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We the Sheeple

We the Sheeple

Why McCain's victories are losses for Talk Radio

Ann Coulter chanting "VOTE ROMNEY" on FOX News yesterday.

Rush Limbaugh detailing for his entire three hours exactly why a McCain nomination will destroy the Republican Party.

Sean Hannity repeating the same four talking points over and over and over... oh wait, that's normal. But those talking points are about how horrible a senator and president McCain has been and will be, respectively.

Well, just another Super Tuesday has come and gone. And the conservative punditry is ablaze, fueled by the figure of John McCain burning in effigy. These talk-show hosts blast his voting record, the bills he's sponsored, the somewhat shady alliances he's forged with Democrats like Russ Feingold, (gasp!) John Kerry, (even gaspier) Teddy Kennedy, and (gaspiest) Hillary Clinton.

Yet for all their bluster and umbrage, people are voting for John McCain in droves. Outside the political bellwether states like North Dakota and Utah, nobody seems to prefer the pundits' choice, Mitt Romney.

Why not? Is talk radio not as influential as it likes to think it is? Or are people listening but not following? The Talkies want people to see McCain as he really is, but could he possibly be that bad?

Talk radio does have McCain pegged on some fronts. John McCain is certainly a Washington insider, which people naturally (and rightly) distrust. And he has voted against the Bush tax cuts, vowed to close Gitmo, and bought into global warming hook, line, and sinker. But there must be something to McCain toward which people are gravitating, or else he wouldn't be winning.

So how is it that talk radio can't sway the masses? Are the masses swayable? And if they are, is it Rush, Sean, Ann, and the minor-league pundits who will shape the rest of the parade toward the Republican nomination? Considering more than half the states voting yesterday went with John McCain, obviously not everyone sees McCain as the threat Rush Limbaugh says he is. Apparently this message is being transmitted but not received. So are the voters of America sheep for following the McCain bandwagon? Or are they sheep if they vote with the pundits?
17,302 views 38 replies
Reply #26 Top

Let's be very clear. I may not agree with Rush (or anyone else spouting their opinions on air) but the real issue is this....WHY CAN'T they "attack" or "smear" someone JUST because they were military? Is it okay to trash other people and just not "veterans"? C'mon, that's ridiculous. I want the leadership of my country to have a record that can withstand intense scrutiny. Don't give someone a by just because they served in the military. Short of bashing a soldier BECAUSE they were in service to their country....all's fair in love and war (Politics too!)

Life- you're absolutely right, there is no such thing as a licence to be free from scrutiny. In the particular instance I was talking about though, context matters. The event I am talking about was more one of hypocrisy..... Rush called these dissenting vets cowards, and a lot of other really nasty and completely unnecessary things. All coming from a man who did his damned best to avoid ever wearing a uniform or doing the job that he was screaming needed to be done by others. Now, just because they are vets doesn't mean they are above reproach, but these are individuals who have actually gone to Iraq and fought the very war that Rush was so fond of. And this is a man who at every turn has spoken about supporting the troops. But if some of those troops (who did the very job he said needed doing) happen to have a differing viewpoint, suddenly they become scum. No consideration, no listening to their viewpoint.

For me it's not an issue of political affiliation- There are some folks here on JU... for whom I have a great deal of respect... that have served in the gulf and other wars and have political viewpoints completely the opposite of mine. But because they've been there and I haven't, and because they've fought in wars and I haven't, they deserve to be listened to and their viewpoint on these issues seriously considered, because they've actually experienced it, and I haven't.

It's the same thing as the fact that I live pretty damned close to the arctic and can personally attest to the very real problem of possible extinction for the polar bears. Because I've personally witnessed it and live and talk to the people who live in the arctic and have seen the effects of climate change, in theory someone who has never been north of the 60th parallel should at least heed my words (HA! I just made me laugh)

Reply #27 Top

The event I am talking about was more one of hypocrisy..... Rush called these dissenting vets cowards,

No he did not.  He never used those words about any vets. What he did say was "Phony Soldiers". When he made the comment, in talking to a caller, he did not qualify it - at that time - with who the phony soldiers were.  However that morning, earlier he had been talking about Jesse MacBeth - a man convicted of - claiming to be a soldier in Iraq (he washed out of boot camp in 3 weeks).  After that call, he then again discussed Jesse MacBeth calling him again a phony soldier.

However since he did not say "the phony soldiers like Jesse MacBeth..." he was immediately condemned for calling all soldiers who are against the war "phony".  The last is a stretch since he also did not say "the phony soldiers who served and are now against the war....".  And since he has always supported - through words and deeds - all real soldiers.

