I have a friend who is not a member of FR, but he knows I am a member. He heard the incident and he was angry towards Hannity. My friend has a lot of respect for FR and he too would like to know more about this incident.
This is the mom of the "idiot" who called Hannity. Now, my son is a big boy (6' 6" and size 17 shoes) and doesn't need me to defend him. Yet, I have a right to speak out too, don't I?
My son is definitely not a troll, DU, etc. Boy have some of you folks got the wrong number there! No, there was no mischief which a time-delay prevented. What happened was quite simple. My son had waited for about an hour (wonder how many cell minutes that will cost me?...but I digress) to get on the air. He made some introductory remarks and as soon as he mentioned FR, Mr. Hannity said "thanks" and cut him off. It was not an accident. It was not a screener/production mistake. Mr. Hannity *clearly terminated the call with his "thank you."
Mr. Hannity perhaps needs to be reminded that he also serves as a role model. I keep recalling that Rushism...."an excellent role model for the yoot of America." Mr. Hannity failed in that today. I can't imagine Rush cutting somebody off. Engaging in spirited debate, yes. Letting liberals hang themselves with their own lack of logic, sure. But, I have never heard Rush be rude. Mr. Hannity was rude.
Dave has listened to talk radio for years. As homeschoolers, political talk radio actually became part of our curriculum. He used the debate skills he learned there and further sharpened his skills in his teen years on his mom! (poor me!) :-)
Dave is one of the most passionate conservatives anybody would find. He not only espouses the views, he actively engages people in debate. Isn't this what we WANT young conservatives to do! He takes up the cause by one-on-one discussions, primarily on-campus. He is in college now and he is swimming upstream amongst rampant liberalism. Last semester he ran afoul of a liberal teacher and was subjected to mail harassment. The liberal prof. launched a computer-automated junk mail attack. We were getting 2-3 bushels of mail per day. Impossible to locate the water bill! It continued until Federal authorities intervened. No, Dave was not rude nor disrespectful. It was clearly and only a matter of differing political ideology related to President Bush's election. \0/
I relate all this to say that Dave has paid a price for his conservativism. Last semester Dave had dreams of becoming an attorney. Lately, he's had some discouragement about this dream regarding the glut of attorneys. He's now leaning towards business/PR/communications.
What Mr. Hannity seems to have forgotten is that getting on his show can be a real high point especially for a young man who has literally grown up listening to him and to Rush and received a political education from them.
I am deeply disappointed to see the Mr. Hannity treated Dave this way. I'm a mom and I'm entitled to whine about this--so save your emails. :-)
I realize that Mr. Hannity did not know the history of the caller. But, he is still accountable for cutting somebody off just for mentioning Free Republic! I think that's outrageous. I think Mr. Hannity owes my son an apology, but I won't hold my breath.
Finally, thanks to all the Freepers who have been so supportive to Dave.
WendyBreeze
A.K.A. the "idiot's" mom