RW talk radio will be the likeliest cause of death of the GOP.

[chieftain]

The "Magic Negro" stupidity is symptomatic of the peril that Rush and all the bush league rushes pose to the electoral viability for the Republican Party.The Frankenstein monster that Newt et.al. pandered to is making it impossible to perpetrate a fraud on the American people similar to compassionate conservatism lie of W. Anyone posing as someone rooted in the 21st century and appreciative of the fact that America has evolved into a multi-cultural society will be pilloried by the know-nothing bullies that motivate the Republican foot soldiers. The plain fact is that a substantial part of what is now the Republican Party loves the moronic stylings of Paul Shanklin.
They think it is funny to ridicule Blacks, Gays, Liberals, Unions, Feminists, Environmentalists and anyone that poses a threat to their narrow minded, pinched back view of how things were wonderful in the white male dominated past.
Lee Atwater, the Bushes, Newt have all cultivated the former disc jockeys whose knowledge of history is less than an inch deep and their understanding of American values is shallower still. These proponents of racism, sexism, homophobia and union-busting will not allow the GOP to craft an agenda which is saleable to a majority of voters.
The Republican Party is in its death throes and one of the key contributors to its demise will be the very commentators the pols lionized. Poetic justice indeed.

[tishaLA]

1. RW radio was instrumental in pushing out Latinos, too

with the virulent racism they exhibited in the anti-immigration crap. And that is a huge constituency for them to lose. But RW radio would rather be the party's id than work to grow the party. Thank god.

[chieftain]

4. My bad. I realized after I posted that I had not included any

reference to some of the worst excesses of the Limbaugh and his clones. The vicious, xenophobic attacks on illegal immigrants barely cloaked the inherent racism regarding Hispanics that RW radio wallows in. All the emphasis on the attack on Obama has ignored one of the Shanklin parodies which made fun of Spanglish. My apologies for having left this out of the OP.

[roguevalley]

11. from your lips to God's ear. I cannot imagine being a republican

if I was a minority. God bless us all, they do want us to remain in power forever. :) Only silver lining.

[JuniperLea]

2. You reap what you sow...

They are getting what they have begged for. All the screaming hatred has worn thin... thankfully!

[PassingFair]

3. The mushy middle have been robbed by these hucksters.

So they will now tune it out.

It takes a direct hit to their wallets
for them to ditch their "team".

[chieftain]

15. Beck, in particular, spouts pseudo-Christianity along with his

noxious political drivel. Given that, I especially love the biblical reference in your post.

[JuniperLea]

33. I forget the Pagan phrase meaning the same thing...

But then, there's always Karma;)

To illustrate the point, I'm sure you've heard of the creep who dressed as Santa and went to his ex-in law's house on Christmas Eve... shooting, flame-throwing. He had planned to skip the country, but, imho, it was "Instant Karma" that caused him to suffer third degree burns of his own making, and led him to killing himself. Yep, Instant Karma's gonna get you;)

I have very, very fragile Karma. It keeps me in check!

[unpossibles]

5. good gravy, it's about time

I hate those assbags

[rhett o rick]

7. Is "good gravy" pc. I know assbags is ok. nm

[unpossibles]

34. "PC"? I fucking hate that term, which is now used by assholes like Limbaugh

to cover their racist asses.

Fuck them. It's not PC, it's called trying to not be a douchehole. I am obviously not very PC, but on the other hand, why say "good god" when I don't believe in god? Gravy just sounds that much funnier too, so there's the added bonus.

[rhett o rick]

36. Gravy? I love gravy. And don't get me started on pc. Oops i guess i started it.

I have a super difficult time with pc. Like it's acceptable to say SNAFU on tv, but you can't say Situation All Fucked Up. and on and on

[unpossibles]

37. ha! totally

I think we're in agreement - and I hope you didn't think my rant was aimed at you.

I always like the Family Guy where the censors changed the reruns of the Dick Van Dyke show to the "_____ van ____ show"

[rhett o rick]

38. I recognized what your rant was aimed at. You can say PO'ed by not pissed off.

one day I am going to write my rant on this complete subject. How some words insult some people some time, etc.

[rhett o rick]

6. They are becoming irrelevant. They all say exactly the same thing over and over. Even the gullibles

will get tired of it.

