Let's see, pubbies have control of the House, Senate and Presidency, plus the majority of governorships. Obviously, something is happening. I think the point O'Rourke misses (although I admittedly didn't read the whole article) is that in addition to conservatives moderates and people new to politics tune in to Rush and are influenced by his ideas.
They do? Then, why is Big Stupid Government so much bigger, dumber and more expensive? Why is the deficit at record levels? What about "limited government" - whatever happened to that?
Although I don't listen to talk radio (for some of the same reasons as O'Rourke, in addition to not having time for it), I think that with the media, schools, and universities all taken over by the apparatchicki, if not for talk radio, you wouldn't have a Republican in the White House today. A few million people who voted for Bush in 2000 would not have. That includes both moderates who would have been afraid to entertain conservative ideas that had no apparent social support, and rock-ribbed conservatives who might have stayed home, sensing their votes as hopeless. Not that I'm talking about the majority of people who voted for Bush, but the minority that swung the election.
O'Rouke neglects the fact that talk radio's influence goes well beyond the radio, to books and the Internet. A bunch of bestselling works would never have been published, without talk radio. Larry Elder wrote a book a few years ago that was the #1 or #2 bestseller, in spite of a mainstream media blackout. So, I respectfully disagree with O'Rourke. He's right about the lack of public debate, but the significance of talk radio goes beyond public "debate."