize Ms. Clinton's maiden name to the press.
Hurricane Katrina vanden Heuvel: Hurricane Katrina, the August 2005 hurricane that devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States. The name is a reference to Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of the liberal magazine The Nation.
Hurricane X vanden Heuvel: Hurricane X. After referring to Hurricane Katrina as "Hurricane Katrina vanden Heuvel", Limbaugh began attaching "vanden Heuvel" to the names of other hurricanes; e.g., Hurricane Ophelia vanden Heuvel.

J–O

Jean Francois Kerry: 2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh uses the French analog of his first and middle name to mock Kerry's alleged elitist views and ancestral ties to French royalty.[2]
John Effing Kerry: 2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh uses the nickname to mock Kerry's use of the word "fuck" in a Rolling Stone interview. It also serves to mock Kerry's use of his middle initial "F." to emphasize a nominal similarity between "John F. Kerry" and "John F. Kennedy".
John Squid Kerry: 2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). The nickname started being used after it was learned that Kerry was eating squid with his back turned away from the TV at a Washington D.C. restaurant during President George W. Bush's speech after Hurricane Katrina. Kerry's camp criticized the speech, but he was purportedly still at the restaurant after the speech ended and the criticism came out.
Jumpin' Jim Jeffords: Senator Jim Jeffords (D-VT).
KOOKS (Keepers Of Odd Knowledge Society): Conspiracy theorists.
Larry King Alive: The show Larry King Live.
Laut, The: Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
Leaky Leahy: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The name is derived from Leahy's intentional leaking of classified material during his tenure on the intelligence committee.
Little General, The: Ross Perot
Lurch: 2004 Democratic US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Limbaugh noticed a similarity in appearance between Kerry and the Addams family character.
Mary Cute Little Baby Fat Landrieu: Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Limbaugh noted on the air that he thought she was cute, that her facial features still had baby fat. The support staff has not let him live it down.
Meet the Depressed: The show Meet the Press.
Miss America: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
MSNBS: MSNBC
NAALCP (National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People): The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Limbaugh says that "liberal" refers to the NAACP's support for left-wing African Americans, while denigrating African Americans on the right side of the political spectrum, such as Condoleezza Rice and Clarence Thomas.
NAG (National Association of Gals): A term for the National Organization for Women (NOW).
New Fallujah: Auburn Hills, Michigan, home of the Detroit Pistons. Limbaugh gave the city this nickname after the press related sports-related riots that took place there to the United States War on Terrorism.
Nikita Dean: Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Limbaugh assigned this nickname to Dean in the 2004 election cycle as a reference to Nikita Khrushchev. Limbaugh said Dean had positioned himself so far to the political left that Vladimir Putin was to his right.
Ninth Circus: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

P–Z

Peaceniks: Anti-war protestors and activists.
Perky One, The: NBC media representative Katie Couric.
Perotistas: Enthusiastic supporters of Ross Perot during the 1992 election.
Puff Daschle: Former Democrat Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD).
Punk, The: Former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe.
Ray School Bus Nagin: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. The name was coined after Nagin told the federal government to send as many buses as possible after Hurricane Katrina. It was later learned that hundreds of buses were available for use.
Sandy Burglar: Sandy Berger, National Security Advisor to President Clinton. The nickname was coined after Berger admitted to stealing (and destroying) classified documents from the National Archives.
Scruel: Limbaugh's term for "school". This is a portmanteau of "screw" and "school", reflecting Limbaugh's belief that many schools often fail to do their job and end up screwing students out of a meaningful education.
Seminar caller: Someone who telephones his show for the purpose of astroturfing. Limbaugh is often immediately suspicious of those callers who introduce themselves with the equivalent of "I love your show, I always agree with you, and I voted for Bush, but..."
Senator Depends: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The name is derived from Leahy's intentional leaking of classified material during his tenure on the intelligence committee.
Senator Sheets: Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), known to be a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. (Limbaugh claimed in his April 2005 newsletter that Senator Byrd was originally nicknamed "Sheets" by Democratic former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (D-MA).)
Senator Turban: Senator Richard Durbin, (D-IL). Limbaugh began using this moniker after opining that liberal Democrats in the U.S. Congress seemed to politically support Islamic terrorists rather than the United States Military fighting them in the Iraq War.
Slay the Nation: The show Face the Nation.
Stack of stuff: The pile of magazine and news clippings, faxes, and printed e-mail messages accumulated during show prep, background material generally related to the show's daily agenda. Also, a number of relevant web links offered to subscribers of his website, culled from a variety of current on-line news organizations, highlighting various issues of the day.
Swimmer, The: Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).
Talent on loan from God: Limbaugh's acknowledgement that all gifts are, in fact, temporary and a loan by the grace of God. Alternatively, an insinuation that Limbaugh's talent is divine in nature
"The uhh Reverennnnnd Jacksonnnnn": A William F. Buckley, Jr. impression. The impression is derived from Buckley's accent, in particular during an interview with Jesse Jackson.
"The views on this program are right...": Limbaugh often makes this statement at the beginning of his program in response to disclaimers some stations air before his program that his views do not represent those of the station in question.
"Updates" on everything from the Kennedy family to homelessness.
Wolf Blitzed: CNN reporter and newscaster Wolf Blitzer.

