Posted on 11/22/2002 2:55:40 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
As a conservative radio talk show host I feel compelled to respond to Sen. Tom Daschle's recent diatribe against talk radio. Over the years, on my program, I've interviewed hundreds of leftists including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn and Gloria Steinem. I reside in Brookline Massachusetts, the liberal hometown of Michael S. Dukakis whom I've interviewed. My friends, enemies, colleagues, relatives and even my wife (basically) are liberal. So with both feet firmly planted in the liberal world, while at the same time doing talk radio in the real world, I feel that I'm in a position to make a few observations.
I've noticed that liberal guests have generally sought to control everything that goes over the airwaves when appearing on my show. They want to know my ideology beforehand, they generally don't like call-ins and they are often disdainful during the interview. I would contend that this desire to control emanates from a philosophy that believes that government should be a controlling authoritarian force. This manifests itself when liberals advocate for such causes as government run schools, welfare, racial quotas, activist judges, and hate crimes. They seek dominance over education, entertainment, and the media, hence, their disdain for talk radio, which is hard to control.
Dark conspiracy theories are tossed around by liberals to explain conservative talk with the implication that "corporate" interests are conspiring to control opinion. When liberals make this accusation, they are actually projecting their own controlling faith on the more freedom-oriented conservatism. Never mind the fact that the major TV networks, major publishing houses, major newspapers, big unions, most private fortunes and the big entertainment conglomerates in this country are mostly controlled by liberals. So are most of the corporations.
The bottom line is that radio stations, unlike the massive liberal-run media combines, are still owned by and run by local mom and pop operators. As such, radio stations must generate ratings in order to sell advertising. Advertising keeps these operations in business, a concept that many liberals don't understand. In order to generate ratings and attract listeners, the station must offer programming that appeals to the most number of people. This principle doesn't apply, by the way, to the liberal-run National Public Radio, which is subsidized by the taxpayer and which, ironically, appeals to a demographic that could easily afford to pay for the upkeep.
The truth is that left-wing liberalism just doesn't appeal to the average radio listener or, for that matter, resonate with the average citizen. Most people, unlike liberals, are not in love with government. Most don't want to pay more taxes to support social engineering and massive bureaucracies. While many buy into the view that abortion should be legal, nevertheless, most instinctively understand that abortion is murder and don't like to think about it let alone talk about it in favorable terms. Most people support traditional marriage and families and don't agree that this position is bigoted.
Liberals don't make it in talk radio because, unlike liberal internationalists, most people support the national interest when considering foreign policy issues. Unlike liberals, most Americans don't support international laws, which entangle America into conflict and erode national sovereignty. Most don't buy into this inexplicable hatred the left has toward private business, religion, the traditional family, and individual rights as opposed to group rights. Liberals just don't understand that most people are too busy working in order to keep up with the over 40% of their income extracted annually in the form of taxation to give much credence to left-wing appeals for wealth transfer. Except for those who are either independently wealthy, derive their income from government, or are supported by taxpayer money, liberalism just doesn't fly with average people.
"Liberals just don't understand"
Liberals also don't make it in talk radio because most people - and virtually all in Red Nation but minorities - oppose the liberal agenda on domestic social issues: guns, immigration, abortion, quotas, etc.
Scandals of antigun politicians - with how-to guide to "outing!"
Daschle has had this blow up in his face big time and I am loving every minute of it. Did I hear Rush right that he is going to be on Meet the Depressed this Sunday? The show will have the highest ever ratings for the program.
"If a man is not a liberal by the time he is 20, he doesn't have a heart. And if he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he doesn't have a brain."
I can't think of a liberal syndicated host, at least that I've run into here in Tacoma. Perhaps I should count "Jim Bohannan" and the guy who hosts "Beyond the Beltway", but I haven't listened enough to them to know their slant.
Please don't anyone tell the esteemed Senator that you're supposed to pull out the pin and then throw it, not clutch it to your chest.
What the liberals simply don't understand is that Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and Brit Hume are successful because they fill a void in the media. For decades conservatives had no voice in the lame-stream press. Talk radio changed that. FOX News is changing that. Newpapers like the New York Post are changing that. The Internet is changing that.
Facts, logic and common sense are the stuff of conservative talk radio. The increasingly shrill voices on the left show they have nothing to offer America.
The lefts message is not a positive one, and no one wants to listen to someone promoting a negative message and a doom and gloom vision of Americas future.
Conservatives on talk radio present positive, insprirational, and hopeful messages about Americas future and know what make America great... The individuals themselves who work hard, earn their money, support their families and enjoy life.
Well put! I like that. Did you think this one up? (I may want to use it and I like to give credit)
BH, great quote and exactly on target.
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