Rush Limbaugh, Conservative Radio Firebrand, Dies At 70

Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who announced a year ago he had late-stage lung cancer, died on Wednesday. Limbaugh’s fourth wife, Kathryn Rogers, announced his death on his radio show.

Limbaugh stepped away from his show on February 2, 2021 citing his worsening condition. Months before, he said on his radio show that “it’s tough to realize that the days where I do not think I’m under a death sentence are over. Now, we all are, is the point. We all know that we’re going to die at some point, but when you have a terminal disease diagnosis that has a time frame to it, then that puts a different psychological and even physical awareness to it.”

Last January, Limbaugh was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by former President Donald Trump.

Limbaugh was a massively influential voice in the conservative movement and is credited for helping with the 1994 midterm election flip, which made Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) Speaker of the House. Limbaugh has a storied history of racism, sexism, homophobia and bigotry. Following his death, the hashtag “rest in piss” began trending on Twitter. Several of Limbaugh’s critics, and those who have been targeted by him the in the past spoke on his passing.

If Rush Limbaugh spoke about white people & conservatives the way he did about the rest of us his death would be viewed as the end of an extremist who inspired and promoted intolerance and hate against a large part of the country. Instead, he's a GOP hero. Tells you everything.

— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) February 17, 2021

Wajahat Ali’s comments are seemingly confirmed by the several GOP lawmakers who quickly wrote on Limbaugh’s passing.

RIP to a legend and a patriot, Rush Limbaugh. Not many people can say they revolutionized and stayed at the top of an industry the way he did. My condolences to his family.

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) February 17, 2021

Limbaugh, an avid cigar smoker, spent many years of his career talking down the connection between smoking and cancer. Five years before his diagnosis with lung cancer, Limbaugh said, “firsthand smoke takes 50 years to kill people, if it does. Not everybody that smokes gets cancer. Now, it’s true that everybody who smokes dies, but so does everyone who eats carrots.”