Nicknames for Limbaugh

Throughout the years on the Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh has established several nicknames with which he describes himself on the air.

"El Rushbo"
"Harmless lovable little fuzzball"
"Maha Rushie"
"The most dangerous man alive" -- Rush was called "the most dangerous man alive" by someone else, but kept the title throughout the mid-90's as a badge of honor before ultimately passing the title on to Bill Clinton.
"The Epitome of Morality and Virtue"
"Posterboy for the American Way of Life"
"Lover of Mankind, Protector of Motherhood, Supporter of Fatherhood (in Most Cases), And General All Round Good Guy" (sic)-- Rush's self-description to liberals who say he's a heartless conservative.

Show history

This section details only events which were primarily about the show and not about Limbaugh himself; of course, because Limbaugh and his show are so intertwined, it can be difficult to separate the two. Please see Rush Limbaugh for events in Limbaugh's life which may have impacted the show.

Allegations of advertising abuse

Limbaugh attracted widespread support and attention in 1998 when he complained that some radio stations were shortening his programs by cutting out his dramatic pauses to make room for more commercials.

Armed Forces Radio controversy

On May 26, 2004, the article "Rush's Forced Conscripts" appeared on the online news and opinion magazine Salon.com. The article discussed the controversy surrounding the fact that American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), (which describes itself as "[providing] stateside radio and television programming, 'a touch of home', to U.S. service men and women, DoD civilians, and their families serving outside the continental United States"), carries the first hour of Limbaugh's show. Melvin Russell, director of AFRTS, defended Limbaugh's presence, by pointing to Limbaugh's high ratings in the US: "We look at the most popular shows broadcast here in the United States and try to mirror that. [Limbaugh] is the No. 1 talk show host in the States; there's no question about that. Because of that we provide him on our service."

Critics have pointed out that other programs, such as the Howard Stern show, which draws eight million listeners a week is absent from AFRTS. Other claims - for example, that there is no political counterbalance to Limbaugh on AFRTS - have been rebutted by Byron York, a columnist for the predominantly conservative National Review: "American military men and women abroad have access, for example, to the talk show of liberal host Diane Rehm ... Jim Hightower and CBS News anchorman Dan Rather."

On June 14, 2004, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced an amendment to the 2004 Defense Authorization bill that called for AFRTS to fulfill its stated goal of providing political balance in its news and public affairs programming. The amendment passed unanimously in the Senate. Limbaugh responded by calling the move "censorship". On his June 17 radio show, he commented that: "This is a United States senator [Tom Harkin] amending the Defense appropriations bill with the intent being to get this program - only one hour of which is carried on Armed Forces Radio - stripped from that network." The amendment never became law. As of 2005, the first hour of Limbaugh's show is still on AFRTS. Rush Limbaugh visited US forces in Afghanistan in 2005.

Wikipedia mentions

On April 19, 2005, Limbaugh mentioned Wikipedia in the final minutes of his show, calling it "… some kind of left wing Internet encyclopedia", in response to the viewing of Pope Benedict XVI Wikipedia Article (most likely dated April 19 2005 at 2:52 PM EST).

On April 22, 2005, during his radio program, Rush retracted his previous assertion that Wikipedia was "… some kind of left wing Internet encyclopedia" by stating that he had received incorrect information from one of his staff members.

On May 3, 2005, Rush said that he would enter the words afristocracy and ghettocracy into Wikipedia so that they would spread.

On June 21, 2005, Rush mentioned Wikipedia in reference to the LA Times experiment with a wiki editorial page in addition to mentioning that his own profile was inaccurate in some respects.

External links

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com -- Website of the Rush Limbaugh Show and Rush 24/7 content service
http://www.paulshanklin.com -- Website of Paul Shanklin
http://www.paulsilhan.com -- Website of Paul Silhan