Rush's GOP

It's impossible to talk politics with people and not run into listeners of Rush. I don't have a problem with Rush. I've listened to Rush, on and off, for years.

The issue is with the people who listen to him and actually think Rush is informing them.

That's not Rush's job. His job is to entertain you long enough so he can deliver you to his advertisers. There is nothing wrong with that. It is what most of print, radio and TV is for. And Rush is very good at it.

The problem I have is with people who think that Rush is doing any more than entertaining propaganda.

You can recognize the signs of the "Rush informed" shortly into a conversation. The earliest sign is the typical reactionary rants about the liberal media. I think conservatives like to use this old line as often as possible because it makes people feel any other sources of information that contradict the conservative host are not to be trusted. And it makes the listener feel they are getting to real information. No better way to feel superior than that.

The "liberal media" rant then allows Rush to build up a straw man of the opposing view which he can then knock down. Rush's listeners who don't seek out alternative views (and no, Sean Hannity is not an alternative view) feel they have just seen liberal views defeated by the incredible logic of Rush. If Rush had to truly defend his arguments instead of battling straw men of his own creation or the occasional over matched caller, then we would have a show I'd enjoy a lot more.

When you find yourself talking to a Rush listener, you will find them giving Rush's arguments that worked well against his straw men. These arguments can sound very good unless you have any real information about the opposing view. If you have that information, it is easy to cause a Rushovite to sputter since they don't normally have any way to respond to new arguments.

I do this for fun just to see them try to come up with an answer to a question harder than what Rush was willing to tackle. It is very rare for them to rise to the occasion.

The key to understanding Rush's appeal is that he usually avoids challenging his listeners. Challenging their preconceived notions would make them uncomfortable and uncomfortable listeners might tune out. Rush needs to stay within the framework his listeners are comfortable with and add enough humor to keep it from getting boring.

This framework is reactionary and populist, but it makes millions of people feel secure in their ignorance and just makes Rush millions.