They call Donald Trump a Nazi freely and they call everybody they disagree with white supremacists, but. When it came to free speech, the greatest advocate of free speech was Rush Limbaugh. So he changes the broadcast industry. He's the greatest advocate for free speech. And then there's his content. We wanted to hear what Rush had to say, the more difficult the moment, the more we wanted to hear him. The more difficult the moment, the more we wanted to hear him.

Why? Because Rush Limbaugh was really quite a genius. He wasn't really into school, he would have told you that, but he was into books. He was into ideas, he was into philosophy. And he read a ton, he was a voracious reader and had a huge library at his home in Florida. With all kinds of philosophers and economists and so forth, this was a very, very well read man. And he worked very hard to prepare for every radio show when you become as big as he does, I suppose you doesn't have to. He could kick your feet up.

He never did. He had those Midwestern work ethics and belief system. He was brought up to love his country. His father was in World War Two. His mother was a religious lady, he has a fantastic brother, David Limbaugh, and a fantastic, fantastic wife, Catherine. But there won't be another Rush Limbaugh. Like there won't be another Ronald Reagan. Or there won't be another Milton Friedman. Where there won't be another Bill Buckley.

And yet Rush Limbaugh and the promotion of ideas and liberty and country and faith and family, somehow that's controversial.

Had a tremendous impact on this society. Which is exactly why the left spent over 30 years, trying to destroy him, not engage him. Not debate his ideas but to try and destroy him. As did many in the Republican Party. But Rush loved, I would say (not trying to speak for him), three things above all else. His family, his country and you, his audience.

You know, I was a pup, really. Got into radio with no experience about seven, eight years after Rush. And I'll spend the program telling you about some of my experiences with Rush. And I want to hear from some of you as well. I was always obsessed with talk radio when I was a teenager. I would listen late at night to Larry King or I was trying to listen to Bob Grant and others who were on New York radio while I was in Philadelphia and from time to time they would get fired and wind up in Philadelphia and so forth.

It's a rough business. Rush got fired multiple times. And so I used to call myself a professional radio listener. I don't know what day it was. But I heard Rush, like many of you, and I wanted to listen to him. I said the way they attack him on the left, he must be pretty damn good. In fact, he must be very good. And I was hooked within five minutes. Five minutes. And I guess it was 1997, 1998, something like the.

And my buddy Eric and I, when we would break for lunch or work in a landmark legal and so forth, I always brought, yes, a transistor radio with me, a Sony Transistor Radio, was yellow. And earplugs. And my buddy Eric would do the same and we would listen to him during lunch. And in the office, we would listen to him in the background. Actually, this had to be like 1995. In any event.

With independent counsel investigations and so forth beginning to take place as time went on. I started to send - we didn't really have a lot of email back then - faxes. Faxes, I'd type something or write, turn and send a fax to one of Rush Limbaugh's crew staffers. He would call her Cookie. The wonderful Kathleen. All the audio you heard, that was Kathleen. Loyal to him throughout his career, right to the end.

And Bo Snerdly, that's James and the late Kit Carson who Rush loved he was HR, and so forth. Fantastic group. Loyal, and he was loyal back to them. I would fax these thoughts I had on the Constitution, on independent counsel statute, legal and so forth, unsolicited to Cookie. And she'd run all the way down the hallway, apparently, and hand them to him. Not for him to read per say, but to go over some of the issues that might be out there in terms of the law and he would ask, what does that mean?

And the audience and I would take the opportunity to write something. And so I enjoyed doing it. And then one day over the radio, he announces that I'm the director of his legal division and he would call me F. Lee Levin. Of course, there was no legal division and F. Lee Levin obviously was a takeoff on F. Lee Bailey. And then he would start calling me Flee and when I would see him, he would call me Flee.

And later, just call me Mark. And we would exchange emails morning, noon and night for various subjects. Many years ago, I can remember when, I think it was CNBC, it just really started, and there were two liberal lawyers on there and me. This is one of the first shows I had done on cable, if I recall properly. And I'm not going to tell you who they were because it'll embarrass them, because now they're both on Fox, Mr. Producer.

And I literally beat the hell out of them. Literally meaning in the debate. And so I finished. So I got a call, Flee he said, yes, yes. That was unbelievable. Unbelievable. I remember that. I also remember, we're very early on when I was starting in radio and I said to him, Rush, how am I going to succeed at this? Your first, then Hannity second and I'm third. He said, let me tell you something Mark.

People who tune in to me, listen to me, people who turn into Sean, listen to Sean, people who tune into you will listen to you.

They haven't heard from you yet. Just remember that. He was backing me up. And there was one other rule, he told me. Never disrespect your audience. Doesn't mean you don't get at it with callers, he said, never put down your audience, never think you're smarter than your audience because you're not. And when times are tough, when you come under attack, and you will, it's your audience that's going to stand with you because you stood by your audience.

I cannot tell you how much he loved you. Right to the end, he wanted to get on radio, he wanted to be behind the microphone to talk to you right to the end. You were his extended family, I'm telling you, like nobody else I've ever seen. You stood with him through thick and thin. When he came under attack, which he often did. You know, it's interesting that he's controversial, he provoked it, no, he's not, and no he didn't.

People are hanging on his every word in order to try and destroy him, but they failed. Miserably. And he would say because of you. You stood with him and you supported him. Right to the very end. I'll be right back. Are you worried about America's future? Times of trouble are full of reasons to despair, but those who built and preserved our country didn't despair. So to do our part, we need to draw on the books, the history and the ideas that gave our forefathers and mothers strength and inspiration.

Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 to teach these very things, and it teaches them still today. We can all study these things, all with Hillsdale College professors right in our homes. Through Hillsdale Free online courses, we can study the history of our civilization, the wisdom of ancient and Judeo-Christian philosophers, and the writings of Shakespeare and Mark Twain. We can reacquaint ourselves with our Constitution. We can learn how the Constitution has been undermined and more importantly, how it can be recovered.

Friends, as we fight in defense of family, faith and freedom, let us draw on the best of the past with Hillsdale guidance that saved the greatest nation on Earth. Begin learning today at Levin for Hillsdale dotcom. That's Levin for Hillsdale dotcom. Levin for Hillsdale dotcom.

You know. I'm getting a lot of requests to go on TV and radio and talk about Rush.

I want you to know I'm not asking to talk about Rush. I have my own radio show, my own TV show, and I think it's important.

Yeah, I think it's important that we not allow those who hate him and hate us to define such a magnificent man. And so this I will not allow to stand. And I just want you to be aware of that. There will only be one Rush Limbaugh. 500 years from now, I often say, for most of us, including me, I suppose, nobody will know we ever lived. Perhaps one of my books will be remembered, perhaps not.

500 years from now, Rush Limbaugh will be remembered. As a man who gave strength to the people who supported the American republic. Showed them the way and defended the American republic. He was different than any who came before, and he'll be different than anyone who comes after. He was one of the wisest people I ever knew. One of the most temperate people I ever knew. One of the most generous people I ever knew. And he had his own challenges.

I mean, he lost his hearing for crying out loud, lost his hearing. And he was so committed to you, his audience. So committed to this country, knowing how important his voice was. He would not give up. You know why he had one Cochlear implant and not two? Back when he got it, it was really cutting edge stuff and I said to him, why one and not two? He said, because if they ever have additional advances, we can use it on the other ear. Because once you have a Cochlear implant, that's the end of any other possibilities with the ear in which it's, you know, used. I'm speaking as a pedestrian, I don't know, all the medical jargon. He was very open with you when he went through his various issues. He was very open with you because, as I say, he loved you and he trusted you and he wanted to communicate with you.

