Dear Democratic Party, stop getting your ass kicked by Republican radio.

[certainot]

Dear Democratic Party,

You're trying to keep up with the Koch brothers and other billionaires and corporations as they shovel their dark money into TV and print but you've been getting your ass kicked by Republican radio, the dark media. All those radio stations have been yelling over you and defining you for a good part of three decades. They make factual sane discussions of local and national issues impossible. And a lot of it's free for them.

Meanwhile, a lot of liberals and 'lefties' who ignore or undervalue the talk radio factor think you're not trying hard enough. They can't stand to listen to it so it's basically a non-factor in their evaluation of Obama and the Democratic Party. They think you can't get anything done because you don't want to. They think you moved right the last 20 years because you "lack spine".

Some of them and a lot of Republican trolls are talking about not voting. A friend and neighbor just told me that, and she's a gay hippie.

The Kelly Reindfleisch emails showed that Scott Walker was a regular user of Wisconsin Republican radio talkers.

Hundreds of other Republican politicians are doing the same and will benefit similarly in November. The degree of coordination and friendliness will vary, but the state and national Republican Party apparatus and their associated think tanks will be using those 1200 or so radio stations to maximum capacity.

There will be interviews with Republican candidates in which the candidates will distort or lie and the 'host' will not call them on it. And the host will repeat lies and distortions to the candidate and the candidate won't refute them. After the interview, callers, and possibly paid callers and Republican campaign staff, can add a rumor or two about the Democratic candidate.

Campaign staff as well as surrogates from the think tanks, etc., will also make visits. The hosts themselves will repeat and reinforce whatever the party wants them to, when they want them to. Much of the material Republican candidates use and repeat is reinforced (and often originally created) with Republican radio.

Because the StopRush and FlushRush efforts have educated and scared off a lot of advertisers those radio stations are filling air time with Republican political ads and ads from brand new groups never heard from before, saying whatever they want. For the rest of October the air waves will be full of it.

Republicans will win and be close in a lot of elections merely because the Democratic Party has no answer for their best weapon.

I have a couple of suggestions for beating Republican radio.

1) Republicanradio.org describes one way to use a Mac to record and transcribe what Republican radio is saying about candidates and issues.

I'll bet in a few days or week a couple of hard working Democrats could figure out how to shorten and automate the procedure and set up a way for staff and candidates to do quick searches through the transcripts for names or issues every couple of days.

The Democratic Party could set up such systems in every state. Or it could be centralized and make the transcripts available to the campaigns. The party could send out alerts and relevant transcripts and recorded copies that a campaign might find useful. Maybe there's material that could be used in debates.

At the national Democratic Party level an index of topics and their frequencies by state and national level would be useful.

The buzz those radio stations create cannot be ignored. By making it readable and visible it will be less effective, less likely to catch Democrats by surprise, and politicians and media may become reluctant to repeat it.

2) There are Democratic students all over the country who's activism is being undone by their own and other colleges and universities. Here's a list of more than 70 colleges that rent their sports team logos to Rush Limbaugh radio stations. Many more schools than that broadcast sports on Republican radio stations.

Those stations will play a part in elections that directly and indirectly impact the schools, the students, and many related issues. There are students trying to get their schools to divest from fossil fuels while talkers like Limbaugh do global warming denial from the radio station that broadcasts their games. How can a school be serious about reducing violence against women while the loudest misogynist in the country might as well be riding around the state on the team mascot's back?

Those stations can play a part in regent elections and shortening the list of 'acceptable' candidates in consideration for university president. They consistently attack teachers, their unions, and public education, and will work hard to defeat efforts to increase funding for schools and education in general. Those stations are working to increase student tuition around the country.

For those who think the money is worth pissing all over a school's mission statement, the proportion of fees the licensing company sends to the school for the radio portion of the overall media licensing relationship is probably a very small.

In 2013/14, a radio station will pay Westwood One/Dial Global $1500 to broadcast a championship NCAA basketball game. How much of that does the university get after the licensing company takes their cut? Details of licensing agreements between state funded schools and licensing companies are usually kept confidential, even from school administration.

