While Rush Limbaugh was a man widely admired by conservatives for his God-given ability to effectively articulate their own political perspectives, his greatest detractors, those in both mainstream media and the establishment intelligentsia, could hardly stomach him. Rush was a force they truly couldn’t contend with, so they did their best to belittle him by crafting a false caricature, deriding him as “dangerous,” “bigoted,” “racist,” “sexist,” etc. Of course, Rush took it in stride, often using the personal insults to humorously expose the bankruptcy of the Left’s political and cultural ideology.

It therefore comes as no surprise that news of Limbaugh’s passing served to once again bring out the worst — or as Rush would say, show the true colors — of the leftist political and cultural elites. Here are but a few of the vitriolic statements that have been heaped upon America’s Anchorman.

NPR announced Rush’s death with the following social media message: “Rush Limbaugh has died at the age of 70. The conservative talk radio host was known for propelling Republican candidates and attacking women, Blacks and Latinos.”

The Washington Post’s story asserted that Rush “deployed comic bombast and relentless bashing of liberals, feminists and environmentalists to become the nation’s most popular radio talk-show host and lead the Republican Party into a politics of anger and obstruction.”

According to The New York Times, Rush was a “relentlessly provocative voice of conservative America who dominated talk radio for more than three decades with shooting-gallery attacks on liberals, Democrats, feminists, environmentalists and other moving targets.”

CBS News simply wondered in announcing his death, “Rush Limbaugh, conservative oracle or opportunist?”

CNN’s Brian Stelter called Rush “a conservative media icon whose legacy will always symbolize division.”

Rolling Stone’s headline read: “Rush Limbaugh, Right-Wing Radio Host Who Trafficked in Bigotry and Cruelty, Dead at 70.” The HuffPost’s senior reporter responded with a message on social media: “Rush Limbaugh was a bigot and a misogynist who saturated America’s airwaves with cruel lies and conspiracy theories for decades, transforming the GOP in the process.”

What these headlines and statements serve to prove is one of Rush’s biggest criticisms of what he always called the “Drive-by Media.” They never took the time to actually listen to what he was saying before breathlessly asserting their fallacious talking points, littered with intentional mischaracterizations, and they spread it out there as if it were bona fide fact.

Judging by the massive outpouring of loving tributes from Americans all across the nation, those who really knew the man — because they actually listened to him — know that a great American died yesterday. He was an American who truly deserves honor. His legacy was a continuation of our Founders’ legacy. In the annals of American history, Rush stands tall in the culture war as its greatest defender. Those who hate him only prove the point.