The dangerous right

Propaganda. To hear the defamers of conservativism yammer about it, propaganda is what other people – especially socialists do. Never mind that these same pseudo conservatives manage to conflate totalitarianism, socialism, and communism (oh, I forgot liberalism) into the same boogey man. But what would domestic propaganda look and sound like in America? My two three votes go to the dangerous drivel spouted by the pseudo-patriots Sean Hannity, O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. These multimillionaires excel at portraying themselves as amusing, clever, and engaging populists. But none ever delves deeply into issues and none allows open vetting of their arguments. These rabble rousers say that they are entertainers, but they actually exploit a loophole that makes imbalanced political broadcasts legal. Hannity (also Rush, and Bill O’Reilly) claims that their programs are "entertainment", yet all of them express strong political opinions, clearly endorses candidates and aids them in on-air fundraising, even threatening listeners that calamity will befall those who does not vote their way.
Probably the worst of the worst example of this kind of craziness run amok is Limbaugh’s wish that our president fail. Who says that about their president? Only a traitor. Isn’t that just a little bit disloyal? What would Limbaugh and his ilk have said if Frank Rich or Maureen Dowd wrote that they wanted Bush to fail. But of course, they wouldn’t – FR and MD have way too much class. Ironically Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly and the other nitwits on cable TV spout rhetoric that is clearly disloyal, if not seditious, while claiming to be lovers and defenders of the USA.
Ideological division is nothing new to politics. But has ideology ever taken quite the seat of prominence it now enjoys? Have people ever been quite so prone to regard their ideological identity as more important than their national identity? The last 30 years are rare in that regard, if not unique. But before the rise of the FoxNews and CNBCs, there was some measure of reasoned discourse – a back and forth exchange of ideas. Listen to these guys – when an alternative view is expressed their strategy is to: outshout, change the subject, ridicule or otherwise dismiss the point to be disputed rather than to address it. This is dangerous and alarming. THESE are the tactics of the Soviets and the Nazis of Hitler’s Germany; or those of a dictator who is ALWAYS right. They are not the tactics of those who would engage in a democratic , respectful, free, and intelligent exchange of ideas (remember that which our Revolution was fought over?)
At the same time that we desperately need to instill more critical thinking and creative problem-solving then ever before in our population that is raised on reality shows, sports, and the propaganda of FoxNews and CNBC, these three are cowardly propagandist who refuse to step up and confront the many voices that challenge their most controversial and fundamental philosophies.