As you realize, I am very concerned about the direction of our country. The ever-growing power of the state reaching into our wallets, our bedrooms and who knows what else is diametrically opposed to virtually everything I ever learned about the US Constitution and what truly has made our country the greatest in the world.
There is no doubt that I agree with much of what is said on conservative talk shows like Limbaugh, Hannity and Mark Levin. However, I am often deeply troubled at the tone or the style that the message is delivered in. Sure, I am reminded by some that these gentlemen are also entertainers of sorts. However, they are talking about very serious matters which are why I listen to them in the first place. It’s also very important that the good debate, the honest debate be won by conservatives because it is only conservative ideas and policies that have brought great wealth, power and ideals to America.
So, for instance, when Sean Hannity plays the everyday attack dog by incessantly pointing out the same things … over and over again, it sours me because I feel it’s counterproductive to the good debate. What good is it to show the slip-up of the oath of office that occurred on inauguration day? Why resort to what the Keith Obermans, Dave Lettermans, Chris Matthews, et al did virtually every day of the Bush administration? Why not take the higher road and just stick to principles? Why is it still necessary for him to keep bringing up Ayres, Rev. Wright, etc? How many times do you need to hear that to become convinced or have made your point? Talking about the very same things on the radio and on TV for 200+ days prior to the election didn’t really change the result, did it? I don’t understand how it is that Hannity doesn’t seem to understand that you can’t expect to get different results by doing the same thing. It seems to me that Hannity is actually part of the problem rather than breaking new ground in the hearts and minds of Americans.
Rush Limbaugh is the king of talk radio. However controversial he may be, I have heard him speak about great things, great ideals and when he stays on message, he is as compelling a speaker as there is. However, as with Hannity, Limbaugh uses inflammatory, provocative and derisive words to accentuate the negative when he speaks of the Liberal Left. He also over-defended Bush, part of what I call the “Bush can do no wrong” crowd. Surely, Limbaugh spoke of his disagreements with Bush but he did it with the respect and civility that we should all show all of our presidents including Obama and Bush. He should do more of this with his ideological adversaries, regardless of how he or other conservatives are treated by the left. Further, the name-calling; I won’t list them here because it bothers me so much. Again, I make no excuses for the left as they are shameless in their derision of all things conservative, never more venomous than how they treated Bush. However, using anything but their names is provocative and inflammatory; it just takes the low road which cheapens the real messages and lessons of conservatism.
Mark Levin just wrote a best-selling book, “Liberty and Tyranny,” which I just completed and I truly believe is a book that all Americans should read. It is truly a primer to better understand the historic and constitutional significance of what is going on in our country now. It is, as the tagline states, “A Conservative Manifesto.” However, as with Mr. Limbaugh, on his radio broadcasts, Levin resorts to name-calling, angry diatribes and derisive pet names for those, particularly in government and the media that he disagrees with on the left. It just cheapens his rich rich message and teachings. He makes no excuses for this; he knows he’s doing it and he feels justified in doing it because he feels they deserve it. I simply feel that they may deserve it but Mr. Levin would be so much more effective by sticking to his truly great understanding of the constitution and seek to teach what he knows to enrich everyone as he is so capable of doing.
These leading conservative talk show personalities have a great deal to offer. They command strong followings and surely have the top ratings in their field. It is hard to argue that they change anything as their success measured in all the numbers show that there should be no reason to change. However, still, I suggest that they can still improve and be even more effective by lowering their voices some, sticking to their principles as they surely will, but also deliver a more polished and poised message, free of incessant repetition and name calling. In this way, the message will not get lost or camouflaged; it will be clear and true. The fact is that they will never lose an honest debate; I say let’s have the honest debate and not lower ourselves to the tactics of our ideological adversaries.
Arthur Cooper
About 2 weeks ago, live from Washington DC, Barack Obama starred in what was called his 3rd prime time news conference. All of the major networks covered it, something they never did for his predecessor, but have and will always do for their beloved new star of the media.