When we come back, I want you to hear what Katherine Limbaugh had to say today. And I want to read something to you. I want to read something to you. I'll be right back. Are you worried about America's future times of trouble are full of reasons to despair, but those who built and preserved our country didn't despair. So to do our part, we need to draw on the books, the history and the ideas that gave our forefathers and mothers strength and inspiration.

Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 to teach these very things, and it teaches them still today. We can all study these things, all with Hillsdale College professors right in our homes through Hillsdale Free online courses, we can study the history of our civilization, the wisdom of ancient and Judeo-Christian philosophers, and the writings of Shakespeare and Mark Twain. We can reacquaint ourselves with our Constitution. We can learn how the Constitution has been undermined and more importantly, how it can be recovered.

Friends, as we fight in defense of family, faith and freedom, let us draw on the best of the past with Hillsdale guidance that saved the greatest nation on Earth. Begin learning today. And Levin for Hillsdale Dotcom. That's Levin for Hillsdale Dotcom. Levin for Hillsdale Dotcom. Love in America's passionately cerebral voice talk with that voice now eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one.

The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, the left generally.

They don't get to defined our Rush Limbaugh, he belong to us. We get to define Rush Limbaugh, in fact, he defined himself every day. We will not tolerate efforts to degrade and destroy and to smear him and everything he stood for. We won't tolerate it. They didn't know him. They don't know you. They don't want to know you and they didn't want to know him. They never engaged him honestly in debate on the issues and the substance. Never.

Lucky for them, I guess, because we know who would have won those battles. When they write about Rush, they cherry pick, they look for words, they try and create controversy where there's no controversy. Because this is what they do on the Marxist left. We reject it all, we reject them. They're fully out of the closet now and everybody knows it. Rush came to really like Donald Trump, you know, during the primaries. He liked Ted Cruz, he like Donald Trump, he like some others, too.

But I could always tell he was kind of leaning towards Trump. I could always sense that. He didn't like to jump into primaries and to pick candidates. But nonetheless, in some ways I think, the reason these two men got along so well and the reason why Rush really came to love Donald Trump,

ls because certain similarities. You see Rush Limbaugh was an outsider. Rush Limbaugh was independent, he was his own man, he didn't play by the rules that were set up because the rules didn't make a lot of sense to him. He was always underestimated. And then when he was successful he was attacked. You can say many of the same things about Donald Trump. And I think in addition to issues, policy, substance and so forth, I think Rush saw much of that in Donald Trump. That is the same forces in society that initially dismissed him or tried to undermine him or rejected his thinking and his independence were some of the same forces that did exactly the same thing to Donald Trump. And so I think Rush had this special place in his heart for President Trump and vice versa. Catherine Limbaugh, his wife, he loved dearly and she loved him. I was lucky enough to attend their wedding with my daughter Lauren.

I think it was June 2010, I believe. That was some wedding. Boy, I'll tell you! Elton John was there. But so many wonderful people were there. About a third of them hated my guts, but that's all right. I'm just kidding. About 10 percent. But it was some wedding. I think the wedding went on for two days, as a matter of fact, and Rush was so proud of his Catherine.

He was 100 percent in love and smitten by her. The big smile on his face for two days. And you could see she was very proud of him, of course. Looking up to him. Two really special people, two great patriots. And I think that was, she is, I don't think, I know the love of his life and vice versa. And Rush has one of the greatest brothers anybody could ever have, David Limbaugh. Who in many ways is like a brother to me.

As was Rush. As is Sean. But David Limbaugh always looked out for his brother. He's a brilliant lawyer. You know, he's a brilliant author, he's written some fantastic books. And his beautiful wife too. This is some family, the Limbaugh family. Judges, state Supreme Court judges, appellate court judges. You know, the story of his grandfather and his father, his wonderful mother and so forth.

This is a fantastic family.

This is a family, I don't think there's a liberal among them, Mr. Producer. It's not because they insist that everybody agree, nobody agrees with everybody, it's because of their upbringing. It's because they love liberty, they love their country, as we do. And Rush was a reflection of this. Catherine was very brave and very strong today to get behind the microphone and speak, as she did as her beloved passed away just a few hours earlier. And here's what she said. Cut one go.

It is with profound sadness, I must share with you directly that our beloved Rush, my wonderful husband, passed away this morning due to complications from lung cancer.

As so many of you know, losing a loved one is terribly difficult. Even more so when that loved one is larger than life. Rush will forever be the greatest of all time. Rush was an extraordinary man, a gentle giant, brilliant, quick witted, genuinely kind, extremely generous, passionate, courageous and the hardest working person I know. Despite being one of the most recognized, powerful people in the world, Rush never let the success change his core or beliefs.

He was polite and respectful to everyone he met. Even most recently when he was not feeling well in the hospital, he was so appreciative to every single doctor and nurse and custodian and first responders. He never wanted to put anyone out and always thanked them profusely for their help. From today on, there will be a tremendous void in our lives and of course, on the radio. Rush loved our miraculous country beyond measure. An unwavering patriot. He loved our United States military, our flag, our Constitution, our founding fathers.

He proudly fought and defended conservative values in a way that no one else can. Rush often stood up and took arrows on his own because he knew it was the right thing to do. Rush encouraged so many of us to think for ourselves, to learn and to lead. He often said it did not matter where you started or what you look like. As Americans, we all have endless opportunities like nowhere else in the world. Rush gave us hope that through hard work and determination, we can overcome the obstacles in our lives and be our best.

Many of you started small businesses or pursued personal dreams because Rush gave you the faith that you could. He made the most complex issues, simple to understand, while making that level of genius look easy. It most certainly was anything but easy. Irreplaceable, remarkable talent. On behalf of the Limbaugh family, I would personally like to thank each and every one of you who prayed for Rush and inspired him to keep going. You rallied around Rush and lifted him up when he needed you the most.

I am certain without a shadow of a doubt, if he could be here today, he would be. He loved you and he loved this radio program with every part of his being. Instead, we know our Rush is in heaven, encouraging us in the same way he always did on Earth. Rush's love for our country and belief that our best days are ahead, live on eternally. In Rush's honor, may we all continue Rush's mission in our individual lives and communities.

I know all of you listening are terribly sad. We all are. I'm terribly sorry to have to deliver this news to you. God bless you, Rush. And God bless our country.

Those are very beautiful, beautiful words and again, she's a very strong woman, very courageous to do that today, and yet she's the only one who could really deliver the message to all of you. I absolutely agree that Rush would want you to continue to practice your principles embrace them. To fight for this country. To fight for liberty. To fight for our constitutional order. Not to give up. That's what he would want, I know. Katherine is right. One generation passes to the next generation to the next, and we try to leave the country better off than when we inherited it. That's the battle we're facing today. If we don't win this battle, what's going to happen to our children and our grandchildren?

What's going to what's going to happen to them. You see what's possible. And it's not very pretty. We're going to be without our Rush. But we're not without his spirit, we're not without his message. Over 30 years he taught us what to do, he taught us, what to embrace. He used to say, because he's very humble, I'm just here to reinforce your your views. That's for sure. But he also gave us guidance. That's why we listen to him.

