How much influence do RW radio talk show hosts have in Blue Dog districts?

[brentspeak]

Another DUer speculated that Blue Dogs and other Democrats from "red" and "purple" states have to worry about local RW media spamming the airwaves with smears against them. Hence, the occasional dumb vote based on not appearing "weak" on defense (i.e., last night's FISA bill).

Is this an accurate picture of what goes on in certain conservative districts around the country? (I'm not criticizing the DUer who made this opinion; It's an interesting theory.)

[supernova]

1. It's possible

Around here (and this has happened at least since the 1960s) a lot of older affluent folks who used to call themselves Democrats, will split their tickets at the national election. They vote for Dems for city and county, and even state offices, but will vote Repub for President.

Perhaps the whole "macho" quotient, along with the racism, is one reason why.

[Bitwit1234]

2. Daily Kos has a list of democrats in the House who voted with bush

And sure enough they were all the Blue Dog Democrats. AND I don't care what they are anybody say, I think they are all republicans who ran as democrats because they knew they wouldn't get elected as republicans. AND THAT'S THE DAMN PARTY..THEY ARE AS SICK AS BUSH.

[Breeze54]

3. Can you possibly get your hands on that list? Or a link?

And I agree with you. ;) "THEY ARE AS SICK AS BUSH."

Wouldn't Rush and his ilk be one of the radio RW smearers?

Faux Suxs have radio stations, don't they?

And don't forget the biggest smearer of libs is the 'RW Preacher Man'.

[FormerDittoHead]

4. I'm tired of the "change the channel" mentality. Media affects the WAY people think!

~90% of political races are won by those who SPEND the most.

Businesses UNDERSTAND the EFFECTIVENESS of ADVERTISING because it CHANGES MINDS and AFFECTS BEHAVIOR.

Society is omnipresent. You can't "turn the dial". If you have RW talk radio on 24x7, and NOTHING ELSE, it WILL have an EFFECT.

To answer your question - without RW talk radio, "conservatives" wouldn't EXIST as they do today.

Talk radio, done well, is ENTERTAINING. But unlike TV, you can work, drive, etc while it's on.

Liberal talk radio is what, .004%? of market share?

I know I'm a broken record here, but without SOMEHOW balancing out RW talk radio, we will ALWAYS be spinning our wheels HOPING just to get to second base, while THEY are actually getting the things DONE...

[Pushed To The Left]

9. The RW hosts are really freaking out over the Fairness Doctrine possibly coming back

"They are trying to silence conservatives!" I'm not quite sure how the Fairness Doctrine would effect talk radio as far as how it would be regulated, but the RW hosts seem terrified of it. It seems to be that liberal talk radio is being silenced due to so much of the airwaves being owned by the same people.

[FormerDittoHead]

10. That should be enough, in my book...

Think about it. You can STILL be a "conservative", talk on the radio (Like AirAmerica's Lionel!) but not actively endorse a given party / candidate!

Think about that as they complain about the "fairness doctrine"!

If the worst case senario happen (and the meat and potatoes of right wing talk radio is the slippery slope argument) I'd be glad to give up our <1% of liberal talk radio if it meant WIPING OUT right wing talk radio with it!

[TheFarseer]

5. Incredible influence

If Ben Nelson does anything "weak on defense" he has thousands of people on his ass. If he doesn't go for the tax cuts, he has thousands of people on his ass. It's partially his fault because he ran as Republican lite, but it would have been nearly impossible to win any other way.

[brentspeak]

7. There's gotta be a way to break the RW media influence

And it's aggravating that so many in the general public are gullible enough to actually believe anything they hear from the Rush-wannabes.

[Breeze54]

8. Boots on the ground and citizens contacting neighbors!

Just as Dean is doing with his 50 State strategy.

A 50 State Strategy

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/a_50_state_strategy/

How Democrats can and will win in every state, every county, and every precinct.

The Democratic Party is committed to winning elections at every level in every region
of the country, and we're getting started right now with a massive effort to fund
organizers on the ground in every state.

The ultimate goal?

An active, effective group of Democrats organized in every single precinct in the country.

Here's what we're doing to get there:

1. The Democratic Party is hiring organizers chosen by the state parties in every state
-- experienced local activists who know their communities.

2. We bring those organizers together for summits where they can learn from each other the
best practices for getting organized to win elections.

3. Armed with the knowledge they've shared with each other, Democratic organizers return
to the states and recruit and train leaders at the local level.

4. Those local leaders recruit more leaders and volunteers until every single precinct in
their area has a trained, effective organization of Democrats dedicated to winning votes
for Democrats.




--------------------------------------

About DFA

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/

Democracy for America finds, trains, and supports fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates
at all levels of office across the country. We harness the power of our enormous grassroots network to
get these candidates elected and to work towards positive change from the bottom up. We provide
organizational support and training opportunities to the hundreds of local DFA groups nationwide.

Upcoming Trainings

* Atlanta, GA
* Springfield, IL

[goodgd_yall]

6. Diners, bars, airports

In some places I imagine Fox News is the only channel the TV is turned to in public places. I remember flying across country back in 2000 and being amazed that all the airports I was stopping at were tuned to Fox. I don't know if that has changed, but I'm thinking of how intrusive the right wing media is in some parts of the country. There is no way people in those areas are not affected. The RW media tell them what is important and frames the discussion on issues. Additionally, and just as important in my opinion, is the news that gets ignored in the RW media. I only have experience with Fox News (I can't stomach listening to RW talk shows) and I don't know how many times they have failed to report an instance of large U.S. casualties in Iraq, or a particularly bloody day for Iraqi civilians.