Woo! First post. Ok. Must be dignified. Am new hotshot conservative blogger.

Whatever! This is the pajama media, right? All about being real? Like Obama’s real change? Wait…bad analogy. Ok. Anyhow…

As a longtime listener to the ‘evil’ known as talk radio, I must admit I am sometimes frustrated by how hosts handle their callers. Sometimes they cut off liberals that sound reasonable or at least willing to seriously consider conservative viewpoints. If a liberal can stand to listen to a conservative radio show, that should be taken as an indication of a glimmer of hope. If they can speak calmly, they should be given airtime. Understanding the viewpoints of people in this bracket is key to spreading conservative views.

 On the other hand, sometimes I think hosts tolerate (umm…how should I phrase this?) “dimmer” people for too long. If a person is unable to articulate a clear point within the first minute, they should be cut off. Why waste time trying to lead them to their own point? Generally, I see Gallagher, Preger on the shorter end of the caller tolerance spectrum and Rush and Medved on the more tolerate side. Hannity cuts it both ways. They all, however, have their days. I’d like to see more time given to those who sound like they could see the error in their liberal ways and less given to those who are inarticulate or who seem so radical on either end of the political spectrum as to lose sight of reality.  

Of course, my theory that listening to talk radio can be a glimmer of hope does contain a glaring weak point. Liberals, I know firsthand, often like to pretend to pay head to other views to prove their open-mindedness. Often, they will cite the fact that they flipped passed Rush on their way to NPR as proof. But, hey, at least going to original source even for a fraction of a second is better than merely rehashing Media Matters talk points (Media Matters is a liberal non-profit that frequently attacks conservative media outlets and proponents for “misinformation”, but seems to be prone to decimating it themselves).

Some liberals take this pursuit of “open-mindness” even farther by imbedding themselves within conservative organizations. For instance, my intern class at a right-leaning think tank (our credentials were verified by a code pink protest, thank you) has a few of these. I asked one why she chose to intern here of all places, and she referred to the idea of understanding the conservative psyche. Working here, she said has only reinforced her views. Like she had pre-decided it would, I bet. The problem is, that in the time I’ve spend with her, she seems to make more statements than ask questions. Being open-minded is, as one should infer, a mindset, not merely a change of location. Exposing yourself to other views merely to give yourself additional opportunity to knock them is not being open-minded. It is looking for an argument. That’s fine for what it is, but don’t kid yourself. The physical process of hearing an argument doesn’t count as listening. Another liberal intern wrote that she “works for the devil” on a social networking site. I don’t know her rationale for choosing our think tank. The merit badge for bravery behind enemy lines is all I can think of.

Another case that casts my “glimmer” theory into doubt is one caller I heard today.  One man repeatedly accused Sean Hannity of being a racist because he doesn’t support Obama. Hannity responded by pointing out he also fervently opposes Hillary and thoroughly explaining rational against the messiah candidate and his mentor being a radical preacher who said, “God D*mn America” and his friendly relations with an unrepentant terrorist who bombed the pentagon. The caller’s answer was to merely repeat his original assertion that Hannity “couldn’t stomach the idea of a black president.” He couldn’t explain why he though Hannity was racist; he seemed to think his statement was sufficient. Another prime example of liberal open-mindedness. With callers like this, I’d ok the host toying with them a little longer to prove a point, but the conversation has ended. I can see why having callers like this might frustrate a host, but they should still make every effort to distinguish between the liberal who’s only physically listening and the one who’s actually listening and give the latter his due say. While I love a conservative rant with the best of them, the act of bringing in new conservatives is one of talk radio’s best functions and should not be neglected for the comfort of a echo chamber or fun and humor that can occasionally be found in a fight with the truly unreasonable.