Why is limbaugh still alive

He had been suffering from lung cancer. Best known as the host of the long-running talk radio programme The Rush Limbaugh Show, he was a towering figure in the conservative movement for years. But he was as controversial as he was influential, accused of voicing racist, sexist and homophobic views throughout his career.

The climate change denier peddled numerous conspiracy theories on the air, staunchly opposed immigration, and was a hard-line advocate for US exceptionalism. He was also a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump. Speaking on Fox News, Mr Trump called the radio host "irreplaceable". Born in Missouri on 12 January , Limbaugh first began working in radio at his local station when he was in high school. After graduating in , he started at Southeast Missouri State University but dropped out and took his first job at a music radio station in Pennsylvania.

Limbaugh initially struggled to succeed in broadcasting. He was fired from his first two jobs. He became the host of a public affairs talk show in Kansas City but again lost his position. In , he began working for the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

During this time he took trips to Europe and Asia, experiences Limbaugh later said reinforced his belief in US exceptionalism. Why is this bedroom so damned old-fashion and doesn't work? What the hell is this?

When he was 9, he got a toy radio as a gift and began "broadcasting" on AM frequencies in his home, entertaining his family playing DJ with his records.

In high school, he worked as a DJ at a station co-owned by his father. He lasted only one year at Southeast Missouri State University before leaving to pursue a career in radio. It did not go well at first. He was fired from stations in Missouri and Pennsylvania for being too controversial as a news commentator. Within a year, he was Sacramento's top radio host. The repeal of the Federal Communications Commission's Fairness Doctrine in gave Limbaugh his head to broadcast his controversial opinions without having to present opposing views.

In July , he launched his own show on a talk station in New York City, and he was off to the races: His star was rising, and people noticed. His stance: conservative.

His persona: comic blowhard. His style: a schizoid spritz, bouncing between earnest lecturer and political vaudevillian. Limbaugh demonstrated his fervent support for the Persian Gulf War by ridiculing anyone who sought peace.

His show was moved to stations with larger audiences until Limbaugh was broadcasting on more than stations nationwide. The election of President Bill Clinton in only fueled the possibilities of lacerating satire aimed at Democrats.

Ever since, Limbaugh maintained his position as the king of talk radio while fending off multiple flaps over controversial things he said on the air, about racial and ethnic minorities, feminism and the notion of sexual consent , environmentalism and climate change, his admiration for Trump and his disdain for President Barack Obama ; Limbaugh was an on-air superspreader of the "birtherism" lie that Obama was not born in the USA, and called activist women "feminazis.

Some of the harsh things he said, including blatant bigotry, helped fuel his popularity. When actor Michael J. As the AIDS epidemic raged in the s, he made dying a punchline. He called year-old Chelsea Clinton a dog. Most of the controversies rolled off him, except for Sandra Fluke , a Georgetown University law student who testified in Congress in in support of mandating insurance coverage for contraceptives.

Limbaugh mocked her, suggesting this view made her a "slut" and a "prostitute. The outcry that followed kicked off boycotts by major sponsors of talk radio, even though Limbaugh issued a rare apology for "insulting word choices. Now he's been forgiven because of what he's done for the industry that outweighs that. In between doing his show and advising Republican presidents and candidates, Limbaugh wrote best-selling books "The Way Things Ought to Be" in , followed in by "See, I Told You So" , including a series of children's books.

Chafets, who grew up in Michigan, remembers when he first heard Limbaugh on the radio as he was driving one day near Detroit. And that shocked people," Chafets said. I actually pulled over to listen to what he was saying.

Or freedom-loving radio hosts. It was behavioral scientists William von Hippel and Robert Trivers who first argued that self-deception evolved to help people better spread their lies and have more confidence doing so. I would venture to say that the reason Limbaugh so successfully spread lies among his listeners was that he so spectacularly believed them.

Thank the evolution of the human psyche for that one! So, what can we do about these self-deceivers spreading lie after lie? But I also have a strategy that has to do with why I started writing a book about honesty right after Trump got elected president.

It starts with noticing your own. But it will help you be accountable to you. Judi Ketteler frequently writes about self-awareness. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Share this —. Follow think.