It’s Rush Limbaugh’s America Now
The conservative shock jock is dead, but the toxic style of politics he fostered will be with us for decades
I grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh. This was not by choice, mind you. My father, a distributor who serviced grocery stores all across East Texas and Louisiana, kept the dial fixed on conservative talk radio whenever he was in the car. Half his job was driving, so on any given day he probably spent between four and six hours listening to this stuff in transit. I often went with him on these trips, so I got a hefty dose of it as well.
Limbaugh’s fans were called “dittoheads” because when they called in, they usually began their comments with the phrase “ditto, Rush” or “mega dittos.” His producers turned it into a gimmick, but I’ve no doubt this expression of perfect agreement from his fans was sincere.
Limbaugh was like a prophet to men like my dad, which is to say, white men working menial jobs who felt they deserved more. Men who aspired to a middle-class existence. Men who dreamed of starting a small business or owning enough property that they could sit back and collect rent checks.
Long before Trump became a serious force in politics, Limbaugh was crafting the style of…
