The Right Wing Nuts

I know that my boy Rush is in the news recently for his feud with Michael 'the man of' Steele but honestly there needs to be a ranking of the right-wing nuts.

This is my take on Rush, the best thing about him is that he knows he is caricature, i believe that deep down he knows this is all an act for entertainment purposes and he does it better than anybody has ever done it before.  See Rush is a complete walking contradiction (OxyContin, three wives etc.) but I think he realizes it but can still get on his high-horse and preach because he's an actor.   To me it comes down to the king and a bunch of guys who just try imitate him.  It's the Howard Stern concept where basically every morning jock is just a reincarnation of Stern and they just can't do it as well as he can and it's embarrassing to see them even try.

Lets take on some of the major nuts one at a a time

O'Reilly, he has created an empire and although he's really just a transformed local newscaster he honestly he is about as good at doing what he does than anybody else.  He knows why they pay him and he's polished enough to make him a good villain, dumb enough to make himself believe his own press clippings and smart enough to capitalize on it like no other including El Rusho.  Between the Factor T-Shirts and backpacks, no-spin zone hats and O'Reilly books this guy has built an empire on the concept of himself.   I would say that he's 20% truth, 40% shtick and 40% self-promotion.

Hannity.   This is where it gets sticky for me because I think that Hannity is actually more genuine than O'Reilly or Rush, I think he really believes what he says.  Rush is an entertainer and he knows exactly what to say to get under your skin, he's better at it than anybody.  He reminds me of Dennis Rodman in many ways, O'Reilly is more polished and not nearly as smart but he speaks to his audience knowing that they are not any smarter than he is.   But Hannity is different, with him it's not really shtick and not even really self-promotion.  This guy really believes that Obama is a communist, our country is going down like the Titanic and has real conviction when he says we are on the wrong path, quiet frankly I'm scared.

Mark Levin.   The Great One...  When it comes to pure radio guys, he does it better than anybody else does.  He brings so much rage and his delivery is that of visceral anger but his substance is all there.. This guy is the Donald Duck of Right Wing Nut Jobs, he's got so much more passion than anybody else.   The only downfall is that he look like Ben Bernanke  but that isn't the detractor, the funny thing is I thought this dude was like 90 years old.

Laura Ingraham.  Better than Ann Coulter but really pretty unlistenable. I know its sexists to compare them only because they are both right-wing quacks who happened to be chicks but I can't help but compare the two in my head.  It reminds me of when a big bruising white fullback comes out of college, my first instinct is always to hope he becomes the next Mike Alstott.   But when you get to her actual program, I find she has way too many commercials and way too many live reads considering she brings very little in terms of real substance. She's a shill for the Heritage foundation but the worst thing is that she never gets me worked up which is a bad sign when you are on the radio trying to get your audience worked up.

Lou Dobbs.   a complete one trick pony, no charisma what so ever.

Curtis Sliwa.   I have a bit of a fascination, maybe because I feel like I've seen this guy grow up and morph into what he has become.  He's nothing special, has no real good opinions but he brings a bit of NY flavor to the entire species.   It reminds me of when you are watching a sporting event and you find out a guy is from your hometown or your home state and you root for him a bit, regardless of what team he plays for.

We can't end it there without at least mentioning the original Bob Grant.  I hear he still's got it but just doesn't speak to my generation, he speaks to people in my grandmother's generation,