My Hopes For Conservative Radio

Sometimes I listen to radio that validates my point of view. Other times I like to be challenged. About three evenings a week, I listen to conservative talk radio. Here are some of my thoughts.

Rush Limbaugh is at his best when he is doing satire, particularly when he coins words. My favourite words coined by Limbaugh are "feminazi" and "gorbasm". The latter describes the burst of ecstasy experienced by liberals when discussing Mikhail Gorbatchev. Limbaugh was only partially vindicated by history.Though it was true that Gorbatchev was a "kinder gentler communist, he did bring communism down. Limbaugh's greatest weakness is his seeming indifference to the well being of hourly wage workers. He tends to have an attitude that everyone can be a millionaire if they try. The only way I see that happening is if Obama does to the US dollar what Robert Mugabe did to the Zimbabwean dollar.

Michael Savage is far better at voicing concern for the majority in America who are not wealthy. He has the advantage of a focus on social issues. He is more critical of the Republican Party. Unfortunately, he talks way too much about himself. I would like to hear more, however about his interesting views on alternative medicine. A certain measure of personal anecdotes humanises a broadcast. Some days he is just right.

Mark Levin is forthright in his promotion of conservative beliefs. He is better at not talking too much about himself. I frequently find myself switching back and forth between Levin and Savage.

I am starting to enjoy Glenn Beck more. He is on in the mornings. He has yet another flavour of anger that differs from that of Levin and Savage. Joy Behar took a cheap shot at his problems with substance abuse. I find a guy who has taken some hits in life and gotten back up to be inspirational. He is my new favourite talk show host.

I used to hear Michael Reagan subbing for other talk show hosts. He has an engaging tone that reminds me a lot of his father, the late President Ronald Reagan. I'd like to hear more of him. I hope he runs for office.

Sean Hannity puts me to sleep. He sounds like a junior high school cheer leader for the conservative team. He had James Traficant on his program on Yom Kippur. Traficant calls everybody else in Congress names and blames the Jews whenever he gets the chance. He got on Hannity's program on Yom Kippur, a day when a lot of people with some choice words for him were in synagogue. Hannity brings in controversial guests, but does not develop ideas by challenging them.

Of all the advice gurus on the radio, I like Joy Brown the most. She is solid with common sense. She is not a trendoid. And she attracts interesting callers. I agree with her about 85% of the time. Every time I listen to a radio doctor, I compare the advice I would give with what they give. She took over my #1 spot from Dr. Laura, who lost my respect when she quit Orthodox Judaism in a pompous letter she read on the air which essentially said that Orthodox jews did not support her with sufficient enthusiasm or speak of her with the proper tone of reverence. she reminds me of fingernails on a blackboard, or a squeaking piece of styrofoam. I am glad she is on the radio, so I can change the station.


In the area of music, I would most like to see a radio station that plays pop and rock from around the world. I get restless if I hear more than five songs in a row that are in English. I wonder if there are others out there like me who would support a station that plays popular music in every known language. The world listens to American music. Some of us reciprocate by listening to the world.




The greatest void I feel on the radio dial is the lack of a conservative version of National Public Radio. I feel that such a network would surely give NPR a run for their money. It would be interesting to see a conservative adaptation of such a format. A sober and less angry form of conservative radio programming would make the image of American conservatism much more three dimensional. I could just imagine. CPR ..... Conservative Public radio. Reviving the body politic....




***********************************************************************************


In my musical explorations, I found a beautiful French song from the 60's done by a guy named Michel Polnareff. The song "La poupée qui fait non " is about a beautiful doll that only knows how to say "no". I included a link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxth_tQZ4sE