[chieftain]

17. I think the gullibles will stay gullible because the biases spewed

match their own thoughts and they will not seek out alternate sources of information.Rove correctly concluded that moderates in the country would reject hard core conservatism. He made a calculated decision to embrace the most reactionary elements of society. The method to reach them was talk radio led by Limbaugh and his minor league wanna-bes located in every clear channel city. Their screeds are tiresome but as propaganda for the converted,, they work. But the gullibles no longer constitute a majority The great majority of Americans find the "Magic Negro" offensive and stupid. The GOP is stuck with those that believe that such garbage is both true and funny.

[Festivito]

8. Naw, they'll be back when it comes time to steal again.

They just want US to not make rules that allow for FAIR hearings so they can ramrod US once again someday in the future. So, for now, they back off.

Right now, they can have fun just bringing the money they created back into the country and use it to keep stealing from US as we make what little we can.

[unblock]

9. they will study their ratings and their focus groups and adapt.

they will not sit their and stubbornly fade into irrelevance.

they will reinvent themselves as the new conservatives or something and pretend like whatever it was that doesn't work anymore has nothing whatsoever to do with them.

[RDANGELO]

43. They won't have much room for it.

The one thing that holds the RW talk radio crowd together, is the diversity insecurity. If they are going to hold on to that audience, then they are going to have to continuously play to that. That is going to be a big problem for the Republicans if these people dominate the primaries. Over the last decades this country has become more acceptable to the notion that we are a multi-cultural nation, while a substantial part of the Republican base continues to fear it.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Interesting and ironic. They get listeners due to the "entertainment" value

inherent in their programs. But they don't attract a wider audience just for the original post's rationale.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

12. Even though Limbaugh's callers are screened, more of them are calling him out

on his BS. He espouses getting rid of unions and retirement systems. So there's been more than a few retired folks calling and disagreeing vigorously with him. He gets so flustered if he's faced with facts and disagreement, that he ends up cutting them off.

The racist crap that he regularly features on his show is worse than the Imus statement.

[certainot]

28. good to hear more are sneaking through

i can't monitor that shit as much anymore except occasionally to add to the list of local sponsors to call and complain to. i ask them how can they possibly use guys who have been wrong about everything important to sell their products and services.

most of the national blowhards rely on not having to take real calls. maybe that ought to be a minimum requirement to use the public airwaves like they do. otherwise they get to use the biggest soapbox in the country without having to worry about anyone correcting their lies.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

35. Welcome to DU! - it seems that some of his loyal followers are turning on him & his

sputtering, stupid responses make him look the fool. I think he is vulnerable right now, & perhaps soon he will have to answer for his racist agenda. Perhaps complaining to the FCC may start to mean something.

[Doctor_J]

13. They've already been the cause of the death of the US

Limpballs is more responsible than any individual for what's happened to this country over the past 14 years.

[Orsino]

14. It helped build the mystique of the last incarnation.

It'll sell us the next one, too.

[creeksneakers2]

16. They got smacked back

Now they look stupid. Before, the power behind them was the emotions they could evoke in masses gullible hate filled people. While the were winning, Limbaugh's followers could get a teenage vandalism rush out of their sense of shared infliction of damage to the people they hated. But losing just isn't fun. People will turn away, and Rush knows it.

They'll continue to divide the GOP though.

[Kucinich07]

18. The likeliest cause of death

In my opionion, was George W. Bush's handling of the economy and foreign policy.

[chieftain]

19. I don't disagree that Bush's ineptitude on top of the basic

wrong-headedness of Republican free market philosophy are huge factors in the GOP decline. My point is is that they will not be able to self-correct because of the pernicious and pervasive influence of RW radio on Republican pols. You can see an early example of the effect in the GOP Senators blocking the GM bailout. The airwaves were filled with anti-union vitriol from the Limbaugh flaque. McConnell refused to stand up to this outcry. They will take more and more marginalized positions to satisfy the am bullies. A party can recover from a bad presidential term but they must be able to learn from their mistakes and adjust accordingly. The RW talking heads will make self examination impossible. Then again, a party where a serious candidate for the key leadership post has someone who distributes a cd of Paul Shanklin "parodies" may not be capable of constructive self examination.

[mwb970]

42. If the Republicans really understood what was going on,

they would call for the return of the Fairness Doctrine. But when have Republicans ever understood what is going on?

[certainot]

29. and the GOP's idiotic positions on those issues were enabled largely by TR

the talk radio monopoly has been doing the groundwork for everything the GOP has done since reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine. the coordinated uncontested repetition to a crowd the size of the one that voted for obama gives their absurd and irrational talking points and framing a legitimacy they would never have otherwise.

