13
May
Limbaugh Wins As Election’s Biggest Manipulator
With Democratic enthusiasm waxing, Republican energy waning, and more than four out of five voters convinced the country is now on the wrong track, one would think hard-right wing talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh would be near-suicidal.
But no! As it stands, Limbaugh – now in his twentieth year as the universally acknowledged “Grand Poobah” of talk radio, with an estimated weekly audience of about 13.5 million listeners — looks to be the biggest winner thus far in the ongoing Presidential primary sweepstakes.
From attacking Republican frontrunner John McCain early in the process to ‘dreaming’ of – and some say illegally calling for — riots at August’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, all the way to more recent efforts such as “Operation Chaos,” aimed at inserting himself and his followers into the Democratic primaries in an attempt to weaken Barack Obama by supporting Hillary Clinton, the so-called “Limbaugh effect” has garnered excessive attention from the ‘drive-by’ mainstream media that Limbaugh purports to hate but actually depends on and manipulates adroitly. Although the real-world effect of “Operation Chaos” is doubtful – at least in terms of influencing the Democratic primaries – it has clearly been wildly successful in its real mission of promoting Limbaugh and his nationally syndicated radio program.
Front page coverage in The Washington Post, cover treatment from Time magazine, prominent placement on ABC News, a glowing feature article on the influential Politico.com site—the examples of Limbaugh’s clever salesmanship are everywhere. As Politico’s Jonathan Martin put it, “Limbaugh’s skills as a political provocateur, as much P.T. Barnum as conservative ideologue, are such that he can fuel buzz in the political-media world like few others. In other words, Operation Chaos was good box office, and that may well have been the point.”
Well of course it was the point! Limbaugh himself admitted it in an email exchange with Martin, wherein he wrote, “In my universe, there is no doubt it worked like a charm. My audience loved it, they participated in it, they had fun with it, as did I.”
Limbaugh’s clever politico-media manipulation was aided and abetted by Democratic operatives and supporters of Obama for obviously partisan reasons – despite ample evidence that there was as much bluster as basis for the claims that right wingers had crossed over in droves to support Clinton in Texas and Ohio contests and more recently in Indiana. (For example, David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist, repeatedly assured reporters that he attributed Clinton’s victory in Indiana to “Operation Chaos.”) Although it is unsurprising that Obama’s flacks spent a lot of time and effort noting and promoting the so-called “Limbaugh effect,” Obama supporter and onetime presidential wannabe John Kerry really should have known better than to claim Clinton only won Indiana as a result of Limbaugh’s intervention.
Limbaugh’s play is so transparent as to be laughable – yet the increasingly pathetic mainstream media is either unwilling or unable to resist his efforts to re-inject himself into the ongoing ‘news narrative’ and ‘media conversation,’ in part because they covet his audience and hope to bask in the reflection of his prominence. Limbaugh himself is unabashed, asking, “How many of the MSM hope I will mention something they said or wrote? Many of these outlets are losing circulation, ad revenue and audience. I am not. So, they love me mentioning them so that people know they exist.”
Limbaugh is right—and I have come with great reluctance (but also great evidence) to expect little more than pandering on the part of Big Media, particularly at its crucial intersection with Big Politics. And talk radio – a once-moribund format that in the past two decades has risen from the ashes to become, “literally, the talk of the nation — second only to country music in the number of stations that carry it” – is undeniably politically powerful. Its total audience is now nearly 50 million listeners, according to the Arbitron ratings service. Moreover, its actual influence vastly outweighs even those numbers. As Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, an industry trade journal recently noted, the bottom line is that “Talk radio is where the voters are.”
But in their unending quest to reach those voters, leading Democrats such as Kerry, Axelrod (and, by extension, Barack Obama) who are playing along with Rush may soon find they are playing with fire — and as the late political pundit Bob Marley once eloquently phrased it, “Catch a fire—you’re gonna get burned.”
For one thing, bolstering claims that the largely non-existent “Limbaugh effect” is actually playing a crucial role in the Democratic nominating process means that Limbaugh will continue to hold his fire against John McCain, as he tries the delicate dance of consolidating support from the Republican base while still striving to attract moderate and independent voters. For another, it means granting further legitimacy and power to El Rushbo, an out-and-out, avowed enemy who will then spend the next eight years doing everything he can to foil the Democrat’s—and democratic—process. Perhaps that is part of the ‘post-partisan’ political future the Obama camp envisions – or maybe it’s just politics as usual?
(Editor’s note: Rory O’Connor’s new book, “Shock Jocks: Hate Speech and Talk Radio,” will be published later this month by Alternet.org.)
Never could figure out why Americans listen to what a mean spirited, mentally ill, junkie has to say about politics.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:56 pmOne ignores him at ones own risk because the pack of erectile dysfunctional, preparation H’ers who ape him, parrot his every word.
Has to do with the sociololgy of talk radio listeners. People suffering from terrible pee pee problems.