One of the best things Democratic and liberal student activists could do to bring change is demand their schools look for apolitical alternatives for broadcasting their sports. Some of those stations may have to change format or begin to offer balance in order to maintain those very important associations. That could open opportunities for liberal radio, one of the Democratic Party's best assets.

(previously posted at Daily Kos)

[blkmusclmachine]

1. ,

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[Tumbulu]

2. So true!!!!!!!!

Until this problem is solved, we have no option but failure. Somehow the urban liberals have no idea how powerful a force this hate radio is.

[certainot]

3. i wonder how many times i've argued these points with urban liberals

and we've got all those states with very few people, but two senators.

[Tumbulu]

6. I am right there with you

and cannot for the life of me figure out why they cannot see this.......two senators from each state, many of whom populace with access only to hate am radio .......

I had hoped that the first thing done when President Obama was elected was to get the truth doctrine back in. Why is this so ignored? Do the Dems actually want to always be loosing?

[Cal33]

8. You are so right. I've had the same view for a long time. My conclusion: Dems. are

good sports. They don't seem to mind losing.

[certainot]

15. problem with getting a new fairness doctrine- talk radio. nothing gets them fired up like a dem pol

politician mentioning the fairness doctrine, even offhandedly. FREE SPEECH!!! etc.

many on the left have fallen for the same BS and fight the idea too, believing the same mischaracterizations about it that rw radio has been selling for decades, and underestimating the degree rw radio is the primary rw censor-by-threat and PC cop.

i just talked to some dem campaign people in two states- high in the operations- for the most part rw radio is out of sight, a given, forget about it.

unless a nationally ranked dem makes a decision to push it it's going to be ignored again- and it will win many elections for the republicans.

[bigdarryl]

4. Maybe the democrats are more focused on the ground game than stupid radio ads

[certainot]

5. republican radio has been a republican ad 24/7 for 25 years, which is why the GOP is now

the party of limbaugh, and dragging us toward a cliff.

democrats have always tried to make up for it and the money advantage with GOTV. we're still incapable of passing even the most basic necessary reforms, and are on a suicidal path with global warming.

[Tumbulu]

7. so true! nt

[certainot]

9. just to add to my other reply- 5pm commute, the loudest limbaugh station in the state doing

another local interview with another republican teabagger running for congress.

they get to trash the democrat and then callers later take it even further with 'personal anecdotes' etc., and none of itis ever questioned and i doubt the state dems have any clue it happened nor what was said.

if i had been home i could have recorded it and sent a transcript or recording to the dem candidate.

that's worth a lot of advertising and its happening all this month from most all major republican stations in the country to some degree or another, with local and national GOP PR filling in the rest of the time

and they're the same stations that will be screaming fire/recount/fraud when a contest is close

[Darb]

10. I am in your corner

Republican talk radio is powerful. We need to push back with all our might. They say whatever they want to say and nobody does or says a damn thing. I'm not talking about Rush, the big jabba, he gets a little push back, a little, but for instance I just heard Ann Coulter saying that the refugees in New Mexico don't know how to use a toilet and are a germ infested petri dish of disease, and the kook of course agreed. Implying that Obama is letting in immigrants and they are gonna make us good white folk sick.

They can say what they want until someone stops them. But those are the public airwaves and they have sponsors that probably don't want too much trouble. Time to bring the wood.

How can I help?

[certainot]

13. a few things not suggested at republicanradio.org are expanding the successful stoprush tactics to

all advertisers on all rw radio stations.

also, just about any issue can legitimately be protested at rw stations that are well located for it- as in downtown locations with traffic, etc.

also, anyone who wants to support a dem candidate or ballot issue can get snowtape (great for music too) and monitor/record the local blowhards who might be working against it this month.

also someone with appropriate computer skills could do a simple program to automate the snowtape and dragon dictate transcription and search functions, and make it available to the democratic party.

also, some local blowhards will allow liberals on and the right short comment can really screw up their whole program and get people thinking.

just a few other suggestions

[Sunlei]

11. I don't think Ds should waste time engaging, or buying ads on republican hate radio or R-hateblogs.

contact any advertisers and ask them to drop their ads.

