Unless he can get over advanced lung cancer soon the 30 year long Age of Limbaugh is over.
Senators that vote to acquit Trump are doomed. They just found out that what got them this White House occupant and to that vote and was supposed to get them reelected after betraying their country and crapping on the constitution has serious lung cancer and may be unable to perform.
While media goes nuts about Iowa and have given Trump his acquittal, they’re missing the bigger story.
The 1500 or so radio stations GOP senators will need to defend them from the hypocritical un-American vote to acquit the ignorant corrupt Russian tool in the White House will not be functioning like the well-greased invisible propaganda operation it has been for 30 years.
Republicans know Limbaugh is the single person most responsible for this Trump disaster. The intelligent ones know how important he was in selling the ‘deep state’ and ‘Biden-Ukraine’ bullshit, whether it was hatched in US or Russian think tanks.
Whether Republicans listened to the show personally or someone around them read the Limbaugh transcripts they know who controls the national talk radio megaphone that allows them to leverage distortions and lies into the alternate reality that drives their made-to-order constituencies.
That is why Limbaugh got a medal at the SOTU.
There is no way to replace Limbaugh. The entire talk radio propaganda operation was built around his ability to lie with total certitude. He can rationalize lies and massive obvious hypocrisy in multiple ways, producing lists of simple one-liners the faithful can choose from. He can rationalize two absolutely contradictory positions on the same topic in the same paragraph. He can chew on particular issues for hours, days, years, and decades, generating rationalizations, excuses, and lies and laying out a daily pre-chewed smorgasbord for wannabe radio blowhards, media, politicians, and dittoheads to pick through to regurgitate again to their often-captive audiences, constituents, family, neighbors, coworkers, and the guy at the bar.
“Well, that’s what Limbaugh said, but….” should have been a common response to any Republican the last 30 years, starting with guys like Rove and Gingrich.
Limbaugh’s show steered all politics on 600 radio stations, or an average of 12 per state. States like Texas, California, Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania have more like 20-30 Limbaugh stations. The loudest political talk radio stations in the state are usually Limbaugh stations. At least 260 of those Limbaugh stations broadcast sports from 87 universities to help them attract advertisers. Many professional sports teams also endorse Republican talk radio the same way.
Search Wikipedia for “radio stations in (any state)” and then search for “talk”, “religious”, “christian”, to get a picture of how many stations are helping Trump. Very few of them, maybe 1 in 20, have talkers that can contradict Limbaugh/trump on major issues, without dittoheads/trumpers/teabags complaining.
There is no one who can replace him. There may be a few well-trained propagandists getting ready to take over but those dittoheads want their elRushbo. Without a consistent Limbaugh show those stations are going to have to make major programming decisions.
Will there be a struggle for talk radio power?
There are hundreds of other stations without Limbaugh that may headline Hannity, Levine, etc., but they all used to repeat the same main material that Limbaugh was so expert in prechewing. Without Limbaugh the entire talk radio monopoly is rudderless. The whole thing was subsidized and kept afloat to sell Republican (now, increasingly Kremlin) bullshit and their head salesman, the guy who they could count on to break the news with the right spin, may be done for.
If he can’t come back there may be a battle for control at the think tank and Republican Party level, with the Kremlin possibly involved. The Kremlin has been moving into US talk radio since at least 2008, moving it from the Romneys and Bushes to the Russian teabags and Trumps but a lot of that may have been centralized through Limbaugh, with the other national and local talkers following. Did establishment Republican leadership cringe when Trump gave Limbaugh that medal? Will establishment GOP try to take control from the Trump/Russian wing of the talk radio empire?
The other national talkers on those stations almost always followed Limbaugh’s lead. Their loyal listeners seldom got through the call screeners or to the head of the line past the the paid think-tank callers to talk to their gods so they called the local talk show hosts instead. In later years Limbaugh show transcripts showed up online to help everyone stay on the same page. Politicians and their staffs didn’t have to actually listen to it.
Trump may be stupid enough to think Hannity can fill in. A few like the Michael Savage and Glen Beck shows might survive on their own but there’s no way those major Limbaugh mega-stations can survive being anchored by the Sean Hannitys, Mark Levins, and Laura Ingrahams. It worked because it was monolithic and Limbaugh and his frustrated dittohead army kept all the other hosts in line and on the same page on major issues, like global warming denial.
And because Limbaugh was famous enough and could be ‘subtle’ enough in his racism and misogyny and ignorance that the advertising industry could continue to prop up those very loud radio stations in blue states.
Trump, McConnell, and the politicians who spout the Trump-is-great, did nothing wrong, and it was actually Biden-Ukraine, are doomed if they can’t count on Limbaugh to attack their opponents, shit all over the truth, and reinforce the alternate reality.
Especially if the never Trumpers and ‘moderate’ wing of the Republican Party see this opportunity to challenge the radicals. Their best opportunity might be on the local level where state level hosts can finally wander on their own a bit, on issues like global warming, for instance.
At the same time, Trump may now be emboldened to push those hosts to increase attacks on his critics. For years Limbaugh has pushed the “deep state” meme, suggesting Trump critics, like President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Adam Schiff and others need to be investigated .
IHeart laying off hundreds and Limbaugh just got a $50M/year, 4 year deal.
The Monday after the weekend before Christmas vacation Limbaugh played a recording of Trump praising him at a conservative convention in which Trump announced that Limbaugh recently got a 4 year, $50M/year contract.
The news then was about the contract but not the $50M/year that Trump announced at that convention when he suggested to the Republican youth that being a talk radio host was a very rewarding profession.
Did loudmouth Trump spill beans he wasn’t supposed to? Who was actually paying that $50Mil/year and what was the timing? It’s actually a small reward for the trillions in global warming, war, deregulation, tax breaks, etc. that Limbaugh has sold the last 30 years, but for IHeart, a company trying to get out of big financial trouble, $200M is a lot.
What timing. Are they going to withdraw that offer? Media needs to ask. there’s a story there, no?
IHeart/Premiere recently laid off 100s of people. Some estimates put it at 1000-1500. It looked like many were involved in sports talk. It also looks like part of an effort to automate broadcasting even more than it already is. Will that effort be aimed at optimizing their music related revenues, or Republican/Russian talk radio? Are they going to convert more stations to political talk?
If all those IHeart stations are going to end up centrally controlled, that will be very useful to Trump in a national emergency, like Congolese with ebola in caravans at the border. Need a wall?
Media? Rachel?
If Limbaugh’s contract holds, who’s paying for that?
What will the advertising industry do, especially if there is an effort to digitize and analyze talk radio content on a large scale?
Media? Media? DNC? DNC?
Our Dem and progressive ‘leaders’ may want to read Talk Radio’s America. How An Industry Took Over A Political Party That Took Over the United States”, by Brian Rosenwald.
Unfortunately, they still ignore Republican talk radio, like a giant pile under the senate carpet.
The multiplier effect that can make protests at these universities very scary for Trump and GOP