It really does not make your case (as that is as far as I got in your response) to repeat lies, half truths, and statements taken out of context.  If you REALLY dont like Rush, find a REAL reason, not a lie.

Reply #28 Top
Rush called these dissenting vets cowards, and a lot of other really nasty and completely unnecessary things.
End of quote


If you are going to take Rush Limbaugh to task, at least do it on a point of fact. As Dr. Guy pointed out, Rush did no such thing. This was one of those things that the incompetent press took completely out of context, and some Democrat pundits ran with.

If "people" like Jesse MacBeth are going to be held up as heroes by the left, they deserve to be called to task for it.
Reply #29 Top

If you are going to take Rush Limbaugh to task, at least do it on a point of fact. As Dr. Guy pointed out, Rush did no such thing. This was one of those things that the incompetent press took completely out of context, and some Democrat pundits ran with.

If I've erred then you have my apologies! I will however try to find a source to back up my assertions. If I can't then I am indeed genuinely mistaken. That said, and not meaning to get off topic, the man is truly a wind-bag in my opinion. His comments about Michael J. Fox faking his epilepsy for example. I did hear that first-hand and there is no excuse for saying such a thing. None whatsoever. Anywho. All the Rush-isms in the world won't change this discussion for the better so I will just drop it I suppose

Reply #30 Top
Rush called these dissenting vets cowards

If "people" like Jesse MacBeth are going to be held up as heroes by the left, they deserve to be called to task for it.


Public figures, especially fake vets like Jesse MacBeth, should be scutinized and exposed for the manipulative idiots they are.

This isn't evidence of Rush's impotence... it's actually ammunition to show how Talk Radio can be used to reveal secret manipulations of public opinion.
Reply #31 Top
Talk radio didnt lose anything despite what the Stalinists "wish" for... America lost.


The hosts on Talk radio have their own ideology and as such espouse them to their audience. The audience in turn either turns them on or turns them off. Pretty simple. The Daily KOS crowd spends it's days hoping for a loss that will never come so they convolute the facts to fit their needs. Stalin would be so proud...


McCain will be strong on Natl security which is far and away the most important issue facing the USA. If we lose then none of the other BS being spewed really matters now does it.


My thoughts are the primary was rigged and we get whom the MSM chose and the Leftists voted for and the least able to beat the Biatch or the Bro Socialists... Can ANYONE find a single conservative that voted for McAmnesty? I can't. Mitt along with Fred were beaten by the MSM and open primaries period...


Speaking of which why doesnt the MSM talk about the race/gender war raging in the Demoncrap party? Nevermind we ALL know why...


Stalin once said if he had Hollywood on his side he would rule the world. He is smiling in his grave today...


The Civil War is coming...
Reply #32 Top

His comments about Michael J. Fox faking his epilepsy for example.

He never said that either (and Fox does not have Epilepsy, but MS).  What he did say was that Fox went off his medications to do commercials for the democrats in 06.  A fact later admitted to by some of Fox's handlers.  However, the democrats and some of the media did portray the story as you just stated.  In essence, they lied again.

Reply #33 Top
Artyism:
That said, and not meaning to get off topic, the man is truly a wind-bag in my opinion. His comments about Michael J. Fox faking his epilepsy for example.
End of quote


Another situation taken out of context. Rush Limbaugh never said that Michael J. Fox faked anything. He merely reported the fact that Fox went off his Parkinson's medication before he appeared before the Senate so that his shakiness would impact the committee.

Again, if Michael J. Fox is willing to put himself into the political arena, he shouldn't complain if someone challenges what he says and does. The fact is, Michael J. Fox does use his disease to promote his causes, and that is his right. It doesn't make him immune to scrutiny... especially if his claims are less than factual.

Reply #34 Top
Actually, MJF has Parkinson's disease.
Reply #35 Top
Actually, MJF has Parkinson's disease.
End of quote


Did anyone say he didn't? ;~D
Reply #36 Top
Did anyone say he didn't? ;~D
End of quote


I did kinda (and a mea culpa). I said he had MS. SOrry Fellows.
Reply #37 Top
Iin other news...

So how does Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the race affect the power of Talk Radio? I think it diminishes the perceived power of Big Talk, in that the presumptive nominee is one which the right-wing pundits do not support. They are vocally and loyally against a McCain nomination, for fear of what he will do to the country under the banner of the Republican Party. Mitt Romney, though not perfect (and who is?), was the choice of the right-wing bloviators and bloviatrixes but to no avail. Two days after Super Tuesday, the Romney candidacy is no more.

So who's going to come out ahead in this? McCain? Or the Talking Class?
Reply #38 Top

So who's going to come out ahead in this? McCain? Or the Talking Class?

The Talking class is not running.