[ShadowLiberal]

20. Yeah, a month ago Nate Silver identified how RW talk radio was killing the GOP

Nate Silver basically said that Right wing talk radio thrives on doing and talking about things that will rally their hardcore right wing base, and nothing else.

The number one problem with that, is that anything that rallys a party's base focuses just on evoking passion, and ignores the more important part of being a politician, convincing others who disagree with you that your views are correct. Actually spending time on the radio convincing people of your views would be too boring, and not stimulating enough for RW talk radio's listeners. Besides, most people listening probably already agree with most of your views anyway.

That was the problem in what many call McCain's most successful attack ad of the campaign labeling Obama a celebrity. All it did was simply stir up passion, it didn't actually convince anyone that Obama was like Paris Hilton, etc.

Nate Silver noticed this problem when he was interviewing one Right Wing Talk Radio host asking him about one of those stupid email rumors about Obama that the RW host believed (I think it was the claim that Obama's not a citizen of the US). Whenever Nate tried to challenge the truth behind the stuff the RW host was saying the host would just get frustrated that Nate was even asking him such an 'obvious' question.

[chieftain]

21. Thanks, that's great analysis. I appreciate your sharing it. eom

[chieftain]

32. I had another thought this am from your post. An earlier

post talked about focus groups leading to changes to accommodate the broader concerns of the electorate. I doubt that will happen since the hosts are as much a captive of their audiences as the party is of the hosts. Limbaugh is making an obscene amount of money playing to peoples' ignorance and prejudices. I cannot fathom the situation where he would drop his bellicose partisan approach to become a new Bill Moyers. There is no way these former disc jockeys are going to jeopardize the bloated salaries to help the GOP.
RW talk radio will not change and the Republican Party will have a very hard time escaping the tentacles of Rush and his gang.

[zulchzulu]

22. I hate to tell you, but RW talk radio is going to flourish in the next 8 years

They are already getting amped up for bashing Obama ad nauseum so that he is discredited when the 2010 races come. They are at least one arm of the Repig Echo Chamber, which includes all the cable news networks and the spawn that sucks off their teets.

The "Magic Negro" crap is actually doing better than it would if we would just ignore the shit. The more we bring up asshats like the guy who did the stupid song and fuckwads like Warren, the more these moolyaks get more free press and attention.

If you think the GOP or Right Wing Radio is going away, you are not watching or listening. Both will be mobilized for 2010 to make Obama and the Democratic Party OWN the economy, the wars and anything else that Bush brought about.

Pay attention.

[chieftain]

24. It always amuses me to see posters who disagree with a

position of another DUer make derogotory remarks about the person with whom they disagree. Contrary to your baseless remark that I am not watching or listening, I pay a lot of attention to these things. As a matter of fact it would appear that you are the one who is paying less than full attention. At no time have I suggested that RW talk radio is going away. On the contrary, I agree with you that Rush and the Rushettes will be amped up to take Obama down. I think that will negate any chance that the Republican pols will be able to repackage themselves and will lead to their total marginalization as a national political force.
Not speaking about the deleterious effect that the RW propaganda machine has had on our politics in the past strikes me as a mistake. Not analyzing the delicious probability that am radio will stifle any attempt to drag the Republican Party into modernity seems to me a bigger mistake. At least that's what I conclude after watching and list4ening closely to the political dynamics that are extant today.

[zulchzulu]

25. Like I said... pay attention...

I didn't "make derogotory remarks" about you. If you want to throw mud on that bullshit, be my guest.

I'm just telling you what is obvious and perhaps not something you've considered... your OP title seems to preclude the contention that RW radio is going to kill the GOP.

That is utterly flawed and not something that can be verified with any clear evidence.

Yes, RW radio will flourish in the next eight years, if only because radio media is owned by conservative corporate interests.

As one who has talked with someone I work with who goes to RNC batcave meetings, all they are talking about is 2010. Actually, they knew McCain would lose and have been talking about the 2010 races since last summer. They were hoping for the Clintons, but certainly have the "talent" to attack and demonize Obama.

Will RW radio take down the GOP? Absolutely not. It's because the mainstream media and all the nodes of the GOP Echo Chamber will certainly do whatever they can to make 2010 a year the Republicans make gains in the House and Senate.

It's up to us to fight back against the RW radio machine with more progressive radio... but from how some are yakking these days, they will be attacking Obama too for their own "purity" judgments and pseudo-utopian claptrap. It's all good because, for the most part, it's all predictably bad.

