Salon.com again asks the eternal question. (Must view irritating ad to read article for free.)

The standard leftist argument is, as always, that they are just too damn GOOD and SUPERIOR to be talk radio hosts:

One of the arguments raised by those who doubt that left-wing talk radio will ever challenge Limbaugh is that liberals will always, by their nature, be more open-minded, tolerant and nuanced than conservatives -- and that those noble traits are a commercial snooze. According to this line, a red-faced conservative ranting against the evils of liberal do-gooders or evil Muslims has a hot message and a natural constituency of resentful white men; his liberal counterpart, trying to defend federal programs or explain the historic roots of the Mideast conflict, has neither.

Damn, it's hard to type and walk on my knuckles at the same time.

I know exactly why liberal radio fails.

This is what a left-wing radio show aimed at the average American citizen boils down to after all the superior eloquence is stripped off:

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. America. This is the liberal talk radio show. Let's get right down to it...



You suck.

Your moral values suck.
The religion of your fathers sucks.
That you are monogamous sucks.
That you think some behaviors are wrong sucks.

That you think you've earned your own way in life sucks.

The car you drive sucks.
The house you live in sucks.
The cool gadgets you bought at Circuit City suck.
The place you buy burgers at sucks.
In fact, all the food you eat sucks, period.
The things you do for fun suck.
The gun you own sucks.
The fur you wear sucks.
The cigar you smoke sucks.
The Scout Troop you run sucks.
The movies and TV shows you watch suck.
What you do for a living sucks.
And you suck because you like all these things.

Every damn thing wrong on the planet today is your fault, because you suck.

Every evil deed done to you by anyone else is your own damn fault because you suck.

The single, overriding emotion you should be feeling at all times is overwhelming, infinite guilt. The pain of the world is on your back. The only thing you should be doing is crawling on your knees to people like me and letting us run your life for you, because you're just so damn bad at it on your own. We'll take every dime of yours we can get, and spit in your eye if you complain about it.

And now, a brief word..."



Boy, does THAT pick up the sponsors or what? Is it any wonder that the government has to support most leftist radio?

A leftist, of course, would be puzzled.

"But, that's all TRUE!" he would say. They don't get it. They CAN'T get it. The sheer contempt for his audience cannot be hidden. What seethes out of Malloy is hate. Sure Limbaugh makes fun of people, sometimes in a lowbrow manner, but despite the constant hammering of the Left to the contrary, he doesn't hate. I know the difference when I hear it*.

So there may never be a successful national leftist talk radio host. Oh, there will be radio shows that preach to other leftists, like Pacifica. But you're not going to go down a highway and hear them on every other car radio.

And just a free clue...just because someone voted for Gore does not mean they think like Al Franken or Mike Malloy. Consider that people might listen to conservative radio not because of the convoluted reasons given in the article, but simply because they believe the same things.

*Mike Savage is another matter...