In his lifetime, Rush Limbaugh became one of the most powerful voices in conservative media. Since his death last year, a number of tributes have been written about his life and legacy but perhaps none quite as unique as the one from his sidekick of 30 years, Bo Snerdley, AKA James Golden.
In his lifetime, Limbaugh became a titan of conservative talk radio and a Republican kingmaker of sorts. Former President Trump even awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 2020, a year before he died at age 70 following a long battle with lung cancer.
In an interview with CBN News, Golden said there are many things he misses about his former boss and friend.
“His laugh. His smile. His humor,” said Golden. “His just being Rush. You know, in many ways Rush was larger than life to a lot of people and you could be around him and know his presence was different than most, but at the same time, the relationship that I was blessed to have with him and also those of us who worked very closely with him every day in the southern command headquarters here in Florida, we were just like our own little family.”
And that sense of family went back decades, even before Limbaugh’s show and success. Golden writes about their relationship – on and off the air – in his book, Rush on the Radio: A Tribute from His Sidekick for 30 Years.
“After being with him for 30 years, I decided that it was up to me, and not just me, it will be others, who at least had an inside view of what it was like working with Rush and who he really was to help put that down so he could have legacy that was not written by people who never listened to him or his political detractors but for instead those of us who actually loved him and knew him.”
Among other things, Golden highlights Limbaugh’s generosity, from giving to non-profits like Tunnels to Towers, to donating millions of dollars for leukemia research. And it went well beyond that.
“He was also generous to his staff,” explained Golden. “Rush had a staff of people that stayed with him for decades and in the media, anyone that works in the media, you know this, it’s usually a turnstile – people coming in, people coming out, people advancing into other positions – but Rush developed a family of people who stayed with him through these decades because of the way he ran his business operations and because of the way he treated his people. The staff – I can say this unequivocally – we loved Rush.”
Of course, Limbaugh had his critics too. There was a common accusation from his opponents who claimed that he was racist.
“I have problems addressing that because, I mean, look at me. Really? Racist? I am a proud African American,” said Golden. “I would never work for a racist. I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. Of course, Rush was not a racist.”
As bombastic as he could be on the air, Golden says behind the scenes, Limbaugh was a quiet, humble, and faithful man.
“It was private,” Golden said of Limbaugh’s faith. “I feel very hesitant talking about it except to say that he did talk about it openly. The Limbaugh Letter which was the most successful political newsletter in America for all the years it was printed, the issue that came out right after he passed, it was almost like it was a premonition. The illustration was him with folded hands and just saying, ‘God is with me.’ And at that point, he was with God and he had returned his talent on loan from God back to God.”
Golden now hosts his own radio show on WABC out of New York. WABC is where he first met Limbaugh all those years ago.
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