Rush Limbaugh and Charlie Kirk have recently been compared to each other on various media. The comparisons are somewhat off-base, except for one thing: the public loved both men. Sure they were both titans of public discourse and media. Both men were strongly conservative and Republican. Both loved America and everything about her. Both were wildly popular and captured the attention of huge numbers of listeners and watchers. Both were Christians.

But the comparison needs bifurcation. 

Rush Limbaugh was king of talk radio for 33 years when he died at 70 from lung cancer. The country mourned publicly. No one ever came close to his popularity. He dominated talk radio to the point where anyone else sounded feeble when trying to compete with him or his audience, which numbered in the tens of millions. The noon to 3pm time slot was dominated by Rush’s show. He was a private man and rarely spoke about his Christian faith. Once in a while, he would mention God briefly.

Rush had his major challenges. He was fired seven times before hitting it big. He was addicted to Oxycontin, admitted it on air, apologized, humbled himself, and went into successful drug rehab. He also went completely deaf due to an auto-immune ear disease. Imagine going deaf when your entire career depends on your hearing, and suddenly you cannot even hear your own voice. He had cochlear implant surgery and over time, regained most of his hearing so that he could continue his broadcasts, at a very high level of brilliance and effectiveness. Rush was no stranger to troubles. But he rose above them, married for a third time, and lived happily until his death.

Rush’s main contribution to the truth was his astounding political prescience. He could predict the actions of Democrats and leftists before even they knew what they had planned. His motto was “I told you so.” Every day’s broadcast included political news updates, sometimes interviews with presidents, calls with well-known political guests, and phone calls from listeners, most of whom adored him.

So many listeners agreed with Rush’s political opinions that callers, instead of detailing their agreement, would get on air and just say, “Dittos, Rush.” Those who did not agree with his analyses got quickly squashed — without profanity or rancor. It was Rush who pointed out that leftists start swearing and insulting people when confronted with the truth and error of their thinking. Rush was amazing and there will never be another.

Recently, Glenn Beck made the comment that Charlie Kirk far surpassed Rush. That is simply not true. You cannot compare the two men except that both had monumental effects on the country for good. Glenn is wrong — Rush was not surpassed by Charlie; Rush’s place is forever secured because he was one of a kind in his field — radio — and America adored him for 33 years.

Charlie was a different kind of titan. Charlie was awesome. His debating skills were fearsome. But Charlie was more a cultural icon than a political icon, destroying shibboleths that young people embraced that were just dead wrong. Charlie’s target audience was mainly young people. He wasn’t so much political as cultural. Charlie spoke a lot about Jesus Christ in public. He spoke about abstinence, why abortion is wrong, why making babies within marriage is good, why trans is not just wrong but irrational, and why being gay goes against God’s law. Charlie never ridiculed or hated gay people. He viewed them as salvageable, future conservatives.

Charlie, unlike Rush, was always out in public. He breathed public interaction and that was one thing that made him great. He related and engaged one-on-one. Rush tackled them in the millions.

Charlie was young, just getting wound up and would someday become president. Everyone knew that. Rush did not aspire to anything more than being the best in talk radio, which he was.

Charlie’s kingdom work is only now starting to be felt. Rush was more private about such matters.

Charlie and Rush were one-of-a-kind influencers of the entire country, but you cannot compare their careers, except to say they were both great in their own way. Rush was politics, Charlie was culture. Yes, their careers intersect at politics but then their paths diverge — Rush to politics, Charlie to culture and faith.

Charlie had not yet “surpassed” Rush but he was certainly on his way, which is why they killed him.

Both men are sorely missed and God will be glorified by their legacies. Well done, good and faithful servants.

Image from Grok.