Talk radio and the GOP: adrift on the same iceberg...

Talk radio and the Republican Party are intertwined, and both are sinking, and their problems are mirror images of each other.

We've told you many times: neither has had much success enticing and hanging onto young, black, or Latino people nor any other than the fast-fading demographic than whites of a certain age, mostly male.

Talk radio hasn't even tried to win them, and the Republicans don't know how...

For one thing, with few exceptions talk radio's product hasn't changed even for those of us whom they've been targeting -- it's still the old "stir-'em-up & get-'em-to-call" routine based by definition on negativity, anger, cynicism -- or if the host is really good -- all three.

It used to work as an entertainment format and as a political tactic. Now it isn't working for either.

In Seattle, Myron "Dori" Monson (KIRO m-f, 12-3p) will say he's doing just fine, but he's one of the very few local rightie-screamers left in a market once loaded with them. (KVI, which helped pioneer the format, is now a burned-out husk going through the motions of finding a female demo and trying to compete with Rush with a beamed-up Dr. Laura. It's sad, KVI introduced Big Pants to Seattle back in the day). 

Even the right-wing syndicated choices have shrunk: KKOL's flip to business talk took a bunch of conservative talkers out of the air, and KIRO's lay-offs last week added an hour to non-controversial drivel-radio Ron & Don (m-f, 3-7).

(We've chronicled this radio shrink-factor ad yawneum over the last 3 years -- from Mike Siegel to Frank Shiers, to Bryan The Styble).

The GOP's lack of ideas and new solutions to new problems and their cynical "red-neck strategy" has shrunk their geographic base not surprisingly to the boundaries of the Old Confederacy. And with that hopes of growing it spiritually and philosophically. The Economist reports that Republican moderates fear the party will become the “white-trash pride” party.

On the radie-yo last week it was "Fuck hope!" ... and all about how silly, naive, and liberal you are if you have any!

The free-falling economy is one of the biggest stories in decades, but the talk radio format is ill-equipped to deal with its complexity. Its present audience wants easy topics in stark blacks and whites with clear partisan good and bad guys. All Republicans and talk radio can offer is "cut taxes," get government off our backs" -- those aren't real-time solutions to the real-time problems. Besides, talk listeners aren't primed to even listen to the questions. It's been drilled into them for years that educated people like economists are suspect, secular, elites, and socialists.

Talk radio is still delivering a load of stinky tofu, and uber-partisan mudhoney. Talk of Sarah Palin dominates over discussion about or by serious, credible, viable, but BO-ring! Republicans like Bobby Jindal and Tim Pawlenty. We heard E.D. Hill "the terrorist fist jab" babe of Fox News hosting O'Reilly's radio show Friday and grinding away on Bill Ayres and Jeremiah Wright. Rush calls Obama a thug, and Hannity warns of the emergence of Obama's evil side. Glenn Beck goes between pooping on Obama for his "socialistic" campaign promises, and trashing him in advance for not keeping them.

Obama's communication skills and star-power is repeatedly judged as "creepy," " troubling," and somehow detrimental to the republic, like Hitler ranting at Nuremberg.

Marxism, Jihadism, and priapism, they say, are surging; Negroes, child molesters, fags and other such terrorists are emboldened. Bill O'Reilly has again taken up reporting brutish crimes by people with Spanish surnames and no papers -- he's re-animated "amnesty" for illegals, a toothless golem that scared nobody but Congress the first time around.  

The eat-the-educated via the airwaves tactics haven't worked so well in the long haul for the GOP.

The Republicans lost the battle of ideas even more comprehensively than they lost the battle for educated votes, marching into the election armed with nothing more than slogans. Energy? Just drill, baby, drill. Global warming? Crack a joke about Ozone Al. Immigration? Send the bums home. Torture and Guantánamo? Wear a T-shirt saying you would rather be water-boarding. Ha ha. During the primary debates, three out of ten Republican candidates admitted that they did not believe in evolution.

Comment cable teevee has crept up to steal audience who wants opinionated news. Olbermann, Hannity, Dobbs, and Billo are doing it on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN -- and watch Rachel Maddow, Glenn Beck, and David Gregory rise in this growing medium which is gradually picking off talk radio listeners.

(When the Internet is available in cars in a few years, it'll spell the end of terrestrial radio's drivetime near monopoly -- it'd better to be ready...).

