I was asked a few months ago by a prominent name in broadcasting who could replace Rush Limbaugh. I said, "There is no one who can replace him. It’s just not possible."
That question has been asked for years, but not until a year ago did it become real.
Rush Limbaugh was the right person who came along at the right time with the right skillset.
No talk show host will spur the creation of "Rush Rooms" at restaurants where patrons could eat and enjoy his radio show. Radio had not been the focus of the American people since they gathered around the radio in the evening before television came about.
No radio host will ever fill arenas with a "Rush to Excellence Tours." No one will ever create a national event like "Dan’s Bake Sale."
We’ll never see another talk show host who impacted and connected with people including some of the biggest names in political history.
I will never forget when Rush read Ronald Reagan’s announcement that he had Alzheimer’s.
Ronald Reagan trusted Rush Limbaugh to tell the world in a graceful and powerful way that he was leaving public life.
I was a 23-year-old recent graduate in 1989 when I started writing for Rush. I had a friend in NYC who was working for WPLJ just down the hall from WABC. I asked him, "Do you suppose Rush will run my comedy?" He introduced me to Johnny Donovan and Kit Carson, and the rest is history. I wrote and voiced comedy bits for Rush for over 20 years.
The greatest thrill of my life was when Rush would open his show with one of my parodies. When Rush included two of my scripts in his first book, I was honored.
One of the hallmarks of Rush’s program was using absurdity to point out the absurd.
He also did a brilliant job of making a point with humor. Rush did all of this for over 30 years while suffering withering criticism and demonization from the left every day of his professional life, yet he was able to crack the mic as a happy warrior every weekday. Donald Trump was consumed by negative criticism for five years. Rush endured it for 30.
I can honestly say, I never got tired of hearing his voice.
When I heard "My City Was Gone" by the Pretenders at the beginning of his show, I knew I was going to hear his unique take on the day’s events.
I didn’t listen to him for "how to think." I listened for his opinion, his humor and his connection to everything that was happening in the country and the world.
It’s not often you can have a radio franchise that continued to grow over 30 years into its syndication.
Without Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck would probably still be a morning music jock. Ben Shapiro might be a lawyer. Mark Levin might be a jurist. Michael Savage might just have been grumpy old guy.
There would be no Fox News or Newsmax.
There would be no conservative blogosphere.
There would be no "Rush Babies" raised in their car seats with the sound of Rush Limbaugh blaring over the radio as parents drove them from here to there.
There would be no Drudge Report, Breitbart, National Review, Twitchy, PJ Media, Gateway Pundit…I could go on and on.
Rush Limbaugh was to spoken word radio what Elvis Presley was to music.
Rush Limbaugh was to radio what Tom Brady has been to football.
In our lifetimes we’ll never see another quarterback make it to the Super Bowl 10 times. In our lifetimes, we’ll never see a phenomenon like Rush on air.
Rush Limbaugh was to us what Muhammad Ali was to boxing. Rush Limbaugh breathed the rare air of being a national and international sensation.
Rush Limbaugh is, and always, will be "The Greatest."
Rob Carson is a talk radio host who’s done time on the biggest talk shows in places like Chicago, Washington, D.C. San Francisco, Dallas, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Nashville, Phoenix, Minneapolis, New York City, and Baltimore. Rob is a nationally syndicated comedy writer whose political satire has been a staple on the Rush Limbaugh Program or over two decades, through five presidential administrations. Rob’s show "What in the World?"runs on Newsmax TV, Saturdays 5:00pm Eastern, and Sundays 2:00pm Eastern. Rob also is an accomplished video an audio podcaster who talks politics, pop culture, comedy, and oddly enough, food! He also has extensive experience as a cooking/lifestyle video host and amateur chef. Read Rob Carson's Reports — More Here.