Posted on 10/13/2023 4:21:21 AM PDT by relictele
So what do we make of Jesse Kelly?
I’m probably no different to many in that I’ve searched for something, anything to replace a mere portion of Rush Limbaugh and his program. There are many pretenders, few contenders.
I’ve addressed the ‘officially designated heirs’ of Clay Travis & Buck Sexton in another post. Their biggest problem is attempting to be nice guys while getting into the dirty business of politics. They simply won’t attack the Marxists & statists directly. They’ll criticize, they’ll complain but that’s about all. They have fallen into a rut of Chicken Little shrieking about all the problems and abuses, especially where Trump’s legal issues are concerned. They claim they want to win but aren’t doing much about it, Travis’ playbook of self-evident cliches notwithstanding.
Which brings us to Kelly, who has an interesting background but the interest level wanes quickly thereafter. First of all, he’s awfully pleased with himself much of the time. Rush’s braggadocio was obviously tongue-in-cheek to all but those who didn’t get it. I don’t hear the same overt or implied self-deprecation from Kelly. I hear only bluster and check-me-out. Branding is just that but incessantly announcing one’s own name as part of the show title, the email address etc is something beyond branding. And it's often the worst kind of filler.
Kelly demands that his audience be up to date, informed and intelligent but his shaggy-dog common-man analogies, or illustrations, on a particular topic are exasperatingly long and meandering. ‘Let’s say you need a gallon of milk. And you want 2% not whole milk. So you walk to the bedroom to get your wallet then you get your keys to start your car. And your car is a Toyota. Then you drive to the store and enter the dairy aisle etc. etc. and Rod Stewart’s ‘Passion’ is playing on the Muzak blah blah ad infinitum ad nauseum…..’
Kelly is apparently attempting to use these parables of a sort to educate but the level of mundane – and hypothetical - detail is stultifying. Gratuitous.
He doesn’t seem to support any particular politician, candidate etc. Kelly WILL denigrate the powerful, the annoying and the dangerous. but often does so in the course of berating the public ie the listener for not doing more about it. Clay & Buck have this same unfortunate tendency. Limbaugh often expressed false humility (‘just a guy on the radio’) but he knew that applying subtle pressure to sensitive areas – egos, embarrassing personal details, scandal – could make politicians uncomfortable, even angry and spur them to action even the reckless kind. Rush’s imitators and heirs will simply not engage at that level despite having the power of a mass audience.
(PS - Dan Bongino was everyone's 'hammer' as a guest or guest host during the Trump years. Bongino knew - or hinted that he knew - all the dirty details from inside sources. As Bongino became his own man ie hosting a show of his own and being a primary rather than a secondary media figure he has been gelded. Or gelded himself. Lots of whispering that he still knows the dirt but he won't reveal it. His Twitter feed, once provocative and even funny, has become a tiresome they're-out-to-get-me self-pity party. He's really lost his way. If he had a way to begin with.)
The rules may have changed for media over time but regularly insulting your audience as dumb, intransigent etc. is still not the best path.
Advertising dollars are hard to come by. It’s understandable, but still off-putting, that Kelly will do more of his conversational shtick as he gears up to sell this or that container of snake oil. In other words, content and not-really-content are intermixed.
I condensed a recent episode by editing out all the self-congratulatory blather and, of course, the interminable sales pitches and (automatically) deleting long pauses. A 3 hr show boiled down to about 1 hr 5 min. And in that 1 hr 5 min I counted 4-5 salient points that I hadn’t heard elsewhere or that provoked thought. In other words, he’s capable of insight and educating the audience but that is lost in the noise.
As above, Kelly has some observational and analytical talent but like a hotshot guitarist he needs a producer (in the record-making sense) to make the music more appealing, consistent and accessible. He doesn’t seem big on the opinions of others so that may be a forlorn hope.
He is an anchor for the TV program “The First TV”. He’s ok but not a Rush replacement. I watch him at times on Rumble.
Obviously to anyone with a brain who realizes a person can only speak for himself. Anyone sell this “what do WE think about” crap is shows great disrespect to others.
No “we” is a rhetorical device designed to confuse and obfuscate an issue.
Actually, I am a retired MD.
Great disrespect?
You may be a retired MD but you’re a drama queen. And a crank.
I solicited opinions. That isn’t an attempt to confuse or obfuscate.
Other people on this thread took it in the spirit intended.
“Bongino is the best of the lot. Informed and principled.”
Maybe, but his delivery is terrible. Can’t listen to him.
This reads like an advertisement. Are you associated with this subject?
Never heard of him.
I’ve never heard of this person.
Dan Bongino, Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles are my favorites.
>>”not much humor” on Matt Walsh’s show?
It’s 100% humor. How can you possibly not get that?!
Sitting on your ass listening to obscure political ranters is the polar opposite of "getting out."
Rush Limbaugh, there is no substitute!
Here in New England, and everywhere on IHeartRadio, we like Jeff Kuhner on WRKO-AM. He does a good job on the morning drive time, 6 to 10 am.
Doesn't matter how often I get out, the guy ain't in my radio reception area.....
“Rush’s braggadocio was obviously tongue-in-cheek to all but those who didn’t get it. “
Rush was “bad ass” while just being the “harmless, lovable, little fuzzball”. 🤭Just saying.
“It’s 100% humor. How can you possibly not get that?!”
100% humor? Really? That’s absurd.
He is on First TV constantly. I think that is Bill O’Reilly’s channel
An hour? So... twice as much actual content than Sean Vanity?
Sheesh..... it just seems that Kelly is everywhere these days and hard not to notice. Here’s one... do you ever use Rantingly? https://rantingly.com/ There’s usually a clip from Kelly along the right side of the page...
Try Steve Bannon’s War Room. 10-12 am Monday-Saturday on Real Americas Voice, Gettr and Rumble. You can always go back and listen to an episode if you miss it. Then he comes on again at five on the same venues and I at six on Rumble and Gettr and Mike Lindell’s channel Frank Speech Monday-Friday.
I grab Bannon occasionally.
All these hosts need to stop filling minutes with ‘Where can people find you?’
Um, they’re all on Twitter and other social media and anyone can find them in seconds with a web search. The plugfest is redundant.
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