Both the Republicans and talk radio need to grow the pie if they're to survive. The no-hope, kill the government, stop progress, and fuck-you very much crowd ain't what it used to be -- even conservatives want to believe in something besides tax cuts, xenophobia, homophobia, banning abortions and stopping stem-cell research.

Comments

[joanie]

An inspired column, Michael. Thank you.

the “white-trash pride” party.

That is precious.

Obama is handling the transition with so much integrity and statesmanship that he's already making Bush look like a rank amateur by comparison. I may not agree with Obama on everything, but everyday my confidence in his ability increases. It's so nice to have a smart President again.

BTW, Jew, did you notice the Hitler reference wasn't mine?

[sparky]

Not to forget the ridiculous clinging to the hope that his birth certificate is fake. That one will always win the prize in my book. But, that is just about all they have left.

[Charlie]

Points well taken, Mi hael. OI was just talking to a young guy just out of J-school wh's been interning at a radio station. He's decided against that career, he's looking to some other form of broadcast journalism even thought he's wanted to be in radio since he was a kid. It is sad.
On the other hand, priapism isn't so bad.

[Jaydar]

We'll see how hope works out for you brain dead followers of Hussein Obama. I'm not so sure America deserves much success after falling for this guy. Hope we can wait it out. My wife is looking into moving to New Zealand.

[Babar]

I don't think substantive, positive talk radio would work. Those with whom it might, have already gone to Air America and NPR... The Wall Street owners of radio are just waiting for the boomers to dies, then they'll turn the stations inot infomercial fests.

[Babar]

I don't think substantive, positive talk radio would work. Those with whom it might, have already gone to Air America and NPR... The Wall Street owners of radio are just waiting for the boomers to dies, then they'll turn the stations inot infomercial fests.

[Francie]

We're done with talk radio on AM. The commercials drove us away. We got satellite radio a year ago. There are some choices up there. People are trying out some different stuff, too.

[Rev]

Nitpick: "KVI introduced Big Pants to Seattle back in the day" is not correct. Limbaugh first appeared on Seattle Radio on the old KING-AM. Management and ownership (still the Bullett family in those days) found him so egregious that they dumped him after a few months.

[mark]

not sure about that, mr. hood -

unlike oil or water, there is an unlimited pool of stupid for talk radio to drink from.

[Gay Gary]

I'm not so sure America deserves much success after falling for this guy.

Jaydar - if I were really gay, you and I would be lovers.

Read this today and could not have been happier: Citigroup job cull to hit 75,000

Either we have this country or no one has it.

Let's burn the muthafucka down!

[joanie]

Bon Voyage, Jaydar.

I think I agree with you, Mark. Radio has been hanging by a thread ever since Larry King brought it back in the seventies. Its demise has been long in coming.

Also, looking at cable tv, there are so many stations but all of them attracting an audience albeit smaller. That may be the future of radio. There will always be people who like to listen while working or for entertainment. Not all of us are tv watchers.

It may be commercial or subscriber, but some form will survive. Somebody will find a way to make money and fulfill their heart's desire.

The only alternative scenario I can think of is that the young people of today will become human ipods walking around listening to music all day.

How stoopid will America be then?

Thanks for all the vocabulary lessons, chucks. You're on the leading edge of that group, huh?

Teasing. Sort of. :)

[rozskat]

I have been commuting to Bellingham so I have a chance to catch up on some of the activities on the airwaves. So for fun I thought I would tune back in to old Kirby and see what the “Emerald City Limbaugh Wannabe” has been doing. He is the true representative of Republican right wing radio! Still bellyaching about “illegal immigrants,” same old tiresome Reagan inspired message of getting government out of the way and is the cause and not the solution. Of course anything remotely associated with helping the homeless is all a leftist loony plot! For some reason, the bailout of Wall Street and proposed aide to the auto industry is the fault of the liberals.

Last Friday, Luke Esser hosted in Kirby’s place, was soliciting inputs on how the GOP can make a comeback and win! Most callers were all cheerleaders telling Sir Luke what he wanted to hear. I had to go back to NPR after several callers labeled President Obama and his supporters “Marxists.” That in itself was enough proof of idiocy of the Republicans and conservatives in general.

If Kirby’s callers as well as those who attended McCain rallies are any indication of intelligence level of conservatives and Republicans, they are going to need more help than divine intervention. It’s hard to imagine that the GOP was once the party of Lincoln and was the party that gave us Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts. Instead it’s turned into a cult like satanic orgy of government bashing Reagan worshippers chanting a mantra until he crawls out of his crypt to their rescue. Unfortunately for them, their ideology like the Gipper is dead.

