Rush Limbaugh’s most outrageous moments in 25 years on radio

It was August 1, 1988. Ronald Reagan was about to finish his second term as president, Michael Dukakis had just become the Democratic nominee for president, the Republican National Convention was just a couple weeks away, and a 37-year-old named Rush Limbaugh premiered his nationally syndicated radio show on WABC in New York City.

Twenty five years later, he’s spent countless hours on the radio, inspiring his “Dittohead” followers and leaving more than a few liberals shaking their fists and rolling their eyes.

To celebrate his quarter century on the air, we rounded up 25 outrageous moments from the last twenty five years: the racist, the sexist, and the downright flabbergasting. Be sure to listen to “My City Was Gone” while reading for the full effect.

1. “Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?”

Comments made around 1990, exact date unknown (Source: FAIR)

2. “Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is also a White House dog?”

Comments made while displaying a picture of Chelsea Clinton, then a 13-year-old, on his TV show in 1994. (Source: TIME)

3.  ”Women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.”

A “truth” from his 1994 list of “Undeniable Truths” (Source: LectLaw.com)

4. “When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it’s an invitation.”

Comments made on his radio program in the summer of 1994. (Source: The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh’s Assault on Reason by John K. Wilson)

5. “Mrs. Clinton’s testicle lockbox.”

Although Limbaugh has been implying since the 1990′s that Hillary Clinton metaphorically castrates men, keeping the spoils in a “testicle lockbox,” he used the phrase again as recently as February 6, 2013 (Source: Media Matters)

6. ”Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.”

Another of Limbaugh’s “Undeniable Truths” (updated version), also said on his radio program on August 12, 2005. (Source: Media Matters)

7.  ”The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”

Comments made during Limbaugh’s short stint as a host on “Sunday NFL Countdown” in 2003 (Source: ESPN)

8. “I think it’s time to get rid of this whole National Basketball Association. Call it the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association, and stop calling them teams. Call ‘em gangs.”

Comments made on his radio program on December 8, 2004 in response to a brawl that had erupted at an Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons game on weeks earlier. (Source: Media Matters)

9. “Women still live longer than men because their lives are easier.” 

Responding to a recent Census report on his radio program on March 1, 2005. (Source: Media Matters)

10. “He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act. … This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting.”

Comments made on his radio program in October 2006 after Fox, who has Parkinson’s Disease, appeared in a series of ads for candidates who supported government-funded embryonic stem cell research. (Source:  Washington Post)

Click here to view 11 through 25.