I have talent on loan from... God.

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is a US radio host and prominent conservative political commentator. Limbaugh is noted for outspoken polemics, frequently accusing the mainstream media of liberal bias, criticising liberal policies and politicians, and promoting conservative positions.

Quotes

Chronological order

1970s

  • Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.
    • as "Jeff Christie" on a top-40 music program in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, quoted in Gehr, Richard (8 October 1990), "Mouth at Work", Newsday, "Recalling a stint as an "insult-radio" DJ in Pittsburgh, he admits feeling guilty about, for example, telling a black listener he could not understand to "take that bone out of your nose and call me back."" ; also in Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (1995-05-01). The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error. New Press. p. 49. ISBN 156584260X. OCLC 31782620. , and Bone Voyage. Snopes.com (2007-09-04).

1980s

    1. The greatest threat to humanity lies in the nuclear arsenal of the USSR.
    2. The greatest threat to humanity lies in the USSR.
    3. Peace does not mean the elimination of nuclear weapons.
    4. Peace does not mean the absence of war.
    5. War is not obsolete.
    6. Ours is a world governed by the aggressive use of force.
    7. There is only one way to get rid of nuclear weapons - use them.
    8. Peace cannot be achieved by developing a "understanding" with the Russian People.
    9. When Americans oppose America, it is not always courageous and sacred; it is sometimes dangerous.
    10. Communism Kills.
    11. Neither the US, nor anyone else, imposes freedom on the peoples of other nations.
    12. Freedom is God given.
    13. In the USSR, peace means the absence of opposition.
    14. To free peoples, peace means the absence of threats and the presence of justice.
    15. The Peace Movement in the US, whether by accident or design, is pro-Communist.
    16. The collective knowledge and wisdom of seasoned citizens is the most valuable, yet untapped, resource our young-people have.
    17. The greatest football team in the history of civilization is the Pittsburgh Steelers of 1975-1980.
    18. There is no such thing as war atrocities.
    19. War itself is an atrocity.
    20. There is a God.
    21. Abortion is wrong.
    22. Morality is not defined and cannot be defined by individual choice.
    23. Evolution cannot explain Creation.
    24. Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society.
    25. Love is the only human emotion that cannot be controlled.
    26. The only difference between Mikhail Gorbachev and previous Soviet leaders, is that Gorbachev is alive.
    27. Soviet Leaders are just left-wing dictators.
    28. Abe Lincoln saved this nation.
    29. The L.A. Raiders will never be the team that they were when they called Oakland their home.
    30. The US will again go to war.
    31. To more and more people, a victorious US is a sinful US.
    32. This is frightening and ominous.
    33. There will always be poor people.
    34. This is not the fault of the rich.
    35. You should thank God for making you an American; and instead of feeling guilty about it, help spread our ideas worldwide.

