Republicans in Missouri let go of their desire to designate January 12, Rush Limbaugh's birthday, as "Rush Limbaugh Day" in honor of the controversial late talk radio host. The decision came after pushback from Democrats and the public, who decried Limbaugh's "homophobic" and "racist" legacy.
Democrats in the Missouri legislature vehemently objected after a bill to honor Limbaugh was introduced on the floor of assembly.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Democrats of the assembly "strongly opposed honoring the Cape Girardeau native, citing what they said was his long record of racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments."
Limbaugh died of lung cancer at the age of 70 on February 17. He remained smoking cigars throughout his diagnosis and often underplayed the dangers of smoking cigars and cigarettes on his radio show.
He also, during his time as a conservative radio commentator, made a number of controversial statements, including but not limited to: saying Barack Obama & Oprah Winfrey were only successful because they're Black, saying all composite pictures of wanted criminals look like Jesse Jackson, and the nation needed segregated buses in order to function correctly during Barack Obama's presidency.
Limbaugh also would mock gay men dying of AIDS during the HIV/AIDS crisis throughout the 80s and 90s, in a long running segment called "AIDS Update" where he would say things such as "gays deserved their fate."
Limbaugh's effect on right-wing political rhetoric and the embracing of White nationalism in the United States cannot be overstated, as shown when former President Donald Trump presented him with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom.
Limbaugh leaves behind an troubling legacy, but thanks to Missouri state Democrats, he will not be getting any more accolades yet.
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