Right Wing Talk Radio

by Greg Martinez

After last week’s shooting of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several others, there were many calls to tone down political rhetoric. Many people noted a subtle call for violence in a graphic on Sara Palin’s Facebook page that showed a United States map with gun site crosshairs for political rivals. One of the people targeted in that graphic was Giffords.

While a direct link between the map and accused shooter Jared Loughner has not been established, Palin pulled the graphic from her Facebook page. Four days later, she posted a video on Facebook that rejected the notion that the map, right wing radio, or any other right wing rhetoric was a factor in the shooting. In the same video she accused those who made such a connection of inciting violence against her. She even went so far as to label such concerns as “blood libel,” a term used by Jews to describe ancient accusations against them of ritual murder. These claims have historically been used to justify violence against Jews.

The same day Palin posted her video, right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show that the Democrats “fully support” alleged shooter Loughner. Palin and Limbaugh’s reactions are examples of the propaganda tactic of “accuse the accuser.” This tactic is more than simple hypocrisy. It touches something deep in the human mind and is subliminal in its effectiveness. Right wing radio also likes to use the tactic of “the big lie.” This tactic, attributed to Hitler, basically says people will believe a lie if it is big enough and repeated often enough. An example of this is when Glenn Beck refers to liberals as Nazis even though Nazis are on the extreme right of the political spectrum, not the left.

Rush Limbaugh became popular for two reasons. AM radio was basically dead at the end of the 1980s, given the better sound quality of FM radio. Desperately in need of ratings, AM radio stations turned to “shock jocks.” Limbaugh made his mark by mocking the homeless, AIDS victims, minorities, and feminists. The other factor in the rise of Rush Limbaugh and right wing talk radio was the repeal of the fairness doctrine (a.k.a. “equal time”) in the late 1980s. This allowed Limbaugh to establish a radio format known as “unguested confrontation,” basically attacking people who were not present to defend themselves. Callers on his show virtually all agree with him and greet him with the word “ditto.” His audience of 20 million people weekly, known as “dittoheads,” just loves to hear him say what they wish they could say in public. The show uses propaganda techniques extensively, especially repetition.

Limbaugh was an official advisor to the 2004 Bush campaign. Basically he and all right wing talk radio are one big ongoing political attack ad. Is this the way we want to conduct the political discussion in America? Are subtle calls for violence, like the target map, free speech or hate speech?

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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