What would Rush say? Those four words all the time, what would Rush say? I'll be right back.

Are you worried about America's future times of trouble are full of reasons to despair, but those who built and preserved our country didn't despair. So to do our part, we need to draw on the books, the history and the ideas they gave our forefathers and mothers strength and inspiration. Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 to teach these very things, and it teaches them still today.

We can all study these things, all with Hillsdale College professors right in our homes through hills, free online courses, we can study the history of our civilization, the wisdom of ancient and Judeo-Christian philosophers, and the writings of Shakespeare and Mark Twain. We can reacquaint ourselves with our Constitution. We can learn how the Constitution has been undermined and more importantly, how it can be recovered. Friends, as we fight in defense of family, faith and freedom, let us draw on the best of the past with Hillsdale guidance that saved the greatest nation on Earth.

Begin learning today at Levin for Hillsdale Dotcom. That's Levin for Hillsdale Dotcom, Levin for Hillsdale Dotcom.

Well Mark, why don't you now move on to the news? No it doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way here. This is the news. This is the news. We stop to pay respect. And we take our time. With a person who's in our heads, our souls and our hearts as I speak. And I told you I was going to read something to you and I'm going to have to do it next hour, and we also have a number of callers I want to talk to here, as well as some other things I want to tell you about Rush and so forth.

You know, President Trump came out today, you know he's been relatively quiet, and McConnell made some vicious statements about the president and he responded. And then on the passing of Rush, he very much wanted to talk about that. And so he spoke on Fox and he'll be on Hannity tonight and I will be on Hannity tonight It wasn't my plan, but here we are.

And. I'm going to take a call now and then in the second hour, I hope you'll listen, particularly the top of the second hour. I'm going to read you something. You might think it's trite. You might even think it's weird. But I think in the end, you'll think it was worth reading to you. So let us go to Mark in Manassas, Virginia, the great WMAL. Mark, go right ahead please. Hey Mark. It's a pleasure to talk to you, brother.

Thank you. I just wanted to call in and tell you that, you know, like 30 years ago, a friend of mine turned me on to Rush Limbaugh. And I was neck deep in environmentalist dogma. And then Rush brought me home and he really made me see the world in a different way. And about 20 years ago, through some bad decisions and put myself in a position and trust in some wrong people, I found myself homeless.

And I would wake up every day and and I would know that I lived in the greatest country in the world. And Rush gave me hope. You know, I was homeless, but I wasn't hopeless because I would listen to Rush every day. And his positivity and his unending optimism about this country and about freedom that we have and the liberty and the possibilities and the opportunities that are available every single day if you're just willing to get up and work hard and cease them.

And during some really dark days, Rush was the shining light for me. And, you know, I'm not going to tell you that I'm some wildly successful guy now, but I will say that, you know, I have like through the grace of God and a lot of hard work, I was able to get my life straightened out. And, you know, I met an angel on earth. I've got a four beautiful children, I have a house that's bigger then I need and, you know, I got to tell you, I can't think of anybody in my life other than family that had a bigger impact in my life than Rush Limbaugh did it. Boy would he love to hear that?

And and we all appreciate it, Mark. And we're glad that you're doing well.

And God bless you, my friend. Please come back.

I want to read something to you and I will be right back. From the Westwood One podcast network. He's here now broadcasting from the underground command post, deep in the bowels of a hidden bunker, somewhere under the brick and steel of a nondescript building, we've once again made contact with our leader. I love that. Hello, America. Mark Levin here, our number eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one.

This relates to Rush in every respect, and when was it 2000? I'm looking it up. 2007, I wrote a book called Rescuing Sprite. It's the one book I wrote that had nothing to do with political, economic and philosophy. It's about my family and it was about this dog that we had rescued called Sprite. We named him Sprite. And the torment of having to decide when and how to put him to sleep. We'd never done that before.

Since then, we've done it three more times and it gets not easier. It's horrific every time. And, as a dog lover, I struggle with it, as many of you do. And I was very down, very down about Sprite, what had to happen to sprite. I think I was depressed. Didn't go to anyone, didn't get any clinical information, but I was very down as I'm very down after every one of these occasions and I pretty much kept to myself. I spoke to a few family members and I spoke to a couple of friends.

One of the friends I spoke to was Rush. And I write about it in this book, Rescuing Sprite, a Dog Lover Story of Joy and Anguish. But this reveals a lot about Rush. And so I say in the book, because we had to decide what to do with Sprite. His time had come. I said, there were nights when I was alone working in my home office that I could barely stand the emotional pain from the thought of losing Sprite. In a very deep bond with this dog.

He'd suffered from a variety of ailments since the day we adopted him. And yet Sprite was a dog at peace with himself. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. From the day we first met him at the foster parents house, we were all taken by his friendliness and tenderness.

Sprite had overcome obstacle after obstacle. Now, he was facing his biggest challenge, and I felt I was letting him down. I was his caregiver and in this time of greatest need I couldn't do a damn thing to help him. And it was killing me. I began reaching out to certain family members and close friends. I reached out to Rush Limbaugh. We'd been friends for a long time, many years. All politics aside, he's one of the most compassionate and decent people I've known.

When I had complications from my heart surgery back in 2000 and spent nearly six months in and out of hospitals, Rush asked me what I needed to get well. I told him I was thinking of going to the Cleveland Clinic. He asked me why I didn't just go. I told him that I had to find out if my insurance company would pay for the examination and procedures, which could be expensive. Rush responded. The hell with the insurance. I'll pay for, just go do whatever you have to do and let me know how much it is?

As it turned out I didn't need his help. My insurance paid for most of it. I paid for what remained. But I never forgot Rush's generous offer. He is generous with complete strangers, too, but he doesn't like to talk about it, so I won't either. On September 29, 2006. Rush and I were instant messaging each other, as we do most nights. I rarely speak to him on the telephone. He's totally deaf, and even with his cochlear implant, he has difficulty hearing phone conversations.

So we're both on the computer most nights, instant messaging is the best way to communicate anyway. But on this night I was very down. As I was sitting at my desk, I could feel myself sinking into a dark hole. Rush and I talk about everything. So I began a conversation about Sprite. And I wore my emotions on my sleeve with him. Looks like our dog Sprite is dying, I started out, I can't imagine dealing with this. I pray I'm wrong about this.

Can I ask you a question?

When your cat was dying, what did you do? Rush loved his cats and he loved his dogs later. He wrote, I feel for you. Very sad when one of my cats died,.She had a stroke. It was sudden. Gave her a weekend to recover, but then had to put her down. Very sad. Did you take it to the vet to be cremated? I asked. Yes, scattered her remains on my property. I wrote, been a long time since I really bawled, but won't be able to control it well here. This is going to freak you out.

I've been wondering what the hell I'm going to do with my life sometimes.

You ever do that? I just wonder sometimes if I should be doing something else. I always try to do the right thing. I try to be a good dad and husband, try to be a good friend, but just wonder about life's purpose. Rush said, I once said that to a soldier I met in National Review's fiftieth anniversary dinner. He lost an eye, an arm in Iraq. I felt embarrassed because he was praising me for my role.

He pooh poohed me and said, we all have our roles. I think you have creeping guilt, Mark. Fight that. We're all who we are. It takes all of us to make a country. I said people who are true believers in their particular religions have some satisfaction in that they think they know how things work out.

