Martini Musing - The “End” of Right-Wing Talk Radio?
Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn’t mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. - Edward R. Murrow
The 2008 election is very interesting - and one of the reasons is that Senator McCain has demonstrated he can win without the support of “the conservatives” hate-spewing, rabble-rousing talking (and empty) heads. Rush Limbaugh has ranted and raved against McCain, getting downright vile. Ann Coulter has said she’d vote for Hillary if McCain got the nomination…(I have to admit, I find this blatting from Coulter highly entertaining. What does that woman use for a brain?)
I have a marketing point, hang on a sec…
Now, other talking heads are talking, talking, talking about “Does this mean the end of Right-Wing Talk Radio?” (When they’re not busy dissecting Britney Spears’ daily break-down.) As much as the wing nuts yell and insult - they couldn’t beat McCain.
As the campaign has developed the wing nuts have gotten louder and louder, shriller and shriller. But, is anybody (beyond their core group of fans) really listening? And, if they are, are they listening for entertainment or leadership?
So it goes in any kind of marketing - simply turning up the volume doesn’t work anymore. And, your past “success” could have nothing to do with you. For example, the “influence” of talk radio could, in fact, be nothing more than a coincidence. People were frightened, so they voted for the Ramblin’ Rove machine, which was pushing all the fear buttons. Rush and his clown crew blatting away just happened to be the noise going on at the same time.
Maybe somebody should buy Rush, Ann and the rest of their crew a dictionary. Taste? Style? Elegance? Manners?
From Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry:con·ser·va·tive
1: preservative 2 a: of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism b capitalized : of or constituting a political party professing the principles of conservatism: as (1): of or constituting a party of the United Kingdom advocating support of established institutions (2): progressive conservative 3 a: tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : traditional b: marked by moderation or caution (a conservative estimate) c: marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners
What do you think?
P.S. I’m also cautiously optimistic that the “American People” have finally grown tired of the venom-spewing, intelligence-insulting negative rhetoric by pundits and polticos on both left and right. Haven’t we had enough of statements like this from Mitt Romney in his withdrawal speech: “And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.” Oh. Please.
Read More: My guest post today at Lip-Sticking: Marketing Myths: “The Woman Voter.”
What do you think? Leave a comment below and feel free to disagree! Debate is healthy. I moderate all comments, though, so it may take a bit for yours to show up.
Thanks for reading!
Tags: Friday martini time, Mary Schmidt, politics, talk radio
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February 10th, 2008 at 9:36 am
While it’s heartening to see that right wing radio hasn’t (yet) taken down John McCain, I don’t think we’ve heard the last of them. I’m sure that Limbaugh and Coulter would like nothing better than for Hillary Clinton to be elected. That would give them 4 MORE YEARS! of frothing to their “base”.
As for Willard “Mitt” Romney, I was appalled by his comment - so appalled that I let him know by leaving a message on his web site telling him he should be ashamed of himself. Although I left phone and e-mail, I haven’t heard back from him yet. (I won’t hold my breath, either.)
February 10th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Yep, they’d be at a complete loss if “their side” ever won. As it is, they had to work hard to froth when the “conservative GOP” had a solid lock on the Senate, the House and the Presidency (and they still couldn’t get large parts of their agenda implemented.)
It would be interesting, albeit depressing, if we could (briefly) visit an alternate universe where the wing nutters have won and gotten their way. I’d bet they’d all become flaming far left wing nutters. After all, it’s about the attention…although in Coulter’s case I think she also has some severe mental and emotional issues. I (almost) feel sorry for the poor, pathetic thing.