Right-wing Talk Radio vs. John McCain

Photo from source, National Ledger

As you may know, I occasionally torture myself with the ramblings of right-wing talk radio, FOX "News," and the odd conservative web site. I like to keep my ear to the ground, to see what they're grousing about. And lately, due to my work load, I've had the opportunity to listen to snippets of talk radio at times of day that aren't usually open to me.

Driving around making a few deliveries, I've had the opportunity to catch parts of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and worst of all Mark Levin. El Rushbo, The Great American, and The Great One, respectively to their fans. The result has been illuminating, entertaining, and occasionally baffling. It didn't hurt that I caught some of their programming before, during and after Super Duper Trouper Tuesday.

The rub is, at least these three despise McCain. And they have no problem sharing that with the world. The hosts and the callers to the shows sound dispirited, dejected, and ready to throw in the towel. And though there are some feeble protestations to the contrary, the power of Rush Limbaugh's "golden microphone" has definitely waned, if only temporarily.

Republicans, or the neo-con variety, have become notorious for their lock-steppiness. Just look at Congress for one example. It's not uncommon to see several Democrats cross party lines, but just watch Republicans fall in line, almost to a man on almost any vote. And whether the marching orders come from the RNC, the White House, Rush's backside or a combination of those, good Republicans usually fall in line. "Mega dittos, Rush!" and "Rush is right!" are two of Limbaugh's fans' favorite sayings.

But the marching orders were not heeded this time. Demonizing John McCain has not worked. Maybe it's the Mormon factor for Romney, the hick factor for Huckabee, the creepy factor for Giuliani. . .who knows. Talk fans are wandering astray. And it's about time.

Oh, and please explain, how can anybody listen to Mark Levin for more than a few minutes? That voice just kills me. Worse than Michael Savage, and Savage is a lunatic.

[Excerpt]

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity & Laura Ingraham: Talk Radio Fails Conservatives

Our book, The Death of Talk Radio?, warned about the threat posed by liberals trying to pass into law the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Little did we know that its viability would be in jeopardy from conservatives upset over major figures in talk radio playing favorites in the Republican presidential race. The conservative talk-radio assault on John McCain and Mike Huckabee has backfired in a big way. . .

Read more at (right wing site): National Ledger

Democrats Swamp Republicans' GOTV Effort

For the last several elections, much has been made of the Republicans' get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts. Lead by the new FOX "News" correspondant, Karl Rove, Republicans have been masterful in whipping their followers into a frenzy, using fear mostly, and getting them to the polls. Of course, they used many other tools, from vote caging to robo-calls, but whatever they did, it worked.

Now, that tide has been stemmed. And surpassed. Check this out:


Source: AmericaBlog

Obama or Hillary; Who Won?

Photo from source, Politico

I think the answer is a resounding neither. Or BOTH! Who knows? The arcane math required to figure it all out is in the hands of the professionals, so we sort of have to take their word for it.

But one thing I'd like to see put to rest is the whole, "not fair, this isn't democracy!" argument about the primaries and caucuses. You know, it might suck, but it isn't unfair. The political parties have every right to set their own rules--and pretty much get to call them however they want them. If we had 20 political parties it wouldn't be an issue. But since we have basically 2, we feel like the primaries are part of the democratic process. They're not, at least, not exactly.

Each party has their rules; Republicans often winner-take-all, the Democrats often apportioned. And the Democrats have the super-delegates thing. They're all party rules, just like the dates chosen for each contest. They've been set for a long time, and if you're a Democrat who doesn't like how it's set up, work to change the rules from within the party. But it's a little late to start bitching about it now.

[Excerpt]

Obama claims delegate lead

In a surprise twist after a chaotic Super Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) passed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in network tallies of the number of delegates the candidates
racked up last night.

The Obama camp now projects topping Clinton by 13 delegates, 847 to 834. . .

Read more at: Politico

Hard-core Right Wing Melting Down

Image from Techno Gypsy

If you've been here before, you know I sometimes troll those right-wing sites. Not "troll" in internet-speak; I don't go nuts on their comment boards--usually. I just go there to see what they're up to. And lately, it's been kind of fun.

They were all for Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, and some of the other also-rans. But they hate John McCain. Most of them distrust Mike Huckabee, and now that they're down to Mitt Romney as their only other choice, they're (luke) warming to him. Given tonight's returns, they may have to settle for McCain after all.

And now it's getting really fun to watch. Check out these quotes from Free Republic:

"If this is it, I’m out. Won’t vote for any of the rest. A nation gets the government it deserves."

"What a steaming pile of an election. I never thought this until tonight, but we need Rush to jump into the race as an independent...otherwise there’s nobody I can vote for."

"The GOP is now a Party In Name Only. The coalition is dissolved."

"This sucks on so many levels."

For more fun, try these links:

Fox News: McCain and Clinton Win California

High Democratic voter turnout

MSNBC reports Romney canceling scheduled campaign events for later in week

Super Duper Tuesday Results Recaplet

Image from source, Huffington Post

There's not much I can add to this huge blogging event, being a relative amateur. Other blogs are typing their fingers off, and here I am not knowing what to say!

On Nevada Caucus day, I caucused for John Edwards. When that didn't pan out, I realigned for Barack Obama. As you know, Hillary Clinton won the state. I wasn't bummed, because I really liked all three. She was my third choice, sure, but it was a tight three-way race for me.

Now, for some odd reason, I felt myself pulling for Hillary Clinton. While she could not be deemed an underdog, she nonetheless has gotten far weaker press. The liberal blogs in particular have been rather sour on her, mostly for the fact that conservatives despise her (for reasons that are rather ethereal). So maybe that's it. She's getting a raw deal, that matches her raw throat (she's been coughing and occasionally voiceless over the last couple of days).

Anyway, here are the results as I write this. They will undoubtedly fluctuate a bit as the day goes on, so if you're reading this in the middle of Wednesday, don't take it as gospel!

[Excerpt]

Super Tuesday Results

SCORECARD:

GOP: McCain 7, Romney 5, Huckabee 4,

DEM: Obama 11, Clinton 8

Read more at: Huffington Post

Clinton and Obama Debate One on One

Photo from source, Huffington Post

We end the month with a field of candidates that has dwindled from double digits down to basically two on each side. Sure there's still Mike Huckabee, but he's seeming like a long shot. And from the extreme long-shot field, I believe we still have Alan Keyes, Mike Gravel and Ron Paul. But the writing is on the wall: it's Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and John McCain.

Tonight's Democratic debate offered little in the way of thrills. Clinton and Obama have seemingly buried the hatchet in something other than each others' skulls. Even their digs at each other were rather ouchless. What they looked like more than anything was a ticket. I wonder if that will go anywhere, or if they'll pick up where they were last week?

[Excerpt]

CIVILITY RULES...CLINTON AND OBAMA PLAY IT SAFE

The much-anticipated Tinseltown one-on-one Democratic debate tonight lacked much of the drama that had been widely predicted and proceeded on a relatively cordial tone, with candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama refusing to directly confront each other during much of the near two-hour long showdown.

Some verbal skirmishing briefly flared over the issue of Iraq and health care but those expecting any sort of knock-down drag-out battle in this final debate before next Tuesday's avalanche of primaries came away disappointed as the candidates often emphasized the differences they have with Republicans over their own disagreements. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post