Right-Wingers

Conservative demagogues are a force to be reckoned with

By Caitlin E. Carey

In this time of uncertainty for their party, Republicans are searching for leaders. Following Reagan’s mantra of “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” many party members hold a general mistrust of politicians. Of the Republican politicians, none has assumed a strong leadership role in rejuvenating the party. To whom, then, can conservatives turn?

For some, the answers lie in the vivacious personalities of Fox News and talk radio. Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin, among others, have become the so-called “voices” of conservatism in America.

Democrats and GOPers alike have criticized this picture of conservatives: Democrats accuse their opponents of following the radical doctrine of such commentators, while Republicans argue that these loud-mouthed men do not represent their party. Politicians have distanced themselves from their more loquacious supporters in order to appear more moderate. Surely media personalities who predict the apocalypse and play parodies such as “Barack the Magic Negro” should have no place in politics.

However detrimental these pundits may be, their ratings are staggering. Glenn Beck’s self-titled show on Fox News boasts a viewership of over 2.4 million, according to his website. The O’Reilly Factor has recently averaged four million viewers, as the latest Nielsen ratings show. Rush Limbaugh has approximately twenty million listeners per week, while Mark Levin has over 5.5 million weekly listeners.

Partisan media is not a Republican invention. Rather, it is a response to the overwhelmingly liberal bias of the mainstream media. Keith Olbermann, Arianna Huffington, and Maureen Dowd, to name three of many, use equally harsh rhetoric to promote their liberal agendas. News outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, and Newsweek present themselves as unbiased despite the astronomical ratio of liberals to conservatives on their staffs.

In spite of this counterbalance, Republican rhetoric has been blamed for the murder of a high-profile abortionist as well as violence toward homosexuals, and has even been likened by Speaker Pelosi to that which resulted in assassinations of pro-gay politicians in San Francisco in the 1970s. For a party that is currently experiencing some major recovery issues, it is shocking that it has been able to spread singlehandedly violence throughout the country simply by refusing to bow to liberal bias. While there exist some mentally unstable radicals in the Republican party, they do not represent its overall views, nor are the Democrats immune from such followers. Most recently, an anti-abortion protester was killed by a pro-abortion liberal. According to the standard applied by left-wing demagogues, the Democrats would be responsible for this act of violence.

Republicans, of course, are held to different standards than Democrats because of their political affiliation. They are currently in the minority and are severely underrepresented in the media. The Republican archetype also dismisses more outspoken party members as having stooped to level of the liberals and leads Democrats to pinpoint any remote possibility of racist or sexist thinking.

Since September 17, when Glenn Beck graced the cover of Time Magazine, the nation has been abuzz about the meteoric rise of this conservative commentator. He has recently launched the 9-12 Project, an effort to return Americans to the patriotic mindset that poured forth from the tragedy of 9/11. This past September 12, Beck helped organize a massive protest against the expansion of government in Washington, DC. His attacks on President Obama’s green jobs czar, Van Jones, eventually led to the latter’s resignation.

A self-described populist, Beck takes a different approach to his show than do his predecessors. His message is more attuned to that of Ross Perot. He is emotional, flaky, passionate, and perhaps overzealous. In his episodes on Fox News, he can be seen leaning forward toward the camera, gesturing feverishly, or walking around to demonstrate various flaws in the liberal mindset. On his radio show, he shouts, cries, and chastizes listeners who do not agree with his views. Jason Sudeikis’s parody of him on SNL’s Weekend Update Thursday, in terms of Beck’s mannerisms, was ironically accurate.

Beck’s unconventional approach to politicking has attracted critics even within the Republican party. Both Limbaugh and Levin have downplayed Beck’s importance, asserting that in no way is he the new Rush. Levin accused him of lacking substance; Limbaugh, of claiming too much credit for the actions of the party; and high-profile conservative David Frum has denounced the “hysterical talk” of all three media giants.

No doubt remains that the words of the most vocal conservatives are controversial. From the accusations of communism to the speculations of Obama’s racial bias to the conspiracy theories about possible concentration camps in America, the kings of talk radio and Fox News are not trying to appease the left. Their rhetoric is directed and inflammatory.

It is not, however, a detriment to the party. By presenting their views with such passion, the commentators have brought important issues to the national stage. Americans are a free people; they can decide for themselves to believe. To suggest that the right is force-feeding its followers hate speech is to undermine the ability of Americans to process and assess for themselves.