Why do you listen to right wing, conservative political talk shows on the radio?

I can understand being interested in politics. I am. I always thought that having an open mind and engaging in discussion was important.

But a lot of people listen to radio commentators and they adopt that view as if it were their own opinion with out ever listening to the other side. Why is it important to engage in political hate rather than to hear out both sides? Most of the conservatives I've heard on the radio justt like to ridicule the liberals, even distorting liberal views, just to tweak peoples' noses.

Whatever happened to intellectual discussion. I know this will piss off some cons, but it applies equally to liberals. I've heard liberals make bizarre statements about conservative views and then proceed to attack conservatives for views they do not actually hold.

What ever happened to the "open mind? " Why do so many people simply parrot someone else's views? Asked by einnor 56 months ago Similar questions: listen wing conservative political talk shows radio Politics & Law > Politics.

Similar questions: listen wing conservative political talk shows radio.

They're often the only voice for conservative news and discussion. First, Let me clarify the kinds of talk shows I listen to, because they are not all alike: I do not care for any talk show, conservative or liberal, in which the main draw for their ratings is to slander the opposition. I am particularly dismayed by any show which hurls insults at the President.

While I am not pleased with everything he has done, the man and the office should be respected. However, when someone attacks his intelligence, I take it personally. I endorse him with my vote of confidence because I believe that he is the best person for the job.

And so, an attack on his intelligence is an attack on mine as well. That being said, I listen to conservative talk radio because it voices support for the President. Granted, the current President is a Republican so naturally conservative talk radio would support him.

