HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 95-4684, by Representatives McMahan, Delvin, B. Thomas, Backlund, Hymes, Horn, Clements, Cairnes, Thompson, Talcott, Sheahan, Sherstad, Buck, Crouse, Goldsmith, Hickel, Beeksma, Koster, Hargrove, Mulliken, Casada, Campbell, Mielke, Lambert, Carrell, Boldt, Van Luven, Chandler, Reams and Smith

WHEREAS, It is the policy of the Washington State Legislature to recognize excellence in all fields of endeavor; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has exhibited the highest level of excellence in his absolute commitment to truth, justice, and basic American values throughout his entire life; and

WHEREAS, Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was born and raised in the small Midwestern town of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, learning the traditions and ethics that made America great; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh fell in love with radio in elementary school, began his broadcasting career at age 16 as a Top-40 deejay at the local radio station in the 1960's, worked at the campus radio station while attending college, and soon after embarked on a full-time radio career as deejay, newsreader, and commentator in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Sacramento; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh held various other jobs over the years and, as an avid sports fan, spent four years outside the radio business as director of group sales and special events for the Kansas City Royals; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh returned to broadcasting in 1983 as a political commentator at KMBZ in Kansas City, and then in 1984 he ultimately found his true calling as a midday radio talk show host at KFBK in Sacramento, California, where he tripled the program's ratings in just four years; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh created his "Excellence in Broadcasting" network in 1988 sending his radio program, "The Rush Limbaugh Show," over the air waves from New York City, where he went national with an initial airing on fifty-six radio stations reaching 250,000 people; and

