How the Right Lost Its Mind by Charles J. Sykes

Author:Charles J. Sykes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

THE TALK RADIO CANDIDATE

Some of the radio talk hosts who enabled Trump’s rise may have waxed enthusiastic about the billionaire simply in order to block an establishment candidate like Jeb Bush (hoping to later pivot again to a more conservative candidate like Cruz). But many were clearly taken with the New York mogul’s brash, take-no-prisoners approach. In any case, there was clearly a symbiotic relationship between Trump and the Right media. One of the savviest observers of the phenomenon was Jon Favreau, a former Obama speechwriter who recognized that Trump’s candidacy was the apotheosis of right-wing media culture. In an essay entitled “Longtime Listener, First-Time Candidate,” Favreau pinpointed Trump’s central appeal to the talkers: “He won by doing a fairly good impression of a right-wing media celebrity.”20

Every issue, every conspiracy, every applause line has been ripped from their websites, radio shows, and television programs. It’s why he became America’s most prominent birther. It’s why he floated rumors that Ted Cruz’s dad killed JFK, and that Hillary Clinton killed Vince Foster. It’s why he talks the way he does about Mexicans and Muslims and women and African Americans. It’s why he’s been able to get away with knowing little to nothing about policy or government or world affairs—because Trump, like any good talking head, only speaks ,in chyrons and clauses and some-people-are-sayings.

As a talk show host myself, for years I had pushed back against the charge that talk radio was simply about entertainment, outrage, and anger. I made an effort to talk about issues and struggled to find ways to repackage conservative and free-market ideas in fresh and understandable terms. Other hosts did as well, notably Hugh Hewitt, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, as well as many of the other local hosts. But this was clearly not the norm for many of the loudest voices. Favreau noted that Trump had learned some key lessons from studying the Right media:

These outlets have long been labeled the “conservative media,” but they don’t spend much time discussing tax cuts, free trade, entitlement reform, or school choice. They’re not weighing market-based solutions to urban poverty or debating the future of neoconservative foreign policy.… They have a lot more in common with the National Enquirer than they do with the National Review.

Notably, shows like Limbaugh’s also talked a lot about “winning,” often claiming without much evidence that the country was overwhelmingly conservative and that conservative ideas would always win if they were given a chance. This always struck me as both circular and lazy thinking. After the GOP’s crushing defeat in 2008, I wrote a piece called “The End of Limbaughism,” which pointed out that conservatism is not the same as populism. By its nature, conservatism flies in the face of popular ideas and culture. Because it has firm, occasionally hard-nosed principles, it has to push against the fierce headwinds of both fashion and history.

Arguing from economic principles is not always easy. Arguing facts and logics is not as popular as arguing from feelings and emotions. Traditional morality is a far less easy sell than the culture of “whatever.

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