By Mike Huckabee
February 18, 2021
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Good morning!
Blessings on you and your family, and from all the Huckabee staff!
Today's newsletter includes:
- Bible Verse Of The Day
- Rush Limbaugh RIP
- "Dear Rush"
- Mark Steyn's Moving Tribute To Rush
- Georgia Fights Voter Fraud, Your State Should Too
- Former President Trump Remembers Rush Limbaugh
- Reader Comment of the Day, re: 'truth commission'
- America The Beautiful
Sincerely,
Mike Huckabee
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BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY
Rush Limbaugh RIP
By Mike Huckabee
While many of us have been bracing for Rush Limbaugh’s passing ever since he revealed his battle against terminal lung cancer, the news that came Wednesday of his death at 70 still sent a shock wave of grief though his many millions of fans. You knew it was coming, but it still seems unbelievable.
If anyone seemed capable of beating cancer, it was the indestructible El Rushbo. Over the years, he overcame every obstacle, from the alleged “death” of AM radio to painkiller addiction and hearing loss (how can a radio broadcaster overcome deafness? Rush did) to the rabid hatred of leftists, whom he infuriated all the more by batting away their attacks with facts, logic and good humor.
With his great love of America and its exceptional history, freedom and opportunity, Rush had a massive influence on politics over several decades, helping direct and grow the conservative movement in good times and defend and encourage it in bad times. But he also earned a place on the Mouth Rushmore of radio (there should be one of those named after him.) When he came along, the industry “wisdom” was that AM radio was dying because it couldn’t carry music with FM fidelity. Rush invented nationally-syndicated conservative talk radio, turned AM back into a ratings powerhouse, and inspired generations of hosts to follow in his footsteps.
I speak from personal experience, having hosted a syndicated radio show myself, when I tell you it’s not an easy job. It’s a testament to Rush’s “talent on loan from God” that he could be on the air three hours a day, five days a week; always be current, enlightening and entertaining; and often fill much of the show by himself without relying on guests or callers to fill the time. Even liberals (honest ones, not the ghouls celebrating Rush’s death on Twitter) admitted that anyone who could attract up to 27 million listeners a week for decades on over 600 stations with just the power of his words and ideas was a remarkable broadcaster. He used his skills not only to influence politics but to raise millions of dollars for charity.
Rush loved loved God, America, his audience and radio so much, not even debilitating cancer treatments could keep him away from the microphone until the very end. And he was riveting right up until his final show, as he talked about how lucky he felt to be alive. He showed a humble side of himself that he often kept hidden from listeners as he discussed his religious beliefs and how he considered every day of life beyond last October, which his doctors had predicted would be his “expiration date,” to be a gift from God. And of course, he reminded listeners of the greatness of America and how important it was to keep up the fight to protect it.
Rush may no longer be on the air every day, but the example he set has inspired generations of patriotic conservatives who will look to his legacy for courage and guidance as they pick up the torch and continue his mission of speaking out and defending this exceptional nation and its great principles.
This moving letter from staff writer Laura Ainsworth ran last year on MikeHuckabee.com.
"Dear Rush"
By Laura Ainsworth
Dear Rush,
I’ve had a couple of days now to process your news, and have decided it would be a good thing to write to you. As a writer/researcher for Gov. Mike Huckabee, I thought I’d also post it on the Huckabee website (with his blessing) and share it with many others who have listened to you and loved you for years. Certainly a lot of your fans are the Gov’s fans, and vice versa.
President Trump’s triumphant State Of The Union Address has just ended, and I was so happy to see you sitting there with Melania, as were many millions of others who had tuned in. This was the most powerful, confident and upbeat SOTU speech I’ve ever watched, and actually being there in that room amidst all that unspoken seething drama must have been an amazing experience. The news that you would be receiving the Presidential Medal Of Freedom had come out earlier in the evening, but who knew that you would be sitting there in the box tonight, that the honor would apparently be a surprise to you, and that it would be bestowed on you right then, on the spot! I guess they must have somehow kept you away from news reports for just long enough.
