Year: 2008

Next Big Thing for Conservative Talk Radio: Hate Everybody

Trish

Rush Limbaugh, whose criticisms of John McCain put him in danger of becoming irrelevant, could still have a way out: hate everybody.

That’s the only winning strategy for Rush, Ann, Laura, and all the other blathering conservative big mouths, according to industry experts.

Rush rose to fame during the Newt Gingrich Contract With America years, when both he and Newt pursued the same winning strategy. They just watched which direction the crowd was already marching, ran out in front and yelled, “Hey everybody, this way!”

Robert Mathias, managing director of Ogilvy PR’s Washington office, said conservative hosts need to begin adapting to the changes occurring in the Republican party or risk losing their audiences.

“Mr. McCain’s victory creates a little bit of a loss of standing, but it is not a sea change,” he said. “The party is not moving in lock step with conservatives, and if there is in fact a change occurring and if these guys don’t adjust they will lose some of their audience.”

[President of radio consulting firm Jacobs Media Fred] Jacobs said it’s now a win-win situation for the likes of Mr. Limbaugh and his conservative cohorts. Regardless of who now makes it to the White House, they will have an adversary they can complain about for four years.

“He is actually guaranteed some great material now,” Mr. Jacobs said.

Added [Talkers magazine publisher Michael] Harrison, “They can now be critical of both parties, which puts them in a much better position.”

There is probably a very large demographic out there that does, in fact, hate everybody. Some of them have begun leaving comments on Pensito Review. They are not Republicans, think John McCain is a dangerous hawk, and see Mike Huckabee as too flaky-Christian to be trusted with the Constitution.

At the same time, they don’t want a female president and they damn sure don’t want that particular female to be president, and they are only just now getting in touch with their racist side. As they do, they are finding it really matters to them that the president be a white male.

Rush rose to fame during the Newt Gingrich Contract With America years, when both he and Newt pursued the same winning strategy. They just watched which direction the crowd was already marching, then ran out in front and yelled, “Hey everybody, this way!” It’s worked for a long time and there’s no reason it would fail now. FOX News should get a clue: hating everybody is the best way to engage their audience.

Clinton Campaign Shakeup

Jon Ponder

Only time will tell if is it too little too late:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has replaced campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, naming longtime aide Maggie Williams to the top job.

Solis Doyle announced the shift in an e-mail to the staff on Sunday.

“I have been proud to manage this campaign and prouder still to call Hillary my friend for more than 16 years,” Solis Doyle wrote. “Maggie is a remarkable person and I am confident that she will do a fabulous job.”

The move comes a day after rival Barack Obama swept contests in Washington state, Nebraska, Louisiana.

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

Democracy is among most Civil nations accounted the meanest and worst of all forms of Government … and History does record that it hath always of least continuance and fullest troubles.

— John Winthrop (1588-1649) Puritan, first Governor of Massachusetts

Why Are Obama Supporters Swiftboating Hillary Clinton?

Jon Ponder

The Shocking Video Swiftboating Hillary Obama Wants You To See!!

Maybe things aren’t as rosy at the Obama campaign as his team — and the completely smitten mainstream media — would have us believe. Other than desperation, what else would explain the waves of “Obamabots” spamming the comments boards of liberal websites with Clinton-hating screeds?

The most egregious of these was posted today in the comments for this site by a spammer using the handle “S Bison.” It is a link to a trailer for an anti-Clinton video that nonpartisan Factcheck.org compared with “‘The Mena Coverup,’ ‘The Clinton Chronicles’ and others accused Clinton of a range of illegal and unethical acts. Like many — we daresay most — of those, this video contains a lot of false, unproven and misleading material. And what it leaves out is often more important than what it tells us.”

Here’s Factcheck.org’s summary of its detailed analysis of the video:

[…]

From the Creative Time-Wasting Dept. We offer Hubdub.com

Buck Banks

hubdub-logo.jpgThink you’re a pretty savvy predictor of what’s going to happen next in the big news stories in business, politics, entertainment or science? Want to bet on it?

Check out hubdub (not hubbub!). Once you register, you get a thousand hubdub dollars to bet on any of a wide range of topics tagged to a news item and set in the form of a question. Pick an answer, place your bet and sit back watch the money just roll in. Or not.

