One of two things has happened.  Talk radio was so distraught with Rush’s passing it has committed suicide or those trying to fill his void are actively engaged in the murder of the medium.  Rush’s popular proclamation: “Talent on loan from God.” was truer than we thought.  It is painfully obvious that God has indeed called in that note.

The three guys dividing up that sacred 12-3 time slot into two competing shows are either benefactors of the suicide or co-conspirators in the murder.  And as karma punishes, all three are suffering from over-exposure to the elements; tattered and frost-bitten by the stark comparisons to a talent so much greater than their own. 

After his death, months passed of milking what was left of the Rush bull with a hybrid of live hosts DJ-mixing Rush sound bites with their own rap.  This stop-gap measure apparently led to the conclusion that it would take multiple mere mortals to replace the man his fans affectionately called “El Rushbo.”  And so it was decided that the continuation of the Excellence in Broadcasting (or EIB network), would carry on with co-hosts Buck Sexton and Clay Travis.  After the dust settled, the Rush/EIB Dynasty of some 650 radio stations was whittled down to about 400.  As other stations looked for alternatives, Dan Bongino popped up on the Cumulus Media radio platform with his own version of the 12-3 replacement for the iconic Limbaugh, sucking up another 300 stations as the vacuum Rush left behind was begging to be filled.

After listening to all three men conduct what must be their best efforts in this space I can only conclude one thing.  They all suck.

In their collective effort to not copy The Great One, they have succeeded in failing miserably in the effort to replace his iconic wisdom and voice.  Whatever it is they are delivering, I can’t imagine the Rush faithful will stay tuned.

Joni Mitchell reminded us in the 1960’s that, “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.”  Boy was she ever right.