Howie Carr references FR often as well, although he has nowhere the reach of Rush et al.
You are SO RIGHT ON, I am amazed how often AFTER I have read the news on FR that LATER IN THE DAY, I hear Howie, Rush AND HANITY quote verbatum the very stories WE have posted.
Face it; Free Republic IS show prep for the overwhelming majority of talk radio hosts, if you don't believe me, just do a test, in the morning read the Breaking News, Latest Articlse and Latest Posts and then listen to your favorite talk show host and make a list of how many stories you ALREADY READ on FR. DO this for one week and you will be amazed at how GREAT FR is. As for Hanity, he is just part of the "fair and ballanced" mindset over at FOX. Translation: "wack the conservatives so that the liberals won't think we are too conservative!"