I happen to be a radio “junkie.” My fascination with the great radio shows, football and baseball broadcasts go all the way back to the 1930s and 1940s as a youngster growing up in Gastonia, N.C., a great baseball town. I still have vivid recollections of the exciting programs which included “The Lone Ranger,” “Gang Busters,” “Amos and Andy,” “The Shadow,” and others.

Also, there are wonderful memories of the baseball and football game broadcasts by the likes of Harry Cary, Bill Stern and Lindsey Nelson. Of course, all of this was before television hit the scene in the late ’40s.

The good news for conservatives is that Talk Radio has found an important niche in national politics, and Rush Limbaugh leads the way five days each week with his three hour show, presenting his conservative views on the up-to-date happenings in Washington and around the world. The liberals hate him, because he gets under their skin, sticking them with what I consider to be the truth.

Other conservative Talk Radio hosts include Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz and Laura Ingram with Hannity clearly being a strong second behind Limbaugh. The liberals have tried hard to find an individual they can match up with Rush on a national program, but all of their attempts have failed miserably.

Air America, featuring super-liberal Al Franken, has been a monumental loser.

Recently, both the House and the Senate Democrats have been trying to bring back the “Fairness Act,” a law implemented by the Federal Communications Commission in 1949 designed to ensure

honest, equal and fair debate regarding controversial issues. Later, in 1987, it was decided by the FCC that the Fairness Doctrine was outdated and even possibly unconstitutional due to the multitude of media vehicles available then, and of course, now.

The “Doctrine” was rescinded then, and President Reagan vetoed an attempt to reinstate the Doctrine by the Democrats.

The liberals are trying to muzzle the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity, because they and their shows are having great success.

The liberals want “equal time” on the conservative Talk Radio shows. It doesn’t matter that they dominate every other form of the news media with their liberal propaganda.

The Rush Limbaugh story is a fascinating one and a perfect example of what one can achieve in America by working hard at what one likes to do, forging ahead undaunted, overcoming failures and never giving up in the pursuit of success.

He has endured some setbacks. He dropped out of college after three semesters, “flunking everything” according to his mother. He has also had some health problems along the way with his hearing and prescription drugs.

Rush has been through three divorces, moved around in several jobs in music radio and worked as director of promotions for the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

In 1984, at age 33, he returned to radio as a talk show host in Sacramento.

When the Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1987, the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Ronald Reagan tore down the wall and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the East Germany of liberal media domination.” His success in Sacramento earned Rush a promotion by ABC to their New York City flagship station, and as “they” say, the rest is history.

With a sky-high number of listeners (more than 20 million weekly) claimed by News Max.com plus Pew Research’s ranking of Limbaugh’s audience at 56 percent of hard news consumers, he is on top because he will not settle for less than achieving “excellence in broadcasting.”

He is the overwhelming winner vs. his Talk Radio competitors. Columnist Byron York explains Rush’s success simply: “Rush knows more about radio than all of the would-be replacements on the Left. He’s just better than they are.”

Rush loves being a Conservative and is outspoken about embracing our Constitution, the

Declaration of Independence and our God-given natural right to be free.

Rush is convinced that everything he says is the truth.

His principles include limited government, the rule of law, faith and national security. He supports the war on terrorism, school choice and homeowner rights. His five personal steps to success are: Passion, Doing his Personal Best, Discipline, Determination and Confidence.

Limbaugh is adamant in his belief that success is always a matter of personal desire. God bless Rush Limbaugh!

Byrd Looper is a regular columnist for The Times-Journal.