"for us there has always been a bit of a 'cringe factor' with accepting his style.

That implies that you did accept it. Why? If you have a dog that bites people, it is your duty to do what you can to stop that happening, not to wait until someone else does so, and then explain that you never really liked the way it behaved.

All right you couldn't stop him - but you could have raised your voices against him. I've often seen people on the Mudcat saying how they despise Rush Limbaugh - but they didn't seem to be coming from peopoe who would describe themselves as conservatives.