You could say I was a Rush baby.
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More than ten years after my post-college GOP media infatuation, and in the shadow of Trump’s rise to political power, it is abundantly clear that too many Republican media types sell a cheap brand to their listeners, label it patriotism, and strongly chide the rest of us for not taking part. These snake oil salesmen/women and the environment they’ve created are a major part of the problem.
Though the Left is ridiculed for their group-think, the Right engages in similar behavior. Look no further than a candidate whose popularity is based just as much on charisma and word repetition as the outgoing president his followers love to hate. Donald Trump is an overnight Republican at best who relies upon his own brand of mockery to somehow make the case for a greater America. He likes to present himself as the exact opposite of good-natured Obama who preached hope and change. But their flimsy messages are more similar than not. “America? Could be much better. Who do you need? Me. Why? Well, we’ll iron out the details later.”
Donald Trump’s cheerleading squad includes angry Sean Hannity, screeching Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, the aforementioned Limbaugh, shrill Mark Levin (depending on what day it is), and others. I used to love many of these people (definitely not Coulter) for what I thought they were contributing to the cause from the Right side of the aisle. That admiration has long since passed.
Most frightening of all to ask: has this election year turned those we previously admired into something else entirely, or has it just exposed their true selves to the light? I lean toward the realization that they haven’t changed into something new, but that we’re suddenly realizing who they’ve always been.
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Occupying a “neither/nor” space during this rather polarizing election makes it easy to look at both sides and point out their respective failings. Had I remained a Sean Hannity Republican, I may have guzzled the same Kool-Aid as the crowds at MAGA rallies. This means I would never dare question someone with an (R) next to their name, especially an anointed presidential candidate.
As Sean Hannity and other Republican pundits have shown, their loyalty is to party, not principle. That’s entirely the wrong attitude to have and one of the major reasons we ended with Trump. This default setting may draw in viewers and fill meeting halls with red hats, but what does it leave in its wake? A crowd of people who play follow the leader but convince themselves they’re part of a grand movement set to restore America. The problem is, they don’t have anything of conservative value to support. Unfortunately, many of them would rather have it this way and worship at the altar of persona, instead.
I was once a member of the same crowd who focused on not letting my heart be troubled when maybe it should have been. I was once a Sean Hannity Republican, but gave that up for principle.
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I Was Once a Sean Hannity Republican – You could say I was a Rush baby. I listened to him almost from the start… https://t.co/zWMjNhO2ar
— RedState (@RedState) November 2, 2016
I was never a Sean Hannity fan, as I hate his style. However, I at least thought he was a conservative. All that has been exposed now and I could care less. Maybe his style that I didn’t like was that he didn’t come across as a conservative much of the time. I never questioned his “faith” until this election cycle, though, and I’d have to say he has some repenting to do.
I liked Mark Levin, but I hate his rants when he denigrates people. There were some callers I felt that he didn’t give them a chance to explain themselves before labeling them as idiot leftists. I know that I have a hard time explaining things sometimes and put on the spot, I’m pretty sure I’d get tongue-tied, then he’d cut me off and call me an idiot as well. That’s not going to bring people over to our side. I’m listening to no one but Steve Deace these days.
Pray for righteousness to be restored and for the peace of Jerusalem
Levin was the only one I was still listening to until he supported Trump. I have no interest in anything he has to say now or in the future. I highly doubt I will ever go back. My opinion about him is probably forever changed.
This election has destroyed a lot of things that we once liked. Limbaugh. I wrote him SEVERAL times, early on, saying that his coverage of everything Trump was in essence an endorsement of a type, which he denied, but he never covered anything about Cruz except to say that he was the ultimate conservative. Why didn’t he cover his issues and proposals to rival them with Trump…except that Trump announced, having copied everything almost verbatim from Cruz. I told him that he could’ve pushed the ideology of Cruz more, and several other people complained, also, but Limbaugh rebuffed every one. I saw that as dishonesty and bias. He was going for the “ratings”. He sold his soul for the money. But he ruined his brand, as far as I’m concerned. We quit listening way back in the spring. Hannity i only listened to in the car if my husband insisted bc he wanted to listen to his take on an issue or something, but I was no fan.
Levin can have really great programs some days and other days are complete washes. He gets on a terrible rant and the meanness in his voice is troubling. He can be viciously rude. When on track, he’s really intelligent and one could not ask for a better fighter for our ideology, except maybe Ted Cruz.
No man is perfect. The so-called conservative women have made fools of themselves. Like whores. It’s embarrassing. I still will write-in Cruz, or McMullin.
Pray for righteousness to be restored and for the peace of Jerusalem
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