Thank You, Cordley Coit, well said, I can tell you actually read a few books at school. Yes a fat guy on pain pills, out growing his chair. And the viagra ecstacy crowd looking for new denials. Rush like Rosie O, is a man of his own dreams, He lives in a narcisstic bubble fed by the brain dead public, Nutured by the sound of his own voice. It’s like the Video, Grand theft Auto, most violent ignorant, video makes 800 million dollars,in 3 days, Rush and Rosie, make millions exposing and, expressing their mental illness, and yet they make millions, and their laughing all the way to the bank. Again what does that say about the General public. I hope earth quakes change China’s Olympic face. Iran could use a few more earth quakes too. So tell me Who’s side is God on, this time? No disrespect meant, only observation. Cancer McCain will be next President, my prediction from watching historical voting patterns of the eligable voters of America. thanks Peter.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:45 pmEvery research study done on talk radio show Rush’s listeners are educated and middle to upper middle class.
He is not mean spirited but does use humor … which if you listened you would hear.
Rush never said he wanted anyone to riot in Denver … HE DID talk about left groups who are promoting riots and he responded to them by saying bring it on …
May 13th, 2008 at 4:35 pmWith regard to Rush Limbaugh’s 13.5 million “listeners”:
May 13th, 2008 at 5:28 pmNot very long ago I hired a carpenter to do some remodling work in the kitchen of my home in Ohio. I had never heard a Limbaugh broadcast (and would certainly hope never to hear one ever again), but the carpenter had the radio in his truck parked in my driveway blasting away a Limbaugh tirade at top volume. Upon hearing it and noting that Rush screams continuously in one looooong string of commentary, I was startled (not to speak of being offended and having my eardrums severly abused), so I approached the carpenter inside the house, asking him if he was aware of Limbaugh’s habit of shouting and never seeming to take a breath. The carpenter smiled a wry grin and replied that he doesn’t really listen; for him it’s a sort of “white” background noise keeping him company while he concentrates on his work - - and that if Limbaugh ever did take a breath, people would just turn him off and find some other background noise.
So much for 13.5 million “listeners”. But count me out !
The sole aim, this election season, of the whole of media, TV, radio, nearly the whole of print media as well, has been to destroy Hillary’s campaign. Creeps like Limbaugh, have simply been more vocal than others. We all know who owns most of media. It’s perfectly natural, that they would seek Hillary’s desruction, and, not surprisingy, that’s precisely what has happened.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:39 pmThe mainstream drive-by media just doesn’t get it. All they do spin and spin it. And no matter how they try to pooh-pooh it and belittle it, its a political fact that it is working and the democraps have gone bonkers over it and can’t handle the reality of it. All they can resort to is out of the old time worned democrap play book of deceptive tricks. Just keep blaming George Bush for everything bad that happens to them.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:11 pmIf I were a racist/bigot, I would certainly be a Republican and a Rush Limbaugh ditto head.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:30 amSorry for my dad’s rant…he is a knuckle dragging, kool aid drinking, racist rethuglican that I am trying to bring into the 21st century.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:28 pmIf John Wolski is lucky, he will someday grow up to be as smart as his dad. Rush has the most educated listening audience in radio and could accelerate your education if you were only smart enough to listen to him.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:57 pmGive Limbaugh a taste of his own medicine.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NON-CONSERVATIVES SHOULD ORGANIZE TO SWAMP limbaugh’s CRAPPY SHOW WITH CALLS OF TOTAL MOCKERY AND CONTEMPT !!!
TAKE CONTROL OF limbaugh’s “show” IN JUST THE WAY HE IS TRYING TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS.
WHAT GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE PIG !
DO IT TO hannity and mark levin TOO !
GIVE THE HOOK TO THE RIGHT-WING LIARS !
May 15th, 2008 at 6:50 amSorry Roy Saltz, I have heard Rush on the radio and found that he does not speak from true facts…he just makes it up. I do, however, posses critical thinking skills which I find to be sorely lacking among his listening audience. They call themselves “Ditto Heads” when they are nothing more than sheep.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:40 amRush plays on the ignorance of others. Everyone knows the old saying”Not all Conservatives are stupid people, but ALL stupid people are Conservatives” Rush knows it, and uses it to his advantage. Hes making millions whipping up the ire of the unwashed and uneducated
May 17th, 2008 at 4:00 pmIt’s frustrating this whole Limbaugh intervention in the electoral processs. He’s trashing everybody.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pmBut I have to confess, I go to his site now regularly for his latest scrutiny of Obama. And I get a certain comfort from it.I just wish his language would be even stronger against him though. He needs to emphasize Obama’s association with Nation of Islam more.I gladly leave the whole democratic party in the lurch just so Obama won’t get elected. And if takes a hate monger to bring him down, then so be it….I only wish he would do a better job at it.
John D Wolski Jr.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:46 amI think ditto heads is the perfect name for Rush the pills to me Limbaugh’s listenres. The reason I say this is ditto means (the same). Rush doesn’t want thinkers listening to his broadcast he wants listeners to believe everything he says. There for a copy of him (ditto) so they truly are ditto heads cause most of his listeners don’t look up the facts.