    1990s

    Why would I want socialism to succeed?
    • Greetings, conversationalists across the fruited plain, this is Rush Limbaugh, the most dangerous man in America, with the largest hypothalamus in North America, serving humanity simply by opening my mouth, destined for my own wing in the Museum of Broadcasting, executing everything I do flawlessly with zero mistakes, doing this show with half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair because I have talent on loan from . . . God. Rush Limbaugh. A man. A legend. A way of life.
      • During the opening comments of his show as quoted in Corliss, Richard; Levy, Daniel S. (23 September 1991), "A Man. A Legend. A What!?"", Time 
    • (All equally truthful: number 1 is not more or less important than 35.)
    1. There is a distinct singular American culture - rugged individualism and self-reliance - which made America great.
    2. The vast majority of the rich in this country did not inherit their wealth; they earned it. They are the country's achievers, producers, and job creators.
    3. No nation has ever taxed itself into prosperity.
    4. Evidence refutes liberalism.
    5. There is no such thing as a New Democrat.
    6. The Earth's eco-system is not fragile.
    7. Character matters; leadership decends from character.
    8. The most beautiful thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut it down.
    9. Ronald Reagan was the greatest president of the twentieth century.
    10. The 1980s was not a decade of greed but a decade of prosperity; it was the longest period of peacetime growth in American history.
    11. Abstinence prevents sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy - every time it's tried.
    12. Condoms only work during the school year.
    13. Poverty is not the root ("rut") cause of crime.
    14. There's a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not.
    15. If you commit a crime, you are guilty.
    16. Women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.
    17. The way to improve our schools is not more money, but the reintroduction of moral and spiritual values, as well as the four "R's": reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic, and Rush.
    18. I am not arrogant.
    19. My first 35 Undeniable Truths are still undeniably true.
    20. There is a God.
    21. There is something wrong when critics say the problem with America is too much religion.
    22. Morality is not defined by individual choice.
    23. The only way liberals win national elections is by pretending they're not liberals.
    24. Feminism was established as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.
    25. Follow the money. When somebody says, "It's not the money," it's always the money.
    26. Liberals attempt through judicial activism what they cannot win at the ballot box.
    27. Using federal dollars as a measure, our cities have not been neglected, but poisoned with welfare dependency funds.
    28. Progress is not striving for economic justice or fairness, but economic growth.
    29. Liberals measure compassion by how many people are given welfare. Conservatives measure compassion by how many people no longer need it.
    30. Compassion is no substitute for justice.
    31. The culture war is between the winners and those who think they're losers who want to become winners. The losers think the only way they can become winners is by banding together all the losers and then empowering a leader of the losers to make things right for them.
    32. The Los Angeles riots were not caused by the Rodney King verdict. The Los Angeles riots were caused by rioters.
    33. You could afford your house without your government - if it weren't for your government.
    34. Words mean things.
    35. Too many Americans can't laugh at themselves anymore.
    • Styrofoam and plastic milk jugs are biodegradable! Do you know what isn't biodegradable? Paper!
      • The Rush Limbaugh Show, 15 June 1991 , quoted in Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (1995-05-01). The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error. New Press. p. 19. ISBN 156584260X. OCLC 31782620. 
    • Militant feminists are pro-choice because it's their ultimate avenue of power over men. And believe me, to them it is a question of power. It is their attempt to impose their will on the rest of society, particularly on men.
      • The Way Things Ought to Be. Pocket Books. October 1992. p. 52. ISBN 978-0671751456. OCLC 26397008. 
    • The worst of all of this is the lie that condoms really protect against AIDS. The condom failure rate can be as high as 20 percent. Would you get on a plane — or put your children on a plane — if one of five passengers would be killed on the flight? Well, the statistic holds for condoms, folks.
      • The Way Things Ought to Be. Pocket Books. October 1992. p. 134. ISBN 978-0671751456. OCLC 26397008. 
    • I prefer to call the most obnoxious feminists what they really are: feminazis. Tom Hazlett, a good friend who is an esteemed and highly regarded professor of economics at the University of California at Davis, coined the term to describe any female who is intolerant of any point of view that challenges militant feminism. I often use it to describe women who are obsessed with perpetuating a modern-day holocaust: abortion. There are 1.5 million abortions a year, and some feminists almost seem to celebrate that figure. There are not many of them, but they deserve to be called feminazis.

      A feminazi is a woman to whom the most important thing in life is seeing to it that as many abortions as possible are performed. Their unspoken reasoning is quite simple. Abortion is the single greatest avenue for militant women to exercise their quest for power and advance their belief that men aren't necessary. They don't need men in order to be happy. They certainly don't want males to be able to exercise any control over them. Abortion is the ultimate symbol of women's emancipation from the power and influence of men. With men being precluded from the ultimate decision-making process regarding the future of life in the womb, they are reduced to their proper, inferior role. Nothing matters but me, says the feminazi. My concerns prevail over all else. The fetus doesn't matter, it's an unviable tissue mass.