How appropriate that you would be presented this honor. I had the tissues out, to be sure. Your life cannot be separated from the American history of the past few decades, as they are so closely interwoven. You’ve been instrumental in shaping the radio industry and modern politics, and in touching lives. I’ve been listening to you for a long time and have seen all those changes.
When my then-boyfriend-later-husband (Pat Reeder, who also writes for Gov. Huckabee) first turned on your show for me while we out driving around, I have to admit I groaned. You were in the middle of talking about feminism, and you happened to bring up one of your Undeniable Truths Of Life: that feminism existed to give unattractive women easier access to mainstream society. To me, that seemed more like a defense of feminism, though I couldn’t tell if you meant it that way. Unattractive women SHOULD have access to mainstream society, I reasoned, and if they don’t have it without feminism, then feminism is a good thing. But if you were going to be critical of feminism, did that mean you thought unattractive women should NOT have access? You see my quandry. So my introduction to you was not altogether positive.
But I kept listening and gradually learned that you had an amazing view of the political landscape. So much insight. As for feminism, I’ve always thought of myself as a feminist in the classical sense, believing I should just move forward in the world as it is, as a man would do, and live the life I want to pursue rather than be pressured into something that’s wrong for me. But I came to understand that you were talking mostly about the feminist MOVEMENT, and the feminist movement did betray me, with its laser-beam focus on “reproductive rights” (abortion on demand) and its insistence on having a lot of things both ways. (The inconsistency is even worse today, as can be seen when you juxtapose the “principles” of the #MeToo movement with J-Lo’s sexed-up “empowering” pole dance at the Super Bowl.)
Anyway, the point is, I haven’t always agreed with you, but most of the time, certainly on politics, you were spot-on. It was obvious that critics of your show either didn’t listen at all or didn’t listen enough to understand what you meant, to know when you were being tongue-in-cheek. So often, they didn’t get the joke. Leftists hardly ever get the joke.
Since my husband and I are comedy writers, we have especially appreciated the humor in your show. Looking back, it seems there used to be more of that than there has been in recent years. Maybe that’s just a reflection of the times we’re in right now. (Humor today is not for the faint of heart!) Still, over the years, the many fall-down-funny song parodies you featured inspired me to write more of them myself. Thank you so much for that!
I’m indebted to you in another way, Rush. About 15 years ago, I lost the hearing in my left ear after surgery for Meniere’s Disease. The vertigo attacks were gone, but I was deaf on that side, with loud tinnitus. As I am a singer, this has been extremely challenging to deal with. But when you became totally deaf in BOTH ears, you still managed to continue your career in RADIO, no less! I was stunned at your determination to keep at it and find a way not to give up the work that so many of us value and count on. If you could do that with total hearing loss, then maybe I could find ways to keep going with music, recording and even live performances. You have been such an inspiration to me in that way, and I did eventually find help. Thank you so much.
I also admire you for sticking to your guns when you were savaged, not just by leftists but by some conservatives, for supporting Trump in 2016. As President, he has proved his conservative critics wrong --- wow, he truly has governed as a conservative --- but you seemed to really understand his potential as a conservative leader before many others on the right did.
I hope you’ll be able to be at the Golden EIB Microphone most of the time during this crazy political year. When you need some time away, we’ll understand, wishing the very best for you and hoping you’ll be recovered from treatment and back soon. I think this year will pretty much determine the future of America, so please be here for us when you can, Rush.
You’ve always said you were “having more fun than any human being should be allowed to have.” How wonderful to lead such a rich life, doing exactly what you want, and create an amazing legacy while you’re at it.
Well, I guess that’s about all. I just wanted to say how much you mean to me and to so many, but in the process I realized that mere words don’t quite get there. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to meet you personally and shake your hand, so I’ll just imagine I’m shaking your hand now. (Pause for imaginary hand-shaking. Sorry, my hand is sweating a little.) Thanks for everything, Rush. Much love to you and yours.
Sincerely,
Laura Ainsworth
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Mark Steyn's Moving Tribute To Rush
By Mike Huckabee
In case you didn't see the wonderful tribute to Rush Limbaugh that Mark Steyn wrote on Wednesday, be sure and read it here.