I'm not so sure. Rush wrote, I think about this all the time. I have incredible faith, I don't go to church but communicate with God so many times a day, I can't count it. I know what you mean, you should research Malcolm Muggeridge. He sought to disprove Christianity and became a devout believer. I don't mean you should convert, just saying that smart people go through these gyrations all the time.

I said, well, these dogs are the essence of love, aren't they? Rush wrote try to think of it this way. Your dog is an animal, unable to fend for itself because it is domesticated. You took it in, gave it a life far better than it could have had on its own in the wild. Your dog Sprite has been loved and in the case of dogs knows it and he loves you back in his own way, unconditionally. You've done a great thing by giving him the life he has had and vice versa. It's all positive. Every living creature will die some time. But the quality of life you've given Sprite has no doubt been much more than some humans have. Yes, I'm trying to look at the bright side, I said. Rush went on, If you're right and he's fading, yes, you're going to miss him. That is a sign of close attachment.

But you can be assured that he had a great life for a dog, it was fulfilling both ways and having him not suffer at the end is an act of compassion. It isn't easy emotionally, and it shouldn't be because of the attachment. You get close to anything you will eventually lose in one way or another.

But it is the getting close that provides the joy and it is worth it all in the end. I said, thank you, sorry for being a downer. He said, you're not a downer, Mark, this is deep stuff. It touches our souls. These are the things that give real meaning to life, which is what you are questioning tonight. Then Rush added, you never stop to think of all the amazing positive ways you impact others for the good.

None of us are aware of the positive ways we affect those we will never meet, but it is profound. You may think from time to time that your kids are in trouble, but they aren't. They're going through the normal stages at their time of life.

Your influence and impact as a parent will blossom in them as human beings long after you're gone. They will pass that on in the same way. It's an amazing cycle to me. You don't even stop to think about these things. But the way you feel about your dog is noticed by your children, it affects them in ways you cannot know and will translate in positive ways about how they treat other people and life in general.

They're little things they continue to accumulate. Your values are what they are and they are good and they do get transferred.

In the end, I wrote, I don't deal very well with death, finally, I'm not afraid of my own death, but worry about others close to me. Rush responded, I ponder this stuff all the time. I know there are questions we humans are capable of asking to which there are no human answers, which proves the existence of God to me. That is natural, too, because you don't miss yourself when you die, but you miss those you have loved and who die before you.

He said, you know what, I've noticed not one old person who knows they're going to die has ever panicked over it. Neither of my parents was panicked over it. There's something that happens. Sudden death, plane crash, whatever is different. I've been thinking about it all my life. We all want to know the purpose of all this. Well, Rush, I'm going upstairs now to spend a little time with the dogs and then go to bed.

You're a good, good friend. You, too Mark and enjoy your time with the dogs, make the most of it for yourself. What a wise and profound man. What a wise and thoughtful man. I haven't open this book. Let's see. Published in 2007, I have not opened this book in 12 years. Because it's too hard for me. It was written to help people. And I opened it. Three hours ago. I went precisely to that page of the text with Rush and me.

I'm not telling you any secrets, it's in the book. And then when this book was published, he wanted to be the first one to interview me and he insisted that I come to his studio. It's the second book I ever wrote, and it's written about my dogs, my family. And I said, why do you want me to come to your studio to do it? He said, because this book is different.

It shows the world humanity. That we are human beings, we conservatives. That we love and we feel and we can be sad, too. It's a very important book. I want you to come to Florida. I want you to sit in the studio with me. And I did for a full hour and we talked about rescuing Sprite. That's Rush Limbaugh. Be right back. Much love in. Over 2000 of you, my listeners, made the switch from overpriced wireless carriers to pure talk over the past few months, we want the rest of you to join us and to see what we're talking about.

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I don't know anybody who came into Rush's orbit even briefly, he didn't like and I don't know anybody who came into Rush's orbit, even briefly, he hated. Rush was very clear on his principles and belief system, very clear. There was right and there was wrong, there was good and there was evil, there was liberty in. There was tyranny. And. And he wanted to fight it and he did it in every fiber of his body.

And so if you're relatively young and you're listening to me, I want you to know something. Nothing. Makes me happier. Then when I hear a young person call and say, you know what? Listening to you has caused me to do X. On behalf of the country. And when you would listen to Rush and he'd get a caller, a young caller say, you know, Rush, it's thanks to you that I did X, Y, Z, remember how proud he was?

Rush would say you made my day. In fact, you made my week, remember that? So the way we honor Rush, in my humble opinion, is to double down on liberty, is to double down on the republic, is the double down on the Constitution. And to save our country. As he wrote to me, we all have our roles. And that's true, we all have our roles. So this is an opportunity, excuse me, to reflect a little bit.

And decide what else can we do? For this republic, because it's in trouble. I've heard it said today that people are right, that Rush was an eternal optimist. And that's true, but he also was not a Pollyanna. He's also a realist. They have to fight for your liberty. Now, we don't mean baseball bats and so forth, we know what we mean. That tens of millions of us, we know what we mean.

You have to fight for your liberty, you have to support people who are willing to fight for your liberty. You have to speak out. You need to be unafraid about saying what's true. It's harder now than ever. But you have to do it or they're going to silence us. They're going to coward us. We cannot permit that. People have sent me through the last several hours links. Audio links and other links of what some people have said about Russia on CNN, on MSNBC, on the Internet.

Why do I care about those? Why would I play those today? Why would I even respond to those? Rush Limbaugh is our man. They don't get to tell us what to think, they don't get to tell us what to say, they're irrelevant. They hate us to. They hated Reagan, they hate Trump. We don't define ourselves or define our loves or define our beliefs to people who despise us. And people who are blocking our way into a more prosperous and free nation.

They can talk among themselves. I'll be right back. The Mark Levin show, live and national at eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one, I will be on Hannity tonight.

920 P.M.. Let's take some of your calls. I know many of you want to speak to me, and I certainly don't blame you. Let's go to Amy, Colorado Springs XM Satellite. How are you, Amy?

I'm good, Mark. Thank you for taking my call. I just wanted to share a memory of Rush that embodied everything you're talking about in reference to him. I called his show about three or four years ago. I have a daughter. She's about 14 now and she's about 10 at the time. And he was talking about conservatism being taught in our classrooms and how it was being shut out in our schools by liberals. And so I called in just to give him my experience with my daughter at her school and the kind of person he was.

We talked about conservatism, how it is good for America, and he offered to send me a set of his children's book that he had written. He thought it would be perfect for my daughter to teach her American values and history. And I was expecting the book Just Books in the Mail. I thought that was very generous of him to do. And the package came in the mail. And not only did he send her all the books that I've read with her, he also sent her a stuffed horse and along with the books and he sent her an iPad.

I couldn't believe it.

By the way, he bought a ton of these iPads and iPhones and he would hand them out because he wanted people to learn how to use them.

Yeah, and he had a big heart didn't he, Amy? Oh, absolutely, and he had a love for the values that this country set forth and still stands for and wanted to pass them on to a new generation of learners. And I grew up a Rush baby. So, you know, it just meant a lot to me that he did that. I couldn't believe it. And so it says a lot about a man when he does things like that.

And we lost him way too soon. Way too soon, I figured he'd be doing this till he was 85 years old. Thank you, Amy, and I'll tell you, my daughter reminds me that he used to send my kids little toys. Around Christmas time, and he sent them iPads, too. He would do things like that just. Just to be kind, you know, let us go to Joe Grand Rapids, Michigan, XM Satellite. Go ahead, Joe.