WHEREAS, The Rush Limbaugh syndicated radio show eventually proceeded within just four years to break all talk radio broadcast records by airing on 650-plus radio stations reaching over 20 million avid and devoted listeners throughout the United States and around the world on Armed Forces Radio; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh dramatically enlarged his sphere of influence in 1992 when he began hosting one of the highest rated late night TV shows and the first-ranked late night syndicated TV talk show, "The Rush Limbaugh Show," reaching 4.1 million viewers on 245 TV stations around the country, and hosting a radio commentary, "The Rush Limbaugh Morning Update"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh was inducted in 1993 into the Radio Hall of Fame, the radio industry's highest honor, and was awarded in 1992 the National Association of Broadcasters' prestigious Marconi Award in the category of network syndicated personality; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh made his sitcom acting debut in 1994 on CBS's "Hearts Afire" program which proved to be a ratings bonanza and was the first time since 1991 a show following "Murphy Brown" bested that show's performance; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh had a smashing success with his first book, "The Way Things Ought To Be," which sold 4.6 million copies in just over a year, climbed within days to The New York Times bestseller list and remained there for 54 weeks, 24 of them in the number 1 spot, with the paperback version spending 33 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh also had great success with his second book, "See, I Told You So," which had a record-breaking first printing of 2 million copies, and which ranked number 1 on both The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh also writes and publishes a monthly newsletter, "The Limbaugh Letter," the most widely circulated political newsletter in America today with over 500,000 subscribers; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has been profiled on CBS's "60 Minutes" program and in numerous publications, including cover profiles, such as Time Magazine and USA Weekend, is a frequent guest on ABC's "Nightline" with Ted Koppel and on CNN's "Crossfire," has appeared on "Good Morning America," "CBS This Morning," and the "Phil Donahue Show," and has his third "Rush to Excellence Tour" video in distribution; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh was named in 1993 one of "The 25 Most Intriguing People of the Year" by People Magazine, was named one of "The 12 Most Fascinating People" by ABC TV's Barbara Walters, a "Status Symbol for the 1990's" by Fortune Magazine, and one of "The Ten Most Admired Men in the World" by a USA Today/CNN poll conducted by the Gallup Organization, and in 1993 was hailed by the Clinton Administration White House as a "Distinguished American"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has been called "The most dangerous man in America" by liberals in the media, "The number one voice for conservatism in America" by President Ronald Reagan, and "The acknowledged leader in a constellation of talk radio hosts" by The New York Times Book Review; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh presently divides his time between his nationally syndicated daily three-hour radio talk show, his daily early-morning ninety-second radio commentary, his nationally syndicated daily late-night thirty-minute television show, his monthly newsletter, and his speaking engagements to hundreds of thousands of Dittoheads across the fruited plains; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh is the hottest media phenomenon in the country, and is one of the few public figures in America today whose straight shooting commentary and satire of current trends and social issues is striking a responsive chord in millions of radio listeners, television viewers, and readers of his books and newsletter; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has served the people of the United States well throughout the years of his tireless and prolific career by providing balanced, honest, and understandable information on the critical issues of our time with energy, humor, insight, and sophistication; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh is an original American success story who remains a firm believer in the American Dream, as he says, "My story is nothing more than an example of the Original American Ethic:  hard work, overcoming obstacles, triumphing over enormous odds, the pioneer spirit . . . these things are what built this country"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has proved his unparalleled competence as an intelligent, knowledgeable, articulate, personable, fair-minded, and credible professional by being the preeminent radio show host in the history of the universe, by becoming the preeminent television show host of all time, and by authoring two runaway bestseller books; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh truly is just a "harmless little fuzzball" who created the EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Network, an extremely "addictive airborne phenomenon spread by casual contact," for which millions of Americans have tested positive and for which there is no cure, vaccine, or inoculation, yet it is not only harmless but is actually beneficial to one's health; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh's extraordinary talents "on loan from God" have been made obvious by the judicious and wise use of the half of his brain that is not "tied behind his back just to make it even" as he artfully and skillfully exercises his acerbic wit, astounding brilliance, provocative satire, animal magnetism, and huggable charm; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh, "a man, a legend, a way of life," entertains, provokes, and persuades friends and enemies alike for hours every day on his no-holds-barred radio and television shows with a unique blend of conservatism, enthusiasm, panache, and common sense as he "says more in five seconds than most talk show hosts say in a whole show"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has exercised dignity, decency, integrity, and wisdom in exposing the foibles of political correctness and other peculiar doctrines held dear by radical fringe wacko elitist kook nutcakes; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has spent his life serving humanity as "the epitome of morality and virtue" while on the "cutting edge of societal evolution" performing "libosuction" on "young skulls full of mush" and firing lethal shots with devastating aim at the whole spectrum of liberal ideologies; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh and the EIB Network have paved the way along with other talk stations and broadcast professionals, like KVI in Seattle, Mike Siegel, Mike Reagan, Floyd Brown, John Carlson, Alan Keyes, and Kirby Wilbur, to hold those in power and their special interest supporters accountable to the people by shining the light of truth on their schemes to deprive the people of ever more of their money, property, and liberty; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has made the medium of radio a primary source of news-based information for millions of citizens throughout this state and nation and has motivated many to greater personal involvement in American political processes and public policy debates; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh is not only a national phenomenon, but a national resource, who has been "documented to be almost always right 97.9% of the time" and who "does not need to be balanced with equal time because he is equal time"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh can be summarized in only one word, incredible-sensational-amazing-inspiring-awesome-phenomenal . . . "dadalup, dadalup, dadalup"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh has millions of other patriotic Americans who agree with him when he says, "Ronald Reagan is my hero, the best and greatest president in my lifetime"; and

WHEREAS, Rush Limbaugh is a source of great pride to many of the citizens of the state of Washington;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the state of Washington honor Rush Limbaugh for the dedicated service that characterizes his life's work, for the outstanding example of diligence, integrity, and excellence he has set for others, and for the hope that his future endeavors will bring him even greater levels of satisfaction and success; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to Rush Limbaugh, a man who truly is a "legend in his own time."

I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

Resolution 4684 adopted by the House of Representatives

Rules Committee on April 22, 1995.

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Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk