Conservative Radio Bashing Left and Right
What people listen to on the radio says a lot about who they are as a person. It reflects their beliefs, musical interests, and may even speak to their political affiliations. Conservatives lead political talk on the radio. And more often than not, the listeners for these shows tune in to hear hosts bash Obama’s administration.
So, it surprised no one when a poll in October showed that not one of the right wing listeners approved of President Obama and his work in the Oval Office. Even so, Obama and his administration aren’t the talk shows’ only victims. After years of relying on these shows to boost campaigns, republicans now find themselves criticized as well.
In fact, the hosts of these shows prove as likely to bash Obama as they are to bash the party brass in Congress. This bashing of both left and right wing politics shows how right wing supporters view the country on a whole. After the liberal moves to legalize marijuana in several states and LGBT unions at a federal level, 98% of conservatives believe that America is going in the wrong direction – and they are angry about it.
Still, the question stands on whether this mode of radio communication can maintain its lead. The unfortunate answer is ‘yes’ – for a time. Politics comes with a great deal of pessimism from voters and nonvoters alike. After years of financial struggles and the migration of jobs, Americans now thrive off negativity, in the same way the internet generation dislikes, but gets entertainment from “trolls”.
The bashing of politicians keeps the audience engaged, because it provides someone to blame. The hosts provide people Americans can hold accountable for their struggles, and for the changes made that were contrary to the belief and value systems of conservative people in America. In other words, they give America the means to vent, and even bond over it.
But in the long-term, the hosts cannot keep up this negativity. Bashing both parties seems like good fun now, but as Election Day draws closer, people need more unbiased opinions of candidates. If none of the hopefuls deserve to be in office, who should they vote for? And conservatives do intend to vote. The last thing they want at this point is to see another term or two of the Democratic Party in power.
At that point, the dissatisfaction with conservative radio may cause listeners to turn to other sources for information. They need this information to choose the “lesser of the evils” since conservative radio teaches them that none of the candidates should make it to office.
To prevent this from happening, conservative radio hosts need to respond to the true frustrations of the audience, rather than just stir things up. If they do this, this can make them look like the experts on political matters, as opposed to the constant “naysayers”. Despite thriving on negativity, sometimes people need some positive reminders.
For now, the radio hosts continue to confuse republicans who once saw conservative talk radio as a sure way of reaching top supporters. Since that is no longer the case, republicans need to find another way to reach their following. Even so, they should not totally give up on conservative talk radio.
Once Election Day draws closer, if conservatives on the radio intend to sway people to vote for the Republican Party, they need to show support for one or more candidates. At this point, the republicans can count on their support and stand to lose out, if they merely pass up on this option.
Meanwhile, if conservative radio hosts still refuse to shed a beacon of light through all the negative ranting, the Democrats will most certainly beat them to it. Though democratic talk radio enjoys far less success, they may use this to move to the forefront and drive the elections to win once again.