Some people in hubdub land have A) some real predictive skill and B) a lot of time on their hands. Enough at least to have accrued more than H$60,000.

Hubdub was created by four guys in a garage in Edinburgh, Scotland, and staffed by a bunch of newshounds around the globe.

So check it out. I bet you’ll find it addictive.

The TSA Is Blogging — Ineptly, Of Course

Buck Banks

tsa1.jpgThe Transportation Security Administration has come under a lot of criticism since it was formed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And now it’s in for some more. The TSA has started a weblog, and in today’s post, promptly misspelled “blogoshpere” in the headline. Much as I detest that term, seeing it misspelled in a head on a blog does not bode well for the site’s content or the competence of its posters.

The blog is called “Evolution of Security,” and has a catchy tagline: “Terrorists Evolve. Threats Evolve. Security Must Stay Ahead. You Play A Part.” Short. Choppy. Sentences. Sounds like “Dragnet” dialog.

The hot topics are entertaining, too:

  • Shoes: Comments about the possibility of picking up a foot fungus at the checkpoint.
  • Liquids: “TSA took my hair product away!”
  • Inconsistencies: In Columbus the clear makeup bag was acceptable, but in Portsmouth it was confiscated because it wasn’t a “baggie.”
  • Lighters, Nail Clippers and Lithium Batteries: “What is a tool using human supposed to do?”
  • Gripes & Grins: “I’m a 63 yr old woman, and I do NOT appreciate the TSA woman in West Palm Beach who felt it necessary to reach down inside the front of my slacks. How embarrassing!”

It’s easy — maybe too easy — to make fun of the TSA for its bumbling attempt to create a blog. But the impetus behind it — giving airline passengers a chance to sound off and make suggestions — should be lauded, I suppose. Of course, the comments are moderated, but it appears the TSA is being pretty fair in allowing constructive negative criticisms.

It is interesting to note that a majority of commenters, knowing that they are posting to a gubmint site, choose to post as “anonymous,” thinking their identity is protected. Nice try. And good luck at the airport!

Two Videos: Obama Pledges Allegiance, Hand over Heart – Which Rightwing Says He Refuses To Do

Jon Ponder

The latest GOP disinformation campaign against Sen. Barack Obama is that he refuses to put his hand over his heart as he says the Pledge of Allegiance.

Above are two videos, one from June 21, 2007, and another from Feb. 1, 2007, in which he says the pledge with hand over heart.

Below is the rightwing disinformation video. It shows Obama in Iowa in September 2007, standing at attention while the National Anthem is being sung. He stands at attention (which was what I was taught to do growing up in the South) but does not place his hand over his heart, even though the other candidates on the stage do:

[…]

Clinton Campaign Staff Not Getting Paid

Trish

It’s hard to put a good face on news like this.

Members of Senator Hillary Clinton’s senior campaign staff have agreed to work without pay for the month of February…

We, like so many Republicans before us, might have to blame Bill. The thought of the former president back in the White House just seems wrong.

The staff move to help the campaign save precious resources comes after a big media blitz preceding Super Tuesday — including a one hour televised interactive town hall meeting on the Hallmark Channel, which set the campaign back millions of dollars, and regular TV ads that totaled more than $8 million over a period of less than two weeks…

Senator Clinton reached into her own pockets to give the campaign a $5 million loan late last month…

The Clinton campaign raised about $13 million in January, plus the $5 million loan from Senator Clinton. The Obama campaign announced recently that it had raised $32 million last month.

Did you feel that? It’s the force of Barack Obama’s momentum driving Hillary off the road and into the ditch. And we, like so many Republicans before us, might have to blame Bill. The thought of the former president back in the White House just seems wrong. Two terms is enough in this country, and if he were still attending to earthquake victims with Jr’s dad or something, we’d probably be O.K. with it.

Instead, ever since the actual voting began – rather than just debates or campaign stops – Bill got busy on the stump. He got a little too busy, because it was finally evident that Obama has a real chance, and now we’re all kind of embarrassed for him.

We’re embarrassed for her, too, because Hillary has shown just how far she’s willing to go to achieve the goal of the Oval Office: about 10 percent farther than any of us would prefer.