Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio host, rushed to Hawaiian hospital with chest pains: report

BY DAVE GOLDINER DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Wednesday, December 30th 2009, 9:47 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 30th 2009, 11:59 PM

Paramedics responded to a call for help at 2:41 p.m. local time at the Kahala Hotel and Resort, a Hawaii TV station reported.

Limbaugh, 58, who has an army of 20 million listeners, was taken to Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, station KITV said.

Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, told CNN he couldn't confirm the report but was "concerned" about Limbaugh.

The right-wing talk show host was vacationing for the several days in Hawaii and was seen playing on a golf course nearby.

Ironically, Limbaugh chose the same holiday destination as his nemesis President Obama.

Another frequent target of Limbaugh's bile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also is vacationing in Hawaii this week.

Limbaugh has increasingly been seen as a key leader in the Republican Party, especially among archconservatives who hope Sarah Palin can lead the party back from the electoral wilderness.

Limbaugh has been the top-rated voices on radio for years and earns a reported $50 million a year.

In 2003, Limbaugh was accused of buying thousands of illicit prescription pills, which he claimed were an effort to curb pain from a back operation.

He checked into rehab and insisted he'd done nothing wrong.

He was charged with doctor shopping three years later, but his record was expunged under a deal with Florida prosecutors.