Mark, I know I should be so much smarter. I'm exactly about one month older than you. 1957 was a good year. But one thing I want to say, the tag line from my favorite movie, Braveheart, was Every Man Dies, Not Every Man Lives. And if you want to put anybody on that line, that's Rush Limbaugh. Every man dies, but not every man lives. And that man lived and that's my point. He lived.

He lived. You're absolutely right. Beautifully said, Joe. Thank you. Thank you very much. Let's go to Brandon, Omaha, Nebraska, the great KIRO, me, can I Brandon, how are you?

I'm doing as good as one could be on a night like this, Mark. I hopefully you're OK. Man, I was inspired listening to your text message conversation you shared with us with Rush tonight. And I mean, it speaks to all of us. And I know it hit me really good because, you know, we do all have our roles. And that goes to something, you know, through all of Russia's messages on the air. When I listen to him, you know, the one thing I'm totally blind.

I have a lot of health problems, and I've always wanted to be a part of radio in some way, shape or form. But with neurological problems that I've had that I've always felt it's a struggle for me because I'm not good at sentence structure like a Mark Levin or a Rush Limbaugh, let's put it that way.

But, you know, needless to say. You sound pretty good to me. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. But let me tell you, and that's the way I felt when I listened to him. It's like, Brandon, don't worry about the fact that you struggle getting your words out. There are people who do good. There are those who may not do so good, but they still convey the same message. You can do anything you put your mind to if you believe you can do it, if you have the willpower.

And that's just what he lived and breathed success. Rush wasn't one to boast about it. He just, you know, it was him. You know, he knew he was succeeding, but it was something he didn't make a big deal out of. And that's something I've always been inspired by. And I feel that we could all learn from that lesson. And I think that's something. And Mark, I have to say, I love listening to your show every day.

You, it's kind of, you're kind of like my dinner time, dinner time voice. So thank you very much for sharing in the the Midwest dinners with me.

Well, you sound terrific, Brandon. And I want to thank you and your sentence structures are terrific. I can tell you that. God bless you, my friend.

Let's go to let's see, I don't know who that is in Miramar, Florida, who is Ivan? I know who Ivan is. Miramar, Florida, XM Satellite. How are you, Ivan?

Mark It's a sad day, Mark. And, you know, almost I found out about it on the golf course today and I almost cried. And I'm almost crying right now when I talk about it. Mark, you said that Rush said that he was here to reinforce our thinking. And, you know, Mark is something noble and right about freedom and liberty that binds us together. And I think Rush, just like you, Mark, could easily have been in the writing of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence because freedom knows no time boundaries.

And it's why the Constitution has stood the test of time. And Rush's tagline to me is ultimately his epitaph. He had a unique way of making the complex simple. He taught us how to think and fight the enemy of free thought. And ironically, it's that same free thought. The Liberals are fighting and suppressing today. And we as conservatives, Mark, cannot let his life and his death be in vain. We must continue his legacy. Mark, we have to and a great man died today and we're going to we're going to miss him sorely.

And Mark, I love you to death. And I love Rush, but I just love you guys to death. You just teach us how to think. You know, we think for ourselves, you know, it's just you just can't put it into words. I love the man and I love you, Mark. Have a great day.

Thank you, Ivan. I appreciate it. Let us go to Barry, Fort Myers, Florida, the great WFTS expert. Go right ahead, please. Mark, sir, it is an absolute honor to talk to you. I hate that it has to be under these circumstances today. And God bless you and every fan of Rush there is right now. I have a quick story. I was another Rush baby. I was in third grade in 1988.

I'm 41 now. My mom, when I would be in school from noon to three, would keep his show. And when he came on his TV program, he had all these videotapes, TV program to when I got home from school, I would listen to her show via cassette tape. And I still have some of those cassette tapes from the 80s and 90s. And it's a huge loss. And but I was a Rush baby and pretty proud to sit here and say that tonight.

Well, it's good to hear from you, Larry.

And I know the feeling. I know the feeling. And I know everybody's kind of down about this. But you go through a period of mourning and then and then you want to celebrate the man's life.

And that's what we're going to do by defending our country, promoting our liberty, we are so.

And he felt. We're so lucky to have been born into this country. We could, you know, God knows where else we could have wound up, were born in the greatest nation in the face of the earth.

And we have an obligation to defend it, as every past generation has. But this time it's a little more complicated. While communist China is a grave threat to our country, grave, grave threat. The other grave threat is right. Right here domestically, just look around what's happening to our country, and I know Russia understood all this and he believed it was a grave threat and he believed America would come through.

But he also understood you got a fight.

You have to be resolute. And now we're going to carry that on without him, but we have to carry on. I'll be right back. Over 2000 of you, my listeners, made the switch from overpriced wireless carriers to pure talk over the past few months, we want the rest of you to join us and to see what we're talking about. If you're with AT&T and Verizon or T-Mobile, your family could save over 800 dollars a year just by switching to pure talk.

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There's something else I want to read to you next hour that I think will make sense to a lot of you. I'm not trying to make this show dire.

I'm not trying to make this show sad and depressing, but on the other hand, I'm not going to pretend that this is something other than it is. And we're going to show Rush the respect and the praise that he deserves and not just today, you know, as I read these sponsors. Commercial. I remember thinking last month, Rush was on the radio or maybe it was six weeks ago. He's doing a show. He's talking about events, he's taking calls.

And he's doing live sponsor reads. Knowing he's staring down. I don't like to say the word, that he's staring down death. Such a consummate professional. Such a remarkable person, really. He didn't have self-pity. You know, when some of you may be in this situation, God forbid, some of you know people who've been in this situation, God forbid. When you have terminal cancer. And the doctors are doing everything they can to extend the quality of your life, you have a lot of time to think about death.

You have a lot of time to think about a lot of things that are now. Front and center. To be getting these horrific treatments. Fighting to get on radio. To defend his country. And the president he loved so very much and to talk to you. His audience, other than his family, is ultimate love. This is a remarkable thing. Then to read a commercial. While he's doing his broadcast. You know your time on this planet is limited.

It is for all of us, but. I mean, when you're told it's limited, it's a relatively short period. It's incredible to me. And yet, in some ways, it's not because he's one of a kind, really. One of a kind. All these people on cable TV now and in radio, me included, but all these others. He blazed the path. Not just in radio, but on television, he blazed the path, he made it OK to speak out as an unapologetic conservative.

He made it OK. Can you think of anybody or many of them who precede him on such a level, on such a scale? No, you can't. There have been some great don't get me wrong. But the reach. Is unparalleled. And so people can now go on radio as hosts, go on TV, as hosts, go on TV as guests. What have you. And speak out as strong conservatives, he made that possible. He made that possible.

I didn't know Roger Ailes very well, I know that Rush and Alles were very good friends, they had worked together. And of course, they've all but destroyed Alles. But Alles made Fox possible. That is the entity of FOX. And. But Rush, in terms of content, in terms of the courage of getting out there and doing and they wanted to teach you and me a lesson by trashing Rush all the time, all the time lying about this man, Rush Limbaugh doesn't have a racist bone in his body.

He doesn't have a homophobic bone in his body. He's a live and let live kind of man.

That's what he was. He believed in a colorblind society, he believed in individual liberty. He believed in all those things. That Amac. That's what he believed he would not. He would not go. For the craziness in the insanity. Of politics and ideology, he rejected it, he refused, he mocked them, he humiliated them, and more than that, he substantively confronted them, which they never did with him. All they did is trying to destroy him, but they failed and they failed miserably.