      • The Way Things Ought to Be. Pocket Books. October 1992. p. 193. ISBN 978-0671751456. OCLC 26397008. 
    • Can't take sides? — — —! These were American journalists, and they can't take sides? That attitude illustrates the haughty arrogance of people in the news business.
      • The Way Things Ought to Be. Pocket Books. October 1992. p. 269. ISBN 978-0671751456. OCLC 26397008. 
    • The way liberals are interpreting the First Amendment today is that it prevents anyone who is religious from being in government. They say that violates the prohibition against church and state.
      • The Way Things Ought to Be. Pocket Books. October 1992. p. 277. ISBN 978-0671751456. OCLC 26397008. 
    • There are more American Indians alive today than there were when Columbus arrived or at any other time in history. Does this sound like a record of genocide?
      • See, I Told You So, Atria, 1 November 1993, p. 68, ISBN 978-0671871208, OCLC 29250177 
    • There are more acres of forest land in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492.
      • See, I Told You So, Atria, 1 November 1993, p. 171, ISBN 978-0671871208, OCLC 29250177 
      • Later version of his claim: Do you know we have more acreage of forest land in the United States today than we did at the time the Constitution was written?
        • The Rush Limbaugh Show, 18 February 1994 , quoted in Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (1995-05-01). The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error. New Press. p. 18. ISBN 156584260X. OCLC 31782620. 
    • Let me tell you something. They say he lied to Congress. I can think of no better bunch of people to lie to than Congress.
    • Too many whites are getting away with drug use...Too many whites are getting away with drug sales...The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.

    2000s

    • It's beyond me how anybody can look at these protestors and call them anything other than what they are: anti-American, anticapitalist, pro-Marxist communists.
      • Speaking about Iraq War protests (February 2003), quoted in — Hunt, Jim (2009). They Said What?: Astonishing Quotes on American Democracy, Power, and Dissent. Polipoint Press. p. 22. LCC JK31.H88 2009. ISBN 9780981709161. OCLC 313653904. 
    • The feminazis gathered in Washington on Sunday, about a half-million of them, it says here, and it was the first big pro-abortion rally in 12 years.
    • You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life, so I need to tell you that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication.
    • It's sort of like hazing, a fraternity prank. Sort of like that kind of fun.
    • I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You ever heard of need to blow some steam off?
      • Stated about Abu Ghraib (May 4, 2004), quoted in — Stanford, David, ed (2008). Doonesbury.com's The War in Quotes. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 9780740772313. 
    • We need to shut down this Gitmo prison? Well, don't shut it down - we just need to start an advertising campaign. We need to call it, 'Gitmo, the Muslim resort.' Any resort that treated people like this would have ads all over the New York Times trying to get people to come down and visit for some R&R, for some rest and relaxation.
      • Stated about Guantanamo Bay, on The Rush Limbaugh Show, (June 14, 2005), quoted in — Hunt, Jim (2009). They Said What?: Astonishing Quotes on American Democracy, Power, and Dissent. Polipoint Press. p. 197. LCC JK31.H88 2009. ISBN 9780981709161. OCLC 313653904. 
    • If the word of how they're being treated keeps getting out, we're going to have al-Qaeda people surrendering all over the world trying to get in place.
      • Stated about Guantanamo Bay (June 16, 2005), quoted in — Stanford, David, ed (2008). Doonesbury.com's The War in Quotes. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 9780740772313. 
    • The dream end of this is that this keeps up to the convention and we have a replay of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fires, literal riots, and all of that. That's that's the objective here.
    • He discusses his service in Iraq, the wounds he suffered there, and he says to me in this ad, "Until you have the guts to call me a 'phony soldier' to my face, stop telling lies about my service." You know, this is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media in a TV ad to walk into as many people as he can walk into.
      • On Brian McGough's VoteVets.org ad criticizing him for "phony soldiers" comment, on the October 2, 2008 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh
    • What [Obama] is talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, "Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails."
    • So I shamelessly say, no, I want him to fail, if his agenda is a far-left collectivism, some people say socialism, as a conservative heartfelt, deeply, why would I want socialism to succeed?
    • You know, this is all BS, as far as I'm concerned. Cross species evolution, I don't think anybody's ever proven that. They're going out of their way now to establish evolution as a mechanism for creation, which, of course, you can't do.
    • You've got enough in here that people who get hold of this — like AP or any of the state-controlled media — they're going to focus on the soap opera aspects of your book and they're going to ignore what is truly one of the most substantive policy books I've read.
    • Black unemployment is terrible. The black frame of mind is terrible, they're depressed, they're down — Obama's not doing anything for 'em. How is that hoax and change workin' for ya? They're all livid. I mean, they thought there were gonna be an exact 180-degree economic reversal and it's done nothing but get bad for everybody, but they're especially upset about it because they look at him as one of them, and now they feel abandoned. And I'm sure Tiger Woods' choice of females not helping 'em out with their attitudes there either.

