Of course, I wouldn't call it an honest discussion. They never are. There is nothing honest about the right wing, and the bleeding edge of the right wing is talk radio. Perhaps my mother should have named me Cervantes, or perhaps Sisyphus... I may not change the world overnight, but I cannot remain idle while they lie and lie. So, once again, I spent my day hitting redial again and again...
I may be able to put up a transcript later, but for now, here's the audio:
I waited for a while to speak with him today, and just before he took my call, he spent some time talking about HBGary's efforts to win government astroturfing contracts. His spin was classic Limbaugh: he suggested that it was Obama contracting with astroturf firms in order to create the appearance of support for liberal policies. Now here's the truth: HBGary was just caught in a scheme that would have them using social networks to wage war against progressives on behalf of the far-right Chamber of Commerce. Moreover, to the extent that federal contracts have been involved, they were on behalf of the Department of Defense's propaganda efforts. IIRC, the Air Force was the only entity that signed a contract, and it was to support the war efforts "psyops".
Anyway, the purpose of the call was entirely different. I wanted to point out that Rush is all for taking money out of the pockets of middle class workers (the little guy), but when it comes to balanced budgets, he stands radically opposed to asking the ultra-wealthy for sacrifice.
Hannity spent almost his entire show blaming people that work for a living for Wisconsin's (and the United States') budget mess. Of course, once the absurdity of that position is demonstrated, Hannity changes the subject to his objection to the way union's political money is spent. Of course, the truth is that unions have elections and their rank and file can change their leadership if they disagree with how their dues are spent. But the fact is that union members are likely to be much more politically engaged and aware of how political issues will impact working people. Hence, they vote for Democrats.
And that's the real issue.