Ask me this question when a Democrat is in the Oval Office and I’ll re-evaluate my response depending on what I hear being broadcasted at the time. For the record, I grit my teeth whenever I hear someone like Ann Coulter or Michael Savage spouting off with horrible venom against liberals. That kind of poisonous talk only serves to further divide our country and I wholeheartedly condemn it.

~~~ Secondly, there are often many news stories that are important to conservatives that get little attention from the national media, but they will be covered by conservative talk radio. One particular example that comes to mind is the Terry Schiavo story. While this story eventually did become a major headline, Glen Beck had been featuring it on his show for years before it received national attention.

There are plenty of examples of this concerning Iraq as well. How is it that a soldier who deserts his company can make national headlines while commanders and soldiers who are faithful to their cause, and have good news to report, are overlooked when they are interviewed by Sean Hannity? ~~~ Finally, conservative talk radio is one of the only places where conservatives can debate topics that matter to them.

I listen because there are talk shows that do have substance. When I say substance, I am referring to the point-by-point discussions of relevant topics that take place. My personal opinion is that conservatives have a strong desire to talk out their case and to hear their beliefs challenged and debated.

This is one of the reasons why I think talk radio does so well with conservatives. Anyone who has listened to talk radio for some time will know that it’s not all just name calling at the other side. Often there will be topics completely within conservative circles that will be debated just as heavily.

If you have listened to shows like Hannity, Beck or Limbaugh, you will often hear criticism going both ways. Now again, I have to say that Limbaugh can be quite pompous, and Beck and Hannity can be very grating after awhile. All of these take their jabs at Democratic leadership that I would imagine are just as painful for a Democrat to hear as it is for me to hear someone insult the President.

After a while, I can only take so much of all of them. There are conservative voices who do show a great deal of respect for both sides while maintaining relevancy in their discussions. Tony Snow was a great example of this when he was doing his radio show.

I can see why the White House opted to make him Press Secretary. Dan Patrick is a local talk radio owner and host in Houston. He, too, has shown a tremendous ability to keep the show focused on healthy debate without resorting to much* name calling.As a result, he is now serving in the Texas Senate -- while still maintaining his radio show!

If you ask me, more politicians should do a talk radio show while they are in office. If politicians had to face their constituents regularly in a public forum, then I believe that they would be held more accountable and there wouldn’t be quite as much room for the talking heads to just sit around and hurl insults. ~~~ *On a side concerning the name calling: Unfortunately, it seems that pretty much all shows have to have a degree of this for entertainment value.

That’s what keeps the audience listening and the advertisers paying... On another side concerning Askville: This is one of the reasons I have been recently interested in Askville. This is a place where questions can be asked and thought-out responses can be obtained and verified (for the most part) with an up or down vote. If you wish to slander, go ahead, but it will ultimately work against you.

Sources: Personal Opinion/Experience .

Two reasons: It's (1) entertaining to hear how wacky some people think and (2) good to know what your enemy is thinking. For about a year I looked forward to listening to Michael Savage every day at 3pm; he's about as far right as they come. Although I disagreed with most of what he said, I found him entertaining because of the vehemence and anger with which he spoke.

I felt it was a guilty pleasure for me, but eventually it brought me down and I had to stop listening. The experience was similar to that of listening to Rush Limbaugh, who I'd say is not as far right as Savage. They are both despicable people, and both fairly intelligent.

Listening to these guys rant about how everything wrong in the world can be blamed on Bill Clinton is like looking at a ten-car pile-up on the highway: Yes, it's horrific, but it's also exciting and - dare I say it? - fun. You just can't take it seriously.

Knowing one's enemy is also valuable. In order to argue one's point it is necessary to know what the enemy is thinking, what they believe to be the truth. Often the enemy has false beliefs upon which they base their opinions.

Stepping outside of politics for a moment, I remember in the 1970s how conservative motorcycle enthusiasts, who were often owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, would go on and on about the tinny Japanese junk toy motorcycles that everyone was buying. They were threatened by the roaring success of these Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki bikes which nearly everyone now acknowledges as vastly superior in engineering, construction, reliability, and performance. If any of those Harley guys were open-minded enough to try out a "Jap" bike for a week, they'd return to their Harley just long enough to push it off a cliff.

There's a third reason why it can be valuable to listen to right-wing talk radio: Once in a while they might be right.

I listen to them. An AM radio station here has some vacuous bimbo on in the morning, the Rush on in the afternoon, followed by that O'Reilly. In the evenings some jokers named Mark Levin and Neal Bortz are on.

And you know what? As much as I think every one of these dudes is a blowhard idiot, a dishonest windbag, a pile of puke in a tailored jacket, I still listen to them every time I get in the car. You wanna know why?

So I don't make the mistake you've pointed out: "I've heard liberals make bizarre statements about conservative views and then proceed to attack conservatives for views they do not actually hold. " I want to make sure that when I saw "Rush Limbaugh is a liar," I can follow it with "because today he said blah blah blah. " They make me angry, they make me yell at the radio, and sometimes I do have to turn them off and listen to something calming, like Rage Against the Machine, instead.

But no-one can accuse me of not paying attention to what the other side is saying. I already know what I think, and I don't learn anything by listening to NPR all day and nodding along in agreement.

Because it beats left wing liberal talk shows in TV It's basicly where your belief system is. I don't understand what's so great about being "open minded" at least by the current deffinition. If you mean open to listening and considering a new idea, sure I am.

I'm just waiting for a new idea. Don't get me wrong its not only liberals, conservatives fall into their catagory as well. There are no new ideas, it's the same old partisan politics over and over.

We are in serious need of a new system, one that allows the actual exchange of ideas besides those putrid ones recycled by the two political parties.

1 TRBesser, regarding your answer "They're often the only voice for conservative news and discussion. ": I can dig what you're saying in your 3rd point. In my market there's one show on the conservative station that actually deals with issues in a rational respectful manner, and it's two local radio talents not one of the syndicated nationwide shows.

I find myself not really in agreement with them, but they don't piss me off by being mindless mouthpieces of invective.

TRBesser, regarding your answer "They're often the only voice for conservative news and discussion. ": I can dig what you're saying in your 3rd point. In my market there's one show on the conservative station that actually deals with issues in a rational respectful manner, and it's two local radio talents not one of the syndicated nationwide shows.

I find myself not really in agreement with them, but they don't piss me off by being mindless mouthpieces of invective.

I've been listening to conservative radio" (10 answers).

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.