The leftist blogs might be an angry bunch, but listen to talk radio and you'll have all the rightist bile you can stand.  From Hannity to Limbaugh to Beck (and even worse, their crazy call-ins), they're just as bad if not worse than anything I've seen on the 'net.

Dont listen to them I see.  Just take your talking points from the angry left who thinks that questioning Obama is racist and inflamatory.

A pox on both houses: people are, indeed angry, the right that a liberal has such a strong and growing base, the left that Rebulican conservatives have driven us into the ground (from their POV).

I cannot stand the talking heads screaming at each other regardless of the side they are on.

So, I agree ID, we should learn to discuss without anger.  It is hardly productive to have heated arguments.  Yet, the buttons are there for everyone to push: on this list you have done it against liberals, I have done it against conservatives.  Both of us are invested in our POV. 

I am hopeful that as this election passes the rhetoric will ratchet down.  One way to do this is to avoid talk radio of whatever POV, and the rabid right and looney left of TV.

Perhaps we will listen more carefully and bloviate less.

Be well.

I can't recall either Hannity or Limbaugh reveling in the death or illness of someone on the politically opposite side (i.e. as was done to Tony Snow or Nancy Reagan), but those types of posts were rampant on the Daily Kos and the like. I do give some credit to the liberals on JU, as I've not seen it for myself here.

The problem with those kind of hosts (both left and right) is that when you are on their side of the political spectrum (either totally or merely moderatly) you will always see what they say as "making sense" (even when they are shouting populists arguments, or spinning news the way you want to hear it), and you will see the hosts of the other sides as crackpots (because they are spouting populist arguments, and they are spinning news in a partisan way). These radio hosts are extremely polarising media elements in any society - ANY society -, which is why I consider all of them detrimental to a nation.

It's always a matter of perspective for those who listen. When you believe in something (justly or because you've been brainwashed to it as a kid) you will always prefer to listen to radio hosts that think the same way you do, because you will have justification of your views. People don't want to have their beliefs challenged, they want to have their beliefs catered.

Which is why both those polarised sides jumps and cries [Socialist/Fascist] when there is a politician on the other side of the political fence that is about to win. And those radio hosts cater to those cries, by even more spinning news and finding every little freaking point to denounce the politician. It's a self-feeding phenomena.

I just hope polarisation in America will never come to the breaking point. I believe both sides deeply misunderstand the other, since each use their own values to evaluate the other - which is a mistake -. Simply go read the "Reb and Blue America at odds" to understand by point.

Not true.  There is no secret that I am on the same side of the spectrum as Hannity and Limbaugh, but I often disagree with them on points (Limbaugh is kind of like Brad - who Limbaugh attacked earlier this year - he hates McCain, but is conservative).  But Franken and Rhodes do not deal with substance (Limbaugh devotes his show to them, while hannity about 60% is substance), but to whining and complaining "poor me".

Many liberals do actually listen to Limbaugh and Hannity - because they are at least entertaining!  The same cannot be said for Rhodes and Franken (objective proof is in the numbers).  People want to be entertained - even if they do not agree with the guy (and why Jon Stewart is going strong).  Both Hannity and Limbaugh do that.  They have a point to make, but make it entertaining in making the point.

This may not be a product of politics as much as it is of the business of radio.  Radio is one of those mediums that can switch formats literally overnight with no warning to the public (and often none to the radio station in question).  I remember a few years ago when I was living in MD the morning show that I regularly listened to had caught wind that a local station was going to be switching formats but there was no way of knowing which one.  A few days to weeks (I can't remember which) sure enough one of the local stations switched formats overnight (it wasn't the one that I usually listened to so I really didn't care).  When I was younger and living in a different part of MD it did happen to a radio station that I used to listen to, it went from playing alt. rock to country over night.  So the bottom line here is that while it is highly likely that the talk radio station went under for political reasons it could also just be the normal business of radio that did it.

He works on CNN Headline News and has a semi-regular column on cnn.com.  The columns that I've read of his seem to be pretty good.

At least with Talk Radio, you have the option to change the channel. With TV Media, you don't have that option because it's 98% Liberal.

Here college students are ripping up McCain Palin signs and placing them on cars or door steps of the house owner with poo.

Elections can bring out the best or the worst in some people.

Meh, either way Gov't always gets in.

A big part of the reason politics can bring the worst out in people is that people get too emotionally involved in the issues that they are fighting for.  It quickly turns into an us vs. them issue where you are either in 100% agreement with the person (or people) or you must be 100% against (even if you only differ on one little aspect of their issue).  At this time in the election cycle people start to feel like their time is running out and that if their chosen candidate doesn't win then the world to come to an end in January.  In short some of them have simply lost sight of reality.

Mmhmm, mindsets like that piss me off. It just isn't about us vs them, it's about our country and what is right for it. It's about solving the issues, period. To fight to win is to ultimately lose.

I can understand being passionate about politics, I am myself. Still, there's a difference between being passionate about it, and passionately insane. I would say that my passion is mostly passion about the issues; they matter immensely to me.

If they're not angry, then they must be stupid, insane, fools, ignorant, or all of the above. (I actually listen because I believe in an open mind.) Anyways, that being said, they're all a bunch of loons, right and left.

Go NPR and PBS!

And a 9-12 show on radio.  He is actually the most entertaining (and no way a republican, but very conservative).

I love his More-on Trivia during Football season.