One other thing I want to read to you when we get back in the third hour, and I'll be right back with. From the Westwood One podcast network. Ladies and gentlemen, this final hour of the podcast is sponsored exclusively by Amac, the Association of Mature American Citizens, now over two million conservative members, Strong AMAC believes in and stands up for the values that we care about faith, family and freedom. Thank you for listening and please support Amen.

And you can become a member at Armacost U.S. Join.

He's here now broadcasting live from the underground command post here. Deep in the bowels of a hidden bunker, somewhere under the brick and steel of a nondescript building, we've once again made contact with our leader, Mark. Love that. Hello, America, I'm Mark Levin, our number eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one. I want to read you something that to me underscores what Rush was saying to me several years ago that I read to you in rescuing Sprite.

And this is from a book called Journey of the Soul and this book, it's a textbook.

Is used by and was presented to us by our wonderful Chabad rabbi, Haim Cohen. And it is about well, let me read it to you, says Editor's Note On May 13, 2011, someone posted on Reddit Dotcom quote. My friend just died, I don't know what to do. The following poignant response penned by G Snow. Has since gone viral. This is from years ago. Take a listen. And so this fellow writes on Reddit the following.

All right, here goes. I'm old. What that means is that I've survived so far and a lot of people I've known and love did not. I've lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors and a host of other folks. I have no children and I can't imagine the pain it must be to lose a child, but here's my two cents. I wish I could say you get used to people dying.

I never did. I don't want to.

Tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances.

But I don't want it to not matter. I don't want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scars deep. So was the love. So be it. Scars are a testament to life, scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut and even gouged. That I can heal and continue to live and continue to love.

And the scar tissue is stronger than the original flesh ever was, scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to people who can't see. As for Grief. You'll find it comes in waves when the ship is first wrecked, you're drowning. With wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was but is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while.

Maybe it's some physical thing, maybe it's a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe. It's a person who's also floating. For a while, all you can do is float and stay alive. In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don't even give you time to catch your breath, all you can do is hang on and float. And after a while. Maybe weeks, maybe months, you'll find the waves are still 100 feet tall.

But they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between. You can breathe, you can function. You never know what's going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It could be just about anything and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves. There's life. Somewhere down the line. And it's different for everybody.

You find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming an anniversary, a birthday, Christmas. A landing at O'Hare. You can see it coming for the most part and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you. When it washes over you. Well. You know, that somehow you will again come out of the other side. Soaking wet.

Sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you'll you'll come out. Take it from an old guy, the waves never stop coming and somehow you don't really want them to. But you learn that you'll survive them. Another waves will come and you'll survive them to. And if you're lucky. You'll have lots of scars from lots of loves and lots of shipwrecks. I think that's what Rush was telling me. Way back in 2000.

Six and seven. When we were texting back and forth, this is another way of putting it brilliantly puts poignant. It's really heartfelt, isn't it? And that's from Journey of the Soul, a fresh look at life, death and the rest in peace. By the Jewish Learning Institute student textbook that our Rabbi Chabad, Rabbi Cohen has given us and others from which he teaches the subject.

Now, I've talked enough. And I know many of you want to participate in this conversation, so what I'm going to try and do here, because we lost the call screen, I'm going to ask Mr. Producer. For a caller while I work on getting the call screener, Steve, what do you got? XM Satellite, California Antoinette, how are you, Antoinette Hey Mark, managing through all of this. What an amazing, amazing person. Yes. And your doggie as well of 25 years ago, I discovered Rush and 20 and about four or five years a friend of mine had approached me to do a political show.

I'm Latina. It was all we were all Hispanic, but it was done in English. And I was going to say no, because I don't I can't I don't have a college degree. And when Rush it just so happened that he came out, he didn't have a college degree and he was always being so positive. And for us that our Latinos and our conservatives, he gave me that strength and I ended up I agreed to do this political show and I did it for five years with love, not to be afraid to be positive and stand for our values and integrity and for this country.

And that's what Rush taught me, not to be afraid. You don't need a college degree. And I debated the best of them. At least I thought, you know, because they had their law degree from Yale and Harvard. And I beat those guys' butts.

Good for you. Good for you. Yes. He taught people, I think, to be, to have belief in themselves to prepare and believe in yourself. I'll be right back.

My love in. AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens, is one of the fastest growing organizations in America now, over two million conservative members strong, and I'm one of them AMAC believes in and stands up for the values that we constitutional conservatives care about more than talk. AMAC fights a full time presence in Washington. AMAC pushes back against reckless spending disasters like Medicare for all and the expanding reach of the federal government and beyond. Advocacy. Joining a map gives you access to a wealth of benefits and discounts, including special member only, rates on car insurance, travel discounts, cell phone plans and a hell of a lot more.

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All right, let us go to Mike, Detroit, Michigan, on the Mark Levin. Mike, how are you, sir? Mike, how are you, sir? And doing great, Mark. OK, you got to speak up. Go ahead. Thank you for taking my call. Yep. All right. Well, listen, great homage to Rush. What a great man. What a great patriot. We're all going to miss him. And my heart bleeds for you because I know he's a good friend of yours.

But I got to say this over a good 12 or 15 years, I've been listening to your show. I've heard you say many times that you were born in the wrong time. You wish you could have been one of the founding fathers, so on and so forth. Well, I believe in God's perfect timing, his providence and his infinite wisdom. And you and Rush and so many others were our re-founding fathers. You guys have taught us so much about the Constitution, our rights, between right and wrong.

You guys have done just such an amazing job. And God willing, Mark, you guys just keep plowing ahead, man, because every day at six o'clock by nine o'clock, I'm a little bit smarter and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. Everything Rush's done. Shawn, we got young blood coming up like Charlie Kirk and Candice, so on and so on and so forth. It's a wonderful thing and I'm thankful for it. And thank you.

Well, you're very kind. And of course, that's why we honor Rush the way we do. He plays the trail and made all this possible. Now, what I'm not going to do and I have now noticed on Fox, a couple of the guests have is trash everybody else in radio. Rush never did that. There's only one Rush Limbaugh. There's only one Babe Ruth, there's only one Ronald Reagan, there's only one Bill Buckley. There's only one Gretzky.

But to put down it's bizarre, I'm here. Thanks to Rush, thanks to the people who came before me and the people behind me, the younger people. Who've served as substitute hosts on my show, whether it's Bongino or Shapiro. Ah, my friend Mike and Michael in Houston, then others. The goal is to. Is to have a farm team. The goal is a one day I won't be here. By hook or by crook? And we want people to be able to step up.

Charlie Kirks, Candice Owens and others, this is very, very important, Rush understood this, Rush believed in this. And so when I hear people say, you know, everybody else and everybody else in radio is trying to do the best they can. Trying to do the very best they can. When I would visit Russia in Florida, this is a long time ago. He was doing his show a little bit out of his house and then the people in West Palm Beach shut that down so he had to get another place, a studio and so forth.

He would have me sit. Well, there wasn't six feet social distancing back then, I'd be sitting there and just watching them do it. And he once said to me, Flee, I said, yes, Rush. You were studying what I was doing, which I said, yes, sir. He said, that's what I thought. Yes. It's like anything else. You learn from the best, whether it's philosophy, whether it's sports, broadcasting and so forth.

