If, for some reason, you don't think the name Limbaugh carries any juice in Cape Girardeau, consider the following news blip.
On Christmas Eve, Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Christopher Limbaugh the prosecutor for Cape Girardeau County. The 28-year-old Limbaugh, who'll become the county's top law enforcer in January, graduated from law school less than two years ago.
So what makes him qualified for the job?
Do you even have to ask? Limbaugh is the cousin of Rush Limbaugh. Moreover, both his father, Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Missouri and a former Missouri Supreme Court justice, and his grandfather, Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr., served as county prosecutor. In 2007 the new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau was named after Christopher's great-grandfather Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr.
Limbaugh takes over for Morley Swingle, who held the job 26 years before announcing his retirement last month to take a position as a federal prosecutor.
Nixon's office dispatched a press release about Limbaugh's appointment on Christmas Eve, shortly before the office closed down for the holidays. Nixon's press secretary did not return calls to the Southeast Missourian for comment or explanation.
The newspaper reports that Christopher Limbaugh passed the Missouri bar in April 2011 and has worked since then for his family law firm. Like his famous family members, Limbaugh is a Republican.
Nixon, a Democrat, had never before appointed a rival party member to a fill a vacancy for a county prosecutor. But it could be that the governor saw the selection as a foregone conclusion. Despite Christopher's inexperience, it's likely his name alone will earn him election in 2014 in the Republican stronghold of Cape Girardeau County.
