A day after the passing of conservative icon and talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh, the man known as Bo Snerdley gave a rare interview Thursday night to Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, and delivered a beautiful set of remarks reflecting on his late friend after having served as Limbaugh’s longtime producer and call screener.
With his voice filled with emotion, Snerdley spoke of Limbaugh as another “Founding Father” who was “one of the finest human beings” ever who “never failed to thank people for the smallest service.”
Hannity teased Snerdley’s appearance throughout the show, but finally brought him on in the final full segment, first saying Snerdley (whose real name is James Golden) “had the first-hand experience throughout all these years watching up close and personal, the remarkable life and career of Rush Limbaugh.”
Golden thanked Hannity for “hav[ing] been so kind, not just to me, but to all of us” on Limbaugh’s team “during this period of profound grief” in which “we can’t wrap our arms,” “brains[,] and our hearts around” the fact “that our beloved Rush has returned his talent to God and we are so thankful to him.”
Adding that El Rushbo was “a second-generation Founding Father,” Mr. Snerdley said his friend’s impact “went beyond radio” and even “politics” as he “changed so many trajectories” across America.
He then spoke on what Limbaugh did to revolutionize conservative thought and its presence in the media:
You know, Rush is, to me, a second-generation Founding Father. This went beyond radio. This went beyond politics. What Rush did for America – one man changed so many trajectories in this – in this country. When Rush began his career, there were 1,200 radio stations roughly doing the talk radio format. Today, there are over 12,000. The number of print, conservative publications, very few. Today, it’s a flourishing market. There was no Fox TV. There were no – there was nowhere on TV that you could get conservative ideology, that you could get the values that represent what most Americans believe until Rush. He changed the media. He changed the landscape. Rush Limbaugh's radio show grew for over 30 years. This is unheard of.
Taking note of how Rush’s audience spanned from children to “the senior of senior citizens,” Golden closed by saying his friend “was one of the finest human beings that you would ever want to meet” and more than that: “A generous, wonderful, beautiful spirit, humble, a gentleman, always. Never failed to thank people for the smallest service that they could do. Never looked down on people.”
Before thanking Hannity for having him on, Mr. Snerdley responded to those who’ve celebrated and smeared Limbaugh over the previous 24-plus hours as a racist: “It burns me to my soul when people sully his reputation with falsehoods calling him a racist. This man was just an incredible phenomenon. And we love you, Rush.”
Amen indeed.
To see the relevant FNC transcript from February 18, click “expand.”
FNC’s Hannity
February 18, 2021
9:50 p.m. EasternSEAN HANNITY: Right now, tonight, we are continuing to remember the life, the legacy, the accomplishments of radio talk show host and titan, Rush Limbaugh. Like I've been saying, the void that Rush Limbaugh leaves – think of it this way. You have a franchise quarterback, running back, you have a franchise tight end, wide receiver, middle linebacker, and safety and you lose it all in one. Irreplaceable. It's hard to imagine any major political movement without Rush's voice at this time, these troubling times even. And I can say this. Rush's passion was God, family, country. Fighting for liberty and freedom was his life’s work. I’d argue his calling in life. What he was born to do. And I do know this. I do know that he would want all of to continue this important work, his passion. Yes, we lost our best player, we lost our franchise, everything. And it does now fall on all of us to up our game and carry the torch – every one of us – and strive to live with the courage, the compassion, the conviction, the patriotism that rush did every single day behind, yeah, it was really gold, the golden EIB microphone. Now one man that had the first-hand experience throughout all these years watching up close and personal, the remarkable life and career of Rush Limbaugh, longtime producer, call screener, you know him as Bo Snerdley, working on the Rush Limbaugh show for decades. Bo does have a real name. He’s been on the show before it. James Golden. We have been friends for many, many, years. I just got to tell this quick anecdote. There was a show going on, the Rush Limbaugh Show. Then there was another show in the control room and I’d go in and my studio was adjacent from yours for many years and I would go in and say hi to you guys and check in and there’s Bo: “Yeah, you don’t know. You don't know bop, bop, bop.” Click. There were two shows going on. True or false.
JAMES GOLDEN: Ah, that's very true, Sean. And yes, we’ve known each other for many, many years. And Sean, thank you. You have been so kind, not just to me, but to all of us during this period of profound grief. And you know, Sean, we can't wrap our arms around this. We can't wrap our brains and our hearts around it that our beloved Rush has returned his talent to God. And we are so thankful to him. You know, Rush is, to me, a second-generation Founding Father. This went beyond radio. This went beyond politics. What Rush did for America – one man changed so many trajectories in this – in this country. When Rush began his career, there were 1,200 radio stations roughly doing the talk radio format. Today, there are over 12,000. The number of print, conservative publications, very few. Today, it’s a flourishing market. There was no Fox TV. There were no – there was nowhere on TV that you could get conservative ideology, that you could get the values that represent what most Americans believe until Rush. He changed the media. He changed the landscape. Rush Limbaugh's radio show grew for over 30 years. This is unheard of. And our audience, from small children all the way up through the senior of senior citizens, and beyond all of those accomplishments, Rush Limbaugh was one of the finest human beings that you would ever want to meet. A generous, wonderful, beautiful spirit, humble, a gentleman, always. Never failed to thank people for the smallest service that they could do. Never looked down on people. It burns me to my soul when people sully his reputation with falsehoods calling him a racist. This man was just an incredible phenomenon. And we love you, Rush. God bless you and thank you, Sean, for having me with you to talk about Rush.
HANNITY: Welcome home faithful servant. He had his personal family, David, Lisa, the kids. You were his work family, James. And we know his bucket list was to be with all of us, not a vacation. James Golden, thank you. More Hannity next.
GOLDEN: Thank you, Sean.
