I'm thrilled that after so many years of watching video clips of the BBC World Service on the web, I finally have the 24 hour news channel in my own house. My cable subscriber here in Hong Kong allows channels to be subscribed to a la Carte, so for a couple US dollars a month, I can choose to get the BBC and not be forced to get, say, MTV.
Yesterday I was on a SKYPE call with some friends in the States and one of the guys asked if I got FOX News. I said that I could but joked, "that it would cost me a couple bucks a month...and it wasn't worth it."
That led to an awkward pause on the other end...which led to a discussion on FOX, Sarah Palin, Glen Beck etc. etc. Of course I tried to keep it light, "Sure I watch FOX news occasionally for entertainment value, but wouldn't watch it to get, say, my news.
My friend mentioned that perhaps it was good that I was in Hong Kong as then I might not vote. I was startled. I asked did he think I wouldn't vote Republican. He replied that he wasn't sure.
I am continually amazed that those figures that are the biggest embarrassment to the Republican party (Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin for example) become a litmus test on whether someone actually IS Republican.
Next thing they're going to say is because I'm a big Alec Baldwin fan...well somehow THAT means something :)
16 comments:
It's already obvious, given where you live, that you hate America. Now that your lack of total devotion to Beck and Limbaugh has been exposed, you are beyond hope!
A guest of Hannity's the other day mentioned that democrats tend to be "overeducated". In that statement he proclaimed, what I believe, to be the biggest hurdle Republicans have to over come. A growing slice of their party is becoming mind numb due to the low-brow level of news and talk that they listen to. I am not sure they are going to be able to turn that around.
Methinks the Dems might have a few hurdles of their own to overcome . . . but that's just me.
Good post, Steve. I enjoy Fox News for a number of reasons but Hannity, Beck and Palin are not among them. I would bet there are some of our Democratic brethren who are not fans of Rachel Maddow (is that her name?) and that white-haired guy with the glasses that got demoted a while back.
Is there any longer an objective news source?
Good to hear from you, Steve. It's been a while.
Steve,
You just need to make yourself a poster depicting Obama as a Nazi, go stand in a crowd holding it up and have Tammy take a picture. This will be your pass back into the club. ;)
Bob, Dems have all sorts of issues... but I have never thought of Oberman and Maddow as the flip to Beck and Hannity. They may be ideologically, but liberals don't seem to have the "follow" mentality to such a high degree. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I just don't think the same level of mimmicry goes on. If Beck presents a notion, it goes viral amongst republican audiences pretty quick. But not all. That's what I think is interesting to watch right now amongst Republicans. Are the tea party/Beck soldiers a loud minority? Or are they the new base of the party? If the latter, where does a Republican like Steve fit? Is he just a RINO to be ignored?
Best I can tell, Steve and I are similar Republicans, having a strong rightward leaning but with a stubborn independent streak as well, and with little patience for the extremes.
Oberman, that's his name. Thanks. I've tried to forget.
OK Steve, we'll take this discussion elsewhere if need be.
Andy, the flip side doesn't exist for the Dems because they have never had a TV or Radio personality that can rally their base the way the Limbaughs and the Beck can theirs. They tried Al Franken and AIr America but it didn't work.
Bob: Yes I agree that you and I are similar Republicans
But I don't think it is just a matter of the right talent. If Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity died in a plane crash tomorrow, they would be instantly replaced. There is an audience for what they are selling in the right wing market that just doesn't have a parallel in the left wing market. Air America didn't work, because the desire for that kind of rhetoric does not exist in the populace of the Left the way that it does in the Right.
Andy,
I mostly agree with you. I think the rhetoric exists at the same level on the "other" side. It expresses itself differently though.
I think your frriend on FB was right when he said the side have switched. The Republicans used to be the educated elite whereas the Dems were the great unwashed...that is changing a bit
Hey Steve I pretty much agree with you about Fox. I don't have cable only antenna tv here in Florida. I get BBC news and it is quite good. Glenn Beck is a whiner and Rush wants to bulldoze the entire country.
-Gobi sr.
Robert Keith...wonderful to hear from you! you may not be surprised to hear that the friend I am refering to in the post is an old friend of yours as well :)
Stay in touch!
Hi Steve,
My hubby is a BIG fan of Glenn Beck, oh boy them are fightin words in your blog. Anywho, I agree that it is major entertainment and don't watch FOXNEWS at all.
Love the view you guys have in your new place. Praise God! We'll just have to stop and visit when in HK in the fall. :)
Of course there is a liberal equivalent to Fox News...it's called NPR.
Lora: Thanks for the post. And I watch Fox sometimes and I don't disagree with Glen Beck so much as I think he turns news journalism into something akin to professional wrestling...of course beck makes a lot of money from it
Kelly: NPR is liberal but they are not as "sensational" in their delivery which makes it more palatable for me. Besides if you live in Boulder, you have to listen to NPR, or else you can't connect with your fellow Boulderites :)
I still maintain that NPR is not all that liberal. It is just that you hear liberal ideas presented alongside conservative ones. If all you listen to is the Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh trinity, then it sounds odd to the ears to hear a liberal idea presented in a rational manner... therefore it must be PRO-liberal. If you spend all of your time in a hot tub, then jump into a tepid pool, it would seem absolutely freezing.
I've listened to NPR on the way to work every morning for over 20 yrs. I still lean heavily to the Right.It's great commercial free FM news!
If you want far left crap check out Democracy Now!
You always were a thinker Steve.
-Gobi Sr.
I have always loved NPR. Sometimes we're too concerned about labels.
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