Steyn does a beautiful job of capturing the appeal that made Rush the architect and pre-eminent voice of conservative radio for three decades. You will feel you know Rush even better and will have even more reasons to love and appreciate him after reading this, all the way to the last beautiful line.
Georgia Fights Voter Fraud, Your State Should Too
By Mike Huckabee
This may seem like locking the barn after the horses escape and trample the Constitution, but a Georgia Senate sub-committee has approved four bills to limit absentee ballot voting and fight vote fraud. Don't mock the effort: encourage it and demand it in your state before the 2022 campaigns start.
Note one detail: the vote was on party lines. Democrats want us to believe that vote fraud is non-existent and any suspicion of it is dangerous insurrection talk that must be squashed (unless it's them claiming the 2016 election was rigged, of course.) But if you don’t want people to be suspicious that you might be practicing vote fraud, why oppose every common sense attempt to make sure the vote is honest, even things like voter ID that are backed by large majorities of just about every racial and demographic group?
You’ve heard the paraphrase of Shakespeare: “Methinks thou dost protest too much.” The Democrats can try to ban us from voicing suspicion about why they are so rabidly opposed to election integrity laws. But we thinks it.
Former President Trump Remembers Rush Limbaugh
By Mike Huckabee
"The great Rush Limbaugh has passed away to a better place, free from physical pain and hostility. His honor, courage, strength, and loyalty will never be replaced. Rush was a patriot, a defender of Liberty, and someone who believed in all of the greatness our Country stands for. Rush was a friend to myself and millions of Americans—a guiding light with the ability to see the truth and paint vivid pictures over the airwaves. Melania and I express our deepest condolences to his wonderful wife, Kathryn, his family, and all of his dedicated fans. He will be missed greatly."
Reader Comment of the Day, re: 'truth commission'
By Mike Huckabee
Yesterday, we brought you the story of freshman Rep. Sara Jacobs of California, who is in favor of setting up a program similar to the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" that was used in post-apartheid South Africa. She sees this as a way to promote "healing" as we transition out of the Trump Era and into Biden's new administration.
What it really would be is an Inquisition-like confessional in which anyone associated with President Trump would be required to assume guilt, apologize, "get woke," and do penance for deep-rooted sins they are assumed to have, such as racial bigotry and even white supremacist leanings. There would be "conversations" on how we can do better, and also to construct a shared "narrative" of America's shameful past, up to and including the January 6 Capitol Hill security breach.
RELATED: New CA Congresswoman Wants Anti-Trump ‘Truth Commission’
Rep. Jacobs is even looking ahead to more "accountability" --- presumably in the form of criminal charges --- for Trump and those in his administration now that they are out of office. In her TDS-riddled mind, impeachment was only the beginning.
It's one thing for us to say this is sick and twisted and would be extremely damaging to our country. But we heard from a reader who actually is from South Africa and knows what an actual white supremacist society looks like. He assures us that America is not it and has some choice words for Rep. Jacobs...
From Darron:
As a South African, I have one message for Rep. Jacobs. If the only perspective your Masters of International Affairs degree from Columbia affords you is so superficial that it warrants equating Trump supporters with the architects and enforcers of Apartheid, then I suggest you go back to this so-called vaunted institution and ask for a refund of your tuition costs because your education is far from complete.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission was justified on the basis of 40 years of brutal, factually documented racial oppression. A similar commission is not justified in the USA, a country in which the existence of white supremacy and systemic racism is contrived by people of questionable intellect and perpetuated by fake media narratives.
From the Gov:
Thanks so much, Darron, for writing. If anyone needs a little "re-education," it's someone who graduated from Columbia University with this kind of degree. The saddest part of this story is that there are people such as Rep. Jacobs --- working in our own government, no less --- who have been indoctrinated to see America in this harsh light. She has no problem at all equating America under President Trump with South Africa under apartheid.
Your voice is so important, Darron. Please don't hesitate to write us again on this issue or any other. And if you ever find yourself seated in front of some bogus "truth commission" to help us "heal" after four years of Trump, I hope you'll have the courage to defy "cancel culture" and tell them exactly what you've told us, and more. I have a feeling you will.
America The Beautiful
God's creation is all around us. To learn more about Badlands National Park, visit it's website here.
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