[certainot]

12. stoprush flushrush actions fr all republican radio would be good. dem ads on rw radio are good IMO

cause they're a real shocker and reality bump, to hear them there in the middle of a total 24/7 republican love fest, and those signals are huge.

a lot of the audience aren't true believers, but are casual listeners of the loudest signals in many states, and some are being 'forced' to listen because their husbands, bosses or coworkers have it on.

[Sunlei]

14. I'd go for short public service announcement when ACA has open enrollment again this Yr.

No political-type ads to 'defend' against the republican hate radio is worth the money or time.

To go after their advertisers hurts hate radios bottom line money income. None of those republican radio hosts or hate bloggers works for free out of the 'goodness' of their hearts.

[certainot]

16. long term, year around i'd agree with you. in this last month, ads counterattacking and refuting lie

lies creates doubt in their absolutist minds.

meanwhile all year boycotting of advertisers of all rw radio will eventually break them so bad they'll have a harder and harder time selling it to the sources they need to keep subsidizing it.

as it is it sounds like they're having to do a lot more political ads and issue ads from think tanks and subsidiaries and web sites to make up for the stoprush actions, and that will draw from their resources.

i wonder how much 'payola' is going on- most of it has always been free for the GOP but stations and talkers may be wanting some payback for having on some irrational teabagger for an hour or pushing a particular issue as commanded.

[Sunlei]

17. radio time is not free for the gop. If some station owner wants to 'donate' services to the republic

donate services to the republican radio show, the owner can call the service a 'political donation & take it off his business income taxes.

Some of the hate radio, I think? is republican owned. Isn't Romney a 'clear channel' owner? and maybe old rush owns his radio station? Those 'political donations' of radio time- give those jerks huge 'donation' tax breaks for their businesses and Corps.

still, IMO it isn't a wise move to go all defensive against the hundreds of republican lies on their hate radio & blogs. That's what republicans want., Ds to go off focus and spend all their money & time on defense against lies & propaganda on hate radio/blogs. Ignore them & make their advertisers ashamed to be on mr. 'Slut-Sluts' radio show. break their revenue stream.

[certainot]

18. republican radio has been free advertising for 25 years. they pretend the monopoly functions

as a business selling advertising but that's icing for them. there was a real effort, some say tied to CIA people like Gates, and they bought up all those stations and subsidized the operation and limbaugh from the start.

the major owners/conglomerates are republican oriented.

that coordinated propaganda operation succeeds because the left ignores it and right now its on hyperdrive, with lots of pro republican slots for guests from campaigns and think tanks. it works because there's no pushback i think on certain issues dems could suppress the republican vote with aggressive factual corrective ads.

from http://www.republicanradio.org

REPUBLICAN RADIO MYTHS

MYTH: Republican radio’s primary purpose is to sell product for advertisers.

The advertising pays rent and salaries. Republican radio spreads disinformation and outrage to convince Americans to hate other Americans and to act and vote against their own best interests.

Republican radio’s more profitable purpose is to sell:

war
global warming denial
deregulation- wall street, banking, environmental, media, etc.
tax breaks for the 1%
privatization of the commons and the public sector
excuses, rationalizations, distortions, diversions
sycophant Republican politicians
unqualified Republican judges
lies and distortions used to swiftboat Democrats and liberals, short circuit democracy, and obstruct reforms

MYTH: Republican radio's popularity and success is market-based. Liberal radio fails because no one listens to it and it can’t compete.

When Ronald Reagan got rid of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, Republicans bought up hundreds of radio stations and subsidizied talkers like Rush Limbaugh. The Fairness Doctrine would have prevented the levels of unchallenged lying and distortion used so successfully today to create alternative realities and made-to-order constituencies.

One of Republican radio’s early successes was the media deregulation that allowed consolidation of Republican radio ownership to fewer companies/owners.

Liberal radio talkers have shown they can compete on an even playing field and even beat the main Republican talkers. That is why the Republican radio monopoly controls most of the loudest radio stations and works hard to limit direct competition by liberal talkers. Republican radio can’t handle the truth.

The argument that 95% of the people who would listen to talk radio prefer the hate and disinformation that the Republican radio monopoly is using to destroy American democracy is an insult to Americans.

[Sunlei]

19. I know, Its like republicans own fox TV and pretend its legit with real journalists & unbiased news

radio talk shows are a dead market.