And he was the best at another great friend in radio by the name of Bob Grant. He was mostly local to Philadelphia excuse me, New York. Sometimes he'd get fired. He go from ABC to WOR to ABC. Sometimes he wind up in Philadelphia, whatever it was.

We stand on their shoulders. The people on cable TV today, you know, the left believes the world begins with them right now. That's not how it works. If there wasn't a Rush Limbaugh, there would be no. Successful nationally syndicated talk radio. Period. We stand on his shoulders. But that doesn't mean you blow out everybody and everything else that is developed because of Rush, because of what he's done to the industry. Make no sense, there was only one George Washington.

Just one. Just one. He was crucially important, showing the way to so many others for so many of us. And this is a good thing. This is a very good thing, and that's the way Rush thought and that's the way he operated and so forth. He had. His substitute hosts, I couldn't be a substitute host for Rush Limbaugh or Sean, for that matter, because I work for a different company. They work for a different company than I do.

I can tell you the first time I substituted for Rush. I hadn't really done radio, so I was nervous as hell. Nervous as hell. And he doesn't listen to the substitutes, he relies on staff to tell him who should be the substitutes, he doesn't pick them. His people pick them. So he doesn't get involved in that. If he didn't know. Except when he wanted Sean to sub, he wanted me to sub, but not in recent years, he didn't he didn't pick his subs.

The subs were picked by the staff or by certain individuals. But I remember. Doing that show. I didn't think I did it very well. Three hours. And he he would call me afterwards a day or two later, he said, well, what do you think? I said, I'm not so sure. He said, well, I hear the first two hours were good, the third hour was OK, that's OK. I guess that's better than nothing.

And he was laughing, of course. My call screen is not working, Mr. Producer, who should I speak to? Brent in Bowling Green on the Mark Levin app, go right ahead. It's great to talk to you after all these years, and you're just like a brother to us, to my wife and I was always that way of close family. So we pray for you every day. I have three items to one of how I first learned Rush Limbaugh was on the air and I was 34 years old, working and living in Kansas City, Kansas, as a sales rep.

I stopped at a warehouse. I had to see them about some business. It was lunchtime, 1988, late summer, early fall. They're locked up. They've gone to lunch. But I hear somebody talking inside the warehouse. And then I got closer. I couldn't get in and nobody answered. So I just continued to listen. And this person was typing with such wit and humor and also poking at things that previously had been criticized in the conservative side.

And it was very rare to find anything at that time. So when Rush said he was on cutting edge of societal revolution, he was. Yes, he was. You know, and I'm sitting there listening and honestly because there was nothing available I knew of and I was pretty well read. I thought, well, this must be like an underground tape. But the cassette tape somebody is listening to on a cassette deck and they left it running. And so let's go back to the warehouse.

I said, well, who in the world is this inside? What are you playing in here? And I said, the guy said, you have a tape and they said, no.

All right, my friend, listen, I really apologize to you, but this is a hard break. That's a wonderful memory. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with us. We'll be right back. AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens, is one of the fastest growing organizations in America now, over two million conservative members strong, and I'm one of them, a man who believes in and stands up for the values that we constitutional conservatives care about more than talk.

AMAC fights a full time presence in Washington. AMAC pushes back against reckless spending disasters like Medicare for all and the expanding reach of the federal government and beyond. Advocacy. Joining a map gives you access to a wealth of benefits and discounts, including special member only, rates on car insurance, travel discounts, cell phone plans and a hell of a lot more. And if that's not enough, you'll get Amac bi monthly magazine full of insightful articles on issues that matter to most of us.

We conservatives, as I said, I'm an AMAC member and you should be to join today at Amoca. That's a m a c dot us stop supporting the liberal agenda that the other 50 plus organization has been pushing for. Join amoc instead. A m a c us.

This is the nation's town hall meeting, and you can join in at eight seven seven three eight one three eight one one.

I understand President Trump will be on Sean Hannity show tonight. And Sean has asked me to come on the show as well. And so I will. 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Hannity on Fox Art in Salem, Oregon, the great Khufu. Go ahead Art.

Go right ahead, please. It's our pleasure to speak to you, don't like the circumstances, but God bless you, and we know God has blessed Rush Limbaugh and he is definitely in heaven. There is no doubt I started listening to Rush back in 89. And, of course, you know, Reagan was in power and everything. And I was a Reagan Democrat and became a Republican. And then I started fighting for our rights, constitution, freedom of speech, which, you know, Rush was definitely a staunch advocate for.

There is no doubt about that. And he will be missed, Mark. But Rush is going to live in our hearts and in our minds, and we will, you know, keep following his legacy and do all the things that he taught us. And we are all better off because God gave us Rush Limbaugh and remember and never forget, Rush always said he was talent on loan from God. And the reason why he did so well in his hour of need, I mean, this last year is because he did have a wonderful brother, David, who very religious.

In fact, I don't know if you read David's book. Oh, yeah. And I'm sure he inspired Rush through this year of turmoil that he had. And Rush, you know, definitely benefited for it. And I know David is comforting, Catherine, and I know they all have strong belief in God and we will all get through this, but we will never, never forget Rush and we will always continue the fight to do what he knew.

And what we know is what America should be.

All right. Art, great points. Very, very wonderfully said. Thank you, Art. Let's go to Nashville, Tennessee, Betty, on TV and go ahead, Betty. Hi, Mark, I just wanted to say, without crying, my deepest condolences to you as Rush was your good friend, but I just want to thank Rush's wife, Katherine, during this most devastating day of her life, losing Rush, but that she waited to tell us as I turn on my radio every day at 11 o'clock to listen to him.

And as soon as she came on to tell us about the passing of Rush, I thought that was so kind in her deepest sadness to let us know first his ditto heads because she knew how much Rush loved us and how much we loved him.

And I don't want to say any more because I'm so, so sad, thank you. So thank you both for being a good friend to him. But please tell Katherine when you see her. Thank you for what she did for us today.

I think she hears you. And thank you very, very much. And you're exactly right. I turn to my wife and I said, Wow.

She's a very, very. Spiritual person, very loving and loving to rush, obviously, and very strong. And she was. So right to talk to his audience first. And she did a beautiful job. Let us continue, Tim Lexington, Kentucky, the great VLK. Go right ahead, Tim.

Hello. Good evening. You know, in 1976, Milton Friedman made a program called Free to Choose on PBS, of all places. And Reagan quoted him often, I have never become a conservative. I think if it hadn't been for Milton Friedman. And Reagan then carried the torch for eight years. He left in 1988, the public life. And it just seemed seamless to get to Rush. But I have never been to become a conservative without Milton, and I would never listen to Rush without Milton not been a Levinite if I haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh.

Very well put. Very well said, Tim. Thank you very much. Let us go to Nathan Fort Worth, Texas, the great WAP, Nathan. Go right ahead, please. Hello, Mark, it's such an honor to speak to you. I want to thank you for taking my call. I can't really find words to express how much I appreciate what you do for America and, of course, what Rush has done for America. A quick story about you before I share a Rush.

Here's the truth.

I'd be talking to myself. If it wasn't for Rush saving this entire industry. Go right ahead. I'm sorry. Yeah, that's fine. I used to live in Montgomery County, Maryland, listen to you on WMAL for 14 years up there, and I pastored a church there. I had a church member hop in the car. He was like a walking encyclopedia for political and military history, but he never listened to talk radio. He only read he got in the car within 60 seconds of hearing you on my radio.