    2010s

    • Net neutrality would require that every search engine produce an equal number of results that satisfy every disagreement about [every] issue... Just think of it as Fairness Doctrine for the Internet. I'm not making this up.
      • On net neutrality, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 2010-03-16
    • World Health Organization did a massive worldwide study of secondhand smoke, and they found it has no impact at all, zilch, zero, nada, and it was suppressed. You can't find it. We have it, we kept it, we copied it ourselves, not relying on their websites. [...] I don't know how many people have been around secondhand smoke all their lives. This is just— It's all lies. It's what the left does. Lies about our light bulbs, lies about global warming, and now lies about this, all for the express purpose of ending up controlling people's lives. That report that I talked about, we first revealed it March 22nd of 2001, secondhand smoke is harmless. "Passive Smoking Doesn't Cause Cancer — Official."
      • The Rush Limbaugh Show, 2010-11-29
      • The World Health Organization's study found that passive smoking causes lung cancer in non-smokers.
    • From this day forward, somebody propose it, liberals should not be allowed to buy guns. It's just that simple. Liberals should have their speech controlled and not be allowed to buy guns. I mean if we want to get serious about this, if we want to face this head on, we’re gonna have to openly admit, liberals should not be allowed to buy guns, nor should they be allowed to use computer keyboards or typewriters, word processors or e-mails, and they should have their speech controlled. If we did those three or four things, I can’t tell you what a sane, calm, civil, fun-loving society we would have. Take guns out of the possession, out of the hands of liberals, take their typewriters and their keyboards away from ‘em, don’t let ‘em anywhere near a gun, and control their speech. You would wipe out 90% of the crime, 85 to 95% of the hate, and a hundred percent of the lies from society.
    • The Republican establishment has decided they don't want any part of conservatism, and this is really not new. People surprise to hear this. But the republican party formative event of conservativism is Goldwater's landslide defeat. That's what they think of when they think "conservative". They don't think Reagan. They think Goldwater. They believe what the inside-the-Beltway philosophy is about conservatives: they're racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe, Southern hayseed hicks. They're pro-lifers, they're embarrassing to have to go to convention with them, and they're just embarrassed to have those kind of people in the party.
    • What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We're the pimps. (interruption) The johns? We would be the johns? No! We're not the johns. (interruption) Yeah, that's right. Pimp's not the right word. Okay, so she's not a slut. She's "round heeled". I take it back.
    • The study's leaders claim to have bona fide research — I say "bonified" probably here — bonified research that says the average size of a penis is roughly 10% smaller than it was 50 years ago, and the researchers say air pollution is why. Air pollution, global warming has been shown to negatively impact penis size, Italian researchers. I don't buy this, I think it's feminism. If it's tied to the last 50 years — the average size of a member is 10 percent smaller than 50 years — it has to be the feminazis, the chickification and everything else. Give 'em time and they'll blame Bush. Give 'em time. But air pollution vs. feminazis? Ha!
    • If one of the main reasons for passing the Gang of Eight immigration bill is so Republicans can prove that they don't hate Hispanics, then what's next? Are the Republicans going to have to support gay marriage to prove that they don't hate gays? Are the Republicans then going to have to support affirmative action to prove they don't hate blacks?
    • What do we have to do to make the women realize we don't hate 'em? Change our attitude on abortion? Where does this stuff stop?
    • You find yourself staring, looking at, casually glancing at a woman, but you know that it's now socially taboo. You shouldn't be doing it. And you think everybody is noticing you doing it and condemning you in their minds. You shouldn't — so you walk up to the woman and say, "Will you please ask your breasts to stop staring at my eyes?"
    • You know what the magic word, the only thing that matters in American sexual mores today is? One thing. You can do anything, the Left will promote and understand and tolerate anything, so long as there is one element. Do you know what it is? Consent. If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it's perfectly fine. Whatever it is. But if the left ever senses and smells that there's no consent in part of the equation then here come the rape police. But consent is the magic key to the left.

