Rush Limbaugh to be honored in state Capitol's Hall of Famous Missourians

ST. LOUIS • Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, at the center of a storm of criticism for derogatory remarks directed at a young law school student, is set to be honored by the Missouri Legislature with a statue at the state Capitol.

House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perryville, confirmed Monday that Limbaugh, who, like Tilley, hails from southeast Missouri, will be honored with a place in the Hall of Famous Missourians, a circle of busts in the Capitol rotunda recognizing prominent Missouri citizens.

The statues are paid for with private funds raised by the speaker.

The unveiling is not expected until closer to the end of the legislative session in May, but, last month, a Kansas City artist published an announcement on his website indicating he was working on sculptures of Limbaugh and Dred Scott, whose landmark slavery case was heard at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis.

A Democratic website, Fired Up!, linked to the sculptor's page Monday morning, just as more advertisers were announcing that they were leaving Limbaugh's show.

Limbaugh grew up in Cape Girardeau, where his family has deep roots in the political and legal community. The federal court in Cape Girardeau is named after Limbaugh's grandfather; Limbaugh's uncle was a longtime judge at the St. Louis federal courthouse, where Limbaugh's cousin, a former state Supreme Court judge, is now on the bench.

On his radio show last week, Rush Limbaugh turned his focus on Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law School student who had spoken out in favor of including birth control in employer-covered health care plans.

Limbaugh called Fluke "a slut, a prostitute," and suggested that if "we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex ... We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."

Limbaugh apologized on Saturday — "My choice of words was not the best," he said in a statement — but that did little to quell the furor. On Monday, AOL Inc. and a tax dispute firm were the latest advertisers to declare they were leaving Limbaugh's show after the Fluke comments.

In Jefferson City, Limbaugh would be enshrined in the General Assembly rotunda along with the likes of Stan Musial, Walter Cronkite and Sacajawea, the Native American guide on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Inductees into the Hall are selected by the Speaker of the House. Last month, Tilley unveiled the bust that will represent Negro League great Buck O'Neil, who played first base for the Kansas City Monarchs, in the hall.

The sculptor for the O'Neil statue, Kansas City artist E. Spencer Schubert, has also been commissioned to replicate Limbaugh's likeness for the Capitol.

Schubert could not be reached for comment. But in an entry on his website on Feb. 13, he posted a picture of Limbaugh alongside the famous ex-slave Scott.

"What do these two guys have in common you ask?" Schubert wrote. "Well, turns out that they are both in the process of being sculpted by E. Spencer Schubert for the Hall of Famous Missourians."

If inducted, Limbaugh will be rarefied company. The first inductee, in 1982, was humorist Mark Twain, followed in later years by Harry S Truman and Walt Disney.

To say the least this is an abomination and must be stopped!

Every decent American needs to contact MO House Speaker Steve Tilley and demand that all plans to honor Rush Limbaugh with a statue in the Hall of Famous Missourians be dropped immediately.  Limbaugh is a racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, warmongering schmuck.  

His presence alongside truly great Missourians like Harry Truman, Dred Scott, Walter Cronkite and Mark Twain defiles the capitol and insults the memory of those towering Missourians.

Contact MO House Speaker Steve Tilley here: