Last Friday August 21st on PBS News hour Judy Woodruff had usual guest Mark Shields and David Brooks cap off the Democratic National Convention.
They lamented that Democrats had a messaging problem and had to figure out how to connect with the blue collar workers in those crucial upper midwest swing states that might go for Trump in November. The Biden camp just needs to ‘connect’ and get the messaging right.
That same night Rachel Maddow had Brian Stelter on about his new book “Hoax” and they blamed the Trump disaster on Fox.
They might as well be studying fish without water.
The biggest political mistake in history continues to be Democrats and media’s 30 year ignorance of Republican talk radio and Russian use of it since at least 2008.
The Democrats (and thinking Americans) problem in those crucial states has nothing to do with messaging content, it has to do with volume and the ability to coordinate national and, unlike Fox, local messaging on hundreds of radio stations.
There are at least 94 radio stations in the 5 states bellow that broadcast Republican/Putin talk radio and headline the Rush Limbaugh show. Those include many of the loudest radio stations in those states. A good rule of thumb is for every Limbaugh station there is usually at least one other Republican talk station without Limbaugh.
That is nearly 200 radio stations repeating the same talking points for Trump. At $1000/hour x 15 hrs/day x 200 that’s $3MIL/DAY, FREE anti-Biden/Harris propaganda. $15MIL/WEEK until the elections.
Like 260 Limbaugh stations piggyback 87 universities, at least 50 of those 94 Limbaugh stations in those important states depend on 13 universities to keep allowing their black athletes to be used to sell advertising to pay for racist pro-Trump and Putin global warming and COVID denying propaganda.
Michigan 25 — (19) Michigan St. 11, Michigan 7, Western Michigan 1
Minnesota 12 — (4) Minnesota 4
Ohio 16 — (10) Ohio St. 6, Toledo 1, Dayton 1, Bowling Green 1, Xavier 1
Pennsylvania 25 — (14) Penn St. 11, Pittsburgh 2, Temple 1
Wisconsin 16 — (3) Wisconsin 3
It’s not the economy, money in politics, corporate media, racism, immigration, fascism, voter suppression, Fox, or any other excuse Democrats use to explain this disaster. It is the inability to have fact-based discussions about any major reform issue without Republican, and now Russian, think tanks creating alternative ‘facts’ with unchallenged coordinated repetition from 1500 radio stations reaching 50 million Americans every week. The think tanks watch for democratic progress and messaging success and can use those stations to pump out anything they want to counter it on a moment’s notice. That is Republicans’ only unique advantage. Without that advantage all those other issues can be addressed democratically so we can fix issues that the vast majority of Americans agree on.
To Maddow, Stelter, Shields and Brooks and all the media and Democratic strategists and activists who continue to ignore the stinking pile under the living room rug — IT’S THE RADIO STUPID!
On this Monday morning’s show, no kidding, Limbaugh is called the Republican convention the most diverse and loving convention he’s ever seen and is claiming Biden and Harris and the Democrats are trying to foment a race war.
Now immediately after Limbaugh’s show Hannity is repeating the exact same bull
.
A few athletes can destroy Republican radio
As I pointed out in a couple of recent diaries many Republican talk stations also depend on pro sports broadcasts — Limbaugh calls Sen Harris a 'hoe'. 1000s of advertisers and 100+ pro teams, universities endorse it.
Even if a few of the national and local talk shows aren’t 100% Trump they are usually 100% Republican. They are almost exclusively pro Trump and pro Putin. If a talker deviates from that they can always be counted on to attack Democrats and liberals.
The loyal Limbaugh dittohead listeners are getting content closely coordinated with the White house. Dittoheads/Teabags/Trumpers learned long ago they have a better chance winning the lottery than getting past the call screeners to talk directly to Limbaugh so they call the local blowhards on those and other Republican talk stations and police them, making sure they’re all on the same page.
That is another indication that Trump’s COVID response is designed to increase COVID infection and death because Limbaugh would not have called it a hoax if Trump was actually going to try to stop the virus. It should be noted that Limbaugh regularly praises and gets advice from Lord Conrad Black, a former media tycoon who thinks Russia should be back in the G8.
Christmas 2019
Searches through Limbaugh’s transcripts would allow media and investigators to demonstrate coordination between Limbaugh/talk radio and Trump in making COVID worse for the US. It would also show show coordination with Kremlin interests.
The Republican think tanks are known to send paid callers to Republican radio shows like Limbaugh’s, which may be the main reason real callers can’t get through. And if US think tanks are doing it, why not Russian think tanks?
I never cared much for that tired cliche but it really applies here: it’s the fucking radio, stupid.
Luckily a perfect storm heads for that massively successful 30 year old propaganda operation.
1 — if any pro or college team demands their ‘owner’ stops using them to support KKK radio stations others will be forced to follow
2 — artificial intelligence-enhanced transcription makes it inevitable that talk radio will be digitized and be made available for reading, studying, monitoring. Talk radio will no longer be invisible to analysts and it makes StopRush x 100 possible. Dems need offense. Artificial Intel will force ad industry to destroy RW radio with market demand.
3 — the leader of this 30 year fascist disaster, the moral and intellectual leader of the Republican Party, may have to ‘retire’ soon and the advertising industry and those 600 radio stations will not be able to replace him and get the same advertising revenue. Limbaugh's demise will destroy the GOP if they don't abandon Trump - Dems need to use it
4 — any of these factors will force the advertising industry to break up the talk radio monopoly and Trump can’t survive without it.
Democrats and liberals and thinking Americans need offense. GOTV and donations are not enough. We don’t know what else Trump will or can do and Republican radio is an easy target and very vulnerable.
