State Senator Andre Jacque and representative Shae Sortwell are circulating a resolution to honor the life of the late Rush Limbaugh ahead of Tuesday's special session.

GREEN BAY - State senator Andre Jacque (R-DePere) and representative Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) are circuluting a resolution to honor the life of the recently deceased talk-radio show host Rush Limbaugh, who mocked the deaths of AIDS victims and spent decades spreading racist and sexist comments, conspiracy theories, and accusations on the airwaves.

Limbaugh died on Feb. 17 from complications of lung cancer, touching off a debate about how to remember the life of one of the American right's most powerful figures. He revealed in October 2020 that his cancer was terminal. The next day, former President Donald Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Two Northeast Wisconsin legislators introduced a resolution honoring the life of the late Rush Limbaugh on Monday, ahead of the Feb. 23 special session.

The Los Angeles Times published an article in 1998 describing a segment of Limbaugh’s radio show in which congratulatory music and sound effects accompanied the names of recently-deceased AIDS victims. The report stated that Limbaugh even said, "gays deserved their fate."

Limbaugh’s record of inflammatory rhetoric is long and harmful. A list of 20 vile, verified quotes, from calling NFL games “a game between the Bloods and the Crips”, to saying “they are 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?” in regards to Black people having a stronger voice on political issues, can be found here.

A representative of Sen. Jacque’s office referred questions about the resolution to Sortwell’s office on Monday.

A representative with Sortwell’s office told The NEWComer that other legislators are signing onto the resolution at the moment, but could not provide names or the amount of people co-sponsoring.

According to the Wisconsin Examiner, Shortwell’s office confirmed that he is currently trying to add the resolution to Tuesday’s special session agenda in the Assembly.

Shortly after Limbaugh’s death, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly Robin Vos sent a letter to Governor Tony Evers, requesting flags be put at half-mast to honor the talk show host.

Representative Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) immediately denounced Vos' call to honor Limbaugh, saying in a tweet that Limbaugh “was a radio personality who spewed hateful, harmful messaging.”

Limbaugh’s rhetoric left a stain on political discourse in the country, landing him the title of “most dangerous man in America.”

The talk show drew millions of listeners, including in Northeastern Wisconsin. Diners, bars, supper clubs (like Wally's Spot Supper Club of Green Bay) and even a 1990’s Green Bay Packers locker room would pipe in his talk show, dubbing themselves “Rush Rooms.”

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This story was initially published in The NEWcomer, an independent journalism project covering local politics, community issues, art, and culture in Northeast Wisconsin. More information about The NEWcomer can be found here. It has been republished with the permission of the author.