He said, this guy sounds like a constitutional attorney. And I said, well, you're listening to Mark Levin. So I just want to thank you again for what you do in regard to Rush. I had a roommate when I was in seminary back in 91 who listen to Rush faithfully every day. And I would come back from lunch, get in the room, and he'd be listening. And I was like, oh, do we have to listen to all this garbage all the time?

I consider myself a patriot. I grew up in Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley, singing patriotic songs in public school. It was drilled into my head. I remember President Kennedy's picture on the wall. You know, we were union foundry workers, conservatives in that we are Democrats, but not like today's Democrats. But I was kind of apolitical and my roommate listened all the time to Rush. And I said, man, I don't want to listen to this.

And he said, shut up, shut up, shut up. If you just shut up and listen, you'd understand. Well, finally, I did shut up and listen, and it changed my life. Fast forward a few years. I'm married to a Latina from Boston and she was very liberal and we lived in California. We used to cancel each other's votes out. Every time we went to the polls, we took in a friend, a guy from church who had become homeless.

He was from Poland, a young man. And he and my wife would have political arguments. He'd say, I lived through this. I know I came from Poland. You don't want to be a liberal. You know, finally, his argument for her was, just listen to Rush. I dare you to listen to Rush and you'll find out he's right. So my wife listened in order to prove him wrong. And she found out Rush is right.

So I tried to call Rush several times. I was never able to get through, but I wanted to tell him this story. I'm glad I can share it with your audience that I always joke that Rush saved our marriage because my wife and I are both strong, patriotic conservatives today, largely because of Rush's wonderful, wonderful story.

And I think there's so many stories out there, I'm sure, of Russia opening the eyes to so many people. If they would just listen, he would say, just give me a few weeks. Give me three weeks. Just listen, for three weeks, I think it was three weeks. And then you would understand and of course we do. I want to thank you for your call. It was wonderful, Nathan. Let's go to Sarah.

Des Moines, Iowa. XM Satellite. How are you, Sarah? Hi, Mark, I you know, I've been very sad all day, I've been crying quite a bit and I can't imagine how you feel. I have been listening to Rush for over 30 years. I'm thirty nine years old, so back since the very beginning, and I feel like he was a member of my family. Our actual local radio station was one of the first thirty stations to play his syndicated national show.

So listen to him since the beginning. And again, like I said, I just feel like I've lost a member of my family today. But you spoke about honoring Rush, and I want to just share that. I want to honor Rush through the way I raised my children. I have three children, four, eight and 11. And they have been able to listen to Rush with me. And they know what an important part of my life that he was and is just in the way.

He helped mold me to be a critical thinker and taught me so much. And you know, the Rush Revere books, if parents have not gotten those for their children, I just want to encourage them to do that because they are a wonderful resource and my children absolutely love them. And we have all learned so much. And again, it's just my way that I want you to know that I'm honoring Rush and, you know, raising my constitutionalist children.

Wonderful. So I just wanted to share that.

And, you know, the stay at home situation gave parents more of an opportunity to have their kids listen to Rush earlier in the last year, in the past year, too. Sarah, I want to thank you very much for your call.

And we'll be right back. Much love in. AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens, is one of the fastest growing organizations in America now, over two million conservative members strong, and I'm one of them AMAC believes in and stands up for the values that we constitutional conservatives care about more than talk. AMAC fights a full time presence in Washington. AMAC pushes back against reckless spending disasters like Medicare for all and the expanding reach of the federal government and beyond.

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I think you'll want to watch Sean show tonight, 9:00 p.m., just a few minutes, Eastern time, he's going to have the president on their. President Trump. I will be on the program as well. He's asked me to come on and I certainly will.

Let's go to Keith in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the great WPHP, my hometown. How are you, Keith? Hi, Mark, it's a sad day. I heard this afternoon like everybody else, and almost started crying. It was just just a sad, real sad day. But I wanted to relay a real quick story to you. I was 20 years old. This is probably late 1990s. And we're driving outside of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. My father and I and we we listen to the radio a lot.

And Rush was his absolute favorite. I heard one of your callers mentioned about a cassette tape. My father would record them all as well. We pulled over. It was about two thirty. Rush was on the air. And I said, Dad, what are you doing? He pulled out a piece of paper. He said, this is a list of all 600 stations that Rush Limbaugh was on. And he started checking them off, he says, I'm up to about 330.

He traveled a lot for his work and he said, I hope one day to to get to 600. He ended up my father ended up dying of cancer as well, about 15 years later. But he had a lot of good memories with Rush. So wonderful. He had such an impact on everybody.

He sure did. And that is that's a wonderful story. Thank you, Keith. Appreciate it.

Let's go to Alison in Midland, Michigan, on the Mark Levin app, how are you, Alison? I'm doing great, how are you? OK, I'm sorry to hear about the passing of Mr. Limbaugh and I heard this afternoon and my mom told me and it just hit me real hard. I didn't know him personally, but it was tough to hear my grandfather growing up. By the way, I'm 20, so I don't have all the life experience of some of the folks on on here of the right path.

But he would, he would listen to Mr. Limbaugh. He would be working in his wood shop and I just kind of listened to what Mr. Limbaugh would say, but I didn't really pay much attention. I just spent time with Grandpa and now it's like, oh, that's the show my grandfather would listen to. Wow. That is really good stuff. And so I started reading his books and and learned more. And yes, Rush's right. I actually have one of his mugs.

It was my grandfather's my grandpa. He actually passed away about eight years ago of cancer as well. And. I know he's up there, actually, he probably got to meet Mr. Limbaugh. Well, we'll just say, Heaven got a little bit brighter and Heaven got a little bit brighter and I hope my parents are visiting with him, too.

So many people die of cancer, including them. And I want to thank you, Alison. That's a wonderful call. A wonderful memory, isn't it? I think so. And. We appreciate that. Let's go to John Springfield, Missouri, XM Satellite. How are you, John? I'm doing all right, considering Mark, how are you? OK, thank you. I kind of got what feels like a unique experience with Rush, but I'm sure I echo tens of thousands, if not millions.

I'm from southern Missouri, so not too far from where Rush is from. And I lost my father in the 1980s who coincidentally looked just like Rush and I set out to find my fame and fortunate at the age of 18 started to travel toward Florida. I found myself in Atlanta, Georgia. At the end of a long day. I turned on the TV, didn't even know the difference between a Republican, a Democrat or anything, and just knew I wanted to go out and make something of myself.

There was Rush on the TV and I had never seen anyone. And all the teachers, the mentors that had over there, no one that was like Rush. And slowly I began to get educated from him as I listened to his radio show. As you know, he quit TV after that. And I think if I remember right, he quit. He just didn't like all the attention being so much about him.

So he went back to the mike and his radio show, he felt and he was right, was his number one passion. That's what he wanted to focus on.

He didn't like all the dressing up and makeup and all the events surrounding doing a TV show, radio.

You come in prepared to sit down and you do it. And there's something to be said for that.

All right, my friend, I really appreciate your call and I appreciate all of you and tell you every time how blessed I am to have you out there. Unfortunately, we don't have Rush anymore, but we will follow his lead. And I want to thank you for listening tonight. We salute all you heroes out there. And God bless each and every one of you. And hopefully I'll see you tomorrow. God bless. From the Westwood One podcast network.