Monday, January 15, 2007

Stepping On The Butterfly

I have really enjoyed watching spocko's message spread after ABC/Disney tried to shut him down, only to have it blow up in their face. First second- and third-tier liberal blogs took up the cause, then top-tier ones, then local media, and now national media, in the person of the still-somewhat-esteemed NY Times, which reported on the KSFO "Hate Hot Talk" hosts' not-real-successful 3-hour on-air attempt to justify and explain (and very occasionally apologize for) the racist and violent comments spocko caught them red-handed with. And I'm betting that the story will jump to national broadcast media when Countdown airs tonight.

As d r i f t g l a s s points out, perhaps the most significant effect of all this is to put a spotlight on the hate speech that the "personalities" on the extremes of the right have been peddling for the past decade or so. More than that, I am desperately hoping that this will kickstart the long-overdue process of identifying the Limbaughs and Savages and Coulters and Becks as the fringe-dwelling right-wing kooks they are, rather than respected opinionmakers whose words should be taken seriously and nodded thoughtfully about.

Unfortunately, as long as the media is owned by enormous, pro-Republican corporations, this kind of sea change will be a tough sell, but it is possible. For as in-the-tank as the corporate media is, it only has value as long as it has credibility. If they realize that the vast majority of the American people are utterly repelled by these creatures, they will be forced to padlock them in the mad cellar.

In addition to the delicious prospect of never being presented with Coulter or Limbaugh as Serious People To Be Listened To, I am also tickled by the thought of being able to beat the Republican Party to death into submission into a pleasurable state of happy friendliness with their own hobnailed club fluffy pillow of civility. Because after this exposure, it's going to be awfully hard for the right-wing to argue that it's us dirty hippies who are shrill and full of hate. Not that that will stop them, of course...

12 comments:

karmic said...

Word! It's been nice to see this sort of bubble up from fifth tier blogs into the national media. Can this be called a surge? ;)

Unfortunately, as long as the media is owned by enormous, pro-Republican corporations, this kind of sea change will be a tough sell,

True, that and it's easier for the Broderellas of the world to simply call for civility fromt heleft whic completely ignoring the right wing hate machine.

PoliShifter said...

All in all it's been a great team effort between the blogs, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, YouTube (Macaca anyone), Media Matters, and now finally the MSM which is catching on that the so-called respected pundits like Coulter and Malkin are nothing but hate-mongering hacks.

But we have to keep up with it. They're hope nows is to lay low and let it blow over (like Limbaugh did with the Oxycontin and later the Viagra Dominican Sex vacation) so they can once again claim to be pious Christians trying to bring "values" back to America.

But the American Public knows that there is no "values" in hanging judges, shooting Democrats, mailing John Stewart white powder, and overall spewing hate toward anyone that does not share their point of view.

Anonymous said...

Word To My Mother!

Spocko can rhyme on ma dime!

Eli said...

True, that and it's easier for the Broderellas of the world to simply call for civility fromt heleft whic completely ignoring the right wing hate machine.

One wonders if Broder will be induced to clutch his pearls at KSFO's foul emanations. I'm betting... no.


They're hope nows is to lay low and let it blow over (like Limbaugh did with the Oxycontin and later the Viagra Dominican Sex vacation)

Did the Viagra Dominican Sex Vacation get any play at all (so to speak)? The Oxycontin was a minor story, but the Viagra was all but a non-story, and focused mostly on the questionable prescription, rather than where he took it.


Word To My Mother!

Spocko can rhyme on ma dime!


Spocko goes to work, like an architect.

flory said...

Much as I would love to see some blowback onto Rush and AnnThrax, I don't see it happening.
We, in the Bay Area, may be able to celebrate the demise of Sussman and/or Morgan, but that's gonna be the best result. Well worth doing tho...

And congrats on the top tier link. Bet that WATB NTodd is pissed.

Eli said...

Much as I would love to see some blowback onto Rush and AnnThrax, I don't see it happening.
We, in the Bay Area, may be able to celebrate the demise of Sussman and/or Morgan, but that's gonna be the best result. Well worth doing tho...


I don't expect either of them to be out of a job; I'm just hoping that they'll be marginalized as the priests of a very small cult. I think it's a possibility, but not a probability.

And congrats on the top tier link. Bet that WATB NTodd is pissed.

Heh. Thanks. Right place, right time, mad l337 Google skillz.

Smartypants said...

Thanks for the kind words on my blog.

You were right.

= )

Eli said...

No problem, smarty. Glad it worked out okay.

Anonymous said...

i don't know how accurate it is, but my fundie brother tells me rush makes 36 million a year. 36 million!

i'm all for free speech, but there is something wrong with a country that would pay for the crap these hatemongers spew.

hats off to spocko, who knew exactly where to hit 'em.

Eli said...

It's just amazing how well lying and hatemongering pays, but I guess it takes a special kind of person to be that openly dishonest and hateful without the slightest tinge of embarrassment. I know I sure don't have that kind of mental toughness.

Anonymous said...

I don`t get it, Rush was spending a few days at a men`s club with grown up women ( you can see them at www.charlisangels.com )which is not so bad, after all he`s a man, ain`t he? why don`t we tell the truth about the media and its influence to create and bring down famous people like him? C`mon, we all go to charlisangels exotic resort whenever we get the urge to get some R&R...

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