[David Tatelman]

Jaydar, you guys really kill me. We have put up with 12 years of dumb neo-conservative government running this country into the ground, and you guys are complaining before our guy has even taken office. I'm not sure you would find New Zealand to be the rightwing hotbed you are looking for, since they have the most active peace movement in the world. In fact, you would have a hard time finding a county in the world that shares your paleothilic beliefs, other than Saudi Arabia. Perhaps you should move to Alaska or Mississippi.

[Gay Gary]

We have put up with 12 years of dumb neo-conservative government running this country

Bill Clinton became a neo-con in his second term?

Annnywho, an interesting original post but it suffers a fatal flaw. Dori Monson does not have a political talk show. He has a pop culture talk show that occasionally skims politics. In the few months leading into an election he talks politics 24/7 but, outside of that narrow set, 2/3 of his program deals with pop culture and lighter-side-of-life topics ("Phil - what are your top 10 Rolling Stones songs?", "Phil, what would you consider the greatest moment in sitcom history?", "Let's check in now for an update on XYZ trashy reality show.", "I'm going to go 1-on-1 with the nuns!"), with the regular "serious hour" mixed in.

I can't believe it takes me to point these things out.

[joanie]

That's your youth speaking, Gary. You have little perspective. Time will remedy that deficiency.

Thanks, Rozskat and David. Well put.

I think Jaydar should try Saudi Arabia since he prefers international. He can follow the money and perhaps get a job with Haliburton.

[David Tatelman]

It just seemed like 12 years!

[Gay Gary]

That's your youth speaking, Gary.

Ms. Joanie - for the better part of 6 months I rode you like a $2 whore. You variously lauded me as the most reasoned, perceptive and brilliant poster here and the most deceptive, inflammatory and downright wicked person alive, depending on how I was playing you that day. But now, since I've told you how old I am you simply refuse to talk. I'm disappointed, Ms. J.

You have little perspective.

Ms. J. you don't know me well enough to make that judgment.
Thanks to some maternal experimentation with mescaline in the '80s, I was born with full consciousness of my genetic memories so I can verily tell you I have a much broader perspective than you, Ms. Joanie. Haven't you ever read J.D. Salinger's "Teddy?"

[sparky]

Apparently Jaydar's wife doesn't think too much of him if she wants to move to New Zealand to get away from him.

[nevets]

LMAO

[joanie]

Hahaha, yes you did! Fun wasn't it? I gave you what you paid for, didn't I?

I try to do it with chucks, but he's too old. Just gives up and goes away.

Nothing like youth to keep an old lady happy!

[HoBo]

Did you notice that KIRO had Mike Mevied and Dave Ross on together, last week? I guess this is their version of "The Comentators", i.e., KOMO's John Carlson and Ken Shram.

[Duffman]

Secretary of State! I'll take it! [Only temporary, folks!]

[johnny]

Don't you mean "younger man and older woman" Joanie? ;)

[Seattlenerd]

Rev is right; Rush began on KING 1090 AM in 1988 or so and was aired on weekends (I know, since my live-and-local specialty talk show was a casualty of the addition). But I suspect he didn't really get an audience 'til KVI picked up his Pants.

[rozskat]

Moving to New Zealand to get away from American liberalism? Helen Clark’s party just lost the election and a “conservative” John Key was elected. A “conservative” in New Zealand is pretty liberal compared to American standards and besides a “Yank” fleeing to New Zealand because of domestic politics is frowned upon. We’ll see how conservative John Key is once he lifts the ban on visits to New Zealand by the US Navy.

[blatherdash]

If those elements which you label as indicative of the GOP truely were a 'sinking ship' then Olberman and Maddow (read: Ron Reagan in drag) are sure subscribing to the 'GOP M.O.' now aren't they. And their numbers are going up according to you and your amen editorializing.

go figure.

[KS]

The reason they (Olberman and Maddow) are going up is because they are using the proven "red-meat" strategy in demonizing Republicans just as Limbaugh, Hannity, et. al. have used to demonize the left.

Similarly, Michael Savage has high numbers on radio because he is demonizing the left and faux conservatives, which rubs many of you the wrong way and to that I respond; what's good for the goose is good for the gander. You brought up the topic...