Found this comic that explains RW media coverage of Dems in general

[krispos42]

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/charitable

I mean, does it get any more basic than that? Think of pretty much anything that Faux News or its lesser copies freak out over, and you have this comic!

[Ocelot II]

1. This attitude of malignant whataboutism isn't unique to the RW, unfortunately.

It sometimes appears even in liberal circles when concern is expressed for one group or situation, promptly causing indignation to ensue because insufficient concern has been expressed for some other group or situation. It's dishonest no matter who does it.

[Paladin]

2. Yeah, liberals can engage in it.

But it was right-wing shitheads like Limbaugh, Carlson and Hannity who developed it into a big-money, destructive political weapon.

[Sapient Donkey]

4. I see it as more of annoyance when it's someone left of center (whether slight left or far left)

but it seems far more dangerous and impactful the way it's done on the right. Which I think boils down to it being big names that are viewed with legitimacy doing it on the right, vs it more often than not being some random people with minimal power doing it on the left. There are exceptions, but it's still not nearly enough to be as much of a real problem.

[Richard58]

3. Spot on!

That's the thing I hate the most about right wing media. No matter what a Democrat or liberal says or does they find something nefarious about it. If a Democratic politician wants to legalize marijuana they say, "Oh, so you want even more kids addicted to drugs?" If liberal says that we should not have forced prayer in public schools they say, "Why don't you like religious freedom? You obviously hate God!" If a liberal says we need to increase the social safety net they say, "So you want to reward people for being lazy and want them to live off hard-working taxpayers dollars?" And on and on it goes. It's idiotic and dishonest. It's like our motives are always evil. But the right wing base needs red meat so the talking heads have to come up with more and more fake outrage.

[Walleye]

9. If you're against capital punishment they say, "so you want murderers to go free".

[sciencescience]

5. that does seem like one of their more commonly used tactics

[certainot]

6. limbaugh mainstreamed this long before internet - by the early 90s 600 limbaugh stations

were policing another 1000 - a few hundred blowhards on all 1500 or so stations had to always negatively spin anything democrats did or wanted to do or they would get yelled at by the dittoheads who could not call into the limbaugh show because the ignorant racist asshole who said he knew what americans though and wanted more than anyone else hardly ever took calls from the audience.

at some point the kremlin began to feed him, at least by 2008 when manafort. who was working for the russians then too while he was mccain's campaign cochair, used limbaugh to force mccain to pick palin VP.

america doesn't have a facebook problem, which is part of the free speech spectrum, it still has a limbaugh/talk radio problem

[krispos42]

7. I experienced that when I was younger

It was sometime in 2000, I was driving home from work (at the time I was working in Brookfield and living in Derby) and I was scanning through the stations along my drive. One afternoon I was able to tune in a for a few minutes to a show that was having a nice conversation about schools and the Constitution. I forget the exact details. Anyway, the next day I tuned in to listen again, and it was just stupid Al Gore bashing over trivial things. This was before I got interested into politics and started paying attention (thank you, DU!). The hosts (or host and guest) were laughing like loons at the lame attempts at humor, so I turned it off and never went back to the station.

Years later I began listening to Air America, then I discovered podcasts, and DU... and here I am.

[certainot]

8. yeah, just stupid al gore and his BS about 'global warming' and silly stuff like that!

i was driving through southern colorado in early 2000s with a low range radio and out of about 5 stations that i could understand , 3 had limbaugh on, and one with a one or two hour delay...

i doubt there's much change except they had to replace the lying dumbshit with other lying dumbshits. the best part is central messaging died with him.