“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in… Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” — Winston Churchill, 1941

“We are not sunk yet! We will never surrender, we will never give up — never! It’s not who we are, it’s not what we do. We never give up! — Rush Limbaugh, 2021

“Never stop fighting for America. We are the sons and daughters of liberty. It is priceless, but we know its cost. And we are about to educate those who would try to steal it.” — Rush Limbaugh, 2021

At tiny Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech on March 5, 1946 — five years before Rush Limbaugh was born some 200 miles away in Cape Girardeau.

Despite having rallied and inspired his island nation with his stirring oratory, leading the Allies to a great victory over the Axis Powers in World War II, Churchill was no longer Prime Minister. In July 1945, just two months after V-E Day, Churchill and his Conservative Party decisively lost the election. So he was traveling to America as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, to sound the alarm about the rising threat of communism.

“A shadow has fallen,” Churchill said, decrying Soviet Russia “and its Communist international organization.” Yes, “an Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent… [T]hroughout the world, Communist fifth columns … constitute a growing challenge and peril to Christian civilization.”

This was reminiscent of his famous “Battle of Britain” speech of 1940, when Churchill had warned, “But if we fail [to repel Hitler’s air attack], then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age…”

But England did not fail, thanks in large part to the massive uplift of Churchill’s fighting words on the whole nation. Victorious in that battle, they lived to fight another day — right away. The next war, the Cold War, was immediately upon the West. And Churchill’s Missouri call to action was characteristically unwavering:

“We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world,” he asserted, “and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”

This can be seen as a passing of the torch of sorts. Winston Churchill, having kept the world safe from fascism, preserving the flame of liberty that had at times seemed on the verge of flickering out in the fierce winds of world war, had handed posterity a precious inheritance.

And for his 33 years on radio, Rush Limbaugh embraced that inheritance with all he had — his talent, oh so much talent, on loan from God-d. Rush never for an instant ceased “to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom.” Indeed, for all of those years, when it came to the dominant elite culture, Rush was himself the unparalleled Leader of the Opposition — opposing liberalism in all its forms and iterations: leftism, socialism, Marxism, communism, totalitarianism.

In fact, think about this: it could fairly be said that Winston Churchill was England’s Rush Limbaugh. Learn it, love it, live it.

Rush’s fearlessness was defining. In a 9/16/92 interview with William F. Buckley on “Firing Line,” Rush discussed the cultural impact of radical feminism and political correctness. His quick mind on full display, he easily parried Buckley’s intellectual flourishes; it was a fascinating exchange between equals. Then this happened:

Buckley: I’m waiting for a day when people would be laughed out of the campus who use the word “freshperson” [instead of freshman]. It’s an idiot attempt at hermaphroditic excess.

Rush: It is, but if you oppose it, you’re the one laughed at.

Buckley: You oppose it.

Rush: I do. But I’m brave.

Rush’s answer was so instantaneous and cocksure and hilarious that Buckley gave an immediate belly laugh. But it was absolutely true. Rush went on to explain, “I view myself as courageous. I’ll go against the tide. I’ll be willing to subject myself to dislike and hatred … if it takes that in order for me to be truthful and honest with people.”

Because, as he often said, “The pioneer takes the arrows.” Rush was very willing — even eager — to withstand the fury of the left in service of advancing liberty, and for 33 years, it saved the country. This desire to fight for America was an extraordinary gift to his cherished nation; it never faltered, and that’s why Rush is so deeply beloved. Millions upon millions tuned in every day to hear their ideals and values championed and protected, as the “dulcet tones” (as he put it) of that amazing voice, brimming with life and fun, reassured that all would be well.

Rush always said, “I defend. I get up every day and see the American institutions and traditions that made the country great under attack. I defend them.” That is the pushback he delivered day in and day out with joie de vivre, optimism, and good cheer — and rocking bumper music.

In “Why Liberals Fear Me” in the fall 1994 issue of Policy Review, Rush wrote: “Liberals have, in fact, elevated me to the role of leading political figure. Target Numero Uno … because I am effective. I celebrate an America made great because of the extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary people… What I express is called belief in the American people, not contempt for them.”

Rush remained fully engaged in that fight all his days. And now he has passed the torch — to you. It’s your turn to “never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom.” Of course you can. He would say, impatiently, “What do you mean, you don’t know how? For over three decades, I demonstrated how to do this. You didn’t need a super-secret radio or special decoder ring. You are a fully matriculated student of The Limbaugh Institute. Everything you need is already in your heart and mind.”

It’s time. We’re ready.

Churchill photo ©2021 Alamy