Quote:
Originally Posted by chumdawg
If Limbaugh, Hannity, and O'Reilly aren't Republican elite, I will eat my hat. There is a reason Fox News has such a huge audience, as you say. It ain't because those guys are fringe characters.
The reason the Republicans are where they are right now is that they are utterly devoid of leadership. An unpopular Obama does not, and cannot, change that.
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Believe what you want. And watch fly over States bounce the Majority next year, and watch Obama become a one term dude. I watch O'Reilly. He has stuff I hate and find annoying, he has some interesting stuff. I find Hannity and Limbaugh total wastes of oxygen. But if I have to pick between the opinion the tea baggers were totally shams, red necks protesting a black man in the big chair, instead of people concerned about a foolish fiscal plan that will doom us to a second class status, I'll take Hannity.
I don't think people watch Fox News in the numbers they do because they are some kind of auto-banjo picking drool cup morons waiting to have their tiny little heads filled with what to think.
I think they watch it because they don't live in Southern Cali, or DC or New York City. They haven't graduated from Columbia or Ivy League schools. But they also wouldn't be rudely dismissive of them.
They watch it because they now have a choice. The ratings go Fox, CNN then MSNBC trailing badly. If it wasn't Fox, it would be CNN and MSNBC trailing badly. They had two wire services and three networks for decades, Turner shook it up but didn't really view the political world that differently.
It wasn't luck Johnny Carson was so popular. Or that Letterman tripled Tom Synder immediately. Letterman lost out of his childhood dream of sitting in Carson's seat because his Midwest upbringing wouldn't let him push. He asked Carson what he would do. "It's not the Tonight Show anymore, I'd walk" so he did saying little.
I think that silent majority thing gets misinterpreted. I think much of that audience would bolt from New York area raised Hannity and O'Reilly bluster if they had a choice. Limbaugh just happened to be a first.
It's O'Henry ironic reading the comments on political blogs about Faux News and Rush telling people what to think when it sprouted up basically overnight like shrooms in a wet pasture after Carvel and Obama tossed it out. Many times it's the only answer.
I'd bet real money the average Fox watcher finds Anne Coulter annoying. They might switch if the other channels weren't treating them as morons and mocking them. I'd also bet they're like me and watch the news on the other channels. I doubt the opposite is true.
What you're being fed is not real. I don't know your age or how long you've followed politics, but I'm guessing maybe Bush the Elder? Johnson, Carter, Clinton. Now look at the opponents they put up against Reagan and 41 and W. See a pattern? Grumble about 2000, but there was really no reason the VP of a President who had a 80% approval and eight years of boom to come down to Florida.
They were shocked Gore lost. They were shocked in '02 when they lost majorities. Then '04 with Kerry. Terry McCallife was going to take out Gov. Bubby Bush to revenge 2000. The Dems we doing the same "Oh woe is us we've lost our way" until '06.
I've seen this show before. Jimmy Carter was post- Jim Crow-KKK- hope-and change. The longer he spoke the shorter the gap and Ford damn near caught him. I think McCain would have caught Obama. I think a more traditional conservative might have been leading. That unprecedented meltdown and McCains decision to charge in and then vote for the TARP bill lost it. Had he voted against it or merely been present like Obama?
It's a mistake to confuse objections and conditions. When the sitting President is at under 30% approval rating, there's a very unpopular war and the economy is in freefall, that's a condition. Obama ran an outstanding campaign, he's brilliant and charismatic and pulled in people who never voted before. His lack of actual experience was offset by running against a condition.
McCain refused to challenge "eight years of failed policies" like Gore would have missed out on 9-11, jacked up mortgage qualifications while Jessie and Al slapped him on the back for doing it. He might have let the Saddam refusing to allow full access thing ride. Never even attempted to use the historically low Congressional ratings at the beginning. Might have come in handy later. Not his style. Or asked why Bin Ladden ever had the impression he would survive 9-11. Why the UN had allowed Saddam to blow off inspectors. Stuff that should have blunted things.
Seen the approval ratings of Congress? I don't think Obama is insincere, stupid or a puppet. I don't think Bush was either. The far Left or Right don't swing elections. The Far Right isn't really known for organizing demonstrations. There isn't really an Acorn, Animal Rights, Peta kind of organization. Maybe Gun Nuts. Wacko Anti-abortionists who kill doctors, aren't amped up by O'Reilly.
I voted for W, would have happily voted against him if the choice wasn't Lurch or Gore. I'm an Independent, voted each Party and a Third Party once. Been doing it for over 30 years. You're wrong. The Dems have way overreached.
This smug "we won, Republicans don't matter, sore losers" is going to leave a very large, red backhand on the Party. Gray headed Midwesterners don't get this upset easily. It was bad blowing off the tea baggers. This is not some astro turf. These folks do slow burns. This is very unwise. They usually just vote you out and you do a WTF? You better hope this elaborate organized by Fox, Republican shill leadership cause you say it a lot, is true.
It wasn't brilliant leadership, it was a condition that got the Party the homer. Give the Dems a little upside they step all over their genitalia. The smart thing would have been to at least bring in losers and toss them a bone and make them part of the process. Nah, they wanted to enjoy it and punish them for the time in the wilderness. Now you want cover? You want the heat turned down?
The Dems are just getting judged on the condition. You might like to think this wouldn't be happening if Fox didn't exist, but you'd be mistaken.
Hope it's not a Stetson.