    2020s

    Attributed

    • Great comedy is great comedy only if it has an element of truth in it.
      • Davis, E. Gene (2007-09-12). Get 'Em Laughing: Public Speaking Humor, Quotes and Illustrations. Trafford Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 9781425114336. 
    • More people have died at Chappaquiddick than have died at nuclear plants.
      • Davis, E. Gene (2007-09-12). Get 'Em Laughing: Public Speaking Humor, Quotes and Illustrations. Trafford Publishing. p. 195. ISBN 9781425114336. 

    Quotes about Limbaugh

    Alphabetized by author
    • Rush is by far the most articulate, defining voice of conservatism in America today, the most articulate voice of raging conservatism in the country. Rush is a powerful voice. I would argue that Rush is the leader of the conservative movement in the country.
    • Those thoughts are made more compelling both by Rush's long track record of accurate predictions and analyses, and by his unique form of exposition — leaping from A to D, then backing up to explain how he got to his seemingly unrelated conclusion, holding the audience enthralled.
    • What [Limbaugh] clearly has become over the last two or three years is something of an icon to millions of conservative listeners around the country. I think it would be too easy to dismiss him as being irrelevant to the shaping of opinion in this country today. He's very smart. He does his homework. He is well-informed. And you ignore him at your peril.
      • Ted Koppel, as quoted on dust jacket of See, I Told You So
    • What's so special about Rush? Besides his remarkable talent and the fact that Rush not only shared political principles with WFB, but Rush also has his graciousness and humility?
    • Through the ups and downs of two decades, his message — always delivered with optimism, civility, and good humor — has been faithful to two core convictions: the power of freedom and the power of American exceptionalism.
    • Yes, I have heard them for myself. I have read the transcripts. I have heard the audio. I was asked if I would be interested in doing an ad. I told them I would be as long as I agreed with the language of the ad. I read the language of the ad and agreed with it. It's something that I stand by and stick by. I do believe it and I can think for myself. And for Rush Limbaugh to say that an American soldier like me can't think for myself because I speak out against the Iraq war is preposterous.... A lot of veterans and troops don't believe in the war. What he is really saying is that a growing, large number of veterans can't think for themselves.
      • Sgt. Brian McGough's response to Limbaugh's implication that he was lied to about Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" comment before doing an ad for VoteVets.org, on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC (October 3, 2007)
    • My initial reaction is disgust. How someone can sit in that chair and say that I am a car bomber or — excuse me, a suicide bomber — is disgusting. I have seen the after-effects of a suicide bomb. I have friends that were hurt by suicide bombs. It makes me mad down to a place where I can"t even think to describe. It's just repugnant.
      • Purple heart recipient Sgt. Brian McGough's response to a Limbaugh metaphor saying that someone was "strapping those lies to his belt", on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC (October 3, 2007)
    • Who’s off his meds and is exaggerating the effects of his illness? Comedian Rush Limbaugh, that’s who!
      • Keith Olbermann while naming Limbaugh "Worst Person in the World" on Countdown with Keith Olbermann referencing how Limbaugh said that of Michael J. Fox. (October 26, 2006)
    • You know, if you played a drinking game where you did a shot every time Rush Limbaugh attacked someone for being elite, you'd almost be as wasted as Rush Limbaugh.
      • Bill Maher, talking about right-wing attacks on elites on Real Time with Bill Maher (April 13, 2007)
    • Limbaugh hasn't had a natural erection since the Nixon Administration; think he's compensating for something? Now, I wouldn't pick on him for any of this stuff, not his blubbiness, not his man-boobs, not his inability to have a natural erection -- none of that stuff -- to me, off limits until! until! -- Mr. Limbaugh, you turn that sort of gun on somebody else -- once you start doing that, you're fair game, fat boy. Absolutely, you jiggly pile of mess. You're just fair game, and you're going to get it, too. [Laughs] You'd better watch what you say, Limbaugh, because it can come back the other way.
    • You have to give him credit — he works hard at getting his facts right.
      • Tim Russert, quoted in King, D. Howard; Morris, Geoffrey (1994-09-01). Rush to Us: Americans Hail Rush Limbaugh. Pinnacle. ISBN 9780786000821. 
    • Airing anti-Rush Limbaugh commercials during the Rush Limbaugh show would only conflict with the listeners who have chosen to listen to Rush Limbaugh.
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