RUSH: This is Colleen in Oklahoma City. I’m glad you waited. Appreciate your patience. Welcome to the program. Hi.
CALLER: Hi. Thanks for having me.
RUSH: You bet.
CALLER: Okay, so I just wanted to thank you for sparking my interest in politics. I’m 22 years old, and my dad loves your show, but I couldn’t exactly say the same. I’ve been kind of forced to listen to you growing up, and every time I’d ask my dad to change to a music station, and he’d be like, “Well, this is music to my ears,” so we’d have to stay and listen to your show. And this summer I’ve been spending more and more time with my dad and finally I gave in to actually actively listening to your show, and it’s not bad.
RUSH: (laughing)
CALLER: Yeah, I mean, he’s got something to what he does, who knew? But I’m actually now motivated to paying attention to the election, become an educated voter, and for the first time in my life.
RUSH: Holy smokes, that’s amazing.
CALLER: Yeah. You’re way cooler than I thought, so I’m glad I gave your show a chance.
RUSH: You do not know how you have made my day. Because I can understand. Look, I was 18, 19, 20, 14, 15 once, and I know when your parents are doing something and they force you to or ask you to, that’s the last thing you want to do. Parents aren’t hip. I mean, you love ’em, but they’re not hip. For cool you don’t go to your parents. So you’re forced to listen to it which is just gonna naturally make you resent it.
CALLER: Yep.
RUSH: How was your dad able to continue to keep this program on against your entreaties to turn it off? I mean, how did he survive your efforts to make him change the station?
CALLER: Well, I mean, I love him, so anything that will make him happy. He works so hard for me so I’ll keep his show on every once in awhile. He finally challenged me to give it a shot this summer, and I did.
RUSH: So for how many years had you had this attitude about the program before you actually started giving it a shot this summer?
CALLER: I mean, my dad’s been listening to this since I can remember, so, I mean, just this year, I just turned 22, so I guess my whole life until now.
RUSH: So you are a reluctant Rush Baby?
CALLER: Yep.
RUSH: No, you are not now, but you were.
CALLER: I was, that’s the truth.
RUSH: Well, I’m flattered to no end. What did you think of politics before this, and what was your attitude whenever you came across any political news? I mean, were you just not interested in it?
CALLER: I wasn’t interested. I didn’t pay attention. I was way more interested in the music industry or pop culture.
RUSH: Right, right.
CALLER: I didn’t think it affected me that much and now I’m getting older and I’m realizing this stuff really does affect me. So I’m trying to pay more attention.
RUSH: Well, I appreciate that. Welcome. Have you visited RushLimbaugh.com? Have you been to the website?
CALLER: Well, just to get this phone number, and you look different than I thought, but you’re looking good. They’re all the same, you know?
RUSH: (laughing) Well, jeez. I should have taken your call at the beginning of the show today. Okay, so you have been to the website, you’ve perused it, you’ve looked at it?
CALLER: No, just to get this phone number, but I mean —
RUSH: Okay, look, my website, because it’s really worth it, has a pay wall. I mean, the free side of my website is an encyclopedia, but the stuff on the other side of the pay wall is even better. And what I want to do, I want to give you a complimentary subscription to it so that you can access the whole thing. And it’s not that you have anything else to learn, don’t misunderstand. I’m just saying that I’m really proud of it, the content on that website every day is voluminous. And if you ever miss a program one day, you can go listen to it again there or read the transcripts of things. And if you heard something you really liked you can revisit it and relive it.
It’s a great representation of what happens on the program. It’s a lot of hard work putting it together every day. And since you have recently arrived at the program and like it, the website would be a natural adjunct to it, or resource, if and when you have time to access it. I want to make sure you have access to the whole thing, so if you’ll hang on here, Colleen, Mr. Snerdley will get back to you, we’ll finagle a way for you to get a complimentary subscription so you can get access to the entire site, okay?
CALLER: Well, thank you so much.
RUSH: You bet. And we’ll throw in a copy, a monthly issue of the Limbaugh Letter, which is the most widely read — I’m sure you don’t know this — political newsletter in the country, too. It features an interview every month, ’cause I don’t do interviews on the radio show ’cause I am the expert. But I defer in the newsletter and pretend that there are experts on things and I talk to ’em. So we’ll give you a subscription to that, too. But I can’t thank you enough. I appreciate your dad and everything that happened that made you stick with it and get it. I really do appreciate that. So hang on for Mr. Snerdley.