The Republican Party doesn't want to be dragged into modernity. That's not their "brand". They want what is impossible... a return to the McCarthyistic 1950s where only the dad worked and momma stayed at home with the brainwashed kiddies. People love it ...especially homophobic racists who have been voting against their interests for years that make up 40% of our country.

[chieftain]

27. It is derogatory to say I am not watching or listening . Or did

you mean that as a compliment? You would be amazed how off-putting it is to start a retort with "pay attention". I have no idea what you mean by saying that my title precludes the contention that RW radio will kill the GOP. I don't preclude the contention, that is my contention. What are you trying to say?
For what it's worth, I agree that a large portion of the Republican Party does not want to be dragged into modernity, bur those that do will be chewed up and spit out by RW radio.

[roseBudd]

41. It's not progressive Radio we need...

we don't need to challenge them on their turf.

Their weakness is our strength.

The dittoheads are isolated when they listen to each other on the radio.

Progressives are slaughtering themon the comments pages of most MSM new sites.

Their Rush talking points don't hold up, and there is no one to screen the calls.

I am driving them crazy and mocking them in SW Ohio.

[janx]

30. Part of me agrees with you, Zulch, but the other part is

curiously optimistic. There are fewer die-hard listeners now, I think, because of age and because of the past eight years. I'm sure the likes of Limbaugh are salivating in anticipation of the return of something like the nineties, but I'm not sure the same audience is there. This could well be wishful thinking on my part.

[zulchzulu]

39. A main reason why I think RW radio will flourish is the monopoly on radio at this time

I live in a very progressive area (Madison, WI), but all I have to do is drive into just about any rural community/zone or smaller town nearby or on fairly lengthy road trips and all you can get on AM radio is either sports or right wing radio.

The same can be said with large towns like St. Louis, where the Air America channel is tiny compared to several right wing radio stations. Even San Francisco, where I lived for a while, had right wing radio stations and the likes of Michael Savage even lived there.

All the mainstream media needs for a "scandal" to blossom on right wing radio is some careless journalistic spillage ...and the right wing echo chamber gladly feeds right wing radio with material.

I frankly think that people who think right wing radio is declining are living in a utopian bubble.

[salguine]

23. I wouldn't count the GOP out yet. If good people get complacent,

its implosion will halt eventually.

What people don't seem to realize is that we can't just pretend that it's enough to "not be Republicans". If the Democrats don't do shit for the people of this country, the Republicans will come roaring back like the Democrats did this year. Believe me when I say that. People have short fucking memories in this country.

If the Democrats really want to solidify their majority for a long, long time to come, now is the time to give the people a national, single-payer healthcare system like every other country in the civilized world has. Show the people that you place their health and well-being over the bottom lines of the HMOs, insurance companies and Big Pharma. Because as far as I'm concerned, if the Democrats drop the ball on that one now that they have the White House and majorities of both houses of Congress, they can go fuck themselves right alongside the Republicans. I personally am not satisfied with just having a Democrat in the White house as if that's an achievement in and of itself. I want something done, for once in my lifetime.

[Naturyl]

40. I agree with you.

Unfortunately, I think it's already pretty clear that single-payer isn't coming.

[calimary]

26. One can certainly hope. It would be some awfully lovely poetic justice.

They lived (it up) by the stiletto. Now let them die (out) by it.

[certainot]

31. "obama's head needs to roll" said limbaugh sept 10.

thing is, RW TR is mostly about attacking the left and that will always be its emphasis. the talk radio monopoly and its pervasiveness has more than any other factor made this disaster possible. it to a large extent has been determining the flavor of america, determining what is and what isn't acceptable in the rest of the trad media.

perhaps the magic negro song should be noted for the fact that it has gotten attention finally, after being a regular part of limbaugh's show for years. and maybe more of the limbaugh and sons crap will start getting attention and progressives will start taking talk radio seriously. the bush disaster will and has peeled of some the people who would have voted republican for laziness and some idiotic notion the GOP was good for the economy and security but until progressives get serious about talk radio it will continue to slow progress we need quickly and enable many filibusters.

one of the biggest political mistakes ever was the dem party ignoring the talk radio monopoly while every morning/day it laid out a smorgasbord of prechewed talking points for the lazy talking heads to pick and choose from. as long as the monopoly is allowed to stand real democracy and bipartisanship is impossible.

thanks for the post chieftain.